Wingless Bird

Prologue

Ghost of a Chance

This part has been re-written/revised

There was only one, dressed in a pale brown, moving like the shadows hidden in the corners of the room. He pushed his way through the crowd, and yet he continued to be unnoticed. A small grin was worn on his lips, as he was deeply amused at how easy it was to sneak around such a condensed place.

Sharp eyes gazed around, searching for any small, valuable piece that could easily be claimed.

There.

A slight flash of light caught the eye's attention, it danced around before simply disappearing, as the light had shifted. Changing directions, he headed towards that flash, moving through the sea of people like a fish through water. Professional experience and grace was shown with every step.

He made it look easy.

Soon he could clearly see the piece; it was a necklace, secured around her neck tightly. It had a gold chain, a shiny, smooth emerald hanging up in the front, held there by a golden clasp. This would be a tough task—unclasping it without being noticed. Not impossible. Just... a bit challenging. This wasn't the first time something like this happened. His grin grew a bit.

Shifting beneath his wool cloak he moved again, a mere ghost within the throng.

It didn't take long. After all, he's done this many times before.

It only took a few seconds before he was walking away, the necklace safely tucked in a concealed pouch, searching for his next collection.

He moved back to the sides, as people began to shift more than before. They were making room for something, someone. It looks like the meeting was about to start.

The thief had direct orders to leave the building before the meeting started, but he couldn't help himself. Curiosity had gotten the best of him. So, instead of doing what he was supposed to, he sat criss-cross on the marble flooring, his cloak pooling around him. He waited to hear the news. It had to be something important, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people! According to his keen eyes, there were about three hundred seventy six people attending this thing, give or take.

Maybe the leader will let him off... if he brought back some useful information.

Desperately hoping that his senses weren't off, he listened as everyone was called to attention. It took several minutes of shouting before all of the people stopped their useless chatting and looked up to the speaker.

The speaker went on and on about how grateful he was that everyone could join him there that night. Afterward he gave a confusing speech, which was obviously coded.

The thief could barely decipher the oddly placed words. But even still, it made absolutely no sense to the thief.

It wasn't until the speaker ordered someone to roll out the cart, that the meeting actually got a little interesting. On that cart were three objects: a silky black fabric, a glossy red bracelet, and what looked like a black toothpick.

This looked like gold to the thief's eyes.

His grin grew even more, if that were even possible. If the speaker was showing off these strange items, then they must be something important.

He soon found out.

The speaker lifted the black fabric, showing its form. It looked like a pitch black poncho. Then he placed it down and lifted the bracelet. Afterward he picked up the toothpick, after pulling on a pair of plastic gloves. He had held them up just long enough for the crowd to see what they were.

Then he explained what they were. "These three could almost be defined as special," he started, "as they have magical like uses." Again, he leaned down and grabbed the fabric with a single hand. "It took years, but we have finally gained a product. Something that will be great to have up in our closets." He chuckled. "Good for children to be able to sneak out of class with, also."

He continued after a brief pause, "Here, let me demonstrate.

"I need a helper!" The call rang through the crowd and, soon enough, one person stepped forward, saying that she would help.

The speaker smiled at her, and told her to put the fabric on, just as you would a poncho, but not to pull the hood up.

She did exactly that.

He turned back to the crowd. "Watch closely," he stated, before returning to the girl. He grabbed her hands and put her thumbs on two small, barely noticeable gray circles on the hood. "Press these as you pull up the hood," he instructed.

She nodded, keeping her hands there when he pulled his away.

"Now watch as she puts the hood up," He nodded to her, making her the spotlight of attention.

She seemed to shift under the weight of the crowd's stares. But she returned theirs with one of her own, before nodding to herself, as if agreeing with something. Then she gripped the hood and slowly pulled it up and over her hair.

The thief's eyes widened in wonder. The girl had disappeared!

Whoa... He blinked a few times, before looking back at where the girl was a minute ago. She still wasn't there. Or... He leaned in closer.

No, the girl was there. But it looked like her entire form was turned into glass. That's wicked, he thought, thoroughly impressed.

What did the other items do? he wondered, greedily. Maybe I could... um... barrow them for a little while. He struggled to hold in a soft chuckle.

Suck luck, he was such a lucky person to have been able to discover this!

He waited patiently at the back, wanting the speaker to continue on, glad that he had ignored his leader's orders.

The other pieces never ceased to amaze the thief.

The bracelet had a larger bead on the bottom. When squeezed tightly the bracelet would unwrap itself from your wrist, lengthen, then entangle your enemy's feet. It was impossible to get off with out a secret code, which was made by pushing on the beads as if they were buttons. They even proved it by bringing both a knife and a saw to the beads. Not one cracked the surface.

The black toothpick was poisonous, to put it simply. But it only reacted to a heat signature, such as your fingers. If one tip so much as touched your skin, a strange, purple like thread would spread out from it. It would find a way into one of your veins and stick to its sides. It would grow, feasting on blood cells, until it nearly completely blocked it. Then it would move on, all the way up to the heart. Once it gets there you are as good as dead. The only way to stop it is to pull the toothpick out of your skin, dragging out the purple threads with it.

It sounded painful.

The thief shuddered at the thought. He is never going to touch a colored toothpick again after this.

The demonstration was now at an end; with a few parting words the crowd dispersed and, once again, the thief became 'invisible'.

He followed after the people with the cart, carefully avoiding the cameras that littered the ceiling. They went up to a plain looking door, typed a code into the door handle, then swiped what looked like a hotel key through a slit. The door opened. They shoved the cart inside the room, then proceeded by shutting the door.

Before it closed all the way the thief slipped in.

The room looked like a storage room, with shelves on all sides. Boxes and bags were stacked high upon the shelves. But none of this really mattered, the only thing the thief was in there for were the items.

He took hold of the poncho first, then slid it off the cart. He staggered with its weight. It felt like it weighed fifty pounds! He let his arms dangle, trying to keep the fabric in his hands, and leveled a flat stare at it. How was he supposed to carry this out of here?

He let out a quiet frustrated breath before lifting it up again. He pulled it around his waist and tied it there. There is no way he was going to be able to run, and it was going to be harder for him to be silent, but he had to bare with it.

Next he grabbed the bracelet and put it on a wrist. Now all that was left was the toothpick.

How in the world was he going to get that to the leader without killing himself?

Another frustrated breath.

I'll just have to be careful, he thought. He grabbed the only empty pouch underneath his wool cloak, along with a jewelery piece from one of the others. He used the piece to slid the toothpick inside the little bag, then he hooked the pouch back onto his cloak.

Once he had everything packed up and secured he turned, then he noticed something. That same code and key device was on the inside of the door also! He didn't even think of memorizing the code the person used outside, nor stealing their key before he went in.

Idiot, idiot, idiot!

Now he was trapped in here!

He banged his fists on the wall, making a soft thud as he can't be loud, no mater how hard he tried. Then he stood up straight, relieving the wall of him, as he realized yet another thing.

He was in a storage room!

There has to be a packaged key somewhere in here, he thought, waddling over to the nearest shelf. He dug through each box silently. Soon enough he had possession of a key. All he has to do now is hack into the code box.

A triumphant smile came to his lips. He was brilliant, wasn't he?

He kneeled down and looked over the door handle, for any sign or opening he could use to deactivate it. To his disappointment, there was nothing of the source.

Why was everything against him now?

Sighing yet again, he let himself fall backwards onto the hard floor. The he sat criss-cross again, thinking of another way to get out. He had several stolen items, more than just the necklace and the three magic-like pieces. But none of them would be very useful in this situation. He had the card, but not the code.

He had the card.

Then he pushed himself up again, and, using the card, he slid it through the crack between the door and the wall. He smiled once it got jammed between them.

The bolt.

Leaving the card where it was, he moved back over to the storage boxes. Maybe there was something he could use to shift the bolt over, just enough to be able to pull the door open. Happy with the slight chance of getting out of here without getting noticed, he dug through each box carefully. There has to be something in here somewhere.

Several minutes had passed before he found some brass wire, a plastic knife, and a sowing needle. This was all he needed.

Once he had all of his supplies it didn't take long for the bolt to slide, allowing him to open the door just a crack. He peeked through, blinded slightly by the sudden rush of bright light.

That's when the siren's went off. A loud, eerie, repetitive sound that was accompanied by flashing red lights.

He growled before staggering out of the room as quickly as he could, sprouting many unintelligent thoughts as he did so. He didn't even blend in with the shadows thinking, well, they already know I'm here, so what's the point?

Sprinting—staggering— down the hall he dodged around startled people before they had a chance to realize that it was he who infiltrated their base. After a few minutes he burst through an exit and started away from the base, hoping there was no one on his tail.

Oooh, his leader is not going to be happy with him...

A/N

This is my first story on here! I'm wondering if this sounds like what a prologue should, and if it catches the interests of the readers. I would greatly appreciate some reviews telling of your opinions!