Fly Like a Bird

Free

Gavin sighed as he placed the mop against the wall of the gray stone room. His hands hurt, his back hurt, everything hurt. Rolling his shoulders, he glanced around, glad that no one was with him. Stepping into the middle of the room, he stretched one wing, then the other. He then pulled his right wing over his shoulder, running his fingers through his feathers. Gavin held back a disappointed sigh as his green eyes swept over the clipped feathers.

His owner had clipped his wings like he was some-some common canary that he didn't want flying away. Not that it truly stopped him from flying, the clipped feathers made it much harder for him to get lift and to stay aloft, but he could still glide. The missing secondaries and tail-feathers, on the other hand, made it so he couldn't fly.

Gavin's owner had plucked him when he had tried to escape one too many times. Did it in front of all the other prisoners - he hated that word but that's what they were- as an example. An example of what would happen if you misbehaved. Gavin placed a hand against the collar around his neck, wishing he could take it off.

Hearing footsteps echoing down the hall, he scrambled, fumbling the mop in his hands before getting back to work. Two dog Hybrids, a short, black haired cat-Hybrid with green eyes, and a tall Golden Retriever-Hybrid with blue eyes, were being led by a man in a lab coat. He stopped them, then looked at the clipboard in his hand. "Number Oh-Five-Seven-Three-One? Come with me please. Numbers One-Five-Seven-Six-Eight and One-Five-Seven-Two-Seven will take your place," he droned in an emotionless voice.

The two Hybrids walked up to him. The Golden Retriever took his mop, and the Cat-Hybrid walked over to the closet, getting another one. Gavin nodded, murmuring a thank you. He then stepped to the scientist, who grabbed his arm roughly, dragging him behind.

Gavin followed, his head down, and listened to the man talk. "-- even after thousands of years of you things being around, we still don't know how you work. All these tests we're doing are going to change that." The man stopped in front of a door, putting his badge to the lock. It unlocked, and he all but shoved Gavin in the room, closing the door behind him. "Go over there," the man said, pointing to a platform.

Gavin did as told, standing on the platform. The other people in the room instructed him to take off his clothes, and he hesitated. A shock came throuch the collar, just a warning but it still hurt, and Gavin quickly stripped. He stood there, tense, as the men examined his body.

When they got to his wings, he fidgeted, and when one of their hands touched the place where his wings connected to his body, he squawked, feathers rising, and he hunched his back, pulling his wings closer.

One of the scientists mumbled, "he's sensitive with his wings, especially the base." He wrote it down before telling Gavin, "05731, go over there, we're going to get your weight."

Gavin stepped on the scale, the men writing it down, then they tested his eyes. He had to read something from 5 feet away, then 10, then 15, then 20. "Light weight, good for flying. Outstanding eyesight..."

They then told him to put on his clothes, which he gladly did. They walked to a different room, where they put him on an obstacle course. Gavin's eyebrows furrowed, but the scientists were gone. He heard a voice come from over the speakers.

"05731, you will go through this obstacle course until you can get through without falling. Every time you fall you get a punishment." Gavin nodded, getting ready.