I yawn and sit in the small cement cave. Voices echo in my head, like ghosts from my past. "Your father never loved you!" I thrash against my flashbacks. After a while, I don't hear any more of them. I wipe my tears off on the labcoat sleeve. Did he ever- suddenly I hear footsteps. "What's this?" I hear a voice say. A boy in a labcoat slides through the narrow entrance. My stutter starts up. "I-I I um I-" I was caught. But by who?

~Wiseowl

I can hear voices outside the pack. Trill says something. Luckily, Marsha is not in Echo disguise yet so they aren't in danger yet. At least, I hope not. But still, this could be my chance to escape. "Trill!" I call. She can't understand me when I'm an owl but she still can hear me. "Be quiet owl." Marsha mutters under her breath. Then she pushes the tranquilizer button. Oow. She must have mistaken the tranquilizer for an electrifing device. It feels like a million fireworks going on in my head.

Laria~

I cock my head as a shriek comes from Marsha's sack.

"What's in there?" I demand, pointing.

"Books and stuff." she responds with a shrug. "Nothing really important." i glance at Trill.

"Books that scream like owls?" I clarify. Marsha shakes her head.

"No, that's an alert on my phone. I recorded it for my ringtone."

"Morbid ringtone." Trill notes. I hold ut my hand.

"Can I see that?" I press. Marsha shakes her head.

"It's private." She defends. The bag screams again. I lunge forward and grab it.  

~Wiseowl

OWWWWW! OW! OW! Owwww! That electrifyer really does it's job. Oww!OWWWWWWW!!!!!

This may be emotional. Sorry Tardisrider and Katydid. I have to have subplots. I love subplots!

Seth~

I was so occupied last night with Cedric Andrew Baron (how can I call him anything else? His name just fits together. Cedric Andrew Baron. Cedric Andrew Baron. Cedric. Andrew. Baron. Oops, I'm off topic...) delivering a message from Cornelia Hornshaw and all that I didn't notice the envelope until morning. Inflitrators in the lab Ugh. Can't Cypher just leave us alone? The next morning, I haphazardly made my bed, and something dropped to the floor. Now, I stand kind of awkwardly in the middle of the room, holding open the flap, trying to tell myself I don't know what's inside. Because I do. The writing on the evelope is Laria's, meaning that she did remember my Birthday. And she's saying goodbye. I understand—she's a revealed spy and all—but I still wish she could stay. Squeezing my eyes shut, I rip the card out of the envelope (litterally. I ripped it). Slowly, I open one eye. Than another. My eyes skim down to the signature: Laria, the L decorated with cursive loops, the i and a scrunched together. I read the letter. Exactly as I expected: Happy Birthday and Goodbye. I make one friend. One friend. And she leaves. It's not her fault though. At least she stood by what she believes in. Suddenly, I'm angry. I slam the letter down on my bedside table. It pushes my pen off onto the floor. My pen. My precious pen that never works hits the floor and breaks into two pieces. 

"I make one friend. One friend and—" behind me, the door flings open and Giniva steps in without knocking. 

"One friend, huh? I suppose you don't mean me?" Her eyes flit towards the letter on the table. 

"Laria? Laria? Why didn't you...she's a sp—she double-crossed you, didn't she?" Giniva asks. I nod. After a short silence, Giniva starts to walk out the door. 

"Come on. I expect Cedric told you about the spy routine? We've got to go through all the new recruits today." 

"Oh, yeah, I guess I'd better go help." 

"Wait, quick detour. Follow me," she says, walking briskly down the hall, her ponytail swinging, "Coming?" 

"Yeah." Giniva leads me around the main hall (which is still under construction) and out the front entrance. When we're a few feet away from the building, she stops and digs around in her purse, finally handing me a pad of paper and pen. 

"Write something to Laria," she commands. 

"Uh..." I scribble something quickly. Is your Birthday in Noverber or July? —Seth As I hand it back to Giniva, I think: She wrote you a heartfelt Happy Birthday and that's the best you can do? Oh well. Without looking at the paper, Giniva folds it and stashes it in her purse. 

"I'll give it to Trill. She can give it to Laria." Suddenly, I realize that Trill could be exposed in today's spy check. I really hope that she passes. Is this feeling disloyalty? Should I be withholding information from B.I.G. like this? Yes. Trill trusts Giniva and I. For a second, we worked together to save Laria. Cypher and B.I.G. Spies and Loyalists. Life is a collection of crazy combinations. 

"Okay, let's head back in," I suggest. We start walking inside, but I see something between the concrete and ground beneathe the B.I.G. structure. Is that...a person? (Icy, your cue)!

I wake up from my nightmare, sweating. How is it that I always sleep in hard-to-sleep places? Like concrete floors?

I'm just trying to form a plan on how to get Wiseowl out but then I hear someone's footsteps walking towards the cave. "What's this?" Someone says. Uh-oh. Someone slips into the cave, a teen boy wearing a labcoat.

"I-I-I-" I gulp, and my stutter is not helping. 

Giniva~

"Happy birthday by the way," I begin as I tuck the letter into my pocket, before shrugging and looking up.Seth had dissapeared, but I hear his exclamation of surprise and followed.

Soon enough I was standing in the cave behind him. "What?"

---

I've gtg. School. 

Laria~

I hear Seth shout in surprise as I turn to go into the woods. I whirl around. There he is, standing over the cave. Our cave. My blood runs cold.

"Don't get involved," I whisper, trembling with the effort of standing still. "Don't turn around. Don't turn around." Then I hear Icy's voice.

"I-I-I.." Seth interrupts.

"Who are you?" he demands. "How long has this cave been here?" I squeeze my eyes shut.

"Not happening," I whimper. "This is not happening."

"What is it, Seth?" Giniva calls.

"Not happening." I sob. No tears come forth. I take a jerky step forward.

"Are you a spy?" Seth presses.

"I-um-I-I-"

"Don't go forward," I whisper as I take off at a run. I skid to a halt behind the three of them.

"She's a spy, Seth," Giniva says. "Why else would she be sleeping out here?"

"I-I-I- No!" Icy protests. Seth sighs. 

"Come on. Giniva, go get Henshaw." He grabs Icy's arm. "Come on, then."

"Seth. stop!" I shout. We all freeze.

"Laria?" 

~Wiseowl

I am with Laria. She suddenly starts muttering and then bursts out at a person near a cave. Who is that person? But then I spot Icy, behind him. I quickly soar into the air and grab Icy with my talons, dragging her to cover. Okay, I know, that was a crazy idea. but something about Icy draws me to her. "Icy," I say. "Stay here, or don't. Either way, I have to go. Bye!" I fly off without another word. I think I here her call me but I can't be sure. "That was close." I say to Laria as I morph back into a human. But it's not Laria. She's not there. Instead, Marsha is standing right before me with an evil smile on her face. Not again. I curl up into a ball and wait for the worst.

I leave as soon as WiseOwl is gone. I head back to the cave area thing. That boy's standing there still.

"S-sorry." I say. "I-I've n-never s-s-seen a bird like t-that before... It-t follows-s me ar-round everywhere. No c-clue why. It-t always s-seems mad at me" He looks at me and I hope that hes buying it. "Who are you?!" He demands. "Um my name is-" I say the first name that comes to mind. "Eliyana." I say quickly. "I'm Seth." He says. "Why are you here?" He asks. "I-I'm t-touring with C-cypher l-labs. I n-noticed a c-cave in the c-cement w-when we were l-looking at the grounds and c-came in, b-but I s-slipped on a puddle and f-fell and got knocked out. I j-just woke up." I say faintly.

Oh gosh, I never should have come here. WiseOwl's safe anyways. 

Aaah I'm so late! Thanks a bunch for this, admins!

Tani~

It's the routine spy check. The speakers blare, and I roll out of bed with a start, groaning when I hit the ground. I untangle myself from the covers, shrug on a sweater, and put on shoes. I stumble out of my dorm just as I hear, "Vale, Serenity!"

I run past the long line into Hornshaw's office, where she waits with a face that gives me the chills.

She doesn't speak for a few seconds, just giving me a piercing stare. Abruptly, she says, "The Gryphon attack. Where were you?"

"Running like mad, trying not to get killed!" I say. Well, it was true.

"Do you know anything about the F.A.F.A.?" Hornshaw asks, seething.

"Only that they're our enemies," I say. At this point I start to sweat. I'm a great liar - a good thing and a bad thing - but I was right in the thick of F.A.F.A. activity that night.

"Do you know of anyone who's actually helping this organization?" Hornshaw asks. She comes too close, her sharp nose almost touching mine, a frighteningly determined look on her face.

"No! Why would I work with traitors like those?"

"Tell me!" she says, tearing away from me and knocking over a cup of pencils on her desk with her frustrated gesture.

"I. Don't. Know," I say, spelling it out for her.  

"What about Marsha Yearwood?" she says, deadly calm. She's certain I know something.

"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!" I say. Hornshaw's face brightens evilly.

"Nope, no idea. Who is she, now?" I finish. The professor's face dulls. She sighs and glares at me. 

"Go," she says shortly. "Results after lunch."

I hightail out of the door, but Hornshaw's finger hooks on to the back of my sweater.

"Se-re-ni-ty..." She draws out my name. "...Watch yourself."

~

And, uh, I really don't want to sound braggy, but...yay I got published! 

~Wiseowl

Nothing happens. It's too good to be true. I cautiosly open one eye,... Only to find that I'm trapped in a net! "ARUUGH!" I scream. I squirm around, trying to get out of this mess. And then I see Marsha, holding something in her hand. A necklace? I look down at my own neckless. It's not there. OH MY GOSH! Marsha has my necklass and it's about to be the nineth hour. "That's right little owl," Marsha says, grinning. "I'm going to release your power! HA!" "I struggle, despratly trying to get out of the mesh. "Help!" I scream to anyone near bye. "My necklass! Stop her!" Then the Proffessor comes out. "I don't think anyone will be doing that Wiseowl." She smiles evily. Could this day get any worse?