text: The florescent light shined oppressively bright. The room was sterile, not a single speck of dirt or dust can be found. There's hardly any furniture, only two metal folding chairs and a cold, metal desk populate this small room. I've been in this room before, it never gets easier. For hours I've stared at the walls, the silent sea of white made me want to scream. There was a clock, but I chose to stop counting the time a long time ago. The ticking, it made my teeth hurt. I tapped my fingers on the desk, waiting for the interviewer to arrive. He's normally early, but today it seems he's late. Not that I cared, I wasn't leaving any time soon. After all, I was born in this lab. The interviewer finally came in. He was a short, stocky, bald man with wire frame glasses. He flashed me a cheesy smile and sat down in the adjacent chair. He was drinking a coffee, he offered me some but I declined. He was also holding a file of my profile. "Sorry I'm late, I was getting a coffee." The man said. "No problem. Can we get this moving please?" I asked impatiently. The man grimaced, but it was so fast you would miss it if you blinked. He cleared his throat. "Well, Subject 3250." "Birdy! Call me Birdy!" I interrupted, slamming my fist on the table. His coffee shook, spilling a little bit. The man sighed and moved on with his speech. "Well, Birdy, I'm here to say that you are no longer needed for Project Hellhound." I smiled. This was the first piece of good news I heard in, all my life! Since I was a hatchling, I've been poked on proded for Project Hellhound, but now I'm free. "That's great news! Finally I can leave." I said, not trying to hide my joy. Instead of being happy, the man just sighed and shook my head. I was confused. I'm free to go, right? "We're done testing for Project Hellhound, but we still need you here. Further testing is needed. I shook my head. This had to be some practical joke. "But I completely all my tests! Maybe you eggheads made a mistake with the paperwork?" I said, confused. The man continued, not even addressing my complaint. "We understand that you're upset, but we simply can't let you leave. Scientific breakthroughs are about to be discovered, we can't afford to let you leave." I started to get upset. My feathers became rigid with rage. "You can't do this to me! Project Anubis is done, what the hell do you need me for?" I asked exasperated. "You can't leave, deal with it!" The man said, frustrated. I was furious. All my life I waited for this moment, and for what? To be told no? I was silent for a moment, then I spoke again. "I'm leaving." I muttered. "What?" The man asked. "I'm leaving!" I shouted. The man's face grew red. "You listen to me, bird boy. You're aren't leaving, and that's final. What, you think you can walk outside? A disgusting abomination like you? You were born in here and you're gonna die in here. So get your bird ass back to your room!" The man shouted. I had enough. I got up, like he wanted. I grabbed the cup of coffee and threw it in the man's face, catching him off guard. He screamed in extreme pain, rubbing and wiping his face in vain. I reached down and grabbed the key from his key rack. He grabbed my hand, not letting go. In his other hand, he had a walkie-talkie. "3250 has breeched containment! 3250 has breeched containment!" He said over and over. I had no other choice. He held onto my arm and was calling in the Regulators. I reached down and bit him in the neck. He screamed loudly as I bit, breaking the skin. I was aiming for a vein, and I found one. Blood stained the sterile room, mixing red with white like an unholy fourth of July. Blood stained the hospital gown I was wearing. I let go, the man dropping to the floor dead. A puddle formed, allowing me to see myself for the first time. I had the face of a Raven, eyes, nose, and body to go with it. Instead of a beak, I have human teeth, yellow and straight. Blood covered my mouth, like I ate chocolate cake. I opened the door and walked out, the lights of the hallway greeted me as I walked. Down the hall was a guards nest. Only one guard was stationed because until this moment, I was one of the more cooperative subjects. The guard was on his phone, away from me. I walked back into the room with the dead interviewer and broke the coffee cup. I grabbed the sharp piece of porcelain and made my way to the guard. I raised the sharp piece, waiting to strike. My foot made the floorboards creek. The guard turned around, seeing me. Panicked, I stuck the piece of porcelain into his neck, causing him to bleed intensely. Before he dropped dead, he pressed the alarm. "Shit!" I yelled, closing the door. Once the alarm was on, only a senior Regulator could shut it off. I took his utility belt, including his pistiol. As I wrapped the belt around my waist, I couldn't help but notice how funny this was. All I wanted to was to be free, and no I'm actually doing it. I took off my shirt and replaced it with the guards. I took the guards keychain, using it to open the storage locker behind him. Inside was a flashlight, a box of pistiol ammo, and an MP5. I took the rifle and placed it on my back. I had a feeling I was going to need it. I pressed the button leading out of the hallway, leading into the dorm room. The lights were out because of the alarm. An errie red bathed the hallway. The other hybrids were locked in there rooms until further notice. Pounding and scratching filled the hall. I walked down for a bit until I got a cut on my foot. I was barefoot going in. I investigated the ground, discovering broken glass. They path ahead was covered in broken glass. I turned right, into another hallway. I saw blood splattered to the walls. Dead hybrids littered the floor. Apon further investigation, it appeared that someone, or something, bit a chunk out of all there heads! I heard disgusting chewing sounds. Flesh being tore, the cracking of bones. It made me sick. I shined my light ahead of me, at the end of the hallway. On the other end of the hallway was a wolf man eating the body of a dead deer girl. Shit, I thought. They brought out the pure breds! The pure breds were successful experiments conducted by Project Hellhound. They're used to police the hybrids. It looked at me, blood and drool dripped from its mouth. "Back to your room!" It shouted, throwing the deer girl aside. I didn't move, instead I pulled out my pistol and shot it in the head. It didn't work, because the wolf man charged at me. In a split second I ran into the the closet room I could find. Which so happened to lead to the children's wing. I ran through the double doors, locking them with a mop. The wolf thrashed wildly against it, applying stress to the broom. I was certain it was going to give way, allowing the wolf to rip me apart. In a stroke of luck, a half rat half man caught the wolf's attention. "Please! Help me, I've been stabbed!" He said. The wolf tackled him, mauling him. I took off, running down the hall. I entered a gym like area, but it was dark so I couldn't tell. No one was there, so I took time to breath. All of this was insane, I felt like I was in a nightmare. An endless nightmare, but no matter how many times I pinch myself I can't wake up. I heard crying behind me, I spun around ready to shoot. To my surprise I saw a little girl. She looked like a piglet. "Don't hurt me, please!" She pleaded. I put my pistol back into my holster. I shushed her. "Don't worry honey, I'm one of you." I said. The girl looked at me, calming down. "Who are you?" She asked. "I'm Brian, Brian Thatcher." I replied. "I'm Hallie." The girl said. "Where's your parents, Hallie?" I asked. Hallie started to sniffle. "The bad people killed them." Guilt ate away at my insides. I didn't know I would cause all this pain and suffering. I looked at Hallie, her innocent face looking back at me. "Hallie, I'm leaving this place." I blurted out. "C-can I go with you?" Hallie asked. A voice inside me told me to leave her, but I couldn't live with myself if I did that. "Sure Hallie." I replied. Hallie smiled widely. "Thank you, Mr Thatcher! I can't wait to see the sun for the first time!" "Just call me Birdy, ok?" I said. "Ok, Birdy." Hallie replied. This was serious now. Not only did I have to leave for myself, but I have someone to protect. I would never leave her alone. I am the feathered soldier.