Hey guys, here's a sneak peek into the sequel called Feather! I've posted the first two chapters for it on my profile! Please give it a read if you've enjoyed Scales.

"Stop! Stop it! Leave her alone!"

Catalin could vaguely hear Syrenthia's shouting through a blur of pain. The yellow and blue scaly monsters stood over her. Their bright eyes appeared even larger behind their glasses. As the burning grew worse in Catalin's head, she began shaking uncontrollably. Her muscles were rigid and stiff. Closing her eyes tightly, Catalin tried to think of something, anything, to keep her mind from the agony. The taste of blood filled her mouth from where she had been biting her lip in pain. The restraints cut deeply into Catalin's wrists. Her vision began to blur. Finally, when darkness was blocking her entire sight, the reptilian doctors pressed a blue switch. The pain gradually receded and faded away.

"Well? Dr. Bender, did it work?"

Vortex's voice came from the corner of the room. He was standing next to Blade, and the two had Syrenthia chained to the wall nearby.

"We'll have to test her and see," the doctor replied.

Unfastening the restraints, the reptilians pulled Catalin up and propelled her across the room towards Vortex. She was still weak from the torture, but managed to keep her footing. Catalin swayed slightly as she looked up into Vortex and Blade's unnaturally bright eyes.

"All right, spit in your friend's face," Blade demanded.

Before she knew what she was doing, Catalin found herself standing in front of Syrenthia.

"Spit on her!" Vortex yelled. "Now!"

Closing her eyes, Catalin stood still. The fuzziness in her mind seemed to be clearing slightly. Vortex repeated his order. Shaking her head, Catalin refocused her thoughts. Most of the reptilians, including Blade and Vortex, had transformed into humanoid form to create more room in the medical basement. Quickly, Catalin lowered her head again as though she was in a trancelike state.

"What's wrong with her? Why isn't she responding?" Vortex asked Dr. Bender.

"Give it a few minutes, sir. We must observe the subject to see how long her resistance lasts."

Vortex frowned, but backed away from the small girl. He waved the doctors out of the room while Catalin meandered around the room. Every few moments, she would near Syrenthia to keep the reptilians away. Each time she walked away, Catalin tried to get nearer to the staircase. As she moved closer the last time, she shot a quick glance up. Vortex and Blade were on the opposite end of the room. Darting up the steps, Catalin yanked open the door. Just before she was able to slam it shut and lock the handle, a sinewy hand seized her shoulder.

"Going somewhere?"

Catalin whirled around and kicked out at her enemy's head. Ryker had taken a different human form of a tall man with straight black hair, and he spoke with a British accent. Only his piercing blue eyes were the same. He leaned backwards swiftly to avoid the strike. Before he could recover himself, Catalin slammed her elbow into his stomach and turned to race towards the front door. All of a sudden, two arms wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her side. Catalin struggled but could not get out of the steely grip.

"Please don't leave so soon. Was our hospitality not to your liking?" Ryker leaned down smugly and spoke in Catalin's ear.

"If you have to force your guests to stay, that should be your answer," Catalin grunted.

As Ryker bent down even further, Catalin slammed her head backwards into his face. With a yelp of pain, he released the girl. Right as Catalin was preparing to race away, a different hand jerked her in the opposite direction. Vortex wrapped his large fingers around the girl's throat and began squeezing. As the air started to leave her lungs, Catalin jerked frantically at his chokehold. Vortex lifted her body up off the floor by her neck. Black spots began floating through her vision, and her chest felt like it was going to explode.

"Sir, if you hold on much longer, you will eliminate the human."

Ryker's voice sounded as though it was coming from very far away. Catalin felt herself fall to the ground. She was choking and coughing as Vortex seized the back of her shirt and forced her down the stairs.

"I am not even sure if she is worth the effort. It might be better to eliminate her now," Vortex commented, callously throwing the small girl down the last few steps.

Catalin crumpled on the floor, still gasping for breath. Blade was in the corner of the room guarding Syrenthia. At a signal from Vortex, Blade unchained Syrenthia and strapped her onto the metal table. Catalin tried to force herself up to help her friend, but her arms and legs were too weak, and she collapsed again.

"Darling, if you want to take a nap, I don't think that is the most comfortable place," Ryker commented.

Picking the girl up, Ryker carried her to the wall where Syrenthia had been. Catalin leaned against the wall while the reptilian fastened chains around her wrists and ankles. Syrenthia's screams echoed throughout the room. Her body writhed on the table.

"You may dress yourself up like a man in your fancy suit, but you're still a monster," Catalin spat out at Ryker.

"Do forgive me, love. I doubt this will change your opinion of me," Ryker returned as he ripped off a piece of duct tape and placed it over Catalin's mouth.

Eventually, Dr. Bender released Syrenthia. Vortex stood next to the table while the doctors pulled the girl to her feet.

"Go hit your friend," Vortex instructed.

Dragging her feet across the cement, Syrenthia approached her gagged friend. She hesitated for a moment.

"Hit her," Blade repeated. "Do it now."

At the sound of his voice, Syrenthia flinched, but then clenched her hand into a fist and punched her friend in the stomach. Catalin doubled over as far as the chains would allow. A muffled cry of pain burst out of her chest.

"The experiment is successful." Dr. Bender turned to Vortex. "Sir, we are ready to move to phase two."

"First, we will get the one who is in the hole in the wall. The sight of this girl may break him easier," Vortex ordered. "Blade, you stay here and continue to strengthen the bind on her mind."

"What about the other human?" Ryker asked, gesturing to Catalin.

"We will use her as the testing device for the other humans. If we can get the subjects to injure her, the bond on their mind will be stronger."

"She may become useless for further experiments though, sir."

"It matters not." Vortex waved away Ryker's objection. "Come, let us retrieve the one in the hole."

Bowing his head, Ryker followed his leader across the room. Just before he went up the stairs, he glanced back. For a moment, Catalin thought she saw a brief flicker of some emotion in his icy blue eyes, but then it vanished. Ryker turned and walked up the steps. Only Blade and Syrenthia remained in the room. The reptilian crossed over to Catalin and ripped the piece of tape off her mouth. Unexpectedly, there was a loud shattering noise, and Blade fell over on the floor. Syrenthia stood over his body, holding the broken bottom of a tall glass beaker. Jerking the key off the reptilian's belt, Syrenthia ran to her friend and unlocked the chains.

"Sorry about hitting you," she apologized. "Had to make them think it was safe to leave me with fewer guards."

"Boy, you sure do have an arm." Catalin held a hand over her ribs as she ran to the other side of the room. "I'll be aching for a week."

"Well, that'll make you think of me."

While Syrenthia lifted the grate from trapdoor in the floor, Catalin seized a few guns and other weapons from a shelf and strapped them on. Grabbing a satchel from a hook on the wall, Syrenthia stuffed a leather bound book and several old parchment rolls inside. Quickly, she handed the bag down to Catalin and climbed down the ladder to the underground tunnel. Both girls leapt into the cart. Catalin mashed down the foot pedal, and the cart rushed forward.

"So what do we do now?" Syrenthia asked. "Where can we run to?"

"I'm done running." Catalin threw the satchel over her shoulder. "It's time for us to start fighting back now."