"Well, well, well. If it isn't little miss midget." Ari chuckled and crooned at me.

I smiled sweetly at him, pretending not to be annoyed by his crude humor. My one eye twinkled in the morning light and Ari averted his gaze.

"Just go get in the helicopter, you and your tiny midget friend."

"Oh, put a sock in it giggles." Said Crimson casually as she walked past Ari to where the helicopter was waiting. I stifled a smile and followed her into the big aircraft.

Once seated and strapped in securely, I could hear Ari over the receiver.

Out of all the static all I could make out of Ari's voice was,

"Approaching target."

I rolled my eyes. Ari thought he was just so cool.

A few dull minutes passed. Crimson and I amused ourselves by talking about Ari and his stupidity in sign language.

It would have been more fun if Crimson new what I was saying.

Suddenly, loud feedback came crashing through the radio scanner. Crimson yelped and covered her ears. A harsh mixture of screaming and static rang through my ears.

"Start… engine!"

The big helicopter sprang to life, it's engine revving loudly, blades humming.

I poked my head out of the side of the aircraft and saw the Erasers sprinting towards us at full speed.

They looked horrible, what bruised and bleeding. Apparently those bird kids could really put up a fight.

I saw six specks emerge from the surrounding woods. A boy with dark ebony hair and glossy black wings sprang at one of the Erasers, wrapping his arms tightly about his throat. The Eraser slashed violently at the boy's arms, causing the boy to recoil with a yelp, his arm dripping with blood.

Suddenly a big brown sack thudded into the helicopter, sliding over to Crimson and mine's feet. The sack writhed and squirmed, and I saw a blond head begin to poke its way out of the sack.

"Hey! Come on! Let's get out of here!"

The helicopter was already a good ways off the ground. Then suddenly a bang sounded, and the sandy haired girl had her arm flung around the landing gear of the helicopter. Her face was stained with tears and her body was bloody and bruised. Ari laughed and pulled a gun, cocking it over her head.

"You've got it all wrong Max, we're the good guys!"

There was a painfully tense second, and the girl finally let go, plummeting to the ground right as the little blond head shook free of the brown sack.

Ari grabbed the tiny girl and shoved her back into the sack.

"Stay down and shut up, you little brat!"

The ride back to The School was long and silent. I never realized how far Crimson and I had ventured until I had to sit still the entire way.

Upon going back, Crimson and I were informed we were now allowed to venture in and out of our rooms as we pleased.

"You've earned it." Brady had said, smiling at me. "You made us proud."

So, there we were. Free, like the Erasers, to wander to our heart's content. The school was not that large a place, and so we usually just found ourselves back in our room.

One day, I was wandering along the cool hallways when I happened to pass a containment unit. Curiosity got the best of me, and I peeked in through the open door. I saw rows of crates and cages, many of which housed test subjects of the most peculiar kind.

Then, at the other end, I saw a row of crates, all slightly different sizes, lined up against the wall. Six of them total, all empty.

All except one.

The small girl with blond hair and angel wings was curled up in the smallest of the crates. She had a white hospital gown on and bandages on her wrist from where blood had been drawn. A quick investigation proved that she was crying. Her shoulders shuddered occasionally and her cheeks had shiny trails of water on them.

I found myself inching closer. There was just something about this small little angel that intrigued me.

Soon, I stood right in front of her cage, gazing at her.

She must have heard my breath, because she dried her eyes and looked up at me.

"You… you're not a Whitecoat." She said, somewhat confused.

I shook my head, giggling to myself.

"Why… what… how are you out? Are you trying to escape?"

I shook my head. Escape what? I had an easy life, everything I needed was right here.

"Oh, what? Do… do you like it here?" She continued.

I looked at her and nodded, somewhat confused. Why did she hate this place enough to run away? They treated us well. They accepted us for the creatures we were. We weren't human; the outside world would never accept us. This was our refuge, our sanctuary.

And yet, all that this creature wanted to do was get out. Get out and attempt to live among the humans, pretend to be one of them. Why?

"I don't get it…" She spoke more to herself this time than me. "You like being kept in a cage? Getting needles stuck all over you? Being made to run till your lungs break?"

I crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one leg, listening curiously. This little angel had such evil and contempt housed within her tiny body.

"Really? I mean… what do you have here that's so precious?"

Immediately, my mind faded to Brady. The one thing I strived for more than anything was his approval. To hear him say the words 'I'm proud of you.' Crimson too, she was like my sister….

"So… really? A Whitecoat?" Came the little girl's voice. I leapt back. How did she…?

The little girl smiled devilishly at me.

"I can read minds, didn't you know that?"

I turned and ran. What sort of devilish creature was this? What on earth could…

"Fourty-three!" I heard Brady's voice down the hall. I turned to see him striding swiftly towards me.

"Ah, there you are. Come along, I have another job for you."

As he spoke he picked me and carried me off down the hallway and into a small room. A few minutes later, another Whitecoat led Crimson in. She crawled up and joined me on the table.

Brady faced us and sighed.

"I need to send you our again." He said simply.

"But, this time… it's going to be a bit more… well… complex."

Crimson and I looked at each other, then back at him.

"You guys are going to need to find the other five as soon as you can. Our intelligence told us that the flock of them has split up. Two of them are still near the house, the other three are apparently on their way here. I need you to find and track the other three's whereabouts and tell us how soon you think they will get here. Can you do that for me?"

Crimson and I both nodded.

"Good. I have supplies ready for you already. Same as last time, keep this hush hush. Top secret you understand." Crimson nodded and walked past Brady into the hallway. Looking up at him I signed,

'Don't worry. We got this.'

Author's Note:

I am so very sorry for the wait! Thanks so much for your patience! More reviews are always welcome ;) Thanks for reading!