Beginning of the End

Pain

I find myself in the back of a truck with a blanket over me when I gain consciousness. I gasp trying to get as much air in my lungs as I can. The young man turns around with a worried look on his face.

"Are you ok?" he asks.

But I barely hear him, like he's whispering. That's a good sign though; my ears are getting better at least. I ignore him and touch my ears to see if there still blood. Sure enough there was. I swallow, my throat feels like there's a desert living in there and when I breathe it feels like someone is clawing at my throat. I'm not going to make it if I don't let sun soak my wings. But obviously that's impossible with one of the doctor's minions two feet beside me. The young man passes back a water bottle thinking that I'm thirsty. Which I am so I snatch it and chug it till there wasn't one drop left.

"Thirsty, huh?"

I looked at him and then pull the blanket off. I start to get up but he says calmly, "You probably want to lie down, nausea will get to you." It takes me a little bit to hear what he said since I can barely hear him.

He was right, I felt like I was going to throw up all over his car so I slowly lied down again. But I did get a chance to look at my leg. Probably not a good idea because all I saw was black and brown.

"Don't worry, I'll fix you. You're lucky I'm in med school," he says shrinking my worries down a bit.

He obviously has figured out that I'm not going to talk to him so he babbled on about whom he is and where exactly we're going.

"I'm taking you to my house, if you're wondering. I have a special medical room that should work. We've been tracking down that scientist for a while now so when we heard about this accident we came straight here. Unfortunately he got away. I go there on weekends. My name is David Lakem by the way; my mom died in a car accident when I was three and my dad is currently living in Tokyo. He finds Asian woman...attractive." He says chuckling to himself.

With my life the way it is I find nothing amusing. But what I do find surprising is the fact that he's not a minion like Eden. I mentally thank the God my family always believed in. At dinner every night, my dad would always pray to God. We would take each other's hand, making a small circle around the table. Then we would bow our heads and close our eyes, listening to the deep voice of my father. I always felt safe when I heard him speak. He always seemed so brave to me.

I feel my lips crack. I can feel sweat drip down my forehead. I don't feel too good, I'm getting a fever. Honestly I didn't think I could last this long with no sunlight. After a while I start to hyperventilate. I try to be quiet so he won't notice but it's no use, he hears me anyway.

He turns around quickly and sees the sweat dripping down my face and stops the car. He opens the back door and says, "You probably want some fresh air, here you can get out."

I get out of the truck and start walking, well limping, into the woods.

"Hey, where are you going?" he yelled after me.

I look back at him and say in a barely audible voice, "Bathroom." The sound of my own voice startles me. It sounds like a dying frog.

David, I think his name was, just turns around and sits on the bumper, trusting me.

He says something but I can't hear him with my ears the way they are.

I wasn't going to run away because one; I have a major leg injury. Two; I'm positive, with my luck, that Dr. Emmers is still alive and looking for me. And three; I have nowhere to go.

I go as far as I dare, slowly looking around me and listening hard for any noise. Not that it made any difference. I don't see anything so I slowly but cautiously let my wings out. I can hear the opening of my skin, then the soft, downy feathers against my back. The sun hits my wings; it feels like I have been blind for days but I just now can see. It feels incredible. I don't feel sick anymore, it feels like I just drank a whole pool of water.