Innova

CHAPTER THREE

Stupid.

Thats how I feel.

Stupid. I've passed out twice in the past twenty four hours. TWICE. I'm seventeen and I'd never passed out before in my life. NEVER. But now... TWICE.

That, coupled with the fact that I know nothing about what's going on, has got me feeling pretty pathetic. I have so many questions...

First off: Figure out what happened.

Up until now my eyes have been closed, but now I open them. My head has been propped up on a pillow and there is a blanket on me. A red blanket. RED.

I've only ever seen red once, and never this much of it. I run my hands over it. It's soft and heavy. I sit up and bring the blanket to my nose. It smells so familiar but I can't place it. I let it drop to my lap and the normal smell of my Block isn't so normal anymore.

Brushing aside those thoughts, I swing my legs off the couch. I look to my right and stare at the Outsider. He's sleeping; leaning back on the couch with his head tucked into his chest, arms crossed, and legs spread out in front of him, ankles crossed. He almost looks like he's lecturing someone. He has a jacket over his thighs but I can see goosebumps on his arms.

I slide off the couch and onto the ground, inching myself closer to him until I'm about two feet away. I peer at his face. His hair is darker than his skin so the color is... dark chocolate? His jaw isn't too sharp and his eyebrows are thick. Overall, he looks normal. Only his skin marks him as different.

This brings my mind back to one of the earliest history lessons that I was taught. The reason why everyone decided to get rid of color.

Racism.

Such a cold word. When the first Dome was built racism was a severe problem. People fighting, dying, killing. And for something so useless as well. So the Leaders decided that something would have to change. If people couldn't cooperate with each to save their own lives, just because someone else looked different, then they had to show them they were all the same. So the Leaders changed everyone's skin color.

I've always hated that lesson. So what if a bunch of jerks couldn't get along? That doesn't mean you have to ban everyone from using color! Just kick the jerks out! What makes me hate the lesson even more is the fact that it worked. People stopped fighting.I touch my arm first before I touch his. His arm is normal. So I guess appearances really do matter.

I sigh, moving my arm away. I wonder what kind of life he has. He must know something about biology or medicine in order to have treated the bite.

THE BITE! How could I forget! I quickly lift up my shirt and peel back the gauze. The bite mark is gone.

Wait, no, it's still there, it's just faded. I poke it. It still aches but when I pull my finger away the tip of it is covered with a slightly greenish slime. I shake my hand vigorously to get it off before wiping my finger on my shirt.

Is that normal? I have no idea what the definition of normal is anymore. I'm pretty worried and I'm considering waking up the Outsider to ask him, when my eyes catch on a clear container filled with a substance that looks like the slime. A sigh of relief escapes my mouth. The Outsider must've put it there. I hope. I put the gauze back over the nearly healed bite mark. My stomach let's out an insanely loud growl. I glance nervously at the Outsider. He just shifts restlessly but doesn't wake up. Thank goodness.

I notice the goosebumps on his arms again. I quickly grab the red blanket – RED – and put it over him and tuck it under his chin. As I'm tucking it under his chin, I also notice the dark bags under his eyes. He must be really tired, I think. As I'm straightening the blanket around his shoulders that's when I hear the knock at the door.