Fan Fiction ❯ Children of the Sky ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Children of the Sky.

Chapter 1:

Watching the second hand of the clock tick down those last few moments always seemed to Nia an eternity. The noise of frantic pen scratchings and almost silent swears of those who had not yet finished the exam growing like a wave rolling in over the beach to break finally as the teacher would raise his head from his wristwatch and call out,

"Ok people pens down."

And then she was free, the exams over for another term. Nia pulled the band holding her sunset red hair out of her eyes and let it fall past her shoulders as she watched through crystal green eyes the other students packing their bags, talking loudly and placing bets on who scored the worst except for one boy. Nia didn't know his name and no one seemed to he was just part of the back ground mostly, quite and unobtrusive.

He wasn't unattractive in fact she thought he looked kind of cute if a little shy and maybe a bit paranoid about other people watching him, as if he was trying to hide something. She watched the top of his head, untidy short spikes of black almost deep blue hair moving away through the crowd unnoticed by everyone else and leave by the back door. She felt a slight tap on her shoulder and jolted. Melissa her best friend was beside her.

"So think you did ok?" Nia just shrugged hoping Melissa hadn't noticed who she'd been staring at. "You going up to the roof?" Nia just shrugged again.

The roof was their secret little hideaway, a place they could go to get away from everyone else and chill, skip a class, drink a beer, smoke a joint, anything they weren't supposed to do. The roof in question was on the third floor of the science department, only accessible through a small window in the girls bathroom on the fourth floor and not looked over by any other window in the school.

They only knew about it from Melissa's older sister and she'd refused to say how she'd found out about it. Melissa checked over her shoulder to make sure no once was listening.

"Come on, I got an eighth of my sisters new boyfriend Tad and after that exam I know I need to mellow out a little." Nia seemed to consider this for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah math sucks the worst." She agreed opening the door to the science department.

When they reached the bathroom they found someone else there so had to wait, Nia pretending to be adjusting the loose fitting black mesh tee she wore over a dark blue tube top and loose fitting jeans. Then at least they were alone and scrambled laughing through the window and out onto the gentle slope of the roof to sit down their backs to the brick work.

Melissa opened her bag and rummaged round pulling out the necessary items, the king size cigarette papers, loose tobacco, an old torn postcard, lighter and finally the small bag of weed from which she deftly molded a small white stick.

While Melissa was lighting up Nia pulled the grill on an air conditioning outlet to one side and pulled a couple of beer cans from inside one of which she exchanged for the joint.

"Better?" Melissa said over the crack and hiss of the can opening.

"Better." Nia confirmed, blowing a little smoke ring.

They were silent for a while as they let their minds slip slowly down the evolutionary ladder till Melissa drained the last from her bottle and set it down clumsily beside her. She watched it teeter on its rim before toppling over and with inevitability began to roll down the roof.

"Shit." Nia said struggling to her feet. "If that goes over the edge someone might see it, they'll fucking find us." She began to chase the bottle down the roof but it was gaining speed to fast to catch and catapulted out over the ledge before she could stop it. And suddenly Nia realized she too had gained more speed than she could control, the edge racing towards her like a freight train till she could see right over to the empty playing field below and for a second she was relived by the thought that there would have been no one to see the bottle fall at this time of day. Nia's foot reached out into the air and met no resistance, she screamed her eyes clenching tightly shut hoping the danger would go away as she grappling for anything to hold but there was nothing and in horror Melissa saw her dearest friend disappear from sight, falling to her death.

Nia's mind was dulled but she knew something was wrong when she hadn't hit the ground, her eyes were still closed but she wasn't sure if she wanted to open yet in case she saw the ground rushing to meet her. Her body felt strange though so incredibly light and delicate, she had of course felt like she was floating before when smoking marijuana but this was different this felt like really flying, she could even feel the wind on her face whipping her hair about.

She also realized she was in a sitting position and something was supporting her back and legs. There was no choice now, she opened her eyes and scraped some of her hair out of the way to see. Her first thought was, `his hair really is dark blue.'

"It's you." Was all she could say.

"Are you alright?" He replied. She'd never heard him speak before and she was reminded now of black silk being drawn slowly over bare skin, she felt her knees go a little week and her hart flutter.

"I'm not sure. What happened?" He voice had gone up several actives and she swallowed several times trying to bring it down again.

"You fell of the roof, which I'd like to say was a very stupid thing to do." He didn't sound cross but almost amused.

"Then why aren't I dead." She stopped for a moment and groaned. "Oh crap I am dead aren't I. You must be the angel here to get me, funny I didn't think I'd been that good."

"You're not dead, I caught you that's all."

"From a three story fall." She was suddenly aware of all the blue around them and looked about to see where they were, then she looked down and screamed again throwing her arms round the boys neck gripping tight for all she was worth releasing a little when he started going blue. Nia looked down again at the puffy white clouds beneath them, the ground occasionally visible between them a distant dream of solid ground. "What the fuck is going on." She said her voice two octaves higher than before.

"I'd better land first and then I'll explain." He soothed. Nia suddenly found herself in the middle of a cloud, cold and wet the condensation forming on her skin and then they were out and descending over water a forest, then they were skimming the tree tops and finally touched down in a clearing. The boy set her on the ground but her legs were weak and shaking and wouldn't support her and he had to help her sit gently on the floor.

In an instant she felt her weight return and it felt as though someone had covered her in cement it was so tedious to move. She looked up at his face smiling down at him.

"I have to be dreaming, or hallucinating, or dead, something because this can't be real." She was breathing heavily now and the boy watched her concerned. "The old wacky backy has fucked my brain up so much I've gone mad." She looked up at him in desperation. "Please tell me what's going on, who are you?" The boy turned round and hung his head as though deciding whether to tell her or run away but he turned round again.

"I guess I have no choice. My name is Akimirandiar but those that know that just call me Aki and you're not mad or hallucinating or dreaming."

"So if this is reality, how did you just," but the word stuck in her throat.

"Fly? I wish I knew exactly. My mother taught me when I was very little before she died, but how it actually works I've no idea. I can just let my weight go and then, whoosh." He made a takeoff motion with his hand and Nia noticed the cut for the first time.

"You're bleeding." She said reaching up to touch the wound.

"You're bottle hit me, though if it hadn't I doubt I would have seen you in time." Nia looked at the blood on her fingers, it looked a little darker than any she'd seen before, with almost a blue tinge. She put her fingers to her lips. "What are you doing, I don't know what that could do to you."

"It's sweet, like blackcurrant juice." She gulped. "You're not human are you?"

"I am, well half Earth human. My mother used to say she came from a world called Atlus where people were slightly different form here but it was destroyed and only a handful of people escaped. Eventually she learned to live here and fell in love with my father and I was born 8 months later, my sister a few years later. But shortly after my sister was born she fell really ill and of course she refused to go see a doctor, she died a year later when I was six, so our father raised us, telling us not to use our abilities in case we were seen and taken away to be experimented on."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you've seen me fly now, there's no taking it back but I'm hoping if I'm honest and tell you what's at stake you won't tell anyone else." Aki replied.

"Well no one would believe me anyway, I still don't believe it but I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you. It would probably best if we don't ever talk to each other either once I take you back. People might overhear something."

"Oh." Nia hoped she hadn't sounded as desperately disappointed as she thought she had.

"I'm thinking of you're safety to. You've flown with me, they might want to experiment on you too."

"I understand but you'll fly me back right. I really want to feel what it was like again."

"Well it's about a twenty mile walk if I don't." He held his hand out to her and she took it and once again felt as if gravity had just let her go. She tried to get up but the sudden ease of movement threw her and she found herself spinning in the air and gripped tightly to the first thing she could, namely Aki.

He brought them under control again and looked down at Nia, her arms and legs locked round him head pressed into his chest. She looked up to see his face a deep shade of red a stupid grin on his face. She peeled herself from him till once again they were just holding hands.

"Ok, hold on tight." This time Aki pushed off and they rose into the sky up through the trees and then the clouds into darkening blue of the evening sky. They were silent as they flew but both were strongly aware of the others hand. Nia found this almost as strange as flying, she'd never had any interest in guys and had started nervously to suspect maybe she never would but suddenly here was someone who had quite literally swept her off her feet and made her feel lighter than air but then, she reasoned it could all be down to shock.

"There's the school." Aki said disrupting her chain of thought.

"What are those flashing lights?"

"Damn, your friend must have called the paramedics and police. There's gonna be all kinds of questions. I'm going to land here we'll walk the rest of the way."

"We? Don't you want to get out of here? Or are you coming to make sure I don't blab?" She said suspiciously.

"Well I'd rather not be seen but two people will be more believable that one."

"Oh. So what are we going to say. If we tell them Melissa made it up she'll be in so much trouble. She might get expelled."

"Well we'll say you fell but your top snagged on the drain pipes and stopped you falling and I helped you down and and."

"Yeah and what."

"And you were so thankful we went somewhere private to make out."

"What!? So I come out of this a slut, you know telling them the truth isn't seeming such a bad option."

"Well have you got a better option, just say we were kissing." They'd landed and were now making their way round the buildings and Nia could see Aki was blushing at what he was saying but she couldn't think of anything either.

"Alright." She said stubbornly. In fact she was secretly hoping someone would ask them to prove it by kissing again though she didn't know why she would think it.

Nia recognized Melissa's voice even though she didn't understand what she'd shouted.

"Nia where the hell have you been, I thought you'd fallen to you're death and here you are with a guy. Who are you anyway?" The principal and a police officer had appeared behind Melissa now both with stern expressions.

"I think you have some explaining to do." Nia desperately tired to remember the story they'd planned.

"Um, shirt sir."

"I beg your pardon." The officer said.

"My shirt, it kept catching on those pipes as I fell and Aki here caught me at the bottom." The officer, principal and Melissa looked up at the top of the building.

"You're shirt doesn't look damaged?"

"It's a different one, I changed it cos it was torn to threads."

"It lo.." Nia cut Melissa off with a glare that could have stopped an elephant charging while the other two were still looking up.

"So where have you been this last half hour?" The principal said crossly. "We've had the police, fire department and paramedics crawling all over looking for you and what were you two doing up there in the first place?" Nia swallowed hard and blushing again said.

"Well sir, he did save my life. I wanted to say thank you. She looked up to see Melissa staring open mouthed at her. `I'm never going to hear the end of this' she thought. "As for being up there, we just err. It was a dare sir."

"Oh really from who?"

"My sister sir." Melissa cut in. Invisibly Nia breathed a sigh of relief, she was still on her side.

"Well I'm going to have words with her."

"Yes sir."

"Right well let's get you checked out with the doctor missy and then we can all go home. The police officer said turning to lead the way.

"Yes sir, Nia said following, the principal going with them.

Melissa watched them for a moment but turned back to face Aki only to find him gone. She looked round in amazement as there was no where he could have disappeared behind.

"Not another vanishing act? What the hell is going on, that girl is going to have to answer some serious questions later." She said aloud.

As it happened she wouldn't get the chance that night since Nia's parents appeared to bundle her home and berate her for her stupidity and send her to bed early.

*

Nia dreamed she was flying again, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness. She dreamed of skipping class and flying over the ocean to a warm beach somewhere to lye out all day in the sun.

The monotonous beep of her alarm clock dragged her kicking and screaming from unconsciousness, she reached out to turn it off and couldn't find it. She was determined not to open her eyes yet so listened to try and work out where the sound was coming from. She reached down and found the clock, slapping the off button. Her eyes snapped open at the same moment she realized she'd reached down. The bed was a good two feet beneath her and this time there was no Aki holding her up.

And then it was like gravity suddenly noticed what she was doing and said, "get the hell back down here" as she dropped out of the air back onto her bed. She scrabbled to sit up right and look round, there was definitely no one else in her room and her door and windows were still locked.

"Oh boy, this is bad." Nia had never dressed so fast in her life, she just grabbed the first clean things she found and ran out of the house leaving her parents to shout something about breakfast after her.

When Aki finally arrived at the gates of the school Nia grabbed him and hauled him off to the girls bathroom in the science block. When they were finally inside and the door locked Nia turned to Aki who looked somewhat like a deer caught in headlights.

"I thought we'd decided not to speak." He said.

"Yeah well that was before I woke up floating above my bed." She said angrily. "What did you do to me?"

"Do? I didn't do anything. Normal humans can't fly, my mother tired to teach my father for years but he never could. You sure you weren't dreaming."

"Oh pretty sure, when my nose was mashed into my mattress I was pretty bloody sure."

"Alright calm down a little. This is amazing, you're not adopted right?"

"No. But you said a handful of people escaped maybe an ancestor?"

"It would have to be a parent, you're mother or father."

"Well it can't be them, I know where they were born, I have grandparents."

"I'm lost then." Aki scratched his arm and winced as his nails scarped across the newly formed scab. They both looked at each other. "I told you I didn't know what would happen."

"You're saying when I tasted you're blood, I became able to fly. So it may be temporary, like until it gets out of my system."

"It could be, or it may be your genetic structure was changed. My cells regenerate bad wounds very quickly which is why I was just cut when that bottle hit me and I never get ill, maybe when they got in you're system they `fixed' the missing gene code or something."

"So you're saying I've been changed into a freak like you."

"Ow, that hurt."

"Sorry but I'm suffering a little shock here. Yesterday I fall off a roof, today I find I've become an alien."

"Not alien, they weren't from out space, they were from another world, a parallel universe or alternate dimension or something." She looked at him like he'd just turned into a ferret.

"Does that matter right now."

"Look you might be right it might be temporary, or it might be permanent. Maybe it won't be a complete change or maybe it'll be a gradual thing."

"So what do I do now? Just sit and wait to become a supergirl wannabe?"

"Well if you are developing powers we will have to teach you how to use them before you loose control and do something. We'd better go back to my place, my sister can help."

"What now? We can't just leave. Especially after yesterdays incident the last thing I need is more trouble from the principal."

"And what happens when you float out of your chair during English, or blow up a table in maths."

"Blow up a table? How would I do that?"

"Flying isn't the only thing I, we can do."

"Oh really, so not only could I turn into a hot air balloon and drift away, I could start making shit explode too." Aki nodded. "Ok, let's get out of here. I really can't believe this is happening to me, I should never have gone up on that roof."

*

In the principals office the police officer stood with a man in a suit facing the principal himself.

"Well sir, we've been over those pipes and the whole wall. If she did snag her top on something there's no evidence for it." He officer said. The principal steeped his fingers.

"So how did she survive a fall like that without a mark on her?" The man in the suit stepped forward.

"That is what I am here to find out." The principal arched an eye brow at him.

"I've never known the military so interested in such a trivial matter. Do you know something we don't?"

"I never said I was with the military. I'm just doing what I was told."

"Indeed. Aren't we all." He turned his chair so he was facing out of the large bay window overlooking the school. "Well then good luck but I would appreciate it if you would tell me anything you find out."

"I can only tell you what I'm allowed to."

"Indeed," The principal repeated. "Indeed."

*