Broken Wings

Chapter Four

April 12th 2010, 8.12am

It's been another sleepless night. Writing down everything that has happened to me brought back horrible memories. The nightmares are getting worse. I've been skipping university and my job at the local cafe. I don't want to go outside. The memories make me paranoid. I don't trust people and I'm in no mood to get over it and just move on with my life. My money is running out. I don't think I'll be able to pay the rent this month. What am I going to do? I need to keep writing. I must keep writing. I just want to get it all over with.

Red and I spent a whole fortnight trying to think of a way of escaping. But there was no way out of this prison. The Man would come into the laboratory occassionally and take blood samples, but so far it was only a few times. Then the day that I'll never forget came.

"White, come with me" The Man said.

"Oh, you're letting me out?" I asked, hopeful. He just laughed and unlocked the cage.

"Just do as I ask"

I turned to Red and tried to reassure her with a smile.

"I'll be back soon" I promised. She nodded.

I turned away from her and followed The Man, unaware of what was going to happen next. I assumed he was going to tell me he knew we were plotting to escape. I wish that was what he was  going to do.

We entered a laboratory similar to the one the cage was in, only slightly smaller. It had a rather large metal bench in the middle, and there were workbenches on the sides of the room.

"Lay down on your stomach" He said, pointing to the metal bench.

"Why?" I asked. He looked at me harshly. I'll never forget that look. So far he had been going for the light hearted, mocking technique. But in that moment, I saw him for who he truly was. His mouth was held in a sort of snarl, and his eyes looked cruel. I did as he said. I climbed on the bench and lay on my stomach. I turned my head to the left and saw The Man putting on a pair of rubber gloves.

"Afraid of cooties?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"You won't be joking in a minute" He said rudely. He walked towards me and pulled up my shirt. The feeling of the his hand against my back made me feel sick. Then I felt his hand move to one of my wings. He tugged on them once and searing pain went up my back. 

"WATCH IT" I screamed.

"I am, don't worry" He said. Then he tugged again. This time, much harder. I felt the wing completely disconnect from my body. Almost all of the air was knocked out of me. I didn't even have enough breath to scream. Tears rolled down my cheeks and my body trembled.

"Why are you doing this? I thought you WANTED me to have wings, are you insane?" I asked.

"Possibly insane, yes." He replied. "I need a sample of your wings. It will be a lot easier to make more"

"Easier for who? You or me?" I said sarcastically. I shifted my body a bit and instantly regretted it. Another surge of pain went up my back and I groaned.

"Back to your cage little bird" The Man said. I slowly managed to pull myself to my feet, although my back ached. I then followed him back into the other laboratory, and rejoined Red in the cage.

This was a daily event. He would come into the lab every morning and take me into another room. Then, he would rip out my wings. He told me he needed to do multiple tests on my wings. Sometimes, when he was angry, he would take them out more fiercely. It would hurt more. I would then be escorted back to the cage, where Red would always be waiting. Concerned. She knew what was happening. She had tried many times to stop him but she eventually gave up. It had been a month since we had been awake from our 14 year slumber, and we were powerless. We didn't see any future where we were happy, or free. Red always tried to comfort me but it was no use. Nothing could make our situation better. Red was coping with it much better though. I think the fact that she liked to argue with The Man, kept her interested. It gave her some sort of enjoyment, a hobby.