The Haven

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

In an instant, a pair of black wings shoot from his back, ripping his white shirt and his eyes flutter close.

What.Just.Happened.

River and I just stare at Raven in shock. My feet are glued to their place on the floor and my gaze is fixed on the shiny black feathers of his wings. Raven starts to toss and turn, until he sits up and rubs his tired eyes.

"What happened?" Raven asks with a yawn, "My head is spinning like crazy...why are you guys staring at me?"

My mouth can't move to form words, but he notices me staring at something next to him and turns his head. His eyes turn the size of saucers and he lets out a loud scream.

"WHAT THE HELL!" He screams as he stands on his feet on the bed and turns in circles, inspecting the wings.

"Raven, what happened to you?" I manage to whisper while I still stare blankly at his giant black wings.

"I-I don't know...I-They picked me for the Calling...No one knows what h-happens, but they said I was going someplace new. Better. Th-They said I needed to uh improve?" My gaze peels away from his wings and gets lost in his icy blue irises. They did this to him? Why?

Genetic mutations. They call them gifts.

The voice is back. I turn to River and his eyes widen a little. He got the same message.

Raven sits back down with confusion and worry on his face. He looks so overwhelmed. He should, first thing we are fine in the Haven, next thing he's in a trailer with wings. And he has no idea what's going on, none of us do. We need answers.

I sit next to Raven and wrap my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. I'm probably making River really mad and jealous, but I don't care. Raven needs this hug, who knows what he's going through right now.

"Hey guys." Willow lets out a tired yawn as he walks in rubbing his eyes. His hair is a complete mess and his shirt is wrinkled from sleeping in it.

"Wow, man you have wings." Willow says noticing Ravens new "gift".

River steps in and grabs my hand, pulling me away from Raven.

"We need to go get some food, hey Tweety mind putting your wings away?" Raven glares at River as he folds his wings in. My mouth drops in astonishment at his wings, but then I remember what River said and smack his arm.

"Be nice, both of you!" My finger points back and forth at them both as I scold them. Really, they act like children sometimes.

I didn't really pay attention to my surroundings when I came out of the trailer after Raven because, well, I was too worried about him. I take in the strong smell of the pine trees and love the feel of the soft dirt and moss beneath my feet. The trees are thick and a cool breeze makes everything more peaceful as it glides through the forest. I could get used to this.

What's funny is I remember being in like a jungle when we escaped the Haven, not a pine forest. I'll have to ask River about that later.

River steps out of the trailer with three bows in his hands and gives one to Raven and I while keeping one for himself. I can't remember ever shooting a bow, but it feels so good in my hands, almost like it belongs there. I look over and see River smirking at me, he obviously knows something about the bow that I don't.

We all quietly walk through the forest, until Willow spots a squirrel in one of the trees.

"Aaliyah, you wanna try?" River whispers and I nod my head.

I extend my arm, holding the bow, and gently put the arrow in its place. Everything feels right. Carefully, I pull the string back to my cheek and let out the breath I was holding.

Release.

The arrow glides through the air and hits the squirrel perfectly in the chest, so there is no suffering.

"Yes! I did it!" I exclaim and run towards my kill.

Something catches my eye at the edge of the forest and my curiosity gets the best of me. With as minimal sound as possible, I creep up to the edge of the forest and peer through the trees. A large meadow with flowers of all kinds sits before me. Its beautiful. Its the kind of meadow that draws you in because of how peaceful and beautiful it looks. A smile grows on my face as I look around the field. I'm about to run out into the meadow, but I stop when I see a little girl on her knees in the center.

Her head is down so her chocolate hair falls in her face and her hands and feet are bound. I see someone coming towards her from behind with a gun in his hands. Why isn't she running? He has a gun!

Her feet are bound dummy, she can't run.

I send a mental glare to the voice and watch as the man gets closer and closer to the girl. I recognize this man. He looks just like the Ranger that escorted me to the Director on my first day in the Haven. He raises the gun and sets the barrel on the back of her head. I have to do something!

"Nooo!" I scream and instinctively, I run out into the meadow towards the little girl and the killer. The Ranger pulls the gun away from the girl and points it at me instead.

His finger starts to pull the trigger, but I can't stop running towards them. I need to save to girl.

He pulls the trigger and sends a bullet flying towards me. I duck just in time for the bullet to barely miss. Suddenly something large swoops down from the air and pierces the Ranger in the heart with an arrow.

Raven.

"Dove, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Raven is frantic as he holds my face in his hands and searches for any wounds.

"Don't worry, I'm ok."

"Jesus Dove! What happened!" I ignore River and push past Raven to run to the girl.

I can hear her sobbing, but can't see her face behind her long brown hair.

"Everythings alright, it's ok" I cut the rope binding her hands and feet, and she lifts her head.

I gasp when I see her red eyes. And yes, I said red. her cheeks are pink and puffy, while her lips are just as red as her eyes. She looks about 5 and is astonishingly beautiful.

"What's your name?" I ask in a sweet voice as she begins to trust I'm not going to hurt her.

"Illia, but in the Haven I was Cloud 8 Burrow." Her voice is quiet and soft.

I wonder what happened to her. She looks terrified, and she was about to be killed by a Ranger. But she's from the Haven? Why would a Ranger want to kill a citizen of the Haven?

"Why was that man trying to hurt you?" I ask and sadness seeps back into her eyes.

"Because I glitch."