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Chapter 1: Humans Can't Fly

Shit. That was my first thought when I felt myself falling, this wasn't exactly A height normal people would survive if they fell from. Thank god I wasn't normal. The worst part however wasn't going to be the pain, it was going to be explaining to my roommate. Stitches could be blamed on mixed martial arts. Falling off the top of a sky scraper however, I doubt that could be blamed on anything believable.

My mind went blank, what were you supposed to do when falling again? Curl up? Or maybe go limp? It was one of the two, could I do both? Then I saw it, the window ledge. Maybe I could get away with a messed up shoulder.

I wasn't religious by any means but I found myself praying as I managed to get facing stomach down and reach for the ledge. There were at least forty, I had to be able to grab one. The second I felt a burst of pain in my shoulder socket I pulled myself upwards with the other one and tensed as I went through the glass. When I stood up and brushed myself off with the non limp arm I saw a group of people staring at me with gaping mouths. "Sorry, I'll fix that I promise."

I didn't have time to stop and chat, it was only a few minutes before they realized I wasn't dead. That meant I had a few minutes to make my get away. I bolted from the apartment and pulled out my cellphone and hit speed dial. The dial tone wasn't a welcome sign as I waited for my favorite medical student to pick up. "Hello?" His voice was tired as he spoke to me.

"Hi, uh, I think I messed my shoulder up. Think you can fix it when I come back?" My eyes searched the apartment numbers to see if they were increasing or decreasing. As of now I was just running and becoming more religious by the second with my prayers.

"Depends... How bad and doing what?"

I hesitated, in actuality I had done it fighting a person on a roof. Got pushed off, grabbed onto a window ledge with a crap ton of momentum and broke through a window. "Got thrown against the mat." I answer. I did get thrown against something, however it was a ventilation port and that wasn't what had caused this. "I think it's dislocated."

I flew down the stairs as I Waited for his response. "You need to be more careful Taite. But yeah, I'll try. I don't get why you just don't go to the hospital."

My foot caught on the stairs at that word and I felt the falling feeling again but managed to stumble and steady myself. "Let's just not go there" my voice was weak as I spoke. It was bad enough I had to basically drug myself before I let him near me with any sort of medical kit. Every first aid kit in our dorm room had the words and image taped over and he had to keep all his text books in a seperate room that I wouldn't go near.

"Can you drive? I can come get you if I have to," he says.

I tried to move my arm before deciding that if I didn't want to kill anyone I couldn't. "If you don't mind."

I heard him shrug on a jacket, "I wouldn't have offered if I minded."

"I know, and thanks Riley."

"No problems. Just text me the address-"

"Address?" I interrupt with question.

"I meant I'll be right there." There was no sound as he hung up.

Riley

"I want him dead Riley," the girl states as I finished shrugging my jacket on.

"Cara I don't even know who he is." I kept my back turned to the girl. "He's just some vigilante, I really don't see the threat. I don't see any to be honest."

"He's attacked us-"

"He's attacked you. Now get out of my room. I need to go get my roommate." Cara seemed to be becoming a regular in my life. The kind I couldn't get away from no matter what I did. Change names? Check. Change countries? Triple check. Some sickening feeling told me I was stuck with her.

"Aren't his hours a bit weird?" She glanced at the clock with amusement to see it was almost midnight.

"Aren't yours a bit weird too?"

"You and I are supposed to have weird hours Riley. We're different." She grinned and faded out of view as I rolled my eyes.

"Show off." I mumble a the door slammed in my face as if by magic. The world around me was silent, it was rarely ever that way. And not in the live in a big city noise, more like every thought anyone on campus had. I slipped a bottle of pills into my pocket for Taite as I checked through a mental list in my head.

The door to the martial arts centre opened as I pulled in and Taite winced as the headlights of my avalanche mixed with his blonde curls. He had a roughly made sling on and his hands still taped as I leaned over and opened the door for him. "If you wanted me to drive you home you didn't have to break yourself." I tease as he leaned his head back against the seat.

"Really not in the mood Riley." His voice was mumbled as I flicked the cab lights on.

"Bloody hell." His left shoulder was extremely swollen, now that I looked at him it didn't take long to realize anything that was wrong was on his left side. "Tyrell again?" I knew he had issues with him and on fights nights he seemed to be the bigger boys prime target.

"Yeah." He took the pills from me and swallowed them dry before going back to keeping his eyes closed and staying silent.

"You're awfully quiet tonight." I passed him a coupled gauze pads from a first aid kit under my seat. The logo and words were whited out on the fabric as was every other one.

"I'm trying not to bleed out. Is it working?" He had a slight smile as he said that.

"Not really. Don't worry about it. A bit of bleach and the upholstery will be fine. Just get pressure on your... Well everything aside from the shoulder." The advantages and disadvantages of white fake leather upholstery.

He did that with a nod. I would deal with his shoulder later, somewhere where he couldn't reach me afterwards. There was a long silence as I pulled out, that's the way he was, always silent but always thinking. In all honesty he was probably the reason that self medication had started being a usual for me. His mind never seemed to shut up, ever. And none of it made sense either, almost like I only got bits and pieces of an entire conversation. "So what did you do tonight?"

Plotted to kill an unknown vigilante that I didn't have a problem with but everyone else I knew seemed to. "Studied. I have a major test coming up." It wasn't a complete lie, I did have a test. I just didn't study and like most of them I would end up winging it. I figured with the regeneration skills I had I didn't really need to go through the course however a diploma would be nice and kinda needed if I ever wanted to work on the legal side of things.

"What are some of the properties of blood?" He quizzes.

"Coagulates with ai-"

"Wrong." He had cut in immediately. "The only true property of blood is disgusting. That's all it is."

"Well that disgustingness is what's keeping you alive and you're sitting in your own." I pointed out in a complete move of stupidity as he gagged at the thought and threw up.

"Thanks Taite. You always seem to make my night better." I mumbled as I pulled in.