Chapter 2 –
Carlie woke up handcuffed to a bed. They had apparently moved her to some kind of prison while she had been unconscious, so it had to be close by because the drug couldn't have lasted too long. Unless they kept her sedated. So she could actually be pretty much anywhere. Great. She sat up and looked around the small room she was in.
The walls were off-white and bare. There were no windows and only one door. The door had no doorknob and was most likely locked. Not that she could check because she was chained to a bed. There was no other furniture and nothing to do. Great. She was stuck in another prison only four months after escaping the first one.
Charlie flopped back on the pillow and took a deep breath. She looked back at the handcuff on her wrist and reached back with her other hand to try to unlock it. It was on a pretty flimsy bar so she grabbed the cuff's chain and pulled. The bar loosened. After a couple more hard tugs, she managed to pull the bar off the bed. She slid the cuff off the bar and stood up. The cuff was still on her wrist but she could always use it as an impromptu weapon. After a second thought she also picked up the metal bar.
Walking across the room, Charlie came to the door. She propped the bar into the crack by the hinges and pushed, trying to break a hinge. The hinge didn't move but suddenly the door opened towards her.
She dropped the bar behind the door and rushed to the far wall from the door. Charlie raised her arm, prepared to swing the metal handcuff. Agent Holland entered but was cautious. He lifted his hands in a defensive pose.
"It's okay. We only cuffed you because we didn't want you to hurt yourself." he reassure her. His partner followed him, closing the door behind them. It snapped shut with a click. Then they both slowly approached her.
Charlie didn't believed them and remained ready to attack. Agent Corvy looked at the bed and walked behind the door to grab the metal bar. He grabbed it and silently showed it to Holland. Holland narrowed his eyes at it, then looked back to Charlie.
"Were you gonna beat the first person who walked into this room?" Holland demanded, "For all you know it could have been another kid or something."
Charlie glared at him. "I didn't do anything to deserve being held here, so I figured it was my right to leave," she hissed at him, "I was wandering around private property, that doesn't demand a state-wide manhunt for a girl who's been off the grid her whole life!"
"That's one of the things that we were trying to figure out," Corvy said, "According to national records, you don't exist."
"That may or may not be because some freakin' evil scientists kept me captive my whole life, hence the not on the grid thing." Charlie said bitterly. There were so many bad memories associated with captivity. During this explanation, Charlie lowered her hands and stood up straight, abandoning her defensive stance. "You have no idea what kind of hell I have lived in for my whole miserable life."
"No, we can't. And we also don't know what they could have done to you for you to… be the way you are." Corvy went on. While he told her this, Holland unlocked the cuffs and put them on his belt loop.
"What? You mean these?" she asked as she flared her wings. They were fourteen feet wide when fully spread and filled the small cell. Charlie looked like she was on the verge of crying. Her wings flapped nervously and created a breeze in the small room.
Both of the agents stared dumbfounded at the glorious sight in front of the. This girl looked like an angel as she extended her wings.
"Can you actually fly?" Cory asked quietly.
"Of course I can. I would have showed you but someone kinda shot me out of the sky." She threw a pointed look at Holland who raised his hands defensively. "That hurt. A lot. You should try falling from 25 feet sometimes. It's great."
"You were trying to get away," protested Holland. "We couldn't just let you escape. And I was acting on instinct and surprise from seeing a kid sprout wings like an angel and take off."
"I ran because I was being chased. For no good reason, I might add," she shot back, "And, if I looked like an angel, why would you shoot me?"
"Calm down," Corvy interceded, "You had broken into a government facility and we needed to make sure you didn't see anything. You would have just been questioned. But now that we have seen how… special you are, we need to keep you in custody for your own safety."
"That's BS. You're gonna keep me locked in here and studied. Which is what I ran away from in the first place." She sat down on the bed and angrily looked away from the agents.
"That's another thing. Where are you from?" Corvy asked. His voice was flecked with curiosity as he sat down next to her. Charlie moved away from him but his gaze followed her. Holland just watched Charlie from across the room, expecting an attack at some point.
When Charlie didn't answer, Corvy asked, "Do you want to go on a walk? Or a flight? We have a large gymnasium where you could fly around."
"Great. Another opportunity to be studied," she muttered, "But I could use a stretch. On one condition," she held up her index finger as she sternly said, "Only you two in there with me. I don't want an audience."
"Fine," Holland and Corvy said at the same time, one more nicely than the other.
They unlocked the door and Corvy led the way followed by Charlie who was watched by Holland. They walked out of the section with a number of doors that looked like the one to Charlie's room. Yay. They were in the detention block. They moved on to a bunch of offices, then past some rooms with exercise equipment and eventually to a huge gym. Not as good as wide open sky, but better than nothing As soon as they entered, the doors locked behind them.
Charlie shook her wings out and stretched them, testing them by flapping before she actually flew. Despite the torturous ways in which she came to possess her wings, Charlie was extremely proud of them. Those demented scientists had tried to give her pure black wings for better night camouflage, but she had unconsciously defied them. Her wings were beautifully multi-colored. The outside of the wings were mostly mottled brown with white splotches and streaks. The big primary feathers on the inside were white at the tips and cream at their bases. The closer to her shoulders, the darker the feathers ranging from beige to chocolate. After a moment of admiration. She sprinted to the middle of the gym and jumped into the air. Pushing down her wings, she rose up towards the ceiling. Once she got high enough into the air she dove through the air and flew in difficult maneuvers that she had mastered in the past few months. This was the one thing she could do that let her feel any semblance of freedom. Charlie hovered in the air for a couple seconds, looking down at the two agents below her. They were both looking up at her with amazement. She folded her wings and fell downward. She heard an intake of breath. They thought she would kill herself. Nah. She was too selfish for that. She flared her wings and pulled up at the last second, just in time to come to a running stop and buffet the agents with her tailwind. Before they could say anything, she ran past them, jumped on their shoulders, and pushed herself back into the air. They collapsed but continued staring after the flying girl.
Charlie flew freely for about an hour before finally deciding she'd had enough of being a spectacle for two F.B.I. agents. She descended slowly and hovered for a second before dropping in front of the agents and laughed ruefully. "Having fun watching the freak?" she asked, but for once she was light hearted. Not many things could dampen her mood after a free flight. They both stared at her openmouthed. She laughed again, waving her wings in a small motion as she did. They were warm from use and felt amazing when she folded them against her back.
"I don't think you know how lucky you are, kid." Holland commented. Corvy was too dumbfounded to say anything, probably a first in his smart little life.
Charlie looked at him sadly. "I know what I have is a gift. I just wish I didn't need to go through hell to get it." Holland looked taken aback and started to apologize, but Charlie intercepted him before he could. "It's fine, Holland. I've accepted it. It's just a sore spot that's all."
"How do you know my name?" Holland asked while Corvy simultaneously asked, "Do you know my name?"
"You're name is Corvy," she said pointing at the professor-looking agent, "And I know because I listened during my manhunt."
"Well, we don't know your name. What is it?" asked Corvy.
Charlie considered giving a fake name, but decided against it. She liked her name. Chose it for herself. They hadn't given her a name at the lab, so she gave herself one.
"I'm Charlie" she told them.
"Charlie?" Holland asked, "Why?"
"Because it means free, right?" answered Corvy. Charlie looked at him in surprise. "Well, it's kind of obvious. Charlotte means 'free.' Charlie is short for Charlotte."
"Yeah. Didn't think it was that obvious though. I found it online shortly after I got away from the lab where I was raised. Though it suited me. But I didn't like how feministic it sounded, so I chose a nickname. Not like there's ever been anyone to call me by it though."
Corvy just smiled and held out his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Charlie. I'm Liam Corvy." Charlie looked at him with a 'Really? Is this necessary?' kind of look, but when he didn't drop his hand she took it with a sigh.
"Hi, I'm Charlie." She said with a voice an adult talks to a toddler with. Liam ignored her tone and turned to his partner. Holland sighed with exaggerated patience but eventually reached to shake Charlie's hand.
"I'm Holland. Derek Holland." He told her. Charlie immediately thought of a James Bond movie but decided not to voice her comment aloud.
"Nice to officially meet you both. Since apparently having you follow me across a couple states, drug me, and spirit e off to who-knows-where doesn't actually count as official." Charlie smiled at them. "Warning, Holland. I will attempt to get you back for shooting me with what I think was a moose tranquilizer."
"We were told to bring you in unharmed. Tasers hurt and tranquilizers don't hurt as much and they keep you under for longer." Holland defended himself.
"A dart to the leg still hurts, Derek. Just a little F.Y.I." she patted his back as she walked by.
"Where are you going?" demanded Holland. She was being a brat and he was not going to put up with it. "You're still a prisoner here." Corvy shot him a dirty look that Holland decided to ignore.
"Well. Derek," she began in a falsely patient voice, "I need a shower after that workout, maybe some fresh clothes, and definitely a good meal. So I was leading you this way in a hope of you taking me somewhere where all of those things could happen. Or am I deprived of those rights?"
Corvy followed her and let her out with a fuming Holland taking up the rear.