Flesh and Feathers

by Hylton, Danielle; Fifer, April

  I lay there several minutes on the floor. I felt a pain in my arm from where I had fallen. I examined it and noticed it was bleeding. I pulled myself up and quickly ran out of the apartment; barely dress, and with my hair dripping wet. Gage was sitting in the lobby, and when I saw him, I ran to him. Gage stood up, and I wrapped my arms around him, shaking.

  “Az, what’s wrong? You’re bleeding,” he exclaimed, holding my arm.

  “I don’t know. I think I’m losing my mind. I’m seeing things that aren’t there.” My voice was distressed and cracked on every word.

  A thousand things were running through my mind, but nothing I could tell him would sound sane. I laid my head on his chest and breathed. I knew he was waiting for an answer, but I was unable to give him a logical one. I hadn’t known him that long, and I really liked Gage. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was crazy.

  “Az?” he asked again.

  I looked up at him, and his eyes were such a brilliant green. I gave a fake smile–the best I could. “It was nothing.” I swallowed hard and prayed he wouldn’t press the issue. Although it didn’t look like he bought it, he didn’t pressure me for an explanation.

  “Why don’t I go back up with you so you can finish getting dressed? I have made plans for us today.” My smile came more naturally this time.

  I nodded my head, and we began to walk back to my apartment.

  “What do you mean you have plans for us?” I asked curiously.

  “I won't take no for an answer,” he added.

  “I do have a job.”

  “That’s been taken care of,” he said.

  I looked at him baffled. “What do you mean… taken care of?”

  “I called in for you,” he reassured me.

  I grabbed his arm, stopping him from taking another step. “What? You can’t do that.”

  “Why not? As your O.B.G.Y.N., I have a lot of pull. “He smirked at me, as my face turned horrified.

  “No you didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t?” I repeated, with my mouth hanging open.

  “Oh, but if anyone asks, all of your tests came back negative,” he said, trying to put on a straight face.

  “You’re insane, you know that–right?” I said, while rolling my eyes.

  “Yeah, but you like it.”

  He was right. I did like it. I liked everything about him–especially the way he looked at me… like I was this shiny, beautiful object that he just couldn’t help but touch. Gage leaned in, wrapping his arms around me. I only stared up at him, unable to move.

  “You will thank me later,” he said, smiling.

  “I’m sure I won’t,” I said, as he kissed me once on the lips.

  Apparently, I was lost in the moment and had closed my eyes, waiting for him to kiss me again.

  “Az?” he said questioning. “Stay with me.”

  Oh my God, how embarrassing. I cleared my throat. “Oh… um… I was just thinking about what it was that you had planned for us.” That was not played off well at all.

  “Ever been on a boat?” he asked.

  I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, but in a playful curious way. “Why?”

  “Come on,” he said. After I got ready, I followed him downstairs and outside.

  The marina was twenty minutes from downtown. We had taken a cab to get there. When we arrived, Gage led me down the row of boats and stopped in front a white motor yacht with a large blue strip down the side.

  “Hell’s Anglers?” I asked, as I looked at the name painted in bright red lettering across the side.

  Gage laughed. “It’s a friend’s. He used to be into bikes–now he’s into boats.”

  We spent the entire day at sea. Gage, of course, had to explain everything there was about a boat. Even though, I really didn’t care, I tried to listen. He was so excited to share his knowledge of how to drive it; how to tell where you were; and lots of other things that went in one ear and out the other. He explained when you were at sea that the birds could help tell you where to go. I guess it had to be a guy thing. However, I did have to say, he looked really good with his shirt off while he explained all of this.

  Chapter 10

  Needs

  Knocking at the door

  I opened my eyes and focused them on the alarm clock next to my bed. I slightly moved to see what time it was. The alarm read seven thirty AM.

  “Hang on a sec,” I shouted, pulling the covers over my head, not wanting to get up.

  But then, slowly I made it to my feet, trying to get to the door. However, not before the knocking started again. “Who is it?” My voice was scratchy and hoarse.

  I looked through the peephole, smiling at the fact that Gage was holding a brown paper bag and coffee against it, so I could see that he had brought breakfast. I was not surprised. He was the only person insane enough to be up, beating on my door this early in the morning.

  Opening the door, I leaned my head against it and yawned.

  “Good morning. And I must say I don’t think I have ever seen you look hotter,” he said, looking me up and down.

  “Shut up,” of course, smiling when I said it. I opened the door wider, allowing him to come in.

  He was wearing loose fitted khaki shorts, a t-shirt and a black baseball cap. This was a lot more casual for him than normal. He was gorgeous, and breakfast was a bonus.

  He still teased me. “No, I’m serious, what do you call this hair style?” he asked, as he lifted a mangled piece of my hair.

  “Enough,” I said, smacking his hand away from my hair. He would go on for hours like this if I let him. “Look, I really need to go get changed and ready for work.”

  “Fantastic, can I watch?” he asked, as he handed me the caramel latté he had brought.

  “No, you cannot… and thanks.”

  “Well, since that is not an option, how about I walk you to work?” he asked.

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Negative. Besides, don’t you have to work or something like that?”

  “What’s your point?”

  “My point is… if I don’t leave here in the next hour, I’m going to be late. So you need to go.”

  Instead of him leaving like I had suggested, Gage simply pulled out a kitchen chair and sat. He opened the newspaper and pretended to read it before pausing to look at me.

  “I will wait for you to get dressed, and then I will walk you out.”

  I just smiled and shook my head, walking off. I entered my bedroom, rummaging through my clothes piled on the floor, looking for my work uniform. I needed to shower, but ever since my last encounter with the blonde haired women in my mirror, I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive every time I entered the bathroom. I think I was more comfortable believing that I was crazy, and to see her again would only prove that she really was haunting me. Being crazy was the lesser of the two evils.

  I peered into the empty bathroom cautiously, but nothing looked out of the sort.

  “Gage,” I said, poking my head out of the door and looking down the hall.

  “Yes, Love?” he replied. My face flushed with heat. I couldn’t help but blush when he called me that.

  “Um… I’m going to take a quick shower. Were you still going to stay here until I leave?”

  “I’m definitely not leaving now,” he said, followed by a small chuckle.

  “Very funny, Gage. Ha ha.”

  I closed the door and began to undress. I was still nervous, so I turned the doorknob and slightly cracked the door back open. I felt safer knowing Gage was just in the other room if I needed him. I pulled open the shower curtain and stepped in.

  I washed as quickly as possible and rinsed off. When I finished, I pulled the shower curtain back and looked around the room. There was only steam looming in the air. I reached for the towel that normally hung on the back of the bathroom door, but it wasn’t there. Great, now what was I supposed to do? I stood there covering my bare breasts with my forearms and rested my chin on my clutched hands. I was wet and
cold.

  “Gage?” I called reluctantly.

  “Yeah?” he responded quickly. His voice was far enough away I could tell he was still sitting in the kitchen.

  I let out a long sigh. “I can’t find a towel. Can you grab me one out of the closet in the hall?” I didn’t hear a response. I stood there waiting for a reply. Then the door opened slowly–Gage stood on the opposite side grinning at me with a white towel in his hand.

  “Just what do you think you’re doing?” I shouted, grabbing the shower curtain and trying to hide myself.

  “I’m handing you a towel, like you asked,” he said in a deviant voice.

  “Get out!” I barked.

  He stretched the towel out in front of me, using it as a barrier between us.

  “You could have knocked, you know?” I said, still ranting.

  “Hey..., you called me back here,” he responded as I jerked the towel out of his hands and wrapped it around me.

  “For a towel! Not a peep show!”

  There was a long pause, and then his eyes turned serious. He took a step closer to me, removing his hat and placing it on the sink. Leaning in, he kissed me. I was still clutching the towel to my chest. I kissed him back and felt somewhat awkward because I was naked. He wrapped his arms around my waist, sliding one of his hands down over my bottom and tightening his grip.

  I drew my head back away from his. “I’m going to be late for work.” I’m not sure why I was feeling so hesitant. It had only been a month ago that we were standing in front of my door, and I was the one initiating, and he was the one holding back.

  “Not if I call in for you,” he replied, playing with my hair and waiting for my answer.

  “I can’t. Tannah needs me.”

  “So do I.”

  I froze in place. His words were coaxing. I contemplated my decision. All I would have to do is say “yes”. His simple statement let me know that he was mine if I wanted him. And I did want him so why was I holding back now?

  Gage must have seen me turning all of this over in my mind. His smile had faded, becoming a straight line against his jaw. He backed up only an inch, and grasped the bottom of his shirt with both hands, and pulled it over his head. He let it fall out of his hand to the floor.

  I surprised myself by being forward enough to place the palm of my hand in the center of his chest. I felt his body tighten at my touch. That night at my door flashed through my mind. Was this what Gage meant by wanting it to be real? Is this what real feels like? It was too real and that made me uneasy. I pulled my hand away from his chest and placed it back on the towel.

  He leaned down to kiss me again. All I could do was close my eyes. He pulled at my hands, opening my arms and the towel that I was still holding onto. He placed his hands on either side of my hips and pulled our bodies together so that our bare skin touched.

  I needed more time to think. I pushed him away and looked in his eyes. “I can’t. Not yet. I will see you tonight. Okay?”

  Gage’s smile returned as he picked up his shirt and quietly walked out.

  ***

  I made my way through the crowded street. As I headed to work, I thought about what Gage had said this morning… about needing me. God, why did he make me so crazy? Why couldn’t I just say I needed him too? That moment, I came to a decision. I was going to tell him tonight that I felt the same way. I wanted to be with him. My face lit up, and I felt weightless thinking about what Gage’s reaction would be.

  I was so lost in thought that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a fire truck passed me with its sirens blaring.

  At first, I dismissed it and kept walking in the direction of the diner. Just then, another truck came from behind me, passing even more quickly than the first. Something in the pit of my stomach turned. I held my hand over my eyes, shielding my vision from the sun. A dark cloud of smoke was filling the sky and casting a menacing shadow over the street.

  I took off running, weaving in and out of people on the sidewalk. I came to a sudden halt in front of the diner, watching the chaos unfold.

  The diner was engulfed in flames. Firemen and police officers were everywhere, putting out flames and directing people away from the building. There was an EMS worker leaning over a body that was chard and bleeding. I moved in to look over her shoulder. It was Jackson, our cook.

  “Oh my God, Jackson!” I said in a shaken voice. It was hard to see his face. It was burned badly, and the skin over his cheekbone was black and peeled back.

  I turned and ran towards the building, only to be subdued by a police officer. I screamed Tannah’s name over and over at the top of my lungs. My stomach turned and twisted, leaving me nauseas.

  “Ma’am, you can’t go in there,” the police officer shouted at me. He pushed me back behind the yellow caution tape. Suddenly, a blast rocketed the area. An explosion erupted inside the diner, sending shards of glass and debris in all directions and hitting unsuspecting bystanders. Tiny slivers of glass embedded into my hands and the side of my face. Pieces of ash fell from the sky, singeing and charring my shirt.

  There was wreckage everywhere, and I stared in awe at what was once the diner I worked at. Tears streaked my face, causing my mascara to run and darken my eyes. My head was spinning. All I could think about was Tannah and Jen. There was no sign of them.

  I shouted to a fireman that was standing a few feet away from me. “Is there anyone else in there?”

  He didn’t hear me at first, so I shouted to him again. This time, he turned to me. “We don’t know yet. Just stay back.”

  I looked around frantically to see if maybe they were in the crowd somewhere. As I turned my attention back to the front of the diner, my eyes widen in disbelief as I watched a man walking out of it. He passed through the flames and wreckage, unscathed. I used my fingers to wipe some of the make-up from my eyes, thinking that would clear my vision. I wiped them clean, but he was still there–walking in calculated steps towards me. I took a step back, watching his forward. It was as if no one even noticed he was there.

  Although I was scared to death, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. When his slow walk became a fast jog, reality swiftly kicked in–he was coming for me.

  Taking off in long strides, I tried to out run him. I had made it three steps into the street when a car came to a screeching halt in front of me, cutting off my retreat. The door flew open–and to my surprise–it was Jen and Tannah.

  Tannah shouted from the driver’s side. “Get in!” I jumped in the back.

  Tannah took off with such a force, that I was thrown against the back seat. She sped around curves, fishtailing, but did it with precision.

  Our speed was topping eighty miles per hour. Clutching the top of the seat, I raised my eyes above it to peer out the back window, but he was still there. He was extremely fast, which caused his arms and legs to blur. I was scared, and a sick nervous feeling pulled at the pit of my stomach… he was after me.

  “He’s gaining on us,” Jen spoke in a low voice, directing her comment at Tannah. A chill quickly ran down my spine, and I turned to see Tannah staring in the rear view mirror, looking out the back window.

  Tannah took another curve, but this time it was so hard I fell against the side of the car, hitting my head on the window. I sat back up, holding my hand on my head where it had collided with the glass. The pain distracted me for only a second, because out of the corner of my eye, I saw something change. Adjusting my view back out of the window, the man’s white cloak started to rip and tear. And to my amazement, large wings expanded on either side of him. My mouth dropped, and my eyes widen.

  “What the hell is that thing?” I shouted. However, neither Tannah nor Jen said anything, which only terrified me more.

  I looked at the speedometer, which was laying dead on the one-ten mark, but the man was still coming and faster than before. It was impossible!

  His wings were jet black, and the tip of each feather looked to be lined with sharp metal. As he ran, his wings spread o
ut and reached each side of the street, cutting and ripping into parked cars. The sound made me shiver–much like fingernails on a chalkboard, and I placed my hands over my ears to deaden the shrill.

  His body lifted off the ground, and he began gliding over the pavement. He was at the rear of the car. Making it to the trunk, he stomped one foot on it and hoisted himself on top of the hood. I let out a scream.

  Tannah swerved from the impact, and I was sure she would lose control, but to my relief, she was able to straighten the vehicle. “Tannah, we have to get her out of here,” Jen shouted, and I assumed the “her” was me.

  “Seat belts on!” Tannah demanded and I didn’t hesitate. As soon as she heard the click, she locked the brakes. The power of the sudden stop pressed my chest against the belt so hard that I heard my bones popping and crunching beneath it.

  The man was thrown from the hood of the car, hundreds of feet in front of us, rolling the entire way. The sound of metal hitting asphalt rang out through the street over and over. He stood up and stared at us. Then very slowly, he pulled a sword from his side.

  I was starting to hyperventilate. He leapt straight for us and I felt my heart drop. Then out of nowhere, what looked to be another creature of his kind, hit him in mid air–knocking them both into a nearby building and causing bricks to topple down.

  I couldn’t see them since they had pounded through the building and were now inside. The five-story structure began to shake in its harm, and pieces of debris began to plummet to the street–hitting nearby cars.

  “Go! Go! Go! Jen shouted.

  Tannah shoved the car into gear, spinning tires. We sped in the direction of the rapidly disintegrating building. Bricks and mortar fell, hitting the car and cracking the windshield. I didn’t think we could make it through but we did. And just as we passed, it collapsed, covering the street.