The Wings

Chapter 7

They were standing on the metal balcony over looking the tank. She was floating like a scrap of paper on the surface of the salinated water, her white slip hugging the curves of her body. The soft white hair that Jack had so often imagined to smell of plumeria was a tangle around her face. White peaks of crusted salt cragged her paling lips and speckled her peaceful face. Waterproof vital patches were attached to her forehead, chest, and wrists. Next to Jack and his professor were monitors that softly beeped with the cadence of her heart and the lift of her breath.

Jane's hand rested on Jack's shoulder. "It's time to say goodbye."

"What happens now?" He asked.

"She'll get transferred to psychiatrics in the medical department. They're already monitoring her anxiety medications in conjunction with the anesthesiologists."

Jack's eyes were locked on Elsa's docile body. With her wings hidden beneath the surface of the water she looked merely human. More than that, she looked like a soul threaded on sinew and bones. Still lovely, something inside of her was withering.

"We've been on this project since the beginning. Isn't our information relevant? Aren't we?"

Jane sighed. "We are, but Mr. Black has assessed that it's not safe for us to be close to her anymore."

Jack turned to face Jane directly. "Not safe for us or for me?"

"Well, for—well—" Jane clutched the manila folder in her hands closer to her. "I'm not on the project anymore either, just consulting—but you're graduating! That's good news!"

"Consulting? Don't you think that should be my job since I'm the one who got her to talk? Since I'm the one who has spent more than a year with her?" Jack gestured to the girl in the water. "I'm all she knows."

"Hang on there!" Jane smacked him in the shoulder with her folder. "You, sir, are heavily medicated, lacking sleep, and because of her relationship with you, she blew up the whole lab that we were keeping her in! It's not safe to have the two of you near each other because of her connection to you, whatever that might be. It makes her unpredictable and therefore dangerous. She needs someone stable and emotionally detached to be ambivalent and observational."

"Ambivalent? So you want to take her back to the place where we were, spinning our wheels and not getting any traction? She responded to me because I wasn't detached and medical, because I care about her and I want to help her!"

Jane stood for a moment, digesting Jack's argument, using it as nothing more than a confirmation. "You know this isn't my decision, Jack. It's in the hands of Mr. Black. But please understand that if it was, I would ask you to step back for a season and reflect, hopefully with a professional. You have... an unhealthy attachment to Elsa and it concerns me." She touched his shoulder, this time tenderly. "I care about you as a friend and I don't want—"

Jack brushed her hand away. "I don't have an unhealthy attachment!"

"Then why are you yelling at me, Jack? Why are you taking antidepressants? Why do I look at the video footage and see you staring like a lovesick puppy at her when she turns her back?" She shook her head. "I know you care, and it's because of that that I must condone Mr. Black's decision to remove you from the project."

He could see her slow smile, the one she only gave to him. Her lovely blue eyes, curious and full as they wrote back and forth on the glass. The sensation of their hands both pressed against the barrier, six inches of separation between them. He could see the image of the butterfly she had painted on the glass.

"Is this permanent?"

"Oh, Jack. I don't know. If it were up to me, no. I believe if you learn to control your... what should I call them?" She scratched her messy bun with the pen she was holding. "Emotions? Temper? How about feelings. If you control your feelings for her, I think you could be a great advocate for the project, but your actions have startled Mr. Black, so I can't say."

Jack turned away from Jane, giving his full attention to Elsa.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I really am."

Jack gripped the metal railing, feeling the sensation of the cold burn against his raw cuts. It brought to his mind the memory of the mere seconds he had to see her standing before him with nothing but empty space between them; the moment before the medical team arrived. His other hand fingered the feather in his pocket.

"Goodbye, Elsa."

Without acknowledging anything Jane had to say, Jack turned and walked down the balcony steps and out of the makeshift lab. He had no idea how Mr. Black had done it, but in a matter of hours he had converted the basement of the on-campus medical facility into a lab with a saline float tank for Elsa. He hadn't believed they could make her more of a prisoner than she had been but he was proved wrong again.

He crossed the quad and went back to the social studies building. At this hour, it was fairly deserted. An odd variety of students tittered about, those conducting or taking part in sleep studies and dedicated souls who wanted to finish term papers. Jack let himself into his office and began collecting his meager possessions in a weathered cardboard box.

Much like his apartment, his actual belongings were sparse, but he certainly wasn't about to waste the other half of the Costco pack of spearmint gum in the top drawer of his desk. There was a collection of stubbly pencils that he wasn't particularly attached to, but he did gather up the pens and the random Naruto Shippuden manga volume Hiccup had given him. It had never been read but he could at least return it. Shrugging, Jack tossed it in with the pens and gum packs. He was sifting through the miscellaneous papers on his desk for anything personal when he came across an opened envelope with his name in goofy calligraphy surrounded by shiny applique sticker hearts. Instantly he remembered Zel bursting with excitement as she presented the envelope to him two years prior over gyros.

He pulled the card out of the envelope. The glossy front image was two of two thumbs up, one saying, "Way to go!" and the other "You did it!"

One the inside, Zel's handwriting was neat, organized, and tight.

Jack Attack! You did it! I'm so proud of you! You're going to make the best research assistant in the history of EVER! I love you!

XOXOX -Zel

He closed the card and tossed it on his desk. It looked odd amidst the overwhelming dirth of information on Elsa whose entire existence was more adult than Zel.

But he could remember what it felt like to hold Zel's warm hand and to kiss her small wrists. The feeling of her gold hair in his hands and the way she her lips tasted after she had been drinking a raspberry latte was a tangible memory that he suddenly had the desire to grasp as tightly as a life raft. It felt so good to be loved and desired by another living thing.

He took Zel's letter and ripped it in half, tossing it in the trash. He opened up every filing cabinet in his office and began pulling stack after stack of papers out. There were psychological reports, theoretical papers, documented pictures, medical diaries, and his legally binding contracts to respect university property. He piled them all on his desk until there was nothing but empty folders in every open drawer. Unceremoniously he tossed all of the papers into the box. Jack took his coat and draped it over the box, carrying both to the threshold of the room. Without looking back, he turned off the light of what was no longer his office and closed the door behind him.


A/N: I wanted to make this chapter longer but I really had trouble doing so without Jack's exit losing drama. AND HE HAS TO HAVE DRAMA. ...Because I said so. Thanks for everyone who reviewed last chapter, you guys are awesome and ilu. No, for reals you guys are true inspiration.