Elements of a Selfish Desire

Black, void, empty, lifeless, and dark, tangibly dark, was the space the hybrid found himself in. It was unnerving, yet strangely comforting all at the same time. Calloused hands raked across the earthen floor, and it was only then he realized he was lying flat on his stomach. Slowly pushing himself up, he rose to stand upright and brushed his clothes off gently. The humanistic instinct to call out for someone else was immediately overtaken by his more perceptual, otherworldly side. In the supernatural, hardly anyone or anything was trustworthy, let alone friendly. He also knew intuitively that this place was so deeply hollow, his voice would not have a chance to be heard before it was swallowed in the lightless abyss.

A sharp pain in his shoulder brought his attention to a heavy object that hung deadweight behind him. Furrowing his brows, his right hand came to smooth over it. Tattered, torn, yet somehow still soft and silky under his fingertips, whatever it was caused discomfort to radiate throughout his chest now as he touched it. It was attached to him. Where those feathers? Wait. He had wings?

Fix it, the thought eased into his mind effortlessly, and he paused a minute to wonder how he was supposed to do that.

Despite the internal question, instinct took over. With a firm grip to the injured extremity, he popped it back into place as one would a dislocated shoulder. Every joint popped in rapid succession like firecrackers all the way up the spine of the appendage. Though that feeling was liberating, searing pain from putting it back in place crashed over him in a shock wave that his human side almost couldn't bear. Again, his hybrid side took over and with a silent command, the agonizing sensation left. He was healed, just like that. Formerly pain-shut eyes opened and he could now see through the piercing darkness. He felt his human half suppress itself as if out of obedience, and he felt suddenly more awake, alive, and aware than he could ever remember being. Somehow, this space and time seemed more real than any place in time he had been before.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he took in the sight of the mighty set of wings he possessed in this realm. They were sinfully black as raven feathers, yet they held an iridescent shine. Why he had them, he didn't know, but he was certain they weren’t there just for good looks. There was a reason for everything when it came to the make-up of creatures like him. The natural conclusion for most would be that wings were made for flying, but things didn’t always carry the same meaning in different realms and dimensions. Further inspection of the rest of his body found his wrists to be wrapped in black leather cuff-like sheaths, reminiscent of what many fighters wore in earlier civilizations.

Was he a warrior here?

A rumbling from somewhere nearby caused rocks to crack and tumble off the walls he was not close enough to see, and it alerted him it was time to get moving. A drafty breeze brushed around him, but it did not bare a cooler temperature as one would imagine. Instead, it seemed to be taking from the air around him. It was a bit eerie, to say the least.

The sound of water trickling its way down the sides of the cave-like room came into earshot, but with the sinister tone to this place, he found himself hoping that it really was just water. The terrain changed under his feet now. Midnight black shoes that blended in with his surroundings crunched pebbles and other bits of sediment under their soles and it made for an uncomfortable trek. The temperature dropped every handful of yards that he walked, and he half wondered if he was about to stumble into an underground pool of water.

Don't trust your eyes. a fresh wave of wind seemed to whisper.

With each step he seemed to come more alive, more comfortable in his own skin. Each breath was crisper than the last, and his senses began to open up further. They all started to flow as one, which was an indescribable feeling that he had never experienced before. It made a night and day difference, for sure.

Knowledge increased as well as he continued. It was like energy was emanating from this place, and Zack’s run down soul was eager to absorb it. He now knew for certain he had been there before, and that he was looking for someone.

And that someone was already here. Watching him. He could feel it in his blood, which was a strange but highly interesting sensation. He pressed on, relying fully on his senses to guide him. It was very rare that he allowed his supernatural half take the lead, and he definitely had never allowed it to happen fully. He found it empowering, which was surprising to him.

After what seemed like a pretty lengthy journey in the timeless dimension, he finally came to a wall. It was rugged, thick, solid, and slicked with condensation that, again, he found himself hoping was water. Leaning closer, he found the surface to smell heavily of a mixture of sulfur and some sort of metallic substance. With a closer look, he found the liquid to be a smoky onyx color. The human portion within was confused by this. The beast inside him knew precisely what it is, and it put him on high alert.

Don't trust your eyes, the voiceless whisper reminded him in a tuft of unsourced current once again.

Jade green eyes, almost glowing with power, looked up to see a ledge about a hundred fifty feet above his head. Before he had a chance to gage his options, he blinked and found himself exactly where he needed to be. Capitalizing on the power within versus trying to map out options was a nice perk to being what he was.

A smoky lime green light emanated dimly from another cavern that appeared to be an offshoot of where he stood. At first glance, one might think it was a light source. Instinct told him that who he was looking for was contained therein.

You found me. The unknown entity spoke telepathically.

Reveal yourself, he commanded with a hefty authority he previously hadn’t been aware he possessed.

I wouldn't be making demands here, Zack. I have come here to help you. The hue that contrasted itself against the vast blackness of their surroundings began to pulsate just a bit, and it was in a way that seemed to coincide with a heartbeat.

How do you know my name? he almost growled in response. Though he didn't sense danger, he knew better than to trust what and who he couldn't see.

How do you not know mine?it was a fair counter, he supposed. Many hybrids were much more adept at this than he was a decade in.

Enlighten me.

+

“Meg….” the rhythm mumbled as he began to rouse. “Oh….Om….”

“Zack?”

“Omeg….a…” sleepy green orbs slowly opened to the bright lights of what he found to likely be an exam room. Lovely. Just when he was getting somewhere.

“He’s waking up.” Johnny said with a slap to their other friend to wake him out of his sleep. “Brian.”

He didn't know whether he had just had a dream, or if he had been pulled into another dimension somehow. All he knew was that he was presently in a hospital, and he had to find a way out of it. Preferably one that didn't entail him bending time and space.

“Bathroom,” he garbled through much too dry lips and moved to stand. Yes, he had a full bladder, but he needed some space to buy himself some time to do some damage control.

He was typically slow moving after a night of partying, so he knew that taking some extra time wouldn't seem out of the ordinary. With a once-over of himself in the mirror, it didn't take long to figure out what had landed him in the predicament he was in. The challenge was correcting the issues before the other two began to ask questions.

He knew he had to be as nonchalant as possible when he exited, and that would be hard to do with as much alcohol as he had in him. With a sigh, he begrudgingly called his body into sobriety. He was not amused. As a rule, he did not make use of his giftings on a daily basis, and much preferred to live life as normally as he could. Desperate times called for desperate measures, though, and he certainly couldn't just walk out and tell his friends the truth.

Now finished with his work, he put on his game face and exited the on-suite bathroom. Not so much as a word left him as he unceremoniously disrobed before the lead and bassist without batting an eyelash. A noise of disapproval left the youngest of the three, and he held up a hand to shield himself from the unwelcome view.

“Warn me next time.” Johnny groaned.

“Dude, what are you doing? The doctor hasn't seen you yet,” Brian protested.

“I don't need to see a doctor, I'm fine.”

“You need to get your back checked out. What the hell happened?”

“What do you mean? What's wrong with my back?” turning now, he moved to grab his shoes and the other two let out surprised exclamations when what they had been referring to was nowhere to be found.

“What the hell?”

“Holy shit, man. How did that—but you were—where did they go?”

“Where did what go?” continuing on as if he didn't have the slightest clue as to what they were talking about, he pulled his shirt down over the mysteriously smooth, heavily inked skin of his back.

“You had some weird wounds and abrasions of some sort on your back. That's why we brought you in here,” the chocolate eyed man stated with a step forward to be sure his eyes were truly seeing what they saw.

“No idea what you're talking about. I feel fine.” With a wave of his hand that did much more than dismiss the now-unfounded claims, he grabbed his phone and wallet to push into his pockets.

Once outside of the room with the other two in tow, he checked both ways before taking a left towards the nurse’s station. Questions of utter confusion left their lips one right after another until he finally stopped walking with a small sigh. He just didn’t have the patience to listen to all of it all the way back to the car.

“Guys, everything is fine. A little dehydration is nothing I can’t fix at home.”

“How do you know that's all it is? You were out cold when the nurse came in.” Johnny said with a scrunch of his face in perplexion.

“Yeah man. No one said anything about dehydration. We were just concerned about your back.”

Realizing his mistake, he casually diffused with a quick explanation, “I saw the notes at the nurses station when we passed by. I don't know what all happened, or what the deal with my back was, but I'm fine now. Come on guys, we all had a little too much to drink. Shit happens. Can we just go back to Matt's and relax? I'm beat.”