The Haven

Chapter 13

Charlie, it makes me boil seeing his evil face. I just want to go away. The pain hits again sending me crashing to the floor and Charlie hurries beside my trembling body. It hits like a mountain of bricks, full force on my back. The hurt is so painful, my back arches and I let out a loud scream. What is happening to me? The burning pain ignites a heat so excruciating, my entire spine feels on fire. My shoulder bones are cracking, and I can feel bones rearranging. My breaths are fast and short, slowing the further I fall into the darkness. Slipping into an exhausted unconsciousness, my mind goes black.

"She's gaining consciousness." I hear voices, but my eyes are cemented shut. Feeling is coming back in my body, bringing the ache along with it.

"Is she ok?"

"She's fine, just gaining her next gift, that's all." Strength is coming back, and I struggle to open my heavy eyes.

The walls are a beautiful type of red wood and the blankets laid perfectly on top of me have different tribal patterns on them. I'm in our cabin.

"Oh my gosh, Aaliyah are you ok?!" Clara rushes by my side and squeezes my hands tightly. Everything is spinning thanks to my dizzy head. My shoulders and back are extremely sore and I feel a thousand times heavier.

"What happened?" Clara's eyes go wide and Charlie has an excessive grin on his evil face. What is up with them? What is up with me?

"Uh, uh you have-" my loud scream cuts her off as the pain comes again, this time I can feel the ripping of my skin. I feel something hit the wall hard, but I'm no where near the wall. My eyes lock on a white feather falling before me. Slowly, I reach my trembling hand to lift the feather and stroke it's soft feel.

Wings. I have wings.

"W-wings?" They both just nod. Charlie looks like he could power a rocket with the energy in his glowing smile and Clara looks like she just saw a ghost. Power number two: freaking wings.

"I have to call the Director!" Charlie drops the clipboard he had in his hands and rushes out the cabin door, leaving me alone with Clara. I wonder where the twins went?

Clara just keeps staring at my new wings and won't talk, so I leave to try flying. Maybe if I fly high enough I can escape through the air! A warm rush of air fans over my body and through my light feathers. The sun makes my eyes squint, but I couldn't be happier to see the sky. It's so blue, like a lake just waiting for me to dive into it. I've always wanted to know the feel of the clouds, they look so soft. Naturally, my wings unfold and I am amazed by just how huge they are. My guess would be a eight foot wingspan, and I'm not even good with distance. With a leap, my feet leave Earths solid ground and my heart molds with the feel of the air on my skin. I wonder if Raven gets the same feeling? I've never felt so free. Everything has been about escaping, and I've constantly been trapped in situations from drama to being held for a genetic experiment. For the first time, I feel free. For once I don't have to worry about escaping, dying, basically I don't have to worry at all. The sky is in my reach and I am determined to soar every square inch of it.

The ground is so far away, with all my problems buried beneath its soil. From here I can see the Blaze isn't a part of the Haven, it's its own building entirely. Who cares, when I'm in the sky, thoughts about the Haven and the Blaze are forbidden to even flash in my mind. No worries.

Smack.

The blue sky and brown dirt are swirling together as I spin uncontrollably towards the ground. What did I hit? A cloud? Realization hits me, and I remember the position I'm in, falling from the sky to my death. Now my arms and legs are too swinging uncontrollably. A flash of black darts past to fast for me to see what it is. It stops below me, and I crash into the rock solid thing. Warmth envelopes me in its cuddling arms and I involuntarily snuggle deeper into the thing. Then I hear chuckling. Chuckling? Wait, what?

"Hey Dove."

"Raven!" I find his icy eyes and instantly melt. Before I know it I'm crying. Crying! I don't cry, ever!...except for now...and maybe that other time......

"Why are you crying?" His arms tighten around me and he flys us back into the blue sky. Why am I crying?

"I...I don't know, I just. I failed." My wings, my powers, they were reminders I failed to escape in time. I never should've tried to get answers on my own. He probably hates me now.

"No, no, no, you didn't fail. You made it better! Now we know where the Blaze is and can save more people!" I know he's just trying to comfort me, but what he is saying is true. If I wouldn't have gotten captured, we wouldn't know where the Blaze was and more glitches could've gotten hurt. How did Raven even find me?

"How did you even find me?" I ask, voicing my thoughts.

"After Rose escaped the Haven I went in and when I couldn't find you anywhere in the Haven, I started searching again from the skies. I flew as fast as I could for two hours till I saw something flying through the sky. It looked like an angel, and as I got closer I realized it was an angel. It was you." Normal girls would probably think that was extremely sweet, which it was, but I was still focused on the fact Rose made it back to camp.

"Rose made it?! Thank God!" I exclaim, throwing my head back. Raven laughs and I join him. That's when I realize how close we are. I am still tightly tangled in his strong arms and our faces are insanely close as he rests his forehead on mine.

"Dove..."no, no I am not ready to make the decision yet. The decision between River and Raven. I can't do this. No no no no....

"Wait-" I insist, but he cuts me off before I can stop him.

"Please just hear me out." I sigh in defeat and nod my head.

"All I ever think about is you, your emerald eyes that shine brighter than all the stars combined, the sun rays in your golden hair that brighten all my days, your smile that glows more beautiful than the moon, the touch of your skin makes me crazy and just seeing you in general makes me crave your lips on mine, your heart is stronger than anything in the universe except my love for you. Every heart dies eventually, but my love for you never will. I want my life to be lived with you in my arms because living without you isn't living, it's just lifelessly breathing. Forever is all I know when I think of you and forever is all I want with you. I love you to the moon and back an infinite amount of times. Dove, you are my forever."

Speechless. If that's even a word for it. What do I do? Raven just confessed his love to me, what do I do?! His lips light my forehead in sparks as they gently kiss my skin. I want to say I love him back, I want to say that all I want is forever with him too, but I can't. River is still sitting in the back of my mind and what I feel for him is pulling me back. Why does everything have to be so damn hard?!

You are going to have to break one of their hearts in the end, it's just up to you to choose which one. A past love or a new one? River was there for you, but who is here for you now?

Welcome back voice, long time no talk. I guess that makes sense, Raven is here for me now and River isn't, but River also doesn't have wings. I need to go away, away from all this. I pull free from Ravens grip and bolt through the air. I don't know how fast I'm going or where I'm going, but I have to be flying at least 250mph. I don't plan on stopping until I literally can't fly anymore. The sun is setting and tears start to fly from my eyes as all the pressure pushes me past my breaking point. A loud chopping sound rings in my ears from above me. I look up, only to see a helicopter hovering above and Charlie sending a net fly over my body, pulling me to the water below.

I guess it's time to go for a swim.