Tainted Wings

Chapter One

Have you ever had the sensation where you've felt someone watching you? It's something Hekate has felt her entire life. She always looked over her shoulder to find no one there but felt the eyes regardless. There was always something in the corner of her eye that could never been seen. A white blur that would disappear before she had a chance to get a glance of it.

Hekate ran through the doorway of her house, in a breathless panic. She called for her mother, but there was no answer. Just the sounds of the air conditioner kicking on thanks to the warm September air.

Mom must still be at work, she thought.

Despite the excitement she felt from winning a couple of ribbons from a gymnastics meet earlier in the evening, the familiar feeling of being watched weighed down on her. Always the white shadow in the corner of her eye. Never feeling truly alone. Balling her fists, she sighed.

Hekate closed the front door, erasing the shadow from sight altogether. She hoped it would stay out there. It never did. Locking the door, she turned to run up the stairs to shower and change. Her team sweat pants and jacket clung to her from the sweat of the day. She couldn't even stand to smell herself.

As she made her way to her bedroom, her hand froze on the door handle. Slowly, she turned to search for the eyes that had returned. Goosebumps raised over her body when she realized no one was there. She reached back to press the hairs on her neck back down and attempted to shake the feeling.

The cold sensation only spiked as she opened her bedroom door. Her computer was turned on, with a document sitting brightly on the screen, waiting for her.

"I know I turned you off," she mumbled.

Hekate froze when she read the words on the screen:

Be ready. It is almost time.

In a panic, she fell to the ground before crawling underneath her desk. She searched in the dark for the power cord and yanked it from the tower. The sweat from the gymnastics meet returned, covering her body with a moist due causing the chill to worsen. The message had no meaning to her, but the fact that it was there scared her enough.

Hekate pulled herself out from under her desk and stood in the dark room again. She covered her mouth while holding her stomach, waiting. She half-expected the computer to return to life despite the lack of power. Finally, she attempted to shake off her fear again and grabbed her sweatpants and tank top off the bed. Just in case, she also grabbed the large pocket knife that usually sat on her nightstand.

Even after her hot shower, Hekate couldn't shake the nervous feeling. Normally, it would subside, as it always did. The sensation of being watched didn't necessarily frighten her, but this was different. Something had changed. And it wasn't just because of the strange message from her computer.

After slipping into her pajamas, she glanced at her computer again. Deciding it could have been a fluke, she crawled under the desk again, and to reattach the power. As she plugged it in, a voice echoed from downstairs, causing her to jump and slam her head on the desk.

"Hekate! You home," a voice from downstairs called.

"Yes mom!" she yelled as she attempted to rub her new bruise away.

Her eyes met the computer again as she crawled out from underneath the desk. It was still off. She glared at it, almost daring it to turn back on. Satisfied after a few seconds, Hekate made her way downstairs to see her mother pulling out the bag of chicken nuggets and a pot of macaroni.

"Long day?"

The tall, thin woman turned to see her daughter, completely unaware of the fear that was hiding beneath the surface, and smiled. "Pretty much. I have a whole new order of clothes to fix. And I have to turn in some sketches before the end of next week."