Dawn Is Coming

Chapter 16

Akira

We've been in the sky for a while now.

I'm keeping a miniature trash can steady in Lyndin's lap as she has her third personal fountain moment since we took to the clouds. Her hands skilfully manage the wheel, keeping it on course despite her face being buried in her unscheduled evacuation of food. Having had many raw and painful upheavals of my own during my time with General Flynn, I feel a deep respect for her determination to go on despite them.

I make my third, now routine visit to the bathroom to toss the mess in the toilet, plugging my ears as it flushes with explosive sound. My face twists in disgust as the familiar smell of vomit permeates my nose, feeling relieved to be in the air and away from everyone and everything. We've probably already passed the battlefield, soaring way above. The burden of the ground is momentarily lifted from my shoulders.

Opening the tap, I thrust my regularly cold hands into the stream of warm water. The difference in temperature sends a pleasant chill through my body as I slump against the cool metal. I glance into the mirror, searching for ambition in the golden rings. The drive is unfamiliar to me – the ability to do something that matters. I've always wanted to be a doctor, to see the sun, but right now, my life is slipping through my fingers like gunpowder and I'm struggling to collect it all back into the gun. I might not have much gunpowder left, but my finger is on the trigger and willing to pull it. To power on.

Finally.

I open the cupboard by the sink, taking out a half-used roll of bandage to wrap my fists with, mentally preparing myself to pommel someone's face with them. My attempts to push the impending consequences of my decision out of my head are futile, dozens of different gruesome and perturbing scenarios littering the mess of my brain. I can't help but with Grant was with me. He always knew what to do.

No.

Now is not the time for that.

Bad, Akira. Bad.

I shake my head, focusing on the pain of the rough bandage scraping the skin off my blisters. Tightening the wrap, I cringe as I feel the bandage tearing a blister open. I press the wrap into my eyes, soaking up the small droplets of tears I refuse to acknowledge, caused by a situation that I refuse to allow to sink in.

A flash of black tears my gaze away from the wet spots on the wrap as I notice a familiar black form perched on the toilet lid.

Spider.

My eyes practically bulge out of their sockets when I recognize the black cat sitting on the toilet, grooming his paw as if nothing is out of the blue. I stand and stare as his pink tongue slides between grey toes, cleaning out invisible specs of dirt.

What in the world is he doing here?

I take a slow step towards him, reaching out and brushing my hand through his impossibly soft fur. His ears perk up and green eyes flutter open, meeting mine. My heart jumps into my throat when a deep voice emanates from his mouth.

"You will be betrayed. He doesn't love you. Only I do."

I watch with wide eyes as he hops onto the sink, rubbing his cheek with passion against the corner of the cupboard before staring at me expectantly. Hesitating, I wrap my hand around the knob and open it. The hinges creak in complaint, probably having not been used in ages. The sight inside sends a tremor through my body. A bouquet of wilted, mouldy aster flowers. The same ones that should be in my pocket. I turn back to the sink, feeling my heart accelerate in my chest when I see that Spider is gone.

I take the flowers out of the cupboard, grasping them as though they hold the answers to all my problems. My fingers, however, haven't even finish wrapping around the stem before the flowers crumble into dust. The floor quakes beneath me, signalling incoming turbulence. I rush out of the bathroom, feeling my airways begin to constrict, oxygen barely managing to scramble into my lungs. A startled stream of air bursts from my mouth as I see that Lyndin is no longer in the pilot's seat.

Last thing I know, the floor falls apart beneath me, sending me spiralling into the blue abyss of the sky.