7 Taken

I look down at the young girl in my arms. She's really pretty, nice long brown and blue hair that perfectly frames her light, freckled face. Man, that tranquilizer shouldn't have worked that fast, it normally takes at least thirty seconds to work. Now that I think about it, she's really light. I almost don't feel her weight in my arms at all. This can't be healthy, we should probably look into it later once we're at the campus.

    Folding my wings around her, I dive down towards Identity. The wind rushing all around me, it feels so nice. It was a surprise when I saw how well she manipulated the wind, especially because she didn't go to an oddity training school. It felt so real while I was flying through the air, I can't wait to see what happens when she trains more and unlocks her full potential.

    Unfolding my wings, I land softly on the ground. "Here she is Identity, I must say she has the most potential out of any of the new recruits I've ever seen. It's good she's got that fighting spirit, she'll make a great hero one day."

    "Good job catching her Eagle, I don't know what we'd do if we had to track her down. Like you said, she has so much potential we can't afford to lose her."

"We really got a good haul this year, it might be the best one we've ever had. This group is overflowing with potential, I can't wait to see what happens."

"Well said, Eagle, well said."

"Yeah, well, we should get back to the other recruits." I started heading back to the car, looking at the girl's peaceful face in my arms.

"Wait." I stop and turn back to see Identity holding conjured ropes. "We should tie her up. I don't want to have to treat such a promising recruit like this, but what will we do if she wakes up in the middle of the ride?"

"I don't think that'll happen."

"And why is that?"

"Didn't you notice? She was knocked out seconds after I injected her, she can't weigh more than fifty pounds. She probably won't wake up for another six hours."

"We can't be sure, she's one heck of a catch. I wouldn't be surprised if she pulled some other trick out of her bag." Reluctantly I let him tie her hands and feet together before we both got in the car, Identity hopping in the front seat. 

Still holding the girl in my lap, I slide into the seat across from the other two girls in the car. One of them is awake and fidgeting like she's running on six pots of coffee. The other one is laying down next to her, asleep.

"What did you do to Nova?!" The fidgety girl obviously cares a lot about the girl in my lap, I wonder when they met. 

"Oh, so that's her name." Nova, huh? "Don't worry, your friend is fine. I just injected a light tranquilizer on her."

"Light? She's passed out like a rock!"

"Yeah, well, she's kind of lighter than the average person."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that! I totally accidentally dragged her behind me the first time we met because of it." I accidentally let out a little laugh, but the girl definitely noticed. My tough guy act is over.

"I'm Eagle, nice to meet you."

"My name's Dash, and this sweetie laying down next to me is Honey."

    "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why is she asleep?"

"You don't need to worry about her, she just overused her OD saving the people on the bus. She should wake up soon, she just needed to rest a little." That's a relief, I was worried something bad happened to her.

"So, how many other people passed the test this year?" Wow, she's getting straight to the point.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. We don't have any contact with the other buses."

"What do you do with the people who don't ride the bus?"

"Well, since nobody knows where the actual location of the test is, everybody is assigned a bus. This way we're able to test everyone."

"Oh, that's good. I'd feel awful if someone had to miss out on this amazing opportunity. I mean, everyone dreams of being chosen! Well, except for her…" We both go quiet and look at Nova, wrapped up in our own thoughts.

"Do you, by chance, know why she doesn't want to be a hero?"

"No, sorry, I just met her today."

"Really? You seemed really close to her!"

"Oh, well, she just kind of has that reliable feel about her. She gives off the feeling that she'll be there for me when I need it." Huh, she sounds like a very interesting person indeed. I think she'll make a good leader someday. We sat there in silence for a while, both of us thinking about this strange girl who popped out of nowhere.

"Mmm, Dash, where are we?"

"Hey Honey's awake!"

"Dash, who's the guy with the wings, and why is Nova tied up?"

"I'm Eagle, nice to meet you."

"Are you another student?" She's clearly groggy, definitely not thinking quiet up to speed yet.

"No, I'm actually a pro hero."

"Oh," she yawns loudly mid-sentence. "Wait, where are we? This isn't the bus." Both Dash and I caught Honey up to speed, and then talked a little more.

"How long have we been driving? I feel like I'm gonna explode from all the extra energy I have!"

"You should just go run outside, Dash." That's news to me, these kids are crazy. I mean, running as fast as a car?

"Yeah, that might be a good warm-up. Hey, bird dude, can I run alongside the car?"

"No, sorry. Our destination is classified. Oh, and for your question earlier, we've been driving for about an hour. We should be there soon, maybe ten more minutes"

"Hey, how long is Nova gonna be out for? I wanna thank her for getting everyone off the bus. I feel really bad for passing out and not being able to help."

"She should wake up in about six hours. I've never seen anyone be knocked out so quickly by the sedative, so it could even be longer. Sorry I don't have more information." I really have no clue how long she'll be out for, she's so still it's almost like she's dead.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah Dash, why?"

"Because I think she's moving." We all look down at Nova, whose head is propped against my lap. Her eyes tighten, and then flare wide open.