Project Songbird

Chapter 21

I made my way back to the medical ward to bring Jack and Tyler some food.
Jack was muttering to himself.
He looked absolutely terrible.
His hair stuck up in random places.
His clothes were starting to have a bit of a smell.
His eyes were dull and almost lifeless.
"Here Jack, breakfast." I set the plate in front of him. He doesn't acknowledge my presence. I'm starting to get very worried about him. I step away, glancing at Mark. He seemed a bit more peaceful than the night before. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before the healers can help him.
I make my way over to Tyler, handing him his breakfast. He takes it, quietly eating. He still has yet to break his silence. I wish I knew how to help you.
"Ethan, Travis found a hot spring, would you help get Tyler and Jack down for a bath?" Bob asks.
What about Mark?
"Amy is working on bringing the hot water up to give Mark a sponge bath." He replies before Felix, Travis, and Rose make their way inside.
"I've always wanted to bathe in a hot spring." Travis smiles at the thought.
"It definitely sounds nice." Rose agrees.
I walk over to Tyler, "We're going to bathe in a hot spring." He looks up from his food and just nods his head. He looked like he was ready for a bath.
Travis makes his way to Jack and lightly touches his shoulder, "Hey, bud, it's time for a bath. It'll help you feel better." Jack glances at Travis and his soft tone.
"Don't worry, Amy is bringing water up for Mark and promised to stay by his side until you return." Travis informs him. Jack mutters softly but he slowly uncurls from his position next to Mark and stands up, nearly stumbling from his weakened legs. Travis steadies him.
Tyler stands next to me.
"Alright, if we are ready, we'll head out." Felix turns around to lead the way.

It was a breathtaking sight.
There were two hot springs, next to one another; actually they might as well have been a small lake that was cut in half by some rocks. There was a tall waterfall that emptied into the springs below.
"Wow," I breathe out.
"I didn't realize we were close to a hot spring." Wade states as we begin to make our way down to the springs.
The water was unbelievably clear. I could see all the way to the bottom where little fish swam around minding their business.
"It's really never been touched by mankind." Bob said. He already removed his shirt, and started to remove his pants.
"It's not too hot either." Wade speaks up as he dunks his hand into the water.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Rose yells before he runs and dives into the water. We all watch for a second before he resurfaces, "Wow! That feels amazing!"
Bob and his son are the next ones in the water. The child yelps excited as he starts to splash the water.
I turn to Tyler as Travis begins to strip Jack out of his clothes.
"Are you ready?" I ask him.
Tyler nods his head.
I steady him as he removes his clothes. I keep my eyes focused elsewhere.
He taps my shoulder and I help him make his way over to the water. He sinks in slowly, almost immediately finding a place to rest against. The hopeless look slowly disappears as he relaxes in the water. I remove my clothes and slip into the water next to Tyler. Felix walks over and offers us both a rag to wash with. "Hailey got some from the city after breakfast."
I got a better look at his chiseled body.
His scars were more prominent now that they weren't being covered by his clothes. It looked nasty. Felix clears his throat and I realize I'm staring, "Sorry!" I take the rags that were handed to us and dip one in the water.
"It's alright." He huffs softly, "I know why you were staring." He takes his own rag and begins to wash his body. "Everyone does when they see it for the first time."
"...I shouldn't have been staring."
"Ethan, it's alright. It's just a scar. This was years ago, it's nothing but a mere reminder." Felix places his hand upon his neck, tracing the scar for a few seconds before he makes his way to a different spot. I make my way behind Tyler to wash his back. The scars he had were just as nasty as Felix's. I can't help but slowly move my fingers over them. I feel a shiver shake Tyler and he leans slightly forward from my fingers. He grips his arms to try and stop his shake.
"Sorry," I pulled my hand back.
"It's alright." I hear him whisper.
I was taken aback at his sudden words.
"I shouldn't cower. It's not what a guardian should do." He keeps his voice quiet.
"What do you mean?" I was confused.
He lowers his head, staring into the water, "What kind of guardian flinches at being touched?"
I furrow my brows, "It's a natural reaction Tyler, you're still your own person. You have your own feelings and reactions. You are not just a guardian."
"Am I?" He questions and suddenly everything makes sense.
He doesn't see himself anymore. All he can see is what they made him to be.
"Of course you are." I reinforce my words. I wade to stand in front of Tyler and catch his gaze.
"Whatever they did to you doesn't matter anymore. You're not just a guardian. You are you. You are Tyler. A sweet and caring friend. Someone a lot of people can look up to and trust, but also someone who is allowed his own emotions. Allowed his own reactions and thoughts. You're allowed to be protected. You're allowed to rest."
He studies my face, almost as if looking for something.
"No one is going to fault you." I take his hand.
"But Mark-"
"There was nothing we could have done. You had lost a lot of blood, it's amazing you were still conscious." I interrupt him.
He takes in a breath as he thinks over our conversation.
"You can cry, you can feel your emotions, you do not have to be that strong of a rock for everyone anymore. You are allowed to rest, let us be your rock." I continue in a softer voice as I go back to gently washing his body with the spring water. He just nods his head and closes his eyes.
"Does the water make you feel a bit better?" I hear Travis and glance over to see him washing Jack. He hadn't said a word since we left Mark. Here in the natural sunlight, Jack looked worse for wear. His natural pale skin didn't have that glow that it usually does. His eyes matched Tyler's, dull and almost lifeless.
"I know that you are worried for your partner, but he is in good hands. Amy is the best doctor we have and she has disclosed to me that he seems to be making improvement, albeit slowly." Travis tries to cheer Jack up.
"Don't take offense Travis." Felix says, "They are a mated pair, until Mark is better, Jack might as well be considered sick."
"Mated pair?" I question his words, "That's a weird way to put it."
Felix crosses his arms, "Not really." He leans his head back slightly, "It is just a part of their experiments. The scientists declared it that way, if I recall correctly..." He shifts further down in the water.
"Part of their experiments?" Rose asks.
Felix huffs a bit, "Have none of you read the papers??"
"No?" I question.
"All of us are documented creatures. The scientists wrote down everything. Every little thing that happened to us. Every little change. I personally found it disgusting." Felix replies.
"Oh yes, the papers." Wade rolls his eyes, "Reading those made it seem like I was reading something out of a science fiction book. They were very detailed, down to very personal information. Felix using the term 'mated pair' is what the scientists would call couples. Your relationship changed the way experiments were used on you. They wanted to see change, and change they saw."
"That's weird." Rose sits on one of the rocks that spilt the springs, he had put his boxers back on, sunning himself. "Andrew is the only scientist I ever saw. He was full of anger and bitterness. Always ranting about the incident that took his daughter. Sometimes he'd get a bit too in his head, he would throw things around and then just scream and cry always yelling at some invisible person named 'God'. Always asking why his daughter was taken from him. Of course, I chalked it up to him being crazy, but I guess it makes a bit of sense. What little of the story I know."
"The man that played God, asking why his daughter was taken from him?" Felix scoffs, "What a joke. That man created his own hell and he has reaped what he has sown."
"I wonder about his wife. She is there in the picture that is stuffed in his wallet." I chime in.
"Who cares about her." Felix is swift to shut me down, "If she was sane enough, she left."
I make a slight face but I keep quiet. I didn't feel like continuing the conversation. Felix was harsh with his words, always on guard.
"Where'd you get that scar on your neck anyway??" Rose breaks the silence. He's looking at Felix.
"Tyler gave it to me." He states bluntly.
"The Guardian??" Rose looks utterly confused. I feel Tyler tense up at the mention of Felix's scar.
"It was during the incident. In all fairness, none of us were within our right mind. I'm sure if he hadn't shut us down, everyone would have died that day." Felix continues.
He wasn't kidding, it really doesn't bother him anymore.
"If it wasn't for the scar, I wouldn't believe you." Rose admits, "The Guardian had been nothing but kind to us."
"You met him after we brought him back from the dead. Tyler was quite ruthless in the beginning." Felix said.
Tyler tenses again.
"Okay, okay, guys, enough storytime." Bob cuts in, "There are young ears here." Reminding us of his child playing in the shallow water. Felix shrugs and then lays on his back in the water, doing a pretty convincing impression of a buoy. Rose looks at Tyler, in a new light, he's curious. I can see it in his eyes. It falls quiet. Tyler makes his way out of the water and begins to dress in his dry clothes. He looks up towards the mountain and I see that he is bobbing his head slightly. He's counting. He might be disappointed. Our numbers have shrunk dramatically over the few days since the escape. People either went a different way than the mountains or didn't make it.
Tyler lets out a heavy sigh, running his hands through his messy hair.
'I am the only guardian.' His words echo in my head. 'I would lose my sanity to see you all drop dead without being able to protect you all.'
The memory makes my heart twist and I grumble slightly. Tyler turns to us, gesturing back to the mountain. Clearly he had spoken as much as he wanted today. We acknowledge that he's going to make his way back up to the spot we came from. The bath seems to have given him a bit more energy.
Now isn't the time, but I want to tell you how I feel. I want you to know that my heart belongs to you. Your near death broke me and it hurts me to see you so broken. I wish I could take your heart and your mind and heal it. But I don't have that ability. I'm not a healer, the most I can do is be there for you while you slowly work your way through the pain that none of us know about.
I take my own rag and begin to wash my body with the warm water. I began to relax a little bit, thinking hard about our next possible move.
Stage man gave them the information. Felix has yet to fill me in but he claims that we were given enough information to take the next step. The step of finding the person who decided this whole situation. The whole Project Songbird. The hospital. The kidnappings.
"We'll get to them eventually Ethan, don't stress yourself." Wade speaks.
I look over at him, he has joined Rose on the rocks to sun himself.
I'm not trying to, just gathering my thoughts. So much has happened, and sitting here in this spring almost makes it feel like some horrible fever dream.
"I don't know how many times I had wished that very thing." Wade replies "Actually a part of me still wishes that it was. That someday I'm going to open my eyes and I'll be home on the couch."
Do you ever wonder if anyone is searching for you?
"Not anymore. It's been so many years. They probably held a funeral. I don't think any of my family are holding out hoping that one day I could waltz through the front door. I don't know if I would even want to go back. All that grieving, only to find out that I'm not dead? Sounds like emotional whiplash." Wade shuffles on his rock, trying to get comfortable.
You wouldn't go back if given the opportunity?
"In all honesty, I don't know what I would do if given the opportunity." He answers me.
"I'm going to take Jack back, don't take too much longer, the ladies wish to come and bathe as well." Travis informs us as he walks Jack out of the water and back to his clothes.