The Seraphim Project

Capter Twelve

We lay there on the forest floor for several minutes, catching our breath. Finally, I managed to pull myself to my feet and look around us.

I wasn’t sure how far the rest of the misfits had made it, or where we would meet each other. Following my gut, I closed my eyes and focused, imagining them finding their way to me. A few minutes later, they appeared, dirty and smoke-stained, but uninjured.

I relaxed, grinning. My misfits were together again, and everyone was okay.

“What do we do now?” Beast asked. Russ nodded his wolf-head in agreement. He’d been in such a hurry to get out of the Labs that he’d shredded his clothes, and he hadn’t brought any more with him.

I sighed. “We have to get back to school.” The misfits groaned. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know. But it’s probably the safest place for us right now, so that’s where we’re going. Everyone good to go?”

They all nodded except for Hawk. He’d curled up on the ground, still coughing and struggling to breathe. I knelt down next to him. “You okay?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t think I can fly right now,” he muttered. His wings fluttered weakly, and he winced.

A chill ran down my spine, and I suddenly knew that something was really wrong. “What is it?”

He trembled and whispered something to quiet for me to hear. “What was that?” I asked, moving closer.

“Punishment.”

I sat back on my heels and stared at him. Tears cut tracks through the smoke stains on his face. I remembered the punishment room. I’d never been there, but Falcon had, and he’d told us all how horrible it was. Lashings were their favorite punishment, always given on the back.

I stood and stepped around him, kneeling down behind him. His back was a mess of deep cuts, all the way from his shoulders to his waist, criss-crossing and on top of each other. Some had even landed on the base parts of his wings, leaving sections mostly featherless and cut practically to the bone. In fact, I thought I could see bits of white.

“Oh, God.” Tears welled in my eyes at the sight. How he had endured so many lashings was beyond me. How he’d managed to make it all the way out of the Labs without screaming was incredible. I remembered the pained look on his face, and it all clicked.

I wiped the tears away. I didn’t have time to cry. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I said, “We’ll have to walk then. If we can find the next town, surely we’ll be able to call for a ride back.”

I motioned Falcon over, and he stepped up beside me. I gave him a warning look when he saw Hawk’s back, his eyes widening. He nodded and helped me pull Hawk to his feet. He winced, wrapping his arms around our shoulders.

We headed off through the woods, the three of us in the lead, Sunny on my right, Beast on Falcon’s left, and Russ padding along behind us. We had to pause and rest several times, but finally, we made it to a small town.

Generally, only Russ and Sunny are allowed in public. We had revealed ourselves, but I still didn’t think we were widespread knowledge, and I didn’t want to scare anyone. Russ wasn’t going into public until we found him some clothes and he could change back, so I turned to Sunny.

I didn’t have to say anything. He nodded and went into the town, disappearing into the first little shop he came to. About ten minutes he came back.

“They’re on their way. And the people in that store think I’m a delinquent and wanted to call the police.” He grinned at me, his fangs poking out and standing out in his blackened face.