Thank you for the first review, juniper294. Feels good. Anyway, here's the second chapter. Have fun.

Just a quickie - Wolf is a guy. I remember someone asking me about that last time. It was supposed to be obvious, but since I'm a girl, you can't be too sure that you're getting the point across. XP.

Chapter Two

I yawned, mentally reprimanding myself for forgetting about breakfast. My stomach growled loudly, as if to remind me that it hadn't forgiven me. I rolled over in mid-air, catching a rising updraft and coasting.

I had been flying all night, and I was running on empty. I could see a McDonald's below me, but I didn't have any money. With my raptor-like vision, I zeroed in on a worker leaving through the back door. He dumped food into a garbage can and left, pulling out of the parking lot in his ragged old car.

Seeing my chance, I folded my wings and dropped. Straight down. I sliced through the air like a knife, going too fast to be seen as more than a feathery blur. This also meant I was going too fast to stop. Uh oh. I threw my wings out at the last minute, letting out a yell as my muscles screamed in protest. Note to self: Don't ever do that again.

I hit the ground hard, bending my knees to absorb the impact. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, and I landed on my left shoulder; the same one that Ari had nearly ripped to ribbons. I bit my lip to stop the yell of pain from welling up inside me. Suck it up, Wolf!

Standing, I felt warm blood starting to seep through my fingers. I needed help, and fast. I was fine before, but being as stupid as I was, I had re-opened the slicing wound, and it was worse. For a second, I lost my balance and staggered forward. Hunger and blood loss weren't a good combination. Gritting my teeth, I ignored the pain long enough to pull my wings in.

I wasn't sure how, but my wings all but disappeared. I could hide them under a big T-shirt if I wanted to. I tried going forwards, but that didn't work very well. My head was spinning so fast, I nearly threw up. Was this going to be the end of me? Would I die in the parking lot of a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere?

My last thought was rather stupid, I wonder if I'll be normal after I die...

"He's lost a lot of blood!" I heard someone yelling. Shut up. I tried to tell them. I'm trying to sleep. My mouth didn't respond. It was like my gears and cogs wouldn't mesh together and work. My brain felt fried.

I cracked open an eye, glaring out at the world. Holy crap. I closed it quickly, hoping it was all a nightmare. Was I back at the School? It sure smelled like it...antiseptic and too-clean.

No, it was different. Those halls had reeked of death and despair. These were full of hope. Suffocatingly full of it. I opened my eyes again, aware of someone's gaze. A nurse looked down at me, holding a needle.

"Aah!" I struggled to sit up. I wasn't going to let her get anywhere near me. Especially not with that thing.

I felt strong arms grab me from behind and let out a snarl as my shoulder strained. "Calm down." A deep voice commanded. I shut up. It wasn't like an Eraser's voice. They sounded like poisoned honey. His tone was sharp, and that just added fuel to the fire. I wriggled, trying to free myself of his grasp. "We're going to anesthetize you so we can sew up that shoulder of yours. I suggest you calm down."

I growled as the nurse came forward, looking as scared as I felt. But my eyes were only for the needle. It didn't really even hurt. Then again, I couldn't tell for sure. By that time, I was out cold. Whether it was fear or the anesthetic, I wasn't sure.

This time, when I opened my eyes, most of my brain was still asleep. I saw the white, smelled the clean and adrenaline was racing through my veins before you could yell "What the hell?!" I looked up to see a man watching me and making notes on a clipboard.

I summoned up my voice, wondering what they had done to me. "Who…who are you?"

He examined me over his glasses, a friendly expression on his face. "I think the better question is, who are you? More exactly, what are you?" The muscles in my jaw tightened; a reflex action. I was getting out of here, now. While he was still watching my face, I carefully made sure I wasn't attached to the bed or anything and waited for him to look down.

As soon as he did, I was off like a shot. Thank god I still had my shoes, 'cause I really wasn't thinking about it then.

I didn't even care about the bandaging around my shoulder. It was only after I had run past the confused nurses and out of the double doors that I really brought myself around. Just as a silver jeep came careening around the corner. I heard yells behind me, but hospital staff wasn't a problem compared to what was right in front of me.

Crap.

Double crap. Ari had just stepped out of his sleek silver jeep. Either he had a personal vendetta against me, or nothing better to do. Young men in their early twenties started spewing out through all the entrances. I swear I saw one climb out a window, too. How the heck did they manage to fit all those wolf-men into one jeep? My panic sense kicked in somewhere around then.

"Holy—" I didn't finish my sentence. My breathing quickened and I knew that the only way to fight them properly was...to become them. "No..." I whispered. I didn't want to have to do this. I wasn't one of them, and I never would be!

With some of their signature evil barking laughs, they advanced, closing in as a semi-circle. I backed up, only to hit a wall. I swallowed, unwilling to take the bait. I didn't care if my pride would kill me. I wouldn't sink to their level.

In a manner of speaking...as they were all a little taller than me. All the kids with wings were tall, but I was 5' 11" at 12 years old. I could kick normal human butt. This...led back to my problem. They weren't normal humans. I may have been strong, but not strong enough to take on all thirty or so at once. Ari closed in, snapping his jaws together with an audible click.

"We just want to help you!" he said in a mocking growl, his horrid fangs inches away from my face.

"Right. When pigs fly." I paused, spitting into his face. "Oh, I'm sorry. Looks like they already do!" I growled, hoping he'd let me go by accident.

His expression went blank, but once he'd realized that I had insulted him, he rearranged his face in monstrous anger. Oh...bad! Crap. Before I could move, he swung a huge, hairy paw at my head. It connected with a thud.

I was dazed. I was even seeing the little stars. Actually, my vision was kind of spotty for a minute. It took me a moment to resurface. I didn't feel as much pain as I normally would, and that worried me. Was I becoming like them? Would I finally give in to the bloodlust that was clawing at me from the inside? I chose not to answer myself.

By the time his foot came around, I was ready. I caught it and twisted it. Ari grinned, turned, and kicked me anyway...Backwards. I doubled over, my stomach tight with pain. I waited for the last blow, the one that would send me flying off the cliff into the dark abyss below.

It never came.

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-Dreamer