Rita put one foot on the windowsill, and one hand on the top of the frame. She nimbly swung out and grabbed the roof, she adjusted her feet and pulled herself up. Rita fell onto the hot surface of the roof, her cheek pressed against the shingles. There was a halfhearted jab in her side and then Sandy's voice.
"Up."

She said dully. Rita stood up, her hands held out for balance.

"How often do you come up here?" Rita asked, following Sandy up the sloped surface. Sandy looked up thoughtfully.

"Hm," She said slowly, "not counting today?"
Rita nodded.

"Never."

Rita winced, maybe this wasn't safe. Sandy had never been up here before. But Rita pushed her fears aside and followed Sandy. Soon they reached the highest point, Rita could see the horizon line on either side. One was dotted with sky scrapers, the other with trees.

"Wow." Rita breathed, a breeze ruffled her feathers. Rita itched to run and run, and to feel the wind in her hair. She wanted to start going and never stop, she never wanted to stop feeling the wind.

"Yeah," Sandy agreed with a nod, "Wow indeed. Wouldn't it be cool if you could fly?"

Rita looked at Sandy with a sidelong glance, Sandy was staring at where her wings were beneath her shirt.

"I can't."

"Sure you can!"

"No, the scientists said that it was impossible."

"They also told you that you weren't going to become mindless soldiers."

"But-"

"Rita. They. Lied."

"No they-"

Rita was cut off, Sandy had placed her hands on Rita's shoulders and pushed, hard. Rita began to stumble, down the roof, her mind began to panic.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Rita was slipping, she saw where she was going to land, in their backyard, her head fell back as she lost her footing and fell onto her back. She could see the green treetops; they were upside down, no Rita was upside down.

Rita let out a cry for help, but no one came. Rita's hands were starting to burn from trying to stop herself, they hurt. Rita called for help again, and then she saw it.

The big branch, to her left. Rita's hand darted out and grabbed it, with reflexes she didn't even know she had she saved herself. First grabbing the branch and slowing herself down, then turning around so she was on her stomach, and then standing up, her chest heaving and adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Suddenly, Sandy was there, a vague look of disappointment on her face. Rita looked behind her, she was close to the edge of the roof, too close. She had almost died, gone splat on the tile below her. Rita turned to look at Sandy, her fury surfacing.

"What do you think you were doing?" Rita screamed, "I could've died! I almost-"

Sandy held up her hand, silencing Rita.

"I wanted to see if you could fly." She said calmly.

"Fly?!? I had already can't told you that I can't fl-"

Sandy shook her head is if Rita was a lying child that should be scolded, then she put her hands back on Rita's shoulders.

"No."

Rita warned. But it was too late, Sandy had pushed her, again. Rita's feet went to find footing, but there was only empty air beneath her. She saw everything in slow-motion, Rita could see the floor disappearing from view. The clouds moving all too quickly, the flying birds blurred. The ground and then the sky. Rita was spinning, and falling. She felt an urge, in her back.

Her wings, to be exact. They were unfurling, there was a loud rip. Suddenly there was a hole in the back of her shirt. And her wings were open, catching the air. Rita was steadied, she wasn't wobbling anymore. Then she was gliding, her wings spread out. The ground blurred beneath her, Rita flapped her wings, and she was going up.

Rita tilted to the left, and turned, she found herself facing the house. Rita flapped her wings and went upwards, she saw Sandy. Sandy was standing on the roof, a triumphant look on her face. Rita pulled up as she neared the roof and her feet touched the sloped surface. Rita folded her wings and glared at Sandy, waiting for an explanation.

"Dude," She chuckled, "Your face is so pale."

"Of course it's pale!" Rita screeched, "You just threw me off of a roof!"

Sandy laughed, "But still."

"I could've died."

Sandy smirked, "But you didn't."

"But I could've!" Rita said, her voice growing louder.

"Hush bird child."

"Bird child?!?"

"That's what I said. Please pay attention."

Rita huffed and walked back to the edge of the roof. She took a deep breath and, gathering up her courage, stepped off. She heard the wind whistling in her ears, and felt it tangling her hair. She spread her wings, a smile on her face. An overwhelming sense of freedom overtook her while she flew, it was as if she had been itching to flap her wings, but she hadn't even known it.

Rita pulled up and extended her legs, for an intended graceful landing. But the grass came up all too quickly, Rita's legs screamed out in pain as they hit the ground with too much force. Rita instinctively curled up to soften her landing, wincing out in pain with the movement. Her wings folded too quickly, sending a jolt of pain through her. Rita finally came to a stop, she turned to look up at Sandy. Sandy stood up on the roof, smirking.

"Nice landing." She called out sarcastically. Sandy turned and walked away. At the top, instead of turning to her room, she did a double take in the other direction, and then hurriedly walked out of sight, Rita sighed and turned around, and walking back to the house to tell her fellow freaks that she could fly.

Rita opened the door and strode into the kitchen where nearly everyone was gathered.

"Guess what I-"

She stopped in midsentence, they all looked up glumly. Seth looked up, his face stained with tears, and his red hair knotted up.

"What happened?" Rita asked hurriedly, doing a headcount to see who was missing.

Zoe was asleep, Cole was upset, and Sandy was on the roof. Everyone else was here. Everyone who was supposed to be here was here.

Seth looked up and in a choked up voice said, "She's dead."

Rita felt her mouth fall open.

Another death?

"Who?"

"Zoe."

Chapter I lost count of which chapter I'm on...

"Zoe." Rita croaked, her throat dry.

They all nodded. Rita almost didn't believe that Zoe was dead, she had hardly wrapped her mind around the fact that Amber had died.

Amber

Her throat closed up and tears sprang to her eyes, the scientists had taken yet another life.

"Where are they?" She demanded, rushing up to the table, they looked up dully.

"Who?" Nico asked groggily, his eyes raw from crying.

"Don't even pretend that you don't know who I'm talking about!" Rita screeched in response.

"Calm down." Seth said halfheartedly, not sounding like he really cared whether or not she continued to scream. His head was in his hands.

"Don't tell me to calm down! They killed her!"

Everyone looked up in confusion, then their faces filled with recognition.

"Oh." They all chorused.

"What?" Rita demanded, resisting the urge to dash up the stairs and see for herself.

"She wasn't killed."

"Did she die in her sleep?" Rita asked, horrified.

Omigosh I bet she did! I'll bet we all have short lifespans we are all gonna die-

"So there you have it... the entire story." Nico said flatly.

"What?" Rita asked. Only just realizing that she had zoned out.

"Well," Nico began again with a sigh, only to be cut off by Seth.

"She killed herself." He snapped.

His face fell, and in a softer, more broken voice he continued talking.

"She killed herself, and she didn't even say goodbye. Didn't even tell me that she was upset. I could've helped."

Rita's gaze softened, she murmured a goodbye and trudged up the stairs. Rita dragged her feet, through the hall, she was only a door down from her room when she passed Zoe's room. Rita stopped, she looked at the door handle. It was all too easy to imagine Zoe walking out, laughing with earbuds in. But she never would, not ever.

Rita looked both ways, somehow, opening the door felt wrong. But she pushed it open, the room was too dark, the door too heavy. But she stepped in, the air was thick and dusty. She could see it, the body, on the floor. All of the limbs twisted in strange angles, it looked like a painting. It didn't look real at all. Not at all real.

Rita walked over to Zoe, or, what used to be her at least. Rita looked around the room, it looked as if Zoe had simply fallen out of her bed. She must've knocked over a glass of water in her fall because there were shards of glass and water.

Doesn't look like she killed herself...

Rita looked at the nightstand, several belongings littered it. A magazine with bookmarked and dog-eared pages. A single opened, almost full sleeping pill container. And a book with a Beatles bookmark sticking out. Rita looked at the sleeping pills, surely Zoe hadn't taken too many. Rita checked the bottle and counted, only three were missing.

Rita walked to Zoe and bent down, her dead friend's eyes stared into space, dull and lifeless. Rita shivered and looked away from them. She stood up and walked out of the room. She might as well tell Sandy that there was a dead girl in the house.

Rita took several steps to Sandy's room but paused. Perhaps she could practice flying. Rita smiled as she leapt down the stairs, then she stopped ginning as she remembered that someone had died. Rita forced herself to slow down and drag her feet. She reached the screen door and immediately shivered. Rita was reminded that her- no, Sandy's shirt had been torn by her wings. Rita walked to the center of the yard and flexed her wings, she took a deep breath and flapped them.

Once

Twice

Three times

But there was still nothing.

Perhaps a running start.

Rita grinned

That'll do the trick.

She backed up several paces, her eyes glued to the roof. Then she sprang forwards, the wind whipping through her hair, knotting it up and tousling it. Rita spread her wings slightly and felt her feet loose contact with the ground for several strides. She glided only to fall once more. Rita took a moment to concentrate and then summoned the instinct that had been fighting to take over since she had been experimented on.

Rita's wings whipped open and caught the air, she jumped, sailing through the sky, And then angling herself away front the house, narrowly missing a collision. Rita flapped her wings repeatedly, working her way upwards until she was inches from the roof. Rita's toes skimmed it and then she stood, heaving chest and knotted hair. Rita smiled triumphantly and scanned the roof for Sandy, the highest point blocked her from seeing the other side so Rita trekked up to the top.

Rita could see two figured sitting beside each other. Sandy and Cole.

Cole was talking to Sandy, speaking in a voice too soft for even Rita to hear.

What're they talking about?

Rita wondered, feeling a tinge of jealousy, which she quickly hid.

You had your chance with Cole

She reminded herself

It's too late now

Rita straightened up and strode across the roof. The two jumped apart at the sound of her footsteps.

"What." Sandy snapped, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

"Zoe died." Rita said immediately, not wanting to waste any time.

"What?!" Cole gasped, bolting upright.

"Yeah." Rita agreed.

~ ~ ~

"Yup." Sandy said several minutes later, "She sure is dead."

"Yeah." Cole agreed in disbelief.

Everyone eyes the body's awkward limbs, sticking out in uncomfortable directions. Sandy had opened the curtains, casting afternoon light onto her limp body.

"I miss her." Seth moped.

"Can't bring her back though. It's a shame. Her body will be buried where worms and maggots will-"

"No." Seth said forcefully.

Nico had his head buried into Sandy's side, he was eying the body fearfully.

"What do we do next?" Rita asked.