I don't know how long I slept, but I awoke to the sound of male voices yelling. I pressed my face up against the bars of my crate and tried to peer out.
Iggy was sprawled out on the floor, shaking. Two whitecoats stood over him, one yelling at the other.
"The director TOLD you not to damage them! Because of YOUR tests, it's BLIND!" a familiar voice was yelling. Jeb. I instantly felt safer. Jeb would take care of us. But something he said bothered me.
"Iggy?" the Gasman whispered from a cage near him. Iggy didn't answer.
"Just… leave," Jeb ordered. The other whitecoat nodded and left, scribbling furiously on his clipboard. When the door clicked shut, Jeb turned to me.
"What do you mean 'he's blind'?" I demanded. "What happened?"
"They did a test," Jeb explained, glancing at Iggy. "They wanted to see if they could enchance his vision, but it went wrong. I don't think he'll ever…"
"J-jeb!" I cried. "You promised! You p-promised you'd protect us!"
"I'm sor-"
"Because of you he's blind!" I began crying. I tried not to; the other bird kids needed me to be strong.
"Jeb?" the bird kid on the edge, Nudge, asked softly. "Will… will they try to do it again?"
"No, sweetie." How dare he call her that. "They won't try it again."
"I HATE YOU!" I sobbed at him. "Go AWAY!"