Blackness, blackness, blackness and then suddenly… light.
I opened my eyes quickly, ready to spring up and fight. I dunno what knocked me down, but I was going to take 'em down, whoever they were.
I sat up and established my surroundings.
The only issue here is that whoever it was that I was, it wasn't out in the desert hunkered behind a truck for cover.
It was a motel room. I was in a motel room.
I blinked, trying to make my vision as clear as possible, my acute hearing trying to detect any threats.
What if I was in the School? What if I had been captured again, and this motel room was some sort of set? A ploy for some reason that only the sick mind of a Whitecoat could grasp; was that what this was?
"Good morning, Max."
I recognized that voice.
I turned, and there he was.
Brium.
He was sitting in a chair by the door, staring at me. I realized now that I was in the far bed of a two bed motel room (yes, I guess this was actually an actual motel room) and Brium was here.
Which meant…
"Where's Fang? The others?!" I exclaimed, trying to get up.
"Don't get up, Max," Brium said.
Too late. I tried getting up and suddenly I was so woozy I had to lay down again.
"You'll still be a bit dizzy, I would imagine," Brium said. "And in answer to your query, I'm afraid the rest of the flock are now in Jeb's hands. They're probably at the School right now."
"What? You left them? You abandoned them?" I was nearly shouting.
"To save you and I from the same fate, yes, that's what I did," Brium said calmly, staring at me with his mismatched eyes.
I quieted instantly. He was going to explain what had happened, it seemed, so I decided to listen.
"You were hit by one of the darts and I used my last bullet to shoot your attacker. I was a little late; he had already got you," Brium smiled a bit. "Anyway, that scratch on your neck, you may feel it, that was my doing. I'm sorry."
I felt my neck, and felt a huge scab extending a few inches along my neck. It was as if…
"You tried to cut my throat?!"
"No, I accomplished exactly what I was trying to do. Will you let me continue, please?"
Oh, this had to be a good explanation.
"To get us out of there, a hostage situation seemed called for. From what I can tell, Jeb wants absolutely no harm to come to you. I threatened harm, and--I wish you could have seen his face, Max--he let us go."
My mouth opened, and it took me a second to figure what to say. "So you left Fang and the others then, huh?"
"Apparently," Brium replied. "Would you rather be with them?"
"Yes! Absolutely!" And I would. I would be there in the School, the worst place on Earth, simply to be with my flock. And me not being there meant…
I had let them down… I had let them all down…
"Then I suppose I severely overestimated your intelligence," Brium cocked his head. "I'm hoping you prove smarter than you're demonstrating right now, Max."
Oh, so now he was insulting my intelligence? Who the hell was this guy, and who the hell did he think he was?
Brium didn't even let me respond. "You're going to need to be at the top of your game if you're going to stick with me. I'm not going to let someone as reckless as you accompany me."
"Who said I want to be anywhere near you, you creepster?!"
"You will," Brium was smiling widely now.
"Wanna bet?" I was trouncing all over this guy, and it felt good.
"Sure. As I was trying to say, if you'd ever let me finish, there's absolutely no way in hell I'm taking you with me if this is the attitude you're going to have."
Brium smiled wider at me. "If you want to assist me in saving your flock, I suggest you take a deep breath and try to relax."
My eyes widened. "You're going to get them out?" I said.
"If they're at the School, which I would think would be the place they would be, then yes; I'm going to get them out. And I may need your help. Interested?"
I nodded dumbly. This guy was on some sort of agenda; he had to be. But then… If he worked for the School, why rescue me at all?
"Where are we?" I asked. Might as well start with the basics.
"Dallas," Brium said. "We'll be leaving soon."
"To where?" I said, not liking the way he just said things, like his way was law.
"Los Angeles. I need to acquire a few things," Brium said. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," I muttered, trying to sit up again, and feeling a lot less dizzy this time. I got out of the bed, noticing I was still fully clothed. "How long was I out?"
"You didn't wake up for the first twenty-six hours. You did for a few minutes, and I got you to eat something and, uh, utilize the wonderful bathroom here, and then you fell sleep again. From then to now, you've been asleep about thirty-one hours. You probably don't remember waking up the first time; you were only awake for a few minutes anyway."
Hold the phone. "How long?!" I said again.
"About fifty-seven hours. You needed it, though. Trust me."
I have my doubts that the tranquilizer in that dart that supposedly hit me could take me out for over two days, but then again, knowing Jeb, he might just try something so powerful to put Fang and myself down for so long. Either way, for over two days I have been in this motel room with this guy, and God knows what has happened.
Oh, and I suppose being under for thirty whatever hours makes a person have to use the bathroom. Again, since I already had apparently.
And this guy had been around.
I shudder at the very thought, and am perhaps glad I don't remember any of it.
I got out of bed, and shook my head a bit to clear it. I moved to the bathroom, the only other room attached to this lovely little two room apartment. Brium watched me with a detached interest.
I stopped and looked at him. "What?" I demanded.
And he just sat there, smiling his little smile. "Nothing, really. I've never seen a girl as graceful as you. Then again, I've never seen a girl with as many similarities to me as you posses. Forgive me for my rudeness."
I rolled my eyes, not knowing what else to do, then I went for the bathroom door's handle, and grasped it. It took a moment for it to seep in, but it finally did.
I was using my left hand.
My left hand worked again.
I stared at it dumbfounded for a few moments, before pulling my hand back to stare at it. I wiggled all of my fingers in turn before forming a fist, and opening it again.
"What was wrong with your hand?" Brium asked, and I turned to look at him.
"What did you do?" I said.
He shrugged. "Nothing. I didn't have to, I guess. You seem to have recovered just fine without assistance. What was wrong with your hand?"
"Nerve damage," I said. "There was a chip in my arm, like a tracking chip or something. I had it removed, and the nerves were damaged."
"Hmm," Brium said. "Well, doesn't seem to be a problem now."
...Huh...
After using the bathroom, I decided to take a shower. I doubted Brium would mind. I hadn't taken an actual shower since…
I'll get back to you on that one.
But anyway, being forever since the last shower, I took my sweet time this time around. I was in there at least half an hour.
Despite how wonderful the shower was I was always thinking about Fang and the flock. Was Brium actually serious about rescuing them? Were they even in good enough shape to be rescued at all?
And it was thoughts like that that nearly ruined my shower experience.
If history was any indicator, the School was going to keep the flock alive. Why would they do different? If they wanted us dead, why would they go through all the trouble of capturing us?
After my shower I got dressed as I waited for the mirror to defog. When it did, I got a look at the scab on my neck, which didn't look nearly as bad as it had felt when I had touched it.
He had hurt me, but had done so taking the utmost care to not actually hurt me. If that made any sense at all.
I sighed to myself, and turned to face the door. I examined my hand again. Did it actually just heal on it's own? Did my recent state of unconsciousness help? Or had I developed some super cool healing powers?
It was capital B bizarre.
I moved all of my fingers once again, just making sure I could.
Then I turned an opened the door, wondering for the hundredth time just who the hell Brium was.