Wings

Chapter 7

*

Anastasia and Ford both leaned over a page of results that had been sent to them by Eva. Their first hybrid, Sara Worthington, had been accepted into the Alpha Team and was to undergo the best training in the world. There was a level of pride in each of them which neither cared to acknowledge. To Anastasia, Sara was simply a host for the DNA she’d spent so long manipulating. To Ford, Sara was the young girl he’d watched suffering who’d clung onto life with everything she had. Both, however, were thrilled by her success.
   “This is brilliant,” Ford exclaimed, “This will ensure that the prison remains open.”
   Anastasia agreed gleefully, “Indeed. It’ll also secure our funding for the next five years. We can start mass producing hybrids, experimenting with exact traits and rarer species.”
   “Of course,” Ford’s eyes widened, “We can do so much more now. We can be like some of the other facilities who can already create multiple hybrids at once.”
   Anastasia nodded, rushing back to her laboratory with a grin on her face. Nothing could ruin her mood. It was almost midnight, the sky was obsidian and flecked with silver lights, and she had managed to secure her job for a few more years. She’d spent a few months sleeping rough once her position in the morgue was taken by a machine from one of the Justice factories. Smirking, she realised that she was finally getting the revenge she wanted against the machines.
   Ford was having mixed opinions. Surely he was like those working in the Justice factories by producing hybrids for the Leader. He was altering fellow human beings, improving them just like the machines were being reprogrammed. It was like making a new prototype – his job was almost of robotic as the machines. Still, it was a job, and so he did it to the best of his ability for the purpose of making enough money to support what little family he had left.

*

Erika had stripped down to her t-shirt and trousers. Her shoes had been discarded into a pile of other footwear made by Devin, Callum and Jay. Most of the others were reluctant to get into the lake, but Erika was struggling to keep her feet on dry land, despite the frosty feeling of the water. Sara was hesitating on the very edge of the lake, leaning over the water with a look of mistrust.
   “Alphas,” the Leader snapped, “Your next instruction is to get into the lake and swim to the red buoy and back again. You will repeat this ten times.” 
   Most of the hybrids appeared reluctant to comply, but Erika dived straight into the water. The cold liquid seeped through her lips and back out of her gills as she sank deeper into the shadowy depths of the lake. Her hands grazed the sandy floor and with a start she realised that she was at the bottom of the lake, metres beneath the flailing limbs of the other hybrids. She began her ascent, arms gliding gracefully through the water until she broke the surface.
   “Sorry,” she spluttered to the waiting guards, “It’s a force of habit.”
   Sara began to make her way over to where she’d resurfaced. She seemed extremely uncomfortable in the water as she tried to keep her wings dry, and Erika was forced to conceal a cough as she watched her. Her skin was crawling with goose bumps, and she shivered helplessly as the cold drained her energy from her. The boys were equally awkward with their legs tangled up in their tails; the fur on their ears was damp and sticking up at odd angles. Jay was clinging to the side of the lake with his long claws embedded into the soft mud, and Ruby was nowhere to be seen.
   “Hey,” her voice was clear and loud, “I can blend into water too!”
   Ruby reappeared, her skin fading back into the normal peachy colour it had as the rest of her body took shape before them. Erika rolled her eyes and took off, swimming expertly over to the buoy and back again, only to see that none of the others had moved. Upon seeing it was achievable, Devin followed her for the second lap, with Callum and Sara close behind.
   Slowly but surely – one by one – each of the hybrids began to swim the distance. Erika kept dipping below the water excitedly. Something about the water made her feel so alive, so pure and oxygenated, as if she was anything but ordinary. Obviously, she completed the task first and waited for the others to join her near the lakeside.
   When they’d all emerged from the water, breathing heavily, and collapsed onto the ground, the Leader smirked. He wanted them to work hard and push their limits, and then push past those limits to make new ones. He needed them to be the best.
   “Hybrids,” he said, arms extended, “Get back in the lake and do it again.”
   Sara dived back into the lake first and began to swim. Her arms ached and her thighs were sore but she didn’t stop. She even managed to finish her laps a few seconds before Erika did, and then she refused to climb back out of the lake. The Leader smiled triumphantly, pleased with Sara’s actions. His smile grew larger as the remaining hybrids realised that they were just going to be told to ‘do it again’ unless they chose to themselves. This was training at the hardest level, in icy cold water and the risk of doing laps all day.
   Devin had lost count of how many laps he and Callum had completed. He was exhausted, freezing cold, and running out of willpower at a rapid rate. Panting, he swam back to the lakeside and pushed off, heading for the buoy, only to see that his mirror image was no longer with him. He whirled around to see that Callum had given up and was being lifted from the lake by the guards.
   “Go on Devin,” he shouted over the water, “One more lap!”
   Devin was spurred on by his brother and kept pushing, determined to reach to buoy and begin his slow and steady backstroke towards where Callum was waiting. He heaved himself from the lake and made his way over to him, scared by how tired he was. He knelt down beside him and rubbed one of his ears affectionately.
   “What’s wrong?” Devin said, “Why couldn’t you continue?”
   Callum shrugged, “My muscles and throat were burning; I’m far too tired to go on.”
   The Leader made his way over to the pair, offering towels and bottles of water to both of them. The boys accepted, drying their faces and hair first before taking deep gulps of the beautifully clear, bottled liquid. Devin felt refreshed. He’d swallowed a mouthful or two of the muddy lake water and felt contaminated somewhat, as he’d always appreciated a long shower and a fresh toothbrush. Callum was the same, and poured some of the water onto his hands and rinsed his face with it.
   “Forty one laps,” Ruby said, joining the boys, “I’m beat.”
   Jay emerged shortly after her and cleaned his claws on the towel he’d been given without a word. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling over and over again as he struggled to refill his lungs.
   Erika and Sara were still swimming. Erika had the advantage, but Sara wasn’t letting that get to her. She was swimming at her own pace, trying to feel like she actually belonged in the water, and forced herself to carry on. Erika was actually enjoying the challenge. She had been mutated to feel at ease in situations such as this, and was certainly living up to her expectations. She was fooling around more than she was straining herself but the Leader didn’t mind. He’d expected her to be overconfident.
   “C’mon, Sara,” she teased, “Catch me if you can.”
   Sara ignored her. She was on her fiftieth lap and was about to climb out of the lake. She’d done a lot more than she’d expected, and due to her wings, she had a lot more resistance than any of the others. She placed one knee onto the muddy bank and pushed out of the water. Within seconds, she’d extended her wings and shook the droplets away from them furiously, determined to take flight again. She left the ground behind for a few seconds, letting all of the exhaustion slip away from her. A guard grabbed her ankle, ready to hit her with a big wooden baton.
   “Wait,” she said quickly, “I’m only drying my wings. If I was going to fly away, wouldn’t I have already?”
   The guard thought about this for a moment, but did not let go of her ankle. She stopped flapping her feathers and landed gently next to the guard, throwing him an I-told-you-so glare before sitting down with the others. She used the edge of Jay’s towel to dry her face and took a long drink from a bottle of water left for her.
   “Well done, hybrids,” the Leader said to them, “I assume your friend will be out soon. Even she will tire, despite her adaptations.”
   The guards wasted no time in handing out a second set of camouflaged clothes to them. Then, Erika was summoned from the lake and the little group was taken back to their cabin where they changed into the clean, dry clothes. Yet again, they were locked in, left only with their towels and bottles of water, desperate for some food.

*

The Leader was still delighted when he reached his office. He took an apple from the fruit bowl that had appeared on his desk and bit into it, letting the sweet juice flow into his mouth. It was crunchy and slightly sour, just the way he liked it. He reached for a notepad in the drawer and began to write about what he’d witnessed with the new Alpha Team, making a note of which were the most determined. They would be pushed the hardest.
   After all, he needed to ensure that they all reached their full potential.
   “Guards,” he snapped into a radio, “Ensure all of the members of the Alpha Team are fed. It’s time they all met in the food hall.”
   The guard replied at once, his voice tinged by static: “Yes, sir.”