The Unknowables

Chapter 8

Lance’s POV:

As soon as Kitty drags the new girl out of the room, Shay turns on me. I fold my arms at her supposedly withering glare and match it with one of my own.

‘This should be good.’ I think.

“What the heck was that all about Lance?”

Shay’s practically hissing with anger. I shrug in response.

“Don’t give me the usual ‘I don’t give a fart in space’ attitude. What did she ever do to you for you to dislike her so much? You guys just met for crying out loud.”

I sigh and try to keep my hands relaxed and expression neutral.

“It’s not that I dislike her, rude as she is. I dislike the fact that she is bringing more danger to the group. I mean, come on Shay, what were you thinking bringing her here? We have a hard enough time just hiding our presence here with just the three of us. And worse, she has a family who’ll ask awkward questions and notice odd behaviours. She’s a liability and shouldn’t be here, she doesn‘t belong here.”

For a moment Shay’s eyes turn snake like, my feathers prickle in response, but I quickly rein in my instincts. There was one time both Shay and I had gotten so angry we lost control of our instincts, my inner eagle and her inner snake took control. The fight had been short and but brutal. Fortunately Kitty had broken us up before either of us had gotten more severely hurt. It had taken us several days each to recover and it was a fight neither of us wanted to repeat.

“I know where your coming from Lance but really, Wren is just as lost as I was before I found Kitty. As you were before you found us. You know she has wings? Unlike you hers grew under her skin, she didn’t know what was happening, she even thought she was dying. That’s how she was able to stay hidden on her own for so long. And now that she knows what she is and we need to stick together.”

“And that includes sticking our necks out for her? The bigger our group is the harder it will be to hide. The people who made us like this may not be looking for us, Shay, but they’re sure as heck looking for Kitty. She managed to escape their labs, and they won’t give up searching till they find her. And when they do they will find us, and then we all will be made into their personal lab rats. That girl is to much out in the open, she’ll bring them right down on top of us.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. And your going to be nice to her and make her feel like a part of this group even if it kills you.”

“And you can’t tell me what to do, Shay. You may be older then me by a year, but just because your eighteen doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a child. Mentally I’m older then any adult you’ve ever met.”

I try to keep my voice calm, but I feel more like yelling. My inner eagle feels like it’s pushing against my human skin, searching for an escape. Shay’s practically spitting with anger now. Her face is flushed, and her eyes which are usually brown, are now nearly black with slitted pupils.

“Wren isn’t that kind of person. We can trust her, she’s one of us.”

“You can’t promise that. It would be better if we told that girl she’s on her own, cut our losses and move to one of our other hide outs. That girl…”

Shay interrupts me.

“Her name is Wren, and we will not leave her and that is that, Lance. You may have lived in the street longer then me but you can’t make me, or Kitty leave Wren behind. If you think that we’ve become too dangerous for you then you can leave.”

We freeze and for a long while we just stare at each other, the look on her face telling me she’s dead serious. The tension hangs in the air thick as a miasma. I look away first and stare at the floor.