- ONE - Kidnapped

Darkness seemed to devour empty space if it had not done so already. Katie with her silky long blond hair fluttering down her shoulders, stood there in pitch-black darkness palms pressed against her ears as an expression of pain crossed her beautiful facade. The eerie sound of knives scratching and deafening screeches of what seemed to Katie belonged to an Angel's high pitched melodious voices overpowered by an explosion of metal made her ears shriek in pain bleeding as if blades had lacerated the fabric of her skin and earlobes. She did not know how she knew that, but that is how she imagined it to sound like sheer torturous music like Beethoven’s symphonies played intensely fast, the mad intensity growing higher and torturous every second. In addition to these torturous melodies was the tuning of crashing thunder, its drum like blasts beating faster and faster one after another tuning with the already threatening choir.

The darkness she was once in flickered by the sudden bolt of lightning and hovering over her was something large, large as two skyscrapers. They towered over her, two tall figures, spreading behind them, films of feather - wings. Blinding light seemed to devour them, their physique shimmering with their shadows behind them. Katie squinted but no matter how hard she tried to see through the glamour she could not make out a face, but one thing was for sure, she knew it perfectly clear, clearer than her name: they had wings, large and spontaneous like an angels. Lightning struck again longer and relevant enough for her to see a full-length glimpse of the two of them, the one to her left had a golden pale complexion, pure white wings sprouting behind him and the other in contrast to her right had a dead pale complexion complimented by ash black wings.

Blood smeared on their previously hidden chiseled face and build, streams of blood came from the wounds of their skin. Seeing this gave their previous unforgivable malevolent actions away, Katie could see a flashback of what they had done projecting right in front of her. Fear washed over her as if she could feel what the victim had been feeling, been there and feel exactly how that person felt: tired, hungry, and wounded, blood mixing with sticky perspiration, hands supported against cold walls. Then suddenly she was there, she was this terrified victim, looking around tentatively fumbling with every step, trails of blood from her hands and leg giving away her location.

Delirious cackles came from a distance and she had quickened her pace, and the moment she thought she was safe, doubt and irony washed over her for she was not safe at all, she was not free from something, someone. She was now outnumbered by the same men, both of them despite being undeniably handsome wore a crooked grin on their lips, flames dancing on the dark irises of their pupils, both of them side by side as their wings fluttering behind them, large and blazing with fire as if they has been struck by lightning and caught on fire. Her eyes felt like bleeding in horror like the scene before her they were smiling at her, the flames in their eyes growing larger mocking her.

Again, she heard those deafening screeches however; they were not coming from them but around them. She pressed her palms hard against her ears, the deafening buzz of ‘nothing’ was not enough to overpower those torturous screeches. She turned wincing and the moment she did her eyes grew wide, behind her, the tail of her reflected shadow, between the two men’s with winged shadows was hers, small and fitting perfectly between them. Just like them, feathery extensions appeared and fluttered behind her as if they were her hands joining both men side by side with her, wing to wing, hand to hand, swinging, and horribly connected.

 

Katie..., an utterly warm and nostalgic unmistakable male voice whispered ... Wake up, Katie... it persisted again, but the gentle and playfulness as this person said it never left ... Ka-ti-e... it cooed.

 

Katie's nose twitched with sudden feeling of feathers like soft delicate fingers brushing softly tracing the outlines of her forehead and the tip of her nose. She jerked up, eyes fluttering open. She skimmed around her dimly lit room for a trace of life only to be discouraged that she was alone, the voice nowhere to be found. No human presence but a single fragment of feather, glittery white and silky soft lying on top of her blanket covered lap. She glanced at her open window she must have forgotten to close it up last night as always it must have belonged to a dove or a pigeon’s flying in early in the morning scouring her place for whatever leftover crumbs as an early morning’s meal. She swung her feet to the side, plucking the feather between her delicate fingers and placing it on the vase alongside with the others she had found on other mornings such as these.

She did not know why she had this infatuation with birds’ maybe it was because it always reminded her of her mother. Her mother, a beautiful woman whom she remembered attracted many birds at her time quite loved them, everywhere she went they'd be there, flocks of jays, ravens, pigeons, and yes even doves crowding around her. She did not have to lift her hand to signal the thing out and land onto her shoulder ever so effortlessly.

Nevertheless, even though her mother had the grace and attitude of a bird, loving the highest of all places and being out in the wilderness, she in contrast did not. She was not blessed with the 'green hand' or the grace and beauty as her mothers. She did not even love the thought of flying, let alone the thought of being in high places. The only thing they shared was the same name, maybe the same features, but mostly the love of aerial flying creatures.

 

A loud continuous clamor came from her door. Katie on her way to the door fumbled as she straightened her pj's and quickly ran her fingers on her hair and mouth for any traces of her obvious oversleeping. She let out a melodramatic yawn, swinging her front door open and leaning on the edge of her doorframe, in front of her was her sixty-year-old next-door neighbor Louisa Rockwell, the scrawny woman in fluffy bunny slippers and matching jade cottony sweater. Her bleached blond curls tied up in a tight bun. Katie let out a sheepish smile, "what's up Mrs. Rockwell," Katie chirped humoring the esteemed shorter woman in front of her.

"Nothing much Kaitlin,” the elder woman said, her dramatic pause right after saying her full name made her body cringe involuntarily. The way she said it had its awkward feel to it, no one had ever called her that except her mother and close friends when they were having a fit over her obnoxious suggestions and to be honest she wanted to keep it that way, “except a week supply of teepee."

Mrs. Rockwell tossed her bleached blond hair aside flashing a handful of toilet paper on one hand in front of her, "I don't suppose you had anything to do with this?" She muttered then whispered something to herself, the only words she caught, barely audible was something like 'teenagers these days' and an irritable 'tsk' in the end.

Katie stared for a long time dumbfounded at the white disposable fabric, thinking to herself who must have had motives of wanting to teepee the old hag's apartment, at times like these surely it was the doing of an obnoxious teenager. Sure she was scary looking than any other typical next door neighbor or her very own apartment landlord to be exact, but she was nice and bearable, or at least when it’s not that time of the month.

Before she could ponder more into it, something began to vibrate inside the secreted pockets of Katie's pj's she fished inside them shaping out the words 'I'm sorry' at the elder woman whose expression only gotten worst with impatience. She flipped her phone open, not bothering to check up on its caller ID and tilted aside covering her mouth slightly with one hand for privacy.

The caller, she identified, with its husky conceited voice as Allen Faulkner. She would not be surprised how he managed to get her number or the reason why he called. She could imagine him flashing that annoying little smirk of his on the other line, mocking her. She sighed, but did not bother to speak first, did not bother to scream and let out all her raging anger. Instead, Allen spoke first and just as she predicted he was mocking her, his tone impecunious as always.

"Like my gift?"

"Screw you." She snarled whispering the moment she realized Mrs. Rockwell was still in front of her door step either eavesdropping on her conversation or just plainly trying her best to wait patiently, tapping her foot peevishly with the heaps of toilet paper still on hand.

"I'd love to but I can't," he cooed, Katie could tell he was using his home telephone, his voice scratchy with him playing with the ringed loops of his telephone line, his grin wider than ever, "wanna help me?"

Katie rolled her eyes irritably, "you're lost," she growled and this time snapped her phone shut before he could burst out any more sarcastic comments. Her phone rang again she knew it was him and instead dismantled its batteries tossing it aside on her divan and turning back at Mrs. Rockwell. She still stood there stiff and exultant like a statue, the stash of toilet paper still at hand. Katie pinched the depression between her eyes and nose biting her bottom lip hard she thought she tasted blood streaming down her lips, "I'm sorry about that Mrs. Rockwell." She apologized, taking the heaps of toilet paper on her hands, "I'll fix it."

A smirk rode on the elder woman's lips, her earlier stern expression had softened, "very we'll, I'll leave it to you then," she turned with her fluffy bunny slipper covered heels, she looked back her ogre green irises reproving, "better get it done with before you're late for your classes."

"Will do Mrs. Rockwell," Katie called out already starting to dump the heaps of toilet rubbish on her wastebasket, sighing, as another day would pass by.

***

"Allen!" wined Jessie, jumping high with all her strength trying to reach her oval spectacles dangling high above her, the slim long hands belonging to a fairly tanned brown-head-blue-eyed six footer Allen, a mocking triumphant grin visibly playing on his lips.

"Come on little girl, if you want to have these baby back you gotta jump for it." He sneered, his pack of friends snickering behind him. Allen twirled the ebony specs with his two fingers the shiny lenses glinting against the light above them, and tosses it effortless aside, a few distance away from where Jessie stood.

The spectacles let out a shriek, the lenses cracked by its impact. Jessie stumbling as she searched for them was now on the verge of tears, tripping and staining her angelic facade with tears, her fine haze highlights plastered stickily on her skin, making her look like a complete mess.

Someone stood in front of her bending down to pick up her ruined monocles, and placed it back on its rightful spot on her face, her chinky eyes wincing behind the spider-web cracked design of its lenses, the legs were left unscrewed falling off and unaligned. Less discouraged by the damaged, Jessie adjusted her sight, through her webby vision she could see the girl kneeling before her, her best friend, Katie.

Jessie stretched her arms to hug her, being in them showed how glad she was to see she was there. Relief and other mixed emotions rushed within her and without knowing tears had begun to downpour out of her small chinky eyes, sobbing silently in the other girl’s arms, shaking in fear.

Katie, like a mother, but mostly as a friend would, let her hold her, hug her tight as she patted her back lightly at the same time stroke down her auburn tresses. Her doing so did an outstanding job in pacifying Jessie. She was now only a sniffling. Katie shot Allen a viscous glare, and Allen being the one on the receiving end only took this in, without a hint of intimidation but sheer amusement.

"How dare you pick on a defenseless little girl," roared Katie, eyes blazing bloody red with rage, however Allen's grin had only grown wider, each end touching the tip of his ears,

"Oh, look whose here its bird girl, defending this little weakling again I see." Allen crossed his arms, back flat as he leaned against the locker behind him, "well it can't be helped ‘birds with the same feather flock together’." He sneered, a loud obnoxious sneer that Katie found irritating. His pointed nose seemed to distort, the flesh drooping like a deflated balloon, like Squidward of SpongeBob. Katie got up on both feet, and as fast as she was up on both feet she was right in front of him, fist clenching the collar of his shirt. She pulled him down, his face nearly inches from hers, but he did not seem to mind, his smirk grew wider. “What'cha gonna do bird girl?”

Katie clenched his collar tighter, the idea of strangling him crossed her mind, but before she could even dare to try to do so, Jessie held her back. An irresistible pleading puppy expression dominating her innocent façade, she held Katie’s arm, slinging them against her, urging her to forget about it. Katie, without removing her tight grip only felt even more irritable, she would give in to that innocent face, but how could she? She was plainly pissed off, pissed off at this jerk right in front of her. “I can’t let him just get away with that Jess!” she beamed, betrayal surging wildly within her.

“That’s so not like you Katie,” whined Jessie tugging on her arm, once more pleading peace, “you can’t stand all of them. And even if you can, we’ll all end up in trouble, please Katie, just stop.”

However, it was already too late. Danny, their school designated student hall monitor alongside with the disciplinary officer Mr. Perkins stood across them, a displeased expression written over their faces. Katie looked from them to Allen and back at them, for a long time her eyes rested at them. She flinched. Busted she thought. There was no use to hide it or make any excuses at all they will not even believe her. Seeing how Allen and his friend had won this battle already, Katie shoved him back, an embarrass look visibly playing on her face.

“Miss Stork in my office” Mr. Perkins roared. It was not his usual kind of outburst, it was calmer and less louder than the others she had seen him do, and even so, it was frightening at the same time with the displeased expression he wore the whole time she had walked behind him as he led her to his office.

There she sat on the cold steel chair across the brawly plump fair skin man. Mr. Perkin’s a native Amazonian in his late thirties grew up and graduated from their very high school, Heirest High, sat courteously. He examined her records, casting a glance at her from time to time confirming facts with reality, and from then on lectured her about how she was a good girl, smart and admirable. Lectured her how she should not have stooped down to their level, that he was displeased of her actions.

After enduring hours of his pointless lecture, since he had been repeating the same thing repeatedly making them sound like a perfect speech-like lecture, the whole thing she had to get from it was plain and simple: she was a lady smart and admirable it was unladylike to stoop down to a man’s level. Moreover, since she had violated the school law that ‘no student shall touch the opposite sex, lay a finger or even obtain a fleck of hair’. Hypothetically speaking because they were a Catholic Private School practicing abstinence and righteous conduct, she must not do such things even if she was in the right, which to Katie was a stupid and unfair law considering the fact that Allen started it, and she was the only one punished for it.

In the end, the whole day for Katie was dedicated in cleaning up after Allen’s mess, and a day’s worth of unreasonable tick off. Mr. Perkins instead of suspending her for a day or two or keeping her in a class for detention, managed to make her day feel a lot worst with her doing ‘voluntary service’ by clearing the entire campus which included mopping the hallway’s to shining perfection and stacking the piling heaps of books in the crowded book room. After hours of hard work, this only contributed to the growing pain sprouting inside her due to the hours she had spent de-teepeeing Mrs. Rockwell’s front porch. She had to climb trees, and yes survived a fall from on top of one and spared with the roof that was not that much of a complete disaster.

That night, feeling sore as ever and on the verge of crawling her way home she was spared with the thought of riding the nearest subway station. On her way to there, she felt as if someone was following her, she would stop from time to time looking back and finding the same to man in black trench coat and worn out jeans if not coincidentally then intentionally stalking her. She paced forward and with her adrenaline and paranoia building up ended up running as fast as she could, thinking she could out run him. He was fast, too fast. His movement so swift, she did not see that while she was focused on him gaining on her, he had another comrade appearing right in front of her. She did not see that coming and skidded into a screeching halt, her running shoes sparking with friction burning like the rubber. Her heart leapt out of her chest, slamming hard with her body with her sudden halt. "Who are you?” She stuttered her hands rose up in front of her defensively as their eyes watched her mischievously. “I have no money."

Both of them blocked her path, one of them with curled blond hair stepped forward a little closer locking their distance, she could see that from under his trench coat was black leather armor, weapons she couldn't even describe sticking out of every imaginable pockets hidden inside them. “Oh we don’t want your money sweet heart, we want you.” He whispered, his voice as he spoke sounded like grinding metal and like his mouth, he reeked of dead moths, the images of withering butterfly skeleton manifested as he breathed every word, “we want your soul.” He smiled treacherously that cavity holes punctured the bottom of his teeth and jaws.

Fear based adrenaline rushed frantically within her, she stepped back, trying to make a run for it, but before she could do so she was caught into the arms by the other man in black trench coat his bulky muscular arms wrapped around her waist. She looked up only to meet graze of an ebony black sharp threaded haired man, he was devilishly handsome, young, probably somewhere near her age range. He wore a victorious smirk, but under that handsome façade, in his eyes, she could see every wrong deed he had done, lives he had taken, things he had burned, and one thing’s for sure, he never regretted any of it. He seemed like the type of person who would defy his looks by stealing candy from a baby or set any known person on fire and watch them die along with its flames. She felt like she was staring down a deep empty pit of darkness for she knew he had no soul.

For a while, they had been that way, a personal staring contest started between them, and no one had seemed to won the match. The trench-coat man still held her in his arms, and Katie still had her head tilted up to the point that she would regret she would gain a hardcore stiff neck as soon as this was over. His comrade, wearing an irked expression broke it off.

“Enough flirting with the prey,” he said jerking Katie harshly out of his hold. “You can do whatever you want with this virgin after we feed her soul to the king of hell.” He took a handful of Katie’s blond hair and pulled her head back to face him, “Mikey’s gonna love you.”

“Ephron, don’t you think you’re being a little too rough on the girl?” the other man said, swatting Ephron’s grasp.

Ephron taken aback wore a bemused expression, “Quiet you, I’ll do what I want, if I want to pull this rat’s hair out or strip her naked and feed her off to the alligators I’ll do it and you have no say in it.” Ephron snarled releasing his grip on Katie’s hair and shoving her towards the other man who swiftly and effortlessly caught her into his arms. Ephron turned his expression irritable as he fanned himself with his hands, “I don’t understand why King appointed me with an amateur like you. You have no trace of malevolence to begin with.”

“Well that’s so like the King to bark out orders and pairing you off with the people you don’t like, so deal with it.”

“Enough chatter, the king would bite our asses off if we’re late. You carry her.”

“You didn’t even have to ask.” The man with ebony hair said flashing her a wicked smile, incomparable to Ephron whose teeth were plagued of cavities and the moment he did, Katie could see the outburst of two black wings reforming behind him with his trench coat removed and he was now in full black armor �" fitted sleeve shirts and denim jeans.

At her shock, Katie batted her eyelashes, blinking just to make sure she was not imagining it. It was just like her dream, the tall black winged man, handsome and the large fluffy wings fluttering behind him. She squinted, adjusting her view of the ebony haired man; he was indeed the guy in her dream. She froze, not knowing whether she should take this chance to run, and he in return exchanged a worried glance. “Are you alright?”

Katie nodded, “If you want me to be alright then let me go.”

“Then I guess I have no other choice.” He said slinging her over his shoulder, arm wrapped on her waist and thighs, “don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re safe.” He reassured and they ascended high above the sky.

Thousands of feet high in the air, Katie felt like she was floating. They passed through mist of rain clouds and the full moon, which was blinding solar blue. The view below was beautiful neon lights coming from tall skyscrapers and casino looked like sparklers on New Year’s Day.

She felt sick, she never been this high before, and looking down made her feel even more worst with nausea as her stomach twist and turned despite the beautiful view up there. She wanted wanting to throw up but refrained in doing so just because she still valued her life. She had faith she knew god would not leave her alone and die up in midair or in the hands of evil at that matter. She wished that these winged men would be normal enough to have those ‘breaks’ and give her the opportunity to escape and call the cops.

Katie could hear jets coming from the east she casted a quick glance to her left and her eyes grew wide as an incoming jet came swirling towards them. She screamed as loud as she could, she did not know she could let out that much. The wing man who had held her flinched almost releasing his grip on her, her body dangled making her feel even more terrified as she scrambled her way up against him. Another incoming jet came towards them, or so she thought. When she finally got a better view, she identified the jet like creature to be in actuality as another winged man, except this guy had white gracefully laced wings. Ephron let out a hiss, hurdling towards him.  

The white winged man evaded the attack and this time came towards Katie, she shielded herself thinking he might have been blind to notice her presence and attack both of them. The black winged man who still held her evaded the attack and Ephron came towards the white winged man, the black winged duo was a perfect match when it came to attacks and evasion, Katie thought that whoever this king of those black winged men was, was intelligent enough to pair the duo as a tandem.

The white winged man, this time came after Ephron, his swift movements were hard to grasp, making it hard for Ephron to set up a blow. Ephron swung impatiently, fist missing one after another and the white winged man dodged them effortlessly, dodging below and locking a blow on Ephron’s midsection. Ephron let out a shriek of pain, stumbling back for a moment and regained his composure, expression even bitter and furious than before. The white winged man smirk opening his closed palm and blowing the sudden pixie dust at him. The mist of pixie dust shimmered as they surrounded him like a cage refraining him from his every movement. The next moment, Ephron and the pixie dust like cage faded.

Katie gasped as the white winged man came at them again, the black winged man who held her evaded the attack, a victorious smirk playing on his face, however his victory was only short lived for the white winged man had disappeared and appear right behind them, locking his arms against the black winged man’s neck. The black winged man released his hold on Katie, double taking as his arms flung into his neck trying to withstand the grip the white winged man had on his neck. “We meet again Reeve.” Said the white winged man triumphantly, the way he said his name casually was an assumption that they knew each other, but his moment of triumph was short lived as well as he searched Reeve’s hold of Katie. He looked down at Katie screaming her guts out as she fell thousands of feet down at a high speed, he released his grip of the black winged man Reeve, Reeve rubbed his already snake red marked neck with an ugly glare. “We’ll continue this later,” said the white winged man and dove down for Katie.

“Katie!” a male voice called out, it sounded utterly nostalgic, but even though she recognized it she didn’t dare look back to see who it came from, she was too busy screaming her guts out, squeezing her eyes shut as she plummeted thousands of feet down. I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die! She repeated shrieking the helpless words in her mind, waiting for the worst to take its course. She was probably twenty feet close to slamming and shattering herself on the busy streets of New York, she could see the traffic lights and headlights go high beam through her closed eyes.

Her heart stopped and the next moment a weird feeling crossed her, something bloomed behind her and she felt lighter and realized her acceleration was slowing. She opened her eyes slowly, she was no longer falling she was floating in midair. Two large fluffy white laced wings sprouted and propelled behind her. She landed on both feet on the ground, slowly but surely, her expression dazed, the next moment she fainted, fainted and caught into the arms of two strong perfectly chiseled arms.

Author's Note

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