Hey guys, happy Earth Day. To celebrate the occasion, I have a new chapter. Okay, let me get started. In my last chapter, we met Jewel and Skye, Mel's new friends. In this chapter, we meet a couple more people. One of them is old and one is new. They are both characters that I have created. Now, I really think you guys should read 'NeoFlock' and 'Deadline' by Talon666. He is an amazing author. If you like my stories, then you are sure to like his. Well, I think I've held off long enough. It's time to see what's happening to Mel next.

The whitecoat cowboy was dragging me down a dimly lit hallway. He had felt the need to take the stairs, running all the way. I swear, he almost yanked my arm out of its socket.

"So, you gonna tell me where you're taking me parder." I said, mimicking his accent. The Gasman had taught me a little. I wasn't as good as him, he could make himself sound exactly like any person he wanted too. All I could do was imitate accents.

In response, he jerked my arm, swinging me in front of him. "Smart ass." he grumbled. He twisted my arm behind my back and kept pushing me forward.

It took everything in me to keep from screaming out in pain, but I tried to remember what Max had always told me: "Pain is only in your head. Don't think about it and it won't hurt. Never let them see you cry. Don't let them think they've beaten you.".

I wouldn't give this guy the satisfaction of seeing my pain. I wouldn't shed a single tear no matter how much it hurt, no matter how scared I was, no matter how much I wanted to go home to my mom and dad. I wasn't giving in that easily. I wasn't going to let them down.

Eventually, we stopped at a big wooden door. There was an intercom panel on the side which the whitecoat pushed. "It's Dr. Jackson with the girl ma'am." he drawled. He let go of the button.

"Good, good." came a woman's voice two seconds later. "Perfect timing. Come in. I've been waiting to see her."

The door swung forward opening up to a dimly lit office. Was every room in this place dimly lit? The whitecoat shoved me forward into the room, still holding my arm behind my back.

When I got a little further in the room, I saw a huge wooden desk behind a wall of computers. In the desk chair was a woman with long blonde hair. She was smiling warmly, as if she was trying to convince me that this place was heaven on earth. I knew better.

She stood up and extended her hand, apparently hoping I'd shake it. I didn't. She drew her hand back and said, "Well hello Melody. How are you today?"

I pulled on my best Max attitude. "Oh, just fine thanks. Well, except for the fact that I've been kidnapped and put in this hell hole against my will. But, other than that I'm perfectly fine." The flock would be so proud of me.

The woman's smile faded slightly. "I see Max has taught you well." she sighed. "Do you know who I am Melody dear?"

Melody dear? Who did this lady think she was fooling? "Hmm, let me guess." I said, just as sarcastically as Max. "Oh, I know. You're the twisted fruit loop running this freaky prison. Is that correct?"

"Melody, Melody. You've got it all wrong." she said, sitting back down.

"Oh yeah? Okay then, who are you and why am I here? Please enlighten me." I was pretty good at sounding like Max. Who knew?

She sighed. "I am Dr. Heather Mason." she said.

Dr. Heather Mason? Why did that sound so familiar? I was sure I'd heard it somewhere before a long time ago, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "And that tells me what?" I asked.

"Your parents never mentioned me?" she asked in mock surprise. "My mother was the Director of the School a long time ago. I went to school with your parents for a few months. I knew who they were and told my mom. The two years after that she spent training me to be Director and trying to destroy the flock. Unfortunately, she was killed by a friend of Jeb Batchelder. Tragic. But, now I'm in charge."

Yep, one seriously crazed out fruit loop. "Well that answers one question, but why am I here?"

She smiled. "You're here, because I want you to help me."

She was seriously crazy. What was she on? "No." I stated flat out. "There is no way I'd ever help you. Not after what your mom did to my family. Forget it."

"Melody, don't make the same mistakes your parents and the rest of the flock did."

She snapped her fingers and a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a boy who looked a few years older than me. He was about as tall as my dad. He had spiky, copper colored hair and, I think, hazel eyes. He was wearing a red t-shirt that made his chocolate brown wings stand out.

I realized what she was trying to do. She was trying to persuade me with a guy. Well, that wasn't going to work on me. Skye was much cuter. Did I just think that? Oh geez.

"Melody, I'd like you to meet Tanner. He's one of my best. He can help you, show you things your family couldn't do in their wildest dreams." she said, smiling proudly at him.

"That's because my family didn't dream about hurting innocent people." I growled. This lady was nuts. I was not going to betray my family and hurt people just because she offered me a cute guy. Felecia might be that shallow, but I wasn't.

She shook her head. "Think about it Melody. Don't be a fool like your family. Join me. You'll be happy. Help me." she said.

I sighed, pretending to consider it. "What exactly are you planning on doing? How am I supposed to help?" I asked. I wanted to know what she was up to.

"I'm not as idealistic as my mother. She wanted to wipe out half the world's population so she could give the planet a new start. Me? I just want to make money. Here we build super weapons and train experiments in combat and then sell them to other countries. That's how you can help me. I need your brain Melody. So, will you think about it?" she asked, grinning. She seriously thought I was going to do it.

"Trust me Melody," Tanner said softly, "You'll love it. The ones helping the Director get more privileges." He grinned at me, trying to get me to fall for him.

I pretended to be deep in thought. "Hmm. I think…my answer is…no."

Tanner lunged at me so fast that I didn't have a chance to react. In five seconds, he had grabbed me by the throat and pushed me against a wall. He glared angrily at me, choking me. I couldn't breathe. I was losing oxygen fast.

"Tanner, that's enough!" Dr. Mason shouted. "Don't kill her! She may change her mind after a few days."

Tanner glared at me hard and then dropped his arm, grinning. He walked back over to the desk and turned around, still glaring at me, his arms folded across his chest.

I slid to the floor, sucking in air. He had almost killed me. There was no way I was changing my mind. That experience had just made me even more determined to bust out. I glared at Dr. Mason. How could a person be so horrible? I was guessing her family had a history of mental illness. It would explain a heck of a lot.

"Dr. Jackson, take her back to her room." Dr. Mason said in a bored tone, sitting back down on her desk.

The stupid whitecoat cowboy kicked me, yanked me up, and dragged me out of the room and up the stairs.

I needed to come up with an escape plan fast. I wasn't as strong as the flock. They had lived their lives like this while I had lived mine in a home full of loving people who were trying to teach me how to help myself in situations like this. I never knew it was this horrible. I had always thought they had been exaggerating just a smidge. I know knew how wrong I was.

Well, in this chapter we meet the older, crazier Heather Mason. Like mother, like daughter. We also meet Tanner. In the next chapter Mel has a conversation with Jewel and learns some pretty surprising things. Read and review. Updating soon. Check out Talon666's stories like I asked. See ya'll later.