...Breathless... #1 Searching for the Light, prolog, chap 1-3

All formatting, paragraphing and italics are gone. I only reput what was necissary. Read it even if it hurts you eyes.

Prolog

Once upon modern times, in a small suburb about thirty miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois, there lived a thirteen year old girl, soon-to-be fourteen. She was bored to death with her normal life, but at least she was safe. Not for long. Okay, I give up. I'm not one for fairy tales. I'm too old for that. I guess the following is a better way to start my story. Guess what? I bet you never will. It's just to extraordinary for me to explain in words, but I'll give it a shot. You know the story. Same ole, same old. Ordinary girl, grows ups in a small town, average life, normal school and family. That sort of thing. Well, that's about to change. Totally mixed up to be more interesting, if you get the drift. But that wasn't my choice, you see. I'm not exactly normal, as you might say. Actually, I think the term is abnormal. Not since my fourteenth birthday. It was the day my life changed- forever. And when I say forever, I mean eternally! I promise you. This is the whole truth, only the truth and nothing but the truth. I have wings. I have powers. I am a real princess. I swear. And if your reading this book right now, you might as well keep reading because you just joined me on this roller coaster. Strap in those seat belts because it's bound to get bumpy! I mean it. Our lives could depend on it! At all costs, you need to know the whole story so you know what to do. I really should tell you a bit about myself first though. For safety purposes, I can't tell you what suburb of the Windy City I lived in, but I can tell you this. It was boring. I'm the type of girl who gets bored easily. My name is Sara Carlson and today (August 17th, but I found out it was really August 14th) I turn four-teen. At least in this book I do, but I'm actually a few years older now. I grew up liking fantasy and sci-fi and now my like is full of it. I used to watch television shows on this kind of stuff. Now I only have my souped up laptop to use. I have my own blog where I keep track of event. I have a website, and it's pretty cool. But what's not cool are the dark creature after me, and I sure don't want them coming after you too. I'm blond, but I'm not dumb enough to let that happen. For my physical appearance, I have blue eyes and fair skin,some freckles and dishwater blond hair too my shoulder blades (some of the time) if that help you picture me. Also, I'm five and a half feet tall and skinny. I need to east more, but that's hard when you don't have a lot of food or money on you. I love to draw and do other medium of art. I sing and dance and write stories. I can't begin to list what else. I love gem stones and any cool rocks really. I made it to a high blue belt in my Tang-Soo-Do class. That's a form of martial art from Korea. I was one of the worst runners in my P.E. class. And until my fourteenth birthday, I had bad allergies and a number of other things. Oh, yeah. I had a pet parakeet too. Actually, that bird I hope is still alive today. Well, enough about my interesting life as an only child, adoptee. When you opened this book, what did you expect? Some diary story about an ordinary girl who is so caught up in herself and her social life, and boys? Or about some depressed outcast who has a terrible life and decides she wants to commit suicide or do drugs and crime? Well in this you may get neither or both. (Okay, not really. I'd never kill myself or do drugs for that matter) But that's not the point, though. Being some tiered, down to Earth girl(that is literally bored to death with her routine life.) I wanna see some action! (but not to intense) I wanna do something like save the world as a super hero or what ever you see in those movies. I wanna see a ghost, solve a mystery, or something. Well, I'm going to be bold and honest here. No lies and cleanly. This is my story, about the day that changed my life forever. It will never be the same.

1
What could a girl want more than anything on her birthday? An iPod, some music, a guitar, a laptop computer maybe, but were you expecting a pair of wings? I did't think so. No girl actually expects to get wings or powers. It just happens like puberty (but most people actually expect that). I live in a world you may not understand. Okay, so maybe you do. It's a world filled with hate and danger. A world where no one is safe from anything. The world needs help There never has actually been super heros. Only average heros such as fire-fighters and police men. Even just a regular person can be a hero. Where every teacher says, “You can make a difference! You can do it!” But they're not going to cut it, we need something more than the average human has. Well, back to the magic thing. My birthday is August 17th, but we decided to celebrate it on August 14th. That night, at midnight something really weird happen that cause my life to change, and here's the story now. It had be a wonderful birthday party. Strange things had been happening all day. I've heard voices when no one said anything. I've seen things when no one was there. I felt chills and other foreboding feelings. To top it off my head and back have been aching all day long. At least my cake and presents were good. My favorite present had been a new CD of one of my favorite singers. To bad I didn't get a new iPod. After all the guests left, I went up stairs to my room. I put one of my new CDs in my boom box. I also received new art materials for my birthday. So it was only after seven. I just lied on my bed and drew what ever I felt like. I drew a forest scenery, like the one not far from our house. Actually, my back yard is forest. Behind the in ground pool, swing set and shed, pretty much were the wood is. Last summer I discovered a narrow path behind the shed. Since we only moved here three years ago, no one seemed to wonder what was back there. I had walked the trail before, but not far enough. I only got as far as a small pond which I used to go there to draw frequently. It was my quiet secret spot. (I only told one other person about it, and that was my friend, Rose. But this summer I hadn't really gone to it much.) My drawing was starting to look better. I shaded it in. My hand was starting to cramp. I shaded in a lake in the picture. For some reason I drew a larger lake in this clearing. I set my art stuff aside. It was about nine. I took a shower. The shower felt good against my throbbing head and back. I had been sitting in my stuffy room. I put my periwinkle and white cloud pajamas on. The shirt that went with the pants said “Angel” and had white wings and a halo on the word. I went though the rest of my gifts and came across a silver metal box. It had no branding on it or anything to let me know where it was from. It only had what looked like a compass without the directions on top of it. I did't remember receiving it. It must have been hidden under everything else. I unlatched it. Inside of it was a lavender piece of satin. I unwrapped the cloth and inside it was a silver piece of jewelry. A pendant on a fine silver chain. It was so beautiful I can't even begin to describe it. The pendant was a distinct crystal shape of an eight pointed star. It reminded me of the cardinal directions on a compass. The stars four longest points were inscribed on a silver circle that was even thinner than the chain, and surrounded buy a extremely delicate design of swirls. The star itself was a crystal only trapped on it edges. The backside of the pendant was almost identical to the front. The Star crystal was clear but opalline and tinted blue. It was nothing like any gem stone I had even scene. In the center of the star, the was a faceted gem, like a blue opal with some violet and other colors in it's fire I always through opals could only be cut in carbonchons. Shows what I know about jewelry making. On the sides of the silver ring there were tiny faceted gems in various colors, all lined up with the points of the star. The part that held the pedant to the chain was also silver and had a small diamond on it. The whole pendant was not even two inches across. I loved this necklace so much and whoever gave it to me deserves the biggest thank you of the year. This was the best gift I've even received, I decided. Better than any electronic device out there. There was something seemingly magic about this gift that made me want to jump for joy. Some force made me drawn to it. I put it around my neck as I sat on my bed. A feeling washed over me and soon I was in a deep sleep. In my dream, I was running in the dark forest. I came across a lake and there was a light, and I woke up. I glanced over at my cloth. It was nearly midnight. Thoughtlessly, I got up and went down stairs. I put my shoes on and sneaked out the back door, silently. I made my way behind the shed and onto the path. It was very dark, but he moon was full. The sky was clear, and that was enough light to see. I started walking down it. Then I heard something. It sounded like a twig snapping and a rustle in the bushes. I saw a dark shadow behind me, so I ran. I was drawing near the sound of running water when I almost tripped. What ever was chasing me, whether it was some man or a creature, was still chasing me. I kept on running as fast as I could, even though I'm not a very fast runner. I passed the small pond that I used to visit. A frog croaked, but I kept on going. I ran on the part of the path that I had never been on. The trees I have never been past. It was unfamiliar ground and there were many obstacles. I jumped over a log just in time to catch the there was a fence coming up ahead of me. In my terror, I disregarded the KEEP OUT sign and climbed it's rusty metal with haste. The path still continued after I passed two large oaks. Just a few seconds before I thought I saw a bunch houses beyond the fence. After I passed the two oaks, the path just seemed to wind on. Then I came upon a fork in the road which made me feel like Alice in Wonderland, but there was no purple cat to help me out. To the left I saw a starry sky and the moon shining brightly through the trees. To the right it seemed pitch black which gave me the eerie sense that I shouldn't go down there. So I went to the left where there was more light so I wouldn't trip. I still had no idea where I was going and that was a scary thought. I stopped in my tracks. Everything was silent, too silent. Nothing more than crickets chirping could be heard. It was obvious that the shadow had probably went to the right instead. I stepped quietly ahead, walking straight on the trail. The moon seemed high in the sky now. I felt a tickle down my back. I reached back there. I hadn't realized till now that I had brought my new tote bag mini-backpack with me. It was already packed with stuff, my stuff. I must have packed it when I was half asleep. I wondered if my cell phone was in there in case I wanted to call 911 and report that I was being chased by a serial killer. The tall mash grass surrounding me started to shrink. More forest was up ahead. With my eye adjusted to the darkness, it wasn't hard to tell that. I walked slowly but surely through the thick grass and back on the dirt road. It was kind of muddy. I didn't remember having any rain lately, but maybe marshes are just always muddy. The trees around me seemed swallowed in the darkness, but soon came light in the night sky. Up ahead was another, much larger clearing. I was sure of it, but soon I heard rushing water. Earlier I heard a trickle, but disregarded it. There was a rapid water flow. It was a large stream to my left causing the sound as it dropped off into a water fall off a cliff and continued into a lake below the cliff. I stood away from the edge of the cliff, avoiding any injuries falling could cause. The I heard footsteps. The sense of relief and wonder retreated my mind and I felt the watching eye of the thing that was probably more creature than serial killer. It came running faster and stealthier, at a speed that convinced me that it couldn't be human. I heard a low growl, almost like a dog, coyote or wolf. I looked behind me and back into the forest and saw the red, glowing, inhumans eyes, and there were heading toward me. I sprinted off quicker than you could saw go, forgetting about the cliff ahead. The up ahead, I saw no more trail. No solid ground to hold my. Only the night air, the stars and moon shining above me. Was it was midnight, or after it? How should I know? Trust me- it was not the end of the world The trail seemed to loop off in a long sharp turn, leading away from the cliff and down further. I had no time for that, I was running for my freaking life! The cliff seemed step. Even with the river below, I was willing to take my chance, and maybe, with some luck, land in the water and not on top of and sharp rocks. I could then take safely by the lake. If I made it. Then I would have some time to get away from those wolf-like creatures. Anything- and I mean anything was better than being chow for some mutts. I ran at a speed I would have never ran before. Definition of running for your life. Then I sprinted off the ground while the creature barked. I prayed that I would miss the rocks. I like rocks, but I don't want then to end my life. I felt a jolt in me, like a pulse. My head felt...unexplainable. My spine tinkled. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I gripped one hand in a fist, the other was clenching my necklace. . My back- my shoulder blades felt a sharp sting in them. I saw a flash of light. It was so weird. I felt an area of my body that I had never felt before. I looked down and noticed the river below. I was a above it. Not dead on those rocks, not swimming with the current. I was floating above it. How was I suspended in the air, how was this happening? I saw a shadow of a feather, the the white of one. What the heck was going on? Can someone please explain? That's what was zooming through my mind. This was unbelievable. Was I dreaming? Were my new necklace and my pair of angel pajamas manifesting themselves in my dream, making me have angel wings? Were the wolves my fears? Should put psychology down on my list of future high school courses to take after I wake up so I can examine my dreams? This was crazy. As I moved my wing muscles, I flapped to land...but I saw the reflection of the moon in a larger body of water. What do you know? I was getting closer to the lake! I flapped, and it was still surprising that I felt I knew how to do this. I came as close as I could to the water and landed. And guess what! The whole flying thing happened only in a second or two. You wanna know how I knew? The creature was staring the tried to make it's way down the path but changed it's mind and went back. Those wolves seems fast and wouldn't waste time if the knew they couldn't get what the wanted. I crept closer to the water. I took another step forward and dropped into the beach sand. I didn't like walking in sand because it was tough. Especially with shoes on, and my feet were hurting. I was close to the water and could hear it splashing the beach rocks. I looked across the lake and saw another beach and some trees. I realized I forgot about my wings, if that's what they are. I reached back to check. Yeah, the were feathered wings alright, which made me feel like the fallen angel who finally was able to fly again. Excited and nervous. But of coarse, this simply couldn't have been real. I was lucid dreaming, I told myself. The moon reached it's peak and was in the middle of the lake. You know what that meant? It was the middle of the night. Exactly. The reflection in the lake started to glow a light blue. , unlike the actual moon. I watched with curiosity. There was a sparkle in the water, and something rose up out of the water. It seemed to be about two feet across, but on the side was surrounded by glowing blue, white and violet crystals. I had a desire to see it closer. I saw a lighter area in the water that lead to the middle. I walked through it. It was surprisingly shallow. It didn't even go past my knees when I was halfway to center. Finally, I reached the center. The objects was a highly decorated chest with precious gems and metals adorn. The strangest part was that the large center symbol on top looked exactly like my necklace, the same symbol on the silver case I received it in. I touched the very royal looking chest , and there was a bright flash of light. I felt my wings fold in, I'm sure. But I was then tossing and gripping my blanket and stuffed horse. Through my window, shined light. It was morning. Nine a.m. to be exact. What did I remember? It was only a dream, right? I noticed I had the necklace on, which I had put on before I went to bed. But was there really some magical quality to it? And what was with the wings? What kind of absurd dream would that be for me to have? I wasn't thinking of stuff like that when went to bed, or was I? If so, then why? These are the questions I'd have to ask myself. I further reflected on the experience as I went through my morning routine. Finally my mother was going to take me shopping with the gift cards and sixty dollars of birthday money I received. “Mom, I have about sixty dollars in cash and fifty more in gift cards,” I told my mom. “That's great sweety! You can get yourself some nice new clothes. School clothes since school is only around the corner. You're going to high school this year, isn't that great?” When I didn't reply, she said, “Oh, Sara, it's only two more days until you officially turn fourteen, aren't you glad we had your party a few days early so you'd have more time to enjoy your presents and shop before the summer's over?” “Yeah, I guess.” About a half hour later we were backing up down the drive way and we then drove out of the subdivision and northward. That's the direction the forest behind our house is, but the weird thing I noticed looking out my window is that he forest ended quickly and another subdivision started. Where I thought there would be more forest and a marsh instead was houses as far as I could see. The possibility of enough room for what I saw was impossible. It wasn't there at all. It must have been only a dream. I decided to ask my mom. ”Hey, Mom, has that subdivision, Green Hallows, always been there?” “It's been there since we moved in, haven't you ever noticed it? We drove past it a million times.” “Not really..” “Why did you ask?” She looked at me. I tensed up. “Just- nevermind.” Then everything was silent for the rest of the ride. I went shopping at three stores that morning and bought a couple of items with my money. After I came home I rushed right up to my room. I had some important things to check. I didn't buy anything important. It was only a shirt and two CDs, and some candy. Don't ask what else. So, I took out my journal and quickly recorded last nights events or dream. The weird part about it was I felt like I dreamed it twice. I decided I would check out the path again tonight. I took off my shirt and put on my bikini and light and stood by the mirror. The wings. That's what I was looking for. Shoulder blades-snap, arms straight out. Show me those babies. Wings on- show, oh, please! Why isn't this working? I thought to myself. If the dream was real, then shouldn't I have wings? Okay, calm down. I felt a tingle on my back. I looked in the mirror. Oh. My. Gosh. They were there! The beautiful, pure, white, iridesense of all that is wonderful, and I looked at my back. They weren't there. I looked in the mirror. They were gone! Okay, no panicking. You are sane. Completely sane... I held my necklace. It sparkled all sorts of colors in the light, with it's strange crystal make-up. I gripped it hard. It was just a force of habit for me to grip my necklaces when I'm in a time of need, but I am in need of luck this second. Maybe this one was magic. I don't know. Let my wings show, I thought. I felt the muscles tense and nerves tingle at their endings. It was as if there were extra limbs on my back. A double jointed limb at my shoulder to be exact. My arms in front, wings in back. Like angels, if humans had wings, they would be attached at the shoulder blades. I think I was starting to have crazy thoughts. I looked in the mirror, what do you know! The necklace really helps. I turned my head only to see the fuzzy and sleak feathers fading into my skin. The one closest to my body looked about my hair color and the ones further out where white, pure white. they were too pretty to describe. Breathless was the best word I had for them. The sight of these wings, looking in the mirror, just took my breath away. I could feel those extra joints, so I tried to flap and spread the wings out, and I did. It just came so naturally. It was amazing. I couldn't wait until that night. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up, I said in my mind.
So, dinner came and dinner went, through all the time that I spent. When night finally fell and everybody went to bed, I didn't worry my little head. Hey, I just made a rhyme! I packed my tote bag again and put on a shirt that had no backing on the shoulder blades so was able to spread my wings. I sneaked out silently, making sure not to make and sudden movement. I skipped the squeaky step near the top of the stairs and held the railing. I went through the kitchen and opened our sliding back door. In our yard, I took a running start, spread my wings, jumped up and flew. This was my first test flight. The first time I knew I was awake. It was so easy and fun, and it felt so good! I was just scanning the area. It was amazing. All I saw was the Green Hallows subdivision. There wasn't much in between. I saw the short dirt trail. I could make out the frog pond near it, but nothing but houses beyond that. No big lake, no more forest and no marsh land. Only some trees. Just like I saw on Google Earth earlier. I swooped down to the pond area. Very quaint. I wondered how come after that KEEP OUT fence and those big oaks, there was more. What if....? No, that was too fantasy. But I had to find out. I must have missed it because I wasn't paying attention really. I tucked my wings in. I walked slowly down the path again. The moon was waning, but it was still pretty bright. I almost tripped over the big log though. The wood were silent. Thank goodness that the horrible creature were not there tonight. The KEEP OUT fence was coming up. I took out my flash light, but then noticed there was someone's property not to far away. It was maybe fifty yards from where I stood. A couple of backyards of the houses in the Green Hallows subdivision, clearly seen on either side of the path. I saw a swing set in one of then. I remember I saw that last night, but only for a second. The path seemingly went on, though. I was ten feet from the two large oaks. I climbed over the fence and walked up to them. I shined my flashlight around and saw the houses. I examined the trees. They seemed strange and I had this weird tingly feeling about them. My watch said it was quarter to midnight, not that it mattered. I asked myself, if I step beyond those trees would I be in a different world? Let's see. I walked pass them. Nothing. Everything was the same. I stepped back with the flask light and noticed a strange marking on the tree. It looked like a compass, but also like my necklace's pendant. Forward was north on this path, I remembered. “Maybe my necklace is the key to opening this portal,” I suggested. All this craziness has made me start talking to myself. I put my left hand on the tree's marking, touching the crystal inlayed in it's center. Then I gripped my necklace with my right hand. I concentrated on opening the portal. After a long moment, something happened. Suddenly, in a blur of light, the path did go on. So I walked forward down it. I shined my flash light to make sure nothing was going to attack or that I wasn't going to trip again. Nothing did, and I walked again. When the fork came, I shined my light down the dark path. It gave me the creeps. I shivered. So, I just went straight down the let side. Finally, I was in the marsh again. I was sick of walking, so once again, It was time to fly. I ran jumped and my wing unfurled. I pushed the air down and I went up and soared. What I saw was something that would be on Google Earth for where I lived. I saw the lake and forest. I saw hills. I saw mountains. That was only to the north. To the east there were more hills a mountains. The south was more clear and flat, and to the west had an even larger body of water. It sparkled in the starlight as it encompassed the whole western horizon. What kind of world was I in? Where ever I was must have been magical. I saw no subdivisions or stores, or any building in sight, for that matter. Then finally as I did a loop in the air, something near the mountains caught my eye. There were trees and hills behind it. It was only a speck of light really, but I could slightly see an outline of a larger building. A castle? It couldn't be. But I knew the impossibility ship had sailed when I opened that portal. What kind of world was I in you ask? On full of fantasy obviously. The castle looked way more fancier that any medieval castle you could find in Europe or more fancier than any I've even seen in a movie. I flew so close I could see the large compass-like symbol on it's door. That was strange because my necklace also had that symbol. There were two guards there too, but they didn't see me. I noticed the river flowed off the cliffs that I jump off of last night. It wasn't super far from the castle. Maybe a mile or so. I decided to fallow the river. I was surprised when it ended up leading me back to the lake. There was something I didn't I didn't notice before, a large bolder that sparkled in the moonlight. I landed near it and noticed some markings on it. It was the compass-like star again. Something should be adding up in my head after seeing this symbol so much already, I thought. Around the circle of the symbol it said: “May the light lead the way even in the darkest of storms.” The symbol pulled me toward it. I noticed my necklace was glowing again and being pulled toward that boulder like it was a magnet. I felt like I was being told to put my hands on it. I was entirely drawn to it, so I obeyed. With both of my palms placed on the symbol, I felt a charge of electricity, then I felt like I was drifting away. Suddenly, everything went white, and I heard a voice in my head. “Princess Serallina, you must except your destiny so you may begin your journey. Find the others. Find the other lost royal relicks. Find you powers. Find your family.” The female voice faded away. Bird chirping came to ears. Sunlight seeped through my windows. It was morning. I knew what I had to do. But was I prepared? All this morning while neither of my parents were home, I decided to search through my dad's file cabinets. There was so much paper stuff in them, but none of them had what I was looking for. I came upon a file cabinet that I never noticed before. Then I had a vague memory from back at our old house. My dad had warned me never to go through his file cabinet. Being a good girl, I obeyed. Older now, needing to find out what he was hiding, I was going in them anyway. I opened the drawer and saw more papers only. Then, in the back of the cabinet, I found what needed. Inside it there was a black zip-lock bag that held a thick piece of paper. I pulled the paper out. It was a certificate. I was pretty sure it was what I was looking for. More than ninety-nine percent sure. It was the certificate of my adoption. It read: Sara Carlson, Adopted August 17th at age 1. I was adopted. My question was answered. I wasn't the biological daughter of my parents who had raised me. A tear rolled down my cheek. I closed up the drawer, took the certificate and ran to room. I lied on my bed with so many thoughts racing through my head. They lied to me. The said they had me. No wonder I had not birth video tapes. I was they're only child. The probably couldn't conceive children for some reason. I didn't know. When I heard my parent's car pull into the driveway, I ignored it for a while. My life was lie, I though. When I got into the anger stage I felt like I was going to burst out screaming. That was just what I did. I stomped down the stairs and started yelling stuff at them like, “You lied to me!!!” Then after that I started repeating, “I hate you! Both of you! You're both liars!!!” Then I threw a few swear words at them that I would never says out loud to them otherwise. I ran up to my room and slammed the door shut. My parents, or should I say fake parents? Earth parents. Human, adoptive parents who are big, fat liars. They went into this huge argument that I could here it from my room. Every single word of it, loud and clear in my head. Feeling every emotion, and seeing everything happening. This was the worst. I'm surprised they haven't decided to get a divorce all these years. They always argued over the stupidest things. I was the only reason that they stayed together. I think I heard my mom scream. The were blaming each other. I couldn't take anymore of it. It was going to drive me insane if I had to live with it any longer. So I made a split decision. Why not save them the time and energy? I could leave them. Then they could get divorced. Just like the wanted to. I composed a letter to tell them I was running away:
I am leaving home, running away. Don't bother to come looking for me. You won't find me, ever. Not were I'm going. Don't worry about me. I doubt you even care, so left this note just in case you do still love me. Forget me, please. Forget me with all the lies you told me. Make sure everybody else forgets me. You will never see me or hear from me again. Goodbye, forever.
-Love your Adopted Daughter, Sara
So after that I grabbed my favorite backpack, my new tote bag, and stuffed it with all my needs and favorite personal belongings without thinking about the limited space and weight I could carry. I some how managed to fit a pillow, a sleeping bag, a ton of clothes, an umbrella, my laptop I received for my dad last year, electronic hook-ups, a flash light, batteries, my art stuff, my jewelry and precious gem stones, my music and iPod and few other items. I added my notebook and I was done. It must have been magic because I think I had more in there than Mary Poppins had in her carpet purse. I packed half my room in there and still had room in my bag. It didn't even feel heavy. What kind of magic is that? I stopped sobbing when it came time to leave. I opened my bedroom window wide. I lifted the screen away. I put my surprisingly light and slim tote bag on. I looked out into the darkness of the night. The stars were shining. Before I jump out, a be gone, there was intense banging at the door. “Sara! Open up! We need to talk! Now!” It was my dad. He sounded angry. “No, Rick! Let her rest! She's had a lot to take in,” my mom said behind the door, sounding worried. But I didn't care. I just looked out into the clear night sky and let myself forget about them. I let go of my family worries. Of my friends. My life. My old life. I was going to start a new one. Take a deep breath, fly away and don't look back, is what I told myself then. I was running away from home because I didn't feel wanted any more. It was my sacrifice to benefit them. They didn't need me. They didn't know anything... My eyes started to swell up with tears again. My head throbbed so hard I felt like puking. My nose was stuffy, and I cleared it through breathing. I bet my face and eyes were pretty red. “Goodbye Mom. Goodbye Dad,” I said to myself. They could hear me. They were behind the door. I could hear the trying to get in through. My dad was piking the lock of the door. I had to leave. Now, or never. A breeze came past the dimly moonlit country side and through my open window. I felt the brisk evening air against my skin and wings. Perfect...just perfect. My throat felt like there was a big clump in it. I swallowed hard. I took a deep breath, unhinged my shoulder blades, extended my arms out to the finger tips so that my wings would unfurl. I jumped, flapped and just like that, I was flying in the night sky higher that I have ever flew before. The night was young, and I was on my own. No parents to tell me what to do and no more school. None of my friends really cared about me anyway. They were just using me. My only true best friend moved to Chicago over a year ago. I still emailed her on my laptop computer a lot. Her name was Rose Farris, and she was the nicest, girliest person I ever met and made friends with. I knew her since we moved to our house over five years ago. Lately, she hadn't replied to my emails. Maybe she'll reply soon. It's a good thing I packed my laptop. It had Wi-Fi. I had my money and gift card still of coarse. I didn't spend everything yet. I felt like listening to my favorite song by Michelle Branch that was on my iPod, which I received for Christmas. Sadly, I could get my iPod out, so I sang the the song to myself. “You're the only one that leaves me, completely breathless.....yeah, you set me free!” And then I hummed the rest. I was so happy my parent didn't know my email address. I left my cell phone back in my room because I didn't want to my tracked and brought back home. After flying for an hour, I was starting to get tired. So, I found a place in the woods where I could set up camp. I swooped down and set my backpack down. The first thing I grabbed was my flash light. I turned it on and searched through the spacious interior of the bag. I took out the sleeping bag and pillow and set them on the grass. Then I looked for wood to burn for heat and light. I put them in a pile and found the lighter one of my more dumb fake-friends left at my house one time. I think she smokes, which made me feel sorry for her. I lit a piece of crumple paper I found lying on the ground and threw it on top of the pile of wood, and it started burning. It reminded me of all those camping trips me and my Earth family used to go on. The ones before the started acting crabby and old toward each other. I then took out my laptop and iPod and listened to some music, while I checked my email. I had five new messages it said. Four of them were junk mail, so I deleted them. The fifth was on of my friend I left behind. She asked if I was excited about starting high school. I replied, saying yeah, I was. It was a lie because I wasn't even going. I yawned, then put my laptop away. I put my backpack under my pillow, lied back and stared up at the sky. The stars were more beautiful out here in the wilderness. The universe was out there. I wondered if there was life out there. I wondered if there were people up there who were just like me, with wings. I wondered if there were angels and a heaven. I wondered if that world I went to the last two night was somewhere in this sky. I wondered if thats where angels like me lived. I drifted off to sleep, thinking about magical beings that could be out there. Magical creatures like unicorns and fairies, dragons and wizards. The I had this dream. It was scary, no doubt. I was in the forest that I was sleeping in, here. Then I saw a dark shadow upon the trees. The fire light wasn't playing tricks on me. I wasn't sure I was dreaming even. The fire blew out suddenly, and a tall man with pail skin and dark hair emerged from the shadows. In the moonlight, I could see that he had this blank look and just stared at me. Then from behind his back, he took a dark ball of energy and threw it straight at me. Everything went black as the ball was. I jumped up in my sleeping bag, panting. I opened my eyes and everything looked okay. The fire looked like it was burning out, like in my dream, but I didn't need it really. I pressed a button on my digital watch and it lit up, telling me it was 2:30 a. m. The I heard a sound in the brush. I flicked my flash on and flashed it toward the sound, and sighed in relief. It was only a chipmunk. I went back to sleep and had sweet dreams of awesome high school could be if I was still going. I had a dream of what my first crush would be. He was a tall guy on a year older than me, maybe. He hair chocolate brown hair, short but not to short. He had the most gorgeous blue eyes, ever. He looked at me, and smiled. I felt a spark in my heart.
2
I woke up to the sunlight and crows cawing, realizing gradually that I wasn't in my own bed. I was in my sleeping bed I used for camping, but I wasn't in a tent. I had actually ran away. What was I thinking? Oh, yeah, right. My parents kept the most important secret, ever, from me. I did look a bit like them. Similar hair color and eye color. There eyes are closer to green, and mine closer to grey-blue though. I guess they did it for my own protection, so I felt more like I was their own. They didn't want to feel like I was just some item they bought at the store. The wanted to clothe me, feed me and give me a home, and think of me as only theirs. Their child. Not a product of someone else. Food. The word came to my mind like a Metra train. I was hungry. I didn't bring much food. I took out a trail mix bar and nibbled on it, savoring the taste. I actually skipped dinner last night. Idiot, I told myself. Flying must burn tons of calories, and my skinny body needs to eat. I packed up my stuff and decided to look around. What forest was this again? I know I didn't fly very far last night because the express way wasn't too far away. I think I was going north east, maybe. But where do I want to go? Towards the city,probably. I was going in the right direction. I used the sun as my compass to make sure I knew where east was. It was mid morning, and east was where the sun was. It was easy to figur out. Fly toward the sun. Fly to Chicago, and maybe I can live with my friend. Or, I can go west and live alone in California, which I've never been to. I don't know. Maybe I should just stay here for a while. What about the place with the castle? That would garentee that I'd never be found! I was confused. I decided that if I was going to Chicago, I should wait till the sun is in the west. I was afraid that if I wore sunglasses while flying, they might have fallen off. I waited and I took a dreamless nap by the stream. When I woke up from it, I took out my laptop again. I checked my email, and sure enough one of my so-call friends sent me an email. It was titled: “What the hell?” She asked why I ran away and a couple other things, like where I was at and going. I guess my parent called her up and told her what happened, asking her for help. I didn't reply. She didn't need to know why. I bet my best friend, Rose, would understand. And Chicago is one of the closest big cities. Big cities have lots of people. It can be easy to hide. I finalized my decision. ”Chicago, it is,” I said out loud. Sears Tower and Navy Pier on Lake Shore Drive, the Windy City, here I come! I knew that all I had to follow to get to Chicago was the express way that ran east. Since I was flying, I could probably get there faster and not worry about traffic. It was already late evening again, so I set up camp somewhere off the express way I was going to fly east tomorrow, in the late morning, to avoid the blinding light on the sun during flight. It was still summer and if it's sunny, sun burns are prevalent. I'd have to remind myself to wear sun-block. I was warn out from the past few days, still, and I fell asleep instantly. My dream that night was of flying over a magical kingdom. It was a great dream. I spent the next morning recording what happened on my secret online blog. Maybe sometime I'll email Rose it. I trust her more than anyone now. So I flew to Chicago. I could clearly make out the skyline. I have been there so many times. The beach, museums, shopping at the Magnificent Mile and not buying anything, were all the wonderful things I have done there. It's probably the most visited place on a vacation to Illinois. I could see why. In the second most boring state in the USA, nothing like the nations tallest building in the second or third largest city. Illinois is surprisingly the sixth most populated state. I flew high above the city just as the sun setting behind me. There is no sunset over the water on this side of Lake Michigan. Maybe some day I'll fly to Michigan. As it became darker, more lights were visible from below. This reminded me of the part in a Superman movie where Superman took Louis up with him as he flew over Metropolis. I soared until I was yawning. I knew there was a park not to far away, so I swooped down into a tree and jumped down. I was way to tiered to do anything else, so I just slept behind a bunch of big bushes. fell asleep within seconds this time. Then I heard the familiar female voice again. “Star,” she whispered. That was my nickname. Only Rose and a number on people on the internet knew that. “Serallina. You have to master the staff The scepter of light.” The staff was my weapon of choice in my Tang-Soo-Do class. I only kind-of-sort-of knew the form, bo one. “It's your amulet. And also, the royal items you find are tool that can help you gain strength to your powers. Master them to. They could be very helpful.” “I promise. I will master it and do whatever I have to do no matter what comes my way,” I had replied. Then I woke up to a rain drop that fell on my face. Then more drop of water started to fall and I broke out of my sleeping bag and wrapped it up just as a deluge of rain came pouring down on my head and I had to seek shelter elsewhere. I found a picnic shelter not too far away. I slept there, with my hair soaked, for the remainder of the night. Sometimes the sound of rain can be relaxing.
Today I decided to eat out at a restaurant. I walked around town and finally found a fast food place. Yes, I ate some McDonalds for lunch, even if it's gross. It was all could afford, and I skip breakfast a lot anyways. It's getting harder and harder to find time to fly since the streets are crowded with people all the time. Not to mention, it's still raining! Oh, yeah, and it's really windy here. Hence the nickname, “The Windy City.” I was walking around, wearing my blue poncho and there were people gripping their umbrellas tight to insure they wouldn't fly away. I saw two people's umbrellas turn inside-out already the morning. It was pretty funny. The weather here has been pretty gloomy. I luckily brought all my birthday money and whatever else I had saved up. I also swiped some cash of of my dad's dresser when I was pissed about being adopted and not knowing it. I wandered into some mysterious pawn shop today for some reason. It was so weird to find this silvery bracelet with that star compass symbol on it. It was totally calling me. I had to have it. Not in the,”It would so match my top,” sort of way, but in the “I think it's a royal item that I might be looking for,” way. So bought it. The Chinese guy at the counter gave it to me for twenty-five dollars. What a deal for something that was probably real silver. Anyways, it had some really strange markings on it. It also had so many colorful gems surrounding the star. It had a larger center gem. The Chinese dude probably thought it was fake with all the color to it. I can understand why. But I felt something that made it real to me. I think the design could be rotated, and I wondered what it could do. Maybe each gem represented a different power. I didn't want to fool around with it, in case I broke it or something bad would happen. I had a thought. The woman's voice that the items were royal and I saw the symbol on the door. It's on my necklace. I guess I should be putting two and two together and getting something that could count as four. Was I royal? A princess. Like in one of those fairy tale Disney movies I used to watch. Maybe. I'll probably find out sooner or later. The flying was enough for me. Now I'm collecting pieces of jewelry. Magic jewelry. This is way different from any fairy tale so far. I put the bracelet on my left wrist to keep it safe. I guess it's stuck there for life now because it won't budge. I thought it was squeezing my arm. It must have magically tighten so I couldn't get it off my wrist. It was definitely some wicked piece jewelry because I couldn't take it off at all. “Hmmmm...” I grunted. “Stupid bracelet! Ow!” I sure won't try that again. The darn thing shocked me! Ever since I got that thing, I've been hearing more voices in my head. I think I caught schizophrenia from it. But I'm disregarding them for now. That evening, I flew to the clouds so I could see the view from the Sears Tower, currently the tallest building in the United States of America, as I mentioned before. Up there I had a beautiful view of the lake front. When the clouds cleared up after a little while, I could see out to the Indiana Dunes. I took out my digital camera because I thought this would be a wonderful photo opportunity. It was still light outside, and the sky was colorful. I took photos in all directions, and carefully put my camera away. Thank goodness I didn't drop it. I heard that if you drop a penny of the Sears Tower, it would leave a small crater in the street below or kill some unlucky person if it hit their head. Imagine what damage a digital camera could do. Since I was sure nobody would see me, I took off my amulet. I thought I knew what to do. I tossed it in the air, (Which turned out to be an unecesary step in order to get the staff) and called out, “Starlight Scepter!” (Wondering where the “Starlight” came from.) Out of my hands, light created a long silver staff that spirals up to a large ring, exactly the same as my pendant, only larger. It gave off a soft blue glow. I also knew what to do next. I waved the staff around in a circle and said, “Starlight Power, transform!” In a beam of light, I was in one of the most beautiful outfits I have ever layed eyes on. I felt like one of those girls from a Japanese anime or manga. I yelled a few words, and used a magical pendant and a weapon and transformed. If you watch or read any, you'd get what I'm talking about. I was easily able to conjure up a full length mirror in front of me so I could see how i looked. I thought about the mirror and it was there. I was there. I saw myself. At least, I think it was myself. It wasn't just the outfit that had changed. A lot of what I thought I had looked like changed too. My whole body seemed slim, beautiful and radiant. My light skin seemed almost flawless. My hair was almost white and it was silky. It was a bit feather and wavy, and it reached down to my waist. My eyes were sky blue, and really pretty. My face was more elegant, and I looked a bit more mature. My wings looked more angelic, a more pure white and seemed opalline in the setting sunlight. They almost gave off light, themselves. What else? Perfect teeth, skinny leg, stronger arms. I seemed like a whole new person. Almost too perfect to be human, or at least it seemed that way. I looked, how you would say....angelic. Like an angel sent from heaven above. My outfit was composed of white, light blue and silver. I still had my amulet on. On my feet were silver ribbon sandals. I wore a long skirt and a V-neck top, which were mostly white, except for the delicate skirt layer with light blue a silver designs. I had these really pretty long gossamer sleeves too. A silvery belt with some stings was around my waist. I had lots of blue and white jewels and tiny star symbol in certain places. I had a violet and darker blue pouch bag, sort of like a fanny pack but cuter, on my left hip. I was wearing a small silver tiara with a star on my head, and that's pretty much it. So it's a lot, but I didn't want to leave so much it. So I took off, holding the long staff for balance. Flying was easier and I was only circling the Sears Tower. I landed back on the building and changed myself back to my more human form. My staff turned back into my amulet, and I could feel it around my neck. That was my magic form, I thought. I could still use my wings in my human forms. I could make my wings appear whenever I want them too, I realized. I unfurled my wings once again and flew back to the park I had slept in the night before. It had been a good day, so I would sleep peacefully. No hobos were around, thankfully. I pondered whether I should be considered a hobo. No, silly. Hobos are the homeless who hang around the railroad tracks. When I fell asleep, I dreamed of flying around the world.
Today I went for a morning flight since it was clear and nice out. It's the first day of September and still summer, so it's warm outside. I skimmed the sky with my wonderful wings keeping me high up. Ever since I found this bracelet, my eyesight and hearing are improving. I could see further and hear things from far away. I feel like a super hero. It's wonderful. I'm going to record everything that happen to me in my journal and my blog. I need to keep a written record for future generations. Speaking of feeling like a super hero, today something strange happened. Maybe more heroic than strange. Kind of cliche actually. I'll just explain how it happened. I was flying, and a scream came to my ears. I ignored it. My hearing has been going bisserk lately, like I said. Then I decided to check it out. It's easy thing follow sounds if you try. There was a ton of smoke and that would normal irritate me because I had allergies. Some apartment building in the downtown area was on fire. Thoughts bounced around in my mind and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to play World's First Real Super hero. I knew that would be dangerous. Did I want any dark creature coming after me, knowing where I was? So I did a quick transform as I landed on to of the building, using the smoke as a cloak. I think I knew what I was doing. Power I had, magic that was mine to use. They rushed into my head. The thoughts of a woman in the building. She couldn't escape. The fire men were thinking that it would be impossible to get her out. I could hear her sobbing cries. I just had the help her. I heard something else. She was pregnant. I couldn't let two lives just burn. I held up my staff, and thought of that woman. In a burst of light, I was right in front of her. There was fire in the corner of the room, smoke every where. The baby might die just from some smoke inhalation, but even if her child would be miscarried, I had to save her. ”Help me please!!!” she yelled in a sobful voice. “Take my hand,” I demanded. She did as she was told. Her face full of shock at the sight of me. The wings and glowing, beautiful body must be a lot to take in. I was fourteen, but I must have seemed older. ”Take us to the lower level door,” I whispered, picturing the door that led to the outside. The woman was hugging me as sparkling blue light brought us to the door that led out. “Now, go. Be safe and live,” I told her. I was pretending I was her guardian angel, I guess. “Thank you so much,” she said. She ran out of the apartment building doors and the paramedic immidiatly rushed to her. They gave her oxygen and were going to the hospital to see if the baby survived. I hope it did. I transported myself back to the room, and untransformed. I flew away just in time to watch them spray the whole building with water. The fire fighters had their jumbo hoses ridding the building of flames. No one was left behind. I walked down the streets that evening, and into an electronics store. They had the six o'clock news playing on every television set they had. It was Fox, channel three, or thirty-two if you down have cable. The top story was: WOMAN SAVED FROM A BURNING BUILDING CLAIMS HER GUARDIAN ANGEL GUIDED HER. What the heck? I made it on the news! Well, sort of. The new caster lady then said, “We have videos from the scene earlier today showing a large bird flying off the building. Local fire survivor, and new mother, Cassandra MacCathy claims that she was saved by her guardian angel. Is what we caught on camera just that, or a large bird? Is is a hoax? We will discuss that later on tonight top story. I'm Erin Rivera, on Chicago's Fox News Networks. Let's check the weather with meteriologist, Brad Kerney.” I was dead meat. Caught on camera? I was fried. “I think that thing they got on camera was just some dang egret or blue heron. There tons of those in this part of the country,” the man behind the counter said in a strong city act cent. “God's angels would never be dumb enough to let themselves be caught on camera.” But apparently, I was. In the background I heard the weather, “Looks like tomorrow's going to be another sunny day, and a hot one at that. Grab you bathing suit and make it down to the beach because it's not going to last for long. Monday we have a cold front moving through dropping to the mid sixties, with a chance of thunderstorms and fifty percent chance of rain. Tuesday also a chance of thunderstorms..” “Yeah, I think you're right. It's a hoax,” I replied. I walked out of the store and back to the park, thinking that I was stupid to let this happen. If I had in power in me to make myself invisible, then let me use it whenever I fly. That night I slept wearily, but I did have dreams that were good. I dreamed I was a super hero. They called me “The Angel of Light” and I called myself star. I wore a cute blue top with my symbol on it, and “S” in the center, and a blue and white mini skirt to match. Silver boots and my staff was my weapon, of coarse. I flew around fought dark villains. It was mostly great, but it was a dream. I'm not bold enough to handle it. I'm no super girl, and I don't wear skanky little outfits. I woke up the next morning and ate three bags of fruit snacks. Cheap is good. I took a walk around town, and bought a news paper. It already felt like it was eighty degrees out and I was glad I brought my swim gear. I walked on down to the beach, trying to forget yesterday. I was glad my wings were retractable. Magic does amazing things. I could be normal for most of the day at least. I needed a shower or bath anyways. The beach was super crowded. Last months they were talking about ecoli being found along the shore. People had to stay off the beaches all because of some sea gull poop. Today there was as many people as sea gulls. If I had bread at my disposal, it's be tossing it at the gulls, watching them fight over the food. It can be funny. On my last trip to Michigan, we gave the sea gulls food and one of them got hurt and was bleeding. Those birds sure do fight a lot. I set up my towel and put my bad down. It was too windy for an umbrella. I was already wearing my swim suit. I changed my clothes in the port-o-potty. I put sun block on and then rushed into the water. Oh, how I love it's refreshing feeling. Swimming is so fun. Too bad summer was almost over. I should fly to Florida or something. I've never been to the ocean. Salt water is probably to salty for me. I went under water a lot, using my purple pair of goggles to see what was under my feet. No sea shell are found in lake because lake are slightly acidic. All I found were zebra stripped muscles. They're a bad species to have around. They don't help at all. I found a few cool rock though. I love rocks, and lake Michigan is chop full of agate, quartz, sad stone, and fossil of ancient corrals. I found a few cool stones which I saved in a plastic baggy I brought. When I got bored, I went back to my towel and took over the newspaper. I was surprised to find out what was on the front page. We've been getting the Chicago Tribune for years, and these kind of stories don't usually make the front page. LOCAL WOMAN CLAIMS SHE WAS SAVED BY HER GUARDIAN ANGEL. It was the second headline, below: BUSH DECIDES TO SEND MORE TROOP INTO IRAQ. Like I care about this freaking war? I'm more concerned about right now than that. The story talked about the fire, and what happened. It talked about her giving birth too her baby a bit premature. She had a daughter, and she named it Angela. Her baby was doing well for one born premature, and she thanks God for that. Also mentioned in the story, video footage of a large bird flying away from the building was found on one of the tapes. Cassandra claims that it's her guardian angel. Experts say it's only a large bird, like an egret, and it's out of focus so it appears to look like a human body. The showed photos of it in the article. They showed photos!!! I'm completely dead, six feet under a grave stone now. This sucks. I swore to myself and put the paper away, not able to look at it any longer. It's a shame this had to happen to me instead of some dumb, but beautiful bird. I changed my clothes in the beach locker room instead, hoping there was a shower to wash off all the sand it. There wasn't. I tried not to look disappointed and just used the sink instead. I dried myself with a towel a put my sock back on, and then my sneakers too. I wasn't sun burned a least. A little girl walked buy me, and her face and ears were all red. Sun block is an amazing not-so-modern innovation. I walked around town, looking for some cheap ice cream to cool off with. Cheapest I could find was at dairy queen. I bought a sundae for two dollar. Chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and Oreo bits. My favorite. I tried to savor the flavor but ended up finishing it in five minute. Five more minutes and it would have melted. I left the Dairy Queen in a slightly better mood. I think I had a sugar high, and the cool ice cream made me shiver, so I didn't feel hot anymore. I walked back to the park, thinking about the other article in the news paper. They said there had been four more cases of the West Nile Virus reported in the Chicago land area in the past month. Mosquitos haven't given me many problems out here. I don't have any new bits, but my older one near my ankle was still itchy. Probably not the best topic to think about. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man. He was wearing dark clothes. He was walking at a fast pace down the side walk. He was creeping me out. He reminded me of the guy from my dream a few nights ago. His eyes were dark and lifeless. Then I saw a red glare. I don't know how I saw this all out of the corner of my eye, maybe I was just thinking is. Or maybe, I was seeing it with my mind. All the endless abilities that I don't know about. The man was looking at me. I saw him earlier, on the beach, and the ice cream place. He was following me. I knew it. I was scared. I knew this would happen. I picked up my pace and walked faster, trying to lose him. I turned the corner, passing a café and a jewelry store. He turned too. I went into a dark alley, hoping he wasn't going to chase me, rape me and kill me like a serial killer would do. I heard his unmistakable foot steps. I hid behind a dumpster. He stopped, and took a look. People walked past the alley, not caring. Foot steps walked closer and there he was. “Hello Princess, time to meet the dark side,” he said to me in a rough tone. “Well, I'm not the bad boy lover type, so get out of my face!” I yelled at him. He formed his hand in a pitching motion, aiming a dark energy ball at me. I reflected it at him in a fast motion. I think I'm telekinetic too. A week ago that started showing. With out another thought I did something amazing, I tossed a ball of light at him. It was white and blue and full of energy, hitting him at full blast. He fell back, but then turned into a snake, a viper, slithered towards me, and struck with it's deadly fangs, missing me. I used telekinesis to thrown a clump of metal junk at him, it broke his scales for a few second, letting out a drop of blood, which heal just as fast. The snake let out a cry and another man with longer hair came rushing. He was much more muscular, and larger built. He ran it, transforming into a black wolf with a blood thirsty growl and red eyes. He came straight at me, and I ran further down the alley. It was dark with no place else to hide, so I kept running. Then, up ahead, it's was a dead end. I had no place to go. That didn't bother me. My only option was up, and I was going to have to take it. I leapt into the air and shot out my wings, catching the air and then pushing it down. “Goodbye snakey and wolfie!” I said to then in a mocking tone. I blew then a kiss. I laughed. And then I was gone. The sky was safe, as long as I was high up. I flew further east, hoping it would be safer. Chicago wasn't safe anymore for me. I just wasn't. I had to leave. My super hero dream crushed, but I didn't care. I had all needed in my bag. I just had to decided, Michigan, Florida or New York. I wasn't sure still, but maybe by tomorrow, after I good night of sleep, I would know.
3
In an orphanage, somewhere in New York City, trouble was brewing. Skye and her little sister, Gail, were struggling to stay together. What they didn't know was that they were about to have a major change in their lives. “No! You are not going to separate us!” Skye screamed as she held Gail tight. This was the second time that they had experienced this conflict, and the first time Gail had to experience it with remembering it. Even though Gail didn't know it, it was always her who was wanted. Skye, who was already twelve, almost thirteen, was never wanted by any of the wanna-be-parents of of Gail or any one else for that matter. Gail, who was almost six now, was seen as being cuter. She seemed to have her way around people. A bit of a charmer. The adults here considered Skye a brat, but truthfully, she was one of the nicest girls there. “Move it little girl, this lady wants to adopt yours sister, whether you like it or not. Now, let go of her!” the boss of the orphanage yelled, trying to separate them. Skye didn't quite know his name still, after being moved back and forth between orphanages for years. That didn't matter though. She was not going to let him separate her from Gail. “If she's going to adopt her, she'll have to adopt me!” Skye yelled back, tears running down her cheek. Gail was clutching her shirt tightly now, and it was starting to hurt, but she didn't care. She knew Gail only did it so she could stay with her. “Just ask her! She wants to stay with me!” “I want to stay with Skye,” Gail said, quietly. Her pale blond curls framing her afraid but pouty face in a cute little girl way. “I don't care! This lady wants to adopt her so-” he started, but that lady interrupted him. “I'll adopt someone else, who's an only child, so their bratty older sister won't keep me from down so,” she said in her rude, snobby voice. Then she stomped off down the hall, her high heels sounding like fireworks with each step she took. What a high-class prick, Skye thought to herself. The man glanced at Skye, but Skye just scowled at him. Gail and her ran off before anyone before anyone else could try to separate them. When they reached their bed, they layed on it, exhausted by what just happened. The beds in the orphanage were really uncomfortable. They felt like cardboard. They probably were. The children also had to share beds. Anyone who has siblings had to share one bed, even if it was five children. Brothers and sisters would have to sleep in bed together. That's how the separated the children. There were three large rooms, and they were called dorms. One room was for the girls who had no siblings or only sisters. Another for boys only and brother. There was a room for siblings who were brothers and sisters of each other. That room was the most crowded. Skye and Gail were in the girls only dorm, of course. “Skye, that was really scary,” Gail said to her. “I know, it was. But don't worry. I won't let anything ever happen to you. I promise.” Gail hugged her. Skye decided not to tell Gail about the time a family tried to adopt her when she was only a year old. She didn't mention the other countless times she over heard wanna-be-parents and families mentioning how cute Gail was and said that they might be interested in adopting her. She didn't want Gail to feel unsafe, so she kept that all to herself. Skye remembered their mom. She was a wonderful, sweet woman. She has gold hair, wavy and wild. Bright blue eyes, and she was really tall. Of course, Skye was only Gail's age last time she saw their mom. A week after Gail was brought home, their had been an accident. On the way home from work, their mom's car spun out of control and it fell off he side of one of the many New York City bridges. Her car was recovered two days later, but their mom's body never was. The window by the driver's seat was broken and the belt unlocked, but since she was never found alive wandering the city, they suspect she received a concussion from the sinking car after her attempt to escape. She probably drowned as she sank to the bottom on the water. Skye and her infant sister, Gail, were at day care and received a call saying their their mother's car went off the bridge, and they were still searching for it and her body. They called Skye and Gail's supposed father who was never officially married to their mother. At the first number, their was no answer. The second was a man who that that he never met a Sharon Deerbrooke before. So, Skye and Gail Deerbrooke were put into foster care until they were sure that their mother was dead. If she was alive and found, they'd get to go back to her. If not, they would be put in an orphanage. Skye liked being in a foster home better than the orphanage, she realized. Tears continued to roll down her cheek. She gave up all hope of her mother being a live a few years ago. There was no chance of it now. Her life was terrible. She wanted something better. Gail was already asleep, laying on Skye's arm. Her arm felt numb, so she moved it. Grass and dirt are more comfy than this bed, she thought. She rested her head on the small stiff pillow and let herself fall asleep too. Dreams seeped into her mind. She saw her mother. Her golden hair was slightly lighter now, with a streak of light blue. Her face was kind as a mother's should be. She was wonderful, like an angel. She had wings of blue and white feathers on her back. Skye dreamed of a world full of light blue, turquoise. It was windy and had mountains. It was so beautiful and looked like Neptune from far away, only lighter colored, like Uranus, but much smaller. She saw a castle in the mountains and clouds everywhere. She was flying around it, with angelic wings, lighter than her mother's. She saw an image then. A symbol. It looked like a cloud with swirls of wind, blowing a feather. She then saw a feather. Then she saw a necklace. It had a blue turquoise stone, shaped like a feather on it. She woke up. There was a blue box sitting on the night stand beside their bed. There was a girl staring at it. It was Marissa, the half-hispanic girl who's mother was to young to raise her. Marissa had the bed on the other side of the night stand, next to the window. “What's with the box? Is it some kind of gift? Jewelry?” “I don't know. That wasn't there before,” Skye glanced at it again. “Well then, open it!” Skye listened to Marissa and took the box, pausing only to note that the same image of the cloud and feather, from her dream, was etched into the box. She opened it. Inside there was a tiny note and some dark blue satin. The note said: “For Skye and Gale, my dearest girls. May these bring magic to your hearts.” Skye noticed that Gail's name was spelled wrong. She wondered who the gift was from. Maybe there was still a chance that their mom was alive! Maybe it was from one of their unknown relatives because they spelled Gail's name wrong, and their mom wouldn't do that. Skye removed the satin. “What's that?” asked Gail. “Um...” Skye knew what she was looking at. “Two necklaces for us, it looks like.” “Which one's mine?” Gail pulled her hand down to see what was in the box. There was a fancy pair of turquoise necklaces. One was shaped like a feather, the other like a cloud. There was a more more small crystal on them, but they were small. The fine chains of the necklaces were made of silver. “I think the feather one's for me, so the cloud must be for-” Marissa came even closer to Skye. It made her feel uncomfortable. “I wanna see!” Marissa grabbed the cloud necklace right out of Skye's hand as she was giving it to Gail. Very rude and immature. “Hey! That was my necklace!” Gail yelled at her. Girls around the room started looking at her. “Give it back!” “Or what? I's mine now, and you can't have it!” Gail started pouting a bit and then her face became bright red. Skye and other girls had this thing about Gail. When she got angry, it was best to give her what she wanted. For a cute little girl, she had very little self control, and Skye was working on that with her. “I said, give it back,” Gail said in a lower voice, gritting her teeth. She was giving Marissa a stare down. “Or else.” “What? Are you going to kick me or something?” The window on the other side of Marissa's bed was actually clean once, and Skye could clearly see that the weather outside was starting to get bad. The sky was dark and the trees were billowing over. Gail was really mad now. A flash of lightning caused a large crackle of thunder. It was raining hard now and it sounded like hail. It probably was. CRASH!!!!!! The window behind Marissa shattered to bits and the wind whipped all the loose objects around the room. Debris flew in a circle, creating a mini tornado. Gail was standing still, staring at Marissa as she continued to scream. Lightning flashed so bright, that Skye swore it was in the room. In fact, it was. It almost hit Marissa's feet. Half the girl in the room screamed and Marissa was the loudest. Skye was frozen, watching the scene. “Here! Take your stupid necklace! Just make it stop! Please. I don't want to die young!” Marissa handed over the necklace. Gail took it from her, swiping it out of her hand, facial expression unchanged. She calmed down a moment later after putting her necklace on. The storm retreated rapidly and Skye was still left stunned. Did Gail cause the storm? Was she missing something here? How could an almost six-year-old girl have any control over the weather? Was that even possible? Magic isn't real and their mother was dead, and nothing ever went her way. Skye skimmed the room. The damage seemed emence. The whole room was a mess. The boss was not going to like this. The Skye realized she put her necklace on too. It somehow made her feel different. The door opened. “Skye, Gail, I just came to tell you that there is this man. He claims to be your father by blood and wants to adopt-” The boss shot his eyes across the room, seeing the broken window and Marissa crying on the floor. Other girls were cleaning up around their beds. “Who did this?” “No one, the storm broke the window and the wind did this, “ Skye explained. What storm? It's sunny out there.” The boss pointed at the window. The sun was shining. Skye knew that. The storm just came and went so fast. “Just, clean up and we'll figuere it out later. We can duct tape the window closed until we can get the glass repaired.” Cheap people, Skye thought. They can't even afford descent bedding. They were indeed cheap people. All the kids had to get their “new” clothing from Salvation Army donations. They helped clean up the room fast. Skye swept the glass up and Gail and Marissa apologized to each other. Marissa agreed to duct tape the window. Skye and Gail went down to meet with the man who claimed to be their father. He sat in the waiting room until he was called into the office. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. He looked to young to be her father. He didn't even look their mother's type. He examined the girls as they walked into the office and took a seat next to each other. When ever Skye looked at that man, something didn't feel right. He gave her bad vibes. “So, how long did you know Sharon before her accident?” the boss asked. “I knew her seven years and we had a few dates. We were engaged for a while, but never married. I didn't think I would get her pregnant twice before we ever did. I'm glad she raise them or I mean one to be such a nice girl and set a good example for her younger sister. Before she passed, that is.” Every word of what he said was a lie, Skye could feel it. He was lying through his teeth. The smooth-guy act didn't work so well anymore. “He's lying,” Gail said, straight out. Skye put her hand to her face. She knew Gail was right, but she shouldn't say that to their face. “No, I'm not. I knew your mother very well. She was a beautiful, kind and sophisticated woman,” he said with fake reminiscing. “No you didn't. She's right,” Skye replied. “Yes I did. The only reason we never married was because we had different ambitions. We loved each other. We wanted different things though.” “No, she didn't marry you because you're a jerk,” Skye blurted. “Look, kiddo. I'm your father. Deal with it,” his voice lost his fake charm. “Well, that could be true, but you're not adopting us.” Skye stood up, putting her hands on her hips. The man turned to their boss and asked, “May I have a moment alone with these two. I need to explain something very personal and I need privacy.” “Yes, Mr. Sanders. Try to talk some sense into these two. They already turned down one adoption request today. I think we'd do a lot better with her gone.” He pointed at Skye. She rolled her eyes. The door of the office closed after the boss left. “I'm dropping the nice guy act and cutting to the chase. You two are coming with me unless you give me what I want. Hand over the amulets or die.” His voice was low and his hand looked like it was about to pull out a knife or gun. He didn't. Gail whimpered and Skye's stomach did a flip. Sweat fell down her back. They were both terrified. The man lifted his hand and a dark, flaming ball of energy formed in his hand. “Give me the amulet or meet your graves.” Gail screamed at the top of her lungs. “What's going on in there! Hey! Who locked this door? There better not be any funny business going on in there!” The boss was banging on the door from behind it. “No, everything's perfectly fine. Gail just screamed because I gave her a present,” he lied. “Okay, but if I hear any more screaming...” The boss quieted down. “What's an amulet, anyways?” Skye asked. “I wouldn't give it to you even if I knew what it was. You're an evil, strange man.” Skye held Gail back as she started to back up. The man held up the energy ball, as threw it like he was pitching for the Yankees. They dodged it. Skye ran Gail across the office. “What was that?” Gail asked. “It was an energy ball. And there's plenty more where that one came from. By the way, you're wearing you amulet around your neck right now. If they weren't protecting you, I'd grab both of you by them and choke you to death. Now give me them or burn in hell.” When the girl shook there heads, he tossed another ball and Skye held out her hands. She was overcame with a feeling. She reflected his energy ball back as him. The room was filled with an unseen force. That force was wind. Gail was scared. Skye could see it in her face. That face changed rapidly. She was mad now. The wind in the room picked up. Clouds were forming over there head. Rain drops started falling, indoors! In the middle of the room, there was a mini tornado of papers flying. The man, undisturbed by the wind, pitched another dark energy ball straight at Gail. Gail jumped into the air and in a cloud of mist, she had a pair of white, silver and pale blue wings. Feathers flew everywhere. So did Gail. She dodged three more of that mans strikes. He gave up. There was a shadow of darkness setting over him. His form was changing. Skye, who was hiding under the desk watched his eye become red and his body black. Fur grew everywhere. He became a panther. A big black cat. He hissed at Skye and she stood up. He came running and pounced towards her. She jumped out of the way, gripping her amulet. She felt air movement and wind surrounding her. Her shoulders and whole back started to ache. Energy of wind power rushed through her. She looked down at her feet. She was in the air, flying. Floating up toward the ceiling, she felt safer. Then she remember, from one of the animal books she used to have. Panthers can jump pretty high without a running start. “Gail, get out of the way!” The panther jumped up to were Gail had been a split second ago. Sky clasped her hands together and pictured the panther being tossed into the wall, hard. She wanted the wind knocked out of him. She waved her hands at him, pushing the air below him, lifting his body. She spun him around a few times. After he was all dizzied up, she tossed up into a few file cabinets. He made some major dents in them and some blood wiped off his fur and onto the files. His body fell to the ground, lying against the wall. His body receded into his human form. “This is not good,” Skye said, looking a Gail, after the landed. The boss was going to kill them. And he would do is a lot worse than they did to panther-man. “What's not good? We have wings and cool powers and the ad guy's dead,” Gail replied in her sweet voice. “He's probably only unconscious. If he's actually dead, we are in big trouble.” The door was being pounded on again. The boss waned in. “Gail, I have an idea.” She whispered her plan to grab their stuff, some food and money and fly away. “Okay. Let's meet on the roof then.” Skye nodded. She grabbed the paper weight as Gail slowly opened the door. “One...two...three!” Gail swung open the door and Skye hit the boss on his noggen as hard as she could. “Pay back!” she exclaimed. Gail ran to their dorm to grab their stuff. Skye took the keys out of the boss's pocket and all the cash out of his wallet . She ran down to the food storage room to unlocked it. ”Which key...hmmm...” After five keys, she found the right one. She slowly opened the door and then turned on the light. She grabbed as much food as she could carry. She took a manual can opener, a pot, and a few other things too. She put them all in a plastic bag. She dragged it down the hall to the school supplies storage room. It only took her three keys this time. She stole two backpacks and a couple of other thing. Skye was in a rush. She had never stole anything before her whole life. She was usually too nice and too airy for that. She was the goody girl wearing the flowing outfits. She loved longs skirts. But she also liked jean jackets, so thats what she wore. She stuffed everything in the bags and ran to the stairwell. She went all the way up and unlocked the door, then threw the keys back down the stairs. Gail was already waiting for her. “D o you have everything?” she asked her little sister. “Yeah. All our clothes and that box and our junk. And our picture of mom,” she replied. “Toss it in the back pack then.” Skye handed her a small pink backpack. Then she took out a pair of scissors. They cut slits in their shirts for their newly found wings. Skye believed in magic now. She knew she was awake. More awake that she had ever been. They let their wings out. “Ready to go?” “Where?” asked Gail. “We could try Central Park, I guess.” “Sure. That sounds cool.” They swooped off the roof and flapped, flying higher in the night time sky. They slepted on the benches of Central Park that night. They liked the sweet taste of their newly found freedom.