Chapter 17: Altair

  Something was wrong. Utterly wrong.

  “I knew that you were perfect for the team!”

  Please, don’t touch me.

  “Yeah, I never saw Edana hesitate before! You must have done something to her mind.”

  Don’t… talk.

  Altair, what’s wrong?

  Please, just stay quiet.

  That new kid is crazy strong. If I went against the Ice Queen, I would’ve died a thousand times.

  “You don’t look good.”

  I gasped, trying to breathe but I was hyperventilating, and I couldn’t stop the panic rising in me.

  “What do you mean? He’s been punched and kicked by Edana. Who in their right minds would feel good after that? He needs-”

  “Rest! Is there… a bed around here?”

  I shook violently, trying to stop a wave of nausea that threatened to send me to my knees in the middle of the Training Hall.

  “Well, we could just show you your new room then. I wasn’t expecting to show you this so quickly, but we can stop over there if you want,” Amber hesitantly spoke, and I weakly nodded.

  “Let’s go.”

  I bit back a groan as my stomach seemed to lurch out of my body and my head throbbed painfully.

  “You don’t really look good. Are you sure you don’t want to see Eir-”

  “-No! I mean, that’s fine. It’s not that bad.”

  I couldn’t see anymore, and my vision faded in and out as the voices drowned out my voice.

  “Well, congratulations on being in the top team of the Institute! Many people have been clamoring for a spot, but Amber always rejected them because of Edana. However, you must have shown promise for Amber, because she decided to choose you despite Edana's protests. She has a good eye for these things; she’s the leader of our team anyway. But, Edana was pretty mad up there, even though she didn’t look like it. She must have pummeled your intestines into bits,” he continued to talk, and that didn’t help my intestines at all.

  “I see,” I blindly replied, my vision now swirling with black dots.

  “We have so much to do too! Once you feel better, we’re going to ask Dr. Liam for permission to peruse the armory and get a weapon for yourself. Peruse? Man, I should use that word more often. It sounds cool. Anyway, everyone needs to have a weapon down here; when they go out into the open ocean, things are super dangerous. Wild animals have a tendency to snap at us out of curiosity, and while it doesn’t hurt them, we could die out there. Also, there are illegal fishing boats out there, so it wouldn’t do if you became part of their catch. They treat hybrids like sea animals these days; the government supports it and they sell our gills for accessories while they sell our organs for transplants, if we’re still alive by then. So, we’re both attacked by animals and humans alike out there.”

  I tried to heave, but thank everything that was living I didn’t spew anything out this time.

  “Oh right, now you’re in a team, we need to test out your specialty! It’s always fun to see that. Amber’s specialty is animal communication, so not only is she well-versed in Ocean Speech, but also in Animal Speech, which is another form of communication that the wild animals use. It’s great for outdoor expeditions when we get stuck in animal-related incidents. My specialty is information-gathering and observation skills. I’m specializing in becoming a spy, so those are my trained abilities. Of course, you probably know what Edana’s specialty is. She’s kind of like our vanguard. Her specialty is combat and defense. She and Soar make up our offense and defense, which is why they’re both incredibly fast and agile. Anyway, we’ll figure that out when you come to one of our missions and work with us. That’s how most people figure out their specialty-”

  “Kyle, move away. Altair, get on Cleo.”

  Thank God for Amber. I blindly stood there while I felt her arms scoop me up and plopped me onto Cleo.

  Altair-

  Please stay still. I don’t think that I can hold on any longer.

  My mind gasped, and he instantly froze like a statue as if he heard me.

  I’ll get you to the Student dormitories as fast as I can.

  Cleo’s firm, determined voice echoed in my head, which only made me want to throw up even more.

  The ride passed by in a painful, dizzy blur. I swayed to my room marked with a number that I couldn’t read through my blurry eyes, and after Amber and Kyle both lifted me onto the bed and left, I fell asleep.

  I was surrounded by something warm, but I couldn’t see anything.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “My darling Altair. You’re my little soaring eagle, floating up in the clouds above this dreary world. I can’t wait to meet you. I wonder whose eyes you’ll have? Your father’s, or mine? Maybe you’ll have his hair, but you’ll have my eyes. No, that’s not right. This isn’t a dramatic film or movie. It’s all up to God at this point. Whatever you’ll be, I will always love you. I hope to see you, darling.”

  Mom’s voice seemed ethereal and angel-like, and I could feel warmth seeping into her voice. I thought that I saw images floating in my mind, but I only caught brown hair and green eyes.

  The scene switched to something else, and I instantly transported into another scenario.

  I was in a hospital room, and the curtains were drawn tightly around me as monitors and a breathing mask were attached to me. I was afraid, and I shivered in fright when the nurses touched me. I could hear their thoughts whirring behind the calm and smiling faces, which only made me shrivel in horror.

  Dr. Kustai likes his scalpels all lined up beside him, but in the end, he only uses one. Why does he force us all the trouble of bringing it out and sanitizing the entire set for him? It seems unreasonable, considering his skill.

  The anesthesia should be working by now. Why isn’t the child asleep yet? We’ve given him as much anesthesia as a normal hybrid boy could take. How much more does his body need for the effects to come? Nope, he’s a Telepath, never mind. No amount of anesthesia would work on him. Only the presence of another Telepath could shut this boy’s eyes. I wish that I could find something that would act as anesthesia for Telepaths. That way, this boy doesn’t have to stare at a blank sheet in traumatized horror when we operate on him. Dr. Kustai, I wish you would come in now to make this easier. I don’t want the boy to feel scared, but he won’t even let me touch him.

  Medicine to make me sleep? I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to close my eyes forever. The pressure of their voices built up inside of me, and I felt like I was about to explode from the thoughts that circled around me.

  “Stop! Stop talking!” I cried, curling up into a ball, screaming, wishing, praying, that I could just be near Mom and be away from this scary situation.

  Everyone looked at me in worry and sadness, like they knew what was going on.

  “It’s okay, Altair. We’re not here to hurt you. We want you to feel better, but we’re waiting on someone. Can you wait with us? Oh, come here child. It’s going to be fine. We will help you get better, okay? Here, hold my-”

  The cacophony of voices only made me even more frightened, but a single voice cut through the din of voices.

  “This is a special operation, everybody. Now, step away from the patient.”

  The same voice that I heard throughout my entire childhood rang clearly, and I almost jumped out of the bed toward the voice.

  “It’s you again, Shifty-hair man!” I smiled, holding my arms out toward him.

  “Is that what you call me now? Fine, Little Eagle, you’re okay now. I know that this looks scary and that these people’s voices can be terrifying, but I am going to do something about it. I will make a small mark on the underside of your wrist and add a little machine that will make the voices go away. You won’t be able to hear those voices in your head, at least for a long while. Does that sound good? Then you don’t have to hear what those creepy guys over there are saying in their minds. I’m sure that it’s not good, isn’t it?”

  He gently placed me on his lap, and I smiled back at him.

  “That guy says that he’s annoyed that you keep telling him to clean and bring out all your scalpels when you only use one.”

  My little self pointed at the red-faced man, who seemed to be opening and closing his mouth like a gaping fish that couldn’t breathe.

  “Oh, is it? I’ll talk to him later. But first, you know that you’re special, right? So, I want you to meet this friend of mine. He really wants to help you, and he’s going to be the one making the mark and inserting the machine. Is that okay with you?”

  The man smiled kindly at me, and I shivered at the thought of him leaving my side.

  “What will you do?”

  I gripped him, not wanting to let go.

  “I’ll be here with you. I’ll hold you the entire way. When you feel scared, just grip on me, okay? I won’t let you go.”

  I could see that he held my gripped hand reassuringly, but I couldn’t feel anything.

  “Why don’t I feel anything when you hold this hand, Shifty-Hair Man?” I whimpered, and he looked at me.

  “If you don’t feel anything, it won’t hurt. If you stay still, then everything will be fine.”

  He positioned me better on the bed so that he was sitting comfortably on the bed with me on his lap.

  “Where is Mom?”

  I wanted to struggle, but being in his presence made me sleepy.

  “She’s waiting for you outside. She can’t wait to see you after this.”

  he beamed at me, and the best part of looking up at him was that I couldn’t hear anything except the words that he spoke to me.

  “Dr. Kustai, are you ready?”

  A nurse in scrubs looked at him, and he nodded.

  “James, is everything okay on your side?”

  He looked over to whisper to another man in glasses who waved cheerily at me.

  “Ready to go, Kustai.”

  He held up a thumb, and the man gently extended my numb hand away from me, while another nurse placed a curtain behind the Shifty-hair man so that I couldn’t see where my arm was.

  “Is it starting?” I nervously asked, unable to feel or move my arm at all.

  “No, not yet. Hold onto me, Altair. I’m here for you,” he soothed, patting my back.

  He held me the entire time, and every time I whimpered in fear, he would hold me more tightly and hum me to sleep. I woke and fell asleep in random intervals; sometimes I was alert and holding the Shifty-hair man in a death grip, while at other times I fell against his side, unconscious and blissfully numb.

  But, when I woke up from that, the man was gone.

  Every time I closed and reopened my eyes, he was gone, like a fleeting wind that disappeared the moment I stopped concentrating on it. He said that he wouldn’t let go, but why didn’t I see him when I woke up from that? Why didn’t I see his reassuring smile, telling me why I couldn’t remember how I ended up here and that I couldn’t hear voices now?

  Each time I saw him, he was wearing a different disguise, a different hairstyle, and a different pair of eyes.

  But, the only thing that stayed constant about him was his voice.

  And now, I couldn’t hear him anymore.

  I suddenly jumped off my bed, falling to the cold floor in a clatter.

  What in the world just happened?

  Were those my memories?

  “Hey, Altair? You okay?”

  My thoughts were interrupted by Kyle’s voice, and the nausea began trickling back like a foreboding shadow.

  “Yeah,” I answered shakily, hoping that I didn’t catch some new disease that was going to slowly kill me from the inside.

  “Amber wanted you to pick out a weapon to protect yourself with before we have dinner. You up for it?” Kyle hesitated.

  “Yeah.”

  I tried to smile, but I’m pretty sure it looked like a grimace.

  “That’s great! Let’s go.”