Prologue
She was flying.
Soaring, diving through clouds, scaring the living crap out of Canadian Geese, and laughing as they honked in alarm as she and her 15 foot wingspan shot through the flock.
She closed her blue-green eyes and breathed in the cold, clear air. The wind teased her already curly, red-brown hair into knots, but she didn't care. She was flying!
She tucked in her wings, and dive-bombed at the ground, the wind stinging her face.
A second away from hitting the ground, she zoomed up again, unfurling her huge wings, which were a russet color, speckled with black and brown. They carried her uwards as she flapped. Joy filled the girl, and she whooped happily as she shot through a cloud.
A gun went off, and she swooped desprately to avoid it. Several more bullets whizzed by her, and one grazed her shoulder, which quickly went numb.
Tranquilizers.
Her eyelids grew heavy as she stuggled to stay in the air. They were NOT going to take her.
Not today.
And Alabama woke up.
