Beauty is as redefinable as peace, yet both terms come to mind when viewing the scene before me. Saguaro cacti stood meters tall with arms outspread to the sky and, great jagged, mountain peaks rose to the heavens. The light wind rustled through the dry brush and tossed tumble weed ever farther, while the fleeting wren nested amongst the spiny embrace of Cholla. The dark clouds of the monsoon rains hovered overhead in large advances, threatening to break open and drench the parched landscape at last. With all the cues of a desert storm in place, the determined sun still manages to peak above the mountains edge, casting its light in rays of orange, purple, and red, before finally slipping out of view. The heavy clouds crack, and the downpour begins…
I awoke wearily, as I do almost every night these days. My dream of paradise behind me, I groan as I sit up from my bed. Though, I wouldn't exactly define it as a bed. Tucked into a corner, it merely consisted of a metal slab covered in a sheet. My tired eyes took in the all too familiar view of bars, locks, and cages. The room I had woken up in wasn't your typical bedroom, far from it actually.
"Hey, you ok?" A drowsy voice said from behind me. I turned to look at my only companion in this confusing and frustrating world; Luke. He was stretching now, his sandy blonde hair tossed messily in front of still closed eyes. One finally cracked open, the metallic blue hue matching my own. He rubbed the still closed eye with an arm.
"Just had a dream." I reassured him. I stood and stretched myself.
"The same one as before?"
"Yeah." I admitted and he slowly nodded. He glanced past me, through the bars, and at the small clock on the wall above the huge double doors. "We have about an hour or so."
"You should try to sleep some more. God only knows what Lucas wants to do today." Luke was referencing one of the main men who cared for us, though care wasn't the right word. I ignored his comment and closed my eyes, and tried focusing on the dream. How I wished I was standing there in that bliss rain, and not in the medical facility I was now.
The place we were held in really was a medical facility, but not your classic hospital or emergency room. This place was an almost top of the line research lab, specializing in recombinant DNA, grafting, and microscopic analysis. It boasted, again, almost high quality test tubes, microscopes, beakers, and even swivel chairs, so not really a high standard name. But the scientists who worked here had made a breakthrough; us. Myself and my brother. We were the only two living specimens of recombinant human and avian DNA.
"Caylus, please, sit down. You're making me nervous." Luke pulled at my sleeve, breaking me from my concentration. I obliged at last and sat down next to him. I leaned forward on my knees and placed my head in my hands. Every other 16 to 17 year old in this world owned an Xbox, a TV, a phone, hell, even a bed. But not us. We were sitting in a large, metal and plexiglass reinforced cage, sitting in the corner of this medium sized lab room. Other cages similarly built ran along every wall, but they housed full blooded species. Dogs, cats, parrots, hamsters, rabbits, even a couple of chinchillas, however, we were the biggest lifeforms in this building.
The wind howled outside mournfully, reminding me once again that I couldn't be farther from the desert oasis plaguing my subconscious. It was full blown winter, and snow piled up on every windowsill. The two windows in this room were tinted white with frost and I could barely make out the bars securing the glass in place. Large tables with those swivel chairs ran along the center of the room and were piled high with other scientific equipment, most of which I couldn't pronounce the name of. A large set of black, swinging double doors were at the end of the room, and they were locked. Our cage connected to another door in the wall behind it, which led out into a small arena with a dome roof made of reinforced chain link. We only ever went out there during the warmer months, though there were occasions where we were forced out for research purposes. From the little green light illuminated over that connecting door, I had a feeling that today would be one of those days.
The room was slowly beginning to get lighter as the sun began its assent. As it rose, so did my anxiety. Lucas was punctual, and rarely missed a chance to greet his subjects with a face of enthusiasm. As if he had been waiting for the clock to strike 7, the double doors swung gracefully open as the timekeeper chimed overhead. Lucas strode in with his nose buried in a clipboard of papers, followed closely by his associate Penelope, though we just called her Pen. They had last names of course, but we had learned that calling them by their first names tended to tick them off. You gotta love the little things in this place.
"C-A12." Lucas spoke in a loud, nasally voice. "Step forward."
"L-Z36, the same." Pen's voice was a little softer, but did little to dampen the demanding tone. Both Luke and I obeyed sheepishly, know exactly what the scientists wanted. We extended our right arms through the small porthole in the cage wall. I saw the flash of a needle, felt the familiar sting, and it was over. They set the syringes full of bright, red blood on a tray next to Lucas. Sure, we could always resist and not put our arms out, but the consequences far exceeded the pain of a needle prick. I rubbed the spot to stop the small trickle of blood seeping down my forearm.
"Exit." Lucas said sharply and the connecting door of our cage sprang open. I looked down the short tunnel and saw the white snow on the ground. I grit my teeth as Luke went first. The door closed abruptly behind me. I was already shivering as we stepped out of the tunnel and into the small arena. I was glad to be out of the small cage inside, but at least inside was somewhat warm. It was easily below freezing out here and Luke and I only had meager jackets to fend against the biting cold. We moved to our favorite shelter in the arena; a large overturned tree whose stump was now partially hollow. You could walk in about 4 feet and it was wide enough for the both of us to sit next to each other.
The arena was mostly barren, with only three pine trees at the center and small rocks scattered around them. The dome was about 40 feet high, which made it feel much larger than it actually was. Lucas and Pen were most likely either prepping for some other experiment inside or were discussing something that we were not meant to hear. Either way, I knew we wouldn't be out here for long. I shivered again as a frigid breeze ruffled my black hair, and I leaned closer to Luke. I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw, waiting for the tunnel door to reopen.
Pen POV
Both of the hybrids exited the cage swiftly and I shut the door behind them. I turned to Lucas as he scribbled notes down in his clipboard. The double doors swung open and an intern entered to take the blood samples. They were meant to be analyzed for impurities before being submitted to the science review board. C-A12 and L-Z36 were the first of their kind, the first viable lifeforms of what we had been working towards for years; Human Avian Compatibility, or HAC for short. It was a groundbreaking, and game changing step forward in the Research Center of Transforming Biology and Cytology.
"We should keep the names they've already given themselves." Lucas said, feeling my gaze on him. "We want them to be likable, relatable, charming."
"Higher ups will see it as a school, rather than a research lab." I argued, which earned me a stern look from Lucas.
"Why not be both? We've already raised them this far." Lucas turned to the table next to us, reaching out to pick up the large black feather resting there. He raised it to the light, seeing the faint purple tinting, and turned it over in his hands as he thought. "Caylus Alpha and Luke Zander do sound better than C-A12 and L-Z36. At least they had enough sense to use the letters we provided."
"We set our time to appear at 10 this morning, we are running short on time." I reminded him and he set the feather down, looking up at me with sparkling green eyes.
"Don't feed them today. I want them to perform willingly." He said and I frowned.
"But, they haven't eaten in almost 3 days, as per your orders. They were promised a reward today. If we don't stay in a routine-"
"I am aware of their physiological needs, Wren. You care far too much about their well being, and not on the state of this lab." Lucas moved towards the double doors. "See to it that they are loaded and ready within the hour. I will not risk anything ruining this momentous day."