X-Men: Eternal Flight (Book Three) ON HOLD

Tides of War

The lull of sleep wasn't enough to force my eyes close. I continued to watch my own blood drip slowly to the floor, the beat nearly driving my mind to insanity from all of the waiting. I tightened my cuffed hands together as I thought of that scumbag. The way his caniving sneer widened as he told me of Daniella's death. Blood trickled down my throat as I bit the inside of my cheek. That bastard would pay for what he did. I would make sure of it.

 I heard foosteps approach outside the door. Once it creaked open, I didn't even bother looking up. 

"What do you want now, jackass? You can't take anything else away from me, and you know I won't give you a single clue as to the plans of the X-Men. So you can just grab a damn tree branch and shove it up your-"

Arms slid around me, tightening around my neck. I blinked once, gazing into space. The familiar smell of tree pine and roses invaded my nose, making my heartbeat quicken.. I had stopped breathing as the person pulled away. The weight that had been hanging around my shoulders was released in a single gasp from her. The dull light from above caught the blue shine in her dark hair, her bright eyes reflecting it back at me. Her cheeks were naturally rosy, and her wonderful lips hung open, trembling as I stared at her. She was alive. 

Daniella was alive.

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When my eyes opened, I saw only darkness. My arms were wrapped around my chest, crushing me against the walls around me. I suddenly found I couldn't breath. I wriggled around, trying to fight the compressing force against my body, but it was useless. My lungs burned, and my throat felt like it was contracting and recontracting. 

Panicking, I felt a tear slide down my temple. Was I going to die here? Was I really finished? 

A whimper escaped my throat, the only sound I heard next to my beating heart. Flashes of memories surfaced at the forefront of my mind, a man standing on a glass ocean, billions of stars and planets and all walks of life visible in the eternal sky. And a voice, soft but firm, echoed in my head. 

"Remember to listen."

I froze, letting it sink into my consciousness. Trembling, I closed my eyes, feeling my diaphram spasm from lack of oxygen. There was a faint sound in my ears, like a barely audible rustle.

A rustle of wind, howling above. 

My eyes burst open. Burying deep inside my chest, I felt the connection I was searching for. I could feel the stirring of the wind somewhere around me match with the nerves around my heart, the motions mirroring each other. With a snap of my mind, like a whip against the air, I changed the direction of the wind in my head, letting it beat at the foundation above me. I could hear it much clearer now, like a roaring of a storm on the other side of a wall. 

I could feel my heartbeat pound against my sternum like a drum. The lack of oxygen was beginning to be too much. With a grunt, I felt something strike against the outerwalls of my prison. Suddenly, blinding beams of light punctured through the cracks in what appeared to be wood. My burning lungs choked in the rush of air.

I started coughing violently as the wind continued to rip against the wood. My eyes stung and I closed them, wishing it weren't so bright. With the rush of air there also came bitter coldness. I shivered as the cold swept over my body. Once there was a large gaping hole, I slowly sat up. My muscles were weak, not nearly enough strength to do much besides sitting up. My head started to pound as the wind died down, the throbbing a painful strife against my skull.