The Phylum

Chapter Two: And Then There Was One

I thought I was dead. For a few moments, I thought that bullet had torn through my insides, ricocheting off of my lungs and into delicate, irreplaceable tissue. And, I honestly didn't mind it. There was nothing I had left behind. No one was anxiously waiting for me to return home by dinnertime.

Life's presence was made more than real when I felt the biting pain in my shoulder. My eyes widened in surprise, only to be blinded by the sharp fluorescent light that hung above me. I shielded my eyes with my fingers, trying to blink away the intruding brightness. Soon my surprise was replaced with curiosity as I discovered a familiar-looking figure on the foot of the bed.

The girl was leaning forward, her tan wrist holding up her chin. Her eyes were closed in a deep, uncomfortable-looking slumber. The black mesh she had previously dawned was wrapped tightly around her thin wrist. "I know you" my words were soft, but she reacted as if I had yelled them at her. She jumped up in irritation, and blinked her dark eyes at me. "What?" the tan girl demanded, "what did you say?" Her short, blunt bangs were disorganized against her forehead, sticking up in some areas and curling down in others. Her cheek was stitched up and swollen. The girl's black clothes were tattered and splattered with muck, muck that looked and smelt all too familiar. Bruises created an ugly pattern on her collar bones. The glorified savior I had seen in the alley had been beaten to a pulp. The girl sniffed at my roving eyes, "you're worse off than I am." I squinted at her for a moment, and then glanced at my damage.

Snug bandages were wrapped tightly around the worst of my injuries, including the bullet wound. Shallow scratches dotted my arms. I couldn't help but finger the curious stitches under my eye, even though I was thrown a few looks of warning by the girl. "You'd be better off if your brilliant escape plan hadn't included charging into a dark alleyway. Brava, by the way. Self-preservation at its finest." Her words dripped venomous sarcasm, as if it had been my plan all along. As if I had asked her to play bodyguard. "You weren't supposed to be there, I don't know why you stayed, or why you brought me here, you know they'll find me."

The dark hospital room's wicked instruments reflected the fluorescent light, making the room look unnecessarily harsher. It was unappealing, and unlike any hospital I had ever been in. She might have been smart and taken me out of Central, but she couldn't have gone far, especially in the state she was in. The girl snorted, "they won't." I waited for her to elaborate, for her to tell me where we were exactly, but a long silence extended between us instead.

"Calico."

"What?"

"My name is Calico. I dragged your useless butt out of an alley and you didn't ask."

"I was unconscious."

"Yes."

"..I'm Ezra."

"I know."

I would have asked how she knew, but I didn't really care. I sat up, prepared with a new slew of questions when I heard the door close.