ONCE ALIVE. [hazard]

[Vanessa Ryder]

The sun had long since started to set, casting its evening, golden rays across the sky, which was now a slightly darker shade of blue. Night was the wake up call of many predators, and the red alarm for those who were otherwise considered prey. In any other circumstances, they - the shifters - would have continued on their way as regular human beings, if it wasn't for that wretched wall. When ripped apart from humanity and separated by layers of thickened glass, an entirely different world was created and the human morale seemed to whither under pressure.
But for those who were new, a sliver of hope still existed - a chance in hell that, should they break the unwritten rules hidden in scents and land marks, they could survive. The enclosure at nightfall was a crash course that some could absorb or disregard.
Vanessa chose the latter.
With her multi-colored wings spread and the last of the sun's light sprawling across the sky and onto the mall's roof, she soared above the establishment. Her eyes ran their gaze over the glass panels on the ceiling, their reflective tendencies blinding her for a few seconds as the light bounced off of it. She swooped in response, blinking incessantly until the distance between her and the ground grew dangerously thin. She spread her wings wider, managing to slink through one of the gaping holes in the glass, where the artificial weather had worn down the minerals and caused a piece to fall and shatter on the dilapidated ground.
Giving off a few soft chirps in protest, her amber eyes scanned the two floors for any sign of movement. As far as she could see, there wasn’t really much to be worried about – just a bit of swaying every now and then, when a gust of wind swept through the doors near the exits and tumbled the foliage around like a rag doll.
How could a mall, once most likely a center of commercial and social activity, now seem so .. feral? Stores were missing their glass windows, the floor was missing tiles, and as for the once lively, stocked shelves, they were a thing of the past.
Deeming it safe – for the most part – she drew closer to the ground, the shadows engulfing her slightly as she finally stopped her flight, her feathers turning back into flesh.
She stood, lifting her arms and stretching them behind her head for a brief moment. Despite having discovered her shifting abilities at an early age, it was still a shock to her when she returned to her human form and regained the feeling in her fingers rather than them being embedded into wings.
But she didn’t have time to dabble around, thinking about unimportant things that occurred often. She was behind enemy lines – well, not exactly. She had no enemies other than the Keepers – those whom had placed her in the wretched exhibit. As for the rest, they held no importance to her. She knew she was trespassing, but in the careless tendencies of her heart, she wasn’t bothered by the thought. Should anything happen, she’d fly off. Living in the exhibit, just struggling to survive, was not enough for her. She needed to rile someone’s nerves, to feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Anything that was mildly interesting, she needed it like a drug addict.

Her eyes surveyed the long line of nearly empty stores, thoughts rushing through her head as she did so. It was almost a pitiful sight, drawing a few emotions from her little ‘vault’ – a place she’d buried deep underground, metaphorically, to house all the memories and thoughts that she deemed dangerous to her well-being. Nevertheless, every now and then one of those dreaded thoughts seemed to slither out from behind her stone façade and tainted her expressions with the last drops of humanity she had left.
Reluctant to show any weakness there, shrouded by the evening shadows in a deserted mall, she drew in a deep breath, her light brown eyes piercing the empty hall with an armored glare before starting her way down it.
She placed her feet carefully on the ground as she walked, her senses awakening so that she wouldn’t trip over the many plants and vines that’d started to grow. For the moment, all she cared about was exploring and, of course, making it out alive.