Whispers on a Wing

Chapter Thirty One

I stood there, staring for all of one second, before I took off running back the way I'd come.
Jake's house had a back door, if I could get through there and get away from him then he'd be safe. My parents would come after me and leave him alone.
I tore through the house, hearing shouts from the three people behind me, but I didn't look back. That was the thing everyone did in movies and it always ended up with them either falling over or slowing down and both outcomes would get myself caught.
I pulled Jakes jacket from off my shoulders and dropped it as I fled, trying to undo the belts as I ran so I could escape as quickly as possible.
My heart hurt at having to leave my rucksack behind, at having to leave the little box that held my locket, but I didn't have time to go get it. Jake would keep it safe, I knew he would, and maybe one day I could come back and collect it. If I ever got it of here that is.
I slammed into the corner of the kitchen island in my attempt to free both belts and run at the same time, hissing in pain, but I refused to acknowledge it. All I could think to do was run, run as far and as fast as I could away from them.
Footsteps pounded through the corridor behind me followed by a scuffle as I'm assuming Jake held them back. Just a few more steps and I'll be out the back door.
I abandoned the second belt, focusing on the door as I reached to pull it open, but as I did I was met with the last person I expected.
"Erik?" What the hell was he doing here?
"Hey Kathy, or should I call you Kayla?" He asked, a smirk on his face as he took in my shocked expression.
What the actual hell is going on right now.
"Kathy look out!" I heard Jake yell behind me, but it was to late, within a second I felt a body crash into me from behind and before I knew it I was slammed to the kitchen floor, my mums body pinning me to the cold tiles as she pinned my hands behind my back.
If I'd managed to get that second belt off I could've used my wings to push her off me, but they were still tied down by that one pesky belt I couldn't undo.
How the hell had this happened? How did they know I'd be here? Had Alice told them where I'd be?
"Give me the rope," my mum grunted from above me as she forced my restrained wrists high into the centre of my back, twisting my shoulders and elbows uncomfortably tight until I had no choice but to stop fighting for fear of dislocating multiple joints.
Erik stepped forward, pulling a length of rope from his rucksack as he did, and held it out for mum to take. She made quick work of wrapping it around my wrists, tying the knots so tight there was no way there'd be any wriggle room for me to possibly escape like last time she'd had me tied up. Seems whilst I'd been trying to survive they'd been preparing for the day they'd finally catch up with me.
"Erik what the hell are you doing?" Jake yelled from somewhere behind me, sounding out of breath. "Kathy just stay calm, we'll figure this out."
"Looks like you found yourself a knight in shining armour," my mum almost crooned in my ear. "But does he know the whole truth I wonder."
The sound of her voice did weird things to my emotions. On the one hand it brought back so many memories of us as a family, happily playing Pictionary together, boys against girls, and going out for ice cream. It reminded me of all the christmases and birthdays, of happy memories in the sun.
But it also sent a chill down my spine, reminding me of the cruel words she spat at me when she saw my wings for the first time. Of the way she'd chanted weird words as she tried to hack off my wings from the join in my back.
She pulled my up to my feet and faces Jake and my dad, him holding Jake hostage with the gun aimed at the back of his head, and I couldn't help but release a sob as I thought of Jake dying because of me.
"Please don't hurt him," I begged, pleading with my dad as tears fell from my eyes and ran down my cheeks.
He looked exactly the same as I remembered and yet entirely different at the same time. His face had aged, his hair thinning and greying slightly, but he was still the dad I remembered before all that changed. Still had the scar in his hairline from when I'd accidentally thrown a stick for the neighbours dog to catch, only I let go to late and threw the stick behind me, hitting him nearly in the eye. I'd been grounded for a week after that, even after I'd profusely apologised and reassured him that it definitely wasn't on purpose. But my parents had always been quick to anger, no matter who was to blame or what your intentions were.
I stared over at Jake, my vision blurring as more tears fell. "I'm so sorry," I whispered, wincing when my mum shook me slightly, causing my shoulder to scream in pain. "If I'd just left instead of coming here first, none of this would've happened."
"Are these the people you're running from?" Jake asked, his arms still held high in the air to show he wasn't going to do anything stupid. "Are they why you're in witness protection?"
"Witness protection?" Mum laughed, her laugh sounding shocked as she turned to face me. "Is that what you told him? Well isn't that a clever little lie, it's the first time you've used that one."
I stared over at her, our heights now matching since I'd grown so much since the last time I'd seen her, and stared her down.
I was currently facing Jake with my mum standing just behind me on my right and Erik on my left. He still couldn't see the wings that were still strapped loosely behind my back, the top belt still in place and holding the join down, but I had no doubt that was about to change.
"You have no idea what she is do you? What kind of monster you've let into your home," my dad growled, taking a step forward to shove the gun into Jakes shoulder.
My heart jumped and I felt like I was going to throw up at the sight of that gun aimed at him, but I forced it down and tried to breathe.
They were going to tell him, they were going to show him that I had wings and that I was the monster they said I was, but that was okay. If he finds out what I am then he'll hate me too and then he'll be safe from them.
I tried to convince myself that I was okay with him thinking that about me, that it was actually good that he thought that, but the idea of Jake hating me for what I was, something I couldn't control, made the nausea ten times worse.
"Kathy the monster? Have you looked in the mirror? You're the ones invading a home and holding two teenagers hostage at gun point," Jake yelled, starting to loose his cool. "And Erik, I don't know what the hell you're doing here helping them, but you better hope I never get my hand on you for pulling a stunt like this. I thought we were friends."
I could see the betrayal and hurt he was trying so hard to hide and my heart broke for him that much further. I wasn't sure how his friend was involved in this either, what he was doing here or why he was helping my parents but Erik was Jakes friend, had been for years. Seeing him now, standing behind me with his hand wrapped around my upper arm to stop me escaping, must be so confusing for him.
"Oh trust me, she's the monster," Erik said, shaking me slightly to emphasis his meaning. "We're just trying to protect the world from creatures like her."
"Trust you? Not a mistake I'll make again," Jake growled back, his body tense as he fought his instincts to fight back.
"Yeah? And what about her," he spat, gesturing to me with his head. I couldn't see his face but I could practically smell the hate coming from him, as if it was seeping through his very pores. "Do you trust her?"
I stared at Jake, pleading him with my eyes to understand how sorry I was for bringing this into his home. Trying to communicate that if he just plays along and does what they say he will remain unharmed, at least I hoped he would.
His eyes hardened as they stared into mine, a deep sense of determination washing over him. "With my life."
The air whooshed out my lungs as we continued to stare at each other, my eyes flooding with tears again as the emotions got too much for me to contain.
"Now isn't that sweet," mum cooed, stepping closer to me until the blade of her knife was pressed against my neck. I was sure she could feel the pulse of my heart through the blade it was beating so hard.
"Hey!" Jake yelled, moving towards us with a single step, before freezing as she lifted the knife off my neck to point at him.
"Ah ah," she warned. "One more step and your days playing lacrosse are over."
Just then dad stepped forward and pushed the barrel of the gun into his back, reminding him of the very real danger he was also in.
Jake froze in his advances towards me, staying perfectly still as he raised his hands back in the air.
"Good boy," mum said and I could hear the smile in her voice. A voice that for years had bought me so much comfort that would now cause nightmares for the rest of my life.
The knife rested back on my throat and she grinned over at me. "Shall we show him what kind of creature he's protecting?"
I stayed silent, knew she was looking for a reaction from me, but I refused to give her one. No way was I going to beg, I knew she wouldn't listen to them anyway and I would not give her the satisfaction.
"Such a brave girl," she said softly into my ear, a contrast to her actions that made my head spin. "But bravery isn't going to save you here," and before I could blink I was spun around so fast around my head span.
There was silence in the room as we all stood there, me facing the back door to the kitchen, the one I was so close to escaping through. It was the type of silence where you could hear a pin drop, heated and charged with aggressive tension as everyone waited for the other to react.
"Are those... wings?" He stuttered, and I could only imagine the shock and disgust that were no doubt crossing his face.
I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting when Jake saw my wings for the first tine and learnt the truth. Maybe yelling, maybe death threats, maybe a full blown panic attack like the few he'd helped me through on occasion, but the last thing I expected from him was to laugh.
"You make so much more sense now Kathy," Jake continued to chucked from behind me and I had to admit I was shocked. I was showing him my deepest darkest secret, the reason why there were currently three people standing in his kitchen and holding him at gun point and he was... laughing?
Next to me my mum growled, clearly annoyed with the reaction she was getting and spun me back around until I was facing him again.
"You're telling me, that you're holding her at knife point and me at gun point all because she has wings? You guys are fucking nuts," he exclaimed, gesturing to the two people currently holding my arms tight. "And don't even get me started on you Erik, I'm confused why you're even here."
"You have no idea what's going on," he drowned to my left, leaning forward as he tried to punctuate him point, jabbing his finger in Jake's direction. "This is so much bigger than either of you could even comprehend."
"That's enough," my dad snapped at Eric from behind Jake and I frowned at his scowling face.
There was obviously something going on that they wanted to keep secret, something they didn't want me to know about, but what?
"Time to leave," my mum suddenly declared from beside me, checking her watch as she started dragging me out the door.
The knife, which was still pressed against my through, pressed in for a second as she tried to drag me out the door before I could take a step with her, and it caused a trickle of blood to slide down the column of my throat.
Jake almost seemed to growl as his eyes followed that small trickle, fisting his hands tight in an attempt not to move. "Watch it," he gritted out through clenched teeth.
"And what are you going to do, throw a lacrosse stick at me?" My dad laughed, turning so he was facing Jake, gun pointed at his forehead. "Be a good boy and stay put whilst we deal with this."
He was going to follow us, I could see it in his eyes and knew I had to do something before he got himself killed because of me.
"Jake, I'll be fine," I reassured him, lifting my chin up to help ease the blades bite against my skin. "Just stay here and you'll be alright."
"It's not me I'm worries about," he argued back, gesturing to me with his head.
I shook mine as best I could as mum started dragging me out the door. "Just stay here, everything will be alright," I yelled as they finally pulled me through the threshold and out into the early morning light.