Angels Fall

Kia rose at around seven am and so far seemed to be the only one awake as she passed Keifer’s room and heard deep, loud snoring from within. Kelsey was asleep too, her bedroom door across from Keifer’s was ajar and Kia could make out the soft rising and falling from the pink duvet. Her parents were at work already, both self employed together in business and remarkably dedicated. She showered and dressed for school, her muscles slightly tender from yesterday’s run and the hot shower soothed them greatly. After a porridge breakfast she logged onto the internet and Facebook. To her horror but not necessarily surprised Kia found a post regarding the incident at her previous school. It was amazing that Blackwood let her in, after what she did she was lucky not to be in prison.

Note to self: WHEN ONE HAS SUPERSTRENGTH, MUST NOT RETALIATE TO ANNOYING BULLIES WITH PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, MAY LEAD TO MASSACRE AND JAIL SENTENCE.

There were posts all over the school page, all over Cassie Finnegan’s page and defiantly all over hers. Abuse mainly which made Kia want to vomit, if not for the fact that she felt entirely as though she deserved it she would have dashed straight for the bathroom but better to be strong willed and accept the consequences for her actions. Many had cancelled her friendship too and she’d gone from eight hundred to five hundred, which was the majority of the school. It was only a matter of time before Blackwood’s student body found out; she’d have to get rid of her page. Deleting her Facebook page may appear as though she were running from the consequences to the ones at Selby High, as though she couldn’t handle it, and truth was she couldn’t, but that was why she didn’t want Blackwood knowing so she could have a fresh start. All the pictures of her and her friends, best friends of whom didn’t want to know her anymore, pictures that seemed so valuable in the past, mattered not now. She saved the pictures of the only people who stood by her and accepted her, not necessarily what she’d done but still accepted her despite that, which were her family and one friend, Lauren aka Lozza.

Then she hit the delete button.

With a sigh she sat back and let her overdue tears fall, there weren’t many, which was probably because she was dehydrated. She went to the kitchen downed a pint of water and then made some hot chocolate, grabbed a bag of Doritos-Tangy Cheese and went to the garage. The garage had central heating; it was treated more like a conservatory than a garage. There was a sofa, mini-fridge full of Lemonade and Coke, string cheese and Breadstick and cheese dips, Keifer’s favourite. Fairy lights draped above the sofa, lava lamps and DC comic figurines on the three shelves, a TV, games station, foosball table and monopoly and of course Kia’s punch bag which used to be Keifer’s but they found that she got better use of it. It was their little retreat. At around eight Kelsey came into the garage still in her Pyjamas, she flopped down on the sofa and said hello.
“How long have you been up?” She asked running a hand through her hair trying to detangle it manually.
“About an hour, I was going to walk to school but...” Kia trailed off looking out the garage window to the slashing rain.
Kelsey frowned, “Oh God, won’t be making too much effort on my hair then,” she declared and stood up, “See you in a bit I’m going to get into the bathroom before Keifer get’s up.”
She disappeared and a moment later she heard Keifer laughing, the bathroom door slamming and Kelsey screaming in frustration. Kia smiled, she shoved crisps in her mouth and sipped her hot chocolate.
She didn’t feel physically tired but she was mentally tired of Sherwood already. She didn’t know anyone, there were plenty to welcome her but she didn’t want to get to know them and although it was brilliant that there seemed to be someone in the school to match her strength she didn’t want that either. She wanted a normal life.
An hour later Keifer was shouting for them to hurry up and get in the car, Kelsey volunteered for the backseat so she could lie down and doze, Kia rode shotgun and stared blankly out of the window as her thoughts went to Avery. That’s when she saw a blurry white movement through the trees. She smiled, was that Avery running alongside them? The beautiful blue eyed silvery blonde was the most cheery, most enthusiastic person Kia had met so far and by far the most genuine which was why she couldn’t wait until tonight to hang out with her again. She wasn’t surprised to find Avery absent from school again and she mainly looked for the new girl. She found her by the water fountain before third period English; she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, the green combats, the long sleeved cotton top, body warmer, red cap. Her short black hair was wet at the ends with rainwater. Kia strolled up to her.
“Hello.”
The girl, startled, straightened up. She frowned at Kia and let her right foot fall back in preparation for a fight stance, “Can I help you?”
“Kia,” Kia introduced herself and held out her hand for the girl to shake, “I’m also new here and I’m dying for an equally oblivious friend to talk to.”
She hesitated before taking Kia’s hand and when she did a slow shake formed, “Alice.”
“So, Alice, when did you officially arrive in Sherwood?”
“Last week, officially, but I’m still not officially sworn into the school, I’m having a little trouble with transcripts. I was kind of different at my last place.”
Kia beamed, they were practically twins, “Me too, I mean I was a bit of a delinquent, I kind of have this thing where I’m really quite strong for a girl and it got in the way of socialising, BIG TIME!”
Alice looked at Kia in awe for a moment before shaking her head and smiling shyly. She was a good head taller that Kia and looked powerful even when she was shy.
“So what school did you go to before?” Kia asked hopefully.
“It was kind of really private and specialized; it’s in London...erm...St Irises?”
“I’ve never heard of a St Irises, sorry,” Kia smiled. The bell went and they knew they were already late for class, “I guess we should get to class. What do you have next?”
“Geographics...I mean Geography...” Alice said and blinked disbelievingly, “wherever that is.”
“Oh well from what my sister and her friends told me yesterday after a really long-ass tour of the school, its down there to the left and straight on till’ sunrise!” Kia quirked jokily chuckling a little at her own joke. Alice stared at her blankly.
“Straight on till’ sunrise?”
Kia shrugged, “Never mind, it’s just down there to the left and straight on till the end of the corridor.”
Alice nodded, “Thanks.” And then she was gone.

Kia didn’t see Alice again until lunch, the tall woman walked in looking a little lost. Kia smiled and waved and Alice nodded back she looked unsure as to where to sit so Kia nodded to a small empty table to their right. Smiling appreciatively Alice walked forward veering off to the table as Kia followed suit, they met at the middle and arrived at the table together.
“Hey,” Kia began, “I’m so glad I found you actually, I really didn’t want to sit with the plastics over there.”
Alice laughed, “Plastics?”
“Yeah,” Kia said, confused as to why Alice knew so little about modern pop culture or any pop culture at all, “You know because they’re so perfectly groomed that they could be a plastic doll?”
Alice nodded slowly, “Right.”
“You don’t really get out much do you?” Kia noted and Alice shrugged.
“Where did you come from?” Alice asked suddenly. It was strange hearing her strong a sentence together, something Kia hadn’t anticipated her being able to do so.
“Well, Selby high, probably the most socially challenged schools you could ever come across...I got kicked out.”
Alice’s’ eyebrows raised in surprise, “Really?”
“Yeah, why?”
Alice shrugged and ;lifted her orange, “No reason, you just don’t strike me as the villain type.”
Kia laughed aloud and smiled, “Cheers to that, at least there’s one of you?!”
“So...what happened?”
Kia hesitated, she sighed and blew out a breath, “There’s this thing that is wrong with me. Or right, I don’t know, but I have a ridiculous amount of strength for a girl and a girl for my size for that matter. Girl’s we’re ragging on me in the lunchroom and I retaliated, I punched one of them...”
Kia felt hot blood rise to her cheeks and her eyes dampen, her breathing quickened, “I’m sorry I have to go!” She jumped up and darted for the ladies room. Alice watched her leave in confusion and took a bite from the orange in concern. Skin and all she chewed without wincing as she leaned back her mind full of surprise and wonder.
“So you ditched school during the day because?” Avery asked as she and Kia sat on a fallen tree log, talking. It was the same tree log they had been sitting on since Kia ran out of school in flurry. She tore through the forest punching chunks of trees until she ran straight into Avery, again. There was no hiding her strength from Avery, already the questions were starting a downpour and Kia was so frustrated at keeping the secret she decided to tell all.
“Erm not to mention destroying the trees,” Avery added.
Kia smiled and shook her head, tears forming, “Last year I did something terrible. I was being ragged on in the lunchroom. One of the popular girls were picking food off my plate dropping it on the floor. Shoving me, trying to trip me over and make me drop my lunch so I’d have nothing to eat. I did drop my tray, I couldn’t take this crap anymore so i decked her one!”
Avery beamed, “Awesome...” she paused, “Wait a sec, like you decked the tree?”
Kia nodded looking down and blushing, “Yeah, I’m really strong and really fast and I have no idea why.” She looked up at Avery, “How are you so fast?”
“Well i have a condition too, one that you may not believe!” she said and then shrugged, “Anyway I’m still faster than you, I was actually holding back.”
Kia chuckled and sniffed, “And there’s me thinking I was holding back for you?”
They both laughed and lay on the woody forest floor side by side.
“So what are you then?” Kia asked as they watched the billowing trees blowing softly in the wind, their leaves of many colours dancing together.
“A wereworlf.”
“Ha, yeah right.” Kia snorted.
“No really, it’s really cool, I have this really good sense of smell, I’m fast, strong, I can talk to my back in dog language when I morph, and obviously all of these abilities increase when I’m a dog.”
“When did you get bitten?” Kia’s eyes grew wide.
“I didn’t, with us it’s a genetic thing, my dad Mr Hansom as you know him; his mother was dating a Werewolf and voila out popped Jake the Werewolf. My brothers are the same.”
Kia pouted, “Brother’s I thought there was just the one who’s at school with us.”
“Oh yeah, but then there’s Josh, he runs the pack while dad’s tied up with school stuff. And Scarlett is a Werewolf too, did you know?” Avery folded her arms proudly.
“Scarlett?!” Kia gasped, “Really? I knew there was a reason her hair was so many shades of red, I mean you guys all have really long and unique colourings of hair. And Scarlett’s changes, everyone is under the impression she has a closet full of hair dye!”
Avery laughed, “Scarlett’s probably the most emotional out of our lot, I mean Werewolves are mostly really laid back, with even temperaments until danger lurks but Scarlett’s pretty highly strung all the time.”
Kia nodded, “Agreed. So your all like really calm and collected and stuff, talk about stepford.”
“No not really like stepford, we’re just chilled, I mean I’m always smiling, Rhoan’s hyper all the time and Josh is a natural born leader so despite being fairly even in temperament we all have our little characters.”
“How old is Josh?” Kia asked out of interest, she knew Avery was fifteen coming and her brother sixteen.
“Josh is twenty, in human years at least.”
“What?”
“Human years, okay Josh became a Werewolf at sixteen; it just appears when you hit puberty right?”
“Right, go on.”
“So the human grows and grows until puberty officially stops and adult hood has taken a good leash on life at twenty-five. Then the Human stops growing time freezes for them, the Werewolf continues to age, So our human forms remain at twenty five and our Werewolf’s grow stronger, faster, bigger and sometimes gain new abilities.” Kia thought about this, it would explain why Mr Hansom was so young at forty.
“Okay so what year did your dad officially stop ageing as a human?”
Avery laughed, “Nineteen eighty seven.”
“Whoa and do the human sides ever get to age?”
“Oh yes,” Avery quirked, “When the werewolf dies the human can continue their lives. Obviously there are drawbacks, like for some who don’t have family have to surround themselves with human friends they have no other choice and then have to watch them grow old and die. We’re lucky, we can all live on forever, and we will always have each other. Another bum side to it is that we will all live for a hundred plus years.”
“No way!”
“Yeah, it’s going to suck though, I’m the only one who actually makes an effort with people and now I’m going to have to watch them wither away too.” Avery looked down sadly and then sighed. She looked up looking instantly happy again, “You HAVE to meet my family!”
Kia gasped wideyed, “What? No way.”
“Come on, it’ll be great, Rhoan’s going to love you.” She stood up and Kia followed suit.
“Who’s Rhoan?”
“Rhoan’s my best friend, he’s a werewolf too, you’ll like him.” She sniffed the air, “Lunch is ready...let’s go.” Just as they set off through the thicket a low growl formed beneath them. Kia looked at Avery in alarm and accusation. Avery put her hands up, “It’s not me, I’m not even wolf form yet.”
The growling turned to rumbling and the ground shook beneath them. Trees groaned and cracked. Suddenly Kia was lurched through the air and landed with a hard thud to the floor. Avery was on top of her, shielding her. The ground shook, trees fell around them.
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?!” Kia yelled trhough teh noise, it was lost on Avery, or at least it seemed that way, either that or she was ignoring her. When the ground stopped shaking and the grinding, groaning and growling stopped Avery lifted her head from Kia’s neck and stared at her in surprise and fear, “Are you okay?”
“I will be when you get off my wind pipe,” Kia choked.
“Oh sorry,” Avery scrambled to her feet and helped Kia up. Kia stared in shock at the large tree that lay where they’d once stood. Crushed to pieces was the dead log they had been sitting on. And running beneath it was a huge crack in the ground. They slowly walked up to it and looked down into its depths.
Kia whistled low, “Whoa.”