Angel Feathers

Introductions

Whiteness. My eyes fluttered open and were immediately blinded by pure white light. Where was I? Heaven? Then I became aware of the ceiling. A delicate textured pattern was etched into the tiles, barely visible. I looked down.

I was still in my street clothes, white skinny jeans, a teal tank top and a pair of flip-flops. But my shirt and pants were caked with dust and dirt.

Then I remembered.

Everything that had happened to me so far came flooding back to me. I remembered the strange man, and my mom's death. I remembered sobbing, and the wet rag. The flash of red, blue and white lights. The intoxicating, sickly sweet smell of gas.

Where was I?

I slowly struggled to sit up. I was in a room, with floor to ceiling windows. Well, that explained the sunlight. The floor had a white shag carpet, a white armchair; a coffee table stained a dark walnut. Other than that, the room was bare. Well, besides the (you guessed it) white bed I was sleeping in.

I ran my fingers through my hair, something I do when I'm confused or curious or stressed out.

Just then, the man that had taken me from the scene of...her death walked in. I whipped my head up.

He was mostly normal looking, and yeah, he did look about twenty seven. He had slick, dark hair, large muscles, and was wearing a suit. I was curious about the suit part. He stood probably about a foot taller than me. He also seemed strangely familiar. Though he seemed attractive, just the thought of that repulsed me. Despite looking twenty seven, he seemed far more wise than someone that young.

"Where am I? What do you want from me? What is this place? And seriously, who’s your interior designer?"

The man held his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, Rose, easy with the questions there."

"Why did you put me to sleep to get away from the scene? Who are you? How do you know my name?" Another dam broke and out rushed three more questions.

"Rose, I know you and that is how I know your name." I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off. "But you don't remember me, Rose. I can do that. It's like...hypnotism." I narrowed my eyes. "Now," he continued. "I'm going to answer all your questions, just not all at once." He paused, waiting for me to say something. I didn't flinch.

"As to where you are, you are in Zirasix. Before you ask what that is, let me continue. I put you to sleep because I knew you wouldn't cooperate with me if I didn't. Like I said, I know you Rose. Your stubborn, insecure, and like to cause problems for everyone.” He winked. “Now, for your third question, you're in the infirmary at GalaAcademy. No more questions." I opened my mouth to protest.

"Ah, ah, ah!" He held up a finger. "Don't say anything. You need rest. You've had a stressful day. Yes, it's the same day, just 5:00 pm now." I sank back into the covers. "My name is Ovrey. But when you start to get more comfortable with me, you could always start calling me...Dad."

My jaw totally dropped. Whose wouldn't? My mom told me my father had abandoned us. Why wouldn't I believe her? After she told me, I gave up the hope of ever meeting my dad. And now this random stranger whisks me away to...Zara- Zire-Zira-whatever and tells me he's my father? Yeah, right.

Ovrey, or...Dad, left. There was something strange about the way he walked. It was delicate, almost like he was gliding. His feet barely touched the floor. But just as quickly as I had waked, I was asleep again