Gray Feathers

Chapter 6: The Moon At Night

Sitting in the silent cell was the worst torture ever. No amount of schooling or boring classes could ever compare to this kind of hell that I was in.

 
The net was still tied around my wings, and it consistently pinched my feathers and squeezed my wings whenever I shifted. I was in a consistent state of pain, even, from time to time, fading in and out of sleep.

 
Nothing ever felt real while I was there. Nothing made sense, and the food ended up being the only thing that grounded me to this Earth. That kept me sane.

At times, the walls closed in, and my breath got ragged, as I screamed for help. Pure fear would push me off of the little puddle of water that I made for myself and was the motivator that helped raise my fist as I pounded on the bars. It was the thing that pushed me to move, disputed the complete pain in my wings, to make sure the walls were in the same place they were ten days ago.

Sometimes, I convinced myself that the walls were solid and won't move. Other times, I was convinced that they had moved an inch.

Maybe...maybe I am going insane...

What? What is that light?

It's bright, turn it off, please, turn the light off...

"Oh, Nex, what happened to you?" a familiar voice asked. I looked up from staring at the little tear puddle I had just made that morning. The light was very bright, it bothered me too much.

"T-turn it off pl...please," I murmured, squinting and shying away from the pain of the bright light.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Nex," the voice quickly pushed the light away, and put it in a torch holder nearest my cell. During one of my episodes of claustrophobia, they had taken all the torches from the jail hallway leaving me permanently in the dark. The figure walked back to my cell.

"Who...who are you?"

The figure crouched near the bars, and leaned on the bars. "Come on, Nex," he choked on his own words. "Come on, you know me, right?" he squeezed out, a sob racked the body of a father I knew and loved.

I gasped, and scrambled towards him, "Father!" I whispered, tears once more blurred my vision, but for once, I wasn't in pain. He opened his arms, and we hugged through the bars, clinging to each other.

"Oh my gosh, what the fucking hell did they do to you?" he pulled away, holding me at arms length, searching me over, taking in my broken body. "I'm gonna murder them," a growl crept from his lips, as he hugged me again.

But I wasn't listening. All I could think was that I was safe, safe, safe, safe. Safe in my father's arms, safe in his hugs. We'd go back to the island and fly around. I'd be safe, and warm. Safe and happy. Safe and comfortable. Safe.

Carefully, he leaned out of the hug and scanned the cell bars, looking for a way to break me out. Stand up, my father took hold of the bars, "Stand back, and protect your head, just in case," he warned me. Then, with his Loric strength and most likely the help of his Legacy, he ripped the cell door right off its hinges. The sound echoed around the hallway, then, silence. I dared hope that no one heard that, but then, an alarm went off. It was different then the alarm when the shooter entered the campus, but it was just as loud.

With quick work, Father pulled at the chains and they came away. Picking me up, bridal style, he ran down the hall. I groaned, as the net pulled tight against my wings. Noticing my pain, Father's movements smoothed out, and I realized we were flying a couple feet off the floor. "Sorry, Nex, but first, we need to get out of here, then we'll get that net off. Okay?" A nod was all he was going to get as an answer.