nobody wanted a part two so i made it
itâs honestly been a while since this now.
iâve gone from 13 to 16, and iâve learned all i needed to about my kidnappers.
they call themselves the watchers. each and every one of them have all-seeing eyes, and i only met few others with the shapeular eyes.
as i aged, my blonde hair grew slightly more brown. it became curlier, and i visibly looked older. despite my chronic baby face.
a really obvious, very new factor, was that i had grown wings over the years. my eye shape had changed, and my feet and hands were replaced with talons. iâm really not sure how they did it, but i remember being taken to the den once more. being put to sleep, and absolutely nothing else. i apparently woke up weeks later, and my entire body was completely different.
it all hurt like hell and i had to re-learn how to walk and balance with these new proportions.
is this seriously what they do to everyone..?
no, itâs canât be everyone, some of them didnât get bird-like traits. if they didnât get that then they were to stay normal. some of them were mostly human just with wings, and others were just human.
for some reason if youâre not all the same creature than you couldnât be taken care of by them. the social classes here were heavily influenced. unfortunately i had no choice.
they think iâm the next fairy princess. which is genuinely wrong! i was in the car accident with my parents, in the back seat.
how could i not remember the day?
it turns out the language they all spoke was known as⊠something, i honestly couldnât give a crap to remember it, but i now could speak it! it was easy to learn. it really was just english with letters and sounds mixed up.
at 14, i met my roommate. he was with me for the rest of his time thereâŠ
his name was fynn. thatâs what he told me. he didnât say wether it was his real name or not, but i began giving him the nickname fish i thought it was funny.
Fynn had dark black hair, and his eyes were brown.
he and i were really good friends. and when he turned 15, he told me about an escape plan.
he decided he wanted to leave the watchers, and go back to his normal life. wonderful, isnât it!
but watchers, hence the name, are always watching. theyâre almost like santa claus but a lot more mean and more like spies than someone watching over you.
i agreed to this plan, being the stupid, young teenager i was..
Fynn explained the plan, with a few other kids around our age.
âAlright, hereâs the plan,â
he paused for dramatic effect. an odd guy he was.
âwe are going to go to our dorms, and once we are certain that all others are out, we all will meet up at the bathrooms. there, we will make our way out of town and away from them.â
simple enough. fake sleep, meet up, leave.
it was about 10:30 pm i think, but i heard no sounds outside my door. Fynn also seemed ready to go.
we got up, and set out for the restrooms. unfortunately for us, said restrooms were across the dormitory building. so we had to tip toe almost a mile.
it probably wasnât a mile. iâm just overly dramatic.
we made it, finally, to the restrooms. Fish and his other friend, pearl, disgusted the rest of the plan with the four other people there.
we were going to break through the walls. if we were to climb over, we would get caught if we climbed over. weâre going to get caught. itâs not even subtle foreshadowing, itâs so obvious, weâre going to get caught.
but we did it anyways, because again, we were stupid teenagers.
Fish led us, all the way to a corner wall hidden by a large oak tree. the walls were made of stone bricks. poorly made stone bricks.
we managed to claw our way through, digging talons and fingers into the random gaps in the wall. me and pearl were probably the only ones with talons. the rest were either human or had only wings.
you never really know how they pull it off. changing your entire body from human to a whole other creature. some say itâs a surgery, others say itâs a potion, and some might even say itâs magic. whatever it is, it isnât okay.
we broke through the wall.
unfortunately through our efforts of make little to no sound, all of the bricks just collapsed and hit the floor. louder than it really should have been.
i wasnât the fastest runner, but honestly i was small enough to hop onto someoneâs back and theyâd be able to carry me.
we realized no one was chasing us. embarassing honestly. but once our eyes adjusted to the low light. we saw a long hallway of glass cages.
as we advanced into the hall, these people turned sharply to look at us. Fynn pulled out a flashlight, a really bad one, it wasnât very bright but it was enough to illuminate these things.
as soon as the light hit one of them, it flinched. staring directly at us. its square eyes were reflective, like a catâs.
these creatures were people shaped. but had two sets of wings and a rabid look on their faces. their hair was unkempt and the wore only a tank white top and black shorts.
we didnât dare speak. we only stared at the creature, who stared right back at us.
pearl was the first the tell us to snap out of it. she was really cool.
an avian, like me. all the same things minus the eyes. she had brown hair. with blonde highlights. her eyes were a pretty blue colour. and she was tall. really tall. maybe not super tall but definitely taller than everyone in the room. she was probably 5â11
we walked down the hallway, trying not to pay attention to the people in cages. we got to the end of the hallway, and it was an open arena.
the floor was covered in sand.
did they use these people as entertainment? do they have them battle each other⊠to entertain..?
whatever it was, we knew we could get out here since the top was open.
grasping on to every poorly placed brick and pulling up. until we got to the stands. we were finally there.
there was nothing left but to jump. we went one by one. making sure everyone had a way of surviving the fall.
see what we didnât tell you is that we came with ways to survive such a fall.
pearl and the two younger kids there could fly, but i couldnât. (cus my freaking wings arenât big enough so im a freaking flightless bird. of course i am.) and neither could fynn and the one older kid.
pearl went first. with the two kids who could fly behind her. we had pearl come back up and grab the other guy.
pearl wasnât coming back up.
i counted. it took her about 4 minutes to go down and come back up. and she hadnât. i really wish she had, because we heard someone shout.
the evil ruler. my favourite.
we snap our heads around.
the head floated up to us, flapping her ninety-seven million wings. (it was really 6) and landing softly on the stone.
out of fear, me and fynn both stood. our heads down, hands behind back.
âwhat are you two doingâ
great. now weâre dead. you know i really didnât want to do this! i was actually against itâ
âwe were just looking at the sky. itâs really pretty.â
âand do you know where pearl, zak, reese, and ivan are? they werenât in their rooms!â
you thought their all-seeing abilities were already annoying? well they can hear yur thoughts too! so they know fynn is lying.
weâre going to be murdered.
the head watcher blinks a couple times, and finally breaking the silence. in the worst way possible, says:
âyou two will meet with me in the morning. i have a fun thing planned for you.â
itâs over. weâre done for.
we were taken to our room, where we got into bed and both couldnât sleep.
we were way too worried about the morning. what kind of public execution will it be this time? guillotine? nah, too old. burnt at the stake? nah, i think thatâs older. hung? maybe, but they did that one to skilar last week.
whatever it was. we were horrified.
somehow i managed to get sleep. not really sure if fynn did. we followed orders and met the head early in the morning. we were taken right back to the arena.
if she has us fight one of those things to the death iâm so done for.
as we entered the field, there were crowds and crowds of people, young and old, sitting in the stands. i was told to stay where i was. and fynn was lead to the other side.
fighting those is bad but fighting fynn? my good old pal fish? no i couldnât do it.
âAAAREEEE YOOOUUU REEADDYYYYYY??â
i absolutely screamed at the sudden loud voice.
it was so manly. absolutely did not sound like a tea kettle.
âTODAY, IN THE ARENA. WE HAVE FYNN LUCHLER!!!â
fynn nervously waves his hand at the crowd. he glanced over at me. i was going to throw up. i had to try to kill my best friend.
âAND GRIANNNN.. uh iâm sorry whatâs that last name..?â
âGRIAN.. iâm not saying that!!!â
thank you for the effort but i honestly couldnât pay attention to the announcer. i had the worst sick feeling in my stomach. i donât think i threw up but i got close.
âTHREE. TWO. ONE. GGGOOOOOOOOO!!!â
airhorns blared, and a chest rose from the sand. i open it to see a bow and a quiver with arrows. a knife, sword, and nothing else.
okay. wow. so these are the weapons iâm going to kill my best friend with?
the chest dissappeared, and so did fynnâs. it seemed we had the same tools. but nither of us made a move. we stood, frozen. staring at eachother, weapons in hand.
when finally. he made a move.
to say the least i was shocked. but i managed to force myself to maneuver away from his first attack.
he used his bow. which was typical for him. but he randomly dropped all of his tools.
âweâre not going to do this.â
âif weâre going to fight. itâll be with fists. i donât want you to bleed to death and i hope you donât want the same for me.â
i froze. again. dropped my stuff. and probably peed a little.
fynn was not a great fist fighter. i was. he was trying to let me win.
âplease donât do this.â
âi have no choice. NOW FIGHT ME.â
he threw a punch at me. a weak one. he was trying not to hurt me.
a swung, and missed. i couldnât do it. not physically. and not mentally.
âGRIAN. YOU LOOK AT ME. GRIAN LOOK.â
i looked up. it was hard to see through watery eyes and no glasses on. but i could tell he had dropped the fighting stance.
he put his hand on my shoulder.
âgrian. we have to do this. itâs either one of us dies. or both.â
now that i think about it. this really escalated fast. but thatâs how everything is. one day everything is really lovely and the next day someone is getting publically executed.
i wiped my eyes. clenched my fists. and punched fynn in the face.
i may not be the strongest, but i knew where to hit.
i hit him square in the nose. immediately backing down. i covered my mouth with a gasp and ran over to him. and he punched me back.
he got up. his nose bleeding profusely.
he hit me in the wrong spot. he missed my face and hit my arm.
we stood in the middle of the arena. crowd roaring. and my ears ringing. i felt lightheaded but i had to get this fight done with.
iâm really donât know what came over me. but i didnât know what i was doing anymore. i couldnât control myself anymore. a ran towards fynn. and tore at his face.
he fell, and landed on his back. the wind was knocked out of him. i grabbed a dagger from in the sand.
i donât know why i did it. and it makes me sick to this day. and i canât ever stop thinking of the way his slit throat bled all over my sweaty hands. the way i tried stopping the bleeding even though he was already gone. the way i threw the dagger away and screamed and cried. the way i hugged his lifeless body, sobbing into it. the way his blood ran into my hair and on my face as i buried my head into his shoulder. the way someone came close to me and i grabbed the dagger, threatening to kill them too. iâd never be the same. not after killing someone close to me, someone i loved. i couldnât handle it. they pulled me away from him. i fought back. biting them and screaming. kicking and crying. i was thrown into a room. it looked like one of those cages. the ones we discovered on the night before. i sat on a small rug. staring at my blood-stained hands. looking up into the light. seeing my reflection. blood in my curled hair, streaming down my face. dried up. some still pouring from my nose. my shirt stained red. and cuts all over.
i was to spend the rest of my time in this glass cage. alone. i was told iâd checked up on every day by a nurse.
i had my own room. but it didnât feel like it. there was a shower in my new home. i didnât know what else to do. i turned it on and got in.
shampoo was provided. i zoned out and ended up squirting too much onto my hand.
i dumped it on my head. running the substance through my wet hair. it was relaxing, somehow. even after the events that just took place. the water from the faucet came down clear, and after hitting me, it came off red. the way all of the blood poured into the drain.
i turned the handle and the water stopped. there were towels just outside the shower curtain, so i reached out and grabbed one.
i stepped out and sat on the floor. which had a rug on it i promise.
i didnât really dry myself off. i sat and let the air dry me off. my hair curled back up and the feathers coating my back dried.
i put on a clean shirt and shorts and went to my new bed.
i immediately fell asleep.
i woke up. my room was dark. i hadnât even slept through the whole night. i was able to leave my cage. with the press of a button, the glass was lifted and i got out.
i slowly trudged my way into an opening, a window that looked out at the stadium i was in only a few hours ago.
there was nothing left there. only sand.
i screamed as i felt a hand touch my shoulder, turning and hitting whatever it was right in the face.
i covered my mouth with both hands.
the head shook it off and stepped back up to me.
âitâs alright kiddo. canât sleep?â
obviously. you expect me to be able to sleep after iâve just killed my.. myâ best friend.
i really wanted to say that. but i couldnât.
âno, i was asleep but i woke up.â
âwhat you did today, it was phenomenal.â
WAS IT?? WAS IT REALLY??? WATCHING PEOPLE TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER TO WIN??? TO KILL SOMEONES BEST FRIEND TO WIN???? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT. IS THIS WHAT YOU NEED TO FEEL CONTENT WITH EVERYTHING YOUâVE EVER DONE???
i wanted to scream at her. i wanted to grab the dagger, stab her straight down the middle and watch her choke and gasp for air as her guts spill out. i wanted her gone. she made this happen. she was the one to make me kill my best friend.
god you canât do that. you canât become a crazy killer because of one thing.
âgiving me the silent treatment i see.â
well what. what do you have to say to me.
âi think we should get you back to bed.â
itâs been two years. iâm 16 now. the same age he was.
i havenât changed much. really all thatâs changed is my height. i grew an inch. pathetic, i know.
iâve had to start shaving which is another annoying thing in the daily agenda.
iâve been isolated from talking to anyone. iâm not allowed to go to the main area unless told. iâm sick of sitting in this room and rotting.
in a few days i turn 17. and i think itâs about time i get the fuck out of here.
iâll pull off what fynn and i couldnât.
iâll finally be free. i can start a new life. safe from everything.
for the next few days iâd do the same thing. get up. do my morning routine. have nurse checkup. and do whatever i wanted.
they dont really pay attention to me. other than the very obvious security camera (which was really someoneâs eye) in the corner. slightly creepy but i appreciate that it closes when i change.
its finally time. i turn 17 tomorrow. ill stay up late tonight. and get the fuck out of here.
i got myself ready for bed. same as my morning routine but i donât shower and instead of waking up before, i go to sleep after.
i had to lay in my bed for hours. until i saw the eye-camera close.
i got out of my room. and snuck around the arena.
my new room was right next to it. so i didnât have to go far.
i was able to get into the supply closet.
âyes!â i whisper-cheered. they had what i needed!
i strapped into a pair of wings. they werenât real wings. but they were for people who canât fly. i climbed out of the storage hole and onto the grass surrounding the arena.
and i jumped into the sky.
