Ch.1

Rose

I wake in a cold sweat. I lay in my bed, my sheets tangled on the floor, probably tossed off during the proceedings of my nightmare. I felt sticky and sweaty as I sat up to look out my window.

The window is about the size of the entire wall, facing the dark woods behind my house. A breath of wind came, stirring the leaves and its branches, making shadows that appeared as clawed fingers in the pale moonlight.

A loud clanging sound made me jump with fright, literally making me spring from my bed. I listened more closely, and realized it was the dreadfully loud sound of the grandfather clock striking the hour.

I listened to the clangs; I was up at three in the morning… again. I couldn’t understand why having a full night of sleep was just not possible for me anymore. That nightmare I’ve been having, I can never comprehend what is actually occurring.

All I know is I have been waking up at exactly at 3 am, hearing that bothersome clock chiming, absolutely terrified. Then I felt a brief flash of it enter my mind…

I’m standing in the woods, the dark trees towering up into the night sky. The few stars that can be seen twinkle half-heartedly, as if they do not feel to put up the effort to shine on this night.

A full moon hangs low in the sky, casting a little bit of light for me to see the silhouettes of nearby shrubs, and the shadows of the trees. The hairs on the back of my neck rise; I feel like I am being watched.
Looking around, I find the source of my discomfort. Several pairs of dark yellow eyes hide in the trees, too many to count.

They stare at me, unblinking. I look down and see a thin trail of blood, in a long, smeared line heading deeper into the trees. It is a bright red, so it seems to be very fresh, recent. Every instinct in my body is screaming at me to flee, get away from the danger.

I am in too deep to stop now. I follow the trail deeper into the woods, winding around the trees. Each step I take feels broadcasted the crunching of leaves beneath my feet feel too loud. The faster I go, the thicker and fresher the blood gets, I know I am close.

I don’t know how deep I have gone into the woods now. In the back of my mind I worry as to how I will get out. I stop in my tracks. I hear things, and they whisper my name. “Rose… Roooooose… Rose… Your almost there; we will get you sooon… you are almost ready.” Then I hear the sound of chuckling being carried through the air and breeze, rustling my long black hair, whipping it across my face.  I look ahead and see and see a part in the trees, and I begin to run.

I run with the wind, and then abruptly stop in my tracks at the opening of a clearing. I have many thoughts swirling through my head, emotions gone haywire. I finally step through the trees. There is now plenty of moonlight shining, lighting up the whole clearing. I see a small lake, water glistening, reflecting into the sky. The blood is gone. Its tracks behind me are still there but in front of me… nothing. I walk farther in and hear a low moan. I step with care, making sure not to alert it of my presence, whatever it is. I look more closely and see it is a boy. He is on his knees facing the lake, his back hunched at a strange angle.

He makes low groans of pain. I watch, wide eyed, as he begins to transform. His legs slowly become shorter, folding into themselves. Blood drips down his bare back as I hear him screech an animal like sound.

A loud crack pierces the air, his back is bent all the way back at an unhealthy angle. His spinal cord has snapped in half. I gasp (too loudly) accidentally alerting him of my presence. In a matter of mere seconds, his body snaps back together. He then stands up and turns around, and looks at me.

His eyes are huge, the large pupils completely black, filling in a third of his eyes, then there is one thick rim of dark yellow circling it, I watch as his pupils slowly shrink, becoming smaller and smaller, until they are a normal size.

The rim of yellow also shrinks, turning into a brighter color. Behind him is a mangled looking body, probably the main source of the trail of blood. It is covered in large indents all over its surface, as if endlessly jabbed at by something sharp.

It is still, unmoving… dead. He steps menacingly towards me; my heart is jumping frantically in my chest. I blink, and in an impossibly fast blur and the sound of air bring whipped in all directions into the night, he is gone. My heart rate slows, I am foolish enough to feel safe. I feel a pressure on my head.

I become completely still, I feel sharp clawed feet on my scalp. It digs its claws into my scalp, into my brain. I let out a screech of pain as the blood oozes out over my eyes, blurring my vision. The pain is excruciating, and then there is black.

I have this dream every night, in the same procession, and the pain is so real. Each time I have it, it is like new. I never remember I’ve had this dream before until I’ve woken up. As I stare out my window now, I place my hands on my head. Relieved to find the skin of my forehead and beneath my hair is smooth; unmarked.

I see something outside, and it calls my attention. In the trees, the exact trees of my dream, there is movement. I make out a shape. Then I see the big, unblinking yellow eyes; then the outline of the body of a man.

I watch for a moment, hoping it will disappear in a sudden shift of light, but it remains in its spot. The eyes watch me, I watch it. I reach my hand for the cord by the window, and with a tug, draw the curtains tightly closed. I push the curtain aside a bit again, helpless against the temptation of seeing if he is still there, He is.

He finally blinks his strange eyes, and then winks at me, Knowing that he scares me down to my core. he take a pale white hand and runs its through his raven black hair, and in a never ending, shudder inducing moment, and a blur and flapping of wings, he is gone.

2: Ch. 2 Derek

Ch. 2

Derek

I stared at that strangely beautiful girl. I knew what my orders were, I knew what I had to do. The moment came and passed, and I missed my chance. That was one of the many reasons to be mad at myself tonight.

 She watched me with fearful eyes from the second story window. It was a window, but it really should be considered as just a wall of glass. I turned my back to her and got ready for the shift. I always have to mentally and physically prepare myself, because it seems that every time I shift the pain of it is always worse than the last time, as if it’s never ending, like you are taking every bone in my body and crushing it. There is no part of my body that it safe; everything is put into agonizing torture. Yet bystanders have watched me shift and said if they even let themselves blink, they miss the entire change.

Of course, they never live long enough to tell anyone other than me, except for the one that I let slip through my fingertips tonight. I always scoff at that remark, that my shifts are so fast, because it certainly does not feel that way. Then, I shifted. I kept the scream of misery inside me by clamping my mouth shut, after what seemed like a lifetime, it was over. My new animal instincts took over, improving my night vision drastically as I flapped my wings and soared silently through the woods, whipping past the trees.

I could still maintain my human thoughts as an Abeo Hibou, and you could tell just by looking at me I was no average predator of the night. You could see the intelligence in my eyes, the look that told you I know something that you don’t. “Another thing to be mad at myself about.” I thought as I flew, was that I wasn’t paying enough attention when I should be.

 I didn’t hear her come into the clearing; I almost shifted in front of her. If I did, I could have ruined everything. My mistress is going to be so infuriated with me. I saw her, I flew at her, I was going to squeeze her brains out of her head, all because she saw me shift. I am almost positive I erased most of her memory, but, again, the genius that I am, I let her see me through her window wall, and I saw the recognition in her eyes. Maybe the mind erasing didn’t work at all… And she still remembers everything.

If she did, I would be completely doomed considering I think I know the plan my mistress has in store for me. I knew I wasn’t good enough yet at entrancing to erase a big time frame of memory… But I still had to try.

 Now I have to report back to the castle. I just let my mind wander the next few minutes, still being angry with myself. I swooped through the woods, dodging trees and their spread out branches, I was almost there. Just a mile left of the trail. As I passed more trees and the trail ended, the castle came into view. Cleverly hidden in the depths of the woods, it was a large masterpiece, with its black towers standing proudly.

 I flapped faster, landing gracefully on a gray stone gargoyle. I peered in through the stained glass window.

That was when the glass I peered through shattered into a thousand pieces as a long fingered hand with sharp red nails grabbed my neck and pulled me inside. It threw me to the floor and I crashed onto the marble tile, rolling and hurtling into a full sized portrait of my mistress.

 I was already in pain from the fall as I shifted back into my human form so I could speak.  My body stretched, and I grew arms and legs, then everything else, and it was over. I could show no pain in my face, showing mistress your weaknesses is death in itself. She went and sat on a golden throne encrusted with jewels.

 I felt the weight of her stare on me as I slowly got up and walked with my chin up toward her. I felt blood drying on my cheek, and could taste it in my mouth. She sat up straight in her chair, her body draped in a red and black velvet gown, her yellow eyes piercing, staring into my own, and willing the truth from my lips. I said

“She saw me shift, and my instincts took over. You know we become defensive during the change… I was at my most vulnerable. I, I-almost killed her.”

 She glared at me, at my stupidity.

“You fool! We need her…”

“It was instinct; I healed her and erased her memory, but I believe she still remembers in her unconsciousness.”

I could feel the anger radiating from her in waves, showing in her erect posture.

“You must befriend her! Not terrorize her and make her frightened of you. Remember, she is the key! Our only chance at winning this war! You understand if they get to her first, we are finished!”

She took a deep breath and continued

“She is now of age, and has incredible power that we need even if she does not know it yet! Fix your mess, restore her trust in you, make her pledge her allegiance to us even if you have to make her love you, just do it!”

 I sat and took in her whole rant in silence; if I responded in a disrespectful way or interrupted her I would be punished. She began one last time,

 “Until you succeed you are banished from the castle! You will be enrolled in high school; you will live in a cabin in the forest with a guardian. Remember to achieve this quick, or you will deal with me. Now away with you!”

 She took her scepter and slammed it into the tile, making a loud pounding noise. I was dismissed.

 “Yes madam, I understand and it will be done.” I replied even though I was shaking with terror inside. Not return to the castle? She mustn’t be serious. I’m sure she will let me back in. Surely.

I got up, wordlessly shifted, and jumped into the empty air, heading for the cabin I will now live in. I knew which one she was talking about automatically considering it was probably the only cabin I knew of.

To think I’m her favorite servant… with the way she treats me, I feel horror as to how she treats everyone lower than I.

 Now I had to face my rigorous task of befriending a teenage girl I had almost killed and possibly make her love me, and also make her aware of her special abilities without exposing the true nature of what they mean.

 

3: Ch.3 Rose

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ch.3

Rose

I slowly turn around; my hand is gripping the fabric of the curtain tightly. I look and see it is also shaking very badly; as if my hand was vibrating. I don’t know whether or not if what I just saw was real, but my mind instantly rejects that thought.

 How could it be real? I dream of him almost killing me, but wake up absolutely fine. Then I go and see the exact same boy from my dream watching me through my window.

I walk over to the mirror of my dresser to see my skin looks deathly pale. My light gray eyes are open very wide; there are purple shadows beneath them to emphasize my lack of sleep. Looking at my digital alarm clock resting on my night stand, I see it is now only 3:05 am. How could all of that have happened in 5 minutes? It felt like eternity to me.

I drag my feet as I head back to bed. I have to be up at six for school, and even though I know I’m not going get a minute more of sleep for the rest of the night, I still try. I know in my head I will be the walking dead at school tomorrow. I squeeze my eyes shut and prey for sleep to come.

The nasal buzzing sounds coming from my alarm clock lets me know its 6:15 am. I groan as the left side of my forehead above my eyebrow pounds uncontrollably. I did not suspect to get a wink of sleep after last night’s encounter, but unbelievably I guess I was so drained that as soon as I shut my eyes I was gone.

 My confusing recollection of last night’s nightmare coming to life scenario seems so far away. I think maybe that it was all just a dream and that it never happened. No. It was much too real. I roll out of bed and step up to my window. I had gripped the curtain so tightly that my fingers had left imprints in the crushed velvet, so it wasn’t a dream.

 The proof is right in front of me, like a slap in the face. What happened was very real, not just my imagination run wild. The maddening part is that there is only one I can do about this whole thing. Nothing.

 I whip my body away from the window and march to the bathroom, ready to begin preparing myself for a day of endless torture. I feel like a mindless drone; following my daily routine, not really thinking about anything that I am actually doing in preparation. It’s almost automatic. Take shower. Brush teeth. Blow dry hair. Get dressed. I put on a pair of black jeans, a modest gray long sleeved shirt, and slid on a pair of converse.

  I head downstairs and continue the routine. Grab backpack. Eat breakfast, usually something very minimal like a cereal bar.

 The last thing is to grab my car keys and head outside. The moment my foot steps out the door is usually when reality creeps back in. The fresh air and warm rays of sun bring me a little more to life, turning my mind back on to where I can think again.

I walk down the pebbled path to the drive way and get into my black ’69 charger. I felt jittery the entire ride to school for a reason I cannot put my finger on.

As I pull into the parking lot I see something is off. Well It is still the relatively the same with the clusters of dainty girls teetering in their heels, whispering and giggling. The guys are in smaller groups lounging by their cars that they are so proud of. As I pull into a spot, they stare at my car with lust in their eyes, which is what they do every day as well. I slide the key from the ignition, and I see what is bothering me. This school is small, so you pretty much know everyone, but I spotted an unfamiliar head. A boys head. Another thing I notice is that the girls are whispering and giggling… and pointing; and giving shy smiles and embarrassed glances. To him.

 I grab my bag and step out of the car. As I lock the car I keep repeating the same word in my head. “No, No, No…” and then “This cannot be happening.” If anyone had diverted their attention from him to me in that moment, they would have seen my scary face. I was sickly white, holding onto my bag for dear life, looking at him not with admiration like the other girls, but fear.

 I am stuck in my spot, my feet practically glued to the floor as I watch him. Then it happens. He turns around, lifts his head (and ignoring all the other pretty girls) looks right at me. I drop my bag, frozen, as I watch him stare at me. His black hair gleams blue, his yellow eyes as bright as the color of sunlight, and his lips fall into a lopsided grin in my direction. He is attempting kindness; I realize if I resume standing like a statue much longer, somebody will notice there is something wrong with me.

I regain my composure and kneel to pick up my bag. When I get back up his back is turned to me again. He was almost a loner. He leaned against a wall near the office, by himself, isolated from everyone; Even though with his degree of looks he could have a whole group of friends talking to him already. Yet he chose to not be part of the crowd.

The first bell rings, warning us we have five minutes to get to class. Unfortunately, to get to the office to receive my schedule I would have to walk right by him. My lips are pressed in a hard line as I half walk half run passed him into the office.

I’ve never met the new guy in my life, and he was staring at me as if he knew me.

He reaches out and touches my shoulder as if to stop me, and the world begins to spin. Then I feel myself plunged into darkness once more.

 

The next time I am aware, I hear the sound of clashing metal and shouting. I open my eyes to a new world. I look down and see I am dressed in battle armor. Over all the noise I hear my name being shouted from the distance. I take in my surroundings; I am at the foot of a hill of dirt, surrounded by dead grass. There are dozens of people crowded together; I see the flash of swords glinting in the sunlight. The scent of burning and fire hangs thick in the air, and the ground is covered in white-gray ash. There were feathers scattered among the ashes, stained with blood. I was thrown into the middle of a battle. Above the fighting men and women, there was a whole other battle going on in the sky.

 

Black and white bird like creatures battled amongst themselves high in the atmosphere. They were glowing orbs of purple and blue being spewed from their claws, headed with the rapidness of fireballs towards each other. A large glowing blue orb hit one of the white bird like creatures square in the chest, it let out a squak of pain and fell crashing to the battle ground, and landed with its long wings spread open.

 “Derek!” I screamed out in horror.

 I clamped my hand over my mouth; why did I say that. In an explosion of white feathers I saw it had the shadow of a human boy. I stepped off the hill and unsheathed a long sword from my belt.

 

It was black with a silver hilt, with intricate designs of the bird like animals. I put it back in my belt and stepped to the fallen animal. Bending down I picked up a gleaming white feather. Now that I was up close I saw the creature was huge. Its body was 4 feet long; its wings lay rumpled and broken, stained in red on the ground. I picked up a long white feather, its softness brushing against my skin. I gripped it tighter and blinked.

 When I opened my eyes again, I was wearing the clothes I picked out this morning, and I was sitting in a classroom I’ve never seen before. The bare white walls were covered in posters of numbers.

I looked to see my schedule on the desk in front of me, beside it a red notebook.

I open to the first page and see I have written half a page of notes on thematic equations, and I don’t even remember writing them. I don’t even know how I went from outside the office to in my class.

 I look to my left and see him next to me. His glossy black hair is falling over his eyes, and his head is down taking notes. I reach for my back pack and unzip the top. Nestled inside is a long white feather.