Maximum Danny:Chapter Five

I woke up back in a kennel, leather strap still holding my wings to my back. I had a black collar on from what I could see, but it was unlike any collar I’ve ever seen.

Instead of a buckle, or those clip things, there was a silvery metal with a small keyhole on it.

Weird.

It wasn’t a shock collar either. Just a collar. But with my luck, it was probably equipped with a tracking chip.

You know, one of the quirks of being a human recombinant. Nobody wants you to run off.

And guess who just popped in to brighten my day? Yep, the dog boy himself.

“Oh hello, Alex. Have you stabbed another bird kid’s back while I was away?”

Something crossed his face before hardening to a scowl. Hurt? No, he wouldn’t care…

“Looks like Vlad decided to keep you here. I heard he was going to ship you off to the School where you belong.”

“Oh, and I see the animal shelter hasn’t picked you up yet, huh? Oh, well. They would probably just give you the shot and forget to say buh-bye.”

Alex’s padded hands curled into fists, anger seeming to radiate from him.

“I didn’t have to come down here you know. I could just left you in the dark and wait for you to die.”

“Yeah, well, it was better down here before you came down here anyways!”

I could see Alex’s pulse in his temple quicken, his face becoming more flushed.

“I’m warning you…”

I plowed on, my blood already close to the boiling point.

“Oh, and lets not forget, Alex’s own DAD doesn’t even care about him! All he cares about is making genetic mutants and putting his fingers into every business to get more money. Maybe he just doesn’t even care that you EXIST!”

Alex roared, morphing faster than he normally did due to the insane rage inside, and threw my kennel, with me inside, across the room. It hit the wall, making my breath leave in a whoosh as my knees was driven into my gut. It slid down the wall, and rolled upside down. The plastic was cracked from the impact, and it felt like someone took a sledgehammer to my stomach, but I still chuckled weakly.

“Not even your own father cares about you. He just cares about the information you give him. He’s using you, Alex. He is…”

I coughed, my ribs burning slightly. Man, was my body that badly hurt, or did it just hate me today?

I heard Alex leave, growls issuing out with each breath. Well, good riddance. Now…what now?

I looked around. I froze at the sight of where the cracks were. I could break free, the cracks were right where the holes lined up with the metal rods that held the door shut. I breathed a sigh of relief. I just had to push hard enough, and I could be free…

I heard someone shouting upstairs. No…not now. Once night fell, when everyone was asleep…yeah, then.

I curled up, falling asleep with a smile on my face.
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I woke up in total darkness, save for the bluish light cast by a lonely computer monitor with a sleeping Vlad at the keyboard. I smirked. He was dead to the world when he was sleeping.

I noticed that the crate was put back where it normally was, before Alex threw it, me, across the lab. It disturbed me to see how strong he was. But I was stronger.

My leather strap was off too. Nice.

I pushed on the wire door experimentally, seeing that the plastic was cracked all the way. Good. I pushed the wire through the path the cracks made from the top one, then the bottom. It was silent, save for a slight squeak as the door swung out.

Perfect.

I crawled out, checking to see if I still had my locket. I did, the metal pressing up against my beating heart.

I crept out of the lab, sneaking up the steps. I looked for Alex’s room, took a black backpack, filled it with black clothes (easier to hide in the dark, you know) and took a pair of black sneakers. Just for giggles, I changed right then, draping my torn-up jumpsuit on the footboard of Alex’s huge bed. I left myself shirtless, holding onto a black, long-sleeved shirt in my hand because I couldn’t fly if my wings were under a shirt. I found a jackknife, ebony handle smooth and firm under my hand. I cut two slits in the back of Alex’s, my shirt and slipped it on. I swiped a black baseball cap off his bedpost, putting it on as I walked out the door.

“Sweet dreams, dog boy. And I hope you have a nice wake-up call.”
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I had to smother giggles as I slid down the banister down to the kitchen. I just thought it was so cool. I was escaping. And they didn’t even know it. Granted, I didn’t like the collar around my neck, but I was going to deal with that problem. Right after I stole some food.

“Excellent!”

I was pulling down bags of trail mix, chocolate, gummi worms, chocolate, granola bars, chocolate. Did I mention how much I love chocolate? Yeah, yeah, stuck in a crate, eating rarely, I know. But did you know Vlad has a drawer near my crate filled with chocolate bars? Mmm…I loved sneaking one. But every once in a while, Vlad would notice I was too close to his desk and scoot my crate back. Jerk.

I took more than junk food, you know. I grabbed whatever wasn’t in a can, didn’t have to be cooked, and could be eaten on the run. Which would literally translate to on the run. Um…yeah.

I grabbed a few other items I deemed important. Like deodorant. Trust me, Alex has his hygienic problems, but I’m not Alex, am I?

So…in went an unused toothbrush, luckily still in the packaging. Yech, Eraser gingivitis. I packed a small bottle of shampoo/body wash stuff, toothpaste, left a comb out, and…

Ooh, you’re gonna bust some ribs at this one.

I took some other toothpaste and squirted it EVERYWHERE. I took other stuff, wrote all over the walls, over the mirror, even on the toilet. Childish? Yes. Stupid? Yes. Did I care? Nope. I only regretted not being able to see the faces on Alex and Vlad when they saw this.

I stifled a giggle as I rigged the toilet to…well, I’ll let you know about that one later. I sighed, looking over my handiwork. I wished I had time to cause more mayhem, but I needed to go.

As in RIGHT NOW.

So I trotted down the hall, out the front door, and into the cool night. I spread my fourteen-foot wingspan and launched myself into blissful skies.
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I’d love to describe every detail of being free, finally free after fourteen years of captivity, but as luck would have it, I’m at a loss of words. But I can say this.

It’s beautiful.

I swooped through the stark blue skies, whooping loudly and yelling. I WAS FREE! Do you get where I’m getting this from? FREEDOM!!! Woo!

Ahem. Um…yeah. Getting back to the point, I’m going to tell you what I did to the toilet. I rigged it to do something I like to call explosive diarrhea.

Ha, ha…are you getting the mental picture now? If not, here goes.

When the unsuspecting victim flushes the latrine, instead of the contents going down, it will…blow up. Yes, I love that image. Especially with Alex as the unsuspecting victim. I won’t explain the how-to of doing that for safety’s sake, but having a bunch of fireworks and a small cherry bomb going off in the bathroom is pretty funny. Unless you’re the shmuck pulling the lever.

Okay, getting back on track, I was just over the Iowa, Minnesota border when I started getting hungry. I hadn’t eaten in how long, so I quickly descended next to a rusted-out truck and an oil-stained bed sheet on an old clothesline. I landed in the bed of the ancient pickup, pulling off the pack I had ‘borrowed’ from Alex. I ate a few granola bars before I realized something. I was away from Vlad’s house, away from the School, whitecoats, Alex, everything.

All alone.

In the whole wide world.

Me.

It was scary.

I washed down the bars with some water before stretching out my wings. What would I do now? I was free, now what?

I really seem to be asking that question a lot now, huh?

I put the pack back on, peering around in the darkness. It had to be midnight, maybe later, and yet, what was that sound?

I listened closely, ears straining to pick up a sort of snuffling sound, along with two men’s voices.

“I doubt we can hunt this early in the morning, Frank.”

“Aw, c’mon! All the good bucks will be taken if we wait. We get first picks this way.”

I froze, blood turning to slush in my veins.

Hunters.

“I’m goin’ this way. Keep Ol’ Blue on the trail. He knows how to find the big ones.”

“’Kay.”

I heard twigs snapping, leaves rustling. Then…silence.

I shivered, eyes wide in the pale moonlight. They could find me and…and…

BANG.

I yelped, falling off the truck and landing into the sheet. I squirmed, trying to break free of it as I heard the men rushing towards me.

“Hey, I got somethin’!”

Oh, goody. Just what I needed.

I could hear the men’s ragged breathing as their dog, ‘Ol’ Blue’ sniffed me through the sheet, whining. I could feel the barrel of the still-warm rifle prodding me in the ribs. I stiffened, then I roared.

I thrashed, scaring the two guys and accidentally kicking the dog in the snozz. It yelped, running from me as I tore a hole in the sheet with a strong kick. The men shrieked, rushing back into the truck. I untangled myself just as their dog came back and bit me in the ankle.

“OW! You flea-bitten son of a…”

I kicked it, sending it reeling. I hissed at the soreness, but still leapt up into the air, pulling my wings down in a powerful downstroke. Wind from my wings buffeted the two hunters as I streaked into the sky.

First day free, and I get bitten by a blue-tick hound and shot at. Wonderful. Wonder what day two will bring?

I winced now and again as my ankle throbbed. I flew a good fifty miles before landing in a large oak, settling myself in a large crotch in the branches. It was HUGE.

“Well, let’s see what the damage is today…” I said, rolling back my pant leg. I winced at the wound, which even though it was dark, I could still see it.

It was bruised, bleeding a little bit, but I was concerned more with rabies than with the whole stitches thing. I cleaned it up, wrapping it up tightly. I added it to my mental list of injuries I needed to wait to heal, and, sighing tiredly, I resigned to a peaceful night’s sleep.

I just hoped that this was just first-day bad luck.