Unlikely Love

5

Xavier pov:

As I woke up on the couch, confusion and disorientation overwhelmed me. My armor was gone, along with my heat-proof gloves. My head pounded, and I struggled to piece together the fragmented memories of what had happened. I glanced around, noticing my dog lying beside me, his worried eyes meeting mine.

Three people lay asleep on the floor nearby—my brother, Hels, and Wels. The sight of them sleeping peacefully made the events of earlier flood back. I carefully sat up, cradling my chest and trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake them. The red blanket covering me was familiar—it was the same one I had in my room. I was confused about where my armor and stuff were until I looked next to my brother, who was completely sound asleep holding a screwdriver with a bunch of parts laying next to him. The casing of my breathing apparatus was clearly dismantled.

I was so upset because now I had to stay here in this underground bunker. I looked around a bit as I soon realized I was out of my armor too. Looking around, I was confused until I saw a bit of my armor torn apart and scattered over the floor. I was devastated—unless I got new armor, I couldn't really leave this place. No matter how warm I made it at night, it was still cold in the morning. They had come in and torn apart everything, taking away any security I actually felt like I had. I didn't know what they planned on doing with my armor or if they planned on putting it back together, but I ended up carefully getting up. Something I didn't tell my brother about was what happened in the void—ten years of constant torture can really grate someone down, not like he needed to know that.

But the reason I had to be careful was because of my leg. I couldn't fully put any weight on it, and I really depended on the armor to help support it. In the void, I had gotten a nasty cut. It ended up healing fine, but it made walking difficult sometimes, and without the armor's support, I could definitely feel it acting up.

Voidwalkers are unique beings, born and adapted to the harsh environment of the void. The air there is thin and barely breathable by Overworld standards. Most Voidwalkers, including myself, need breathing apparatuses or specially modified chunks of the Overworld set to the void's atmosphere to breathe comfortably. My brother, Xisuma, who had grown up in the Overworld most of the time, developed a stronger set of lungs. He adapted better to the thicker, richer air of the Overworld, but even he occasionally relies on breathing aids.

One of the most distinctive features of Voidwalkers is our wings. In the darkness of the void, our wings often give off a glow inherent to the owner. Xisuma's wings, when he used them, glowed a deep purple. My wings definitely got more use, so they glowed a bit brighter. I could tell that they were dying to be free. The birthmarks on my back started to hurt.

I didn't want the red glow of my wings to wake anyone, so I made my way to my room, keeping my red blanket over me. I silently cursed the iron door of my bedroom, but managed to get in without disturbing anyone. My dog stayed out there with them.

Once inside, I took off the blanket and then the shirt they had put me in. Slowly and carefully, I released my wings. As they unfurled, a sense of relief washed over me. The tension in my back eased, and the dull pain subsided. The room filled with a soft red glow from my wings, casting gentle shadows on the walls.

I grabbed a blanket, trying to subdue the color from oversaturating the room. I didn't want people to see them. As beautiful as they were, I honestly felt ashamed to have red wings. I felt ashamed, period. But for a moment, as the wings stretched and the red glow enveloped me, I felt a small measure of peace.

The peace was soon shattered though as I quickly had to pull my wings back in and hide them. I heard someone stifle a gasp. My head shot towards the door and the slots in the door making a window. I could see someone duck down and scurry off, but I couldn't tell who. I put my shirt back on and made my way over to the door, trying to get a glimpse of who was just there, but they blended into the darkness too well.