It was a boring day on the island. It wasn't that he was picky, it was just that all of the girls seemed to be in groups today. It was like they knew one of their ranks was going to be snatched away. Now it wasn't that Timye wouldn't take on more than one student at a time, but a pack of five to ten students would be enough to overload any one man, or in this case, monster. No big loss, this game was all about patience, and patience normally paid off on the island.

The plates on his back that concealed his wings slid open. In a flash, two large black wings, with the main supports in silver, extended from within. They spread wide as he crouched lower on the roof of one of the campus buildings. Timye leaped up into the air and immediately the large metallic wings began to silently flap. Higher and higher he rose into the air until he came in contact with a suitable updraft. His wings spread wide again as he began to glide along, riding the air currents effortlessly.

There was something about flight, even to a meshing of biological material and machine, that was liberating. His eyes idly scanned the campus below as he moved along, but still, all he spotted were groups of students. He was on the verge of postponing his search and flipping patience the bird when something caught his attention. A plane was on it's descent towards the island. New student, but the way today had been going, it would be students. In any case, it was something to investigate.

He tilted his body and gave his wings several flaps as he slid out of the current he was in and into another. By the time he reached where the small landing strip was, the plane was already on the ground and the stairs had just been lowered. Below, waiting be a vehicle to transport the new student(s) to the campus was several staff members. Good, he was in the clear so far. He tilted his body again and shifted his wings as he began to circle above the scene.

Out walked the first person from the plane. His eyes zoomed in on the figure. From the clothing, it was a staff member. The second person had bright turquoise hair, interesting. He zoomed in a bit more. Quite obviously a female. Baggy cargo pants, black shirt with a skull on the front, lettering on the back. New student. He flexed his fingers as he continued to circle, waiting for just the right moment to dive down and whisk her into the air.

Leslie yawned hard and shook herself awake. Plane travel was boring, but at least she'd slept through most of the interminable flight. The isle below looked tiny from a distance - way too small to hold anything of interest. A prison plain enough, even if it was one without walls.

With a long languid stretch, she moved to survey her guards. The seats were first-class, but still not as comfortable as a bed, and her lithe muscles needed release. All the staff she saw were attractive women in their prime - even the pilot was a girl. That intrigued her - she'd like to fly.

Maybe one of those old open-cockpit planes where the wind blew right into your face and you could feel the rush of your speed. That would be even better than a convertible. Or something maneuverable that she could dive even faster than the drop in a roller-coaster. The best part of a coaster ride was the weightless rush that came up from low in your torso. A long dive could keep that feeling going a lot longer, she thought.

Anyway - the staff didn't seem overly alert. Stealing the plane was out though. Even if she managed it she'd heard the pilot mentioning refueling. Besides she had no idea what direction to take it. Better to slip her escort and circle through those woods nearby, then come back to the airfield and sneak back aboard to stowaway back to New York.

With alert violet eyes she watched the lone other student and the various staff people. Oddly, even though they didn't appear overly alert or overly bright, what with all the beauty-queen smiles and brightly blonde faces - one or more of them always managed to be in her way whenever she tried to filch a plastic knife or one of those interesting web belts the one's in uniform wore.

No matter - once she was out of the plane she'd lose them and circle back later to complete her plan. They were a boring lot, not easy to offend or rile into action. Both her hostile glares and the mildly offensive print on her teeshirt were ignored with overt good-cheer or blank stares.

She liked the print on her shirt - it was fun and it made her dad flush so red she thought he'd explode:

The landing went smooth and she watched for her opportunity, ready to bolt at the first opportunity.

He continued to circle over head, his eyes glued on the scene below. He locked the first new student's heat signature into his memory and began to shuffle through the other bodies that were present. Staff, staff, staff, pilot, substitute teacher, staff, staff, second new student. Hmmm, two he wouldn't mind taking. Hell, he could even take them both into the air and drop the other one off on top of one of the buildings on the campus if she didn't fit his tastes. But the other one, the one with the turquoise hair, he wanted to taste her.

Down on the ground the majority of the staff had gathered by or in the small vehicle. Only the pilot, the two new students, and two staff remained at the plane. The pilot was waiting for the two new student's bags to be unloaded, then they could start the refueling process. The second staff member stood between the two new girls. The second girl was way too bubbly and happy. She was under the assumption she was going to a miraculous school that was world famous, and would lead her to fame and fortune. She was in for a big surprise.

The staff member on the plane threw two bags out at the bubbly girl's feet, and a duffel bag at the turquoise haired girl's feet before they hopped out of the plane and joined the pilot. As those two began the refueling process, the woman that stood between the two students pointed to their bags and motioned for them to follow. The bubbly girl did exactly what she was asked and picked up her bags and began to trot after the woman. That left the turquoise girl at the end of the pack with her bag and the closest people to her occupied with refueling the plane. Oh yes, it was time.

He swung his body up into a high, wide arc as he continued to circle, but ever wider. His eyes were locked on his prey, her heat signature and an image of here were set in the corners of his vision. A small chuckle escaped his frozen, metal lips. Perhaps he'd do the school a favor and drop her off at the door to the administrative building nude and used when he finished with her. Yeah, she wouldn't be able to run then... at least comfortably. His fingers continued to flex as he began to line himself up and calculate the angle for a dive. Soon, she'd be in his grasp.

Leslie kicked the old duffel with the toe of her heavy Doc Martin and then glared out over the hot tarmac. The woods she’d seen from the air weren’t woods at all, but a thick tropical jungle. She didn’t like the looks of them at all. The trees seemed to loom in at her – almost reaching. Silly of course, they were only trees.

She kicked the old canvas bag again and considered… It weighed too much and besides, there was nothing in there except a few changes of clothes and some supplies allowed on a list they gave out when they ‘recruited’ her. She’d tried to sneak a knife, but they’d checked her bag back in New York. They hadn’t checked bubble-head’s luggage, but then she probably hadn’t been recruited from a jail cell.

So… if this last escort would just take a step toward the jeep, she could try for the fence. She wasn’t sure she could outrun the woman in her heavy boots, but she was young and fit and she could try. With a casual shrug that wobbled full breasts under the black tee, she answered some question she hadn’t really heard with an indifferent “Okay.” The woman nodded and turned away and took one step to help bubble-head.

That was all the opportunity Leslie needed. She pretended to squat for the bag, but used the flex in her young thighs to launch herself into a dead run toward the not-too-distant fence. It wasn’t all that high – only eight feet or so, and with a boot into the links she should be able to step high enough to grab the wires along the top. She was no gymnast, but she’d vaulted fences like this getting into the junkyard back home. Baiting the dogs there was one of the first dares she’d ever won.

Pumping legs churned hard. Black boots pounded into black pavement with all the silence of a clomping racehorse. Floppy cargo pants flapped against her legs as she charged. She thought something moved when she'd started – so far into peripheral vision it almost seemed behind her – she thought she saw a shadow: Something big that almost brushed though her mop of turquoise hair. She didn’t look back. Instead she focused on the fence and the moves she’d need to scale and clear it.

There was yelling behind her. She didn’t listen. And then she hit the fence. Jump. Lurch. Pull. Step. Flip. She was over the wire and into the jungle and there was a sort of thinner area of undergrowth she dove into at a full run. She didn’t know if they’d followed, or if any of them made it over the fence. She just kept running until she was out of breath.

Timye watched with great interest as he made another pass. He'd more than likely gain enough speed during his dive, but he wanted to be sure everything was right. He watched the girl kick her bag twice. This would be amusing, he knew she was going to try something from her demeanor, or at least he hoped. The last thing he saw of Bubbles and their escort was when they reached the jeep and she threw her bags in the back. It was then he had zoomed in on his turquoise beauty and her alone. He saw her squat, and her muscles flex, here it was.

The moment her legs began to furiously hit the pavement time after time, he tucked his arms to his chest and kept his fingers spread wide. His wings were swept back and he picked up a great deal of speed as he dove towards her. Thankfully Bubbles was occupied talkin... no, sucking up with the staff members. He had calculated that he would have her scooped up and in the air mere moments she was on the fence, but she did something he didn't count on. Instead of simply climbing it when she reached it, this one launched herself onto the metal links.

A lifelong acrobat couldn't have executed her little move there any better. That was the point he had to pull up out of his five. As he began to climb once more, the top of the fence scraped his chest and sent a few sparks flying. He really didn't care that the staff saw him or what they yelled. She had her mind set on escape and nobody was going to stop her. He had his mind set on her and nobody was going to stop him.

While she took the low road, Timye took the high road. The last thing the staff saw of him as they stopped about fifty feet from the fence was his gleaming metal skin disappear into the canopy. They shook their heads, turned around and headed back to the jeep. She may have escaped them, but after a few encounters, she'd be begging to get into the false safety of the campus.

The moment he landed on the large branch up in the canopy, his vision changed to thermal scanners. He scanned the area until he locked onto her heat signature. As she ran below, he leaped from tree to tree high above her. Birds fell silent, only to cry out as they burst from the canopy, and those sounds were right behind her and drawing closer.

“Great Leslie,” She told herself. “You’ve escaped. Brilliant plan.” The jungle stank and the ground was squishy and clumps of mud had formed on her already heavy boots. She was free though, and she still had her plan. She stopped, looked around, appraised. She had to get back to the plane and sneak aboard before it took off. Maybe her escape had delayed their departure, maybe not. But eventually a plane was going to leave the island. This one or another – she thought she could survive until she caught a ride.

Her shirt was ripped down the front, gaping wide from just below the boobs almost to the hem. “Shit.” She really liked that shirt and now it was ruined. At least there was only a tiny shallow scratch down her smooth belly. She shoulders and boobs hurt though. She really should have worn a bra. With a suck at tender pink lip, she considered the damage and then she ripped the last bit through the hem, leaving the shirt with a pair of tails.

Rolling the tails as tightly as she could until they snugged up against the underside of her full globes, she tied the coils in a firm knot. Not a real bra, but it was some support anyway. It did leave her entire midriff and the small of her back bare though – and while she hadn’t been bothered yet she imagined the jungle was bug heaven. Best she circle back around and catch that plane.

“Oh Fuck!” She saw her last few footprints in the sticky goo of the forest floor, but they disappeared only a couple yards back. The whole jungle looked like a green leafy wall. She was lost! There weren’t big hunters out here, like leopards or jaguars? And there was that shadow she’s only barely seen. Whatever made that shadow was big and silent. Surely such a small island couldn’t support an apex predator, could it? She wished she’d paid more attention in biology class when they talked about the Amazon, but Ms. Mitchell was a tree-hugger and had gone on and on about saving the rainforest…

“No daydreaming Leslie – you need to get out of here.” She told herself aloud to help focus. This is an island, she thought, so if I find a steam it should lead somewhere pretty quick. There was a sound that could be running water off to her left, so she followed the sound. Maybe she could clean this mud off her boots when she found it. She moved slowly though, and listened for panthers and looked into every tree for hanging snakes. She felt stupid being such a nervous Nell, but there was no one to protect her but her.

It didn’t take long, once she stopped to listen, for her to hear the raucous cries of startled birds coming from behind. “Shit – they are following me.” She changed directions and started to trot. “How could they find me in this?” She wondered. She angled for the water though – she needed something to drink with the way she was sweating in this heat.

He could hear her talking, but couldn't exactly make out what she was saying. What mattered was that she stopped. He stood high up in a tree just to her left. As he began his descent down the tree, he observed her looking down at her stomach. The fencing or running through the under brush must have cut her and her shirt. Then he heard clothing rip. He paused on a large branch about twenty feet over head as she took the ends of her shirt and tied it together just below her breasts. A grand choice he had made indeed.

He was about to drop down out of the tree when she turned around and looked back towards her trail which disappeared, but quickly she was on the move again. He followed her, still up in the trees, but at a lower level. THe next time she paused, he gave a glance around the surroundings, the only thing ahead was a stream and a small pond. She had to be heading towards it to follow it back to the sea, and then hook around to the landing strip.

He launched himself up higher into the trees, which caused several vines, and a few clumps of moss to drop to the forest floor behind her. If she looked up, all she'd see is a blur of a shadow as he passed behind another large tree. Once out of her view, he crept out onto another branch that stretched over the stream and the pond. At it's end, he waited for her to reach the water, and then planned to drop down on her.

But why not answer her question? He had been close enough to hear her ask it. The voice, remarkably human, and male called out. It's exact location disguised by the lush vegetation that surrounded them. But, before he spoke, a small chuckle came out.

"Run all you like, my dear. You'll have to stop and rest some time... Hopefully, by that time, your clothing will have suffered further damage which will make my work easier"

He crouched low on the branch, his hands latched to one overhead. He had already picked out a safe path straight down to the forest floor and had locked back on her. Her heat signature grew in the corner of his vision, and the actual image of her was now covered with a thin sheen of sweat. He'd have to hang round when he finished up with her and dropped her off at the administration building. What would they think of their new student not only naked and used on their door step, but scratched from running through the underbrush of a jungle, covered in mud and muck, and her hair matted with the same mud and much as well as plant material. The wheels were turning.