Crossfire

Chapter 13

And so the training began. Charles went to each of us individually, and when he wasn't with the others, I was. I had a hand in training some mutants before. George had occasionally sent me a new mutant that had no idea how to use their powers. I would help them unlock those powers if I could. That was the goal here. Charles was far more encouraging than I was.

Moving on.

It was a little more difficult to find something for me, as my mutation wasn't as... involved as some of the others. I focused more on physical training. Charles apparently, with the help of Erik, set up an obstacle course of sorts designed to test the limits of my flight. If Erik had a part in it, then it was guaranteed to have some twists. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but that was the point. I opened my wings and cleaned them, taking off loose feathers and cleaning the others carefully. The thing about feathers is that they had an intricate system of interlocking parts that when split apart, could only be put back together by a hooked beak. Or my skilled fingers, as these wings were a tad bit larger than a birds. Still, it took a long time, but was necessary to make sure that they were actually useful.

I stood in front of the course. It really was intricate, like my feathers. I took a deep breath. It was now or never, wasn't it? Charles was next to me.

"Remember, Sky, focus on what's happening around you. Your wings are a part of you." He said.

"Always have been. That's not going to change now." I responded.

I looked at the course again. It was a labyrinth of metal, barely large enough for me to get through the entrance. I hopped a little on my toes before I took off. The force of my wings meeting with the air knocked Charles back a step. As I reached my first turn, I brought my wings in close to me, making a sharp turn, kicking off the wall to build up momentum. A part of this test was speed. The faster I could get through it, the better. It would make my life easier if I was in a fight or fleeing from, say, Sebastian Shaw. I made another sharp turn. Erik sure wasn't making my life easy, was he?

The course had been built in the woods, so there was an open place with a small forest. The trees were close together. I maneuvered my way through them, hitting a branch that caught in my arm. There was a cut, but it would heal. I continued. I found the way back into the labyrinth. I pushed off of another wall. It burned my hand. Clever Erik. The metal was heated. It would burn me if I touched it. I would have to do so sparingly, then. I brought my wings in close again. If even on feather got burned, then they would be rendered useless. I made my way through at a slightly slower pace.

I had to be getting close to the end. This course was out of the way, but surely it wasn't that long. I had taken a few wrong turns, but nothing that I couldn't fix quickly. I could see it. I could see the end. I moved towards it.

The moment happened in slow motion. The cage fell down on me. I had to pull my wings back just to make sure that they didn't get crushed. I pushed up on the cage. It was a heavy metal. I couldn't push it off. The door was locked. I was stuck. I was trapped. I was in a cage barely big enough to fit a dog. Eight years of torture came flooding back to me as I struggled to get out. I was stuck. I was here and I was alone and no one was going to help me out.

My chest started to constrict. It was getting harder and harder for me to breathe. I hit my fist against the floor. Not now. No. Please. I struggled to keep my breathing steady. It wasn't working. I had to get out of here. I had to get out. I couldn't be in here.

I could hear the doctors talking to me. About me. For me. Through me. I felt their scalpels against my skin and I saw their eyes filled with cold curiosity. I had no way to get out and to be free from it all. My vision went spotty and then faded away. It was there. The memories. The fear. The stench from blood and rotten food. Things that we couldn't get away from. The things that haunted me in my nightmares. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cold of the floor beneath me.