"You want to know more about secondary abilities?" Tyler moves the book down out of his face as I lean over the table in excitement, "Yeah!"
My voice echoed a little bit in the otherwise quiet library.
He raises a brow at me, "Sure are a curious thing, aren't you?"
"Are they limited to just one?" I ask.
He puts his bookmark in place and closes the book; slowly setting down on the table between us. He seemed to be pondering my question. "As far as I know, everyone has one secondary ability."
"So what about Mark?" I ask.
"What about him?" Tyler asks.
"I want to know what his secondary ability is." I explain and Tyler merely shrugs his shoulders, "It's not my place to tell."
I groan loudly, resting my head on the table, "Why does everything have to be a secret!" I was quite frustrated.
Tyler sits up straight, his eyes darting towards the end of the room. He grabs my wrist, "Whatever you do, don't speak." His voice is harsh through his gritted teeth.
"Wha-?" His hand is immediately over my mouth.
I squint in the direction of where he is staring but I can't see anything.
He stands silently and gestures for me to do the same.
I stand as silently as possible.
It made me nervous that I couldn't see what he could.
He moves behind me and then over to the aisles, glancing around. He waves me over to him and I hurry to get behind him. He leans back and in the softest whisper he tells me to follow him exactly. I nod in agreement.
Tyler stands straighter and starts for the exit.

Why are we being so quiet? I don't understand. What's chasing us?
I glance behind us to see if I can see anything and stumble into a bookshelf, "Oof."
Followed by a loud thump.
I looked in front of me to see a large book tumbled off the shelf I collided with and hit the carpeted floor.
"Get down!" Tyler yells, which startles me. I duck just as he flies over me, his forearm thrusts forward.
"Ah!" He cries out and I shakily look up to see a giant snake! Its fangs sank into Tyler's arm, which was dripping bright crimson blood!
"Ty-!"
"Get out of here, now, Ethan!" He interrupts me as he struggles to force the snake backwards. I scoot backwards; my mind screams to run but I can't seem to  make my body move.
"Ethan, go!" Tyler yells again. His other hand makes its way to the snake's upper mouth, trying to pry the fangs from his arm.
I thought he was made of stone?
He's supposed to be invincible to bodily harm!
"Give the Bird to me!" A hiss makes its way to my ears and I finally see the woman that the snake seems to be attached to? Is it a part of her body?? What's happening? Why does she want me??
"You'll have to kill me first!" Tyler growls back.
Kill him!?
I jolt as a hand touches mine and jerk around to see a man I didn't recognize. He holds up a finger to his mouth in a motion to keep me silent then gestures me to come with him.
He grabs a hold of my wrist and pulls me from my seated position, jerking me down an aisle, off towards the door.
"Whatever you do, don't speak. Winnie can sense others by the noise they make. Just follow me and I will lead you back to safety."
Another telepathic. Are you friends with Tyler?
"No, but Felix has given strict instructions to keep you decently unharmed."
Decently? Marvelous.
I roll my eyes as he opens the door and scoots out into the hallway before waving me to follow him.
I inch out in the hallway and then stand as he closes the door behind us.
"What about Tyler?" I ask.
"What about him?" He replies.
"We can't just leave him there by himself, he's hurt!" I was extremely worried.
"Look man, my job involves you and only you." He explains, "Tyler is not a priority."
"What!" I step back.
"Let's go!" He reaches forward but I pull my hand away, "You can't be serious!"
"What do you expect me to do?? I'm telepathic, I'm useless in a physical fight!" He tries again to grab my hand.
"I refuse!" I grab the door handle.
"That's suicide!" He grips my shirt.
"Let go! I'm not leaving Tyler!" I struggle to get him to let go of me.
"She'll eat you alive!" He jerks my shirt.
"Move." A different voice comes from behind both of us. We turn to see Felix.
He seems upset.
"Move." He growls again.
The telepathic man pulls me back out of the way of the door.
Felix places his hand on the door, "Take him to the room, and prepare medical."
"Sir." The man speaks as Felix makes his way into the library. The telepathic pulls me away with ease as now I am confused on how Felix knew what was happening and why he showed up.

It felt like hours before Felix stepped into the room.
He controls one half of the hospital, claiming it as his territory.
Mark claimed the other half, leaving a few upper rooms for Andy's group and certain areas as neutral ground.
"Is Tyler okay!" I hurry over to him.
He begins to remove his blood soaked shirt, "Daisy, I request a clean outfit."
"Don't ignore me!" I grab his arm.
His sharp eyes meet mine, and quite frightened, I release my grip.
They soften, "Do not weep my dear Birdie, the giant will be alright. My best medics are working to stabilize him." His hand makes contact with my cheek, wiping away the tears streaming down my face.
"A clean outfit sir." Daisy's voice breaks the silence.
Felix turns to look at the outfit before looking back at me, "You must be exhausted, why don't you take a warm shower and then I can show you where to rest."
"Please keep me updated on Tyler." I request.
"Of course," He gives a small smile, "Daisy, please take our guest to the shower."
"Ethan, please follow me." Daisy leaves Felix with his clothes and leads me to the bathroom. "I will bring you some pajamas, take as long as you need."
I nod, unable to muster any words.
Daisy leaves the room and I face the shower. I remove my clothes, step in, and turn on the hot water.
I stare at the white wall.
I should've helped him!
Why did I run away like a fool!
Now he's hurt!
I sink down until I'm sitting under the hot water, curling up.
I'm sorry Tyler, I was so frightened.

Eventually, I left the shower, numbly making my way back into the main room. It was so quiet.
Daisy seems to float over to me, "I'll show you to the best guest bed."
And we make our way to a separate room. She turns the light on and I take note of the bed squished in the corner. It looks lonely. "If you need anything just ask." She says before exiting the room.
I shuffle to the bed and slowly sit down on the edge. The bed did not feel soft.
And the cold blankets sent a shiver up my spine.

~Dream~
"Ethan, get out now!" Tyler shouts.
I stumble backwards, unable to move.
Something touches my hand and I look back to see a man leading me out of the library.
"What about Tyler?"
"What about him?"
"We can't just leave him!"
"He's not my priority."
"I'm going back!"
I shove the man away and hurry to get back inside the library.
"Ty-!"
I turn a corner to see the giant laying down on the ground, blood pooling under him. His lifeless eyes make contact with mine, "Why did you leave me to die?"
"I didn't! I didn't want to leave!"
"You left me behind!"
"No no!"
"You killed me!"
"Tyler I'm sorry!!"
I hurry to his side, "Please forgive me! I didn't want to leave you!! I swear, I wanted to help you!!"
Kill the snake.
I jump at the voice and look around.
It's dark now. Tyler's missing.
She's the reason you have blood on your hands. I glance down to see my hands covered in the crimson liquid.
If you kill her, it'll go away.
Who are you?
I'm a friend, I can help you accomplish your revenge.
Revenge...
Tyler died because of you, do you want it to be in vain?
No no!
He can't be dead!
TYLER!! TYLER!! NOOOO!
~End~

I jolted up in a cold sweat.
My hands are shaking.
I throw the covers off of me and rush out of the room.
I hurry around until I find a room with a light on under the door.
I throw the door open.
Felix sits up in bed, "Birdie?"
"I-is he okay?" I couldn't keep my voice from wavering.
"Yes, Tyler is stable and will make a full recovery." He nodded his head, "I was going to tell you when you woke up."
I stand awkwardly in the doorway.
I didn't want to go back to that room by myself. That nightmare terrified me.
"Something else is bothering you." His voice pulls me out of sinking back into the nightmare and I fiddle with my shirt, "I can't sleep."
"Come over here." He pats the spot next to him in the king bed.
Slowly, I make my way to the bed and slip myself under the covers.
"You can sleep here." He pats my head before getting comfortable next to me, picking his book up again.
"You won't leave me, will you?" I whisper.
"I will be here as long as you need me." His voice was soft. It was strange as usually it was very stern.
After a few minutes of debating, I scooted close to Felix's warm body. It felt comforting to know someone was with me. It was faint, but I was certain someone was humming something soothing.

I took note of the sunlight that was leaking into the room once I opened my eyes again.
Where am I?
I didn't recognize the bedroom.
I could faintly hear muffled talking coming from outside the bedroom.
Someone's here?
I sit up and then roll the blankets off of me. It takes a couple tries to get off the large bed before I get to the door and open it.
"...watch out for turning." Came Felix's voice as I turned the corner that was blocking my view of the main room.
"Ethan, you're awake!" Jack's voice woke me more as he was quite loud.
"You alright?" He hurries over to me, looking me over.
"I'm okay, what about Tyler?" I ask.
"The doctors say he will be alright." Jack confirms Felix's answer the night before.
"I thought he couldn't take body damage?" I look between the three, "Is he sick or something?" I was afraid.
Jack glances at Mark and after a few seconds of silence, "He did have a bit of a virus that weakened him. But it's nothing a few days of rest can't fix."
"I understand you're worried, Birdie, but Tyler's job is to protect those around him." Felix speaks, the softness in his voice from last night is missing. "Especially the Songbird."
"B-but..." I stammer.
"His wounds were minor and we already had an antidote made for Stella's venom." Felix cuts to the chase.
"Why were you covered in so much blood?" I whisper.
He seems to tense up at my question before his sharp eyes narrow, "The library is my territory. Stella attacking you there meant she declared war. The declaration can't get back to the boss if the messenger is killed."
"She's dead?" I felt confused by him now.
"Yes." He confirms, "And I will do it again if I need to."
His eyes look cold.
This isn't his first kill.
Doesn't he feel guilty? Doesn't it haunt him to take the life of another?
"Come, I believe it is time for breakfast. Afterwards we can visit Tyler." Felix gestures to Daisy.
Quietly, we follow her out of the main room and down to a smaller cafeteria.
"Please enjoy." Daisy then leaves us.
"Ethan, you alright? You haven't touched your food." Mark states.
I stare down at the buttered toast on my plate, "I don't feel very hungry."
"Can you at least take a couple of bites?" Mark asks, his voice is now soft.
"I can try." I shrug.