Chapter 14: Pain
She couldn't deal with it.
The
pity in everyone's eyes, their...kindness.
She couldn't bear it.
It
would have been better if Max had just said, "Told you so."
She could have dealt with that. Anger was an easy thing to cope with,
especially right now.
Heartache was about as much as she could bear.
-+-
Riiiiinnngggg!
Riiinnnnngggg!!
Skye
nearly jumped out of her skin.
Well, you would too if you had been innocently sitting on the 14th Street Bridge in D.C.--mourning quietly--when all the sudden your jeans started vibrating and making awful noises.
Skye shrieked, immediately covering her mouth for fear of being heard, and fished the Razr out of her pocket.
"...hello?"
"Hey."
"...Greg?"
Against her intentions, her voice came out thick and wavering. He
paused.
"...you
ok?"
"Yeah,
what's up?" she asked, trying to sound cheery.
"...well...can
you meet me somewhere? It's time to go back to The Institute."
Skye's heart fluttered in fear, and then hope. 'Finally...someone
to share everything with again...Arcane...'
"Yeah,
name it."
\/
Greg
didn't need to be a rocket scientist to see that Skye was in pain. He
couldn't tell what kind--physical or mental?--but he could
tell.
He
didn't push her after the three times he asked though, if she wanted
to talk about it, she would have already.
They
congregated at the same place they had first met--the lonely
clearing--and didn't talk much on the way to The Institute.
When
they had finally stopped for the night, Skye was shivering, lips
blue. Greg wordlessly handed her his jacket, and immediately set to
work building a fire.
Dinner
included hot dogs that Greg had picked up earlier, and sodas. Not
much, but just enough to make the two teens sleepy. Both curled up
near the fire on separate sides, still wary of one another, but not
enough to stand the cold all alone.
As
the stars lit the night sky, Greg lay awake alone. Through the fire,
he watched Skye sleep.
New
lines stood out on her forehead, and the bags under her eyes had a
bruised purple-look to them. She wasn't sleeping well, if at all.
Even in her slumber, her forehead was creased in pain, her body
pulled inhumanly close together.
He wished he knew what made her suffer so.
Skye
heard the rustle of fur on skin, nose tingling with the scent of musk
and antiseptic. A pitch-black wolf stood before her, mouth curling
into an ivory smile. At it's feet was a pile of black feathers...
...some
stained with blood.
The
wolf growled, malice gleaming in its golden eyes. Skye's vision
blurred, turning slightly purple. The wolf lunged, howling furiously.
Her sight cleared then, giving her an unobstructed view of the wolf's
purple-veined irises, before she could see nothing but blood.
Skye
bolted upright, gasping for air and muffling her screams. Greg was by
her side in an instant, wrapping his arms around her, keeping her
together as she sobbed her heart out into his shoulder. He rocked her
in his lap, smoothing her hair and rubbing her back.
After
the sobbing subsided, he asked her again what was wrong, feeling a
tad awkward and very wet.
She
shook her head,
"I can't without bursting into sobs again." At this she forced a laugh, "And I think your shirt's soaked enough. But I will tell you that I had a very disturbing dream, kind of like the one at The Institute." Greg checked himself quickly, masking his concern,
"We'll get you checked out before you meet Arcane again ok?" Skye nodded, climbing off his lap and walking towards the forest nearby.
"I need to blow my nose...and Greg?" Skye turned around mid-step, trying her best to smile,
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."