Chapter 3

I stayed in the village for a couple of weeks to heal up and rest. But then my restless nature and thirst for revenge made me antsy, wanting to get going again. I said goodbye to the people in the village who had become my friends and with a quick jump into the air I started to continue my flight northward. I didn't go straight north though, I made a slight detour through Colombia. I planned to go to the Embassy there, to send another message.

Underway I rested a few times on hilltops and ate some of the provisions my friends from the village had given me for my journey. An uneventful flight later I neared Bogotá and in particular, the Avenida El Dorado where the Embassy is located. I decided to stake the place out before I could break into the building or tried to get in through an opening, so I landed quietly on a rooftop not far away, while waiting for it to become dark.

As I sat on my haunches, I noticed some commotion in the streets below me. I looked closer at it and saw a very fat looking man, apparently with something around his middle walking towards the embassy. The people that saw him walking got out of the way very fast. Then some police showed up, but instead of trying to arrest him or shoot him, they retreated and let him walk on. I kind of zoomed in with my incredible eyesight and saw that the man had explosives tied around his waist. Something he held in his hand was probably the detonator.

One policeman got the guts to try to do something and fired his gun at the man. The bullets just bounced off, however. 'Is this man invulnerable?' I started to feel angry. The man was going in a straight line towards the US embassy. Though I was mad at the treatment I'd gotten from some of my countrymen, it was still my country. Thought became action as I straightened up and swooped in an arc down towards the street.

At high speed I soared towards the man and picked him up and tried my best to get him high in the air. 'Damn that guy is heavy!' My wings beat furiously and with much difficulty we rose higher and higher. But I knew I couldn't keep this up, so I set us down on the roof of a high tower.

There the man turned to me and angrily spat, "Death to Americans. Let me go or I blow us up."

Coldly I said to him, "Go ahead. There's only us up here. Maybe you'll survive the blast, but the collapse of the building might kill you."

"You have death wish?" With a screwed face he snarled it at me.

"Yes I do, I didn't want to look like this, and I got experimented on." I motioned to him, "What's your excuse?"

With a superior air he snarled, "I'm proud of my membership of FARC & Al Qaeda alliance. I would gladly give my life to blow up Americans. But since my change, I can survive every explosion or gunfire. So I will blow up every American I see. That includes you."

Meanwhile, I stealthily pulled a feather from my wing and held it ready in my hand. Just as he began to shout some kinda slogan or battle cry which I'm sure would have been followed by detonating the explosives around him, I threw my feather into his mouth. I was pretty sure that the feather would just bounce off his skin, just like it did with the Verosaurs earlier and I counted again on his mouth being not so protected. He choked on the feather entering his mouth for a moment, then still tried to press the activation button. Fortunately for me and the people in the building, the poison worked fast enough to prevent him from doing so.

I flew from the tower roof towards the Embassy to tell them that the danger had passed and that the suicide bomber, well not exactly suicide, but close enough, was lying dead on top of the tower. As I neared the Embassy I saw several soldiers running around on the grounds. It looked like the Embassy was on full alert. I didn't notice the lonely soldier on the roof, however. He hid in the shadows with his large caliber machinegun. I guess he was frightened of me because without warning he starting shooting at me. Because I hadn't expected it, I got hit a few times in my legs, abdomen and wings.

In a reflex I swung my right wing towards where the shooting came from and released a few feathers. I don't know if it was because I wanted to let loose or if it was a result of being fired upon. The fact was that one feathers nicked the soldier on the back of his hand and within moments he began to convulse. I made my way over there and screamed, "No, I didn't mean that. Don't die, please?"

It took only moments for the soldier, he looked like a boy, to die. I held him in my arms as he died and thought, 'He can't be more than 18 years old, and I killed him!'

Then the time for mourning was over as several soldiers burst through the access door to the roof. They saw me holding the boy, and immediately opened fire on me. These were only 5.56 mm rounds, so I could deflect them with my wings and even if they hit my flesh, they didn't penetrate much. But it still hurt me so I got up and took off in flight. I screamed out in anger, "Why couldn't I get a chance to explain?" But of course there was no one around near enough to hear me.

While crying in my frustration I flew towards the north side of the city. Next to each other on one street I saw a bakery and a butcher shop that were already open. Quickly I came in for a landing and folded my wings. Menacingly I stepped into the shop and picked out some loaves of bread. The owner was about to say something but at the first sound he uttered, I glared at him and he backed down. This was repeated next door at the butcher and with my sling bag filled, I quickly took off again before authorities could respond to the calls of my appearance.

On a mountaintop in the middle of the jungle I stopped to rest and eat, while I contemplated my next move. I decided to forgo sending another message and just head on home. I made a mental picture of the map of this part of the world and decided that the shortest way for me was to cross over to Haiti or Dominican Republic and then by Cuba to cross over to Florida. This not only seemed the shortest way, it also would give me the least problems with border patrols. Ever since Castro died, Cuba had descended more into chaos till it became as much as a new state of the US. It wasn't really US territory of course, but you wouldn't be able to tell seeing the sights there.

Iris Pratt, the President of the USA studied a report about the person who crashed into the embassy in Buenos Aires. The investigating senior had written, "This person is a tough avian hybrid young girl with apparently toxic deadly wings. She calls herself Oriana. She apparently threatened to kill the ambassador, but didn't follow through. It is not clear if she is a threat to the security of the President or not. If she really is a threat, then she had ample chance to kill people, which she didn't. We do recommend caution in dealing with her. There is also another investigation underway on this young girl, secretly from CIA sources. We have ascertained that they have codenamed the girl, Raven."

Iris paused and responded to a knock on her door, "Enter." Her aide entered her study and handed her a new report before leaving. This report said, "A suicide bomber from an alliance between FARC and Al Qaeda tried to get to the US embassy in Bogotá. This wasn't a regular attempt though, as the bomber was diagnosed as a hybrid with a very tough skin, able to withstand the explosion himself. Before the bomber was able to reach the Embassy, he was stopped by the young hybrid woman identified as Raven. She managed to kill the bomber before he could detonate the explosives. Then she appeared to attack the Embassy herself. She was stopped by a soldier single handedly. He did so, however, at the cost of his own life. The poison of Raven's wings killed him very quickly. After the foiled attack she was driven away by our forces and left for parts unknown. Since two shops elsewhere in the city reported having been robbed of supplies by a woman with Raven's description, we can safely assume that she is making her way towards the USA."

Iris reread the reports and leaned back in her chair. She thought, 'Damn that husband of mine. He must have sent in some CIA men. Why did he have her called Raven, though? Does he know something that I don't? He won't tell me honestly, I guess. If I had known that he would be like this... ' She let the thoughts trail a bit, then got back to her state affairs. She had a lot of work to do, including letting her security and armed forces devise a plan of defense against this Raven if she really was underway to the White House and proved to be a threat.

Ellis Pratt read the same report about the events in Bogotá. He wasn't happy with it. Not only didn't they manage to stop his former son temporarily, or better, permanently, but now she had killed a US soldier. There was no telling what she might do now. 'Damn if only they hadn't let her escape Antarctica. Where is this going to end? There is no doubt that Iris is reading this report as well. If she doesn't tell me later, it will mean either that she knows I'm still involved with tracking Raven, or that she doesn't trust me enough with the information. It will probably be both, anyway.' He leaned back to think about what he could devise now to keep Raven far away from her mother.

I quickly made my way across the jungle and started to see the Caribbean Sea when I noticed the weather patterns to my right. There were a lot of clouds there and though I had never seen it from this high up in the air, it looked an awful lot like a tropical storm or even a hurricane. Soon I encountered a lot of turbulence and the wind pushed me from my path. I could try to fight my way against the wind, but the strength would only increase probably. So I turned away to my left and let the wind blow me towards the Central American Countries. I knew it would take me longer and that the border patrols were much more intensive, but I didn't want to fight a storm. It would just tire me out too quickly.

As I reached the Panama Canal, I was already very tired and hungry. There was one of the big cruise liners sailing the waters. I decided to take a quick look and maybe get something to eat. Quickly but silently I flew over to the ship and decided to land on the upper deck. As I got nearer to the ship, some passengers saw me flying and started yelling, screaming or just plain watched in awe at the young gorgeous girl dressed in lingerie flying under her own power. I touched down lightly on the deck wobbling precarious for a moment on my heels. 'Strange I didn't have any problems with it on the rooftops with the bomber and the soldier. Even in the shops I didn't notice discomfort wearing them. But now I feel a bit wobbly again. Maybe it's because I'm so tired.'

A man dressed in a white uniform with captain's bars on his epaulets walked up to me. He coolly said, "Why did you land aboard my ship, Miss... ?"

I glared at him, "I'm hungry and thirsty. Now I don't want any trouble, but I don't have any money or valuables. And be careful of my wings, which are laced with a deadly poison. So if you value your life, please, stay away from me and just let me eat and drink. Maybe I'll go to a bathroom as well."

The captain stared at me, then his facial features hardened. "Fine! I'll have something brought here. Just don't hurt any of our guests, please."

I was stunned with the ease the captain gave in. Maybe he had already heard of me? I decided to push my luck a bit further. "Thank you, captain, could I trouble you to let me go to the bathroom first then? And could I also borrow a dress or something? I would like to wear something more than just this teddy that I found where I was kept after being kidnapped from home."

The captain screwed his eyes at me as I said it, and after I spoke the word kidnapped, cocked his head in a peculiar way. I thought I saw his features soften a bit, but I couldn't be sure. "I'll see what I can do. You can use the bathroom in my cabin, it's closest to here."

I thought of warning him not to try to lock me up, but decided against it. If he did, he would be very sorry. I strode after him as he showed me the way. As I walked, I felt that my walk had more swivel in it and I was reminded that I had seen other girls walk like this. I wasn't happy that now that I did the same, but I guessed that it must be a girl thing. And I really did have the body of a girl now. He went ahead of me into quite a large cabin and pointed to a door in the side. "The shower is over there, as well as toilet and such if you need it. Now you don't have to, but if you give me your garment, I can have it cleaned for you."

I gave him an incredulous stare and tried to guess his sincerity. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and quickly untied the strings of my teddy. The captain looked at me with big eyes. I don't think he had expected me to undress in front of him. Now that I thought of it, neither did I. I guess I'm still not used to being a girl. I swallowed my embarrassment and just disappeared into the bathroom. First I took care of some business, I was glad that it wasn't that time of the month. I already had a few embarrassing moments when I was held captive and another time in the Jungle. I reveled in the clean water running all over my body. He even had shampoo and such handy. I didn't think he would mind my using some, so I lathered up my long hair and washed it well for the first time since my change.

As I was still rinsing it out, there was a knock on the door. I hopped out of the shower stall naked and dripping wet, and opened the door slightly. The captain was back with a hairdryer and some towels. "I thought you might need these. I couldn't help notice that you had beautiful, but dirty hair."

I smiled at him, "Thanks, you're being very kind. Considering that I barged into your life, demanding food and drink and threatening you with toxins."

He smiled back, "I can't know how you must have been treated, but I have some idea of what you must have been through. My son went through MORFS and became a hybrid. He had a lot of problems before fitting in. And you didn't exactly threaten, you warned me about it. Now finish up and I'll be back soon."

I answered, "Yes Sir," and closed the door again to finish my washing and then try to dry myself. My wings were a bit in the way of course, but I managed it all right. My long hair took some time to figure out, but eventually it was dry and fashionable as well. With a towel wrapped around me, I stepped back into the cabin and found the captain was already there waiting for me. On the table were several plates of food and some bottles of wine, water and other various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

"I didn't know what you would like, so I took the liberty of getting several things for you. Now I would like to talk to you while you eat. Is that okay with you?"

I smiled at him though I was still a bit apprehensive. 'Why is he being so nice and providing me with everything?' "I don't mind that at all, Sir."

He smiled at me, "You don't have to call me Sir. I'm Steve Cordell. I'm guessing that you attended some military academy because of your behavior."

I chose a stool without a back to sit on at the table. I knew I could never sit on a normal backed chair again because of my wings. I looked at him, "You're quite correct. I did attend a military academy. You as well?"

He nodded and then asked, "So would you mind telling me where you came from? I mean where you were held captive?"

I had just loaded my plate full of meat, potatoes and vegetables, and was about to dig in. "Antarctica," I said just before taking my first bite. I was glad to be eating normal food with normal utensils again. It had been a long time since I had used any.

Captain Cordell was shocked, and looked at me with surprise. "You mean the Antarctic continent? And you flew all the way here under your own power?"

I was busy shoveling food into my mouth at a rapid pace. I really was hungry again. Flying takes a lot of energy that I needed to replenish. So I nodded, and between two spoonfuls I said, "Well it did take me several days of course. And I had to heal up for a week after getting bitten by a large dinosaur in the Jungle."

He kept looking at me with wonder and admiration. Then he asked, "So where are you headed, if you don't mind me asking?"

I didn't mind, so after swallowing said, "Home." Then I got a little suspicious. "Why am I talking to you like we're old friends? Did you do something? Do you have any powers?"

He smiled mysteriously, "I didn't think you would find out. Yes I'm a weak empath. I cannot only feel emotions, but I can also give a sort of sense of trust to people. So I made you open up for to talk with me. Are you offended or angry about that?"

I thought about it, "No I don't think so. But you could have told me."

"I just did, so mind telling me where home is?"

I stopped eating for a moment debating with myself if I should tell him the truth. 'He seems nice enough, but he might tell people all about me. Well maybe that isn't such a bad thing. I might get my revenge or answer quicker if he reports me to Mom and Dad.' "Washington DC at the moment, though our real home is just outside Kansas City, Missouri."

I stuffed my mouth full again with a second helping. This time I choose rice and some tasty stuff that had been added. Captain Cordell continued to look strangely at me. "Are you related to a senator or congressman?"

I didn't immediately answer him, as I kept on eating. 'I never pigged out like this. My metabolism has changed a lot as well. I hope I can still lift off later.' The captain didn't urge me on to talk, though he must have been dying of curiosity. Finally, I swallowed the last bit and drank some wine, before answering, "No, I used to live in the White House. I was the president's son."

This was a real shock to him. His face said it all plain and clear to me. But he surprised me as well, "Want me to contact them for you? Why are you out here in the first place? I don't understand. Why you aren't with your family."