Chapter One

A Chapter by Aly Neill

KATY WYATT HAD NOT been awake long when she realized there were a circle of winged strangers surrounding her bed.

As if waiting for something, they stared at her silently, all dressed in tight black clothes that blended in the dim light; their huge, feathered wings were folded and rustling softly. Wings.

She jolted upright with a gasp.

Where was she? Had she been kidnapped?! Her head spun. Had they hurt her while she was asleep?

She pressed herself against the bed frame, breathing shallowly. She'd been kidnapped by a radical terrorist group, she was sure of it.

And from the looks of it, she didn't have any options.

Her eyes darted around for exits or weapons.

The lighting came from circular, dimmed bulbs in the ceiling, but almost nothing was visible past the strangers.

The metal, shiny walls had a slight curvature, and everything was -- clean.

She gripped the bedsheets, followed by her pale blue hospital gown.

There was a faint whirring in the background, almost like a generator or engine.

"Who are you?" Katy breathed. "Where am I?"

Her words echoed in her ears. She asked herself the same questions, and found she couldn't answer them.

Sweat beaded on her neck.

The strangers looked at each other uneasily. Questions burned between them.

She entwined her fingers against the cold mattress; the hum vibrated in the wall behind her.

It could've been her own pulse -- she couldn't tell.

"Answer me!" she yelled.

The one standing closest to her flared his wings.

She winced.

"Please, don't do that." He took a deep breath, looking at her nervously.

As if he was the one who had just been kidnapped.

"I'll explain everything."

She dared him to. Yes, please explain why she had been changed out of her clothes and taken here against her will. She shuddered with rage.

"You were in a coma for five years. When you woke up, you. . . ."

He looked to the others for confirmation before fixing her with his gaze.

"You saw something. Something you shouldn't have. We were forced to take you from your hospital and bring you here." His eyes were deep, brown.

Searching.

She tried to hide the effect they had on her by shaking her head furiously.

"I don't believe you," Katy whispered. She was falling, shrinking into the darkest parts of her mind. And she writhed there, because the subconscious, mortal part of her did believe him, latched onto any explanation. But --

"I won't believe you. You're insane!" she sputtered.

Her world was collapsing under the weight of his hypnotizing gaze.

He was lying, lying --

"You're a freak terrorist group with fake wings going to sacrifice me!" she blurted.

The hum was in her ears now, even as she heard the craziness of her words.

This room hardly contained a sacrificial altar, contained nothing but a bed from her glimpses, not even a door -- but they weren't human.

The stranger looked at his hands, as if it was hard for him. He seemed about 21 -- they all appeared around the same age -- with sharp, tanned features.

Not just tan; most of the group appeared almost, but not quite Asian, the men sporting considerable muscles that pulled their shirts taut.

"Jas," the woman next to him whispered.

He conceded a slight nod, turning his attention back to me, and took a deep breath.

"Yesterday was October 15," Katy insisted.

"We're not terrorists," Jas sighed. "And today is April 30."

She opened her mouth indignantly.

He hesitated before adding, "We're not going to hurt you."

Katy huffed disbelievingly. "If you don't let me go --"

"You're not going anywhere," Jas growled, flashing his teeth.

Something stirred in her gut.

An animalistic need to escape, to run, to gain some kind of advantage.

She scanned the semicircle for weakness, but he must have seen it in her eyes. She stilled.

He lurched forward, grabbing her arm roughly and pulling her out of bed. His grip was like steel.

The others backed away warily as she protested, letting loose a violent stream of curses.

"Just because you have wings doesn't give you a license to kidnap, you vulture!"

He released her, shoving her against a large window she hadn't noticed before by her bed with a thud.

Someone behind him chuckled.

Katy was about to give him a piece of her mind when -- she saw them. Her anger lapped out in little waves onto the cold glass.

They made her remember falling asleep on grassy hills under the open sky by her old telescope, flannel blanket under her, leather journal beside her.

The stages of the moon catalogued carefully, the constellations recorded.

Almost every page had been filled with facts, observations.

Brisk air and empty silence for miles.

She'd always had an unexplained obsession with the universe.

But she'd never seen anything like what was in front of her, if only from her telescope. Which was why she stepped back, and forgot everything else.

Stars. Trillions of them.

Galaxies, moons -- and planets.

Large, small, red, blue, all juxtaposed on a beautiful panoramic canvas.

And yet still far enough away to put into perspective. Her astrologist's soul reveled in awe.

It was like someone had released an immeasurable number of lanterns into the final frontier.

The final frontier.

She smiled softly.

And then it dawned on her.

Katy turned very, very slowly.

"You stole a rocket."

Jas smirked. "That's a very serious accusation."

She lunged at him, but he just raised a concrete wing, effectively forcing her back.

The woman who had spoken before stepped closer.

"We own this ship," she said carefully, "and we're thousands of miles from your planet."

An anchor latched onto Katy's ribcage and dragged it down, down, down to her navel.

She stumbled back to the window, wondering if she might go into a coma all over again.

"I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be. There's nothing for you there."

"How do you know that?" she hissed. "Maybe I have a family there. Friends."

She gritted her teeth. "Did I spend those five years on this ship?"

"No," the woman said calmly. "We know everything about you, Katy. We know your parents died in a house fire when you were very young, and your grandmother had custody of you."

Katy curled her toes. She had no right --

"Don't talk about me or my family like you know us," she snapped. "You know nothing."

The woman shifted her gaze to Jas for support.

Suddenly, the atmosphere was toxic.

Katy closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. She couldn't let them get to her -- couldn't show weakness.

"I'm sorry, Katy, but your grandmother passed away while you were asleep."

The anchor in her stomach snagged, and Katy sank to the floor with it.

No.

No.

She let her vision go unfocused, digging her nails into her palm.

Gran.

The one person she loved.

Her only family. Memories flooded back to her, as if she was the one dying instead.

Mountain hikes through fresh snow.

Sitting by the fire; drinking hot chocolate.

Books piled on the hearth she always talked about reading and never did.

No.

Her bare legs shook on the cool floor, but her senses were numb. Fury whipped a black hole between her ears, sucking in everything else.

"I don't believe you," she whispered.

Jas knelt beside her. His huge wings brushed the floor with a rustle, and he ran a hand through his messy dark hair.

"We saved you. You would've had to face endless reporters, foster care . . .you're one of us now."

Katy raised her head dully. She didn't care how he knew about those horrors. She only knew the venom gathering on her tongue.

"I will never be one of you," she spat. Her whole body was shaking.

"You took me from my bed," she seethed.

"You tell me Gran is dead, I missed my youth, and I've left Earth forever!"

She slammed her fists on the floor, biting back a sob.

Fire lit her blood, lighting on her skin, flying across her face.

"How about screw this," she shouted while stalking towards the others, "and screw all of you. What the hell did I see that ruined my life?"

The blonde stepped closer, wings flaring slightly, like she was about to touch her -- but her mouth was tense and her brows -- furrowed.

Katy recoiled instantly. The woman spoke softly, "Change."

"Change?" Katy laughed. Her hysteria spun itself into a ball of flames.

"How ironic that the very thing I saw is exactly how my life ended up. Changed."

She abruptly became aware of Jas standing behind her. . . . Which was why she turned, flashing her teeth at him mockingly.

"We'll answer all of your questions. But if you act like a savage, we'll be forced to take other measures," Jas intoned, staring at her.

Katy's throat tightened. She nodded reluctantly, her gaze drifting back to the window.

She had to learn everything about them she could to get the best of her surroundings. To figure out what she was going to do next.

Crossing her arms, she tucked her long, brunette hair behind an ear.

"I'm Jas," he said quietly.

Dangerously.

He's a vulture, she reminded herself.

And people stay away from vultures.

The first woman spoke next. "Circe."

She tilted her head, swaying her shoulder length glossy black hair.

"Elucien," the blonde woman murmured.

She was strikingly pretty. Her skin was quite pale, with chestnut brown eyes offsetting it and slightly curled, long hair cascading across her wings. She was the shortest and youngest looking in the group, and the only one who didn't appear Asian.

The woman who hadn't spoken yet somehow purred her name in both a soothing and yet unnerving tone, but remained still.

Watching her like a hawk.

"Matahari."

Katy took a shuddering breath, finding something else to look at than her concentrated stare. She didn't want to be in the same room with Matahari, let alone make eye contact.

The remaining two were obviously brothers, one with his hair in a wave, the other's mussed up.

Each brother about the same height and body type, with slightly varying wing sizes. While they were similar to Jas, they were handsome in a different way.

"Cian," the one with the mussed up hair said. His voice was low and seductive.

"Redmond," the last stranger greeted, his face impassive.

Katy sat on the bed, needing something sturdy to support her. It sank slightly under her weight, but made little sound.

"Give me a mirror," she said softly to no one in particular.

Jas and Circe glanced at each other.

She wondered if they realized the same thing she had -- not only would she be five years older, but it was unlikely any of them had a mirror on them.

One would have to leave the room, therefore revealing an exit.

But Jas nodded at Circe and she obliged, suprisingly pulling one out of her leather jacket.

A large handheld with a red rim.

They'd planned in advance.

Katy took it carefully, steadying herself for what would come next. No matter how different she looked, she would still be herself. Still the ambitious, independent girl she'd been all those years ago.

She held up the mirror.