Opposites of a Different Kind

The temperature was near scalding making her bare skin instantly red. The feeling of the hot water was sensational. Anessa let her head fall back as the water rolled down her neck into the crevasse between her breasts. Jenny had helped her to the shower and waited until she could stand on her own. Now alone Anessa enjoyed the warmth of the humidity in the infirmaries private shower stall. Brushing a few wet strands of hair from her face Anessa leaned back into the water wetting her long hair once again. The last thing she could remember was being wrapped up in Hellboy’s arms. His bright red skin was so warm, like a furnace. She could still feel his muscled chest pressed against her cold skin. He was such a jerk but had a magnificent body.



Her muscles ached from shivering so much in the castle, every inch of her protested with each strained movement. Slowly she began to wash herself from head to toe watching the white lather swirl down the drain and disappear. Rubbing her bare feet over the blue tiles of the shower floor she smiled at the feeling of the smooth and rough textures against the pads of her feet. The warm water raced beneath the arches of her feet like a raging river. Anessa turned the shower head off and reached for the white towel that Jenny had left for her. Wrapping it firmly around her body she exited the shower. Jenny sat in the corner of the room still reading her book raising her head she smiled.



“All better?” she giggled slightly setting her book on the table once again.



“Much thank you, now as soon as I can get into some warm clothes and some food in my stomach I’ll be perfect.”



Jenny pulled a wheelchair out of the closet and began to set it up.



Anessa stepped forward her hand out, “Oh please don’t. I’ve got hypothermia not a broken leg. Please I’d like to walk to my room. To get the blood flowing.”



Jenny stopped her assembly of the folded wheelchair and stood. Nodding in understanding she grabbed a robe off the shelf and wrapped it around Anessa’s body. Slowly they walked down the hallway to her room. Agents occupying the hallways stopped and stared at the now wingless angel. Reaching her temporary room Anessa pushed open the door and turned back to Jenny.



“Thank you for assisting me Jenny, I appreciate it. By the way do you know where my companions are, Abe and Hellboy?”



“If you mean the fish man and the big red man I believe they are in the cafeteria eating supper. Your plane should be leaving for America in about six hours. I shall leave you to gather yourself; it was a pleasure to meet you.”



“Likewise.” Anessa closed her door and sat down on the bed, with a loud rumble her stomach growled in protest. She needed to get something to satisfy her hunger. Removing her robe and towel she moved to her suitcase and pulled out a pair of black cotton pants and pulled them on. Next she pulled on a white hoodie with a pink skull on the front and cuffs. Pulling on some socks and her shoes she exited her room in search of some sustenance.



She saw Hellboy and Abe sitting at a table near the middle of the room. Several agents sat and stood around them obviously listening to some funny story Hellboy was telling. His giant red stone hand waved in the air above his red head. Abe’s blue head rested in his palm embarrassed by some part of the demon’s story. Several agents burst out laughing soon after Hellboy roared with amusement. Grabbing a bowl of hot soup and a sandwich from the line Anessa made her way to a table not far from the laughing agents. As soon as her tray hit the plastic top of the table a low voice rumbled behind her.



“How you feeling kid?”



Anessa turned around to meet Hellboy’s worried yellow eyes.



“I’m fine just starving.” Sitting down to her dinner she noticed Hellboy taking up residence in the seat beside her. She could feel the heat radiating from his demon body. Gathering a spoon full of soup she opened her mouth and drank the warm liquid. Hellboy’s human hand came to rest on her cheek. His red fingers smoothed across her warm skin.



“You’re warm now, that bath must have helped. Had us all worried there for a while.” His fingers lingered there for a few more seconds then dropped to the table once again.



A soft giggle escaped her, “Scared you? I was the one shackled to that freezing stone wall for several hours in the dark. I was worried.” Taking a bite of her sandwich she turned to the large red man and smiled warmly. Then she noticed the small bandage on his stone hand. Reaching for it she pulled the stone appendage into her lap.



“What happened? I thought your stone hand was indestructible? What did this to you?”



Hellboy pulled his hand back gently touching the bandage, “Well you see it was an accident. I was trying to see how durable your sword was so I ran it across my stone hand and it split it like hot butter.”



Anessa gasped pulling his hand back into her lap. Slowly she pulled the bandage back revealing the still bleeding wound. “Jesus! It’s still bleeding?! You did this yesterday?”



Hellboy nodded allowing her to examine the wound. He didn’t want to admit it still hurt as well. Abe didn’t know what to do with it. He had never seem anything penetrate his stone hand before plus not allow the abrasion to heal. Abe had suggested he tell Anessa about it, maybe she could do something.



Anessa pulled his stone hand closer to her. Her thumb moved closer to the wound smearing some of his blood onto her skin. It instantly began to tingle making her jump a little.



“What?” he asked moving just a little closer.



“Can you feel that?”



“Actually no, I can’t feel anything, to be honest it hurt before but now the pain is gone. What did you do?”



“I, I don’t know?” gently she ran her thumb over the exposed gash and gasped at the shooting pain that ran up her body.



“Are you ok?” his human hand reached out to steady her.



She blinked away the subsiding pain and returned her gaze to the now healed injury. You couldn’t even see where the gash had been all that remained was the drying blood.



“Holy shit!” stumbling back off her seat she stared at his giant stone hand. Hellboy was now examining it himself. His human finger ran along the ridged stone appendage and his yellow eyes moved to hers.



“How the hell?”



Before they knew it Abe was beside them wondering what all the commotion was about when his eyes caught a glimpse of his stone hand. “It’s healed?! How did you do it?”



“I don’t know I just was looking at it touching it and it just healed. But I did get a big shock of pain.”



Abe grabbed Hellboy’s stone hand and ran his webbed fingers over the section the wound was. In his mind he could see the scene play out. Anessa’s fingers running over the wound and it closing before his eyes. His large almond shaped eyes blinked in fascination. “That is rather strange. When we get home you’ll have to let me examine your sword.”



“Anessa, your wrist?” Hellboy called.



Anessa looked down to find her right wrist bleeding. The same exact spot Hellboy’s wrist was cut. Like thick drops of red paint her crimson blood dripped to the floor creating a small pool. Quickly she clutched the gash to try and stop the bleeding. “I’ve got it now? How did it transfer to me?



Abe looked astonished, “I do not know? We’ll have to run some tests when we get back to the BPRD. For now let’s get you bandaged up for the ride home.”



A new pilot at the helm allowed Anessa to rest in the back of the plane with the rest of her comrades. Taking a seat in the middle of the large BPRD plane she pulled out her iPod and popped in her ear buds. Her fingers found her wound that she had gotten in the cafeteria, it was slowly beginning to heal. It was strange how did it jump from his wrist to hers? Finding her “chillin” play list she closed her eyes and leaded back ready for the long trip. A few minutes later she felt the air shift beside her and a heavy thump. Opening her eyes she noticed Hellboy a seat down from her. He gave her a big toothed grin pulling out his own iPod and sat down in his seat. Hefting his boots up onto the chair in front of him he crossed his massive arms over his chest and settled in for the long flight. Giggling at his stone hand bounced with whatever beat he was listening too she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.



A hard bump woke her up from slumber. Looking around she noticed the lights were all off in the cargo bay. Lightning from the outside storm lit up the room with its flashes. As far as she could tell everyone was asleep in their chairs. Unbuckling herself she stood up. Hellboy snored softly next to her and Abe’s breathing apparatus bubbled quietly in the front row his webbed feet propped up on a cargo box. Anessa began to notice the lightning becoming more frequent outside and the turbulence more violent. It was beginning to wake the sleeping agents.



Soon the pilot came over the loud speaker, “This is gonna get a little bumpy everyone we’re headin’ right into a nasty storm. I’m gonna need everyone to stay in their seats and buckle up.”



Before Anessa could sit down and buckle up the plane bucked sending her forward nearly over the seat in front of her. Soon she could feel a hand on her back, no doubt Hellboy’s as he helped her back into her seat. Another violent shock shook the plane and a very terrifying sound filled the cargo area. They all looked back to the tail of the plane and watched a giant tear move across the ceiling. They all knew what would happen next. Anessa’s fingers fumbled with her seatbelt as she tried desperately to connect the two ends. Hellboy’s hand clamped over her wrist just as the plane’s tail broke away. Screaming agents and cargo went flying into the stormy night air. The suction of the high altitude soon grabbed Anessa’s body and ripped her from her seat. Hellboy’s red hand was the only thing keeping her from the black abyss of the night’s storm. Being buckled in himself his stone hand couldn’t reach her other arm. Slowly her arm began to slip from his grip as the bandage that covered her gash started to rip. Their eyes met his large yellow eyes glowed with regret.



“Anessa, I can’t…..”



“It’s ok big red let me go. Let’s just hope this pilot can give you some sort of safe landing in the ocean.” Her eyes were calm her voice soothing, there was nothing they could do but let fate handle the rest.



Finally her arm slipped from his red fingers and she disappeared into the darkness of the raging storm.