Ezra's POV
I tried to concentrate around the pain in my wings. If I could only get out of these chains, this might be my best chance at escape.
I clenched my fists and stretched out with the force. My chains snapped, leaving my free to pick up the datapad on the ground. I turned the knob, but the pain in my wings only increased. I quickly spun the knob in the opposite direction. The pain in my wings vanished.
The building rocked further and bits of the ceiling rained down. I opened the door and stumbled out into the hallway. It looked like I was in some sort of basement. I worked my way up the stairs.
Doctor Carther's POV
I was about to board the emergency shuttle when I remembered the winged boy. I had left him in the lower holding cell.
"Take off," I commanded the pilot. "I have to collect a special specimen." The pilot nodded and I ran back inside the building.
Ezra's POV
I made it back to the room labeled Solutions. It was empty now. Only shattered glass remained. My vision was all fuzzy, but I thought I saw three forms at the other end of the room. Dust rained down from the ceiling as the building shook.
"Watch your step there," Zeb's voice said. I squinted and rubbed my eyes. The three forms at the end of the room came into clearer focus. Zeb was pulling Sabine to her feet. She must have slipped on some of the spilled liquid. And just ahead of them . . . Kanan. He was here. He was going to rescue us.
"Sabine!" I called weakly. "Zeb!"
They didn't hear me. They only kept running forward and out through the doors. I staggered after them, flapping my wings feebly for balance. A chunk fell from the ceiling, just barely missing me.
I made it through the room and out the door. The final doors were directly in front of me. I couldn't see Zeb, Sabine, or Kanan. They couldn't have gotten far. I opened the doors and stepped out onto the landing platform.
The whole building had already sunk fifteen feet into the ground. Up above I could see the Ghost. Zeb and Sabine were already inside. Kanan was in the cargo bay as the doors slowly raised. It was my last chance.
"Kanan!" I shouted. Kanan jumped and glanced down. His eyes widened.
"EZRA!" He shouted.
Kanan's POV
I could see Ezra in the landing platform below us. He flapped his wings slightly, looking upwards.
"Hera, take us lower! We've got to get to Ezra!" I called.
"I can't!" Hera shouted back. "He'll have to jump!"
"Ezra, you've got to jump!" I shouted down. "I promise I'll catch you!"
Ezra crouched down, flapped his wings, and jumped.
Doctor Carther's POV
I followed the trail of feathers from the boy's cell to the landing platform. I arrived just in time to see him spring into the air. My eyes narrowed. He was escaping. My prize specimen was escaping!
I reached into my lab coat. If I could not have what I wanted, no one else could either. I pulled out the blaster that I always carried hidden. Raising the blaster, I took careful aim at the boy's receding form.
"Goodbye," I said as I pulled the trigger.