Chapter Text
Bokuto pressed his face against the glass of his cage, hands on either side of his head. He craned his neck as he watched the last of the scientists leave for the night, pulling the curtain across the entrance to the room as they went. The boy sighed and pulled away from the glass. Every night he hoped they’d get some opportunity to escape, but to no avail. He was beginning to get discouraged. What if they’d all be trapped in this lab for the rest of their miserable lives?
Across the room Kuroo shot him a small smile, probably meant to encourage him. The black-haired boy’s cat tail waved back and forth behind him, his ears twitching every so often. Bokuto managed a small smirk, but it didn’t stay on his face for very long. He turned his attention to the other enclosures around the room. He was familiar with most of the other experiments, seeing as they’d all been born and forced to live in the same building their entire lives. All of them were genetic experiments, some more successful than others. There were always those who were created and died a few days later. Bokuto always felt awful for them.
Some of the experiments had bird wings, like him. Others, like Kuroo, had cat-like features. There were even a couple of them who could change into wolves. Normally wolf mutants would be feared by other experiments, but the few kept in this room were different from the Erasers that the scientists liked to keep as guards and assassins. The experiments with wolf DNA kept in cages were considered more “complete” than the werewolf-like men who were feared. Because unlike the Erasers, the wolf-mutants were able to completely assume a wolf form, not just gain several features. Sometimes Bokuto wished he could be like them. Wings didn’t do much in a building below-ground.
He sighed again as he leaned back against the cage wall, eyes moving up to stare at the ceiling. Bokuto had never really had a chance to use his wings. The laboratory they were kept in was much too small for him to attempt flight, the best he could do was stretch and flap them from time to time. All he wanted was to get a chance to properly use them, just once. Of course, the likelihood of that happening was slim to none. If he wanted to fly, he’d need to escape the lab first. If he could do that… well, maybe the impossible could become possible.
Smiling slightly at the thought, Bokuto flopped down on his side and closed his eyes, deciding that it was time to sleep.
***
He awoke to what he assumed to be the scientists getting ready for the day’s activities. Assuming that, Bokuto curled in on himself, fear gripping his heart when he imagined the awful tests he’d have to go through that day. Why the hell did I have to be born a genetic freak?
But when his cage door clicked open, he heard an unfamiliar voice.
“Get up, we’re getting you out of here.”
Bokuto was startled and sat up immediately, heart racing. His yellow eyes met black ones for a split second before the boy in front of him moved on to another cage. Hesitantly, he crawled out of his enclosure, bare feet hitting the cold linoleum. All around him other experiments were being freed as well. Heart pounding against his chest, Bokuto made his way over to Kuroo.
“What’s going on?” he whispered, continuing to glance around. Kuroo shrugged in response.
“They said they’re trying to help us. I say we follow them.”
By “they”, Kuroo meant the six mystery kids who had shown up in the middle of the night. Bokuto had never seen any of them before but one thing was certain, they were mutants, just like everyone else. That much was clear by the wings each one of them had on their back.
“Okay, everybody. Let’s blow this joint.”
Bokuto looked up to see an unfamiliar girl with dirty blonde hair helping up a girl with wings named Yachi. The unfamiliar girl strode forward, motioning for everyone to follow her. Bokuto looked at Kuroo, who shrugged again and followed the girl. “The door is open, we might as well make a break for it.”
Up ahead a dark skinned girl was quietly urging everyone forward, while a taller boy made a low comment next to her. The leader began talking louder, and Bokuto could sense the worry in her voice. The mass of mutants began to surge forward at a faster pace, uneasy whispers mixed with the commands of their apparent rescuers swirling between them. They ran up a flight of stairs and through a door before everyone suddenly halted. Fear formed in the pit of Bokuto’s stomach. He stood on his tiptoes, trying to see what had happened.
“Erasers,” Kuroo hissed. His ears flattened against his head and his tail fluffed up. Bokuto could hear the first girl shouting back and forth with one of them, then a shout.
“Get them out of here!”
The group suddenly rushed forward again, this time in a full on sprint. They weaved their way through tunnels for what seemed like ages. Just as Bokuto’s lungs felt like they could take no more the group burst into the open, out into a deserted city street.
We’re outside!
Awe filled every fiber of Bokuto’s being as he looked around. There was so much more space compared to the tiny laboratory which he had been born in. He was out, he was free.
A few moments later and the group had started moving again, though Bokuto was no longer sure who was leading them. But he felt a need to stick with the others, no matter what might happen after the night was over.