Part Two

A short rest.


Nevertheless.


It was not over.


Yet.






The free-floating feeling didn't last long. Before I knew it, I was screaming myself awake. Still, I couldn't move, though this time for a different reason.


I was attached to a table.


A table! Why was I strapped to a table, like some dissection project?


At that moment, something told me I was different, like I wasn’t… human. It was a faint something, and went away quickly, as my vision.


“Keep him down!”


The pain subsided.


“Wh-who are you?” I couldn’t help but notice the hint of pain in my lungs as I spoke.


“I'm a doctor,” he replied in a semi-sweet tone. He wore a white coat, but he seemed more like a scientist than a doctor.


I still couldn't breathe properly as I looked at the black-suited three around me. “But... but they--”


“I know,” the doctor said. “You've been through a trying time. We'll figure out what's up with you and then let you go.”


I frowned. That couldn't be right, that something told me. It insisted the doctor wasn’t all that he seemed. “You're... lying.”


The man wore a sinister smile.


“You're sharp. Almost as sharp as your brother.”


Adrenaline shot through me. My brother? John? The one who's been missing these past two weeks?


“Where is he? Where's John?”


“Calm down, kid,” the doctor shouted, his smile gone and frustration filling his face. He and the other three held me down as I struggled against the restraints. The idiots. What right did they have...?!


“Don't worry about that guy. He's not our patient anymore. He was discharged.”


I stopped squirming. I didn't like the way he said that, and the overall vagueness of it. My heart dropped through to my stomach, and the little something told me this wasn't actually a good thing.


In a quiet, fearful voice I asked, “Why was he your patient in the first place?” I didn't want to know that, yet I asked it. Since I thought I was going to the same place, maybe part of me wanted to know what was going to happen.


The doctor only laughed. The only conclusion I could find would be among my own fears.


Then the pain came back more intensely. It wasn't just tiny daggers, but full on steak knives, and they gouged even deeper into my chest, my lungs, my heart....


Then it was gone. What was that about? The doc was staring at me, but he wasn’t nearly as confused as I was. As the man opened his mouth to speak, something hit the van in the back, making everyone fall over. The van screeched to a halt and the back door flew open. The doc signaled to his men to rush out and see what all the commotion was about.


“James!” a female voice called out. “Don’t worry, we’re here, buddy!”


“Emily?” I said. “Rosa?” A girl with dirty blond hair entered the vehicle, followed by another girl with black hair and red streaks. I recognized them as two of John’s friends, two of the same who wanted to meet with me before all this happened. “What’s going on?”


“Don’t talk,” Em said quietly. She started working at the straps pinning me down. “Rosa, see if you can find some water. James, this is a rescue mission.”


“Re--?”


“Shh!” Em scolded. “Now's not a really good time for you. John was supposed to be here when this happened....” The last sentence was more of a thought to herself.


Rosa came around and lifted my head up so I could get a long awaited drink.


“Drink slowly,” Em instructed, “and don't give him so much or he'll choke on it.”


“Em, it's okay. Stop worrying so much.”


“Okay, okay. I'm just....”


“I know,” Rosa agreed, and there was silence between them.


A shaking held me captive within my own body. I wanted to fly.


I wanted to fly.


...


Whoa. Wait! BACK UP! WHAT! Why in the world would I want to fly? Humans can't fly!


“Rose,” Em said suddenly as she noticed my impaired breathing. “Rose, calm him. I think it's happening.”


“I'll take care of it.” Rosa placed her palm gently upon my forehead and the silly fantasies seeped away. She was also kind enough to give me an explanation this time. “I'm sorry James. I had to take away your instinct. We can't handle it right now. We'll get you free of this mess, then you’ll be fine to be yourself.”


Okay, I was still confused. What kind of an explanation was that?


“I'm sorry, that's all I can tell you right now,” Rosa added.


Great. I'm not supposed to know anything. Ever. “Can I at least know what's going on out there?” I almost asked, but as I got through the word “least,” Rosa and Em gasped at the same time and started backing away. What came out was, “Can I at leas—WHAT?”


The big door slammed shut and then the doctor came into view. He was holding two guns, aimed at Em and Rosa.


“Ha! Now I've got you!” he shouted with maniacal glee. “You pariah are NOTHING compared to us! Nobody speak. Nobody move.”


He inched around with his big guns trained on the girls. Then he put one down (on top of me!) and pulled out some handcuffs.


“You're first,” he said to Em as she cowered in the corner. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”


Em knew she couldn't do anything else, especially act against this armed man, so she slowly did as he directed.


“Sit.” he ordered, pointing to a bench on the right side of the vehicle. Only when she slipped on the way down did I realize we were moving now. That just about made my day. We were getting to that mysterious, probably dangerous, place that held my brother prisoner.


The doc was at Rosa now, doing the same thing. When she sat down, he rounded on me again. He pulled something out of his pocket and smirked.


“We won't have any more disturbances from you for a while,” he hissed as he plunged the needle in my arm.






Oh Crap.