It had not been long since she had left the facility of course in her head it had been a very long time. There was no way she would ever step foot in another one of those places again let alone a walled city. She had done well evading the different patrols that had come after her not long after she escaped. The one thing she didn't hear while dashing away from the facility with the alarm going off. It had only happened once when she was there but it never went off during her escape. Alexandria shook her head of the thoughts, cracking her neck to either side as she sat up. She had been jumping from different spots along the coastline trying to find a ship to begin her journey. She was also gathering as much information as she could from the small number of people she ran into on the way.
The only thing she had on her was a rolled up journal with everything that ever happened inside the facility. She was able to keep it from the guards by plastering it to her body. It was written with all sorts of different mediums from urine to blood. Of course now she was able to get her hands on a better journal along with a pen she made from one of the quills from her transformation. She was going to fill the journal with everything about her adventures and her powers. Of course she needed to keep it very close to her since that information could be deadly in the wrong hands. She dipped the quill pen into her homemade ink and started writing using a stone slab as a table.
She was touching up a previous entry from the old journal after she had first escaped about the animal she shifted into. According to her research it was called a hedgehog but the resource she obtained the information from was rather old. She would most likely rename the form to something more suited to her. On the other side of the page were entries from the first time she was stunned by the baton to her year anniversary of being locked up in that place. The state of the world was nothing compared to what happened there. She slid her quill pen back into the pouch she made, capping the ink and storing it in the same place. She closed the journal for now, rolling it up and placing it inside the pouch which she secured to a rope that was around her waist.
Taking a deep breath she peered out the makeshift window at the open water. Another thing she had only heard about and maybe seen in some of the reading material they would give her. It was time to find a vessel so the exploration could begin. Nodding to herself an overwhelming surge of pride surged through her. Brushing her hair before going out and fixing the tattered clothes that she really needed to exchange.
"Clothes, a ship, and excitement. That is the checklist for today." Alexandria spun outside of the dwelling and a low growl echoed from her stomach. "Food needs to be added." She looked around the area to see if there was anything edible to calm her rumbling stomach. An aroma caught her attention causing her mouth to open and a bit of drool to escape. Food was something that wasn't easy to obtain outside of a settlement or city so smelling out here meant one person or small family.
Moving with purpose following the wonderful aroma. She stopped short of a small perimeter peering over the makeshift wall made of rubble. There was a single person crouched over an open fire. There seemed to be something protruding from the ground but she couldn't make it out from here. Shifting was an option but without much food that might put her at the mercy of a stranger. Growling low in her throat she did the only thing that she could. Standing up she walked over the perimeter, her hands in the air, "Hello there could we share what you have there?"
The figure froze in place silent as the landscape around them. Even though it was daytime Alexandria still couldn't make out clearly the person before her. Her leg extended to take another step when her eyes perked up. Not turning her head she looked around to see two other figures moving forward from in front of the crouching person.
A growl escaped her lips as she turned her focus to them. "I am not sure who you are but back off. I was in the middle of something."
The two figures burst into laughter as the third popped up revealing a weapon. The fire behind her had sticks with what looked like fish being cooked. There were three which meant this was a trap. Assessing the situation she needed to decide who to take out first. The person directly in front of her brandished a small knife which wouldn't be too much of an issue. However the two behind her carried what looked to be hammers rather heavy. She was only so nimble. One hit from one of those and it was bye bye exploration. She looked around the area to find something, anything that would give her a bit more power. The area around them was cleaned out aside from the makeshift perimeter. There was no way she was going to pick up a piece of rumble and hurl it at them.
A tinge of despair started to creep into her mind. Now was the time she was going to die. Fooled by food and the chance at a friend. The thought was making her livid. If something was done soon her death would come true. At that moment a sound from above invaded her ears bouncing around inside her head. What was that horrible noise? She looked up for a moment to see a bird hovering in the sky lifted along by the invisible breeze. She had no clue what it was and there was no time to revel in the sight.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"What is wrong with you? Are you just going to stand there and die?" One of the figures from behind who was clearly a male spoke moving forward tired of playing around.
A firm hand went up which made the small group freeze for some odd reason. The confusing and slight fear evaporated from Alexandria's face. It was replaced with confidence with a hint of smug. "I suggest you run or I will scatter your body parts around this area." Another burst of laughter erupted from the group. The other hammer user dug the head of his hammer into the ground to keep herself from falling over.
"Primitive slobs." Her attention turned to the large bird focusing on it. At that moment the three assailants dashed forward, enraged by the comment attempting to strike her down. A yell that transformed into a shriek bellowed from her as her body began to contort and shift. There was a risk but as long as she killed them first things should be fine.
Her wingspan burst out blowing the assailants back thankfully missing the fire with the food surrounding it. Everything was elevated and her heart was beating like a drum. This was the first time she ever tried something this big before. Now she understood the reason for the small step up. However the rush she was feeling transcended the negative aspects of the shift. The predator's eyes darted to the first one who spoke as she moved towards him claws out aiming for his face. He was on his back and before he could cover up talons were digging into his orbital bone. Her neck extended down to him shrieking into the bloody mess that used to be his face.
The female hammer user was up to her feet swinging the hammer above her head. She rushed forward with blind rage attempting to smash the bird into pieces with all her strength. The bird craned its head to the sound of her stomping approach letting out another shriek ascending into the air at the last moment. Her first strike caved in her partner’s skull followed up by another that splattered his brain matter and blood all over her. Rage overflowed from her face screaming into the air at the huge bird.
The wind experience as a bird was a completely different sensation. Blood dripped from her talons as she hovered above looking down at the enraged woman standing over the corpse of her partner. She bounced around a bit until finally stabilizing in the air. Her mind trailed off a bit thinking of how majestic she looked from down below. Hunger started to take over a bit as she almost fell from the sky. Flapping her wings to stay in the air. The woman below her threw the hammer into the air. Alexandria took the opportunity diving as fast as she could. Her beak was extended as she plunged it into the woman's left eye. The sharp talons latched onto her chest ripping away at it while her beak chomped away inside the woman's skull.
The body jerked from the initial impact crumpling to the ground in a heap. Alexandria flapped her wings, blood dripping from her talons and beak. Her chest feathers were also sprayed with blood from the open wound on the body below her that used to be a woman. The final assailant had not moved since being blown off their feet from the transformation. Her eyes scanned the area until finally fixing on the young woman's location. She let out a shriek moving towards her with purpose. The woman covered herself but it didn't help. The talons of the bird ripped into her, slicing her up like paper. Skin, blood, among other things flew around the area. There were screams but they quickly died down. The only thing that was heard now was shrieking.
Alexandria breathed heavily, her whole body almost completely clothed in blood. The energy left to fly was gone so she began to hop towards the diming fire. A final shriek was heard as she shifted back into her human form. Reaching out for one of the sticks pulling it close to her. Her mouth engulfed the fish tearing at it with almost the same intensity she had while killing those three people. Her breathing slowed a bit and the growling in her stomach had ceased.
Sleep was about to claim her until the lapping of waves caused her to sit up. Turning her head to look behind her to see a small dock with a ship moored to it. A smile crept across her face as she looked at the bodies around her. Well there was something useful after all. It only took three deaths, a bit of lunch, and a nice flight to get there.
"The primitive slobs came through in more ways than one." She took in a deep breath exhaling in relief.
A bath was now at the top of her list. Hopefully there were other useful things on board. There was still the matter of actually getting to the ship. She wasn't sure how large it was from there. All she knew at this point was she had what her books referred to as sea legs. Her matted red hair felt uncomfortable or was it the hard ground. The sky caught the gaze of her green eyes which at that moment blurred to match just for that moment. The taste of the sky had been exhilarating and now she wanted to soar even further into its embrace.
Her attention turned back to the ship and the vast waterscape stretching out before her. The sky and water met in the middle which is exactly where she was going to start her exploration. After a bath, a change of clothes, and another journal entry.