CHAPTER 30

There's a raking sound—almost like claws on a window pane. You pick up your head, mentally preparing yourself for another emotionally draining meeting with Cross, but the slender figure doesn't appear. Instead it's a bird. Golden feathers and a wingspan that stretches past your entire being—plumed tail feathers that reflect the light of the wall behind it. All things considered, it's the most Earth thing you've seen thus far, and brings a smile to your face subconsciously. This you can understand, this you know. It may not be exactly like any bird you've seen, but for the moment that doesn't matter. It floats its way down to you, the scraping sound you heard being its talons raking down from above; there must be a point where the ceiling dips in almost like a tube.

The bird comes to eye level, you can see that its sparkling eyes are two different colors—a bright blue in one and hazel in the other. The small gusts of wind fanned on you from its beating wings brings a chill up your spine, it grips its talons to your legs which makes you wretch in the restraints. The pain's sharp, you try to shake the bird off, but it doesn't let go. "Stay still." A familiar feeling spreads through your body, hearing voices inside your head. Wow, you know a situation's messed when hearing voices in your head's a good thing.

"I'm here to help."

The bird turns its head and pecks once at your forearm, you scream out when the white blood substitute begins pouring out. What kind of help is this? The bird pecks again, its beak like a drill into your arm. You scream even louder as it goes in faster and harder. You look away, you can't watch your final moments—you're feeling hot, going to pass out. Seconds turn to minutes, and it feels like your whole body is on fire. Everything hurts. Your legs hit the ground.

Confused, you open your eyes and notice your left arm dangling from the tether above you. The bird had severed your arm, you're shaking as your brain tries to make the connection, blood drips slowly down from your stump arm onto the floor below. Something is different about your new body—blood would be gushing out of you if you were normal. Maybe how these bodies are constructed leaves less blood in the exact same places?

The pain begins immediately as the bird begins on your right arm. You fall completely as the bird separates you from your other arm. You're lying on your back, staring up towards the darkness above.

"You'll live through this. Just keep breathing."

The bird's voice is a smooth sound that massages your mind. You feel its talons latch into your body, you wince as your breath is sucked out of you. "The pain is unavoidable, I apologize."

Your body goes limp in the bird's grasp. You remain conscious, watching as you're lifted into the air. The bird flaps its wings and you both begin rising through the darkness above. The bird immediately raises its head and the plumes of each of its feathers begin to glow a radiant light in the dark. You see a circular vent in the ceiling—the escape. You're flown through the vent and the bird picks up speed, faster and faster it flies upward through the shaft. The wind is smacking across your face, making it hard to breathe. It isn't long before you lose consciousness.

"We're almost there. You'll understand very soon."