Genesis

Part 5

Part 5

Chava

I skimmed through the water, picking up speed as I gauged where he'd hit. His feet broke the surface first, smoke and ash from his burned wings quickly clouding the water to hide him from sight. I dove after him, dragging him from the depths up to the surface.

I gave him my breath and he coughed a little, spitting out seawater, before taking a gasp of air. His eyes didn't open and he began to sink beneath the waves.

I seized him, feeling the weight of his body threaten to drag mine beneath the surface where he couldn’t breathe. He seemed to be made of more dense material than I. Experimentally, I lifted his body onto my more buoyant one. This kept his face out of the water and still permitted me to swim, though on my back.

Our progress was sluggish, but still we moved, heading for shore. I continued to swim until the sand grated beneath my back. I collapsed in the shallows, with his limp body still on top of me. I rolled him off, so he splashed down beside me, but neither of us moved after that.

When I felt I'd caught my breath, I began to examine him. He lacked consciousness, so it was a simple matter to manipulate his body in the shallow water so that I could assess his injuries. His wings were burned clean away – or not so clean, really. The burning pieces had settled on his skin, raising welts or colouring the skin red and black, before the ocean had washed them away. Yet the damage remained. These patches of burned skin evidently gave him pain, because he flinched away when I touched him.

I didn't know what to do. Perhaps the Genesis could help.

"I have located him. We are both at the same location," I said dully.

The Genesis didn't reply.

"Genesis, please respond." I waited, before repeating the words several times.

After some time, I heard Angie. "Chava?" A pause. "Report."

"His protective covering is damaged. Request assistance or recovery. Please respond," I replied.

Her voice sounded faint. "Location. Report…location."

"He is badly injured at my location and I require instructions on how to assist him." I scanned the unconscious, injured man beside me. "I can help him, if you tell me how. He's here with me."

I thought I heard her say my name, but lightning struck the beach sand, so I lost her words in the thunderous roar of sound.

"No," he groaned, flailing around like a fish temporarily washed up on the beach.

"It will be okay," I reassured him, though I was uncertain.

"Falling…"

"No," I told him. "You're not falling any more. You're safe in the shallows, near where we rested last night. The storm is preventing contact with Genesis. When it clears, I will contact them again for instructions on how to heal your injuries. Unless you can advise me…"

He coughed and lifted his eyelids a little. Lightning struck the sea in front of us and he gave a whimper of fear before closing his eyes again.

"The lightning burned your wings, but we should be safe here," I said. He seemed more frightened than me, though that seemed hard to imagine. "What is your name?"

He coughed again and spat out something black. "I don't know," said the nameless man as he lost consciousness once more.