YumiMimi: Hi Hi! It's Yumi! I'M NOT DEAD! But yes, another one. Someone stop me... Anyway, I just couldn't get this idea out of my head. I know I've been writing Fullmetal Alchemist stuff, but this really has nothing to do with them. At all. Anywho, just a warning, I just might end up pairing a certain blind bird kid with a certain stranger... :3
Disclaimer: Disclaimed!
Chapter 1: Lost
An inhuman sound shook the earth, forcing many animals to flee in fear. It was a beastly howl of sorrow, anger and strangely, joy. After a few minutes, the howl turned into a word. Just one word, one… person. "LUST!"
Iggy's POV
I didn't know what had dragged me away from the rest of the flock. We had landed somewhere in a forest in New York state, hoping to lose the erasers that had found us in the city and, like the idiot I was, I had decided to explore. I kept bumping into trees or tripping over the underbrush, but something pulled me on. Maybe it was the slight feel of something that doesn't belong, or the faint smell of blood. Although, to be fair, if I had been sane I would have avoided the blood.
As I went further into the forest, I started to hear a dripping noise. As I got closer to the source of the sound, the smell of blood seemed to replace the smell of pine and fresh air. I gagged and tried to remember why I had followed the smell of blood when I heard someone move. "H-hello? Is… is anyone there?" a girl's voice asked. I froze, unsure of what to do. Her voice had wavered, weak with blood loss perhaps?
I silently approached the girl, noticing in horror that the ground was uncomfortably wet and the dripping noise was coming from her. "What happened to you?" I asked hoarsely. She choked a little. "I don't remember…. Please help me, you're the first person I've seen in hours." She whispered. I felt a pang of pity and wished, not for the first time, that I could see. As I was right now, I couldn't do anything for this girl. "I'll get my friends, I'll be right back, I promise!" I hissed, turning to go only to feel a hand on my arm.
"Don't forget about me." She whispered, before releasing me. Something about the feel of her hand was off, almost as if she was upside down. I shuddered at the thought, but offered her a weak smile. "I won't." I promised before racing back to the flock. I ran into a few more trees than last time in my haste, and may have given myself permanent brain damage on a random branch, but made it back without too much pain, considering. I just had to get the flock back and save the girl. No prob right?
Max's pov:
I always knew Iggy was a bit of an idiot, I just hadn't realized how much of an idiot he was! He had just stumbled back into the clearing, scraped up and covered in blood. "Iggy! What the heck were you doing? You can't just go out all by yourself! Especially not without telling anyone about it! I mean, you look like you showered in blood!" I yelled angrily. Iggy glanced at me – seriously, I wonder if he really is blind sometimes – and frowned. "It's not my blood. Well, not most of it. It's mostly from this girl I found. She's hurt pretty badly, barely conscious when I was there. I promised I'd help her, but considering I can't see what's wrong, I thought you could help me." He said coldly.
Everyone gaped at Iggy for a minute. This wasn't something he would do normally, was it? I mean, I'm all for saving the girl, but I didn't think he'd be so bitter about my outburst. "Omigosh! Iggy, did the girl give you that hand print? That's crazy! Max we gotta help her! If that is her blood then she must be pretty low now!" Nudge piped up, pointing out an upside-down bloody handprint on Iggy's shoulder. I glanced at Fang for his input, hoping he'd make the decision. For all we knew Iggy's mystery girl was working for the school after all.
Fang shrugged and joined Iggy. "Let's go. Angel, when we find her make sure she isn't working for the school. Nudge, keep your mouth shut. Gazzy, leave the girl alone and stay downwind." He instructed coolly. I smiled. No hard decisions for me! As soon as Fang fell silent Iggy started retracing his steps – which wasn't too hard for us sighted people, considering the shear amount of blood he had left. It didn't take us too long to reach a small clearing where Iggy's girl was.
I stopped before the clearing, ogling at the shear gore. The ground was soaked; making a muddy mess that I was sure wasn't from water. A constant dripping noise came from the girl, who was currently hanging upside-down in a tree. Her white hair was beginning to turn red, and dripping the excess blood onto the ground beneath her. I heard Nudge gasp and cover Angel's eyes. That's when I noticed the rest of the girl.
She had obviously been chained to something, and those chains now held her in place. She had one free arm that was hanging limply by her head while the other one was pulled up at an awkward angle. Her legs disappeared into the foliage, but I could already tell one was broken. The girl's body was covered with deep cuts and not much else. I mean, she had enough material to technically be clothing, but not exactly enough to go around town in. It was no wonder Nudge had tried to keep Angel from seeing.
The girl's eyes were closed and she seemed to be unconscious. I didn't mind that. It made things a little less awkward. While we were all distracted by this odd girl, Iggy had walked right up to her and said something. I shook myself and joined Iggy. "She's in pretty bad shape Ig. How'd she get here?" I asked softly. Iggy shrugged. "Didn't tell me. She was kinda more interested in getting help." He said with a sigh. I nodded and beckoned Fang over. "Alright, Iggy, you're going to hold her shoulders while Fang and I get her out of the tree. We don't want her to hit the ground and cause more damage, so hold on tight Ig." I said. Fang smirked a bit. "With the ground this soft she wouldn't feel a thing." He muttered, earning himself a death glare from Iggy.
I chuckled and put Iggy's hands on the girl's shoulders. "Hold on tight." I whispered before climbing into the tree. "Hey, Max! I can feel something on her back!" Ig hissed at me. I leaned out of the tree and frowned. "What is it?" I asked flatly. Fang lifted the girl slightly and his eyes widened. "Max, she has wings. Bat wings. One's folded against her back and the other is stretched strait up. Can't be comfortable. I'll get that down and join you in a second, kay?" he whispered. I frowned, but turned to my task.
It was then I noticed the tail. It was jet black and tipped with a triangle. You know, the kinds of tail devils are supposed to have, the devils they talk about in Sunday school. It was curled around a branch, as if it was trying to support the rest of her. I shook my head. "Just a heads up, but she has a tail too. Angel, you getting any weird vibes from her?" I said, raising my voice for the last part. "No-not really… all she's thinking about is how much she hurts and… how much she hates the helicopters and white coats… I don't think she's with the school. All her thoughts are jumbled since she's unconscious, but she really dislikes 'that damn helicopter'." Angel reported, a vague unease coating her words. I sighed a little at her language, but at least we didn't have someone completely evil on our hands, right?
I heard Fang climb up next to me and I waved at the tail. He merely nodded, and began untangling a chain. I felt a twinge of guilt for not doing that before he came, but pushed the feeling back. Now was not a time to get all sappy. I hesitantly started unwrapping her tail, accidently slicing my finger open on the tip. I did my best not to curse – Angel didn't need anymore of those words in her vocabulary. "Try to avoid getting sliced by the tail. It's got a wicked edge." I warned as I let the appendage fall out of the tree. I moved on to the next chain. With Fang and I both working on them, it wasn't long before the last chain was lowered down and the girl's full weight was put on Iggy.
I dropped down and stretched. The tree was definitely not roomy enough to stand up in. "How heavy is she?" Fang asked, silently appearing on the other side of Iggy, who shrugged. "Not very. I mean, I don't think Gazzy could carry her, but I could. Though it would be a bit awkward. She's kinda tall." He said thoughtfully. I gave the girl a once over and shrugged. She might have been five foot eight, at the most. Fang hummed his acknowledgement and gently took the girl's legs.
"Right, Nudge, Angel, I need you to run and set up a place for her to sleep. Gazzy, find some water and start heating it up so we can clean her up. I'll look for some clothes for her." I ordered. The younger kids nodded and scurried off, eager to get away from the blood. Iggy looked a bit uneasy at my mention of clothes, but followed Fang's lead and headed towards camp. I took one last look around the clearing and sighed. Just what had happened here?
I made it back to camp and began rummaging through my backpack. It wasn't too long ago that we had raided a thrift store, so I had some extra clothes. I snatched a baggy t-shirt and some shorts before turning back to our unconscious guest. She was currently lying on a patch of grass while the girls unrolled a sleeping bag. I knelt next to her and shook my head at her wounds. Her left leg was broken beyond a doubt and her right arm was dislocated. Her wings were spread out beside her, and neither of them seemed to beat up. They were covered in multiple tiny scratches, but those would heal quickly. It was the gash in her side I was really worried about. It reached from her hip to the base of her neck and was fairly deep. It was the source of most of the blood that stained her face and hair.
I was about to grab the med-kit when Gazzy appeared, carrying a small bucket of slightly steaming water and a wash cloth. "She's hurt pretty bad, isn't she?" he asked somberly. I nodded, but forced myself to smile. "Yeah, but we'll take care of her. Can you get the first aid kit for me? Thanks." I said. Gazzy nodded and raced for one of the backpacks. The girls were still fussing over the sleeping area, carefully removing any rocks or twigs that might hurt the girl even more. Fang was no where to be seen, but I wasn't too surprised. Iggy had been standing by the fire, but now moved to sit on the other side of the mystery girl. "How bad is it?" he asked softly.
I grimaced. "She has a broken leg, dislocated arm, multiple scratches and a big ol' gash down her side. She doesn't look so good Ig." I admitted. He nodded, a small frown creasing his face. The sound of footsteps distracted us from our somber meditation. Gazzy held out the med-kit hesitantly. "Where'd Fang go?" he asked softly. I shrugged. "Oh, he said he was going to look for food. He didn't think that granola bars would be the best for her." Iggy said, indicating the girl between us vaguely. Gazzy nodded and quickly raced to join his sister.
I squared my shoulders. "Well, before we do anything else we should reset her arm. Hold her up please." I instructed. Iggy grimaced, but obeyed. I popped her shoulder back into place as quickly as I could, but winced at the sound. I could remember the time my shoulder had been pulled out of its socket, and I really wasn't in the mood to think of Jeb. I had Iggy continue to hold her upright as I gently washed as much of the blood off her as I could. Once that was done I quickly wrapped her side with as much gauze as I could spare before moving onto her leg. After setting that and wrapping it to a make shift splint I had come up with I attempted to dress her. It wasn't too hard, but it was awkward and for the first time, I was actually glad that Iggy was blind. If he could see he would probably have a nose bleed like in those animes that Nudge liked. And I had had enough blood today.
After she was decent, I decided to wash her hair. It was mostly because I didn't want blood in the sleeping bag, but I also wanted to see if her hair was actually as white as it seemed. Once again Iggy was the one holding her while the younger kids claimed to be busy. I grabbed one of the extra shirts to use as a towel for her hair and sighed. This was weird. "She cleans up pretty nicely, huh?" Fang's sudden reappearance made me jump. "Don't do that! I could have hurt her or something!" I ranted. Fang smirked and knelt next to Iggy. "How long has she been making you hold the girl?" he whispered. Iggy shrugged and grinned. "Oh, since before she dressed her." He said casually.
I glared at them and pointedly finished drying the girl's hair. It really was white, just about as white as you could get. It was also pretty long, which had made washing it a pain. But hey, we had done it somehow. "Right, Fang, since you're so interested, why don't you help me move her to the sleeping bag?" I asked through gritted teeth. Fang shrugged and handed Iggy the bag he had been holding. I hadn't even noticed the bag, but once I saw it my stomach grumbled. It knew that Fang had gone out for food and darn it, it wanted some.
I forced myself to ignore Fang's smirk as we gently settled the girl into the sleeping bag. She had started shivering, so I began to zip up the sleeping bag, stopping to force one of her arms back in. Something on the back of her hand caught my eye. Seeing as it was her left arm, I hadn't paid much attention to it before. But now I couldn't help but stare. Tattooed on the back of her hands was a strange barcode, followed by the words
Sins
No. 7
L
YumiMimi: So how was it? Any good? I promise I'll update all my stories a minimum of once a month unless something chaotic happens again. So please review and favorite. Thank You!