Fading into time

chapter 6

"You see, Kygo, technology is more advanced than you may think. The weapons are all modified to recognise when they are in their rightful owner's hands."

My arms had begun to shake again, full-force, as my eyes remained locked on the three unmoving bodies lying just a distance away. My eyes began to swim with unbridled tears.

"Now, drop the gun and I'm not going to hurt you. You are outnumbered here, so there's no use fighting. Put that body to a greater use, like helping humankind instead of engaging in thoughtless murder."

His words struck a chord within me and anger consumed me in its red-hot flames. Spinning around, I aimed and pulled the trigger, gun now back within my control. Liam ducked just in time as the bullet lodged itself firmly in the wall behind him.

Without any prompting, I threw the gun down, dashing out of the room.

Flying would be my best route of escape for now, but first, I had to get out of this damned uniform that reminded me so much of the guards my gun had felled.

They probably had families at home, parents, children, pets. It wasn't their fault that they were working for an organisation led by a corrupted leader.

I dropped the gun, letting it clatter against the carpeted hallway as I reached around me and gave several sharp yanks to the material as I stretched my wings, pushing against the stiff cloth, not caring if my own clothing ripped beneath the uniform.

Louder shots rang out behind me and I barely skidded around the corner before a shot grazed the back of my leg. I hissed, pushing myself to run even faster despite the blurry vision of tears clouding my eyes. I pushed my hand into the pocket of the uniform, gripping firmly onto the piece of paper. I needed to get out of here.

Panting, I tugged the waistband of the uniform pants down to reach into the pocket of my jeans, digging out the packet that Sophie had given me. I threw the glass vials as far behind as my arm could reach, not waiting for the horrid smell to reach me.

Although the smell wouldn't put them off for long, I was grateful for the momentary distraction to rip the last shred of uniform off. Finally, my wings could breathe.

As I leapt up the stairs into another unfamiliar corridor, I ran into the first room I saw, rushing headfirst into the window at the very end. Locked, but the first time he had dived out of an open window with his wings wide open right here, the glass had broken too. It would be nothing new this time.

A sense of déjà vu enveloped me as the sound of tinkling glass reached my ears, accompanied by the familiar stings and cuts on my head, wings and legs. Quickly, I unfurled my wings from where they had been wrapped like a black cocoon around me, shooting up into the sky that was just beginning to be tinged by a faint beam of orange.

Dawn.

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I wondered what had happened while I was asleep last night. My legs itched to just carry me home and up to my room, where I could already espy a victorious Kygo occupying a spot on the floor.

"Did you hear about the break-in at TechDalon?" The girl beside me leaned in front to poke her friend's shoulder.

"No, what happened?"

The girl rolled her eyes and let out a huff of annoyance. "It was on the news this morning. An intruder broke in and killed three of the guards. There was a lot of damage. Up till now, they are still wondering why there are so many smashed windows."