Griffin Feather (Part One)

A/N: Here is the 1.1 version update of Griffin Feather. The first one was commented on by LisaTops saying I should tweak it up a bit. Well, I have a picture of what Niki will generally look like here (credit to EA) >>>>>

http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag62/EllieTheStranger/Screenshot-244_zps6620e55e.jpg

Goodbye, people of the universe!

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Cold nights felt all too familiar. When you only have a few blankets and your clothing, you can only imagine how hard it is to keep warm with a small piece of fabric. I tend to get by, though. The nights aren't too cold, at the coldest it's 40° Fahrenheit. It isn't quite comfortable, but it's better than snow.

I hear the wild unrest, but also see flashes of light in the trees. Curious, I get up and walk a few steps forward, trying not to disturb my sister, Remi.

"Who's there?" I shouted. I knew that wasn't any animal... perhaps some kids were messing around. I walked closer to the flashing...

Oh, my apologies... I'm ranting on about this story without even telling you the whole thing... I just think it would be necessary to start over with the full story.

I'm Nichola Marie Trick, raised by the nickname of Niki, in the town of Mystic, Connecticut. I'm sixteen years old, and I have no family. No family members that mean much to me, anyway.

My parents were constantly gone when I was a kid, resulting in my parents being out of town for business trips constantly. My mom gave birth to me on a plane flight to Turkey, and because they were never there for me (I nearly got kidnapped, but I called the police before they could abduct me), the social services took me away and gave me to a foster family. They adopted me shortly afterward, when I was with them for a year. I've been a part of their family since I was ten years old. Six years later, I still think they're better suited to be my parents than my actual ones. My parents were never there for me as a kid, now I have parents that are always there for me. Well... were.

My foster parents died in a car accident two weeks ago.

I remember the call that I'd gotten to reveal their passing, every detail of it. I was in tears, the policeman telling me to calm down and that social services would come by to pick me up later that evening, along with Remi. I couldn't go back to that hell hole... it's too painful to see all the children, some with missing limbs, some in wheelchairs, some with severe burns. And then there's me... abandoned by my workaholic parents since I was just a child.

I didn't want the pain coming back, I didn't want the depression I had when I was seven or eight years old. I wanted independence and strength, not unfortunate children and teens in my life every day. So, I packed a few loaves of bread, some clothes, water, a few blankets, and a picture of Emma and Lucas, my foster parents, and set off to who knows where, accompanied by Emma and Lucas' daughter, Remi.

The first night was a little bit rainy. I'd forgotten to bring a jacket with me (which was a stupid choice on my part, whereas Remi brought one). I just shivered and coughed. I felt miserable, thinking that I might die of hypothermia or of pneumonia. My body was wet, I was freezing cold, and I had nobody to come back home to. I felt bad for Remi, having to suffer through all of this. It made me think of what had happened to me seven years ago, when I'd almost gotten kidnapped. My parents weren't there for me. Only the kidnapper and my fearful self.

* * * * *

I was reading my book at about nine in the evening, and my nanny had gone to go pick up my parents from the airport. I hadn't seen them in a year or so, and I was really looking forward to it. All of a sudden, I heard the window shatter. I quickly ducked down, managing to dodge most of the glass.

I crawled away from the window, thinking it might be really windy. That was normal, it usually happened. It's never been this bad, though. Seeing somebody pop through the window, I screamed.

He immediately turned in my direction; thank goodness I was on my belly, hidden by my bed, otherwise I would've been taken away within seconds. Being the quick little girl I was, I darted out of the room, barely thinking about if he had any weapons. Thank God he didn't kill me right then.

I ran down the stairs into the basement. I immediately picked up the phone, starting to cry from utter fear. An officer quickly picked up on the other line.

"911, how can I help you?" The officer said on the other side of the line.

"Somebody has broken into my house... they're upstairs..." I said, worried.

"Okay, okay, calm down. What's the address?" he asked.

"1536 Lark Bird Way, hurry, please..." I said.

"Okay... we're on our way." the officer said.

Hearing footsteps going down the stairs, I dropped the phone, causing it to be dangling by the cord and darted to an area underneath the stairs. I was hidden by boxes and boxes of crafts, luckily my grandma always sent crafts for me to do. I quickly got down on my belly, trying my hardest not to be seen.

I saw the man come to the boxes, then stop. I saw a wicked smile cross his face as he turned toward the boxes.

Footsteps came running down the stairs, and I heard some yelling coming from the people. I looked up to see some police officers surrounding the man. Thank God.

I slowly sat up, putting my hands up like you're supposed to. I turned my head down. An officer approached me.

"It's alright," the officer told me. He held out his hand. I immediately took it, my hand shaking like crazy.

I never knew that officer would soon become my father.

* * * * *

The officer came up to me and started asking questions.

"Where's your guardian or parents?"

I hesitated. "At the airport with my parents..."

He looked at me. "How old are you?"

"Nine," I told him.

"...And they're at the airport?"

"They're always traveling."

(unfinished chapter)