Crystalline

Blood Message

As soon as he got into his car, he slipped his contact case from his pocket and frowned down at it, tapping the fingers of his free hand on the steering wheel. He should put them in. If anyone saw him, if security cameras caught sight of him, his father would know. It was a good idea to put them on. It was nothing to be ashamed of; he was just surviving as well as he knew how.

He slipped the case back into his pocket and slipped on his sunglasses instead, feeling slightly reckless as he reversed out of the driveway, swinging around back towards the city, the setting sun darkened but no less bright through the lenses of his glasses. By the time he got back it would be dark. No one would question the wearing of sunglasses, because of who he was. There'd only be the guard at the gate to pass, anyway, and all he saw was the numberplate on his car, nothing else.

The wind tore through his hair and back out the open window, ruffling it fondly, greeting him like a friend. The sun dipped behind the clouds, allowing a moment of darkness before coming out on the other side, majestic even in its descent. He sighed, his eyes free of the itching contacts that pinched painfully at the corners of his eyes; he could never quite get used to them, though he'd been wearing them for almost his whole life, ever since his little problem had... developed. His mother said it had come late to her, too, so it wasn't exactly unusual. At least, not in one way, but in every other it was.

He sighed as the city came into view and then zoomed past, all glinting metal and glass. He turned off at the exit and started through the empty, winding road. He would have found it peaceful, had it not belonged to his father; it was long and gently curving, a sinuous black ribbon surrounded by tall green grass that changed to a neatly trimmed lawn of emerald as they came closer and closer to the compound. Knowing who owned it, it changed to the calm before the storm.

Feeling rebellious but also a little sick, he drove past the gate guard with a small nod the man most likely did not notice. He parked beside the building, in his usual spot beneath an overhang of concrete to keep the dark car cool come the raging heat of the afternoon tomorrow.

His hands shook as he walked into the building; it was completely empty, everyone in the next building over, sleeping or gone home. His feet echoed softly on the ground, his shoes squeaking lightly as they dragged at the heel. He lifted his feet higher to stop the sound and sped up, his fingers straying to his glasses before he forced them down to his sides. He felt exposed. If they fell off and his father or someone, anyone, saw his eyes, they would know, they would know everything... He almost laughed as he remembered why he was afraid; because he was one of them. And he'd never had any trouble hiding.

He continued through the corridors, a little more confident as he turned corners and passed through doors, until he reached a different door, the only one in the corridor without a small glass window in it. He pressed his palm fleetingly to the scanner and walked straight in as the door slid open, shutting it behind him.

The girl sat up, startled, her skin sparking and catching at the small light in the corner, so that it looked as if she were made from a crystal that held its own light. The door pressed against his back, the cold metal of the scanner digging into his spine. He pulled off his glasses and dropped his hand to his side, feeling them hang limply from his fingers.

He watched her, waiting for a reaction, not quite knowing what he was doing. It wasn't as if she could say anything, voice her thoughts. Maybe that was why her reaction seemed more important to him. He needed her to trust him if she was going to leave, to go with him. This seemed as good a way as any to earn her trust; a secret for a secret. Still, he felt more than a little reckless.

She looked at him, eyes wide, before she slowly stood and walked over. He held his breath as she raised her hand, light blinking from her fingers, a slightly fogged layer slipping down over her ice-blue eyes. She stopped, her fingers hovering over his cheek, below his eye, before they lightly rested on his skin. His whole body shook, skin rippling like water, turning clear and disappearing. The effect radiated out from where her fingers touched, down to his toes and back again.

She stepped backwards, her hand dropped to her side. He watched her as he felt himself appear again; she reached into her pocket and pulled out something small, wrapped in a piece of paper. She unwrapped a piece of glass and he stiffened, suddenly wary. She smirked slightly at the look on his face, the light tracery of amusement curving her lips, and then passed the piece of paper towards him, suddenly deadly serious.

He unfolded the piece of paper and squinted slightly, more than a little startled to realise that it was blood that had been used. In perfect writing, as if it were printed by a computer in bloody red ink, was a message. Slowly, he smiled. He looked up to see the girl, waiting wordlessly, the only way she knew how to wait. And he nodded, putting his sunglasses back on and leaving the room.

He opened the next cell over, and the small boy shot up from the floor in an unerring crouch, a low growl coming from his chest that belied his small stature. "Easy," Kale said, crouching in the doorway.

The boy blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light, realising who was standing there. "What do you want?" he spat, but his eyes were unsure of the venom in his voice. 

"I'm going to show you something, and you're going to have to promise to keep it a secret," Kale said, standing only when the boy did and leaning against the doorframe.

"Why should I do anything for you?" the boy crossed his arms, brows drawing low over his eyes, and Kale had to stifle a grin at the younger boy's expression.

"Because," he said, reaching up and pinching the arm of his glasses with his fingers, drawing them off. "There's someone I think you'd like to meet."

The boy's jaw dropped, his mouth a small o of surprise. Silently, he followed Kale from the cell.