Ebony's POV:

The sun was low in the sky, warning that it was about to set and that night would be soon. Union's body was almost clean. I was still digging the hole, and I knew I needed to get done soon. This is going to have to be a big hole. I looked up, trying to see if Feather was still by Union's body. "Feather, how much time until you're done? I may need help digging this hole."

"Uh, about a few trips back and forth," Feather responded. He was rubbing the wet moss on Union's scales, cleaning off the blood. Then he turned away, heading back in the direction of the creek.

I continued to scoop dirt out, wrinkling my snout at the feeling of the dirt between my claws. I glanced back at Union's body, feeling guilty. Why do I feel like things would've been different if I had been here? 

Soon Feather returned again. He rubbed the moss on Union's scales again and was about to turn around, but I quickly stood up. "Hey Feather," I called. "Can I ask you something?"

Feather glanced at me. "Sure," he said. He walked over to me, his tail-tip flicking. "What's up?" He asked.

I blinked slowly, hesitating to ask my question. "You don't... blame me for Union's death do you?" I questioned. "I'm sorry- I just had to get that off my chest."

Feather's jaws parted slightly. "Of course I don't!" He gasped. "I blame Killer."

"Ok.. good," I muttered. "And you don't blame yourself, right?" I asked.

Feather hesitated. "Well... I kind of do. But Union talked with me as he lay, dying. It cleared up my thoughts." 

I smiled softly. Before I could respond, a loud sound cut through the sky. It was like a rumbling, and it was getting closer. I looked up and could see something black. 

"Ebony, what is that thing?" Feather asked, fear edging his voice. 

"I think it's a helicopter," I commented, moving closer to Feather. "Stay close to me."

The helicopter came closer and closer, creating a strong wind that ruffled the trees' leaves. It then began to lower itself. It created a wind that made the grass ripple, like each individual piece was trying to run away. 

I backed away from it, making sure Feather was close by me.

"The humans aren't going to shoot us, are they?" Feather asked me, though I could barely hear him over the loud sound of the helicopter's blades turning.

"I don't know," I replied. "Let's hope they don't."

The helicopter landed on the grass, and its blades began to get slower. The sound died down. A human stepped out, his gaze falling on me, along with Feather.  Three more stepped out. They were wearing some sort of black outfit, and they were holding tranquillizer guns. Another one stepped out. He was wearing a lab coat, and I recognized him clearly. We locked eyes.

Wu stepped forward. He looked down at Union's body, his face going pale. "Another one, failed," he muttered, bringing his hand up to his forehead. He turned to me and Feather. "You two are also my creations. I'm guessing the other two are dead?"

Hesitating, I nodded slowly. What does he want? Is he going to take me away again?

"Oh, you can understand me? Great. I need both of you to come back," Wu said. He stared at me intently. "There's someone waiting for you. Someone I think you'll be eager to see."

Instantly I stepped forward. Is he talking about the girl? But how does he know about her? How can I trust him? How do I know he's telling the truth? I looked down at Feather, blinking. "Come on. We're going with them."

"What? Why?" Feather asked.

"Wu said someone is waiting for me. And I have an idea of who that is," I replied. I stepped forward, wondering how I would fit in this machine. 

"We have a net for you. Don't worry, you won't fall out," Wu said quickly. "The helicopter will carry you to our destination. We need to hurry, quickly."

I hesitantly stepped into the netting, feeling my claws slip through the tiny holes. Well, this will be uncomfortable, but I know it's going to be worth it. Feather followed me. He pressed up against me, clearly scared. "Don't worry, it's going to be ok."

Wu stepped back into the helicopter, and the rest of the humans followed. Soon, the blades started up again, then we began to lift off the ground. I felt the ground below me vanish instantly as the helicopter flew through the sky.

"We're not going to fall, right?" Feather asked, blinking at me.

"No, we're safe," I responded. We flew over the neighborhood with the crushed houses. Then the helicopter turned left, heading over another forest. Soon we were above a busy road. I could see the lights from the cars as they drove on the wide road. They looked so tiny from up above. 

"Look," Feather said. He stretched out his arm and pointed with his claw. "Do you see that over there?" He asked. 

"See what?" I asked. I squinted and could see something sticking up above the trees. It looked tall. As we approached closer, I got a better look. It looked like two thick lines of something, with smaller lines in between them. It seemed to come from some sort of booth, then lifted off the ground until it suddenly went straight down. It flattened along the ground, and I could see various loops. Then it seemed to head back to the booth. What is that thing?

I watched as a car-like structure came from the booth. It seemed to be on the track. It went up the steep incline of this structure, then stopped at the top. Suddenly it went plummeting down, and a collection of human screams erupted from the vehicle.

"What's going on down there?" Feather asked, glancing at me. 

"I don't know. Maybe some entertainment for humans," I answered.

"Entertainment? They sound scared," Feather said, blinking slowly as if confused. 

There were more structures, however that long track thing seemed to be the only one of its kind in the large stretch of open land. There was another large structure, and I winced as some kind of large ball was suddenly launched into the air at a speed I didn't even know was possible.

"I'm intrigued to know what a human's definition of 'fun' is," Feather joked, his tail flicking back and forth.

Another structure caught my eye. It was quite tall, and seemed to be rotating slowly. Definitely one of the more calmer ones. It had lights on its structure, probably to make it seem pretty since night was now setting in. We passed the strange place and flew over more forest.

The forest seemed to stretch forever, but then I could see a highway. Beyond it was a tall building. The helicopter seemed to slow down and began to descend. It stopped just a little bit above a clear part of the parking lot. Maybe they want us to jump out. 

I nudged Feather and struggled to walk to the edge of the net. Then I jumped out and landed on the hard pavement. Feels great to finally have something under me. I watched as Feather carefully jumped out. We both walked a little ways away from the helicopter, and it landed gently on the rough surface. 

As soon as the blades slowed, and the sound began to die down, Wu jumped out. "I'll be attending you. The hospital staff knows we're visiting," he explained. 

We heading to the entrance of the hospital, but before we went in, Wu suddenly crouched down and glanced at me. "Look, I know I was a jerk to you in the past. I'm sorry. I know a five letter word isn't going to magically fix things, but I do hope you can forgive me. When all this chaos is over, I can promise you that I won't make anymore hybrids. I won't try and kill or capture you. I'll let you live your lives the way they should've been lived."

I was taken aback by his little speech. I wasn't sure how to even react to this. Am I dreaming? This can't be real! No way would Wu say such things. 

"Do you forgive me...?" Wu asked. "I mean, it's alright if you don't. I understand."

I blinked once. Sorry, but a soft-hearted speech isn't going to erase all the things I went through. I shook my head, letting him know that I didn't forgive him.

Wu glanced down, as if he was expecting that answer. "I knew you'd say that," he sighed. He stood up again and rubbed his forehead. "Well, enough about me. Let's go in. Like I said before: someone would like to see you."