Jace- Ten years ago

     I want to go home. Everyone here tells me there's no way out but there has to be. If I just keep fighting, I can get out. I know I can. So that's what I do. I don't care who it is, if they're in my way and I see a door out, I'll try my hardest to get there and I don't care who I have to go through.

     They're always telling me that if I don't quit fighting they'll take everything away, but they already have. I'm in an isolated cell, I have to eat my meals alone, I don't even have the two blankets and pillow they try to pass off as beds, and anywhere I go I'm accompanied by at least one guard.

I'm laying in my cell after breakfast thinking of my next escape attempt when the doors open and a guard walks in. I don't bother to get up. If they need me they're going to have to make me move.

"Get up! They want you in the yard." She tells me.

"No." I tell her not bothering to even lift my head.

"Now. I mean it." She says.

"Oh yeah? Well what if I don't want to? What are you going to do then?" I say smugly thinking I've won.

"Then I'll shoot you with a tranq dart and drag your scrawny ass out there myself." She says, her hand moving to the gun at her side.

I let out a giant sigh and get up. "Fine, I'm coming."

I hate it when they knock me out. It makes me feel weak and helpless like I did those first few nights. I never want to feel that way again.

"You know, if you just quit being so ornery they might actually treat you a little better." The guards says as she leads me down the hall.

I don't answer her. I've already heard it a million times. I know if I stopped acting up they might let me around people again or actually give me a bit of freedom, but if I give them an inch, they'll take a mile.

It was something my mom always told me. Never give people what they want because they'll just expect more. You give them an inch and they'll take a mile. I never understood the actual saying whenever she said it, but I do now. If I start being a little more behaved they'll expect me to suddenly be their perfect little phoenix and I refuse. I can't do it.

     Soon, we're heading out the office and into the yard. I can already see Veronica and Thomas just waiting to inflict some new form of torture on me. This is normally when the guard would leave and lock the door, but she isn't leaving.

     "You did your job. You 'dragged my scrawny ass out here'. You can leave now." I tell the guard.

"Actually," Thomas begins, "she will not be leaving. Due to your recent behavior, we think it's best to have a guard on you at all times. And no talking like that. It's inappropriate for someone your age to be using those words."

It's also inappropriate to subject innocent people to being kidnapped and experimented on but that never stopped you. I think to myself but decide against saying out loud.

"Enough foolishness. It's time to continue your training. I want you to go as high as you can then do five laps around the yard as fast as you can." Veronica says, putting an end to the discussion.

     I lift myself off the ground the begin to start flying circles around the yard. I can see Veronica holding a stopwatch that she always keeps in her pocket and Thomas with his little notebook of all my failures. I continue to fly around the yard and by the time I'm done I'm exhausted. I'm panting for air by the time I finally land.

     "That was even worse than last time. It took you fifteen minutes even with cutting the corners and your form was atrocious! Why couldn't you have been more like Kaitlyn? By now, she can do that in 3 minutes and she's never caused us any trouble. Do it again! We're not leaving until I'm satisfied with your progress." Veronica berates me.

     I know I'm now expected to continue flying circles  like a good little test subject but I can't. I hurt all over and I'm sick of the way they treat me. They always love to point out how I was supposed to be this powerful noble phoenix and instead I'm just a violent dud. One of their other favorite activities is to compare me to Kaitlyn. They always love pointing out how fast she's progressing and how much better she behaves compared to me. I wonder if they ever tell her about me. I doubt it, I doubt she even remembers that I exist.

     "Why do you always compare me to her?" I ask "If she's really all that great how come I've never seen her? Are you scared that if she sees me she'll realize how truly terrible this place is and stop being your perfect little dragon girl?" I ask, my voice getting louder and louder as I continue.

"That is enough!" Veronica yells. "Just for that little outburst, I'm making it 10 laps around the yard from now on."

"Oh yeah? Well what if I don't? What are you going to do then?" I say, not moving an inch.

"Boy, I recommend you get in the air now, or you won't like what happens, you worthless little brat!" Thomas screams in my face.

As soon as he says those words, something in me finally snaps and I jump on him, trying to beat him up. He easily shoves me off of him and I fall to the ground and I can feel the ground scrape my elbows when I try to catch myself.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Veronica grab a need out of her pocket and try to inject me with it. I roll out of her way but she quickly grabs me, her nails digging painfully into my arm.

She jabs the needle into my arm and I try to fight the sedative, but soon the edges of my vision become fuzzy then the world goes black.

Later, when I wake up, I can see I'm in the infirmary. Like normal, I'm the only one here. Normally if one of us gets sick or hurt they just leave us in our cell to either get better or die. The only time they ever care enough to bring us here is if our enhancement is rare enough that they can't just kidnap someone else if we die. Lucky for me, Im the only one who they've successfully given phoenix wings so I can do pretty much whatever without fear of death.

For a while, I just lay there wondering when they'll be back to bring me to my cell until eventually I fall asleep.

I'm not sure how long I've slept when Im awoken by the sound of the door opening and a bunch of people flooding in. I can see Veronica carrying a small limp body. Behind her are Thomas, the two doctors she keeps around for times like this, two guards, and a bunch of helpers.

When Veronica lays the small body on the bed beside me I realize it's a girl about my age who looks familiar underneath the burns covering her body.

I suddenly notice the dragon wings on her back and realize it has to be Kaitlyn. I'm immediately filled with fear for her. She looks half dead and I know it's been three years and I shouldn't care, but I do. She helped get me through that unbearable ride here after I was taken, and was the only one to show me any compassion.

I'm starting to wonder if she even recognizes me, when I can just barely hear her mutter a single word.

"Jace."