Ataxia

fifteen

Abhik

2036

Darin and I slowly trekked our way towards San Luis, which was about a two-and-a-half week trip. Super long, basically. Which took F-O-R-E-V-E-R. I had never been more tired in my life. We had been walking and taking buses to Stamford, Texas. Darin explained that his sister was being kept in a facility miles away from Corpus. Yeah, more like millions of miles. But in order to get there, we had to stay low-key. Which meant a lot of walking. But during our journey, we stumbled upon something strange. And I don't mean strange but delightful things.

I mean scary strange things.

"Hey, Darin?" I said uneasily. "What's that?" I pointed towards something in the sky. It was very large, too big to be a bird. But it didn't look like an airplane. Just a big black blob in the sky. It was mysterious, especially since it had been following us for the past ten minutes. Darin drew his attention to the mystery thing in the sky. I thought it was nothing. But then his eyes widened and he broke into a sprint.

"Abhik, run!" He shouted.

"What is that thing?" I shouted back, beginning to run after him. "And stop running so fast," I breathed heavily. He was so hard to keep up with. Darin didn't answer back, only running as fast as his strong legs could carry him. He knew what that flying thing in the sky was, I was guessing. I was completely in the dark about the situation. I had no idea what was going on, but during the week I spent with Darin, I learned to trust him. Even though it seemed his plan was to ultimately kidnap me. But that didn't seem like the case. Darin actually seemed desperate. I mean, he paid that Indian shop money to break plates to prove his point. Also when we were out of sight, he picked up an entire car. Which was insane. I almost recorded it.

I looked back, immediately regretting it. What the thing in the sky wasn't exactly ... what you would see everyday. But it seemed as though the person in the sky was somebody with ... wings?

What in the world?!

"Abhik, get behind me!" Darin shouted as soon as the creature graced the ground. He grabbed me by the shirt (which almost killed me in shock and also really hurt) and shoved me to the ground behind him. "Stay low and stay alive. This guy is super dangerous and you need to stay back."

"But, Darin --"

"Be quiet, Abhik. Don't go anywhere, don't even run, I'm serious." Darin planted his bare feet in the ground, bracing himself. I only cowered behind him like a coward. And I wasn't sorry about it. This winged guy is freaky! He approached us, not looking all that impressive now that his wings were tucked in. His dark skin gleamed in the sunlight and so did his eyes. The peculiar thing about them was that they glowed an iridescent bright grey. More reason to think he was freaky.

"Silver, don't come any further!" Darin warned courageously.

"Fat chance," he called back in a deep, growling-like voice. "Come on, when was the last time we sparred?" He cracked his knuckles. Scary.

"This isn't a game, Silver. I suggest you stay back. You know what I'll do to you if you come any closer." What did that mean exactly?

Silver stopped where he was, but not out of fear. He calmly crossed his sleeveless arms, smirking. "You were always the rebellious type. Who's the new kid?" He was talking about me. I ducked to hopefully stay out of his sight. But I knew it was hopeless. He knew I was already here.

"I wouldn't underestimate the kid, Silver. He's more powerful than you know." Was he selling me out or plain lying to get this Silver guy to leave?

"Darin," I merely tapped his ankle. "I-I don't know how to work the thing very well, yet."

"Just let me do the talking," Darin muttered quietly.

Silver threw back his head in a laugh. "That's a real knee-slapper, D. The kid wouldn't last a second in the ring. But enough small talk, I came here for you. And you said the kid's powerful, right? Does he belong to one of Meyer's facilities?"

Darin looked as if he was about to explode. "You will do no such thing! The boy is not one of Meyer's stupid subjects. So leave him out of this. He's only a tag-along."

"Yeah, right. Let's do this, D." Silver ran at full speed towards Darin and he stayed where he was, getting ready to block. But Darin was not prepared. Silver kicked and aimed for the head and barely missed by a hair when his apponent ducked. I shuffled away, trying to find a safe place to hide. Jeez, I felt such cowardice and guilt in my gut. But I knew if I was in the fight, I'd just be in Darin's way. There is no way I can fight that guy!

"Abhik!" Darin yelled, suddenly being punched in the face. He spat out some strange mix between blood and saliva then punched again. "I thought -- I told -- you to stay -- with me!" He said in between blows and dodging. Darin was jabbed in the eye and he fell to the ground out of distraction.

"Darin, I'm so sorry!" I apologized. He tried to focus on me which was why he was hit. Gosh, could I do anything without someone getting into trouble or me getting into trouble?

"Quit apologizing and help me!" Darin seethed, rolling to the side and kicked Silver in the back of his knees and his opponent collapsed. Silver took his chance when he fell to his knees and hit Darin in several places in the neck and Darin immediately stopped, motionless.

"What did you do to him?" I scrambled up to Darin to help before Silver jabbed me somewhere in the shoulder and I fell, nearly paralized. I couldn't move at all. What did he do to me?

"It's called pressure points, kid." Silver smirked, standing to his feet as my world slowly turned to an infinite abyss of blackness.

Darin ...

I'm really sorry, man.