We were met with a small celebration from those gathered around the door. The faces around me were filled with relief and joy. These soldiers made their lives hell, and they saw first hand as we sent them away, and rescued one of our own. The younger ones started to come up from the basement, looking shocked that it was already over. I think they suspected it would be worse. The only resistance they’d seen first hand was in the prison, and each time it ended in the brutal death of anyone who tried to stand up. Looking around now filled me with pride. We’d made a difference in their lives, and I wasn’t going to stop. I’d make sure each and every one of them were safe permanently.

I looked towards the hallway and saw Alex. There was a young girl, maybe fourteen crying and hugging him. She saw Lucas and I return inside and came to hug us as well. She threw an arm around both of us, squishing us together uncomfortably.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Her voice trembled.

She was too young and innocent to be here. She must have been terrified. I waited patiently for her to be content, and walked to meet Alex after she released me. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. I smiled sincerely and relished the moment, feeling like a real leader. He escorted me to the infirmary where the new girl was. They had removed the towel and handcuffs crudely placed on her, and the infirmary team was finishing a quick check to make sure she was uninjured. She insisted it was just some bruises, and they cleared her to go. She seemed confused and irritated. She was likely having trouble understanding how her prison sentence so easily turned into freedom.

“I’m glad you’re okay, can you come with us for a little bit?” Alex asked her gently.

“What’s going on?” She snapped. “Aren’t you gonna throw me in a cell? You all think I’m some freak or terrorist. Go put me with the others to rot and die.”

I frowned and moved in to calm her. She flinched away from me and I raised my hands to indicate I wasn’t a threat. She reminded me of a cornered animal, wounded and distrustful. It made my heart ache.

“We aren’t soldiers. Everyone here is just like you. We lied to them to make sure you were released safely,” I explained calmly.

She rolled her eyes, seeming unimpressed. “You think I'm that gullible? I don’t know what kind of idiotic reverse psychology shit this is but I’m not buying it,” She huffed.

I glanced at Alex, and we had an unspoken conversation. He nodded, understanding what I wanted to do, and approving of it. I took the military jacket off and turned around so she could see my scars. I let the wings unfurl slowly, and then put them back up. Alex followed suit and produced a small amount of fog. I watched her as I put the jacket back on, and her expression seemed to soften a bit.

“We took over this base and everyone you saw on the way in was once a prisoner here. You’re safe now. I promise,” I assured her.

“Fine. I guess I believe you,” she muttered.

“Great. I’m Angel, this is Alex. He’s in charge. You can come to either of us if you ever need anything. What’s your name?”

“Cam,” she said after a moment of hesitation.

“We're glad you’re here Cam,” Alex said, smiling.

Once we had her calmed down we escorted her to the lab to speak with Isabelle. Isabelle cataloged her age and Oddity as she had for all the others. Cam said she was seventeen, and her oddity was producing acid from her hands. It seemed to work a bit like Alex’s fog in that it came from her glands, and she could only produce a limited quantity at a time before her hands became dry and irritated. She could coat her hands in the substance and melt most things she touched, including people, she added. The way she said it made me feel uneasy. She was short with us, and still seemed distrustful. We showed her around the facility, and offered her a room that no one was using, but she turned it down in favor of staying in the basement. She only had one question for us about everything. She wanted to know if we had a combat unit she could join. We told her about Lucas’s group and the meeting time, and she agreed to be there.

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We parted ways at the cafeteria so she could eat, and we resumed our usual business. I made a quick stop by Lucas’s room and quietly asked him to keep an eye on her. I warned him of her behavior and that she seemed a bit on edge. I hoped she’d come around in a few days once she accepted that she was safe, but I wanted him to keep an eye on her in the meantime. He agreed and I moved on to the next group I needed an update from.

The rest of the day was business as usual, and I returned to our room late to find Alex already in bed. He glanced up sleepily and gave me a soft smile that never failed to make my heart flutter. I took a quick shower and joined him in bed. He threw an arm around me and I curled into his chest. We talked for a while, catching each other up on work stuff, and discussed our thoughts on the meeting we had with Isabelle that morning. So much had happened I’d almost forgotten everything she said about the origins of Oddities, and how deeply messed up the situation was. We decided to table it for the night, and decide tomorrow how to tell everyone. After a while of talking about nothing of importance I drifted off to sleep in his arms, putting an end to another hard day.

When I woke up Alex was already missing from the room. It was typical for him to wake up before me, but I felt a twinge of sadness. It was my 18th birthday, and even though things were crazy right now I craved a sense of normalcy. I’d hoped he would remember my birthday, and wake me up to celebrate, if only for a moment before we had to get to work. I lazily got out of bed, sulking for a moment, before getting dressed and heading downstairs.

Right away my presence was needed. The organization team said there was an issue with the well that provided drinking water to the facility, and it needed my attention. I thanked them for the update and headed outside. I walked to the back of the building, trying to shake off the grumpy attitude I was developing. It was silly to be so fixated on something small like a birthday. We were at war for our freedom. In the grand scheme of things it didn’t matter.

Near the back of the land inside the barrier was a small pond. Next to it was a freshwater well that provided drinking water. We had regular water hookups for appliances and showers, and it could be boiled to drink if need be, but that would be extremely time consuming. I wondered how I’d even go about fixing the well, and figured at the very least I could float down to see if I could figure out the issue, then fly out and discuss it with some of the others to see if anyone knew what to do. Days like this made me feel out of my league as a leader.

My pessimistic train of thought was interrupted as I looked up and saw Alex step out from behind the well. He had a cake in his hands, and a sincere smile plastered across his face. He led me over to a makeshift picnic setup and my heart melted. We sat and ate a few slices as we talked. We laughed about the unusual breakfast and he told me how he woke up early and pestered the kitchen staff to teach him so he could make it himself. He beamed with pride at the accomplishment and I complimented him on the taste. Once we’d had our fill of cake he moved everything aside and we laid down on the sheet, staring up at the sky together.

“Happy birthday, Angel,” he whispered softly and leaned over to kiss me.

I felt guilty for ever assuming he’d forget. He was by far the most thoughtful person I knew, and I should’ve known he’d make time for me, no matter how crazy things got. The entire time I’d known him he showed me again and again how much he cared. This whole ordeal wouldn’t have even been possible if he didn’t risk everything to help me the night of prom. He whisked me away from danger, and pledged to be with me through it all, even after I’d injured him. Without him I’d have been captured that night, locked away with the others. But he chose to make it his problem, for me.

“I love you,” I said abruptly. My cheeks turned red with embarrassment from the way I’d blurted it out. I hadn’t even meant to say it aloud, but the feeling rising inside me willed the words to come out.

“I love you too. I have for a long time,” he replied as he ran his fingers through my hair gently.

We stayed like that for maybe an hour or two. Just enjoying each other's company, talking and joking like we used to. We reminisced on times we’d spent together over the years, and let time flow by as the sun continued to rise higher in the sky. I could’ve stayed in the moment forever, but eventually we had to get up, and return to work.

On the way back we talked more about all we’d learned from Isabelle, and Alex decided to go ahead and call everyone together and break the news. He said people deserved to know how large of a conspiracy it was, how messed up the whole thing was, and choose for themselves if they still wanted to be a part of this. He fully expected that after the news was out some people would leave in favor of finding somewhere far away to start over. We both agreed our place was here, right in the middle of this war. We wouldn’t let the atrocious crimes be buried, and we’d stay here to save every possible Oddity. We all deserved to live in peace, without the need to hide from those that would see us dead, or a tool of war.

Alex said he still wanted to try to find a way to discuss terms with the governor himself, and plead our case as innocent, non-threatening citizens. He wanted the governor to admit to the public everything that had actually happened, and grant us all immunity, freeing us to resume our lives without fear. That would have to come later, for now we had to make sure everyone was strong enough to fight back if things didn’t go our way. Like it or not we couldn’t keep hiding forever. We had to do something.