Innova

CHAPTER SIX

I lay on the couch staring at the ceiling. My entire face hurts and I'm pretty sure my nose is broken. It feels that way at least. I reach up and gingerly touch it. OUCH. Well, that hurt. My fingers are wet and when I put them in front of my face there is black blood on them.

I get up and walk to the bathroom. I look in the mirror at my face and assess the damage.

My nose looks surprisingly fine except for the blood, but there is angry grey egg on my forehead. I touch that gingerly and wince. No wonder I've got a headache. I rinse the blood of my face being carefully with my nose. I lift my head up a bit too fast and I see stars. I seriously hope that buttface didn't give me a concussion.

Speaking of buttface, what am I going to do? How does he know about the Outsider? I'm pretty sure I'm going to meet up with Officer Boney Shoulder at the location he gave me. If it's a trap then I'll just say that I came because I was curious about the Outsider he mentioned.

Plus speaking of the Outsider, what in the heckers am I supposed to do about him? Why is he here? How long is he going to stay? A sudden worrisome thought enters my head. What's he going to eat? I only have a set amount of food cards and I'm not really sure I wanna go on a diet. Wait, my brain says, how did he know where you live? So many questions.

I sigh and head to the closet in my room. The only answers I'm going to get right now are from the Outsider. I swing open the door and once again the cold metal of his knife is at my throat. I give him a blank expression. "Do you mind?"

We're in the kitchen and the Outsider has yet to take a bite of the food I've given him. I try to ignore it but after five minutes of him pushing around the food like a two year old I say, "If you're not going to eat it just give it to me." He quickly slides the plate over. Rude. I violently shove the food in my mouth and chew it angrily. A couple minutes after having the Outsider stare at me while I eat, I ask, "What's your name?" He stares at me some more before replying,

"Devian." He pronounced it DEE-vee-in

"That's a cool name," I say, "Where do you come from?" As soon as I ask that question I realize how dumb that was to ask. I'm not going to know anything he mentions or says.

"Avis," he says calmly.

"Where's that?" I ask.

"Avis is everywhere. Everywhere but here."

Woah, BACK UP. Cult alert. Let's try that again.

"That's not very specific," I point out. "It doesn't have to be," he says. I give him the most skeptical face I have. He just grins. The expression is so weird on him but it quickly morphs back into something more serious. "We should check on that bite of yours," he says, "And probably your head to."

He pats the counter in front of him gesturing for me to sit there. I walk around the island as he pulls his bag up onto the counter. I put my hands behind me to raise myself up as I jump but it doesn't work and I'm kinda stuck. I wiggle my butt around trying to get it all the way up there but apparently I take to long cause Devian helps me the rest of the way up. I wait as he rummages through his bag. He pulls out a small flat rectangular pouch and unvips it so it opens like a book. In it are small packets and pieces of gauze as well as a few glass zials and one small needle. I stare uneasily at that needle for a bit but I soon get distracted by all the different colors in there.

I point to one of the small packets. "What color is this?" I ask. Devian looks at me in disbelief.

"That's green," he says. His eyes take on a different look that I can't place. "You've never seen green?" he asks. I realize what that look in his eyes is now. Pity.

"No," I say, carefully concealing my anger at his look of pity, "I've never seen green." He seems to sense I don't want to talk about it anymore so he shuts up and just rips open a green packet with his teeth. A sharp scent fills the air. Devian carefully lifts up my shirt and peels off the gauze.

I can see the bite mark more clearly now. It seems to be more of a scar now than a wound though. Devian takes out the contents of the green packet. That sharp scent grows stronger and I realize that they are coming from what seems to be two wipes. Devian lays one wipe flat in his hand and than wipes of the green slime. I shiver. That wipe is cold. He takes the other one a does the same thing.

He than puts both wipes in a small plastic bag and puts it in his bag. Devian then starts poking the bite mark. I'm super ticklish so I laugh. He quickly jumps back and then just as quickly pushes me down on the counter. He starts furiously digging through his bag now. I try to sit up but he just pushes me back down. "Stay still," he says, "I have to cut it out."

As soon as he said the word 'cut' I immediately started squirming trying to get away from him. He just holds me there with one arm and says, "Stop! I'm trying to help!" But I don't cause I'm desperate and I hate all knives and needles plus no way in hell am I just gonna let him cut into me.

"But why?" I ask, "I feel fine!" What brought this on?

He just pulls out a scalpel and says, "You laughed."

Wtf? Then I remember my insane laughing episode last night and scream, "I'M JUST TICKLISH!" Devian stops and looks at me,

"What?" he says. I must look so crazy right now. I say in a slightly more calm voice, "DANG! I'm just ticklish!" He stares at me confused still holding me down.

"I just poked you," he says.

"Well, you didn't exactly give me a warning!" I glare at him. Devian stares at me for a bit before finally taking his arm off of me. I quickly sit up but I do it to quickly because I feel lightheaded and see stars. Devian notices this cause he says,

"We'll check your head afterwards." He then lifts up my shirt and pokes around the bite. I try extremely hard not to laugh but every now and then I do. Once Devian is convinced that there is no pain, he gives me shot. I try to relax while he puts the needle in my arm, but I pretty much fail at that.

After that he stands in front of me and grabs my head, putting pressure on different spots and asking me if I feel any pain. "So," he says, "How'd you get that bruise?"

I mutter, "Some butt thought I'd be a good idea to ram me in the face with his shoulder."

"I see," he murmurs, then takes out a flashlight and shines it directly into my eye. I turn my head and say, "DUDE, what the hell?" Devian grabs the sides of my face, "Are you okay?" he asks. I blink rapidly trying to get that one annoying bright spot out of my eye. "A little warning would've been nice," I mumble.

Devian steps back and sighs. "Well, your nose is fine, and I don't think you've got a concussion, but your head is probably sore though. I'd take it easy," he says.

"Says the knife crazy lunatic," I whisper under my breath. "What was that?" Devian asks, looking up from organizing his bag. "Nothing," I respond innocently.

I watch him organize his bag while I wait for that annoying bright spot to leave my field of vision. "Why are you staring?" he asks without looking up.

I ignore his question and say, "So, Devian, tell me about Avis."