Wings

Chapter One

PART ONE: WINGS

The monsters are everywhere.

The dark, shadowy beings have long, sharp claws for hands and big, eerie grins filled with sharp, yellow teeth.

Their breath reeks of blood and they demons are from covered top to bottom in the sticky, red liquid.

However, there are other beings around, more beautiful beings: the people with the wings.

They're wings are so beautiful, glowing and glistening in the sunlight. The winged people seem so surreal and supernatural, but they mesmerize me nonetheless.

However, they are just as terrified of the monsters as I am and they too, are covered in blood.

As I'm deciding whether to run and save myself or attempt to rescue the people with the wings, a monster yanks me by the throat and lifts me into the air.

As I gasp and fight for oxygen it grins and cackles. I try to claw my way out of it's grasp but it continues to tighten its grip.

My eyes roll in the back of my head and the world that surrounds me goes black.

I jolt up in my bed. My clock reads 3:00 am. I pull my blanket up to my chin and begin to shiver although my shirt is drenched in sweat.

It's always been that same nightmare with those exact monsters killing and destroying. The people with the wings, bodies in pain and mind flooded with terror, saying that they need me. I've been experiencing this horror ever since I was a little girl.

What could they mean? What is my mind trying to tell me?

I reach under my pillow and feel around for my pill bottle. When I pull it out, I twist open the cap and pop a tiny, white pill into my mouth. My shoulders relax and my toes become numb. Doctor says they're supposed to help me sleep. They don't, of course. I only take them because the drugs keep me sane... most of the time.

I won't even try going back to sleep; it's not worth it.

***

My clock now reads 7:10 am, time to get ready for prison, er, I mean, school.

When I'm downstairs, my mom is in the kitchen preparing my favorite breakfast, PB&J. She smiles warmly when she notices me.

"Good morning, Katheryn. Did you sleep well?"

Mom knows whether I slept well or not, she always has. I think she just asks to see if I slept better than usual, or maybe to be polite.

"Sure, I guess." I answer. Before Mom could ask anymore questions about my sleep pattern, I give her a quick kiss, stuff the sandwich in my mouth, and head out the door.My school is just a couple of blocks away, so I usually walk. I have calculus first period, so I head there. My calculus teacher, Ms. Quakers, is a middle-aged woman that addresses you by your last name. When I enter the classroom, I take my seat in the back and wait for class to begin.

"Well, look who it is," a kid on my left snickers. It's no one but Derek; a tall brown kid that's just a pain in my rear end and has been ever since I accidentally bumped into him in my freshman year.

"It's the Freak of the Week," he announces with a grin. Some of the kids around him laugh which seems to boost his self-esteem.

I don't react much, I just flip him off and pull out my textbook.

I spend the rest of the day alone as always. When the last period bell rings, I am relieved to leave. First, I need to use the bathroom. I check in each stall before I go inside my own. When I walk into the handicap stall, I reach into my backpack and take out my pills.Everyone knows I'm the scary redhead who has to consume drugs or else she'll go crazy, but I still don't want others to see or hear me ingest them. Doctor says they're only supposed to be taken before bedtime, but I had a long day and my hands are shaking.