Birds of a Feather

five

I stood on the rooftop for a few moments longer, letting the moment settle around me like snow. I didn't want to go back to the rooftop door, down the stairs, and back to my hospital room. I didn't want to lay in wait for more extraneous tests like the lab rat I was. But knowing I could do nothing else, I went.
When I arrived back in my room, I half expected there to be an intervention for all the people waiting there for me. My dad, two sisters, and half the hospital staff seemed to be awaiting my return. Dr. Frobisher rushed to me, his eyes alight with a crazed expression. He actually had the audacity to put his hands on my shoulders. Of course I wouldn't let that stand. I somewhat violently threw them off of me, and in my sudden ferocity a mysterious gust of wind rustled his hair.
"Don't touch me," I instructed.
I ignored his look of shock, as well as my father's, and made my way to my hospital bed which looked as uninviting as it always did. I missed my bed. But I climbed in anyway.
"Someone turn off the light, I'm going to sleep," I said to no one in particular. However, someone complied and the room was blanketed in a sudden darkness. I would be lying to you if I said that I fell asleep immediately. Flashes of Kace prevented me from falling into unconsciousness. His dark hair wild in the wind, with an almost wicked grin to match. His tattoos, his voice. But mainly, Kace's wings. He was like me. Something about that thought comforted me. Yet the same thought filled me with envy. Kace was out there right at that moment, flying around. Free to do as he pleased. How come he wasn't cooped up in a hospital like me? After running through the same thoughts and memories on almost a loop, I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up to the sound of two familiar voices bickering. Patrick and Cybil. I heard the faint background noise of the TV. More prominently, were Cybil and Patrick.
I jolted up to look at them. I was excited and nervous. I wasn't sure if they'd been told what happened. If they'd be disgusted? Or scared of me?
Immediately, Cybil threw her arms around me in a constricting hug. I embraced her back, relief flooding my body. I smiled at Patrick over her shoulder, who was beaming so brightly I thought I might be blinded. I could hear Cybil sniffle, and her body shook with gentle sobs. She pulled herself away from me, holding my face in her hands.
"Dylan I'm so glad you're alive!" she cried, wiping a tear from her face. "We thought you were dead... you were gone for a minute before we came after you and..."
She drifted off into her own thoughts. I sensed a lot of guilt and frustration with herself in those unspoken words. This realization pained me. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if the tables were turned. If it was her or Patrick instead of me. If I hadn't been there to save them.
"Cybil, it's not your fault." I looked to Patrick who had his head in his hands. "And it's not your fault either Patrick. It's no one's fault but the sick motherfucker who did this to me."
I gestured relatively towards my back where my wings were folded delicately. This gesture completely changed the mood in both my friends. Before it was one of regret, and then suddenly it turned into one of childlike excitement. I was surprised when it was Patrick who spoke first. "Dude, you gotta show us what you can do."
Cybil nodded her head excitedly. It was the best case scenario. They weren't scared of me. In fact, they were excited about their new mutant friend. I guess I would also be excited if I had a friend who could fly and conjure the elements. It was like all those Marvel movies and comics everyone loved so much. But this was real. And all those parts where the hero resents their powers before embracing them used to annoy me. Like dude, you can fly? There are worse problems. And now the joke was on me, because I was the hero who resented their power. But in that moment, with Cybil and Patrick looking at me with glistening childlike eyes, I was excited to show them. I stood, unfolding my dark wings dramatically. I followed this with a swift wrist movement to manipulate the glass of water on my night stand. As I was still getting the hang of using my skills, the water was shaky and not at all great to look at. If my friends noticed, I couldn't tell. They stood slack-jawed for a few moments before my concentration broke and the water dropped to the floor with a momentous splat.
"Biiiiiitch, that's so badass," Cybil breathed.
This caused us all to laugh. This was probably the best moment in the hospital I'd had since reuniting with my family. The moment dragged on until I heard my name come randomly from the TV. I had to do a double take before realizing that I'd heard correctly.
My attention averted immediately to the television to see what was going on. I gestured to Patrick to hand me the remote, and I heightened the volume.
"... few nights ago when twenty year old Dylan Harper was found naked in the street of a local suburban neighborhood. However, the strangest part was not that she was found in this state, but the giant wings that were attached to her back. Harper was immediately transferred to Rockefeller University Hospital where it was reported that she was also able to burst her saline bag with her mind and shoot fire from her hands. As outlandish as it sounds, we've had multiple confirmed reports of this occurrence. We are awaiting any updates on this story and will be sure to inform you when we learn more,"
The newscaster reported this calmly, with the headline BREAKING NEWS: YOUNG GIRL FOUND WITH WINGS flashing along the bottom of the screen. A video of me lying unconscious and naked in the street played to the vacant spot to her left. It was censored, but there was no mistaking my dark wings even against the dark pavement and with the shitty camera quality.
I tuned out whatever story she began after that, and stared blankly at the wall beside the screen. Cybil gently pried the remote from my hand, without much defiance from myself and turned the TV off.
"Jesus..." A new voice- my father's. His presence woke me from my trance and I looked to him, fighting off tears. He had already started to walk toward me when I ran to him just to envelop myself in his warmth. His arms cradled me, and moments later I could feel Cybil's smaller arms, and Patrick's arms too. I remained in the center, hyperventilating just to keep myself from crying. "I had no idea they found me like that... how could they air that? I'm just... I'm so..." The words were hard to find.
I pictured myself naked in the street like that, mothers walking their dogs to stumble on what could've been a corpse, or an addict, or anything. And then finding... me. The image of my naked body splayed across national television kept playing in my mind. The voices of multiple people confused, worried, and disgusted. I pictured my body being surrounded by strangers.
I let out one mangled sob before I let go of my father. I looked at him. He must've known this. I wasn't angry at him, I could've gone my whole life without feeling the shame of how I'd been found. But now it was public for all to see, including myself.
"I'm going to contact that news station. They will not be airing that video again. And they'll be speaking to my lawyer." My father looked at me angrily. His anger wasn't directed at me, but at the insensitivity of the media. He turned on his heel and immediately stormed off.
I looked to Cybil and Patrick, not really sure what I was feeling emotionally. Mainly a feeling of numbness glazed over me as I tucked myself back in my bed. Cybil looked at me worriedly.
I turned over to face my night stand where there was an empty water glass, a half eaten bag of doritos, and my phone. I listened to the insistent buzz, and watched my notifications go crazy with each new Instagram follower. Who wouldn't want to follow the naked bird girl?
Suddenly the hospital seemed like a really nice place to be. The world outside must be going crazy, and I had a strong feeling that in more ways than one, my life had changed forever.