Mary shook her head as she slowly opened her eyes and woke. Her head still hurt, and she felt a little dizzy. She looked up and saw the clear night sky. She looked around, and didn't see the hunters.
Where are they? Have they actually let me go? she thought with hope.
She jumped up, and shook her wings. She flapped them experimentally, and found them mercifully unbroken. She needed to go back to her cave and find the vials. She might have been an apex predator among other animals, but no creature could best mankind. It was too dangerous to remain like this, and she had to get back to normal. She started to walk and found her right foot restrained by a chain. She pulled but the chain held tight. She flapped her wings frantically, hovering above the ground, but she could not escape her chain.
Suddenly a bright light blinded her. She looked up, and saw a brightly lit dome above her head. The night sky had been an illusion, cleverly hidden by her captors. She was in some kind of cage, an animal enclosure with dense foliage and a small pond. Her keen hearing detected voices, and she turned her head in their direction. She saw several men and women behind a glass window, staring at her. Some of the people wore white lab coats, while others were clad in a khaki shirt and shorts, adorned with the logo of a Zoo. She quickly deduced that the hunters had sold her to a Zoo.
"She's awake, she's awake."
The voice was dim, but Mary could clearly hear the voice from behind the observation window.
"I want to go down there. See her up close."
"Not without protection. We still don't know anything about that thing."
A sigh, followed by the sound of doors opening and closing, and the footfalls of many feet.
A small door slid open on the side of the enclosure, and a man and woman in a lab coat entered. They were followed by a gruff man in a khaki uniform holding a long metal cylinder, which Mary assumed was a tranquilizer gun.
"So beautiful, " said the woman, as she reached forward to touch Mary's feathers.
Mary flinched and backed away, and the guard raised his weapon.
The male scientist lowered the barrel of his gun with his hand, and carefully examined Mary's sore head.
"Those fools, " he muttered. "They could have seriously injured the poor creature. They are lucky we didn't press charges."
Mary pleaded with them, trying to ask for freedom and explain her situation. But all that came out was a serious of caws.
"Easy, girl, easy, " said the woman soothingly, as she brushed Mary's neck. "You are safe now."
The guard scoffed. "Girl? How do you know it's female? We don't even know what it is."
"We have an idea. The DNA sequencing results are still pending, but the preliminary results indicate it is closely related to an eagle. However some results indicate it is some kind of dog. Others even suggest a monkey, " said the male scientist.
"And it is most definitely a girl. The blood tests have shown that. And a very fertile one, " said the female scientist with a smile.
Mary paled. She did have sex recently. Could she have been pregnant before she used the vials? Did it affect her unborn child? Was she carrying some kind of monster inside her?
She began to get agitated. She had to get out of here, and return herself to normal with the vials she had hidden in the cave.
"Okay, enough excitement for one day. Let's leave the poor girl alone and give her time to get used to her new surroundings. She will have plenty of visitors soon when we open the exhibit, " said the male scientist.
The female scientist looked disappointed, but followed the other out of the room.
"Doctor, do you think there are others out there like her? Maybe a male of her species?" said the female scientist excitedly.
"We can only hope, we can only hope, " replied the male scientist sadly.
As the door shut, the chain around her ankle buzzed slightly, then dropped off her ankle. The lights dimmed, and the night sky returned. Mary sighed an explored her new home. It was a large dome with two observation booths, protected by thick glass. The dome seemed smooth, and she could find no visible doors or exit. The only thing she did find was a large pile of dead rats, what she assumed the Zoo staff had left her to eat. She sulked quietly, pondering her next move. Eventually her hunger overwhelmed her revulsion, and she ate every last one of the rats.