Code Black [The Experiments Book 1]

Chapter 2: Flying

Chapter 2: Flying

            I despise packing clothes into a small luggage bag.  I pack more than anyone else.  I packed wing straps to keep my wings from stretching and having people notice.  I also need to pack extra clothes if any of them ripped.  I hate my bulky wings when they get in the way, but I love flying with a burning passion. 

The camp takes up two months of the summer, so I’m packing all my clothes. I left two sets out for the next two days, leaving them on my desk next to my book. I also need the essentials, and everything else I want to bring.  It filled a suitcase and a backpack.  I took all Thursday to pack, from the time I woke up to an hour before I went to bed.  When my parents agreed, I put my suitcase in the mud room, but left my bag just in case I remembered anything.  By the end of the day I almost passed out. Hazel kept me up all night talking on the phone, so I didn’t sleep.  When I told her I needed sleep, I hung up the phone and instantly received a text from her.  I grunted in annoyance and texted her back.  I finally fell asleep after two more hours, and woke up with a bad taste and droopy eyes.

“Hey Doc!” I said to my mother when I walked into the kitchen the next morning.  She is a scientist, specializing in mutation genetics.  She is my real mother; she just studies my unusual body functions without making me feel like a lab rat.  Sometimes, it makes me feel like I’m a bug under a microscope, but only if she is doing internal work.  Sometimes it’s annoying, but I know my mom means well and won’t hurt me intentionally. “What’s for breakfast?”

            “Eggs, French toast and bacon,” she said in a comforting voice, “you went to bed late, did Hazel keep you up last night?”  She set a plate down in front of me and poured orange juice into a glass.  I inhaled the smell of my mother’s cooking; it was sweet and cinnamon-like.  The smells filled my nose, and I suddenly felt more awake.  My day was brighter already.  If I didn’t wake up to her breakfast, I would be the crankiest teenager on earth.

            “Yeah, all night actually…I got about two hours of sleep,” I said picking up a peace of bacon and ripping off half of it, chewing the crunchy meat into tiny bits.  I loved the smell of grease.  I inhaled the fumes as I chewed, letting the grease run down my throat.  Its taste was enlightening, and it warmed my insides.

            “Don’t pick up the phone at nine o’clock at night then,” she said as she sat down in front of me with a coffee.  She looked at me with tired but happy eyes.  They were brown and shiny, like mine.  She smiled at me, silently enjoying my messy eating.

            “I won’t anymore, trust me,” I said as I took a bite out of my French toast.  My eyes drooped a little with tiredness, but I choked my breakfast down fast.  I could hardly breathe, stuffing my mouth every time I swallowed.

            “I think you should stretch your wings today.  You’re going to be cramped in a bus for four days.  We also need to do a few test runs with Rebel.  I think you could learn quite a few more flying skills from him,” She announced after taking a sip of her coffee.  Rebel is a giant golden eagle, my giant golden eagle.  I found him when I was little.  I flew above some cliffs, minding my own business when I spotted him on a cliff, still a chick who barely knew how to fly.  He looked so vulnerable, and I felt so bad that I couldn’t leave him there.  He had a broken wing, and it healed quickly.  Now he is one of the fastest birds in the world. 

We fly together almost every day. We even visit his old home sometimes, but briefly.  I think he misses it, but I know he doesn’t want to go back.  I set him free once, but he came back in an hour.  He just looked at me intensely when I found him.  Now we enjoy each other’s company vastly, almost like we’re best friends.