Spirit

Falcon

"HOLY SHIT!" I yelled.

"What?!" Jack turned around, searching for what I was freaking about.

"No, no! Don't fuck with my mind! I saw that!"

"Saw what?!" Jack said, facing me again.

"Something... there was... what..." I stuttered. I definitely saw something light blue passing through Jack.

"Luke, what's wrong?" He reached his hand to me but I slapped it away.

"No stop! I saw whatever that was... going inside you!"

"Luke, please try to calm down while I get help."

"NO!" I yelled. I knew what 'help' here means. The last thing I know I'm locked down in an empty room made out of sponges or whatever. I took a few deep breaths just to calm down, but I couldn't. I was reliving the past, the same reason I got in here in the first place. And I didn't want to.

"Look, I'm sorry. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten yet." I lied. "Stuff like that happens when I take my medicine and don't eat."

"Oh, that's okay." He said, his smile coming back to him. "Let's go and eat then"

He went babbling about how he thinks he remember where the cafeteria is, while I was still trying to figure out the freakish scene.

Something, I could swear it looked like a bird, hid itself in Jack's body. I mean, why would Jack scream something, make me turn away from the window, and then ignore that whatever-bird-lighty thing was there...

I kept thinking about it so much that I forgot how I got into the cafeteria with a plate in front of me.

"So, why are you in here, anyway?" Jack asked me out of nowhere.

That's when I lost it. I don't know why. Maybe because he got into personal details too quickly, or maybe because that exact scene in the art room is the reason why I'm here and he was denying it happened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I yelled. "I meet you two hours ago and you think you can try to charge in into my life? Then you lie to me about whatever happened earlier? How about we have sex later, huh? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Security guards made their way towards me. Great. Just what I needed. But I didn't care. I kept cursing and yelling him until they dragged me out of my chair and out of the cafeteria.

"Just take me to my room!" I finally grumbled.

Oh, they took me to my room alright. And of course they locked the door.

Great, I thought. Forget about leaving this place early.

I wanted to hit something, but I knew making noise would get me in trouble. So I started hitting my pillow. I imagined it was everything I hated, which was probably everything right now: the past, my stupid dad, my mom, that guy she was fighting, this hospital, Dr. Paul, Jack, the pills... everything.

I hit the pillow for an hour straight (yeah, that's how sick I am) and I felt my body getting tired. I wanted to scream, but even through my pillow, someone will hear it, and I would be taken away to some 'special' place. I know how this hospital works by now.

So I slept, just to try and relax.

Here I was again, in that forest, with that blue fox in front of me. He kept asking me to help him, but I didn't know how.
Then something happened. A light far left appeared, coming closer and closer, until I realized it was a bird. A falcon. It was majestic.
I felt like it was going to attack the fox. I needed to protect it. struggled against my bonds. I finally got my arms free from that invisible chain, and started shooing it off, yelling at it to go away.
As it went away, the fox looked at me. A look that almost ripped my heart out: despair.
He asked me: "Why?"

I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I slowly opened eyes, just to find nurse Alice by my bed.

"So I guess that 'helping the others' thing really isn't your thing?" She asked me.

"In my defense," I croaked, sitting up, "I haven't talked to someone like that in a year and a half. Plus, how can he ask me such a question when I barely know him?"

"Oh yeah, what a monster!" She said ironically. "Trying to be friends with you and sharing stuff like that is really horrible."

"Hey don't get on my case too! I was keeping my distance with Merry Curious Georges before he asked me-"

"Don't you think it's a bit unfair?"

"What?"

"You know exactly why he's here. You read his file. He met you this morning, and he doesn't know a thing about you. He has the right to ask, at least."

I opened my mouth to answer, but I realized she was right. I sat in my bed, thinking about what happened.

"What did Jack tell everyone when they locked me in here?"

"He said that you were showing him around, and that's it. Then the cafeteria incident."

"He told you nothing about the art room?" I asked, surprised.

"Nothing I can recall." Alice answered simply. She looked at me intently. "Why? What happened in the art room?"

He didn't tell them. Why wouldn't he tell them?

"Nothing, he really liked the picture of that guy who keeps muttering numbers to himself." I lied. "I thought he would mention that cause he talks too much and I thought-"

I faltered as Alice gave me one of her 'I know you're lying' looks. Her expression softened a bit, then she smiled at me and told me: "Jack's at Dr. Paul's office if you want to apologize."

"Yes, cause that's what I'm good at. Talking to people."

She chuckled. "Well you're talking to me. What do you consider I am?"

"Oh come on, you know what I mean!"

I left my room and headed towards the office, trying to form a proper apology.

"Okay let's see. "I'm sorry you're getting your head up my ass"" I muttered to myself. "No, too formal... How about "I'm sorry I..." Ugh there's no way I'm apologizing!"

Still trying to figure out my apology, I saw lights coming out from the music room. Usually, I try as hard as possible not to get into that room. But that light was too familiar for me to go past it.

I stood by the door of the music room and every word of my apology speech fell out of my head. Actually, all words fell out of my head.

I saw Jack's hand on the head of a glowing blue falcon. The one from my dreams.