Blazing Skies

Chapter 7

Okay, so where were we? Right, blind, in pain, and terrified.

"What do you want from me?"

"I want to know who you are, where you came from, and how strong your planet of origin is."

"Then maybe you should have asked nicely from the start, because now I'm not telling you anything!"

"That could change."

"But it won't, because you've made an absolutely awful first impression."

"Be that way."

Remember how I mentioned that knife? Yeah, he started using it. I got a nice slash to my abdomen.

"You do realize that I'm going to bleed out sooner than talk? Pain just isn't convincing for me."

"What do you mean bleed out, his notes said you guys are immortal."

"Then his notes were incorrect. We can die, and I'm not afraid to prove it here and now."

"That's not possible, he'd never lie."

"Maybe he just made a mistake. What was the exact quote?"

"Blah blah blah... 'Have shown signs of biological immortality...'"

"There's a difference between that and true immortality, and I'm not either."

"So?"

"What you're referring to means that we won't die of old age. Often we don't, we get in some nasty scenario or a disease. Yeah, we die."

By about this time, I couldn't really feel the nasty slashing I had been given.

"Something interesting that happens to us when under extreme pain, is that we just stop feeling it. Our nerves temporarily shut down. You're not getting anything out of me."

I don't know what happened after that, exactly. Well, for the next several hours after. What I do know is that my head is a bloody mess and I'm lying on a floor somewhere. Probably in the same room. Also I think I gave away everything someone would need to launch an attack on my home. Oops. I do know that I'm still very much blind. And I feel alone. And I'm scared. And I think there's someone standing over me and I swear if they touch me I will kill them in so many ways.

"Poor thing, what have they done to you."

Okay, maybe this one can live.

"Wonder if after all that there's even anyone in there."

"I'm... I'm awake."

"So you can speak our language?"

"We seem to speak the same."

"You must be in terrible pain."

"Actually, I can't feel a thing."

"So what they said us true."

"What?"

"There's so much you need to know. I don't know what they're going to do now, but brace yourself."

I must have passed out or something, because next I knew I was strapped down to a bed somewhere. I was still blind, so I guess nobody cared about that. I could, however, tell my wounds had been taken care of. I felt a presence near me.

"I don't care who you are, but you're not getting any information out of me."

"We have all we need already. All I want is for you to go to sleep so I can study the energy you're giving off properly."

"Sorry, not feeling cooperative today."

I felt flame curl around my body, burning through whatever held me down. I got up and started running, following some instinct. I eventually made it out into an open street. Something was wrong, though, very wrong. After a few breaths of the air outside, I broke into a coughing fit. I was on my knees when I felt a hand take mine and someone guide me. I did my best to keep up, but I wasn't used to whatever was in the air. I felt my consciousness shifting away, and I fainted. Again. I woke up on another floor, this one was carpeted.

"I don't know what you are, but I know you weren't doing great back there. You're not used to the smog, are you?"

"There's no way that can be healthy."

"It isn't, but they won't clean it up."

"Where am I, anyway."

"The city's library."

"Are there many people around?"

"Just us. Technically it's closed now."

"I can feel a power here. Something old."

"There's nothing special about this place."

"Nothing special? This is a LIBRARY! It's filled with tons and tons of books! Of course it's special. We are in a building filled with the dreams of thousands of authors and readers. And as a nice bonus, I can feel the power radiating off it all. I could use it and find a way to go home."

I got up, my senses guiding me again.

"The reason this place is closed is because everything is digital now. There's no need for books. It's being demolished tomorrow."

"Then I'm going to change that."

"You've got some attitude on you, haven't you?"

"I get that a lot."