The Hawking

Chapter 6: Leaking the Truth

This chapter is narrated by Lucas Starlow.

I woke up blinded by light. I used my free arm to rub my eyes. My other arm was trapped in a hug with Olivia. I looked over at her. She was adorable when she was asleep. She mumbled and turned over, which gave me a chance to retrieve my arm. I took the opportunity and removed my arm from underneath her.

With my arm back in my possession, I sat up and stretched. I looked back over at Olivia, who was still asleep. She folded her wings over her body. I thought she was cold, so I took the blanket and covered her up. Then I stood up and stepped out of the tent.

I smiled as I was greeted by the sounds of chirping birds and leaves crunching underneath my boots. The fire was still going, which was a bit surprising to me at first. I got some wood from our pile near the metal chairs and threw it into the pit. It fed the fire and it started to grow. I plopped into one of the chairs and pulled out my harmonica. Before I played it, the robin stepped out of the tent.

"Good morning, robin." I said to her. She jumps and smiles nervously as she waved to me. She came to me and sat in the metal chair beside me. She balled up her fists and sat in an uncomfortable-looking position. She wasn't eating, and she wasn't speaking at all. She wouldn't even look at me. Something was obviously wrong, so I decided to ask her about it.

"Olivia, are you alright?" I said, reaching over to her. I put my hand on her shoulder. She looks at me, and I could see the fear in her eyes. There was definitely something wrong. "Come on, Liv, you can tell me." I tried to tell her. Finally, she took a deep breath and told me her story.

Flashback: Olivia's Story

This flashback is told in third person.

Nine year old Olivia was in a strange machine. It was big and bulky, and it scanned her entire body with a blue light. About two minutes later, Olivia heard a voice boom from the intercom on the wall.

"Thank you, Miss Woods." the voice said as the door to the machine slid open. "Please exit with caution as we escort you back to your cell." She stepped onto the concrete floor. The exit door swung open, and walking in...

"Hello, Olivia." Hall said to her. She stared at him with a blank face. She waves at him, and he chuckles. He crouches down next to her and whispers, "Would you like to see your father now?" Olivia's expression changed instantly as she smiled and nodded her head. Hall took her hand and led her out of the testing room and down the hall. They walked down the hall until they came to an almost empty room. The door was open, and there was no sound coming out of it. Hall let out a sigh as he bent down and put his hands on Olivia's shoulders.

"Wait here, sweetie." Hall said to her. He stood up and took the sides of the doorway. "Rick...?" Hall said into the darkness. "Rick, come on out. There is no way you're getting out of here. I brought you a sur-" All of a sudden, Hall got a swift kick in the face. He fell down face first on the concrete floor. A figure landed in front of the door. He was a tall ginger man, with huge light gray wings. He wore a black tank top and blue jeans, along with some black army boots and a red bandana. He stepped out of the door and spotted Olivia.

"Olivia! My dear daughter!" Rick said to the girl. "Papa!" Olivia said, reaching her arms out to him. He picked his daughter up, then took a look around. "We gotta run!" he yelled as he took off. He ran down winding hallways with his daughter in his arms.

A siren went off as a voice came on the intercom. "Attention, attention!" the voice said. "All units, all units! We have two escaping fugitives! Lock all possible exits and guard every cell."

Luckily, for the two robins, they were already outside. Rick took Olivia to a hole dug underneath the fence. He put her down and spread his wings, guarding her. "Go, Liv!" Rick yelled. "Be free, get far away from here! Go, now!" Olivia did as she was told and crawled under the fence and to the other side. She turned and smiled at her father, who smiled back, when all of a sudden-

A shot was heard, and Rick groaned and fell to the ground. Olivia gasped as she got closer to the fence and stuck her tiny hand through it, holding it out for her father to grab. She tried to reach him, but to no prevail. She started sniffling as tears went down her face, but then...

"There she is!" a voice yelled. "She's getting away!" Olivia stood and looked past her father to see four young kids, all with hawk wings, running towards her father. She whimpered and ran into the forest just as The Hawking almost reached her.

"Gosh darn, she got away!" complained a young Axel. "Should we chase after her?" Fern asked Sam. "Nah, let her be." Sam said. "After all, she did just lose her pa." The kids looked down at Rick's lifeless body. "We better get this inside." Sam said to his team. The Hawks nod and work together to get Rick's body back into the Lab.

Meanwhile, Olivia ran through the woods, worrying about her father. When she assumed she was far enough from the Lab, she broke down and cried. She shoved her hands into her jacket pocket. That's when she felt something thin inside of her pocket. She pulled it out and unfolded it to find it was a picture of her and her father. There was a caption written on the picture in Rick's sloppy handwriting that read:

"Travel far, my daughter! Live the life you deserve!
Rick"

"Wow..." I said when she finished her story. "So what you're saying is you don't want to go back to the Lab?" "Y-Yes..." Olivia quietly replied. I sat in her silence as I contemplated on what to do. Soon, I put my hand underneath Olivia's chin as I look into her deep blue eyes. "Just remember, I am with you." I say. "Your father risked his life to save you, and I will do exactly the same thing. Anything for you...Olivia..."

I lean forward to kiss her. She ignores the kiss attempt and jumps into my arms, hugging me tightly. "Thank you, Lucas..." Olivia said through tears. I grin as I hug her neck and cradle her in my arms.

She pulled back and put her forehead on mine. "You are so sweet to me, Lucas..." Olivia said. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and hopped off my lap. "Well, let's get going, shall we?" she said as she grabbed our bags from the tent. I chuckle and take my bag from her.

We spread our wings and take off. I think about Olivia's story as we are just a flight away from saving Star...