Ryn doesn’t understand what’s happening to her. She’s been given mechanical wings and they’re calling her their prototype Archangel?!
Ryn slowly blinked into consciousness. Her head was pounding. She winced as she tried to get into a more comfortable position in the bed, but her body seemed heavy and unwieldy.
The light seemed unusually bright in her room. Squinting, she slowly gazed at her surroundings.
Wait. This wasn’t her room. Unease started to bubble up in her chest. Where the heck am I?
Pristine white walls surrounded her on all sides. The only feature on them was a long mirror running horizontally across the furthest one. White lights glared down from the ceiling. The only furniture in this room seemed to be the uncomfortable bed she was lying in and a chair that looked equally as uncomfortable. Everything was white, even the long robe she was dressed in.
Ryn forced herself to sit up in the bed. It was harder than she expected. A dull ache started just underneath her shoulder blades. She reached around the rub the sore spot and froze.
Something was attached to her back. She twisted her head around, trying to see what it was. A startled cry escaped her.
Wings.
Shocked, she stared at the large metallic appendages. What had happened to her? Why did she have mechanical wings?
Gears whirred quietly within the wings. They stretched out and above her head, no longer lying behind her. She cried out at the strange feeling it created in her back muscles.
That mirror! She needed to see exactly what was happening.
She heaved her legs over the edge and stood, wobbling. The wings moved unexpectedly and she tumbled to the floor. The metal wings clattered against the white tiles.
With a groan, Ryn pushed herself to all fours. It all seemed like so much effort. She braced herself as she felt the mechanics in the wings moving again. With startling power, they pushed down with one swift movement, propelling her body upwards. She rose about half a metre off the ground and managed to get her feet under her as she came back to the floor.
For a moment, she stood completely still. Slowly, carefully, she made her way across to the long mirror. She stared in shock at the huge, mechanical wings that rose a good metre above her head. They resembled angel wings, the type that you always saw in drawings, but made completely of a metallic substance. There were even individual feathers crafted into the basic framework.
Normally, she’d consider them a masterpiece, a work of fine art.
However, they happened to be attached to her back.
Her legs gave way and she collapsed into a sitting position. The wings curled around her, almost as if they were trying to comfort and protect her, but that was ridiculous.
She beat her fist against the floor. “What have you done to me?!” she screamed.
A door seemed to appear out of the wall and a young man strode in.
“Calm down, Zarynis. We will explain everything.”
She eyed him distrustfully. She scooted back as he approached. “Stay away from me!”
He stopped and held his hands up. “Alright.” He watched her closely. “How are you feeling, Zarynis?”
“Why do you keep calling me that? My name is Ryn,” she spat at him. “And how would you feel if some creeps stuck wings on your back without your permission?”
“Ryn is gone,” the young man said gently. “Your name is now Zarynis, and believe it or not, but you did give us permission.”
She stared at him. This was all impossible. “What do you mean, Ryn is gone. I’m right here!”
A look of sympathy crept into his eyes. “Think,” he said softly. “What do you remember of Ryn? What do you remember of her life?”
“Everything!” she retorted. “I remember my family and my friends…” she tapered off and frowned. Actually, now that she was concentrating, she couldn’t remember them. There were one or two fuzzy images but even they were fading. Somehow, that scared her more than anything.
“Who are you people?” she whispered. “Why have you done this to me?”
He crouched down to be at eye level with her. “My name is Declan. I work for Haven and you are our prototype.”
“P-prototype? For what?”
“Archangels.”
This one could be an awesome story I think! What about you? What are your thoughts?
Is this one of your favourite 500-word-story-starters? Click the heart to like it and it may become a fully-fledged story! –> 3