Finally Free- A Novel

Chapter Four

We flew on in the fading sunlight, towards a group of mountains, where I was hoping there was some form of shelter. The dark haired boy winced every now and then, and I could see the cloth I had ripped from my sleeve had been soaked crimson. The two younger kids seemed happy, but silent. The girl held tightly to my hand, her white wings flapping. I now realized they had light gray dapples on them. Huh. Interesting.

The other boy flew beside the older one, his brown wings beating, making a fwoosh noise in the air. They were plain brown, with darker primary feathers, but they had a strange shine to them. I shrugged, and looked at the eldest boy. He had black wings, that were large. There were lighter speckles on his wings, almost like a hawks, but they only appeared on the tips, which was strange. I looked ahead then, and saw what I was looking for. "Cave." I pointed, and the little group followed me toward the dark opening in the rock.

We landed on the cold stone floor, the youngest two tumbling a bit when they landed. "Well..." I said sitting, unsure of what to say. "C-could we...share our names?" The girl asked, her voice small and quiet, nervous. She looked up at me with blue eyes, and smiled innocently. "That's a great idea. And ages, if you know that." I smiled, and looked around. We all wore the same blue-teal scrubs, with slits cut neatly in the backs.

"I guess I'll start. I'm uh, Larka." I said, looking down at the floor, then back up confidently. I didn't know these people. And it was strange to talk to them for the first time. "I'm 15." I said, and looked up. The smaller children smiled, and the girl, who sat next to me, squeezed my hand, that she was already grasping tightly. The older boy nodded, his black hair falling in front of his face further than it already was. "I'm uh, Falon." He said, his voice deeper, and almost raspy. But, so was everyone's, we hasn't talked in a while. "15." He finished, sitting again. 'Same age...' I thought, remembering how he had towered over me when we first landed. He nodded to the little girl, who looked at me nervously. "I-I'm uh....8. I uh...I don't have a name. They called me Subject 18." She said, and I sighed. "Well, then I guess we should name you." I smiled at her, and she perked up a bit, smiling back. "Any ideas?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Hmm..." I thought for a bit, pondering names, meanings, words. "How about.... Chai? Or Krystal? Or...." I trailed off again, and she looked at me excitedly. "I like Chai." She smiled, and I could tell she was running the name over and over again in her mind. I looked at the boy, who looked back at me. "I'm uh...Hawk. I'm 10." He said, and I smiled at the name. He must have heard it from the scientists, and used it as a name. Smart kid. I nodded to them, and looked around.

"So...I guess we're a group now?" I said, looking up. "Or...a pack." Chai whispered, her voice barley audible, even to a wolf's hearing. "Yeah...a pack." I smiled at her, and realized we had earned a name for our group as well.