Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does.
How does it feel to be blind? Picture this: an endless void of blackness. You can hear, smell, and feel what's around you, yet you can never see color, light, shapes.
The worst part about me being blind, is the fact that I used to see. I remember five-year-old Max, her blonde hair in loose, bouncy curls, and her chocolate-brown eyes sparkling. I remember Fang, his ebony hair slightly past his chin, and his dark, bottomless onyx eyes. I remember little, two-year-old nudge, her smooth, chocolate colored skin perfectly blending with her dark brown hair and eyes. Then there was Gazzy, barely born, with his pudgy cheeks and bald head. His only distinct feature were his soft blue eyes…and his misfortunate gas.
I remember all the flock members young appearances so clearly because they are the last memory I have before I lost my sight for good; I didn't want to forget seeing.
Whitecoats dragged me away as I screamed loudly, kicked my legs, and flapped my wings as hard as I could. They shoved me in an operating room mercilessly and put me under in seconds. I felt completely numb and powerless. I tried to move my arms in defense, but some invisible force was pushing me down, leaving me paralyzed.
I was trapped in my own world, frozen. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years could have ticked by, but I had no idea. Every few seconds, bright white would streak my vision and I would feel a burning sensation in my eyes, causing me to squeeze them shut and scream in pain. All I wanted to do was escape the place I was stuck in. The school seemed somewhat comforting because the flock was there, and they would make the pain go away.
After what seemed like years, I started to slowly but surely move. I started with my fingers and toes, then moved to my feet and hands, then so on until I could completely move.
"Subject Three? Can you hear me Subject Three?"
"Yes," I replied weakly. I was scared. I couldn't see anything, and I was positive my eyes were open.
"What do you see?"
"Nothing," I replied, my voice shaking.
"Oh, no," someone breathed.
"What did you do to me?" I asked, on the verge of crying.
"Calm down, Subject Three. It seems the experiment went wrong, and well, you're blind."
"I'm…blind?" My voice was weak and warbled at the end. Tears poured out of my eyes as I silently mourned my vision.
I suddenly flew into a fit of rage and flung my fist forward, hitting someone. How dare they have had the nerve to experiment on my eyes, risking my sight! I punched, though I could not see what I was hitting. I heard glass shatter and I felt a sharp slash, then something cold ooze onto my hand. It was probably blood, and I probably cut my hand, but I didn't care.
I snapped my wings out and smashed test tubes and other items, crying the entire time until two Erasers burst into the room, yanking my shirt collar and thrusting me into my dog crate. The metal smacked against my skin and my head throbbed, so I pulled my knees to my chest and remained perfectly still. I remember a soft hand reaching out and stroking my hair, then curling its fingers to intertwine with mine. I'm not sure how I knew it, but something told me it was Max. I smiled sadly, glad she was there for me. "Thank you," I mouthed.
Yeah, I'm the blind kid. I make jokes and all, pretending it's nothing; I can just shake it off. …But I'll never forget the beauty of sight.
