The Northmen

Chapter 7

Max:

I laid on the cold, hard, concrete floor, sobbing into its not so permeable material. The only person who is like me... I will never see again. Did she really believe me when I said I'd escape? Does she know that nobody has ever escaped before? And nobody truly will ever again? Just then, the door opened, a Northmanni stepped in. it rushed over to me and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. It had a hood that covered its face. But sticking out was a long strand of fiery red hair. Peeking through the narrow slit in the fabric, were two bright green eyes. Was she... I tilted my head to the side, trying to get a better angle. However, its figure changed. Instead, its eyes were brown... and there was no hair sticking out from the hood that it bore upon its head. I started to speak, but was cut off by its booming voice. "You think you're clever do you? You actually thought our dear friend, Anastasia, could escape this place?" it was a female. She laughed in my face and dropped me. "You're such a child, as soon as she jumped from the Northmen's arms, she was once again caught. I myself put her down."

I looked at her in disgust. I stood up and spread my wings. I could feel my green eyes stinging as they changed colour, fading into white as they always do. The Northmanni changed into the figure I saw under the hood and cloak. But instead, she was wearing a tank and shorts. She had to be Semianimem. She just had to be. She stood there, tall. Suddenly, we were outside. We were somewhere near a cliff. It was a huge opening. I ran to the cliff, spreading my wings and jumping off. But in the sky, I met an invisible surface. I turned back to her. She explained. "There are limitations to my power. I can only make you see. But I cannot allow you to go."

I sat in the sky and complained, "Then why do you make me see? You're kinda sending me mixed signals here! Are you a good or a bad guy."

She sat at the edge of the cliff, legs hanging over into the sky ground thing. "I'm Amber, a Semianimem." she stated, holding out an arm, that disappeared. But then she made it reappear.

I flopped onto the sky-ground. "When you escape," Amber tentatively started. "Come you here, and all will be explained."

I sat back up, in a rage. "I'll never escape? Don't you get it? Nobody ever does! Not even my- Anastasia could!"

She got up and hovered over to me. "The outcome you desire. Desires being death... will never be fulfilled. But the outcome you pray for. That you lock away, saying it's impossible. Is the one that will occur."

"And why should I trust you? You killed her!" I disputed.

"Like I said. I'm not good nor bad. I'm simply Semianimem. However, Anastasia is not Semianimem. She may have healing properties, wings, and untouched power... but she is human. The real question is... Is little Anastasia righteous or evil. Your choices will determine that. I've seen it all already, every single outcome. Max, you have your work cut out for you. Only one future is desirable, and close to a hundred others end in time."

I got up to face her, we were around the same height. The setting changed back to the room. "And the game begins now." Amber stated with a wink, just as the heavy metal door opened to the concrete room.

More Northmen walked in and took me to the long corridor, leading to the testing room. Amber had become a Northmanni once again. They locked me alone in the room. I waited a few seconds, staring at the door. Then walked over to the cabinets that held the various materials that they tested me with. I will not be a part of their little game. I'll never again be a part of their experiments. I will do the deed for them. I grabbed a syringe and filled it with mysterious and questionable liquids. Then, taking a deep breath, I plunged it into my leg. I stumbled and felt dizzy. "Never again" I mumbled as I fell to the ground.

It became hard to breathe. My lungs burned... Everything burned. I took one last laboured breath, and was unconscious.

Somehow, I became separated from my body... and could watch as they came in to find my body. They took me in their arms, unphased, and dumped me on the ground outside. But not in their cold hearted way. It was more, humane. It roused the question in my head: are Northmen good or bad?

I remembered Amber. Northmen are Northmen. It finally dawned upon me that Amber's reply was a warning. There are evil Semianimem, there are richeous humans. But what am I.... and which is she? I closed my eyes, and when I reopened them, was in my body. Desires being death... Gosh darnit! You heal you idiot! Why'd you think you could die? I closed my eyes and laid there, reflecting on the conversation. How alike were Anastasia and I? Did she really have wings.

I finally got up and walked into the forest surrounding the facility. What is my duty? To avenge her? I was thinking, confused. After a while, I reached a cliff... The same one Amber showed me. I looked out on the sun setting. It was such a shame she never got to see this. But I only thought that, before I looked down.

Swirling below the cliff, was the figure of a girl with long, blonde hair and black wings. She flew up to the cliff and landed beside me. "Max!" she exclaimed, taking me into an embrace.

I pulled back and held her at arms length. It was her, Anastasia. Tears fell from my eyes. "They told me you were dead."