Blue Wings {COMPLETE} {UNDER EDITING}

Chapter 7 - Sarah

"Sarah! Slow Down!" The voice behind me huffs. Despite his heavy breathing, Kevin speeds up till he matches my speed, his silver bike appearing beside me.

"Come on Kevin! I saw them flying this way!" I yell over the squeak of our bikes as we speed through the back ways of New York.

"You mean your make-believe giant crows!?" He scoffs beside me in a tease-like tone. I throw him a sidelong glance.

"They are real and I will prove it!" I hiss, speeding ahead. I pump my legs hard on the peddles, flying though the street. "I know I saw them!" I murmur to myself, zipping into an alley. A few homeless people run past me screaming as they crowd through the exit, carrying what little belongings they have. I brake sharply, sending stones flying around me as I skid to a halt, jumping off my bike and throwing it on the ground. It clangs in the stones, and I begin stalking further into the alley. Kevin runs up beside me, breathing heavily. He stops, buckling over and begins coughing and wheezing.

"Ugh, Sis. Why must you go so fast!?" Kevin huffs beside me, face red from strain.

"Well if you didn't sit on your butt playing video games all day, you would be in better shape." I state, walking away from him. The alley opens up into an empty space with dust covering the ground and only a few patches of grass growing around the edges. A couple burning barrels sit outside, although many have been knocked over and strewn throughout the area. One lone skyscraper sits further back and I stalk towards it.

"See, there is nothing here." Kevin states behind me, grumbling to himself.

"I have to find out what those homeless were running from." I reply, stalking closer to the skeleton of a skyscraper. I start making my way around to a door in the back when something shiny catches my eye. As I bend down to pick it up a large blast from above shakes the ground, knocking me over. Stones from the cement beams rocket down around us and I jump up quickly, grabbing Kevin's shirt and pulling him to a ditch. I shove him into it and duck down inside myself. The small metal object rests in my hands. I quietly slip it into my pocket covering my ears with my hands.

We huddle in the dirt for minutes as the ground trembles and structures from the lone skyscraper crash around us. Screeching from the metal makes me shiver in pain and I bring my knees to my chest closing my eyes. When the trembling seems to stop, I open my eyes, crawling out from the ditch. I cough as the dust enters my lungs, covering my eyes from it. Kevin crawls out and stands beside me as we wait for the dust to settle. He breathes in sharply as we stare at the destruction. Most of the skyscraper's top collapsed, leaving debris strewn far around us.

"Come on Kev, you can't tell me this was just a coincidence.." I say as I walk over the debris, closer to the skyscraper.

"Sarah wait!" His whining voice comes from behind me as he tries to catch up, stumbling over the large cement beams that had fallen. "You're going to get yourself killed! There is nothing here... can we please go." He whines more, grabbing my arm to spin me around.

"They were here Kevin! There has to be proof." I yell at him gripping his hand tightly. He looks at me with big green eyes, lip trembling, but I won't cave in, I need to find out what happened. Eventually he sighs looking down.

"Alright sis, what are we looking for?" I smile, turning to venture closer to the door behind the skyscraper.

"Anything that would indicate the giant crows were here."

"Like these?" I turn around to face him as he holds up a giant black feather.

"Whoa." I say out loud as I step over to his side, studying the feather. He hands it to me and bends down to pick up more. I put the feather point against my shoulder, extending my arm. The feather tip tickles the inside of my hand and I pull it away to study it again.

"Do you believe me yet?" I ask sarcastically, staring at the feather in my hand. Kevin stands back up by my side, holding more long black feathers in his hand. I look at them, running my fingers along one when something else catches my eye.

"Wait, give me that." I grab the feathers from his hand, shifting through them. I pull one out from the rest and hold it between us.

"What.." Kevin breathes beside me, low and quite. I too, can't keep my eyes from the feather. Instead of plain black, it is a sparkling white with blue painting the tip. I hold it up to my shoulder, and extend my arm, but this time the feather tip only brushes slightly past my elbow.

"I thought you said the crows had all black feathers?" Kevin questions, taking the feather from my hand.

"They did." I reply glancing up at the top of the skyscraper. Smoke billows from the massive hole in the top and I watch it cover the sky.

"But what if there was something else here. Something they were chasing."

~<->~

I close the door to my room, slipping my backpack off and throwing it on the bed. Resting on the edge, I pull out my notebook from it's hiding spot underneath the mattress, flipping to a new page. I begin scribbling down notes; details about the explosion and our discovery. After a bit I stop, rereading my writing before throwing the notebook on the bed. I pull the feathers from my backpack, laying them out on the bed. The white one catches my attention and I run my fingers along it's silky surface.

"Sarah!" My mom's voice calls from the kitchen, "Dinner's ready!"

"Coming!" I yell back, shoving the feathers below my bed. I close my notebook and rush downstairs, appearing in the kitchen. The sweet smell of cooking chicken reaches my nose as I watch my mom move from the oven to the sink. She walks over to me when she notices me in the doorway, grabbing my hands.

"Oh Sarah! You're all dirty! Go wash up, now." She orders, turning back to the oven when a timer rings. I sigh turning away to the bathroom. Leaving the door open a crack, I turn on the water to the sink. The door creaks as I am running my hands through the warm liquid and Kevin steps in beside me. He sits on the edge of the tub behind me, patiently waiting for his turn at the sink. I hurry and splash water on my face, stepping away from the sink to grab a towel.

"Hey Sarah." Kevin starts as I dry my face. "Are you going to show Dad those feathers? He works with birds all the time, maybe he can help you identify the white one."

"I dunno, Kev. He will probably ask where we found them.." I reply, facing him.

"It's worth a shot." He faces me with a lopsided smile. Even though he is a year younger than me, he is already taller than me. I walk up beside him, attempting to ruffle his dark black hair, but he quickly ducks out of reach.

"Thanks bro." I smile, walking past him, but the sick feeling in my stomach doesn't fade as I walk back to the kitchen. I pull out the metal object that rests in my pocket, turning it briefly in my fingers, studying it. 'It' is a golden ring with intricate detailing and the letters M.L engraved on the inside. 'It' is the ring my dad never takes off..