The hours flew by quickly between card games, stories, eating, and sleeping.

Early in the morning, Vincent gathered everyone around the table and explained the plan. "This trip will take approximately sixteen flight hours. We all need to eat as much as possible if we are going to have the energy to fly that long.”

“We will take breaks every four hours at rest stations, but I am unsure about the state of the locations. Considering how old some of the canned food here was, it is possible we won't be able to eat anything else before we arrive."

The group proceeded to heat all the remaining cans and finish off as much of the food as possible. Although it was not exactly tasty, they were still each able to down four or more cans of food.

After finished the food and putting away the stove, Vincent said, "Alright the only steps left are to turn off the lanterns and put the clothes back."

"What do you mean put the clothes back?" Tom asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

Vincent explained saying, "Well, we can't just leave them lying around. We just have to fold everything and put them in some new bags before leaving." Hearing this, it dawned on Arthur and Tom that the smell on these clothes might be related to more than just age. They had likely been used and put back in the same method multiple times before.

Tom shuddered before saying, "I know we have worn worse than this, but still; wearing some forty-year-old dirty cloths just rubs me the wrong way."

Vincent responded, "Well it's possible these clothes were clean before we wore them. These safe houses are usually checked up on and updated every five or so years, but this one has not been used for a very long time if the dust is anything to go by.”

“Because of this, it's likely that it has never been used, but it's impossible to know for sure."

Arthur spoke up saying, "Forget the clothes. What do we do after we put them away."

Vincent responded, "After that, the only step left is to seal the hatch with the boulder and then start flying."

The group proceeded to take off the dated clothing and sealed it in bags before turning off the lanterns and leaving the stale dusty bunker.

Arthur scaled the ladder first with his necklace jumping around his neck as he climbed. Tom followed behind almost slipping on a loose rung of the ladder. Vincent climbed up last and sealed the hatch before heaving the boulder back into place.

Arthur looked around at the forest above the bunker for the first time and noticed the tall hardwoods and the small amount of light that diffused through the leaves to reach the forest floor.

Turning around, Arthur was drawn to a tree near the hatch. The bark was covered in dense ivy which Arthur shifted aside with his hand to reveal a carving in the wood.

The sculpture was a rough image of a man holding his hand into the air.

It had faded green paint and the edges were difficult to distinguish from the curvature of the bark but the man was still slightly visible if you looked directly at it.

Staring at the carving a foot in front of his face, Arthur felt it pull at his body in an indescribable way. It drew his attention much like he imagined a moth would be attracted to a flame.

Tom was confused at the spectacle while Vincent's thoughts were betrayed by his open mouth.

Vincent's mind worked quickly piecing together what he knew. Based on Arthur passing out earlier, he should have rather small energy reserves. Additionally, the boys seemed to have barely any practical training. To sense the beacon so easily spoke wonders for Arthur's talent or a very interesting past. Feeling the energy in the surrounding world was hardly something you stumbled upon randomly.

Vincent thought of the weeks he had spent meditating in order to gain awareness.

Vincent spoke up saying, "That is the beacon that I used to find this location. It projects an energy that allows people who know what to look for to find this place. That carving acts as a beacon of sorts that points the way."

Tom spoke up saying, "I don't feel anything."

Vincent continued saying, "It's common that one must meditate in some form for weeks before they can notice the energy in the world around them."

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Tom looked at Arthur and asked, "How come you never taught me that?"

Arthur froze for a second before responded, "I never meditated for that long but I started feeling things like that occasionally after an experience when I was younger. It's something I would not want to repeat so I figured you wouldn't want to do what I did."

Vincent spoke up saying, "There are multiple ways to break through. Think of it as a barrier inside yourself separating you from the energies around you.”

“It is possible to force your body to become aware or show someone how to access the energy but both methods are dangerous and taboo in the community. It is common practice to allow one to break through on their own. With that, I’ve given you all the hints you’re allowed."

Tom realized Vincent was referring to him breaking through since Arthur had already done it. He raked through his thoughts of the last five minutes trying to remember all the aforementioned hints.

Vincent turned to Arthur saying, "Your ability to sense energy also explains why you recognized me earlier near that store. However, I am confused as to why you tried to escape."

Arthur chose his words carefully saying, "I was told a long time ago to stay away from anyone with abilities like myself. I only went near Tom originally because I figured he would be too slow to catch me if he turned out to be dangerous."

Tom puffed up his chest and said, "Yeah right. You weren't faster than me back then."

Vincent frowned at Arthur's reluctance to elaborate on his past but was overall happy that the Arthur had something going for him. They both possessed the transitioning ability of a child so at least Arthur had one advanced skill.

His job usually entailed finding children with no idea of their abilities and then convincing the parents to have the child attend the school when they were the right age.

It was rare to find children with any ability but both of these boys could shift albeit slowly and Arthur could already feel his surroundings.

It was even rarer that neither was affiliated with a major family.

Usually, children like them would only gain a skill from extreme training with a specialist or family support.

Vincent had been initially suspicious of the fact that they were alone in a town, but his suspicions evaporated when no one stopped him from approaching them which proved they were not being watched. Additionally, the boys denied any familial support and seemed to take pride in being on their own based on what they'd told him so far.

With the right training, he felt that the two of them would make a splash in the world. Maybe even enough of a difference to change some of the oppressive hierarchy plaguing the system. Kids like them were part of the reason he got into this job in the first place. Their journey so far reminded Vincent slightly of his own path to joining the community, but he could reminisce later.

Vincent left his thoughts and rejoined the argument between Arthur and Tom as to who was faster.

Vincent interjected, "Let's just focus on getting to the school. Go ahead and shift." Arthur and Tom both bit down on their forefingers while Vincent bit down on his thumb. Pulling feathers from their ears, each pushed the quill end of the feather into the trickling blood and waited.

Arthur and Tom were looking at Vincent wondering about his transformation. After around five seconds, Vincent had shifted. Around a minute later he was followed by Arthur and then seconds later by Tom.

Vincent in the form of a peregrine falcon led the way through the trees into the sky above.

He weaved through the branches with precision and speed while Arthur and Tom followed with less success. Both were hit by numerous branches before making it out of the leafy maze, taking three times as long as Vincent.

Vincent flew higher into the sky and the two smaller birds followed. After ascending, the bird of prey shot off into the sky away from the safe house with a new level of speed, and the two smaller birds pushed to keep up.

The two smaller birds focused solely on keeping up and ignored the changes in the world around them.

Forests changing to hills and mountains were avoided but ignored as hours flowed by like running water from the streams and rivers below.

At the point when both Arthur and Tom felt as though their wings would fall off, Vincent dove. Feeling relief, they both began drifting down to the ground at the base of a large stream.

There were small groups of trees in the area, but nothing compared to the wooded areas they had already seen.

Vincent landed softly in a controlled manner and shifted while the other two birds landed with a thump that nearly sent a robin into the stream.

Both finished shifting by the time a naked Vincent had moved a rock larger than the one from the previous safe house to reveal another ladder.

Free of the strain that high speed flight put on his mind, Arthur noticed the presence of another beacon and walked over to a nearby tree and noticed another small figure carved into the tree in the same pose as before.

This carving seemed more recent than the last and Arthur felt a stronger pull coming from it.

Tom complained saying, "Why are you making us fly faster now? My arms are so dead that I don't think I could lift a feather." Tom demonstrated by flinging a limp arm in front of his body.

Vincent ignored the question and instead asked, "How long has it been since you both bonded?"

Arthur answered, "I was around eight when it happened and I showed Tom when he was around ten."

Vincent absorbed the information and responded, "The longer you are bonded the more room for improvement you have.”

“If you push yourselves, you will be able to bypass the natural limits of a normal bird. Just now, I was only flying at around a third of my maximum speed. If you both were to push yourselves, you would be much faster. You could even train to shift as fast or faster than I can."

Hearing this, Arthur thought back on the times they had been flying leisurely from town to town instead of their maximum pace.

At the time, he’d enjoyed not being exhausted when they landed, but after watching Vincent in the sky with such speed and precision, he wondered if he could have achieved something similar.

Vincent explained, "Let’s wait for thirty minutes before we continue. For now, we need to see if there is food still stored here and find a source of drinkable water."

Vincent turned and walked to the ladder which he descended with Arthur and Tom following right after him.