Resist

3

“Where the hell were you?!” an angry voice boomed. I rolled over, curling into a ball, covering my face with my wings, unable to handle anymore yelling. My head was pounding, my mouth was dry, and my body ached. Despite the warm, soft bed I was lying in, I still felt on edge and nervous.

I sat bolt upright, realizing I should not have been in a comfortable bed. The sudden movement made my body scream in pain and I groaned aloud. The world was spinning slightly as I tried to get my bearings. I seemed to be in some sort of infirmary, beds lined up down one wall and mismatching tables down the other. The door at the end of the room stood ajar, the voices coming from out there.

“We just went out for a bit.” I recognized that voice; the blonde boy with the blue eyes was speaking. I tried to listen but the next words were muffled. Then the angry voice boomed again.

“Then how did she get here?!”

“Shush, you’ll wake her up.” That sounded like the boy with the dark wings and broadsword. I tried to remember other details of his appearance but my brain was too boggled, the event unclear as I had been so overwhelmed during it. Maybe I remembered brown hair but I wasn’t sure. What had the man with ax called him? Jack I think it had been. My brain hurt too much just from that bit of thinking and I gently lowered myself back to the pillows, trying not to jostle my still throbbing shoulder, and went back to sleep, too tired to figure this out right now.

What seemed like moments later, something cold was dabbing at my forehead. I blinked my eyes open, meeting the gaze of a woman. Her eyes were a gray-blue and they looked down at me with concern. I took in the rest of her appearance slowly, her white-blonde hair and the white wings spread behind her. “How are you feeling dear?” She asked as she continued to dab my forehead with a damp cloth.

Ignoring her question, I asked, “Where am I?”

“You’re safe, that’s all that matters,” she told me as she dabbed at my forehead. It registered deep down that I should be annoyed that she wasn’t telling me but I couldn’t muster up the energy for that kind of emotion.

“You’re gonna be really groggy for a while, you lost a lot of blood,” she continued. I nodded my head in understanding, feeling my eyes getting heavy again. Already? I thought but sleep also sounded so nice, so I closed my eyes again.

I hadn’t gone back to my unconscious world however when the door clicked open. Half asleep, I heard a voice at the door ask quietly, “How is she?”

“Tired,” the woman answered. “She’s going to sleep for a while which will help her recover. She’ll still be sore though, her body took quite a beating.”

“I just wish we had gotten there sooner.”

“Jackson, you guys probably saved her life. She should be thankful her shoulder was just dislocated and she had a cut in her side. This is kind compared to the fate she could have had.”

I didn’t hear his answer as I slipped fully into sleep, the bed seeming like the most comfortable place I had ever laid in my life.

I woke the next time to my shoulder (the uninjured one) being shaken. The same woman stood over my bed. “Wake up sweetie, you should eat something,” she said with a smile.

I sat up, accepting the bowl she held out to me. It appeared to be some sort of stew and upon tasting it I discovered it was beef. “Thank you,” I told her as I began to spoon it into my mouth with increasing speed.

She smiled again and then left me to eat, turning and straightening the things on the tables across from the beds. I watched, noticing that the surfaces were covered with medical supplies. From rolls of bandages to syringes to medicine, she seemed to have a steady stock of everything.

“How do you have so much stock?” I had been under the impression that the whole city of London no longer had that many medical supplies, let alone in one place.

“Well we have our ways here,” she said, more or less evading the question. “All will be explained in due time, Gavin just wants to tell you himself.”

I made do with that answer and continued to eat, scraping the bottom of the bowl with the spoon. I noticed the bowl was very nice, almost like the China my mother had owned before Xavier. I began to grow suspicious. Who were these people?

I set the bowl on the nightstand beside the bed, the soft thunk of it hitting the wood causing the women to turn around.

“If you’re done I’d like to check your bandage,” she said, asking permission. I nodded and she came back to the bed, sitting on the edge and delicately inspecting the bandage on my side as I held up my shirt. Wait, this was a new shirt.

“You changed my shirt?” I asked, praying it had been her and not the guys who had fought my assailants.  

“Yes, I couldn’t leave you in that bloody one of course. I’m Eden by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Estelle. But you can call me Essie.” Her sweet but upfront tone let me want to trust her, and for now I would. She was the only person who had shown me this kind of friendly kindness in a long, long time.

We lapsed into silence for a moment and then the door clicked open. A man with dark hair and a square shaped face stepped inside. His long, slender, black wings spread behind him as he turned to close the door, the tips looking like they had been dipped in gray paint.

“Oh good, you’re up!” he said. His voice instantly instilled the feeling that he was intelligent, like you should listen to what he had to say. I knew he was important; he had a leadership air about him that could not simply be ignored. “I’m Gavin,” he continued as he made his way too my bed, offering me a hand to shake. I did with a small grip while his was strong and sure.

“Now I understand that you will most definitely have questions for me but not all I can answer at this time.” I was confused. He could at least tell me where I was… right? This was sounding way sketchier than I was comfortable with all of a sudden. “But I will answer what I can,” he continued.

Suddenly, it hit me. I had heard his voice before, but raised to a thunderous volume and echoing into this ward. His yelling had been what I had woken to the first time. He had been seemingly furious with the blonde boy for me being here. I scooted away from him, trying not to make it apparent should he notice and his voice boom from within like earlier.

 “Well can you just tell me where I am?” I squeaked.

“I can tell you that you are safe and among the only resistance to Xavier that exists. I cannot give you our name or exact location in case you decide to leave.” I was puzzled, I had never heard of any sort of resistance, I had thought it was all doom and gloom now.

“I didn’t know there was any resistance.”

“That’s because we’re good,” Gavin answered, a sparkle of pride in his eye. “We’re small and well trained, taking just what we need so our presence goes unnoticed while we survive and bide our time.” They sounded cunning and clever, playing their cards the right way. But who were they? What people made up this group?

When I asked, Gavin gave me another answer that satisfied but didn’t fulfill. “I cannot give you names, these people are under the protection of our group; if I give their names to someone outside it could be deadly for them. I will not risk their lives or the well being of this society in that way.” He spoke passionately, as though every one of them was his child he was protecting. I began to feel much more comfortable with him and form a deep respect. “It is a serious gamble even letting you know my name,” he confided.

My head was starting to float again and my eyelids droop, I knew we had little time before I would be incoherent again. “Thank you for sharing, even just a little bit,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome,” he said, returning it. “Oh and Estelle, I am really hoping you decide to stay, I’ve heard you’ve got some fight.”

So I can stay I thought as I drifted back to sleep on the comfy bed, enveloping myself in my thick wings. I was vaguely aware of Eden shooing Gavin out, whispering “she needs rest” as I drifted off again.