Yes...I am writing this again...I feel for it.
*****
Chapter 19
The atmosphere in my little lounge was tense, no one dared say a word as I looked around the room quietly. My wings beat in a steady staccato rhythm as I stared over at nothing in particular. I could feel Calyx next to me but I merely ignored him, I looked down to Dante, but I wasn’t actually seeing him. Keelan was in the room as well, I barely knew him but I didn’t give two fucks about him at the moment and I didn’t care about his girlfriend either.
It had been a good few hours after we had rescued Dante, he was now sleeping on the couch, a blanket thrown over his lean form. The fairy girl was next to him for most of the time, checking his pulse, swiping at his head with a small, wet cloth. Keelan stood next to her, his hand would gently reach out and brush lightly against her skin. It was as if he was comforting her.
I was in shock, I guess. Or, I suppose I was really just indifferent to the entire situation. I had been through so much shit these past few days it’s as if I was oblivious to the things around me. Calyx was sitting next to me, his body almost uncomfortably close as I literally felt the heat emitting from his body. I didn’t say anything as I looked down at the grainy table, lifting up my finger and tracing the patterns ever so slowly.
I looked up and noticed that Kellan and his girlfriend were sitting on the other couch, holding onto each other and somehow, that small act angered me. “Would you two stop fucking cuddling on my damn sofa, I didn’t even ask you guys to be here!” I snapped as I glared over at them, only to receive a growl from Keelan and a smack from Calyx. I turned around to glare at him, crossing my arms over my chest and staring right at him.
My lightened eyes a clear indication that I was in no mood for his shit. He sighed and let his head drop to the table. I said nothing and merely crossed my arms over my chest, a stubborn expression on my face. I jumped when I felt a hand on my knee and I looked down, Calyx face was still pressed to the table but his hand was inching up even higher upon my leg.
I shrieked and swatted his hand away, glaring down at him as he turned his lazy smirk to my face and wiggled his eyebrows, sitting up and swatting my head. “Now that I have your attention, let’s go,” he said as he grabbed onto my arm and pulled me-dragging is the correct word-out of the lounge and out onto the balcony. I kicked out my feet and pulled at his hand, I pushed at his chest as soon as we got outside.
The wind whipped at my hair, causing it to fly right into my face, wisps of it getting caught at the corners of my mouth. I looked up at Calyx, trying to gauge his feelings at the moment and if he was going to lash out at me. He said nothing as he turned me around, pulling my hair into a haphazard ponytail and turning me around to face him once again. I didn’t comment as I looked down at the floor, feeling very self conscious and vulnerable.
“What’s going on with you, huh?” he asked me as he tilted my chin up, his finger resting underneath my chin. I wrenched my head away slowly and looked over to the side, merely glancing at him through my peripheral vision. He had an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at me, his dark hair wafting back and forth. I watched him closely, not daring to utter a word.
“Why did you come back for me, Calyx?” I asked, deviating away from his question as I leaned back against the railing, crossing my arms over my chest as I heaved in deep breaths. I sighed softly and bit lightly at my lip as I watched a myriad of expressions cross Calyx’s face as he stared at me, as if trying to fathom a answer from thin air.
He didn’t say anything for a few long moments, a silent thread passed between us, an unstable, shaky thread as we stared at each other. He sucked in a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders. “Because I care about you,” he replied easily, his eyes darting about and I knew he wasn’t telling me the truth entirely, but I left it at that.
I turned away, leaning on the banister as I stared out across at the grass below. I could hear Seth rambling about on his land, he had most likely been resting earlier. I knew he would come up for Dante. I sighed softly and bit at my lip.
“We shouldn’t have to be going through this,” I whispered to Calyx as he came to stand next to me, hip to hip. I had to tuck my wings in, making it easier for him to actually stand next to me. I shrugged my shoulders as he looked at me questionably. I bit at my lip, my nails digging into the banister. I had so many thoughts running in my head, so many that I was going to have to pluck through eventually and I was not looking forward to that point where I was going to have to decide all these things that I really didn’t want too.
“We’re only young adults and we’re going through all this shit. For Christ’s sake, we’re being hunted down. My friends are back in the facility, we have been through hell and back. How are we still alive?” I asked, my voice coated in a light sense of desperation as I struggled to come to terms with it all.
“We forget. We pretend like it didn’t happen, you are the most closed off person I know and I have a feeling you would say the same about me. We are both just trying to forget, that’s how we survive, Ava. Just forget.”
****
I walked back inside, I was polite to both Gina-yes, I found out her name-and Keelan, offering them my spare bedroom which they promptly took. Calyx helped me drag a slightly doped up Dante to my room, flopping him onto my bed. I was just about to turn and leave when I felt a hand grasp on tightly to my wrist.
I turned around quickly, looking back at Dante. His eyes were slightly glazed over as he pulled me down onto the side of the bed. His lips were parted and his beautiful blue eyes stared deeply at me. I looked down at him, trying decipher the emotions that played across his face like some montage.
He pulled me down even further and made sure I held his gaze. “Ava, please, please get him back,” he said, his voice croaking before a cough wracked his body and he almost withdrew into himself to hide from the pain that was coursing through his system. He looked desperate, almost, the way he was trying to get me to understand was hinting at it.
I nodded my head, resting my hand over his lightly as I gave him a brief nod of my head. “Of course, I promise to get him back, Dante. I promise,” I murmured. He nodded at me, I saw his Adams apple bop up and down lightly before I slowly got up, pulling the covers over him and making sure he was comfortable. I even got him a damn glass of blood, it was fucking disgusting.
I got out of the room, closing the door behind me and I was suddenly attacked from the side, being lifted up and swung around in the air. I shrieked out, kicking out my short legs and trying to desperately tug at Calyx’s hands. I twitched my wings about as Calyx swung me around, resting his head on my shoulders as I sighed and succumbed, letting him carry me around.
Keelan was the only one out of the room, he was looking at us curiously. I think Gina was back in the room, sleeping, presumably. She had done a lot to help Dante, it sort of made me guilty that I didn’t do much. Calyx kept on swinging me back and forth, my legs limp as he twirled me around. Keelan said nothing as he watched us closely, as if he was trying to discover something.
“You two fucked, didn’t you?” he asked. My eyes widened and I fell to the floor as Calyx dropped me in shock, I choked on air as I stood up and burst out laughing, clutching at my stomach. Calyx was not happy as he stormed over to Keelan and practically punched him across the face, an indignant ow was heard as Calyx grabbed Keelan by the ear and dragged him forward, muttering in Italian under his breath as he scolded his brother.
He pushed Keelan towards me, smacking Keelan upside the head. “Apologise,” he said simply as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his younger brother. I giggled behind my hand and looked over at Calyx, his face was red and I mean truly and utterly red. He looked like a bloody tomato. I grinned sheepishly and smiled over at Keelan, if not slightly apprehensively.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing his neck, which I had seen Calyx do multiple times. The brothers were almost identical, if not similar at the least, they had the same mannerisms, the same eyes, the same intense look on their face when they got mad. It was endearing to watch as I saw them begin to talk to each other after I nodded my head slightly.
It reminded me of my own brother. What had happened to him? Had he died? Was he still alive? The last one was stupid, trust me, I would have felt if he was alive. I knew my senses well enough. I sucked in a deep breath and I was about to say something to the two boys in front of me before I stopped suddenly.
Both boys stopped just as I did, however, they were looking at me as I sniffed lightly at the air before walking forward and towards my window. I peered down, looking around the place before turning back towards the two boys. “Something is up,” I whispered quietly as my wings snapped from behind my back. I heard the sharp intake of breath from Keelan, I’m assuming, as I flapped them around restlessly, looking out the window. I sniffed once again, trying to place the smell. It seemed so off, so very off, yet it was so familiar. It reminded me of a time, way back when, yet I still couldn’t place it.
I tried once again, trying to get a hold of the smell. My eyes suddenly went wide as I turned to the brothers, my mouth moving before I even had time to move away from the window. “Get down to the floor, now!” I screeched, watching as they simultaneously dropped to the floor. I grabbed a pillow from the couch before tossing it towards Keelan, then another for Calyx before grabbing one for myself. I pulled the cover off and pressed it to my mouth and nose, breathing in as I crouched down low.
“It’s gas!” I said, my voice muffled as I coughed slightly, slowly seeing the rising of the yellow smoke as it began to filter through the wooden walls. “We need to get out now, it’s going to put us to sleep! Get up! Move! Shift! Get out! I will meet you and Gunder’s rock!” I yelled at them. Keelan moved fast, his clothes ripping right before my eyes as he shifted into a graceful and sleek panther, I took in his transformation, my eyes wide with wonder as he ran off towards Gina. I got up quickly, using my wings as coverage as I ran towards Dante’s room.
I noticed his sleepy form as he breathed in and out raggedly, I grabbed onto his arm, tugging him out of bed and not really caring for being all that gentle. That could come later when we weren’t all going to be drugged and dragged to God knows where. Dante was disorientated, his wings flapping around noisily as he tried to get a bearing on the situation. I grabbed at the bottom of his shit, stuffing it to his face.
I was overcome with a sense of vertigo, feeling as if I was going to fall off some imaginary cliff. I coughed, spluttering slightly as my eyes rolled back into my head for a few brief moments. I tugged harder at Dante’s hand.
“Where are we going? What the fuck is happening, Ava?” he yelled at me as we stumbled along the wooden floorboard, trying to make sense of what the actual fuck was happening and who the hell was responsible for all of this shit. I didn’t have time to explain, hell, I didn’t even know what was going to happen to us. All I knew what that I needed to get out.
I ran towards my little box, Dante in tow, I pulled out Lucas’ journal and stuffed it into my back pocket, not even caring about clothes and all those necessary things. I needed this, I needed this little book. My mind was becoming hay, images were blurring in and out of foucs as the room was now full encased in a yellow, puss filled mist. I coughed and spluttered, my lungs fighting for air. I saw two panthers running towards the door, a fairy flying after them.
In any other given situation I would have laughed at the mental image but as of now I was scared and I needed to leave. I broke through the door, with Dante stumbling along behind me. Without a second thought I jumped straight up and onto the balcony, my wings pushing up, carrying me even higher and higher. I could feel the presence of Dante behind me, his wings flapping in tandem with mine.
I sucked in a deep breath, yet nothing was working. I looked down and noticed Calyx and Keelan along with Gina disappearing into the forest. I turned around to look over at Dante and I noticed he was struggling just as I was. My wings, my wings felt so heavy, like lead. I breathed in deeply, before exhaling slowly, trying to even out my body. I flapped my wings once again, they stuttered before they finally completed their movement. I felt like I was going to fall, like I couldn’t pick myself up.
My wings felt oh so very tired. “Dante, Dante my wings,” I slurred as I turned around to look at him, noticing the way his wings were slowly falling closed. In my hazy mind it didn’t even register what was happening to us, that our wings were failing us. That almost never happened. Our wings were an extension of ourselves and they usually always worked well if we made them.
Yet this time, this time it was different. This time my wings felt like their own entity, as they flapped uselessly. I didn’t have time to process anything, my brain practically switching off as I felt my wings falter before they stopped working all together. There was one coherent thought that passed through my mind as I saw the ground coming closer and closer, a myriad of colours passing me by as I hurtled towards the earth like a sorry comet.
I remembered that smell, I remember it so clearly now.
It was from my childhood.
***
Da da dunnn!
Yes, I updated! I will continue to do so! Please, comment or vote or whatever just to let me know that you care! You don’t have to though! A silent nod of your head would do as well!
Terrible sorry for the long hiatus! Sorry for spelling errors and any grammar errors or stupid sentences!