Here's the next one. I'll admit it's not the most action packed, but it progresses the story. Hope you all enjoy. :)


After hours and hours of driving, the sky became dark and Gilbert finally pulled into the parking lot of a building with a sign that said "MOTEL". I wasn't really sure where we were, but I was saddened when Gilbert shut off the car and the music stopped playing. He had played so many songs for me, some of them sounding relaxing and some of them sounding like there was an epic battle between heaven and hell was going on, but I enjoyed all of them so much.

"Where are we?", I asked.

"We're at a motel," he answered, "it's a place that provides a place to stay for the night for people who are on the road, like us." Gilbert took off his seatbelt and I followed his lead and walked out of the car with him towards the front door. I stopped where I was when I remembered that I couldn't go in there without my wings disguised. Gilbert knew that too, and he pointed to the side of the building. "Wait out here by the windows. I'll get a room and when I'm in I'll open up the window for you to come in." I nodded and did what I was told.

I wasn't really sure why I trusted Gilbert so much. If I wanted to I could have just ran away right when he stepped into the building and couldn't see me anymore, but for some reason I felt safe when he was around. In any case, he was giving me a route to my brother that didn't involve bears or hunters, so that was a good enough reason as any to stay with him. I waited for a minute or two longer until I saw a light turn on from one of the windows and a curtain was pulled back to reveal Gilbert's huge smile facing me. He opened up the window and I carefully climbed in, but I did feel a sharp pain as my broken wing scraped over the window frame and I bit my lip to keep from yelling too loud.

When I made it inside I quickly found the bed and sat on it so I could finally spread out my wings and give the broken one some attention. It was bent in multiple angles and it did have some bleeding. It had been hurting this whole time, but I managed to ignore it long enough. I couldn't think of any way to fix it and I felt distress build up in me while trying to think of a solution.

"Here," Gilbert started as he reached out the window to grab a large stick and walked over to me, "maybe I can help." He took the bottom edge of the blanket sheet and ripped it into a long strip. He muttered an apology to the motel staff as he did it. He then took my wing and warned me about the pain as he bent it back into position. I almost screamed my lungs out but he gave me the stick to bite on and muffle the sound. Once my wings were back in order he took the stick and ripped up sheet and wrapped them onto my wing.

"I'm no doctor, but I think this makeshift splint will have to do for now." He seemed unsure of his work, but after the initial pain was gone I was already feeling a bit better. I smiled at him in thanks and he lightened up at it. "Well, we better get to bed," he said, "and tomorrow we'll get breakfast in the morning. But first, you're gonna wear these," he handed me a pile of clothes he pulled out of a bag he brought with him from the car. "I'm pretty sure you've been wearing those clothes since before we found you, I think it's about time you had some clean ones."

All I had on now was my old ripped up pair of beige pants and underwear. I felt so grateful for the outfit, but I wasn't too sure how I would fit the shirt over my wings. Nevertheless I changed into the jeans he'd given me and soft socks. I tried to put the black T-shirt on, but it wasn't working.

"I just don't think shirts are going to work," I told Gilbert in defeat. He simply took the fabric from me and precisely ripped out two large holes from the back of the shirt and gave it back.

"Put you're wings through them," he instructed. I gently eased my wings through, being especially careful with the broken one, and after some struggle came out fully clothed. I never knew that a shirt could bring such warmth to my body until now. I gratefully relished in the feeling as Gilbert stepped over to the light and switched it off. I was left sitting on the bed in the dark when he climbed in next to me.

"I could only get a room with one bed since I had to sneak you in, so we'll have to share," he informed me. I didn't mind at all really, a bed was a bed and I would never take the privilege for granted after my whole life sleeping on the floor of my cage. I wriggled myself under the blanket next to Gilbert. I spread out my left wing over my own body like I usually do as well a Gilbert's.

"Thanks for the shade," he chuckled. I smiled in the darkness as I could feel my eyes grow heavy. "Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight."


"Now look here Alfred," I heard the Professor hiss at my brother as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. I was in the lab and sitting in my cage as the Professor pulled Alfred out of his own, Alfred wobbly steeping out since the Professor preformed a surgery on him just a day ago, "I've put a bomb inside of your chest. You see, I'm sending you to an orphanage out in the city because I don't need you here anymore wasting up my space and food, but I can't have you telling anyone out there about me." Alfred is obviously frightened at the Professor's words and he stiffens up as tries not to wriggled too much in his tormentor's grasp. The Professor holds out a small box with a button on it in front of Alfred. "If you tell anyone about me and they come trying to find me, all I have to do is press this neat little button and you'll be reduced to a hundred disgusting pieces of you. Do you understand?"

Alfred shakily nods up and down while his lip trembles, but he knows better than to cry, that would lead to more pain on his part. After a few moments the Professor seems satisfied with his fear and throws him back in his cage.

"I'll drive you out to town tomorrow."

Alfred slowly sits up in the middle of his small cage and rubs at the small stumps on his back in a tick of nervousness. Since his cage is right next to mine I crawl over towards him and hold my arms out through the bars at him. He sees me and then comes over to give me a hug. It isn't very comfortable due to the metal bars in between us, but I think it makes him feel better to know that I'm here. Now that the Professor has left, Alfred allows himself to cry softly.

"I don't want to leave you!", he wallows. A part of me is sad that I have to be parted from him as well, but there is a bigger part of me that knows that he'll actually be happier. We don't really know our exact ages, but we're somewhere around the age of 8. Alfred could leave here and get adopted into a new family and be treated as human with love and support for the rest of his entire life. For all I knew, I could be stuck in this lab until the day I died, and I didn't want Alfred suffering that as well. I told him that into his ear, and he sniffled as he looked at me.

"But what about you?", he asked. I spread out my still growing wings and pointed at them with my finger.

"As long as I have these, I'm going to be the Professor's lab rat." I could see Alfred's expression darken at the words. Looking at him in this state hit me in the chest and I started to cry myself. "I'm really going to miss you." We hugged each other again until it was our bedtime and the Professor came in to shut the lights off. In a couple of hours he would be taking away my brother forever and I just didn't know how to deal with it, but I knew that Alfred was the one who really needed some support. In the darkness I felt for one of my largest feathers and pulled it out.

"Alfred!", I called out to him. I heard him shuffle around and crawl over to my cage.

"Yeah?" I stuck out my arm until I could feel his own and then placed the feather into his palm.

"Keep this," I instructed, "so you can have a piece of me forever no matter where you go." I waited a couple seconds then said to him, "I love you."

"I love you too Mattie," he replied in a weak voice. I'm not sure what he did afterwards, but by the time I woke up on the morning, there was nobody sleeping beside me and all I had was the dreadful silence of the lab.


In the morning we woke up, got in the car, and continued on our journey. I noticed that the leaves on the trees were turning a vivid red color as we drove by them. I savored the beautiful sight as Gilbert stopped in a parking lot and told me to wait in the car. When he got back he had a bag in his hand. He slid into the driver's seat and pulled out two white boxes and handed one to me. I opened mine slowly and saw a stack of what seemed to be a pastry covered in some sort of syrup.

"What is it?", I asked in wonder, taking the plastic fork that was handed to me.

"It's pancakes, Birdie!", Gilbert exclaimed, "You've never had pancakes before?" I shook my head no and was eager but hesitant to eat it. "You're gonna love em'," He assured, "they're awesome!" I guess that was a good enough confirmation for me. Before I knew it I had the pancakes piles into my fork and shoved into my mouth in what has to be a record time. Gilbert laughed at me as I licked up the syrup that covered my face. As I chewed I realized that I had just found the missing piece in my life. If I had thought the food I stole from the gas station was incredible, then this meal had to be on a godly level.

I swiftly finished up all of what was in my box, and when Gilbert said he was full, I gladly cleaned up his plate as well. Gilbert continued to laugh as we drove off down the highway. After maybe half an hour, Gilbert turned the music down lower and glanced over at me.

"So, tell me about Alfred," he said, "what kind of character can I expect from him when I meet him?" I didn't really anticipate the question, but I didn't think there was any harm in answering it.

"Well, I haven't seen him In a very long time, so I can't really speak for how he'll be like now, but when we were little he always had a kind of bubbly nature to him. Although, whenever the Professor was around, that personality seemed to disappear completely." I smiled up at the sky and my heart filled with nostalgia as I remembered the time I spent with my brother, which was really the only time I was ever happy. "Alfred loved to make up stories about brave heroes when we were bored just sitting in our cages waiting for the next round of tests to happen. He always dreamed of being someone who could help others and save the day, even if he thought he would never see the outside world. He did get annoying at times, but that's to be expected from a brother I guess." I turned to look at Gilbert and noticed the smile he was wearing on his face. "What about your brother?", I asked, "What's he like?"

"Well he's just a big old stick in the mud," he chuckled. "He never wants to have fun. He's pretty serious most of the time, and he hardly ever smiles, which is really a shame since he was born with our mother's perfect teeth."

"Has he always been like that?", I asked. After living with Alfred as a child it was hard to think of a kid acting so seriously.

"Pretty much," He replied, "Mother died when he was very young, and I guess since I was always so childish he decided to become my mother figure, which is kind of embarrassing. I mean, who wants their little brother telling you not to play with your food or run with scissors? He's really strong though, no kid ever messed with him on the playground, well, except for Feliciano. He was an Italian boy who transferred to our high school and he would always bother Ludwig all the time, sticking to his side at every moment. Luddy acted like he didn't like him, but now he's his boyfriend so I guess he was just a little shy."

"What's a boyfriend?", I asked. I'd never heard that word before. Gilbert seemed confused that I didn't know what that was, but he explained it anyway.

"Well, you can have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, and that is a person you love a lot, but not like how you love your family and friends, but in a more emotional way. Like you couldn't live without them." I wondered what that kind of feeling was like.

"Do you have one?"

"I've had a few girlfriends and a few boyfriends, but they never really worked like they should have. I guess I'm just waiting for the right person to come along."

I sat still and looked out at the horizon as I imagined what it would be like when I met a person like that too.


Author's Note

I'll admit, I myself do love the wonderful blessing that is pancakes a little too much. Anyway, I really really REALLY want to update more often, but that doesn't really mean anything if i don't actually act on my intentions. I hope you all can forgive me, and I'll hopefully see you soon.