What Am I?

What Am I? Chapter One

Prologue
Taking a few steps back, I stare at the splintered door numbly. "I'm too late." The body lay in a heap a few feet to my left. It's her mom. I know I should feel more than just the cold air, but I don't. Blood drips from my hands. The splashes of the individual drops on cobblestone fill my newly sensitive ears. I wipe my palms on my pants and glance around. The darkness of the starless night hides the crimson stains. I shudder, still in shock that I have survived. I need to keep running; staying alive depends on it.

I start walking, and against my better judgment, cross the field and enter the woods. A whirlwind of leaves furiously dances through the limbs of old trees, a final goodbye before they are wrenched away into the depths of the utter darkness. The rain falls steadily, drenching the plants and pine. I'm warm, yet shivering. I turn up my face to watch the individual drops fall to earth, threads of silver gleaming in the sky.

"They're coming, Kyle." The familiar, ever-present voice of Ari rings in my mind; her voice absent of its usual singsong quality.

"Damn it! I need to find Stella before he does." Breathing heavy now, I lean forward. My wings bristle impatiently under my cashmere sweater and heavy coat, a burning itch that makes me flinch. With that flinch, a sound of cloth tearing fills the too quiet night. Slowly, my wings extend upwards and outwards from my shoulders. They unfold with an almost inaudible series of soft snaps, creaks, and a rumble like an enormous flag being unfurled. They face the sky, spreading wide on each side like broad black sails, probing the dark night. The jagged, tattered tips bobbing in the wind gives me a weightlessness that provides some momentary peace.

My wings beat freely, deeply, strong with love and terror and thoughts of her. Looking down, I see the woods expanse. I see the lake where Ari tells me I died. My wings continue to beat almost in time with my heart, rippling the water underneath me so that it shimmers like diamonds. Picking up tremendous speed as I fly back over the crumbled remains of Riverwood High.

Chapter One

A thick layer of fresh, iridescent snow coats Riverwood High's red-brick campus. Bare, frosted trees scattered about the grounds. I inhale the crisp, clean air; it's exhilarating.

My old silver Mazda skids around the corner and into the parking lot. Thanks to the aging tires and ice on the road, my wheels don't leave a single tell-tale mark. I come to a stop inches from a 1989 Jaguar, backing up into a parking space across the way. Kicking the car door to get it open, I heave my battered blue bag out with me.

The bright red paint of Derek's Jag invites the pointy tip of my car key. I imagine the color disappearing from his square face, and his disproportionately small eyes swelling to the size of quarters upon finding my initials inscribed above the gas intake. Alternatively, the crime could be kept anonymous, and a jaunty lightning bolt could go in lieu of my initials. But, as they say: no guts, no glory. After ample pondering of getting back at my tormentor, I decide to postpone my funeral and head into class.

I push through the school doors and go to my first period: health. Ms. Anderson sighs when I come in, but doesn't say a word, as usual. Slipping one earbud in when no one is looking, I turn on my iPhone's playlist. Nothing like some good old rock and roll to start your morning.

"For all of you who weren't here the first ten minutes of class.—" She shoots me a glance. "We are going to continue learning about the effects that drugs and alcohol can have on our bodies." She sets up the projector while a student dims the lights.

"As I'm sure you all know,—" She says, clicking a button so that a picture of a few pills and powders appears on the whiteboard. "Drugs can destroy your lives. They can cause severe damage, and sometimes even death."