Morning Star

Chapter 16: lets escape together | Kelvin

Once the Shadow Man was finished with Livia, the metal claw encasing the frog's body brought her back into our wildlife prison. He gave me one last look before exiting the room, leaving us in pitch darkness, save for the tiny lights that had been installed within the grass, probably by the Shadow Man himself.

"This is what I call night time," Livia slowly picked herself up from the ground, wincing.

I headed over to her, but being so much smaller than she was, I could not do anything but offer comfort. "Are you alright?"

She rubbed at the part where the Shadow Man had injected the needle into her with her foot. "I'm okay. I'm used to it."

I squinted, trying to see the mark on her skin, but it was almost impossible, since we were a fair distance away from the closest light. "Let me see," I said, and as if the room was waiting for my command, a beautiful pale yellow light began to glow, illuminating Livia's golden irises. She stared at me in shock. "What?"

"You...you're glowing," Livia breathed, looking at me in awe. Confused, I frowned, before glancing down and nearly falling over when I saw that my entire abdomen was lit up. I had suddenly become a walking human - sorry, not human - candle.

"What in Jendilya am I?" I shrieked. Livia flinched, startled by my outburst. I was aware I was being dramatic, but anyone would if their body was glowing.

"Kelvin, I think you're a firefly," Livia grinned, the pain in her side forgotten as she beheld me.

A firefly? Well, that definitely sounded better than being a beetle. "Really?" I asked, shaking out my wings and trying to fly above the ground, just to see if I could. To my surprise, my wings responded almost immediately, and I shot upwards so fast that my body slammed into the ceiling of the wildlife prison. With a shout, I plummeted back towards the ground - and was caught once more by Livia's tongue.

She spat me out onto the grass. "Are you alright?"

I clambered to my many feet. "I'm going to try again." I was determined to learn how to fly. If I could hover out of the clutches of the Shadow Man, Livia and I could have an advantage, and maybe, we could escape. With vigor, I leapt back into the air, focusing on staying at a certain point above the ground.

"Careful," Livia warned, her head craned upwards.

"I know," I gritted out, straining to keep my body aloft. How did birds fly so effortlessly? My muscles were dying from the strain of flying and continuing to glow in the dark. "Flying is way more tiring than it looks." I wobbled unsteadily in the air.

I lost track of time as I taught myself how to fly straight, in circles, up and down, and increase my own speed. Livia watched attentively in case I faltered, but every time I felt tired, I would sink to the ground and relax for a few moments before trying again. Eventually, my glow faded, but I continued to fly, even though this heightened Livia's anxiety, since she could no longer see me in the air as clearly as she could before.

"What are you trying to do?" Livia questioned. She had clambered up the side of a tree to get a better view of my attempts, and to be closer to me if I fell. "What is the point of trying so hard to fly? You've been doing this for ages."

"The better I am at flying, the harder it will be for the Shadow Man to catch me," I answered, and Livia's eyes widened as she realised my intent, fear overtaking her expression. "I'm going to escape, Livia. And you're going to come with me."

Livia shook her head, jumping from the trunk of the tree to the ground. "No, Kelvin, no. It's impossible. Do you think I haven't tried before? I have. Many, many times. And each time, I failed." She raised her tearfilled eyes to mine. "The Shadow Man drags me back here, and punishes me by injecting a new serum into my body. You don't understand. The serum asserts control over my nervous system, rendering me unable to move for hours. Hours, and I'm awake, feeling everything that he's doing to me."