Chapter 7: Over My Shoulder, I Will See
KYLER'S POV
I was sitting beside her when she failed. The car had crashed and she had been shoved over the headrest, eyes rolling like marbles. She was searing hot, but her lips were bluing. I was confused as Rivers say I always am. She knows I'm stupid. She calls it a birth defect. I was worried; she was probably playing a gross joke on me.
I picked up the cell phone and sent Tess for help. But as soon as I hung up, something slashed across my back. I screamed as it dug in again.
They call them the Jaws of Life. They cut through solid steel and my flesh was no metal rod. I remember seeing a window shatter before I drowned in darkness.
When I woke up, everyone was crying. I was in a bed, with wires running through my skin, numerous sticky pads dotting my chest, and tubes down my throat. I recognized my foster mother and Tess in the corner. My tutor was there. Tears poured from their eyes when my eyes opened.
Someone says, "I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault."
My eyes flood with confusion, an emotion that I normally wallow in. Tess hiccoughs and clears her throat, wiping away the tears.
"Kyler," she says huskily, the room silencing. Her weeping had been erased from her voice. "Rivers crashed the car."
Somewhere, a sob bursts.
I look deep into Tess' eyes as she says, "But you made it."
It doesn't take long for my brain to process it. Soon, I'm ripping the wires from my arms, tearing the pads away, and with an odd, lurch, yanking the tubes from my throat. An infernal yell breaks from my lips as the rest of the room dissolves into sobbing. Tess starts up again, but explodes through the door and I barrel clumsily after her.
We turn many corners before she slap against a door and is complete conquered by her emotions she is a hopeless pile on the floor and I shove past her and storm through the door.
I'm in a room lavished with chrome. Two assistants glace at me, but recognize Tess and shuffle to a different metal square. One tugs abruptly on the handle affixed on the front and out pops a long, slender bag. The other attendant unzips it.
There is my sister, her face smitten with bruises and dashed by tiny knives. Her mouth is shut and the color and emotion has drained from her once gorgeous features. No feeling has been left there. She's an empty shell, hollowed by her anger and frustration of her twin brother.
I can't look anymore. I'm not looking at Rivers; I'm gazing upon her soul's hotel room. But before I can turn away, I squint, examining a graying cheek.
A tear falls from her barren eye and ambles across her cheek.
Suddenly, a pale memory of my sister is kneeling on the morgue floor, hair dripping across her face. She tosses it back and she seems scared. But her expression fades into disappointment, and she evaporates back into my head.
I shuffle over to the corpse. It is not my sister, but she's hanging on by her fingernails to this void crust. She's fighting retribution with every last shred, every fiber, every molecule.
My hand shakes as I arch it over her face, daring to close the distance between the teardrop and me. It's crystal steel, freezing in its wake as I draw near. Finally, my tip collides with it and I see.
I see Rivers whirling in a sea of red fabric. I see her, ears drawn back, teeth bared, spitting a violent comment back at a foe. I see her playing an invisible flute, skirt rustling in the wind, eyes closed, and moon studding the sky.
Then she is straddling a bird like thing. It's huge, fangs dripping, with giant, leathery wings. She jerks the reins to the side and she blends into another scene. She looks shocked.
An arrow appears from the nothingness and buries itself in Rivers' shoulder. Suddenly, the corpse on the table stirs and plunges its fingers through my shoulder precisely at the same time as the arrow. We fall, kneeling to nothingness and keep tumbling, down, always down.
The same direction I have gone for forever.
Rivers' POV (Suggested Listening: "Fallen" Sarah McLachlan, Afterglow)
There was no ground and there was no river. When I woke up, I was staring into a familiar face. My head has been cradled here before.
Haldir says, "Lady of Hastings?"
I didn't think it was he and I cry out with delight upon his touch. I stand up and sway before screaming. My yell is dripping with happiness. I made it! I fell over the cliff and I live to see another day.
When I'm jumping, I notice an arrow swinging from its perch in my shoulder. Haldir stands up when I sigh with dismay. He cups then end of it in his elvish palm. I stammer, "He...he s-shot me, did...didn't he?"
He nods grimly. Then his grip tightens and with a crisp twist, dislodges it from my shoulder, handing me the blood-crusted arrow primly. I take it and press it to the hole in my chest, but no blood flows. Strange.
I let some of the elf medics patch me up before snatching a chunk of bread and swinging up next to Haldir on his horse.
The three days ride to Helm's Deep takes its toll on me, but I request to blow the horn announcing our entrance. The heavy gates swing open and we dismount. Haldir and I flounce to the front of the group and escort the elves in. Their bows are up in the air, swords buckled to their waists.
For once in my troublesome history, I am ready.
(3rd person)
Legolas handed Aragorn his sword and smiled warmly. The ranger clasped his shoulder and murmured something in Elvish. A dwarf shuffled in, chain mail falling past his feet and cascading onto the floor. "It's a bit tight around the chest."
A horn spilt the grim silence that all maintained. Aragorn followed Legolas as the elf muttered, "That is no orc horn!"
The trio scampered up the armory stairs and vaulted over the next set of stairs. Legolas was almost blown from his shoes when he saw Haldir and the rest of the elves marching into Helm's Deep.
"How is this possible?" Théoden exclaimed, flabbergasted.
Haldir flashed a weary smile. "I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between elves and men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."
Aragorn was washed with relief. Someone had come to their aid, when everyone else had fled. He wrapped the elf in a tight embrace, whispering, "Mae govannen, Haldir!"
His eyes were too joyous to see the girl behind the elf, but when Legolas followed the embrace, he did, and Haldir stepped aside. Suddenly, every eye had rounded on the pair.
Rivers turned and curtsied to the elves, which swept her their finest bow. She faced Legolas once more, mouth plastered with a mocking smile. She presented to him the polished arrow and handed the bloody wood to him. "We are proud to fight with men once more."
KYLER'S POV
I was sitting beside her when she failed. The car had crashed and she had been shoved over the headrest, eyes rolling like marbles. She was searing hot, but her lips were bluing. I was confused as Rivers say I always am. She knows I'm stupid. She calls it a birth defect. I was worried; she was probably playing a gross joke on me.
I picked up the cell phone and sent Tess for help. But as soon as I hung up, something slashed across my back. I screamed as it dug in again.
They call them the Jaws of Life. They cut through solid steel and my flesh was no metal rod. I remember seeing a window shatter before I drowned in darkness.
When I woke up, everyone was crying. I was in a bed, with wires running through my skin, numerous sticky pads dotting my chest, and tubes down my throat. I recognized my foster mother and Tess in the corner. My tutor was there. Tears poured from their eyes when my eyes opened.
Someone says, "I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault."
My eyes flood with confusion, an emotion that I normally wallow in. Tess hiccoughs and clears her throat, wiping away the tears.
"Kyler," she says huskily, the room silencing. Her weeping had been erased from her voice. "Rivers crashed the car."
Somewhere, a sob bursts.
I look deep into Tess' eyes as she says, "But you made it."
It doesn't take long for my brain to process it. Soon, I'm ripping the wires from my arms, tearing the pads away, and with an odd, lurch, yanking the tubes from my throat. An infernal yell breaks from my lips as the rest of the room dissolves into sobbing. Tess starts up again, but explodes through the door and I barrel clumsily after her.
We turn many corners before she slap against a door and is complete conquered by her emotions she is a hopeless pile on the floor and I shove past her and storm through the door.
I'm in a room lavished with chrome. Two assistants glace at me, but recognize Tess and shuffle to a different metal square. One tugs abruptly on the handle affixed on the front and out pops a long, slender bag. The other attendant unzips it.
There is my sister, her face smitten with bruises and dashed by tiny knives. Her mouth is shut and the color and emotion has drained from her once gorgeous features. No feeling has been left there. She's an empty shell, hollowed by her anger and frustration of her twin brother.
I can't look anymore. I'm not looking at Rivers; I'm gazing upon her soul's hotel room. But before I can turn away, I squint, examining a graying cheek.
A tear falls from her barren eye and ambles across her cheek.
Suddenly, a pale memory of my sister is kneeling on the morgue floor, hair dripping across her face. She tosses it back and she seems scared. But her expression fades into disappointment, and she evaporates back into my head.
I shuffle over to the corpse. It is not my sister, but she's hanging on by her fingernails to this void crust. She's fighting retribution with every last shred, every fiber, every molecule.
My hand shakes as I arch it over her face, daring to close the distance between the teardrop and me. It's crystal steel, freezing in its wake as I draw near. Finally, my tip collides with it and I see.
I see Rivers whirling in a sea of red fabric. I see her, ears drawn back, teeth bared, spitting a violent comment back at a foe. I see her playing an invisible flute, skirt rustling in the wind, eyes closed, and moon studding the sky.
Then she is straddling a bird like thing. It's huge, fangs dripping, with giant, leathery wings. She jerks the reins to the side and she blends into another scene. She looks shocked.
An arrow appears from the nothingness and buries itself in Rivers' shoulder. Suddenly, the corpse on the table stirs and plunges its fingers through my shoulder precisely at the same time as the arrow. We fall, kneeling to nothingness and keep tumbling, down, always down.
The same direction I have gone for forever.
Rivers' POV (Suggested Listening: "Fallen" Sarah McLachlan, Afterglow)
There was no ground and there was no river. When I woke up, I was staring into a familiar face. My head has been cradled here before.
Haldir says, "Lady of Hastings?"
I didn't think it was he and I cry out with delight upon his touch. I stand up and sway before screaming. My yell is dripping with happiness. I made it! I fell over the cliff and I live to see another day.
When I'm jumping, I notice an arrow swinging from its perch in my shoulder. Haldir stands up when I sigh with dismay. He cups then end of it in his elvish palm. I stammer, "He...he s-shot me, did...didn't he?"
He nods grimly. Then his grip tightens and with a crisp twist, dislodges it from my shoulder, handing me the blood-crusted arrow primly. I take it and press it to the hole in my chest, but no blood flows. Strange.
I let some of the elf medics patch me up before snatching a chunk of bread and swinging up next to Haldir on his horse.
The three days ride to Helm's Deep takes its toll on me, but I request to blow the horn announcing our entrance. The heavy gates swing open and we dismount. Haldir and I flounce to the front of the group and escort the elves in. Their bows are up in the air, swords buckled to their waists.
For once in my troublesome history, I am ready.
(3rd person)
Legolas handed Aragorn his sword and smiled warmly. The ranger clasped his shoulder and murmured something in Elvish. A dwarf shuffled in, chain mail falling past his feet and cascading onto the floor. "It's a bit tight around the chest."
A horn spilt the grim silence that all maintained. Aragorn followed Legolas as the elf muttered, "That is no orc horn!"
The trio scampered up the armory stairs and vaulted over the next set of stairs. Legolas was almost blown from his shoes when he saw Haldir and the rest of the elves marching into Helm's Deep.
"How is this possible?" Théoden exclaimed, flabbergasted.
Haldir flashed a weary smile. "I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between elves and men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."
Aragorn was washed with relief. Someone had come to their aid, when everyone else had fled. He wrapped the elf in a tight embrace, whispering, "Mae govannen, Haldir!"
His eyes were too joyous to see the girl behind the elf, but when Legolas followed the embrace, he did, and Haldir stepped aside. Suddenly, every eye had rounded on the pair.
Rivers turned and curtsied to the elves, which swept her their finest bow. She faced Legolas once more, mouth plastered with a mocking smile. She presented to him the polished arrow and handed the bloody wood to him. "We are proud to fight with men once more."