THESE HIDDEN WINGS

[176+177] INTER COLOR GAMES: DAY TWO

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"You may not understand what I am, but let's not pretend you don't know enough."

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THE HOURS seemed to fly by as I stared out into the stillness of the ocean. The stars were fading as the sun peaked from the horizon giving a slight hue to the blackened sky.

I had been here the whole night. Lost to the world. Lost to myself. Lost to the wind.

But not lonely.

The sound of waves kept me company, the far-away sounds of seagulls lulled me, and the taste of salt in the air reminded me there were more bitter things in this world than what I had done. It was comforting in a sense. The ocean was comforting.

My body felt stiff. My knees ached. I had been seated on them for hours. But I didn't mind. My gaze dropped to my open palms, staring at them again. I have looked at them in moments for hours. Remembering all they did.

And still, they shake.

Pursing my lips, I sighed, resting them on my knees, squeezing tightly.

With the morning sun came questions. Was everyone alright? Had they survived the night? Had they found it?

The thing I created?

The image of the creature purged my mind once more, and I shut my eyes, grunting inwardly at the feeling. My chest burned.

It felt so heavy I had the urge to rub the spot over my heart, even my throat felt dry.

God, I hoped I didn't hurt anyone else the way I hurt Naala.

Because none of them deserved it.

My fingers trembled and I squeezed my thighs again trying to take deep breaths.

Deep, deep, breaths.

My wrist suddenly began to tingle and my eyes darted to the weird feeling. It felt less of an itch more of a burn.

My eyebrows drew in, pulling up my sleeve. It had never done that before.

My eyes widened at what I saw.

There was a glow.

An actual glow on my wrist. The scar, the scar the rash had made, was glowing. It was a mere gleam, but in the darkened surroundings, it wasn't hard to miss.

Panic settled at the sight, an increase in my heart rate.

This wasn't normal.

This wasn't normal— OFCOURSE IT WASN'T NORMAL. My scars were glowing.

I stared at it, paralyzed for a moment.

Everything about me wasn't normal.

I struggled to breathe, my hands tightening against my thighs, and I began to pant.