Passenger

Chapter 1

I feel...sick.

Why? Was it something I ate? Did I stay out in the cold too long? I can't...can't remember...

I can hear someone's voice. "Rachel, dear, please! Please wake up!" It sounds like...mom.

Then dad's voice. "you have to stay strong, Rachel! You are our hope, our future!" that's...dad.

And then one more voice. "please, Rachel...I don't know what I'm gonna do without you." who...is that? "please get better...please..."

It's...my brother, Leif. But why does he sound so afraid? And why is everything...so...cold? Why can't I see anything, why can't I feel anything? It was as if I was supposed to be asleep, yet still awake...it's...so cold...so cold...am I...is this...

Am I dead?

* * * *

"wake up...wake up...wake up...wake up. Wake up. Wake up!"

I gasped. My eyes shot open as I sat upright, breathing hard. Thoughts came rushing back to me in a frenzy, and I blinked rapidly. Oh. It had all been a bad dream. I was...back home. Right?

It didn't seem like it. There was sand underneath me, and water lapping at the edge of it. I was on a beach, then. Why? How did I end up here? I...couldn't remember...

Slowly, I got to my feet, dusting myself off, before noticing there was someone else next to me. I glanced down in surprise to see the form of a young man, no older than I was, sprawled out on the shore a few feet away. He was wearing fine, silken clothing dyed a sky blue color, waterlogged and soaked. He was lying facedown as well, so the only facial features I could really make out was a head of messy blonde hair, similarly soaked. He looked like he had just crawled out of the ocean...which might've been true, seeing where we were.

And his shirt...it had two slits in it on the back, one lined up with each of his shoulder blades. Beneath the folds, I could just barely make out the stumps of what had been two appendages...like wings.

Wait a minute. This guy had wings? "but that would make you...an Avian." I said aloud. "what are you doing down here?"

The Avians lived above us, their civilization built on the floating islands and continents miles and miles in the sky. The only way to reach them...well, there wasn't one, not really anyways. And even if we could, I doubted they'd want our company. They never came down to the middle lands. Never.

And yet, here was an Avian, passed out in front of me. But what had happened to his wings? If I remembered my father's lessons correctly – which I didn't always, to be fair – wings were a point of pride for the Avians. So why were his missing?

Well, this day had already proven to be a strange one, judging from that dream. And I really shouldn't just leave him here. Turning back towards him, the Avian seemed to already be stirring. "hey, guy? Can you hear me?" I called, crouching over him. "are you okay?"

A moment later, I heard a faint groan; but he still didn't move. Irritated, I knelt next to him and reached out to shake him. "hey! Wake up!"

My hand went to grab his shoulder; but it didn't. instead, it passed straight through, leaving a strange feeling of goosebumps on my skin. The Avian shivered as I immediately yanked my hand back in shock and surprise. What was that? What had just happened.