Otherworldly

Chapter 1

Scarecrow withholds a sigh as he creeps through the dimly lit alley way in an unpopulated square in New York City. Even without the bustling crowd of a normal street, his thieving instincts force him into hiding. He sticks to the shadows, careful to not make any sounds that would be detected by normal ears. His blue eyes scan the street ahead for prey and his eyes alight onto a skinny male with dull brown hair. As the newcomer glances around, Scarecrow catches a glimpse of vibrant orange eyes. Scarecrow stalks forward, slinking along the wall with practiced grace. He can see the outline of a wallet in the man's back pocket. Making sure there's nobody else around, Scarecrow lunges at the skinny man. He attempts to hit a pressure point on the guy's neck, but the strange-eyed male seemed to be expecting it. He can feel blood flow in his mouth as a tooth is knocked loose by the guy's responding punch. Scarecrow stifles his anger and carefully attacks again. Once more, he is beaten to the ground. He growls a little and strikes a final time. This punch sends him flying onto the pavement and he feels the man lift him up before the world goes black.When he wakes, Scarecrow can smell something...odd. He can't put a name to it, but it smells slightly like the hospital he had gone to when he had broken his arm at the age of five. He makes no sound as he opens his eyes, even as his brain screams at him to panic. He's no longer in the New York alleyway. Scarecrow is in a large room with beige coloring the walls, floor, and ceiling. Quiet breathing from all sides of him forces his eyes to wander about the room, and he sees hundreds of beds packed close together with what looked like something human-like lying on top of them. Their skin is an odd greyish color, and he would believe them to be dead if it wasn't for their breathing. He moves as if to rise from the bed, but the sound of rustling cloth freezes him to the mattress.  He watches with almost-shut eyes as an ebony-skinned man in a lab coat walks between the beds. The man checks the monitors for something that Scarecrow can't see as he moves from bed to bed. As the man makes his way to Scarecrow's end of the room, the thief fakes sleep. His breathing slows and his face goes slack as he hears approaching footsteps. The footsteps stop by his bed and he can hear tapping on the monitor. A deep, quiet chuckle sounds as the man says, "I know you're not asleep, subject. You can open your eyes." He does so hesitantly, knowing that there's no need to pretend when the man already knows. Scarecrow scans the man's face as he introduces himself. "I'm Dean. And I'm gonna need you to be very silent and follow me. We can't be seen, okay?" Scarecrow refrains from voicing his questions as he nods. "Good," says Dean, his smile making his brown eyes squint. Dean unhooks Scarecrow from the monitor, and Scarecrow can't hold back his small noise of surprise as he gets a look at himself. His skin is the same greyish color as the people on the beds, and without any outward signs of gender. Dean looks at him sympathetically. "I'll explain all of this once we're out of here, but please hold off on any more noises." Scarecrow glares at him, swinging his legs off of the bed.