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Sky stumbled and fell onto the carpeted ground, gasping for air. He glanced behind him and tried not to scream as he got back on his feet and, without thinking, opened the sliding glass balcony door.
“Jesus Luciano, you better be telling the goddamn truth!” he shouted, and he sprinted onto the large balcony.
----
It was a dark night in Queens when Adam Cielo, Sky to his friends (Goat, to one), fell off the balcony of an apartment suite that once belonged to his father. No one knew exactly how it happened, all anyone knew was that there was no sign of a struggle, no sign of forced entry, and physics seemed to say that he jumped in a hurry. It was a little off, it seemed like he was being chased, but there was no evidence to say anyone else was in the room, so the police deemed it a suicide and closed the case.
The date of the funeral was December first, a week after it happened. It was the same day that a paid dark web agent went with a baton to Luciano Cielo’s house. He’d been ordered to bust Sky’s father’s kneecaps.
The agent kicked the front door down, knocking things over, breaking glass, denting the walls. His footsteps were heavy and he knew there was no way the deadbeat dipshit was getting out of this one, not with the paycheck he was given. Seeing nothing in the living room, he waltzed upstairs, dragging the baton against the wall. “Luci,” he sang, hitting the baton against his hand. “Someone’s gonna give me a lotta money, got any idea who it is? Please tell me, if you could.” He kicked open the door to every room in the house, starting to get more and more agitated. “Where are you?”
Luciano Cielo was gone. They found out the next morning that he’d vanished off the face of the earth, no trace to be seen.
----
Sky woke up in the woods the morning after his supposed death. His body ached and his memory was fuzzy, but he was very much alive. “Oh sweet jesus,” he mumbled, sitting up slowly. “Fuck, ow.” Two black, feathered wings spread out behind him, and he let out a sigh as he stretched.
Then his eyes widened, and he slowly reached over his shoulder, and he screamed. He stumbled to his feet and twirled around in circles, craning his neck to see the wings. “Oh my god oh my god oh my god,” he breathed, standing still for a moment and trying to remember what happened. He shut his eyes. He remembered he had toast with butter for breakfast, and his big sister stopped by and handed him something… but he couldn’t remember what. That’s when his memory blanked, at least until he felt the wind on his face and the panic in his mind, and then darkness. So, he’d fallen. But how?
He gripped his head and groaned, feeling the beginnings of a headache. “What do I do,” he mumbled, and then he grit his teeth. “What do I DO!” he yelled, scaring away a couple birds. He let out an annoyed noise and started walking, figuring his best bet was to figure out where the hell he was, and then he’d go back home.
After quite a bit of walking he stumbled upon a gas station. He folded his wings to fit through the door, and he patted his pockets in search of his wallet. He found his phone as well, but the battery was dead. He sighed. “Where am I?” he asked the cashier, who had been staring at him the whole time.
“Uhh, Atlanta Georgia, sir,” the young woman said, her eyes wide. She was staring at his wings. Sky fluffed them and looked away, mouthing her response back to himself. The cashier snuck a picture of him.
“Pinche guey, how did I end up in Georgia?” he mumbled, letting out a scoff. He walked to the fridge and got himself a couple cans of coke, then some chips, then two maps, one of Georgia and one of the entire east coast. Then he sat at the curb and took sips of his drink while he stared down at the east coast map. “We’re not in Kansas anymore, huh.”
----
Back in Queens on December first, a week after Sky’s supposed death and a week after Sky found out for himself that he was, in fact, not dead, his roommate was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and her eyes shut tight, taking deep, slow breaths. She was trying to focus, and the purple and green patterned snake draped across her shoulders was not helping. “Barney,” she mumbled, her teeth grit.
The snake stuck out his tongue. “Yes Jet?” he asked, and Jess grunted at him.
“I’m trying to find out where the hell Sky’s dad went all of a sudden,” she huffed, picking the snake up and placing on the opposite end of the couch. “I need to focus.”
“That’s not how your powers works and you know it.” Jess opened her eyes and glared Barney down as he shifted from a snake to a human. He was tan, with dark eyes and obnoxious purple and green dyed hair. He was tall and muscular, but his face radiated kindness. “Jet, you can’t keep obsessing. Goat, or Sky is- he’s gone.”
Jess shook her head. “If I focus on the name and the face maybe I’ll get predictions about Luciano Cielo. I know he was involved with this somehow, I just know it. There’s no way he disappeared just for fun.”
When Jess said she knew something, she was most likely right. She had an odd ability that her grandmother had too. It was rare and extremely helpful. Barney knew she would act like this, she wasn’t one to let something go. He tried to convince her anyway. “Jet. Yours predictions happen when the cause is close to you, or the events could affect you. And unless you’re in danger they’re mores or less random. Luciano Cielo is probably halfways across the whole entire world by now.”
Jess tried to block him out. She shut her eyes again and tried to breathe. Then, a feeling came forth, making the hair on her arms stand up. She couldn’t see the future via visions, exactly, it was more like she just knew it was going to happen, at most a couple minutes before it actually did. Her eyes opened, and she gasped. “Sky’s here.”
Barney’s eyes widened. “Jet, are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Jess said as she stood up and ran to the door. She flung it open just in time to see Sky at the door, one hand up to knock. “Sky!”
“Jess, hey, what’s-” Sky smiled, and Jess hugged him, squeezing him tightly. Sky coughed at her strength, unable to breathe.
“Oh my god you’re not dead. I knew it, I knew there was something up about that night!” Jess yelled, pulling Sky inside and slamming the door shut. Barney jumped up from the couch and ran up to Sky, wrapping his arms around his best friend.
“GOAT! I can’t believe you’re alive! Oh, Sky.” Barney didn’t let Sky go until he finally noticed the feathers under his hands. He stepped back quickly, looking up at Sky’s wings with shock. “What the hell happened,” he mumbled, reaching out. Sky blushed and moved the wing away.
“I have some major blanks in my memory I need to fill. I woke up in fucking Georgia, with this shit on my back, then I had to practically walk all the way back here, I mean I hitched a ride or two but not many people actually wanted some weird creature in their car! I need a shower. Jesus fuck-” Sky froze, processing. “You thought I was dead?”
Jess nodded. “Everyone does, there was a funeral and everything. It looked like you threw yourself off a balcony of an apartment that belonged to your dad and committed suicide a week ago. Wait, how the hell was there a body?” she rambled, squinting to try to wrap her head around it.
“I don’t know, I woke up in the morning in the middle of the woods, that’s all I know really,” Sky said, shrugging. Jess clapped once, loudly.
“The body must have been switched with a fake in the morgue sometime in the night and it must be some big cover up or something!” Jess said, a bit too loud for Sky’s liking. He waved his hands at her.
“Jess, that’s ridiculous! Plus, if it were true, wouldn’t there be bugs all around this place?” Sky and Barney glanced around nervously, and Jess glared at them.
“You’re both idiots. I can’t believe either of you. We need to find out what the hell is going on here,” she urged, and Sky pointed over his shoulder.
“And what’s up with these things,” he added, flapping his wings and folding them. “Like, what kind of sick experiment was I involved in?”
Barney covered his mouth, and Jess snorted. “Oh Goat, you’re silly silly,” Barney said, shaking his head. “There is no experiment. These wings have been theres the whole time. But just, not on the outside.”
“I beg your pardon?” Sky felt dread bubbling up in his stomach. His mouth went dry. Jess took a deep breath, covering her face with one hand for a couple seconds. “Jess?” Sky whined, taking a step back.
“You’re gonna knock over the-” Jess winced as Sky’s foot tipped a small table with a vase by the door. “Table. Okay. Sky, I need you to not freak out, because you tend to do that,” she said, holding out a hand. Sky gripped his shirt and nodded, but he was already breathing quicker. Jess glanced at Barney, then back at Sky. “No one in this room is human. Not exactly, anyway; there’s a gray area with me.”
Sky was frozen in place, mouth hung open. He was staring ahead. Jess waved her hand in front of his face. Barney reached out, and Sky jerked away, stumbling back and gaining distance between the both of them. “What the fuck do you mean?” he asked, his voice shaky. “Barney?”
“Barney’s half reptilian, half shapeshifter. He can transform himself into any reptile, crocodile to turtle. It’s super cool,” Jess explained, and Barney smiled awkwardly, messing with his hands and shrugging. Sky’s mouth hung open, and when Barney looked back at him his pupils were like those of a reptile. It made Sky jump. Jess sighed and continued, “And as for me, I get these feelings. I know that things are gonna happen before they do. It’s finicky and I’m still figuring it out, really, but it can be really helpful sometimes. It’s how I knew you were at the door.”
“Barney, Jess, I, holy shit.” Sky put a hand on his head. “You guys are, you’re not human. I’ve known you guys for years, lived with you, how could you not tell me all this?” His voice raised in volume a bit as shock turned to anger.
“I’m sorry, Goat, Jet and I figureds it would be better for you not to be knowing about us,” Barney mumbled, looking over at Jess. “Especially because of your situation.”
“My situation,” Sky said, his hands tightening into fists. Jess held out a hand.
“Sky. You need to calm down. We can’t exactly go around telling everyone what we are! And as for you,” she said, shaking her head. “Your parents didn’t want you to know anything about any of this stuff. I should call your sister.” Jess pulled out her phone and started typing.
Sky scoffed. “Katrina knows about this, huh? Of course she does, madre de Dios.” He covered his face and uttered a string of curses in Spanish. “So my family’s not human. I’m not human. And everyone decided to keep that from me!” He stomped his foot on the ground, and Barney reached a hand out.
“Goat. Sky.” Sky hesitated as Barney took his hand and squeezed it. It felt pretty human to him. “We’re all still the sames. We’re still your friends, and we love you,” Barney said. Sky’s heart melted. God, it was so hard to stay mad at Barney.
“This is too much,” Sky grumbled, covering his eyes. “But of course my parents lied to me. What the fuck else can they do. My mother because she thinks she’s protecting me and my father because, shit, that’s what he fucking does!” He let Barney rub his back in soothing circles, despite the revelation that he was a reptillian shapeshifter, or whatever the fuck. “And my sister because she’s at mom’s every beck and-”
“Your sister is gonna be here soon, to explain everything, so watch it,” Jess said, and Sky crossed his arms over his chest.
“You know that because of your psychic powers, huh?” he asked, still angry.
“No, she texted me.” Jess held out her phone, and Sky sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
The noise of a lock turning and a door opening caught them all off guard. Sky put a hand on his chest and turned around. His shoulders slumped and he rolled his eyes. “Katrina,” he said, a hint of sibling rivalry that never got resolved with age bleeding out of his tone. “Wait, how’d you get in, the door was-”
Katrina Cielo covered her mouth, stepping closer. “Adam, Jesus Christ, are you alright? I thought you were dead!” she exclaimed, her arms held out. Sky held his breath, figuring he should be nice just this once. He embraced his big sister.
“I have no clue what happened that night,” he said, resisting the urge to make a snappy remark. Katrina never hugged him.
“Yeah, me either, but obviously you spoke to dad,” Katrina said, backing away and looking at Adam’s wings. “I didn’t think you had wings.”
“Yeah, I didn’t either,” Sky hissed, raising his shoulders and spreading his wings out. “You didn’t think to tell me I wasn’t human? This whole time?”
Katrina held up her hands. “It isn’t that simple, mom and dad were concerned for you,” she said, and then she sighed. White wings suddenly fluttered out behind her, pretty and graceful. “Mom is a full blown angel. She can perform miracles, and has golden wings. She holds awesome power. Dad, he’s immortal. He can’t get hurt in the same way humans do. He doesn’t age, can’t die.”
“I thought he just did botox,” Sky mumbled, looking down at his hands. “Wait, so, why didn’t I know? Why you and not me?”
“Don’t turn this into a sibling thing, Adam,” Katrina said blankly. “I got my wings at around three, and you? Never got them. You were really pain tolerant like me, things that would break a human’s bones just got you scratched up and bruised. That’s from dad’s side, that was a given. But angel genetics can be, tricky.” She brushed her short hair back away from her face and sighed. “You never got your wings, and they didn’t know what to do about it. What powers you’d have. So they figured, if you thought you were human, things would be better. And before you get pissed at the messenger, I don’t know if I agree with that.”
“You shouldn’t, that was a whole part of my life, my culture, that I never got,” Sky mumbled.
“I’m sorry. But hey, look at you, you’re alive! You got wings, you somehow survived that fall-”
“Right, the fall.” Sky groaned. “I don’t remember anything that happened in the past couple days. The latest thing I remember is you coming over and handing me something.”
Katrina nodded. “A note from dad. He left it in my mail because he doesn’t know where you live and apparently he was too lazy to find out. I figured I’d stop by and say hi, warn you not to listen to whatever he said, but apparently you did anyway. I left after that, I don’t know where you went or anything.”
“A good place to try would be Luciano’s house, I bet,” Jess said, and Katrina pointed at her.
“That is true. If we’re trying to figure all this out, I mean. If you want to figure it out,” Katrina said, looking at Sky and waiting for his response.
“Of course I do,” Sky said, standing up straighter. “Let’s go to dad’s house, god, I haven’t spoken to that man in months.”
Katrina scoffed. “And you won’t need to now. The fucker’s gone and disappeared. I sent…” she mumbled the rest inaudibly and looked away. Sky tilted his head.
“Kat?” he asked, and Katrina tried to smile.
“I sent a dark web agent to bust his kneecaps.” Sky’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth. “Hey! He’s immortal, remember! Don’t look at me like that! It wouldn’t hurt him, just freak him out a bit! I thought he had something to do with your death, I wasn’t gonna let that slide.” Katrina pointed her nose up, her wings disappearing behind her back. “Let’s just go.”
“Alright. You can tell your wings to disappear, by the way, they’re just like, two more limbs.” Katrina paused. “That can disappear. Come on, get in the car. I’d teleport us but this many people is too exhausting,” she explained, turning around and leaving the house. Jess glanced back for a moment, and then followed.
“I could’ve teleported here in a second, are you kidding!” Sky shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and turned towards a mirror. Barney stood next to him, holding out a hand. Sky held it, looked back at the mirror, and willed the wings to go away.
He blinked, and they were gone. He let out a shaky sigh and squeezed Barney’s hand. “You’ll be okay,” Barney said, and Sky scoffed.
“Let’s just go,” he said, letting go of Barney’s hand and walking out.
----
Luciano Cielo, after accused of using his business to make shady deals, fled the scene with his dirty money years back. Though Sky was young, he remembered the separation of his mother and father quite clearly. Maya said good riddance and Luciano said okay then, and then he was gone, visiting briefly on some birthdays and holidays. Whenever he said he had to leave early, Maya’s death stare followed him out.
Sky didn’t like Luciano’s house. It was big and slightly concealed by woods, a good ways away from the city. Sky enjoyed having people around, hence the two roommates, though admittedly, Barney was a childhood friend that Sky wanted to get closer to in a certain way, and Jess just looked fairly responsible. Sky’s own home was full of life; his dad’s house was desolate, just him and his father and empty space.
But as Sky gazed out the window at the house something felt off. Luciano wasn’t there, he’d disappeared. Although it seemed like he just fled like usual, Sky couldn’t help but give his father the benefit of the doubt; the gaps in his memory tugged at his brain, like he knew what happened but couldn’t pull it from the fog.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Jess mumbled. The sun was setting over the trees and their shadows stretched across the outside of the house as Katrina parked her car and got out. The others followed suit, and Barney stood close to Sky. His eyes darted around and he held his arms close to his body, flinching at every noise. Sky gave him a quick side hug right before they walked up to the porch.
“Sky, unlock the door,” Katrina ordered, and Sky glared at her. She sighed. “With your powers. You can turn the lock without using your hands.”
Sky huffed and pressed his hand to the door. “Oh ye olde lock, moveth on mine command!” he exclaimed, freezing when he heard the lock move. “Oh shit. I actually-”
“That was me,” Katrina said, opening the door. “You’re not taking this seriously.”
“I’m supposed to take this fuckin’ seriously?” Sky held his arms out as he walked in. He flicked the light switch, but the lights didn’t come on. He flicked it a couple more times for good measure, and still nothing. “Shit. He must’ve not paid his bills or something.”
“He hasn’t been gone for that long,” Jess countered, and they were silent after that, all turning on their phone flashlights.
“Yell if you guys need me, I’ll keep the door open,” Katrina called from the doorway.
“You’re staying here?” Sky asked, his eyes wide. Katrina nodded.
“This is your deal, not mine, and I don’t like going in there, personally. Yell if you need me.” She waved him off and leaned on the doorframe. Sky rolled his eyes and walked further into the house.
“This feels like a horrors movie,” Barney whispered, latched onto Sky’s arm. Sky nodded and thought it embarrassing that his face was heating up so much in a moment like this. He shook it off and without acknowledging it he found himself at the front of the group, leading them. Something was urging his legs upstairs, and when he took the first step up, something came back to him.
It was daytime, and Sky was uneasy. He was holding a note in his hand, messing with it uneasily as his father led him upstairs. “Thank you for coming over, kid, I wanted to uh,” Luciano paused, looking away, “I wanted to be honest with you for once. Sorry I asked you over with a secondhand note, I uh, wasn’t sure how to contact you.”
Sky was silent as they kept walking up. He was frowning; Luciano was rarely this serious. He kept rubbing the back of his neck and grinding his teeth. His voice was quiet and stoic and he seemed worried by something.
“I just thought you should know, because someone’s kind of, after me. And I don’t want them to come after you too,” Luciano said, leading Sky down the hall.
Sky jumped at that. He stopped short, eyes wide. “Wait, someone’s after you? What do you mean?” he asked, his voice suddenly frantic. Luciano exhaled and tried to smile.
“No te preocupes, mijo, it’s nothing. I’ll be okay, but I just want you to know something very, very important about yourself that could really help you out later on.” Luciano put his hand on the door to a room. “In case he finds out about you.”
“Luciano, you’re not making any sense! You’re scaring me and frankly, you’re pissing me off too.” Sky put his hand over his beating heart, not wanting to admit he was afraid. He didn’t want his dad to die.
“I’m sorry.” The door opened. “For everything.”
Sky snapped out of it, shaking his head and blinking a couple times. Jess shook him lightly and said, “Sky, hey, you back?”
“Luciano was trying to tell me something. Or he told me and I just don’t remember that part. He- someone was after him,” Sky stuttered, his eyes wide. The thought that came next made his heart seize. “Oh god what if he didn’t disappear on his own! What if someone kidnapped him?”
“He’s a pretty strong guy,” Barney said. He seemed unsure. “And immortal. No one can really hurt him.”
“But he was worried. He never worries about, anything, it’s what pisses me off so much about him.” Sky darted up the stairs, following the path he took when he was with his father. He stopped at a room and opened the door, rushing in without waiting for Jess and Barney. He froze, looking around.
The room was trashed. Furniture was knocked over and papers and clothes littered the ground. Sky started breathing quicker and quicker as he shined his flashlight on the walls. They were littered with scratch marks that tore through the tacky wallpaper and dug into the wall itself in large, jagged sets of four. Sky put his hand over his mouth.
Barney walked in and gasped. “Oh no,” he whispered, stepping back and bumping into Jess, who was frozen in the doorway. He turned and looked at her. “Jet?”
“We need to get out of here,” Jess said, stepping back. “Sky, let’s go. Now.”
Sky didn’t move, his mouth hung open. “Something happened to my dad,” he mumbled, his voice shaky and weak. “Something happened to my dad.”
“Sky! He’s immortal, we have to go!” Jess reached out and grabbed Sky’s arm. Sky wrenched it away, his flashlight shining downwards as a result. He looked down and exhaled.
“Is that blood,” he said, and he stepped away from the dark, red-brown splotches on the white carpet. “Oh god that’s blood isn’t it.”
“It’s not from your dad, Goat let’s listen to Jet,” Barney tried to pull Sky out. “She knows things, Goat.”
“The blood must be from whatever the hell was in here earlier, Sky, snap out of it, it’s gonna come back and if we don’t get out now-” Jess was cut off by a wicked, ear piercing scream. The three of them covered their ears, and Jess cursed loudly. “Too late!”
Sky whipped around and pointed his flashlight behind Jess and Barney, his stomach lurching. A looming figure stood, twitching oddly. Her hair was long and her eyes were sunken. She screamed again, exposing her long, sharp rows of teeth, her hands morphing into claws. “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!” Sky shrieked, and Jess shook her head.
“I don’t know!” Jess yelled as she shoved Barney to the ground just in time to dodge the woman’s sharp nails. “Usually I can sense cryptids but this is something else, this isn’t right!”
“Her scent is wrong,” Barney mumbled, his body shaking violently as he pulled himself to his feet.
“Sky do something!” Jess’ voice echoed in Sky’s head. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.
Jess picked up a chair and swung it at the woman. It knocked her to the side, leaving a space big enough for them to run through the door. Jess sprinted through, and Barney followed a bit too late. The woman scratched the side of his face as he stumbled out, and he shouted and put his hand over his eye. Jess gasped and held him up, pulling him further away from the room.
Sky’s eyes snapped to the creature. Faintly, they began to glow. Sky’s wings spread out behind his back and for a moment, the creature hesitated. She looked back, and shrieked at Sky. He didn’t move, his eyes glowing brighter.
Suddenly, the woman froze, and started gripping her chest. Sky’s eyes narrowed, his hands balled into fists.
“Sky?” Barney whispered. “Sky let’s go.”
The woman fell to her knees. She was having a heart attack.
“SKY!” Sky shook his head, blinking the glow away from his eyes. He looked at Barney, who’d been shouting his name.
“Sky, get the hell out of here.” He heard his sister’s voice. He whipped around and saw her behind him. Her eyes were wide, and she was looking down at the motionless form on the ground. “Take- take my keys. These weird hostiles are all over the house, I couldn’t get to you guys. I need to get mom, I’ll find you later.”
Sky took Katrina’s car keys and put his hand on his head, stumbling out of the room. “Guys what did I just-”
“It’s okay,” Jess said. “Let’s just go.”
The three ran out of the house, and Sky tossed the keys to Jess. Sky sat in the backseat with Barney, laying his hurt friend’s head on his lap. “Oh god,” Sky muttered, nearly gagging at all the blood on Barney’s face. “Your eye.”
“Do I looks good?” Barney asked, smiling. Sky reached out, gently moving Barney’s hand away from his eye. He flinched and looked away. Barney’s smile faded. “How bad?”
Sky shook his head. “Barney I’m so sorry. Hold on, hold on we need to stop the bleeding. Jess, where are you taking us?”
Jess held out a bright pink sticky note in her hand. “Took one of these from the room. All that was written on it was an address and the word hospital. It’s the closest place, and maybe your dad went there too, after he was hurt. If he was hurt. Somehow,” she explained, and Sky let out a shaky breath. He took off his jacket and pressed it over the wounded side of Barney’s face, staining it red.
“You’re gonna be okay, Barney, you’re gonna be okay.” Sky ran his fingers through Barney’s hair and Barney gazed up at him. “I’m sorry I scared you, I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s okay. I don’t think that was all the way you, back there. It wasn’t your fault,” Barney said, his voice barely a whisper. He lifted his hand and touched Sky’s face. Sky let out a sob, leaning forward and holding Barney closer.
----
The address was for a house in the woods fairly close to Luciano Cielo’s. It was smaller, just a cabin. Sky, Jess, and Barney walked up and Jess knocked on the door.
A man answered. His hair was light brown going gray, and he looked to be in his forties. His eyes were gray and blank. “Hello,” he said, looking right at Sky. “It seems you kids need help.”
Sky stepped forward, an arm around Barney. “Y-Yeah, Barney here uh-”
“Get in, I’ll take care of it.” The man ushered the group inside, closing the door behind them. “Lay him right down there, on the cot.” Sky obeyed, but wondered why there happened to be a cot right by the door.
“This doesn’t look like a hospital,” Jess admitted. She shook her head, her mind feeling fuzzy. The man noticed.
“Whoever you got this address from isn’t human, huh? We heal cryptids here, since going to the real hospital can be tricky for some of you. What kind is this one?” The man hummed and kneeled by Barney with a first aid kit. He took the jacket off and inspected the scratch marks. “Interesting.”
“Half reptilian half shapeshifter,” Barney managed to get out. The man nodded, patting at the scratches on Barney’s cheek with hydrogen peroxide soaked into a gauze pad. Barney winced and squeezed Sky’s hand tight.
“A unique mix. Stay calm, now. Would you all like some water?”
There was a chorus of “yes please,” and the man got up and handed the gauze pad to Sky. “Would you just keep cleaning the wounds on his cheek, please?”
“Sure.” Sky leaned in closer to Barney and replicated the man’s actions while the man got up and poured them some water. “Thank you, sir, by the way. We were attacked by this weird thing. It was like a cryptid, but-”
“Unnatural?” the man held out a glass of water to each of them. Sky nodded.
“Yeah. Nothing these guys have ever seen.”
“It felt way off to me,” Jess said, her arms crossed over her chest. “She wasn’t quite like us.”
“Her scent was almost artificial,” Barney said, and Sky helped him lift his head to take a sip of water. Sky took a couple big gulps right after. Jess nearly chugged all of her glass in one go. “Human, but not. It was so bizarre.”
“A couple of others came here after similar attacks. There must be something going on, something that makes them act out like this. Usually, hostiles plan their kills. These ones don’t,” the man explained. “I need to get something from the basement that might do some good for those wounds.”
After the man disappeared downstairs, Jess leaned in closer to Sky and Barney. “My mind feels blurred, like I can’t reach out to the future. Like there’s a wall preventing me,” she whispered, and Sky shrugged as he helped Barney drink more water. “I started to feel it in the car. And I’m starting to feel weird now, like I need to sit.” Jess did sit, putting a hand on her head.
“Maybe that woman messed up your powers with hers. I mean, they were able to keep Katrina away for a while, and I feel a little off too,” Sky said, just as the man came back with a small vial.
“Since it’s a cut from a seemingly very powerful monster, the wound won’t heal as fast or as well. You most likely won’t regain sight, but we can speed up the rest of the healing process with this.” The man uncapped the vial and handed it to Barney.
“What’s inside here?” Barney asked, looking at the red liquid. “Smells like- blood.”
“It is. The blood of an immortal. Really good for healing wounds quickly,” the man said, and Sky mumbled to himself, feeling lightheaded.
Barney gave it a sniff and drank it, scrunching his face up afterwards. Sky watched, blinking a lot to clear his vision, as Barney’s wounds began to close, leaving only scars behind. Barney blinked his bad eye, sighing. “Still can’t see. But thanks you, sir!”
“Where’d you get that blood,” Sky mumbled, looking at Jess, who was slumped over. “Jess? Is she okay?” Sky started to stand, but he stumbled.
“I’ve never seen an angel with black wings before, but I sure have heard the rumors,” the man droned. Sky’s world was spinning around him.
“Who the hell are you?” Sky sputtered, and he fell over. Barney started to get up, his eyes wide. “What did you do?”
“Sky? Jet?”
“Who am I,” the man hummed. He kneeled by Sky, lifting up one of his wings and examining it, nodding slowly.
“I’m Doctor Ross.”
Sky’s eyes fluttered shut.
“SKY!”
----
Sky was in the room with his father. “I was an angel this whole time and you didn’t fucking tell me!” Sky pushed his father backwards, seething. “You lied to me! You lied like you always do!” There was a heat behind his eyes.
“Adam, hey, hey hey hey, calm down, it was your mother’s idea,” Luciano stuttered, backing away from his son. “Calm down, don’t do anything you’ll regret.” His golden eyes sparked with fear, and Sky hesitated.
“Why are you afraid? If you’re immortal why are you afraid?” he asked, and Luciano lowered his hands and stepped closer to his son.
“There’s a reason we didn’t tell you. A reason that I thought was good, at the time, but now I’m coming to realize that you would’ve been better off knowing the whole truth. And I’m really sorry, I really hate lying to you. I know it doesn’t look like it but I do. I have a problem. But I’m trying to fix that, and Maya’s gonna kick my ass later but-” Luciano paused and shook his head. “You are more powerful than you think.”
Sky stood there, not feeling very powerful as tears welled up in his eyes. He blinked, and they fell. “What do you mean?” His voice wavered. “Luciano?”
“Your mother has golden wings. She’s powerful, and she can make miracles happen. She can do, almost anything good. Your sister has white wings, as we expected. She can do some things, but not as many, and not to the extent of your mother. You, on the other hand.” Luciano smiled and shook his head. “Your wings showed up when you were five. They were black, and we were a little concerned at first, but, nothing we couldn’t handle. But then.” Luciano glanced away.
“You got mad, because your mom put your favorite toy in the wash, and you were crying like crazy, and, uh, I was driving home. Your mom said it was my idea to, to wash the toy.” Luciano looked back. “I got in a car crash. I had to go to the hospital. Broken arm, concussion, lots of bruises. I hadn’t felt pain since I was mortal. Centuries ago.”
Sky stared, his mouth dropping open.
“Your mom made you forget you had powers. She loved you, Adam, but she thought you were dangerous. And I was afraid of you. I was afraid. And she’d never seen me afraid.”
“I… I cause, tragedies,” Sky said, his breath catching in his throat. “I cause tragedies.”
“Hey, kid, no, come here.” Luciano hugged Sky, holding him closer than he ever had before. “You’re so kind, and amazing… so much better than me. You will do great things. You will save people. You’re such a good kid, your mother raised you well.”
“I could have killed you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I want to stay here for a while.”
“That’s okay.”
Sky was downstairs, and the sun was setting. Sky was leaning on Luciano, a warm cup of hot cocoa in his hands. Luciano had a protective arm around him. “Who’s hunting you?” Sky asked, because Luciano had glazed over that topic earlier.
“A doctor. He’s doing these crazy experiments with cryptids and humans, wants his hands on an immortal. Thinks he can get to me,” Luciano said, puffing out his chest. “I’m sure he can’t.”
“Experiments?”
“Taking humans, artificially turning them into cryptids using his own potions. The result is horrifying, it messes up their genes, turns them into mindless,rabid creatures. But he somehow got some to listen to him.” Luciano rubbed Sky’s arm and stood up. “Did you finish your cocoa, I’ll take your-”
There was suddenly an ear shattering scream that made the father and son wince and cover their ears. Luciano pulled Sky to his feet. “That’s them, you need to go. I’m sorry, take the key to my penthouse in Queens, you know the one.” Luciano closed Sky’s palm around a key with a unicorn keychain. “I have more information I gathered on black winged angels there, it’s in my office, under my desk. Get out of here, now.”
“But dad,” Sky said, and Luciano shook his head.
“I’ll be fine! Just get out! Oh shit, and Adam,” he grabbed his son’s shoulders, “you can’t die easy. You can make risky ass moves, you can survive most situations humans can’t. Remember that.” He kissed Sky on the forehead and then let go. “I love you, Adam. Run.”
Sky was in Luciano’s penthouse apartment, shuffling through file cabinets, looking for the research. It was nighttime, and Sky’s eyes were tired. “Where the hell did he say- under his desk. Oh I’m stupid.” He moved to the desk and was about to peer under when he heard a groan coming from outside the office. He stood up and walked over, poking his head out. He held his breath when he saw a man, hunched over, legs bent awkwardly. He was dragging his feet along the ground, patches of fur on his arms and chest. Sky put his hand over his mouth, walking backwards slowly, inching closer to the door. He bumped into something, and felt a hot breath down on his neck.
He turned around, and a tall man peered down at him. He opened his mouth, revealing sharp teeth. He reached out with pointed nails, making an odd noise. Sky stepped back, and all of a sudden the other man howled, and then Sky bolted.
He ran as fast as he could through the apartment, the monsters on his heels, grunting and howling and snapping their jaws at his feet.
The balcony door caught his eye.
Sky stumbled and fell onto the carpeted ground, gasping for air. He glanced behind him and tried not to scream as he got back on his feet and, without thinking, opened the sliding glass balcony door.
“Jesus Luciano, you better be telling the goddamn truth!” he shouted, and he sprinted onto the large balcony.
He put his hands on the railing and vaulted himself over the edge. And then he was falling, the wind whistling in his ears. He screamed.
----
Sky woke up slowly, coming back from his walk down memory lane. He tried to move, but his wrists were held down with restraints. He struggled some more, shaking the exam table he was on. He looked around and saw that his wings were spread out and restrained that way. He couldn’t move them. He started to panic, pulling more at the restraints.
“Adam, Adam! You’re awake!” Sky whipped his head towards the sound of his father’s voice. Luciano Cielo was in what looked like a small cell, and he looked beat up. Sky gasped.
“Dad, you look awful! How’d they do that!” Sky shouted, and Luciano shushed him.
“Turns out those creatures Ross made can actually hurt me, somehow, this guy has done a ton of research and real twisted shit, how’d you even end up in this basement, I told you to leave me alone,” Luciano said, his voice cracking.
“I woke up in Georgia after I threw myself off your balcony, no memory of what happened. But I just, I just remembered most of it… dad I’m- I’m so sorry, the monsters were chasing me.” Sky shook his head.
Luciano put his hand on his head. “Oh god.”
“I-It’s okay, apparently Katrina is getting mom,” Sky said, hopeful. Luciano sighed.
“He has some kind of wavelength thingy preventing cryptids from sensing each other. Must’ve stifled your friend’s prediction power, too. It’s so cryptids can’t sense what’s going on down here. I can’t believe I lived so close to it for this long. Anyway, Katrina and I won’t be able to find us,” he said. “I’ve been here for a while.”
“We thought you just bolted, like you always do,” Sky said, and Luciano looked down.
“Fuck, I’m such an asshole.”
“Ugh, Goat?” In another cell across the room, a figure stirred, and blinked awake.
“Barney!” Sky pulled harder, letting out an angry shout. “Dammit, that motherfucker! Barney, are you okay!”
“I’m fine, my eye isn’t hurting anymore,” Barney said. “That stuff was legit.”
“Oh shit, is that why Ross took my blood?”
“Where’s Jess?” Sky interrupted, and right on cue, Jess stood up in a third cell.
“That motherfucker drugged us!” she shouted.
“I do apologize for that.” Ross was standing at the bottom of the stairs in a lab coat. There was a younger guy behind him, with black, messy hair, but he said nothing as Ross walked over to Sky. “But I couldn’t miss out on an opportunity like this. A black winged angel who also happens to be the son of an immortal. I had to dig out my knowledge of warding so you wouldn’t kill me on the spot.”
“How did you hurt my dad,” Sky spat, and Ross chuckled.
“Only immortals can kill other immortals. My solution? Make all my little monsters immortal. Not too difficult to do, really, you’d be surprised,” he said, and Luciano’s eyes widened.
“But I killed one,” Sky stuttered, and Ross nodded, feeling Sky’s wing and wrapping his fingers around a single feather.
“That you did. You’re powerful, more powerful than your mother. I was gonna get her, but then I found out about you. And you didn’t even know anything about your powers, it was like you were handed to me on a silver platter. You walked right up to my door.” Ross tugged at the feather, and Sky flinched, tearing up. Luciano seethed, shaking the door to the cell.
“Get away from my son!” he snapped, and Ross paid him no mind, picking up a scalpel. Luciano’s breath caught in his throat. “No…”
Sky looked away, shaking. He gazed at Barney. “Barney, hey, whatever happens to me, I need you to know this,” he said, his heart pounding against his ribcage. “Barney I’ve had a crush on you since the second grade and it never went away and I think about you all the time and I really want to date you-”
Ross cut off one of Sky’s feathers, and a spike of pain surged through his entire body. He felt the horrible burning sensation for only a second.
----
Sky gasped and opened his eyes, taking long, deep breaths.
“Adam, Adam you passed out,” Luciano said, gripping the bars so hard his knuckles were white. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Sky said. “What even, why did that hurt so much?”
Luciano looked down, his eyes wide and his breaths heavy. “Jesus Christ.” He covered his face and walked to the corner of the cell.
Sky opened his mouth to say something when the door opened and the black haired man came stumbling down the stairs with keys in his hand. He ran up to Sky and started undoing his restraints. “Get out of here, your mother and sister are in the area, if things get hairy they’ll have your back,” he said, tossing the keys towards Luciano’s cell. Luciano reached his hand through the bars and caught them.
Sky sat up and rubbed his arms, folding his wings. “Wait, I remember you.”
Sky took a deep breath as he woke up, coughing and leaning forward, his wings stretching out behind him. “Ohh god. Ow. That hurts, oh fuck, I’m alive. I’m alive!”
The man in the lab coat standing over the exam table stared, his caramel eyes wide. His black hair was tied back in a small ponytail. He went pale. “How- holy shit-”
“I’m alive,” Sky said, and he looked around. “I’m in a morgue.” He looked down. “And I’m nnn- NAKED!” He pulled the white sheet further over himself, his face flushing. “Fuck. Are you doing my autopsy?”
“Kind of,” the man replied, still in shock. “I’m Jin. I’ll get your clothes.” He stumbled back and turned around, grabbing a bag. He walked back and handed it to Sky, who snatched it and waited for Jin to turn back around before getting dressed. “How are you alive.”
“I’m uh. I don’t know,” Sky lied.
“Is it because you’re an angel? Ross didn’t- I didn’t know you could come back to life.”
Sky tilted his head. “Are you not supposed to be here?”
“My boss wanted me to see if an angel’s anatomy was any different, I kind of crashed your autopsy.” Jin paused. “Sorry.”
Sky gave Jin the OK to turn around. “I didn’t know I was an angel until like, literally today. So. Sorry man, can’t tell you much. I don’t know who you work for or anything, but, I think I’m not supposed to let you kill me and cut me open, so I think I’m just gonna go.”
“Wait,” Jin said. “Wait. I don’t want to kill you. I’m kind of freaking out, I don’t want to work for him anymore, I can’t work for him anymore, he’s not who I thought he was. So um, you go ahead, but just remember to look out for someone named Ross.”
Sky’s shoulders slumped. “You should run too.”
Jin shook his head. “I can’t afford to. God, I was just a student from Atlanta. Just go, I’ll handle all this,” he said, and Sky put his hood over his head.
“Be safe.”
“You too.”
All of a sudden, the door opened, and Sky panicked. He spread his wings and wished he was anywhere but there. He blacked out.
“Why couldn’t I remember anything?” Sky asked, and Jin shrugged. Behind them, Luciano had gotten himself out of his cell and was unlocking Barney’s.
“Teleportation without a set destination doesn’t really end well, in my research. But that doesn’t matter, you need to go, these woods are crawling with Ross’ creatures,” Jin said, and Sky slowly stood up. His legs felt weak. “Once you get out of the house you’ll be able to use your powers again. Ross warded the house. He’s out now but he’ll be back soon.”
“Will you take the fall?” Sky asked, and Jin shrugged.
“I’ll figure something out. Just go.”
Sky nodded, and walked up to his friends. He hugged his father for a long time before they all walked out, tired and scared. Barney reached out and held Sky’s hand. Sky squeezed it tight. Luciano smiled a little.
Once they got outside, Sky felt a sudden surge of power. He looked back at the house, shuddered, and walked away faster.
“ADAM!” Sky barely had time to react as a car screeched to a stop, and Maya Rosa stepped out, sprinting to her son and wrapping her arms around him. Glowing golden wings shielded him as well. “Mijo, you’re safe, oh god,” she purred, squeezing him a bit too tight. Luciano shuffled backwards and clasped his hands in front of him.
“Mom, air,” Sky choked out, and Maya let him go.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe it. I thought you were dead. When Katrina came to me and said you were alive and maybe in trouble I was so shocked, how did you survive that fall?” Maya rambled, and Sky shrugged.
“Dad told me I’d live.”
Maya looked behind Sky at Luciano, who was hiding behind Jess. Jess pushed him aside and crossed her arms over her chest. “Look,” Luciano started, but he never got to finish, because Maya grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. He laughed nervously. “Haha, ¿mi amor?”
“¿Hiciste qué?” she spat, and Luciano avoided eye contact. “Mírame, cabrón, ¡explícate ahora mismo si prefieres tu cabeza unida a tu cuerpo!”
“Okay! Okay!” Maya put Luciano down. “Maya, I really didn’t mean for him to get involved, I promise.”
Maya maintained her glare. “Mom,” Sky said, putting a hand on her back. “Can we go home?”
Maya’s eyes softened. “Of course, mijo, I’ll deal with your father later.” She led Sky to the car.
----
“Hey.”
Luciano scoffed. “Hey, kid.” Sky handed him a glass of water. “Thanks.”
“Is she talking to you?” Sky sat next to him. They were in the penthouse, and Luciano was sitting against the wall, looking through his angel research.
“Nope, but not that I deserve her voice. It’s okay, she never needed me,” Luciano said, handing Sky a paper. “According to this, there’s only one angel of death at a time. That must be you, and Maya’s pregnancy must have been perfect timing. Hey, speaking of perfect timing, that was a nice speech you gave to your little crush.”
“God, shut up, it was so embarrassing.” Sky covered his face, and Luciano laughed.
“Right in front of the evil doctor!” Luciano put a hand over his chest like he was shot, reaching a hand up to the sky. “Mine heart aches for you, sir Barney!”
“Dad-”
“Although I am the angel, thou art MINE angel-” Sky elbowed Luciano in the gut, and he doubled over. “Ow! Got it!” he coughed. “Seriously kid. I’m proud of you. You two dating?”
Sky couldn’t help but smile. “I think so.”
Luciano grinned and ruffled Sky’s hair. “You’re the best, kid. You deserve the world. Second grade, Jesus, and I never heard about him?” He shook his head. “I’m such a shit dad.”
Sky frowned and nudged Luciano a bit. “Hey, look at this.” They both leaned in to read what Sky was pointing to.
“The soul of the angel of death exists partly on the realm of the dead, giving the angel of death the ability to enter this realm and speak to dead people.” Sky looked at his father, wide eyed.
--TO BE CONTINUED.--
“Maya.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Maya, Ross took one of Adam’s feathers.” Maya whipped around and stood across from her husband. “I didn’t want to worry Adam, but I figured you needed to know.”
“You’re not serious.” Maya shook her hand and looked down. “That man has no idea the power he now holds.”
Luciano took a step closer. “Oh, I think he does. And that’s worse.”
----
“A shame those kids escaped, but I got the most important part after all,” Ross said, holding the black feather against the light. “An angel feather. Incredible, isn’t it Jin?”
Jin’s breathing was awfully heavy. “What makes one feather so powerful?” he asked, his eyes wide.
Ross looked back at him and smirked. He walked closer.
“The power of an angel seeps out of them, every drop of blood holds immense potential. But a feather? A feather gives whoever holds it the angel’s power. At this moment, if I wanted to, I could give Xavier a heart attack even though he’s in perfectly good health. If I wanted to, I could make you have a car crash on the way home, and I could make it fatal.” Ross pressed the feather to Jin’s nose, and Jin stood as still as he could, mortified. “You should get home, Jin.” Ross stepped away, turning his back to Jin.
Jin stepped back, and started to leave.
“Drive safe.”
A chill shot down Jin’s spine, and he darted outside as fast as he could. He pulled out his phone and called Xavier, waiting for him to pick up as he stood warily by his car.