"B-but how? I mean, how come I never noticed? What exactly did they do to me? How am I supposed to get rid of the tracker? When are they coming?"

My mind was racing with terrified, panicked thoughts. I didn't want to attack the shifters! And I wanted to make peace! For Caspian! How would they brainwash me? Would there be some way to stop it? My heart was pounding, and I looked around. Had they attacked already? Would I need to stay away from the shifters? Would I have to run for my entire life? I needed to get that tracker out!

"Tyler, I need the tracker out. Where is it?"

"I don't know, Madelyn. It wasn't in his mind. Of course, there is a possibility that I skipped over it on accident."

"Then we're heading back to that cage so you can pry into his mind. Let's go."

I turned around in the direction that I had come, and motioned for Tyler to follow. They could be watching me right now. And they definitely knew where I was. I mean, with the tracker, how could they not?

They've been spying on me my entire life. They've experimented on me without me knowing. And for what? To make me into the ultimate weapon. Did I have any say in this? No. Obviously, they don't give a crap about how I feel! I balled my hands into fists, trying to focus just on flapping my wings. I was going to get that stupid tracker out, and I was going to go to that stupid hunter group and give them a piece of my very ticked off mind.

Anger surged through me, and I balled my fists tighter.

"It'll be alright, Madelyn."

"How the heck can you say that? There's so, so much chaos going on! What am I even supposed to do?"

"Hope is a useful asset in the midst of chaos."

"And how would hope help? They want to use me as an ultimate weapon for crying out loud!"

Whatever Ashlea had said next, I didn't hear, because I was focusing on flying. Wind rushed through my hair, and I went faster and faster still. I was going to find out where the heck that tracker was, and I was going to find out how to get rid of it. I was going to honor Caspian's final words.

Then, I saw all the shifters. Everyone was shifted, and everyone was unconscious.

"Dad! Trinity! What happened!" I called out over the wind, coming closer. I looked for the cage made of vines, and it was still there.

Except now, it had a population of zero.

The squirrel shifter was gone. I landed, and I could see some shifters starting to regain consciousness.

"What happened?" I asked "Where did that little idiot go?"

The same rabbit shifter who had made the cage hopped forward "He was using his telekinesis." she began "He was forcing the cage apart, and he did that with every layer of the cage I made. It was taking too much energy, and the last thing I remember are the other shifters going after him. That telekinesis is quite useful. He attacked everyone who went after him. I don't think anyone is seriously injured, but he escaped."

I put my hand on my forehead, anger and frustration rushing through my veins. What was I supposed to do? I sighed, looking down.

"What do I do now? That squirrel shifter is gone. And surely they've put up more defenses since the escapes. What do I do? Go after him?"

"That's exactly what you do. That is, if you're determined enough to do it."

"But that's incredibly risky! What if I die?"

"Then you'll die fighting for a good cause. But you need information, don't you? I mean, I know it's risky, but if there's a place where that squirrel shifter is going to be, it's there."

I sighed once again. Since I was the leader, I guess I had the authority to make meetings and stuff. "I have a few things to say."

The now awake shifters - some shifted, some not - walked forward. "Tyler, who can read minds, read from the mind of the squirrel shifter. He discovered that there's a tracking chip inside of me, though he does not know where." I purposely left out the part about being experimented to become some super-weapon; who knew how people would react to that. "Tyler believes that the information may be somewhere in the squirrel shifter's knowledge, and that he just skipped over it."

Murmurs and hushed whispers ran through the crowd.

I began to speak again. "Tyler and I will go into the hunters building and get the necessary information to remove the tracking chip. It will be risky, but I have been told that it is needed to ensure the safety of you all. I will - however - need back up groups in case Tyler and I are captured. There will be two groups. Stella, Aubree, and Saige will be on one, while Casey, my father, and Trinity will be on another. Now, we will go..." I pondered it for a minute. After all, they could capture me in my sleep. "Tomorrow, but we will need to take shifts watching for the hunters."

The night was a restless one, composed of me tossing and turning, eventually giving up on the hope of getting sleep. So, I went for a little night flying. It was beautiful, the sky of stars above me. But, soon, the night sky changed as it became day. I woke Tyler up, and we watched the sunrise. It was beautiful, watching the sun creep up the sky. And all that color looked like someone had streaked oranges and yellows together in a beautiful collage.

"Madelyn, if we don't make it out of this, I want you to know..."

"Want me to know what?" I asked curiously.

"Madelyn, I love you."

And then he leaned in and kissed me.

A/N- You've been waiting for this, haven't you? The chapter may have been 2 words short but the sweet moment makes up for it.

Also, the media is by yours truly. I drew it. I probably messed up the wing anatomy, but hey, at least I tried.

And one more thing, I've been running out of quotes about flight, or birds, so if you have any good ones I haven't used, please private message me them! (You'll get a dedication if you do :3)

Please vote, comment, share, and I'll see you all in the comments! Bye for now!