Steel Flight [Completed]

Chapter 28: Formula

-Jack

The drop plopped onto my head and trickled slowly down me through the goo. Was it dissolving the clear substance? I looked down and felt my fear expand far past the limits of my skin. You know, the skin that was quickly becoming steel! As I watched, the dark reflection crept steadily upward, now to my knee on my right leg and growing ever closer on my left.

"What's happening?!" I yelled at the giant, unable to tear my eyes away. Each centimeter the metal climbed, I felt one more year of my life slipping away. "You sped it up!"

But I could hear Archibald already mixing a second concoction. Apparently he didn't want me dying before he got a chance to figure something out. At least, that's what I hoped.

The metal had reached my thighs. I tried an experimental bend of my knees, all the while telling myself it was useless.

It was.

"Hurry up!" My voice had gone high-pitched. I couldn't escape this. I was surrounded by fire, nothing but empty field and more fire in every direction. Even my family's end had been better than this. At least they had had each other.

I shuddered. I was going to die.

All I could hear was the ticking of a clock, though I hadn't noticed one in the room. It drowned out all else, filling my head and rattling my bones. The ones that could still move, at least.

Growing equally overpowering was the metallic tang that filled my nostrils and tingled over my tongue. Some remote part of me dully brought back memories of when I was younger, when I thought tingly metal had tasted good. The small nostalgic sensation sickened me. Now was not the time.

I watched the stiff, unfeeling gray creep underneath my rolled-up pants. I could still track its progress- whatever it touched it turned unfeeling.

What would Dad have thought of this? The question popped into my mind from out of nowhere. I pushed it to the back of my thoughts in irritation.

Just as soon as that thought had been buried, though, another, equally surprising one came. Little Finley would have thought it undeniably cool to have metal legs. Back then, I would have too.

Young Ana's hazel eyes would have clouded over with worry. "Boo boo?" I could almost feel her untamed voice in my chest. She had loved to sing.

The metal was almost to my hips.

I had been hyperventilating since the steel had begun slithering up my legs with the uncanny grace of a snake. I couldn't stop. I barely even tried. Maybe I would pass out from lack of air. It would be easier that way.

"Calm down, hummingbird," Mum said in my head, echoing from the past. "Slow breaths. Slow breaths."

I couldn't move, couldn't feel my entire lower body. If anything, my breaths quickened. A silent tear slid down my cheek.

Dad's face filled my vision. "You have responsibilities, Son." he said. "More than you can walk away from." It was something he'd told me more and more often as I got older. But all I wanted to do was run back to those days when I'd had hours at a time to play with my friends and get lost in my imagination.

Was that why I was here? Because I'd walked away from my responsibilities? He had always insisted I had a responsibility to my siblings, to my parents, and to my people. Even back then that weight had been crushing. Which was probably why I stubbornly went on daydreaming. Why I'd daydreamed rather than helping in the field that day. Would Dad have approved of my leaving the Farmlands? Probably not, but he had left the City. What did he know about responsibility?

Burning liquid plopped onto my head and sludged slowly down my body. It heated up the metal to the point where I worried the skin that touched it would burn. I smelled rubber.

But most important of all, the steel stopped spreading. It didn't shrink or retreat, but it paused.

"Ah," said Archibald, visibly relaxing. "For a second there I thought I was going to lose you as quickly as those mice. Poppy seeds, crushed pearls' shine, and gold dust are not a good combination." He laughed and I focused on gulping in relieved breaths, sweat plastered to my scalp. I was alive! He picked up his pen and began to make detailed notations in some sort of notebook.

"Look," I said when my heart had slowed somewhat. "I appreciate you stopping the metal- really, I do- but is there any possible way to, I don't know, get rid of it? Like, permanently?"

The giant paused in his note-taking and met my eyes with an intense gaze. "There is one way. . ." he said, tapping his chin, eyes turning wicked. He grinned. "But you might not like its side effects."

Hope rose in me. Anything was better than this. "What is it?!?"

"Breath of Spring. Though I wouldn't get too excited. A single drop of its extract is enough to burn away all the metal, but you wouldn't survive the purge long enough to stretch out your toes."

My shoulders slumped slowly through the sludge. "Glad I asked."

He chuckled at my expression. "Don't worry, little Test Subject, you still have some time."

I shook my head in horror, and he went back to his notes and beakers and ingredients. That settled it! If I couldn't escape physically, it didn't mean I also couldn't mentally.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the whole nightmare clanking and grumbling around me. On instinct, I conjured my go-to daydream: I was standing on our old barn roof, toes curling over the edge. Not turned to metal. I slowly leaned forward, arms open wide, embracing the whole world, and fell into open air.

Wings sprouted from my back- not just any wings, the ones you'd expect to see stretching from the spined back of a black dragon - and I pulled smoothly out of my dive. Knox and the guys cheered and clapped and spurred me on. Strangely enough, Colton was there too. I beat my wings, reveling in the feel of it. I was flying.

I flew so high I could no longer see them.

I skimmed my hand through a cloud, but instead of feeling wet and intangible (as I now knew they did) it turned to smoke in my fingers. I looked up and wondered when the world had turned to black and white. I was in a city. Maybe the City.

I beat my wings, intent on rising above it. This was not what flying got you. Flying, flying made you free! I knew it would be easy to jump out of this dream and imagine myself in a different setting, but I also knew from experience that if I did, it wouldn't stick. If a death dart popped into my head and I didn't imagine throwing it beyond this world, it wouldn't leave my thoughts. I would try to picture a scene without it, and it would just keep popping up- all day long.

I knew I just needed to fly above the city and leave it all behind, but the towering skyscrapers seemed to stretch all the way to the Land of a Thousand Skies, as their name suggested. I circled around one, spiraling higher and higher, already over my outside view of my totally awesome black dragon wings. This was getting ridiculous. What was wrong with my imagination?!

Then a glowing blue star dripped down from the sky.

Wait. It was night time?

It grew, the blue light filtering outward and growing brighter.

That's when I felt another drop plop onto my head. This one was sticky.

My eyes flew open, and I was met with the analytical stare of the giant. I looked down at my metallic legs. This was nothing like the stories.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Comment below: what did you like? Dislike? I'd love to hear from you!