Wings

Chapter One

When I twist open the cap, I hear my name being called in a soft whisper. I ignore it at first, but then I hear it again."Katheryn."

I shout aloud to see if anyone else is in another stall, but no one answers.

"Hello," I call out again.

I stuff the pills in my backpack and when I leave the stall, I immediately freeze in place. A shadow monster leans against the the other side wall and smiles wide when he sees me.

Yes you heard me correctly, a monster, as in my nightmares, is standing before me. I shriek loudly and the monster seems to glitch and before I could blink, it stands so close to me that I can smell the blood on its breath.

I fall to the floor in shock which gives the monster a good advantage to maim me."Shh. Don't make a sound," it whispers

My chest heaves and I shake violently. I can't believe this is happening. It slowly raises its claw to kill me. Why is this happening? I manage to scream "No!" and the monster is thrown back to the other side of the bathroom.

The final bell rings which means that the the teachers check every room to make sure all students are off campus.

The monster grins and vanishes when the vice principal arrives.

"Ms. Matthews," his voice bellows, "if you don't have an after school pass, I suggest you leave campus."

I'm still in shock about what I had just encountered. "Yes sir." I squeak.

"I'll just pretend that never happened." I mumble to myself as I leave the girls bathroom.

***

I'm glad to be home finally. I slowly ascend the stairs to my bedroom and set down my backpack. I look myself in the mirror, Katheryn Luna Matthews. I'm an exact replica of my mom.We're both short with big brown eyes and our skin is a very light sandy color. The only difference between us is our hair, she has curly brown hair and I have straight, fire-red hair. I have no idea how I ended up looking similar to Mom; she adopted me.

Mom said she wanted a baby; therefore, she visited an orphanage and thought I was the perfect baby. I don't know anything about my real parents and never really cared, actually. I don't know what I would do without Mom and I'm so happy to have her, regardless on the little information I have of my birth parents.

***

"Hey Katheryn, how was school," Mom greets me when she returns home from work.

"It was okay," I exhale. I probably should tell her about the monster incident. No, no I shouldn't because it never happened.

Mom asks, "How about the kids, were they bothering you?"

I chuckle to myself, "Mom they always bother me. But no, today was a pretty normal day."

I ask Mom about her day at work to change the subject. Mom works at a mall I've never heard of before, so, it's somewhat difficult to have a conversation about it.

"Well kiddo, I think I'm going to call it a night. Don't forget to take your pills before you go to bed." She kisses me on the cheek and goes to bed.

***  

A little girl that looks a couple of years younger than me has those wings, those beautiful wings. This is what makes me trust her.

She's laughing and beckoning me to come towards her. I walk towards her, but then she begins to run. I follow the sound of her giggle until I find her in a dark room.

She's not laughing anymore, she's crying. Sticky red blood paints her body.

She looks at me and chokes out, "We need you Katheryn."

That is when I see them, the horrible monsters. They're floating towards me, grinning all the while. I start to think, "This is a horrible way to die."

I scream myself awake. I'm trembling violently. I look at my clock, almost 4:00 am. Mom jogs into my bedroom, she looks worried. "Katheryn, are you alright?"

I'm unable to answer. I get out of bed and reach into my backpack for my pills. I'm still shaking, so it's difficult to twist the cap off.I manage to squeak, "I'm fine." I clear my throat slightly before speaking again. "I just need to take my pills." Mom doesn't believe me, I can tell."Kat, do you want to talk about it?" I shake my head and climb back in bed.

Mom kisses me and leaves. I don't go to sleep, I cry. I cry and cry and cry.

***

I arrive at school a little late, well actually ten minutes late. When I finally make it to Ms. Quakers class, everyone stares, some even snicker. I hand my tardy slip to Quakers and walk to my seat.

I didn't sleep very well last night. Actually, I didn't sleep at all last night. I feel completely drowsy as soon as my butt touches the seat. As my teacher drones on and on about a calculus equation, I could feel my eyes getting heavy.

I don't wanna go to sleep, not because I don't want to miss this incredible lesson, but because I don't want everyone see me mumble in my sleep and wake up most likely screaming.

But I can't help myself. I lay my head on my textbook and fall into a deep slumber.

I see myself; it's as if I'm outside of my body.

I'm wearing a small, white dress with butterflies decorating the simple garment. My glorious wings are glimmering, which surprises me. I shouldn't have wings.

I'm crying. I notice a monster claw on my shoulder. The shadow of the monster comes into view. He grins at me, the actual me. It's terrifying. It says,"I'm going to destroy you and everyone you care about."

My mouth drops open but the replica Katheryn is the one who begins to scream horrifically. Tears continuously stream down her face when the monster slits her throat.

I jerk when I come back. I'm still in class, safe and sound. I must have did exactly what I didn't want to do. Tears are running down my cheeks and my breathing is unsteady. All of the students stare at me with wide eyes and I could hear Derek's stupid laugh.

I look nervously toward Ms. Quakers and try to wear a convincing smile. Ms. Quakers just crosses her arms and points to the door.