Day one - September 27...I think

If only. Maybe if Jamie hadn't left, I wouldn't be here right now. Maybe if I had only let Mike go into the woods, and not followed him... Maybe if I had decided to take a shower and didn't hear Mike's knock, or I had taken a nap, or I had gone out somewhere...

But the fact is, I'm here, and I'm scared out of my mind.

I'm not sure where here

is, exactly. All I can tell is that I'm in a cold, damp basement. Sitting on a cold concrete floor. Hard, too. I want to go home! I'm so worried about Niketa. Did that monster Mike take her as well? She's just a baby...

Why am I writing this? Partly I'm just trying to stay sane, to go over what led to me being here. Partly also, if something happens to me, I want people to know exactly how Aurora Acwater met her end. I hope somebody does

find this. If you're reading this, please, please

, somehow, track down either Jamie ___ or Flicka Acwater and give this to them. I...I just want to see both of them, at least one last time...

I guess I should tell you who I am that's writing this. My name is Aurora Acwater Grayson, but I prefer the last name of Acwater. The name Grayson shames me. I'm only 15 years old, though I have been through more things in the last six years than most people have in their entire lives. Obviously, I don't have the time or space on this paper to give you my entire history - assuming anyone will ever read this - but when I was but nine, my parents were murdered and I was taken away with my little sister (actually, half-sister) Flicka, by a stranger by the name of John Grayson. I found out that he was actually my father and that I was born outside of marriage, and Mr. Grayson ran a laboratory that participated in a larger project that frequently used children in all sorts of strange experiments. He used me for the Eknos experiment, which mixed animal DNA with humans and gave the subjects traits of those animals. When I was 13, almost 14, I escaped, and met my boyfriend, Jamie. Together we have fought so many enemies, and I'm not sure what I would have done without him. And when John Grayson came back for me, and my best friend Azura sacrificed herself to stop him from killing me, I killed him. Of course, that didn't stop anything. They took me again, and this time made me into something called an Ark Angel: people with wings, and each has a certain power. My power is to communicate telepathically with Flicka. Oh, and another thing...Flicka has a baby daughter, named Niketa. I know, Flicka's only 14... Anyways, confused yet? I thought so. By the way, I'm writing this with a small pen I had in my pocket, on some scrap paper I found down here. I guess it's safe to write this now, because it's still dark outside the tiny, dusty window above me, and I don't think Mike will be up soon. Or at least I hope he won't.

I guess I should also tell the story of how I got here in the first place. Just the thought of it...oooh, that cruel idiot, Mike! That son of a... Anyways, on with the story.

I was reading, peacefully. Not hurting Mike, not hurting anyone

. Jamie had, as I said before, gone out, to get something for us to eat. Pizza, I think it was...yeah, he said he would be getting pizza. I was alone, when there was a knock at the door. Who could that be?

I wondered. I opened the door and gasped.

There, barely standing on the front porch, was a guy, an Ark Angel like myself, whose wings were spread out and covered

in blood. "Who are you?" I asked. I had no clue who this stranger was.

"It's me. Mike. Please help me." I suddenly remembered that boy, mostly from his quiet, rough voice.

"Oh. Hello." I was still kinda in shock. Should I let him in and help him, or not?

Everything that Catalina had told me about Mike not able to be trusted ran through my mind as I stared at him. But he seemed to be in a lot of pain, so how could I not help him? Finally I decided that I couldn't let him bleed to death on Flicka's front porch. Besides, when Flicka got back, she wouldn't like the mess if I left him there. Coldhearted, yeah, I know. Oh well. I stepped to the side and said, "Come in. I think I can help you."

Mike wordlessly staggered inside and sat down on the couch, while I dashed upstairs to grab some medical supplies.

When I came back, I noticed that Mike was trying to keep the blood from getting on the couch. I smiled and said, "Oh, it's okay. That couch has seen many a bleeding Ark Angel, including me." I knelt beside the couch. "Now, lay on your stomach."

He obeyed, and I reached for his injured wing. I started to wipe it off, but I noticed that his blood seemed...not entirely natural. That should have been my first clue that something was not quite right, but I shrugged and didn't think much of it. "How did this happen to you, by the way?"

"I was flying...someone shot me with an arrow," he replied, somewhat sadly. "It won't stop- ow!" He suddenly cried out in pain as I was working on his wing.

"Sorry!" I said quickly. When I was finished, I stood up. I looked at Mike's face. He looked sad; he always

looked sad. The first feelings of compassion for him stirred inside of me. "Perhaps you should sit outside," I suggested. "It's such a nice evening, maybe it'll make you feel better."

Mike nodded and stood up slowly. I watched him closely for any signs that he would need help, but he seemed fine. He walked over to the door, and as I followed, he opened the door and held it for me.

"Thanks," I said quietly, surprised. Maybe Catalina's wrong,

I thought. Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all.

Oh, how wrong I was.

While Mike sat in a chair on the porch, I leaned up against the railing, watching for Jamie to come back, and gazing at the setting sun. The sky looked like it was on fire! It was so beautiful...funny how you remember these kinds of details when you're not sure if you're even gonna be alive for much longer.

Just then, my friend Catalina walked up into the yard. "Hey, Aurora."

"Hi, Catalina," I replied. "What's up?"

"Not much," she said quietly, but suddenly she gasped when she saw Mike sitting behind me. She jumped onto the porch and tried to pull me in the opposite direction from him.

"Hey-!" I shouted in surprise.

"Catalina..." Mike whispered, shocked.

Catalina turned to face me. "What are you doing with him?!" she growled. She didn't seem to care that Mike was right there, listening, with a hurt expression on his face. "He will stab you in the back! You shouldn't even be near him!" She looked back at Mike, glaring.

"Catalina, I couldn't just leave him here to bleed to death. He-"

"Trust me!" hissed Catalina.

Mike looked away sadly, then stood up and ran off into the forest. The bandage on his wing began to come undone.

I watched him leave. "Oh, no, he could hurt himself..." I muttered. "Nice going, Catalina!"

Before Catalina could reply, I ran after Mike, very worried. "Mike, wait! You need to rest!"

I eventually found him on the ground, under a huge tree with roots sticking up from the dirt. "Mike, you don't need to be running yet," I scolded. "Not after all the blood you've lost. Now, c'mon, come back to Flicka's house."

"My ankle...I-I think it's sprained or something." He looked up at me weakly, then tried to stand up, but failed, growling in pain.

"Here, I'll help you." I offered my hand to help him up. He took it, and I pulled him up to stand. When he put his full weight on his leg, though, he yelled painfully, and I winced. "Lean on me," I commanded.

Mike put his arm around my shoulders and leaned on me, and for the first time, I saw him smile. "Thanks," he mumbled. "I've never had an actual caring friend before. It's nice."

Maybe Mike is really a good guy,

I thought. He doesn't deserve all the stuff Catalina says about him.

And I smiled back.

If you think this story is a warm, soft, sentimental story about the beginning of a close friendship, you're wrong. Besides, is my life ever

that simple?

Before I knew what was happening, Mike stood up normally (without so much as a limp) and quickly pulled a hypodermic syringe, full of liquid, from his pocket.

I backed away. I shudder and my heart starts pounding with fear when I see a syringe of any kind. I absolutely hate

them. Bewildered, I forced a concerned smile. "Mike, looks like you weren't hurt as badly as you thought!" I tried to make my voice sound cheerful, but I ended up sounding just as scared as I really felt. Backing into a tree, I first realized that I was in trouble.

Mike lunged forward and, before I could reach for my sword, he wrapped one arm around my waist and used the other to stab the needle into my wrist. I shrieked, hoping someone

could hear me, and tried to push him away from me. But he was stronger than me and he held me close to him.

"Mike!" I screeched. "I don't know what

the heck you're trying to do, but-"

"Shhh." Mike grinned, an evil, unnerving grin.

I instantly stopped struggling. Chills ran down my back; I seemed frozen in fear. A brief, terrifying thought of what his intent might be ran through my mind, but I quickly pushed it away. I would not

let him do something like...that... (Do you get what I was thinking?) I shuddered, shook my head, and started kicking. But that needle... The stuff from it was making me weaker and weaker, whatever it was.

Mike spread his deep brown wings and took off. I looked at the bloodstained feathers, shocked. It wasn't

blood, after all! Just fake

blood! The pieces started fitting together. This had all been a trap!

We were soaring high above the ground. Not only am I terrified of syringes, I'm terrifed of heights. Goes back to when me and Flicka were kids, and we would always climb this giant oak tree- Anyways, yeah. An Ark Angel, someone with freakin' wings, and I could fly wherever I want to...and I'm always stuck on the ground. But with Mike, I had to push away this fear; I had bigger problems. Much

bigger problems. "Catalina...she was right!" I fought to be heard over the wind. "Is this how you repay someone who shows some kindness to you?"

"Shhh." Mike's voice was soft, soothing...and I was getting sleepy. "Don't scream until we get home."

For a second, I actually listened to him. I let my gaze travel down to see the ground far, far below, but...I soon wished I hadn't. I screamed and held on close to Mike. He chuckled. "Help!" I screamed.

Down below us, I saw a tiny shape moving towards Flicka's house. "Jamie!

" I hoped with all my heart that it was really him, and that he could hear me. "Help, Jam-"

Mike instantly pressed his hand against my mouth. "Be quiet!" he hissed. "He can't hear you from up here, anyways."

Realizing the futility of the situation, I gave up and relaxed (relaxed? Ha!) in his arms, and the anesthetic or whatever from that syringe took its effect. I fell asleep, and next thing I knew, I woke up here, in this dark, cold place.

Again, if you find this and are reading this, please

find Jamie or Flicka and give them this journal. I'm going to try to find a way out of here now, but if I don't get to tell you guys this in person...

Flicka, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have trusted Mike. I'm so

sorry for leaving you like this... I've learned the hard way that very few can be trusted, and I want you to learn from my mistake. Make sure you take good care of Niketa. Tell her Aunt 'rora said goodbye, will ya? Love you, sis.

And Jamie...this isn't your fault. It's mine. Please don't blame yourself. Goodbye...I love you, and I'm sorry.


~Aurora Acwater

Impressum

Texte: Mike character belongs to darkclaw
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 09.04.2011

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Widmung:
To my friends from Ark Angels who made this story possible... =D