Author's note:
Hey guys! So, as I was browsing the FFN, I decided to reread my story and I noticed that it says it's complete D: my story is not complete since I'm still obviously writing it. Oops. Just wanted to tell you guys.
Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters. I do, however, own the background whitecoats and main characters (Krys, Aki, Zero)
Weeks passed without incident. I nearly went mad with boredom as I laid, sedated, in that crisp white bed. It was super uncomfortable, too. They decided to restrain me with leather straps tied around my wrists and ankles. I can't tell you how much they chafe. During my, uh, episode, I must have messed up my broken arm, so I spent more time in the infirmary than was intended. And, surprise surprise, I never had one visitor. 'Cept of course my doctors, but they don't really count. The only thing I enjoyed out of this was that they weren't testing anything on me... that I knew of.
As time passed, and with the help of being bored out of my mind every waking moment, I taught myself to shut out my feelings. I could feel nothing. I didn't want to. It hurt too much; even to consider enduring what happened that night. I wanted to make sure it never happened again. When the whitecoats came in to ask questions, mostly about my health, I answered them all monotonously. Mostly one word replies. I could tell they didn't care. I was just another test subject after all. When they left, I stared up at the ceiling, trying not to remember the painful past. My mind pretty much shut down.
Now, just after another question session, I lay flat on my back, absently tugging on my restraints, the incessant beeping of the heart monitor fading away as a faint white noise. My eyes closed; the paleness on my eyelids from the light above began to fascinate me for some reason. I felt totally relaxed. Then, the door to my room slammed open. I can never have a moment alone, can I? Slowly, I opened my eyes and tilted my head to the side so I could see what unholy mess strode in so rudely. Shock, followed by surprise, ran through me. It was dear old Ugly. I haven't seen that creep in months. A tingly hotness started up in my blood. He walked calmly to my bed and picked up the clipboard at the end. They seem to just love their clipboards. My head ached and my ears burned. Without glancing up, the whitecoat scribbled some sciencey nonsense down and set the board back on the end of my bed. I tensed, curling my fingers into fists. What did he want? Didn't he already do enough to me?
Alan ran his hands through his hair- now shorter, it appeared- before finally turning his black eyes on me. They seemed... different. I couldn't tell how, but I couldn't care less. This freak ruined my life, even more than this stupid place ever did. And I could never, ever forgive him for that.
He sighed almost unhappily. "S-so, um..." he stuttered. "I heard, uh, that y-you...you're doing better?"
Why was he sounding so nervous? I raised an eyebrow, turning my head away from him to stare at the ceiling. Was it getting hot in here? A lab coat rustled beside me, accompanied by the scrape of a chair. Oh great. He's gonna sit there and stutter like an idiot all day if I don't do something.
Alan licked his lips and said, "Listen. Um, I-I..." He hesitated. I rolled my eyes. The moron continued, "S-something happened. My boss, uh, found out what happened. And really wasn't... happy about it."
Really? You don't say?
"The Boss... um, wants to terminate this project." I froze. That doesn't sound good. "It wasn't exactly the incident that did it. B-boss always wanted to end this branch of the Institute anyways. Too small, not enough resources f-for proper funding," he stammered. I could practically feel him twiddling his thumbs by now. "It's not gonna happen soon, maybe a couple years or so, but it will happen. And you're going to be the first to go."
My body felt hot; something was wrong. It built until I thought I would explode. I grit my teeth. "Why would you care?" I whispered bitterly.
He jumped with bewilderment. Probably wasn't expecting the unemotional vegetable to reply. The whitecoat swallowed. Distress edged his voice as he shrugged. "Uh, I guess a change of h-heart?" he tried weakly.
I snorted. "'Change of heart'?" I repeated harshly. "In order to do that, freak, you need a heart to start with." Turning my head, I fixed him with a deadly glare. "And you don't."
His ugly head hung dejectedly. Good. He put his head in his hands and his shoulders sagged. Was he crying? I tightened my fists, my nails digging into my palms. What right did he have to be so upset? His whole world, the only one he could love and trust, wasn't taken away from him in a single tragic moment. He wasn't tied down to a hospital bed, constantly drugged and suffering mentally. He didn't have to live with the memory of his brother dying to rescue him from this half-life of poking, prodding and testing.
My vision darkened slightly. "You freaking monster," I said slowly. "What could possibly despair you so much? You harass me, threaten me, hurt me, perform sick tests on me, bring those stupid hairy dogs to 'rattle my cage,' and, worst of all," my voice rose to a shriek, "YOU MURDER MY BROTHER!" All of the emotions I bottled up for so long came spilling over as I screamed at him. It felt so good. Tears stung my eyes, but I focused on the trembling monster before me. "And you have the gall to waltz up and talk to me like we're friends?! You sadistic FREAK!"
I was upright and yanking as hard as I could on the leather straps. Lucky for him these were the only things keeping me from launching at him with rage burning as hot as a thousand white suns. I think he could tell how much I wanted to kill him in my eyes, which were like chips of sky blue ice. Quickly, he shot to his feet, stumbling over his chair, and backed towards the door. Not fast enough. I screeched, "GET OUT!" Al was out the door before I finished. Exhausted, I flopped my head back on my hard pillow and blacked out.
Days went by, mostly in a blur. I felt numb and tired after that scene. And he never returned to my room, thankfully. I was afraid I would actually break out of my restraints and rampage wildly through this awful place if I saw his face again. Whitecoats came and went, none of them familiar, but they never spoke. They probably heard what happened and tried to keep their distance. Beautiful. Just the way I like it. A week or so after, I was allowed to return to my cage. They had been decreasing my dosage of painkillers, which I was happy they so kindly provided for me, so that I would be able to leave this boring room without an IV stuck in my arm. How nice.
Two women stepped into my room and removed the leather straps from around my ankles and wrists. I looked down at them. They were red and some skin was still peeling off. Ew. They let me sit up, but then took my arms and slid me off the bed. The two made sure I was secure in their hands and carefully led me out of the room.
As we ambled down the hall, I looked into the windows we passed; there were half-built robots, mutated children locked in more cages- why were they only experimenting on kids, animals and bots?- creepy lab equipment, and jars filled with a strange liquid and preserved... I don't even know what. But it sickened me. I averted my eyes quickly. Those poor kids. Some didn't even look human anymore. My eyes squeezed shut, a headache forming. Great. I tripped over my feet and began to fall. The whitecoats, however, jerked me back up, muttering something about birds being clumsy on land. Crazy chicks.
When we reached my new cage, they released my arms. I ducked inside, sitting down and leaning against the corner bar. One woman, long brown hair swishing as she turned, murmured in the other's ear and stomped away, clearly upset. Who spat on her white coat? The lady, thin glasses falling down the bridge of her nose, bent to lock the cage. Her stormy blue eyes darted from the lock, to me, and back. A small dark object dropped noiselessly to the floor just outside my cage. I glanced up at her, unsure if she saw it, but she merely pushed her glasses up, brushed a dirty blond lock of hair out of her face and walked out the door. That was weird.
I crawled over to the spot where the object fell. It was a leather pouch. I gasped. My leather pouch. Leaning on the bars, I grabbed the bag and cradled it against my chest. My stuff better be in here. I opened it and stared inside. Relief poured through me. The feather lay unharmed on top of the pendant, chain coiled neatly underneath. Just as I left it.
"Wow, she must really like you," a light voice emitted from behind me. I spun around, clutching my pouch protectively at my back. "Storm never gave me anything, even though I'm obviously her favorite," the figure grumbled.
I peered closer. Bright violet eyes, reflecting a thin sheen of yellow light, peeked curiously out from short fiery orange hair, buzzed cleanly at the sides. My eyes widened as he twitched two black cat ears atop his head, a dark tail curled around his crossed legs. He seemed about my age, maybe a year older. A playful smile curled his lips.
"Hi. I'm Aki. Means autumn, my favorite season." He cocked his head when I didn't reply. "Shy?" Aki asked. I nodded. "Well, guess that works. I'm usually pretty quiet myself. I used to be near you a few months ago. Never got the courage to talk to you." He rubbed the back of his head, closing one eye and grinning widely. This kid was nuts. Suddenly, his expression changed. He frowned sadly, casting his eyes downward. "I, uh, saw what happened that day." I stiffened, tears threatening to unleash. "Sorry for mentioning it, but I wanted to pay my respects. He seemed like a cool guy," the cat boy shrugged. I can't take this. Immediately, I turned my back, sniffling, and drew my knees to my chest. A sigh blew from Aki. "You know, it's kinda cold here. Have you ever tried using your wings like a blanket?" he suggested.
For a quiet guy, as he claims, he sure talks a lot. But he did have a point. It was actually kind of brilliant. I silently unfurled my soft wings, dark indigo feathers tickling my sides as I folded them around my body. Huh. It was warm and comfy inside. Like a blanket. I guess he wasn't so nuts after all. The kid yawned, no doubt feline-like, and said, "Good night."
He probably curled up in a sideways ball. I wonder if his spine is flexible, too. Then I shook my head. Why think about him? I'm shutting out my feelings, remember? But no matter how hard I tried, my mind wandered to his strange violet eyes, slitted pupils standing out, gazing at me like a cute kitten. I fell asleep, nice and cozy inside my feathery blanket, drowning in the purple haze of my new neighbor and possible future friend Aki.
