The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

12. I Really Hope Stupidity Isn't Something You Can Catch

I spun, hands up, ready to demand answers with my sign language skills, and found that the nurse had already shut the door.

I was in a typical pediatricians office. Motivational posters about washing your hands and brushing your teeth lines the walls and cabinets around me. A uncomfortable-looking examination table crowded the corner, covered in a thin, paper sheet. Seeing no other chairs, I hopped up on the table.

Moving carefully, ready to freeze if anything in my body popped or snapped, I stretched my wings a little out to the side. There was soreness, but it was distant. Shivering with pain and anticipation, I stretched my wings out to either side.

Grafted to my back were the wings of a hawk. They were enormous - almost three times my height - and beautiful, despite the clumps of grease.

Damn I needed a shower.

The door swung open and I snapped my wings against my back so fast that I went dizzy. The pain that began in my back as I stretched my stitches was nearly unbearable. But I had to be strong, so I strengthened my walls, grit my teeth, and glared at the spindly man with glasses who walked into the door.

I was reminded of a praying mantis, and the way that those awkward creatures moved. They turned and jerked with fast little twitches, and this man was the same.

“Juliana Carol Davis?” He asked.

Automatically, I corrected him in sign language. ‘Lia. Where are we? Why are we here?’ The man obviously didn’t speak sign language, so I mimed writing, and he handed me a sheet of paper and a pen. I wrote the question and held it up for him. The man read it, and then looked back down at his notes.

“You and your friends have been selected to take part in a research study on-”

“Hey dickwad,” I smacked the doctor across the face with the sheet of paper.“I asked you a question.” It read.

“And I ignored it,” he answered, never even looking up from his notes. “Now you and your fellow subjects will stay here until-”

“This is kidnapping!” I wrote. “My parents will call the police!”

“Your parents think that you have run away.” His voice was like ice. “Not shut up and listen.”

They thought I had run away? Did they blame themselves? I shook away the thought. I couldn’t worry about them. I had to save myself first.

Guys listen to this, I instructed. My friends clambered to the front of my mind. They watched silently through my eyes, and listened attentively through my ears. Raj was already picking apart the doctors body language, and Tony was considering all the ways I could break his nose in one blow.

“All five of you were chosen because of your age, proximity, and intelligence. Basically, you were five out of almost three-hundred candidates.”

Lucky us, Tony grumbled.

Shush, Rajeev quieted him.

“We are trying to create a new super race for military usage. I am the scientist heading the program, Doctor Hanson. For the past week we have been grafting avian DNA into your cells. Similar procedures have been performed on your friends, though theirs were less controlled. Truth be told, we have no idea what the effects on them will be. Over the next few months, we will be running tests on mental stability, physical durability, etcetera.”

“You’re turning us into weapons,” I had never been so angry.

I had had an uncle who told me stories about fighting in the war in Iraq. He never told me about glory or glamor. He told me the truth. He told me tales of hardships, and loss, and life so crippling you wished you were dead. Death was disgusting, and killing was abominable.

I did not want to be a weapon for anyone.

It was not just my own anger that swirled within me. The dark fury of my comrades rose behind her, crashing overhead like a wave.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” the words that I wrote were slashing, hard downward strokes that accentuated my anger. “You’re playing god with our lives? What gives you the right to do that?!”

“We are scientists!” Dr. Hanson sounded indignant. “It is our duty to ask questions, and experiment, and produce results that benefit the human race. All five of you will be valuable weapons. To help people, sacrifices need to be made.”

“Then experiment on your own fucking kids!” I wrote. Distantly, I wondered if those words were my own, or if someone else was using my hands. It didn’t feel like I would be able to control what I said anymore.

“You are obviously too young and too ignorant to understand,” Hanson sniffed disdainfully. “Maybe when you are older you will appreciate what we have created.”

“You’ve created a monster,” I wanted to kill him. I had never been so furious in my entire life, and all I wanted to do was rip his head off, or ruin Hanson’s life the way he had ruined mine

“You are not a monster,” he assured me. “You are a work of art. You are priceless, and beautiful.”

Calm, Lia, Emily spoke inside of my head. Laughter steals your breath and anger quickens death.

No ones death is being quickened, I shook my head. Where was my hair tie? Why was my hair loose? I hated it when my hair was loose. Except maybe his if he doesnt fix this mess.

Anger will consume you/ Fire in the night/ We’ll stay in here forever/ Hidden from daylight.

“What about Emily?” I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to fight my own rage. “You said you’d be testing our sanity, right? Well your fucking torture made her go insane.”

“Yes, we are well aware of Subject Thompson’s condition, Juliana.” Dr. Hanson frowned and adjusted his glasses. For a moment, I felt the anger start to wash away from me. Maybe if they knew that Emily was hurt they would help her. Then Dr. Hanson opened his mouth again. “That is why she will be terminated in five days.”