Wings

Chapter 16: Reina

I walked towards the park near my house, noticing a few people I didn't know milling about. They were all about my age, or in their early twenties. As I passed a tightly clustered group, I heard one say, "Where's Chester?" They all glanced up and stared at me with cold eyes as they disbanded. "Creeps." I muttered under my breath, suddenly regretting my walk. As I sat down on a swing, the people seemed to vanish. I suddenly felt very afraid. Feeling that I was being watched, I turned around, but saw nothing. My agitation grew when the birds stopped singing. Wringing my hands together, I got up and made for a shortcut through a small wooded area to get back to my house.

As I made my way a few yards into the woods, I heard the crack of a twig behind me. Whipping around the face the sound, I found myself literally confronting an angel. The white wings were flecked with grey and were spread open as if ready for flight. They cast a shadow over a figure who seemed ready to pounce. I choked down a shout; of awe or fear I couldn't tell. I was frozen to the spot until the figure said in a male voice,

"She has the scent of the traitor with her." In a very ominous tone that chilled me to the bone.

"Then stop your jabbering and grab it!" Another voice nearly screeched from the shadows. "We need the information if we're going to go through with the plan."

What they meant by that, I had no clue; I didn't stick around to find out. The second the 'angel' twitched, I was dashing away at top speed. Hearing the great wings shuffle, I risked looking back, and then up. I came to an abrupt halt as the figure landed in front of me. Turning, I dashed in the opposite direction. All of a sudden, I heard a sharp grunt from behind me. I kept running, not caring what had happened. A sharp scream filled the air, one of endless pain and suffering, but it was quickly cut off.

I ran faster, tears blurring my vision. Within moments I had crashed into someone who had seemed to materialize out of nowhere. I threw a punch that was lightly caught in the fist of a familiar person.

"T-Tyler, oh my god," I gasped, out of breath. "There was this guy and-and he had these... wings and then he tried to grab me and...... holy lord it was terrifying," I said between gasps and sobs.

"Did they say why?" He asked softly, rubbing my back comfortingly.

I nodded, getting myself under control again. "It had s-something to do with a plan. Something about 'needing the information' and a traitor."

I felt him go rigid for a moment. "Did you understand what they meant by any of it?"

I shook my head no, taking a shaky breath. "Am I going insane?" I asked quietly. So quietly, in fact, that I thought he hadn't heard me when he didn't respond.

"I'm not sure, Reina. Gail could probably answer that, though." He walked me home and accepted my offer to treat him to dinner, seeing as my parents weren't at home at the moment.

Something still bothered me. Who was the traitor, who were those people, why the hell did that guy have wings, and what did they mean by plan and information?