Status: About once or twice a week. More if I ever get a break from school. :)
The Damned
Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Easter's POV
Haven was sitting at the kitchen table, just like every morning. He'd make breakfast for all of us and then wait for Seven and I too drag ourselves out of the bed we share.
I got up before Seven, since I had to gather all the dead branches in the area for our fire before it started to rain. Haven used to do it, but I saw how much he hated it so I took over. Not to mention, that he was kind of lazy about only getting good firewood that was dry so the fire wouldn't sizzle and the house fill with smoke. It took hours to get enough firewood to keep us warm through the night, so I often didn't light the fire until just before Seven and Haven got home.
I don't mind doing it though. I got to watch the sunrise and even better, I let my wings run free. Seven and Haven had promised that my wings wouldn't bother them, but I still hadn't shown them. I just felt like it was far too personal to show them yet. I did love my wings though. They remind me of a falcon's wings, except they were inky black and my wingspan was nearly ten feet long.
"Can you help me put these damn teeth in?" Haven asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. He held the two fake teeth that covered his vampire teeth up to me. He opened his mouth, letting me reach over and pop the teeth in. "I hate these," Haven complained, running his teeth over the fake teeth.
"I know that, but you can't work if you don't wear them," I replied. We have this same conversation every day, but I never complain. I don't work so it's not my place to say anything. Haven earns money, I do chores around the house, and Seven goes to school. We'd decided at least one of us had to get a high school education and since I could never pass as normal and Haven was the only one old enough to get a job, that responsibility was Seven's. He taught us everything he learned when he got home.
Seven finally got up and walked over to the table to sit with us. "You've got to catch your bus in ten minutes," I said, throwing him a pair of jeans. Seven's gotten way to comfortable with us and just walks around in a pair of boxers. Seven took the very obvious hint and pulled on the jeans, before going over to the dresser in the corner of the room and pulling on an over-sized sweatshirt and his shoes.
"I'll just eat this at the bus stop. See you later," Seven said, grabbing a couple of pancakes and his backpack before running out the door.
"I've got to go too," Haven said a couple of minutes later. "Bye."
I followed his out the door, but we parted ways as I turned into the woods and Haven got into his truck. I pulled off my shirt, leaving it on the front porch, so I'd have room to let my wings out. I felt the familiar pressure recede as they appeared. I stretched happily and ran under the trees stopping to get more and more firewood until my arms were overflowing with it and I had to go back to the house. I dropped all the firewood I'd collected in the corner next to the fireplace and ran back outside to get more. I did the same thing again and again until there was a gigantic stack almost 5 feet tall. I looked at the dark fireplace and shivered slightly, wishing I had enough to keep me warm all day, but that's not the case. Deciding not to dwell on something I couldn't change, I wandered around the house for the next couple of hours vacuuming, washing dishes, and anything else I could think of.
When I decided the house was finally clean enough, O went back outside to a clearing I'd found about a month ago. I'd been getting curious about whether my wings were actually capable of carrying my weight (Which was just over forty pounds by the way, much to Haven's and Seven's amusement. Seven told me I'd blow away in the wind if there's ever a big storm.) and I'd decided to test that today. I figured if I ran fast enough and flapped my wings hard enough I'd take right off.
I stood at the end of the field with my wings stretched out. I started to run but quickly realized that wasn't going to work out when my wings snapped back painfully from the force of the wind and my speed. I stopped and moved back to wear I started, this time with my wings firmly tucked in. I ran as fast as I could, jumped, and…ate dirt. Ugh, I don't want to do that again.
New plan. I just stood in place and flapped my wings. Still, nothing happened.
I sighed. This really wasn't the way this was supposed to work out. I stood at the edge of the field one more time and shot across the field; leaped into the air; and despite wanting to snap my wings out immediately, I waited until I felt a draft of wind and snapped my wings out.
This time was different. My wings made me shoot backwards and I angled my wings quickly and flapped hard and just managed to stop myself before I crashed into a tree. I got all proud of myself for not getting killed by the tree, forgot to flap, and fell flat on my face. I didn't feel discouraged at all though. At least something had finally worked. I tried again and again and by the end of the day, I was able to glide across the room like a flying squirrel. I need to work on it, but I was pretty proud of myself.
I knew it was about time for Seven and Haven to get home, so I walked the four miles back to the house, wincing a little because of how sour my wings were after using them for so long. I had to hide them though because I still didn't want to show Haven and Seven them. The pressure returned as my wings disappeared and I pulled on the abandoned shirt from the porch.
Sitting on the porch I waited for them. It wasn't long before I heard Seven's bus pull up. The bus stop was almost a half mile away, but since it was so quiet here, that I knew everything that was going on. Being here was the first time I'd been able to really test my hearing and was even better than I thought. Seven was the only person who got off the bus and I heard the tap, tap of Seven's footsteps, until Haven's truck pulled up alongside Seven, just like it did every day. Seven got in and they drove the rest of the way home.
Seven bounced out of the passenger's seat, even before the car stopped. He sprinted over to me, and with a flying leap, tackled me. "Argh!" I screamed, falling back just like always.
Haven got out of the truck and stood next to me as Seven got his little hug-fest out of his system. Then, Haven and I did our usual awkward side hug thing. Seven smirked at both of us. He thinks it's so funny how uncomfortable Haven and I are. We all weren't used to trying to show that we cared about another person because of the way our families were. Where Haven and I are uncomfortable, Seven has become overly affectionate and loves to give hugs. He's so sweet, but he often gets scared and lonely when we leave him alone, even for a couple of minutes. I don't even think he could sleep alone even if we did get separate beds.
That's not to say that I don't have my own problems. You can bet that if there's a thunderstorm, I'll be hiding in a closet somewhere. I really hate thunderstorms, as irrational as that is. They freak me out and I can't help but think the thunder will shake the house until it falls down, or that we'll get struck by lightning and the house will get set on fire.
Being afraid of thunderstorms sucked even more considering where we live. We live in the Rocky Mountains in what was once called North America.
I guess I should explain our countries to you. North and Central America are were ordinary humans are, called the Melek. It means Angel. They have chosen which of us "unnatural" creatures they like and which they hate. They almost worship angels, but they hate others of our kind, like me. We don't have cars, computers, or any other kind of technology from long ago. The only reason we even know about these things is because humans from that time wrote books about everything.
South America is claimed by small tribal groups, who want nothing to do with our new world. I hear the respect every kind of person, but I don't know for sure since I've never met one of them. Their land is called Moriko, meaning forest children.
The vampires like in Africa, called Talutah which means blood red. Ironic right?
The shape shifters live in Australia called Kalani meaning sky. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but, even though shape shifters aren't affected by the moon and sky, they've learned to sympathize with something that changes every day. Seven goes out some nights and you can tell he finds it calming. He can tell me all the phases of the moon and point out constellations I'd never even heard of.
Asia and Europe is populated with--Gifted? Special?--humans. They are as weird as the humans are here, I guess. I think they have a lot of our supernatural blood and it makes them a bit crazy. Not like killing each other crazy, but they've got tons of weird ceremonies and festivals for no real purpose. They don't go to other countries much, since they think we're really boring and only focus on work. They've always been a rich land though, so I guess whatever they're doing must be working for them. Their land is called Laima meaning luck.
That leaves the Angels, the Elementals (People with an affinity for earth, wind, water, and air.), and demons like me. As far as I know, there are no places for any of us. The difference is angels and elementals are loved here. A family of angels even rules this land. The elementals are often very high ranked and respected. My kind are hated and shunned. It's rare than any of us live to adulthood. I'm almost elderly, considering more than half of us are killed before our first birthday.
You'd think all Seven and Haven would have to do is go to their home countries and they'd live happily ever after, but no. That's not the way it works. The one thing all the countries care about is lineage. They all think badly of anyone who doesn't have a pure bloodline and a respectable family. Even in Laima, where they are half and half, we aren't liked. We don't have enough supernatural blood, even though the blood we do have is dominant. Haven and Seven probably only have one ancestor that was a vampire or a shape shifter and there don't have to be any sign of the ancestors for hundreds of years. Their family became "tainted" and Haven and Seven are proof of their disgrace.
No one knows what caused me. I don't think I’m any more human than the average dog is, but that doesn't make me equal to a dog. Since I come from humans, I think maybe my gene turned inside out, but I can't prove it, nor do I really care to try. I think that's about the same thing that happens to angels and elementals, too.
I followed Seven and Haven into the house. Haven immediately went to the kitchen and started making dinner. Seven followed, bouncing around the kitchen enthusiastically, trying to be helpful. Really, he was just getting in the way, but Haven didn't seem inclined to tell him to go away.
"Seven, teach me," I ordered, running to a cupboard to get my schoolbooks.
"I've been in school all day," Seven complained, but curled up next to me on the ground. "Why do you always want to do math first. That's the hardest class," Seven groaned, looking at the book I'd opened.
"No, it's not. I like it," I told him.
With one last sigh, Seven gave up and decided to help me.
We worked together until Haven called us in for dinner. We ate tacos which were up to his usual amazing level. seriously, I can't even describe how good his food is. Seven was practically making out with his food.
After Seven finished his fourth taco, I my fifth, and Haven his eighth; we all moved back to the living room where we all worked on schoolwork. Finally, when I was almost falling asleep on my book, Haven kicked my leg and pointed at me and Seven's bed, where Seven was already sleeping.
I smiled sheepishly. I take back the almost sleeping think. In fact, I was probably snoring. I waved good night at Haven and he ruffled my hair before leaving to go to bed. I got up, pulling Seven's shoes, sock, and shirt off before tucking him into bed.. He barely moved, just curled up against his pillow. I pulled off my own shirt and shoes, before snuggling into my warm, soft bed. I groaned happily, and felt my eyes close.
Hearing Seven mumble in his sleep almost made me laugh. He's always dreaming about something weird, usually involving cats. I swear he's fixated on them. I listened to him quietly but they became almost soothing after awhile. Finally, even Seven's weird cat ranting couldn't keep me awake and I drifted into a deep sleep.
Easter's POV
Haven was sitting at the kitchen table, just like every morning. He'd make breakfast for all of us and then wait for Seven and I too drag ourselves out of the bed we share.
I got up before Seven, since I had to gather all the dead branches in the area for our fire before it started to rain. Haven used to do it, but I saw how much he hated it so I took over. Not to mention, that he was kind of lazy about only getting good firewood that was dry so the fire wouldn't sizzle and the house fill with smoke. It took hours to get enough firewood to keep us warm through the night, so I often didn't light the fire until just before Seven and Haven got home.
I don't mind doing it though. I got to watch the sunrise and even better, I let my wings run free. Seven and Haven had promised that my wings wouldn't bother them, but I still hadn't shown them. I just felt like it was far too personal to show them yet. I did love my wings though. They remind me of a falcon's wings, except they were inky black and my wingspan was nearly ten feet long.
"Can you help me put these damn teeth in?" Haven asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. He held the two fake teeth that covered his vampire teeth up to me. He opened his mouth, letting me reach over and pop the teeth in. "I hate these," Haven complained, running his teeth over the fake teeth.
"I know that, but you can't work if you don't wear them," I replied. We have this same conversation every day, but I never complain. I don't work so it's not my place to say anything. Haven earns money, I do chores around the house, and Seven goes to school. We'd decided at least one of us had to get a high school education and since I could never pass as normal and Haven was the only one old enough to get a job, that responsibility was Seven's. He taught us everything he learned when he got home.
Seven finally got up and walked over to the table to sit with us. "You've got to catch your bus in ten minutes," I said, throwing him a pair of jeans. Seven's gotten way to comfortable with us and just walks around in a pair of boxers. Seven took the very obvious hint and pulled on the jeans, before going over to the dresser in the corner of the room and pulling on an over-sized sweatshirt and his shoes.
"I'll just eat this at the bus stop. See you later," Seven said, grabbing a couple of pancakes and his backpack before running out the door.
"I've got to go too," Haven said a couple of minutes later. "Bye."
I followed his out the door, but we parted ways as I turned into the woods and Haven got into his truck. I pulled off my shirt, leaving it on the front porch, so I'd have room to let my wings out. I felt the familiar pressure recede as they appeared. I stretched happily and ran under the trees stopping to get more and more firewood until my arms were overflowing with it and I had to go back to the house. I dropped all the firewood I'd collected in the corner next to the fireplace and ran back outside to get more. I did the same thing again and again until there was a gigantic stack almost 5 feet tall. I looked at the dark fireplace and shivered slightly, wishing I had enough to keep me warm all day, but that's not the case. Deciding not to dwell on something I couldn't change, I wandered around the house for the next couple of hours vacuuming, washing dishes, and anything else I could think of.
When I decided the house was finally clean enough, O went back outside to a clearing I'd found about a month ago. I'd been getting curious about whether my wings were actually capable of carrying my weight (Which was just over forty pounds by the way, much to Haven's and Seven's amusement. Seven told me I'd blow away in the wind if there's ever a big storm.) and I'd decided to test that today. I figured if I ran fast enough and flapped my wings hard enough I'd take right off.
I stood at the end of the field with my wings stretched out. I started to run but quickly realized that wasn't going to work out when my wings snapped back painfully from the force of the wind and my speed. I stopped and moved back to wear I started, this time with my wings firmly tucked in. I ran as fast as I could, jumped, and…ate dirt. Ugh, I don't want to do that again.
New plan. I just stood in place and flapped my wings. Still, nothing happened.
I sighed. This really wasn't the way this was supposed to work out. I stood at the edge of the field one more time and shot across the field; leaped into the air; and despite wanting to snap my wings out immediately, I waited until I felt a draft of wind and snapped my wings out.
This time was different. My wings made me shoot backwards and I angled my wings quickly and flapped hard and just managed to stop myself before I crashed into a tree. I got all proud of myself for not getting killed by the tree, forgot to flap, and fell flat on my face. I didn't feel discouraged at all though. At least something had finally worked. I tried again and again and by the end of the day, I was able to glide across the room like a flying squirrel. I need to work on it, but I was pretty proud of myself.
I knew it was about time for Seven and Haven to get home, so I walked the four miles back to the house, wincing a little because of how sour my wings were after using them for so long. I had to hide them though because I still didn't want to show Haven and Seven them. The pressure returned as my wings disappeared and I pulled on the abandoned shirt from the porch.
Sitting on the porch I waited for them. It wasn't long before I heard Seven's bus pull up. The bus stop was almost a half mile away, but since it was so quiet here, that I knew everything that was going on. Being here was the first time I'd been able to really test my hearing and was even better than I thought. Seven was the only person who got off the bus and I heard the tap, tap of Seven's footsteps, until Haven's truck pulled up alongside Seven, just like it did every day. Seven got in and they drove the rest of the way home.
Seven bounced out of the passenger's seat, even before the car stopped. He sprinted over to me, and with a flying leap, tackled me. "Argh!" I screamed, falling back just like always.
Haven got out of the truck and stood next to me as Seven got his little hug-fest out of his system. Then, Haven and I did our usual awkward side hug thing. Seven smirked at both of us. He thinks it's so funny how uncomfortable Haven and I are. We all weren't used to trying to show that we cared about another person because of the way our families were. Where Haven and I are uncomfortable, Seven has become overly affectionate and loves to give hugs. He's so sweet, but he often gets scared and lonely when we leave him alone, even for a couple of minutes. I don't even think he could sleep alone even if we did get separate beds.
That's not to say that I don't have my own problems. You can bet that if there's a thunderstorm, I'll be hiding in a closet somewhere. I really hate thunderstorms, as irrational as that is. They freak me out and I can't help but think the thunder will shake the house until it falls down, or that we'll get struck by lightning and the house will get set on fire.
Being afraid of thunderstorms sucked even more considering where we live. We live in the Rocky Mountains in what was once called North America.
I guess I should explain our countries to you. North and Central America are were ordinary humans are, called the Melek. It means Angel. They have chosen which of us "unnatural" creatures they like and which they hate. They almost worship angels, but they hate others of our kind, like me. We don't have cars, computers, or any other kind of technology from long ago. The only reason we even know about these things is because humans from that time wrote books about everything.
South America is claimed by small tribal groups, who want nothing to do with our new world. I hear the respect every kind of person, but I don't know for sure since I've never met one of them. Their land is called Moriko, meaning forest children.
The vampires like in Africa, called Talutah which means blood red. Ironic right?
The shape shifters live in Australia called Kalani meaning sky. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but, even though shape shifters aren't affected by the moon and sky, they've learned to sympathize with something that changes every day. Seven goes out some nights and you can tell he finds it calming. He can tell me all the phases of the moon and point out constellations I'd never even heard of.
Asia and Europe is populated with--Gifted? Special?--humans. They are as weird as the humans are here, I guess. I think they have a lot of our supernatural blood and it makes them a bit crazy. Not like killing each other crazy, but they've got tons of weird ceremonies and festivals for no real purpose. They don't go to other countries much, since they think we're really boring and only focus on work. They've always been a rich land though, so I guess whatever they're doing must be working for them. Their land is called Laima meaning luck.
That leaves the Angels, the Elementals (People with an affinity for earth, wind, water, and air.), and demons like me. As far as I know, there are no places for any of us. The difference is angels and elementals are loved here. A family of angels even rules this land. The elementals are often very high ranked and respected. My kind are hated and shunned. It's rare than any of us live to adulthood. I'm almost elderly, considering more than half of us are killed before our first birthday.
You'd think all Seven and Haven would have to do is go to their home countries and they'd live happily ever after, but no. That's not the way it works. The one thing all the countries care about is lineage. They all think badly of anyone who doesn't have a pure bloodline and a respectable family. Even in Laima, where they are half and half, we aren't liked. We don't have enough supernatural blood, even though the blood we do have is dominant. Haven and Seven probably only have one ancestor that was a vampire or a shape shifter and there don't have to be any sign of the ancestors for hundreds of years. Their family became "tainted" and Haven and Seven are proof of their disgrace.
No one knows what caused me. I don't think I’m any more human than the average dog is, but that doesn't make me equal to a dog. Since I come from humans, I think maybe my gene turned inside out, but I can't prove it, nor do I really care to try. I think that's about the same thing that happens to angels and elementals, too.
I followed Seven and Haven into the house. Haven immediately went to the kitchen and started making dinner. Seven followed, bouncing around the kitchen enthusiastically, trying to be helpful. Really, he was just getting in the way, but Haven didn't seem inclined to tell him to go away.
"Seven, teach me," I ordered, running to a cupboard to get my schoolbooks.
"I've been in school all day," Seven complained, but curled up next to me on the ground. "Why do you always want to do math first. That's the hardest class," Seven groaned, looking at the book I'd opened.
"No, it's not. I like it," I told him.
With one last sigh, Seven gave up and decided to help me.
We worked together until Haven called us in for dinner. We ate tacos which were up to his usual amazing level. seriously, I can't even describe how good his food is. Seven was practically making out with his food.
After Seven finished his fourth taco, I my fifth, and Haven his eighth; we all moved back to the living room where we all worked on schoolwork. Finally, when I was almost falling asleep on my book, Haven kicked my leg and pointed at me and Seven's bed, where Seven was already sleeping.
I smiled sheepishly. I take back the almost sleeping think. In fact, I was probably snoring. I waved good night at Haven and he ruffled my hair before leaving to go to bed. I got up, pulling Seven's shoes, sock, and shirt off before tucking him into bed.. He barely moved, just curled up against his pillow. I pulled off my own shirt and shoes, before snuggling into my warm, soft bed. I groaned happily, and felt my eyes close.
Hearing Seven mumble in his sleep almost made me laugh. He's always dreaming about something weird, usually involving cats. I swear he's fixated on them. I listened to him quietly but they became almost soothing after awhile. Finally, even Seven's weird cat ranting couldn't keep me awake and I drifted into a deep sleep.
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