Species Unknown [Book 1: Aves]

FIFTEEN

Day 35
C.R.O.S.S. Laboratories
Aves Department
The Observatory

IT HAD BEEN a few days since Elias endured that test. His body was still weak but was recovering with gusto. Dr. Pierce had instructed me to keep an eye on him and record his recovery while she forwarded the data to Dr. Grant.

While recovering, Elias's usual routine was put on pause, and he spent most of his time in his 'room'. I tried my best to ignore the fact that it was more like a cage, and instead, I focused on how much I had begun to enjoy spending time with him without obligations.

During these days, Dr. Pierce spent most of the day in the office, leaving Elias and me by ourselves for the most part. With this lack of supervision, I was able to sneak things into the facility for him. Things I had mentioned during our sessions before, but he did not understand.

Considering he was mostly bed-bound for the first few days of recovery, I brought him things to keep him entertained. I introduced him to whatever I could sneak in under my clothes. This usually consisted of various candies, music, and most importantly old books. I would leave them for him to read as he pleaded, but he seldom touched them. Instead, waiting for opportune breaks in which I would read to him. Still, on numerous occasions I found his eyes on me as I read, and I wondered if it was really the books that had him interested.

After a few days, he finally felt well enough to move around, so today we decided to spend our time in The Observatory. At his request, we sat together in the grass meadow just a few feet away from the pond. The soothing sounds of rushing water made a tranquil environment and I found myself laying back on the soft grass and closing my eyes.

I heard a movement beside me and figured that Elias had the same idea. I closed my eyes and listened to the various bird sounds, naming each one in my head just as I had done the first day I arrived here.

It had only been a few weeks, but I knew that I wasn't the same girl. I was no longer blissfully unaware of what C.R.O.S.S. Laboratories have been doing behind closed doors. That ignorance vanished when I met Elias. From that day on, my purpose in life had changed. The once excited intern was gone, replaced with a determined girl willing to do anything to save a friend.

A friend...

Is that what we are? The question floated around my mind, unable to find an answer. Turning my head, I glanced over at Elias who also had decided he was due for a nap in the grass.

His eyes were closed, and his features were relaxed. His lips were slightly parted and his chest moved steadily with each intake of breath. Around his head, his soft midnight hair was spread like a halo across the grass.

My fingers twitched with the sudden urge to run my fingers through it. With great effort, I tore my eyes away from him and looked up at the glass ceiling above us.

It was so clear that I could see the soft pillowy clouds float above us and out of view, teasing us with their freedom. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and imagined what it would be like to fly.

I'm not sure how much time had passed because before I knew it, I was being awakened by the feeling of a gentle caress across my cheek.

Memories of my lips against his skin rushed through my mind and I twisted away from his touch as a pleasant shiver ran through my body. Now completely awake, I turned my head to meet his curious eyes peeking through a tuft of ebony hair. He was watching me with fascination and I could see a question forming.

"Not normal?" he asked tilting his head. His billowy locks of raven hair shifted with the movement.

"What?" I said without thinking, my mind was still flustered. I couldn't help but be distracted by the glow of warmth simmering where his touch was.

Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I looked up to see his confused gaze. When I saw the question rolling around his sea blue eyes like an impending wave, my senses came back to me. He was simply repeating what I did to him the other day. He didn't understand the concept of intimacy outside the relationships he has with the researchers here. I wondered if he even knew what it was like to care about someone, or maybe even to love someone.

I doubted it. How could he? He grew up in isolation without love, friendship, or family, for he has had no exposure to them. He had no cognizance of what a family is; he has never thought of a life outside the confines of his glass prison. This is all he has ever had, and all he has ever known. The only touch he has received is the stinging prick of a needle, the only hug from the cold metal cuffs that strap him down.

Yet, despite all this, he seemed relatively at peace with his situation. No doubt because he knew no other way.

He was utterly fascinating and I tried to tell myself that it was because the scientist in me couldn't stay away. Yet despite my best efforts to keep my feelings at bay, my mind always wandered back to him like a moth to light.

I realized I had let my mind wander without giving him an answer when I noticed him shift uncomfortably away from me, focusing his eyes on the stream beside us. His mouth was now set in a firm line of quiet contemplation. I could practically see him searching his mind, sorting through the last few moments to find what he did wrong.

But he didn't do anything wrong, you did. The voice in my head chided.

I couldn't help but agree. It was I who initiated physical contact with him first, so why am I suddenly so...so uncomfortable? 

My guilt built up inside me, threatening to swallow me whole unless I did something. With his wing just barely out of my reach, I couldn't help myself.

Reaching out, I let the tip of my fingers brush the silky white feathers. He flinched but, to my surprise, didn't move out of the way.

The feathers beneath my fingers shuddered as I traced down their smooth surface. Looking back up at Elias, my eyes met his blue ones. My hand froze as I regarded him, his eyes were alight with an emotion I was beginning to recognize. An emotion that I feared.

Gently, I removed my hand from his wing and let it fall into my lap. I couldn't meet his eyes, so I kept my gaze down at the grass between us.

"Sorry," I apologized, taking a breath. "I should have asked first."

It was silent for a moment before he responded.

"Asked what?" Came his soft reply. His voice was always so gentle as if at any moment I would run away screaming.

Not that I can blame him for that after our first meeting.

I let out a soft chuckle at the memory but still refused to look up. I kept my eyes down, pretending not to feel the heat of his gaze on me.

"For permission," I began, clasping my hands neatly on my lap. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

He was silent for a moment before he finally replied, "Why?"

I frowned. Why should I care if I made him uncomfortable? Why did I care about him at all? Why didn't I just follow the rules and treat him like everyone else in this facility? Why couldn't I just give him shots and not feel the pain as if I was piercing my own arm? Why couldn't I just leave at the end of the day without my chest aching when I saw the glimmer of sadness in his eyes as he watched me leave, knowing he couldn't follow?

Staring down at my hand neatly folded in my lap, I felt my cheeks warm as my mind shuffled through all the points in time that led us here. Starting from when my hand first met his through the glass, to the long days we spent together. This emotion grew with the comforting words I spoke and stayed with the soft replies he gave.

Only when I thought his life was ending did I let the dam burst. I clung to him and comforted him in a way I had never done with anyone else before and, at the time, it felt right.

Now, it was time to confront my own actions.

I let out a long breath. I knew that I wouldn't be able to take back my next few words, and I could only hope that I would be able to explain them.

"Because that's what people do when they care about someone."