Warning! Kinda long A/N here: Surprise, surprise! It's another chapter! This completely came out of the blue for me and probably as well for my readers. I know it's been a long time since I've updated any of my stories and I felt bad for neglecting to continuously update. For the longest time I didn't know how to continue this story so it just sat, sort of but not really collecting dust on the fanfiction website. I'll try to up my quality and sort out a few things about the main character, Altha. I know most of the reviews I have for this story are at least 2 years old, but I have to thank bekeyboo for the constructive criticism about preventing Altha from becoming a Mary Sue. Actually I never really knew what that meant, and after it was brought to my attention, I kinda felt at a loss as to how to fix up the story. Well here's my latest attempt, and I hope you enjoy (I'll try to make my chapters longer and more complex so you actually feel as if you're reading something substantial). Once again, so sorry for the two year delay! And also I must add some shameless advertising for my other story (which I've been told is hilarious), Funny Oneshots (That Darn Paperclip is the first chapter, so I would just start at Funny Oneshots).

Altha POV

I never knew how hard it could be to find a group of winged kids until I actually tried.

Honestly, they're like freaking ninjas! Although I've never tried finding ninjas either…so I guess that comparison doesn't really work too well.

Anyway, I had looked for them all the rest of the next day seeing as I was tired after the whole fiasco earlier.

But gosh this flying stuff is really hard. I mean I can do it and all but because I was a part of the School and my lifestyle there was somewhat "cushy" I never needed to fly around for long periods of time. Therefore, I was completely unprepared and actually managed to tick off some birds going the other direction from me.

Oh and you might be wondering why the h-e-double hockey sticks I have a voice in my head. But there is this faint throbbing in my arm and I suddenly realize how idiotic of me to forget that just because I befriended those at the School they wouldn't put a tracker in me. I'm still an experiment by definition. So, I found a large enough clearing and descended (rather clumsily, I might add).

After I was safely on the ground, I reached into my lab coat pocket and pulled out the pocket knife I stashed there the day before my planned escape. As painful this was going to be, it couldn't be worse than the fear of what may happen in the near future.

As attempted to painfully dig out the beacon out of my wrist, I remembered what my life was like when I wasn't being the youngest scientist for an evil company. A time when all I had to worry about was getting straight A's and cleaning my room and doing my homework.

After I had torn a small bit of my white lab coat off to patch up my arm, I began to survey my surroundings. It was a relatively normal clearing - the kind where there's a little meadow in the middle surrounded by thick, bushy trees. A few colorful flowers were dotted around here and there.

The sun was heading further to the west, ready to brighten up somebody else's day.

It's almost like a painting the voice told me.

I was a bit startled, hearing something suddenly out of nowhere was enough to freak me out a little - especially when I was chasing after not-so-harmless bird kid runaways and being chased (up until I cut out the tracker and smashed it to bits with a conveniently placed rock) by a group of evil up-to-no-good scientists and their scientific achievements (aka, erasers and other genetically mutated creatures).

"You can see things?"

Seeing is a relative term. Because I exist within you, essentially I am you.

"That's just kinda weird."

And being a genetically modified child is not?

"Okay now that's just a low blow - even for you!"

The truth hurts, Altha - and you especially should know that.

At this point I shrugged off the conversation if that's even a possible thing to do. It's like one second, the voice is my friend and trying to help me on my path and the next it's my enemy - bringing up that.

"Leave me alone, Voice, I have to think."

Off into the trees I thought I heard something rustle so I paused and turned to listen better. I twisted my watch around my wrist - something I do when I'm nervous. I had never really been out in the woods on my own before. And now a bear was going to come out and call me his dinner!

Then, I turned back examine my bandaging wishing I had something to keep bacteria off and prevent an infection. I really didn't need one of those on top of everything that's happened so far.

I heard something that sounded like a whisper so, still looking forward, I strained my normal, human ears (no bird enhancement there, unfortunately) and managed to catch a bit of what was said next.

"But didn't you hear her say voice?" the voice sounded male, I think.

Could it be that the flock is actually spying on me? I guess I should feel honored. I thought and smiled a little bit.

"She's probably insane! Look at the flocking coat she's wearing! The girl's mad! She's even smiling into space!" if these people really were the flock - I would guess that to be Max. She didn't seem to trust me very much.

"She's like us though." a different voice from the first.

"She can hear us." I turned in their direction, and the youngest one, whom I presumed to be Angel was staring right at me through the branches of a tree.

I had to admit, they were perfectly camouflaged up there. Nobody ever really thinks to look up. Then again, nobody would ever think that mutants existed. But still, I bet they play a mean game of hide and seek.

I didn't have much time to contemplate their perfect, ninja-like hiding skills (except for the part where they talked loudly) because Max was first to descend from their not-so-impenetrable fortress.

"I want answers right now."

"I thought you wanted answers when we were in that cave, but you just ran away."

I'm guessing, however, that from the expression on her face (a contorted mix of annoyance, frustration, and mistrust) now was not the best time for wise remarks.

"Who are you," she demanded. Always with the demanding, no please or thank yous for this bird kid on a mission. Or sort of mission, if you count knowing my name as something that requests such special attention.

"I'm Altha," I provided. I wonder why she didn't ask at the cave.

"What's up with your arm?" The younger boy said. I guess this was Gazzy. He gestured to the spot where I carved out the tracker.

"Oh. I had a tracker-"

"See! I told you that we couldn't trust her!" Max cried out.

"-but I used this pocket knife to cut it out," I finished, holding up the knife for the group to see. The dark haired one gave her a pointed look. As if to say, I told you so.

Max has serious trust issues.

"I can tell." I responded without thinking.

The flock gave me weird looks all around. Max turned from where she was glaring daggers into a tree.

"Who are you talking to." she asked with force in her voice.

"What do you mean?" I feigned innocence. I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't want them to know about the voice inside my head. I thought they wouldn't believe me or something and then abandon me and agree with Max's thinking that I was a lunatic.

"Who are you talking to right now," she tried again.

"What? I'm obviously talking to you guys right now," cue nervous laugh that sounds entirely too fake for my liking.

She seemed to shrink a bit, her voice growing softer and more tentative as she asked: "Do you have a voice, too?"

Okay it's not all that long, but I got distracted and I thought the end here felt natural. I guess. I'll try to write more, but it won't be on a regular basis (but still I recommend my Funny Oneshots story). Eventually I'll stop the shameless advertising. Honestly though, on my computer, this seemed like more writing that it looks like now... Until the possible next time, - insert my too long pen name here! -