GO

13

13

     I stare at the note I left on the window. “Peter Pan, I left my window open. Please come rescue me.”. I feel the sting of my wrists and I crash on my bed. I wrap myself in the orphanage blankets, tears rushing down my face. Jay and I got into a car accident, killing him and maiming me. I’m missing a part of my femurs and my tibulas, so I’m part metal now. The doctors didn’t seem to care about my abilities much, so it was pretty hassle free. I stare out my broken window, tears coming down my face. I hope someone one day rescues me from here. This place is killing me. I feel the tears on my wrists and wipe it off. I can’t be here anymore! Maybe I deserve this. Maybe this is my punishment for the cruelty I’ve shown in my life. Maybe I was a little too mean or maybe I hit someone and I hurt them. I probably do deserve this.   My tears run down faster, but I feel nothing at all. I lean on the wall, tears flowing like a river. My heart pounds on my ribs, taking it’s anger out on the hard bone cage. The pain melts away as sleep encased me.

       I’m standing in the woods, trees all around me. I approach the nearest tree and see deep grooves cut into the tree. I run my fingers along the hundreds of incisions, wondering what did this. Images of the monster from my last dream send me reeling. No, I won’t let him come in this time. I hear a disgruntled cuss, and bound over to the sound. I’ve been wandering alone in these woods for two years, it’s great I finally found someone else. I see a boy in a impossibly smooth tree, legs hanging off the branch. I call from under thr tree, “Hello?” He looks down at me and his eyes go wide. He pushes off the branch. I yelp and notice his abnormally large chest. Most people don’t have such oversized chests, becuase there’s no medical purpose for it. Then, I see two huge wings extending out his back. The ivory feathers are soft and gentle looking as they gleam in the noonday sun. I stare at the boy, whose green eyes are gleaming. I ask, “Who are you?” Hurt flashes across his innocent face. His wings begin to change colour. Grey seeps in at the base and is coating them darker and faster still. He flares his wings and I see the clipped edges. Pity and guilt fills me, because I know who that is. That is the boy Jays’ fathet had clipped, Bärchen. I ask, curious, “Why are you here, Bär?”

   He rasps, voice hoarse, “I don’t know, Vienna. My wings nearly killed some kids, so they clipped my metal wings. I felt really sick during the spasm, and my wrist began to bleed. I then came here.” I stare in horror, becuase i was bleeding earlier today too. Different reasons, of course. I watch his emerald eyes dart to my wrist. His hand drifts to his left wrist. He lunges and grabs my wrist. Anger fills his eyes and I tug away. Fear covers his face and I take off running. My vision blurs and I see endless green. I trip on a rock, and blue fills my vision. I scream, and I hear it echoes in a male voice as wings flap above. My vision blackens and I feel my body being seperated from myself…

I wake up screaming. I cling to my blankets and feel the coldness of the air. I see my roommate stir and sit up. I look at my window, and see a new note on the window. “I’m coming for you. Hold on, baby.” The errie fact is that the note is written in blood and signed with a black feather made of tiny metal fibers. My roommate, Tadi, rushes over. She looks at the feather closely and her blue eye grows wide. She was born with one eye like a cyclops. It’s super cool. She looks at me and whisper yells, “Do you know what this is?” I shake my head. Aren’t all feathers like this? She buggles, “This is a feather from the Zvezda Sora Royal Bloodline! This feather alone is worth millions! Who would have put these here?”  I feel my blood run cold.

     I croak, “ Bärchen Zvezda.” Tadi looks ready to explode. Unfortunately, she does.

     “BÄRCHEN ZVEZDA CALLED YOU BABY?” The night owl, and night guard, a shape shifter named Nikos comes trotting in with his tail up. His black and white striped fur tells me who it is, becuase he always has black and white fur that reminds me of a barcode. He sees the feather and shifts back to his human self. I’m glad, also, that he can only turn into cat genuis species. No awkward mistakes then.

    Nikos purrs, smooth and dangerous, “Ah… I heard something about bloodlines. Need some help?” Tadi becomes bright red and flustered by Nikos, and I feel agitation rise in my chest.

    I reply, “I know Bärchen and I’ve seen those metal wings before, so I” All I see is horror on their faces. I ask, confused, “What?” All of a sudden, glass shatters and I’m yanked roughly out the window. I feel my conscious slip as something plunges into my neck.

    A rough voice hisses, “Goodnight, beasty. Thank you for summoning my brother.”