Invisible Death

My Wings Are Like a Hurricane

Adam and Donna stood face to face in the whiteness of nothing. They looked at each other and they knew who they were, only they were... different. Even though they thought they saw their faces, at the same time they were pure energy beings, two... principles... male and female.

Hand in hand, they turned and a square opened on the whiteness surrounding them. The nothing receded, revealing a cave where a mythical creature, a griffin, was chained to a thick black iron ring welded to a rock. Flames came from the depths of the cave, almost licking the half eagle, half lion chimera.

Footsteps boomed on the ground, as a gigantic lizard head poked out of a tunnel. The taloned front paws appeared from behind the rocky entrance.

"I was waiting for you," purred the beast. "My name is Knowledge and I know what you did."

The dragon roared and sucked all air in a vortex, swallowing both Adam and Donna whole. They were diving head first to the core, the nucleus, to the belly of the beast.

The whirlpool landed them back in the Vault, in one of the cells. The anomaly was squatting by the padded wall, its back turned. The electrodes shone on its skull, the black sub-gov disc stuck out of its neck, and the open hospital gown left visible its spine down to the diamond-shaped deep scar.

"It's you."

"Yes. I'm terrified. I had a few sessions already. The first was in the sensory deprivation tank; the second was sensory overload. I remember it much better now. I know I was still functioning."

The cell's door clicked open and the anomaly turned its head at the sound. Its huge black eyes registered fear, loathing, distrust, but not madness. The thing was still rational. That meant there would be a fight.

"I can feel my heart pounding, my mouth dry. I know what's coming. I am still coherent, so I know they're bringing in the big guns... I heard them speak of jimsonweed... It is devil's trumpet... everybody in the tribe knows it's dangerous... better leave it alone just for the medicine men. They used to mix it with Atroppa Belladonna... it's poisonous... Now, they talked about LSD... they'll combine two natural psychedelic drugs and one artificial, created in a lab... They think that will do the trick."

The anomaly stood up, leaning against the padded wall. Shaking, it assumed a fight stance to resist the male nurses coming to get it. But instead, a strange contraption was wheeled into the cell. The stirrups gave it away, it was a gynecological chair. Plastered against the wall, the puzzled anomaly looked on. Why did they need that?

"Oh, my God..."

"When did you have your last...?"

"I was late!" And both Donna and the anomaly screamed in tandem.

&&&

"Infanticide! Liar!" hissed the dragon.

As Donna's shape crumbled at his feet, Adam pushed her behind his own shape and faced the dragon. "She was a captive! There was nothing she could do!"

"Tell the truth! Face the truth!" The dragon roared.

"My child was murdered! And not by her!" Adam turned around and pulled Donna up until she faced him. "Is that why you're killing yourself? Donna, what could you possibly have done?"

"Everything! Anything! I could have fought harder..." Her tears were rivers of silver light running down her cheeks.

"You did! You fought so hard you came out of that chamber of horrors alive!" Adam pulled Donna into his arms. "You must, Donna! For me, for us! You have to forgive yourself!"

"Murderess!" roared the dragon.

"I tried to stop them! I did! I tapped into my telekinetic power as deep as I could! I tried and pushed the sub-gov out, but it only came half way!" Donna's luminous shape started to waver, decompose.

"Stay with me!" Adam held her shoulders and pulled her away, looking into her eyes. "The very core of the island started to shake! I know! I was there! You caused an earthquake!"

"I wanted to kill them all!" Donna howled. Her energy self regained its human outline, her body untwisted and straightened. "I wanted to tear that island off the face of the Earth!" Her limbs unbent and grew stronger as she stood up to her full height, heat and light shooting out of every pore. "I ripped them apart! They tried to grab me, I blew them up! And I would do it again!"

The griffin screeched and pulled at its chain.

"Child killer!" growled the dragon.

Adam saw Donna turn and face the dragon square on, her feet planted firmly on the cave's floor. "I wanted them dead and I killed them! And I knew the effort would make me miscarry, but I DIDN'T CARE! I didn't care for anything! All I wanted was that place destroyed! I wanted those people torn limb by limb! No matter what!" Gritting her teeth, Donna was a being made of pure power. "Now you know, Adam! I wanted them dead no matter the price! And the price was the life of our child! I killed our child as surely as I killed two men! In that cell! Before they could do it! Before they could perform the abortion! I tapped into my powers so hard I miscarried! Tell me now, how can I forgive myself? How can you forgive me?"

Without a word, without even a thought, Adam pulled Donna back around to face him again and kissed her. With his mouth covering hers, himself a being made of energy and light, he ran his hands through her short, silver hair and pulled. And as he pulled, the strands grew longer and longer, darker, shinier, changing from silver to obsidian black. The silky filaments thickened into locks, the tresses reaching her waistline.

Screeching, the griffin pulled at its chain. Theblack iron ring cracked open with a snap.      

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