Kaitlyn- 10 years ago

It's been about two years since I lost Beatrice and Rosalie and I still haven't gotten over their loss. Sometimes I'll wake up and expect them to be right there and it hits me all over again that they're gone and I'll never see them again.

Some days, all I want to do is give up on trying to be good and try anything I can to get out, but I won't break my promise to Rosalie. I'll be brave no matter how much it hurts.

Without Beatrice and Rosalie, it gets really lonely. They haven't put me in another room or put anyone in with me yet. I hope they never do. It's not worth it to get close to people.

Even during meals, I haven't moved from the same table. Other people have tried to talk to me but I just ignore them. What's the point of making friends when they'll just die and leave me behind.

     That's all anyone here does. They die. In my three years here, I've seen so many people suddenly stop showing up to meals that I've stopped counting. To make it easier I tell myself that they got to go home. That one day, when I've outlived my use, I'll get to leave this place alive.

     I know Rosalie said that if I got their trust I could possibly escape one day, but it's not working. I do everything they say and I'm their perfect little "dragon pet" as I've heard the guards call me, and still nothing happens. The most I've managed is that a helper escorts me places instead of a heavily armed guard and sometimes I'm allowed to go outside by myself.

I'm lying in bed after dinner one night when the door is opened and I can see two guards leading a group of helpers carrying 3 unconscious girls around my age into the room.

"Oh little dragon girl we've got some friends for you." One of the guards says as the helpers dump them on the floor before leaving again.

     The one closest to me has long flowing red hair. The next is shorter and has long blonde hair. The last girl looks slightly younger than me and the other two and has black hair that goes a little past her shoulders.

They all look so pitiful. They're pale and look pained even in their sleep. No wonder Rosalie and Beatrice looked so concerned when I woke up that first time if this is what I looked like.

I start to walk towards them but stop myself. No, I remind myself, you can't get attached. They'll just die and leave you.

     I turn my back to the unconscious girls and decide  to go to bed early tonight. I can decide what to do about my new roommates in the morning.

     I'm awoken the next morning to the sound of sobbing. I look over and the girls are awake and they look terrified and I realize I can't ignore them anymore.

     "Hi, I'm Kaitlyn, what are your names?" I ask as I approach them.

     They just look at me with fear in their eyes and back away. They must be scared of my wings like I was scared of Rosalie's horns when I first saw her.

     "I'm Kassandra. Where are we?" The redhead asks as she steps forward.

     "You're in The Lab. They brought you here so they can experiment on you." I tell her.

     "Are we gonna grow wings like yours?" She asks as her piercing green eyes seem to stare into my soul.

     "No. I'm the only one here with wings. You'll have some other enhancement, but before I explain the rest why don't we introduce ourselves. I'm seven and you already know my name's Kaitlyn" I tell them.

     "I'm seven too." Kassandra tells me.

      "Same here. I'm Aurora by the way." The blonde says.

     "I'm Delilah. I'm six." The last girl says. Her baby blue eyes look into mine and I can't help but immediately like her.

     With introductions out of the way, I spread my two blankets out on the ground and we all sit as I explain everything to them, just like Rosalie and Beatrice did for me.

     "So how will we know what our enhancements are?" Aurora asks me.

     "I'm not really sure to be honest." I admit. "The only people I've talked to besides the people who work here are Beatrice and Rosalie and they already had theirs when I got here. I guess you'll find out when they start to do tests on you."

     I want to tell them more about what's it's been like living here for three years so that maybe they won't be as scared when they leave the room for the first time, but I'm interrupted by the door opening.

     "Hello girls! I'm Sasha. I'm here to drop your breakfast off and take Kaitlyn to the cafeteria." I look behind me to see a friendly looking helper I've never seen before. She's tall and has her dark brown hair pinned up in a messy bun.

    I get up and follow her out the door as the others grab their trays to start eating. It's weird that she introduced herself. I've never heard a helper tell anyone their name before. In fact, normally they don't talk at all unless they need to.

     "Why did you introduce yourself?" I ask as we walk down the hall.

     "I think that we should all be a bit friendlier here to each other. Most of the people here are kids like you Kaitlyn, and I don't see any reason we need to be mean to them on top of everything else they're put through." She explains with a weird look on her face.

     If she thinks like that I wonder why she even works here. Everyone else couldn't care less about who we are and what they've put us through. I think it's because if they started realizing we're humans too, they couldn't treat us like animals.

     I get my food and go to my normal spot. As I'm eating I wonder if the other three will join me when they're allowed out. Their arrival has made me start to realize life here might be better if I had friends, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to move from this table.

     Sitting here makes me feel like Beatrice and Rosalie are still here with me. If I close my eyes I can imagine I can still hear them asking me about my day and how my testing is going. Or Beatrice making some inappropriate joke that Rosalie pretends not to find funny because I'm around. If I move it's like I'm getting rid of that last piece of them I still have left.

Later on, after dinner, I head back to the room and see that sometime during the day they brought in three more beds for the others. At the sound of the door opening, they turn towards me.

"Why were you gone so long? Did you spend that whole time getting tested?" Kassandra asks.

"I wasn't being tested that whole time. I took meal breaks and after lunch I wouldn't really consider that testing since I was just alone in the yard." I tell her.

"They have a yard? When will we get to go outside?" Delilah asks.

"Never. I'm the only one they let out since I need room to fly." I say, hating to crush the girl's hope but also not wanting to give her false hope that she'll ever see anything outside this place.

     She looks back at me sadly so I suggest we go ahead and get into our beds so I don't have to hear anymore questions.

     "You call those beds?" Aurora says incredulously. "They're just to blankets and a pillow on the floor!"

     "Well it's all we have so you'll just have to make do. Good night." I tell her already getting under my blanket and closing my eyes.

     The next week passes peacefully and I start to realize the girls are slowly becoming my friends whether I like it or not. There's been no sign of what their enhancements might be until one night Delilah suddenly bursts into flames in her sleep.

     Kassandra and Aurora scream and run to the corner as the blankets and pillows start to catch fire. Delilah is thrashing and screaming but it appears she's still asleep. She must be having a bad nightmare.

      I run into the flames knowing I need to wake her up. I try to wrap my wings tightly around myself knowing they're nearly indestructible. When I reach her I crouch down and start shaking her.

     "Delilah! Wake up! DELILAH!" I scream her name, and she finally jolts awake with a scream.

     The flames on her go out, revealing that she's unharmed, but the ones around us continue to burn on. I know I need to get off the blankets but everything hurts. My wings might be indestructible, but the rest of me isn't. While I was shaking her I got burned badly.

      I can start to feel myself loose consciousness as the door bursts open, revealing Veronica and Thomas being trailed by a bunch of helpers carrying buckets.

     As they dump the water over the fire I feel myself being lifted in off the ground and I cry out in pain. I look up and I can see Veronica has picked me up and is quickly walking down the hall.

     "Where are we going?" I weakly ask.

     My question is met with silence and she just keeps walking. I must loose consciousness for a minute because the next thing I know I'm being dumped in a bed.

     I open my eyes at the feeling of my wounds being jostled. People immediately surround me but all I have eyes for is the boy I can see in the bed beside me.

     He looks like he's been in a fight and is covered is bruises and blood. He also has beautiful red and orange feathered wings. He's almost unrecognizable but I would know those blue eyes and black hair anywhere.

     Before I loose consciousness I find the strength to mutter a single word.

     "Jace."