Soul: Book 1 (DISCONTINUED)

Birds in a Cage

(A/N: A little bit of filler as well as going in-depth into some characters...)

(BTW did I ever credit BounTiper from deviantart for the concept of SetoBlaze? No? Well I forgot to, whoops XD)

(TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABUSE)

Ryan tossed and turned on the bed, but found himself unable to sleep. He was tired, but his mind was restless and his eyes refused to stay shut. With a frustrated sigh, the bat-hybrid stared up at the stone ceiling.  He turned his head and looked out the window (he had replaced the glass after breaking it with his fist), where the moonlight was shining through. It seemed like morning was a few hours away, and he knew that going back to sleep wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so he kicked the blankets away and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

After putting on his armor and grabbing his weaponry, Ryan roamed the prison, walking past the cells. Most of the hybrids were still sleeping, and the bat-hybrid could hear some of their light snoring. All seemed still for the most part, until his ears twitched when he heard something that didn't sound quite right in the peaceful, quiet atmosphere. Ryan looked around and, after locating the source of the strange sound, he spread his wings and flew up to one of the cells on the second floor and looked inside.

Ryan could barely make out two figures crouching in the shadows. He heard the grinding sound of metal against stone and looked closer, unsuccessfully trying to see in the dark. This was a job for Arana, but Ryan knew that waking her up would put her in a worse mood than usual for the rest of the day.

Left to his own devices, Ryan pulled the lever and pushed open the door. The hybrids whirled around, their eyes wide open with shock and horror, caught in the act. The chicken hybrid (Joe, if Ryan remembered correctly) let out a startled shriek and the penguin hybrid, Cody, visibly paled with dread. Ryan quickly assessed the situation, his blue eyes scanning the room. One of the beds had been moved from its original position. The hybrids were each holding sharpened metal spoons and there was a sizable dent in the bottom corner of the wall leading to the outside. Ryan estimated that they had spent at least a  carving out that small dent and had been hiding it using the bed.

"What's going on here?" Ryan demanded. The bird hybrids quivered in fear, glancing at each other, refusing to speak. "I'm giving you the count of three to explain..." Ryan murmured, his hand moving to his hip. His fingers barely brushed the handle of the baton hanging from his belt when all of a sudden Cody lunged at him with the spoon.

Ryan brought his hands up just in time to grab Cody's raised arms and block him, pushing against Cody as he tried to stab him. "Joe, run!" he yelled, the shorter penguin-hybrid struggling to remain in a standing position. "I'll fend him off while you escape!"

"But Cody-"

"RUN!!!"

Joe stood rooted to the spot, his mind telling him not to leave his friend behind but his instincts telling him to get out of there. His instincts won over and he bolted, fleeing the cell and running as fast as his legs could carry him.