The Phoenix Experiment (Maximum Ride) (Discontinued)

Chapter 1

I felt dead. I was asleep, but there was no dream. I know that scientists have proven that there is always a dream, but I am positive that while I slept there was absolutely nothing. Only darkness. Or maybe I wasn’t sleeping. Maybe I actually was dead. I tried blinking- which is what I usually do to wake up. Then the darkness began to recede. My mind flooded with relief that was followed by a harsh white light. I blinked several times to adjust to the brightness. I was lying on my stomach on something cold and hard. When I turned to look, I realized that it was some sort of examination table. Except this wasn’t your ordinary doctors table… it was made of metal and last I checked, doctors don’t normally strap you down for operations or anything. I tried to struggle but for some reason my back felt oddly numb. Am I still asleep maybe? I thought. But then I felt an aching pain in my head that felt real enough to convince me that this was reality. I found myself getting dizzy and nauseous all at once, and to my dismay, I slipped back into unconsciousness.

Again I had dreams of nothing. Darkness. And then, more harshly then before, I was sucked out of it into a new kind of darkness. Real Darkness. 

Instantly I felt pain in my back. Not numb anymore, that’s for sure! 

“Ugh,” I groaned as I tried to sit up. I had been lying on my arm, probably for a while, because now it was numb. For a moment it was as useless as a noodle, and then it gradually gained feeling again. I tried to stand up, but I only got halfway before hitting my head. I was confused for a moment but then as I looked around I noticed that I was in some sort of small dog crate type thing. I frantically reached around the cage, searching for a way out. 

Then I felt it. It was a weird sensation on my back that felt a bit like someone’s hands were digging under my shoulder blades. I straightened my spine, thinking maybe that my back was just sore, but the feeling stayed. Then I did something that I still regret to this day. I reached back, intending to feel my shoulder blades, but before I reached it, my hand was stopped by something long and hard. And the worst part; when I touched whatever it was, it had feeling and I felt my finger come in contact with it. I ran my hand along it, not exactly wanting to see what it was yet. Trust me, in this situation, neither would you. It was soft, but at the same time a bit rigid. It didn’t stretch straight out but it went up a little, and then extended down my back. 

As my hand went further down, it felt softer and less rough. Feathers!? I thought, very confused. And that was when my shoulder blades twitched and the things unfolded. They jutted out behind me now, brushing the bars or the cage with their… feathery… tips. I let out a deep breath then sucked it back in and whipped around. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.