Caelum Chapters 1-5.

         I awoke to the sound of metal pots being tossed around. "Ughh," I thought, "mom’s cooking already, great." I pulled my pillow over my head and tried to fall back asleep.  Less then ten minutes later my parents burst through my door singing a very off key “Happy Birthday.”

         “Haaappy birthdaaay to yooou,” they finished. Smiling my mom held out a cupcake with a burning candle on it.

         “Make a wish Skye,” my mom said in a cheerful voice. I closed my eyes thinking of something to wish for. "How about a pony," I thought. Wasn’t I too old to be making wishes, I was turning seventeen, didn’t my parents realize that? I opened my eyes and blew out the flickering candle. Purple wax was starting to creep down towards the icing dotted with happy looking smiley face sprinkles. "Oh yah, they totally realize it," I thought sarcastically. I looked up to find my parents staring at me with twinkling eyes. My dad held out a package wrapped in polka dot paper and tied with a pink bow.

         “Open it sweetie,” my dad said as I took it from him. I started to unwrap it. "I hope it’s something to eat, I’m starving," I thought. I looked up eyeing the cupcake my mom still held. Tempting, but I willed myself to finish opening my present since my parents were still watching me expectantly. Once the wrapping paper was off I could see that it was a black velvety box. I opened it, inside was a silver heart shaped locket. My dad reached into the box and showed me how to open the locket. Inside was a picture of my parents and I.

“Thanks mom, thanks dad,” I said, hugging them both.

         “You’re welcome sweetheart,” my mom said, “and breakfast is ready so get dressed and come downstairs.” I nodded watching them leave. Well so much for sleeping in, I thought. With a sigh I threw back my covers and crawled out of bed. My mom had set the birthday cupcake on my dresser; I unwrapped it and took a bite. I walked over to my closet and threw open the doors. Flipping the light switch on I began to search for something to wear. Deciding on my light blue summer dress I glanced at myself in the mirror. My green eyes had dark circles under them from lack of sleep. I smiled, remembering my birthday party last night. Everyone had shown up and we’d had a blast. Streaks of mascara and eyeliner ran down my face because I had been too lazy to wash my face the night before.

I wiped off my face with one of the many shirts lying on my dresser. I guess you could say I’m not exactly one of the neatest people in the world. I keep telling my mom she should hire a maid but she always says that doing my own chores makes me a better person. Right.

         I re-applied my makeup then ran a brush through my chestnut colored hair. I grabbed my new locket, fastening it took a few seconds, but soon I was ready. I took one last look at my self, decided I looked decent enough, and grabbed my cupcake. I headed out my door, munching on my cupcake and was halfway down the stairs when I heard an angry voice.

         “Just tell us where she is and you won’t get hurt,” a deep voice commanded.

         “What do you want with our Skye?” I heard my dad ask, he sounded scared.

         “She’s the property of the United States government I order-”

         “I don’t know what you’re talking about, she’s our daughter!” My mom sobbed. She came around the corner, tears running down her face. My dad had his arm around her in a protective stance. Following them were four men all holding guns. They held them at their sides in a ready position. I gasped and all eyes turned towards me.

         “Um, hi,” I said, starting to back up the stairs slowly.

         “Hello there Skye, I’m William Black,” a tall, well built man with jet black hair said. He was smiling at me in a way that sent chills up my spine. He held up his big arms in an “I come in peace” gesture, but he still held a big shiny gun in his right hand.

         “I need you to come with us now; if you try to flee I can’t promise you or your parent’s safety.” He said still smiling his creepy smile.

I stopped backing up and mimicked Black’s gesture, minus the gun part.

         “Wise choice, now stay there, I’ll come to you.” He started towards the stairs. Before he had taken two steps though, my parents darted in front of him, blocking access to the stairs and me.

         “Run Skye!” They both shouted at me.

         “Get out of the way!” Black bellowed, “If you don’t move in five seconds I will shoot you.”

         “One,” he started, but before he could get any further my parents rushed at him and the men. Before Black could react my dad tackled him to the ground. They wrestled to get to the gun now out of Black’s grasp.

         “Go Skye, now!” My mother shouted before charging at one of the stunned men. He was quicker to react though and dodged her, kicking her legs from under her. She gasped as she hit the hard floor. He pulled her up and pinned her to the wall. That was all I needed. I turned and sprinted up the stairs.

         “Get her,” cried Black still struggling with my dad. The remaining two men bolted up the stairs after me. I ran past my room towards our home gym, hoping to maybe grab a weight as a weapon since it would be better than nothing. That’s when I heard a loud gunshot. Everything slowed down. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. My throat felt dry and rough. My pursuers stopped and sped back to the stairs to see if it had been one of theirs who was shot. I ran back saying a silent prayer that it had been one of them. Sadly my prayer was ignored, when I came around the corner my heart stopped and my world turned black.



      Aria blinked. What was going on? She raised her hand and gasped. She had raised HER hand! Was it possible? After years of living in the back of Skye’s mind she had finally taken control of this body? Yes, she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body. Her heart was pounding. Finally, she thought. She looked at the scene that was playing out in front of her. Before she had been seeing it through Skye’s eyes and hadn’t really been paying attention. Now it was clearer, more pronounced. In front of her there were men with guns a few feet away, staring below them. Her gaze followed theirs down to a man leaning against a wall, who Aria knew was Skye’s father. He was clutching his stomach where blood was flowing out. There was a man beside him holding a gun towards the bleeding man. He had called him self William. Next to them a woman, Aria knew was Skye’s mother, lay sprawled stomach down on the floor unmoving. Suddenly Black turned to look at Aria. A small voice in her mind told her to run but she pushed it away.

         “Skye, I told you not to run,” Black said. Aria smiled, "good," she thought, time for a surprise. She put on her best “I’m scared, please don’t hurt me” face and pretended to shake.

         “You’re coming with us now Skye,” Black said in his deep voice. He started up the stairs. When he was only a few steps away she held out her hands and suddenly he flew back crashing into the wall. Aria laughed then turned and sprinted down the hallway. She came to double glass doors and flew through them. It was the home gym, she knew it well since Skye loved to spend most of her day there. "Perfect," she thought. The men were only a few feet behind her so she had to think fast. She dashed behind a huge cabinet that held cleaning supplies and towels. The men burst through the doors and drew their guns.

         Aria glanced around looking for something she could use as a weapon. Ah ha, she thought as her gaze settled on a rack of dumbbells behind the men. Focusing hard she willed a fifty pound dumbbell into the air. It was shaking considering she hadn’t used her powers in seventeen years. Not since her soul had been transferred into Skye’s body when Skye was a baby. She was using all her strength to keep it up. Suddenly it dipped dangerously when her grip slipped. It plummeted towards the floor. Focus, she thought. It hovered just inches from the floor. She brought it up and pushed it towards the ceiling. The men were still searching for her. Once she had the dumbbell fairly high she brought it over Black’s head. She began to pull back her grip on the weight when a voice in her head startled her.

         “No, stop!” It screamed at her. She tightened her grip again, startled. What the heck, she thought.

         “I won’t let you kill him!” the voice screamed. "He shot your father you know," Aria said to the voice in her head, she guessed it was Skye.

         Skye gasped but wouldn’t let Aria loosen her grip. Somehow Skye still had some control over her body. Aria sighed. She decided she’d save that for later. Instead she pushed the weight towards the glass window that took up most of the back wall of the gym. It crashed through, shattering glass shards everywhere. The men jumped and she smirked at the startled looks on their faces. Aria took off towards the cascading glass. She threw herself through the window, momentarily forgetting they were three stories up from the ground. Frantically she searched for something to soften her landing. Finding nothing she settled on a pile of fire wood stacked against a shed a few feet away. Quickly she willed the wood underneath her and folded herself into a ball, protecting her head. When she landed it felt like she had been hit by a train. Ignoring the pain she checked for any broken bones. Finding none she pushed herself up and began to run towards the woods a few yards away from the house. As soon as she put weight on her left ankle it felt like it was being engulfed in flames. She gasped in pain but stumbled on towards the woods. Suddenly she felt something whiz by her ear. She looked back towards the gym and saw Black aiming his gun at her.

         "Should have killed him when I had the chance," she thought angrily. She turned and limped towards the shelter of the trees. 



         Black watched the girl as she limped towards the forest. He considered following her, but was confused as to what she really was. He had been assigned this mission with very few details. He had been told that the girl was government property and that he had to retrieve her no matter what.

         “Kill anyone that gets in your way,” had been The Boss’s parting words. Black knew better than to ask The Boss questions. So he had been left alone to wonder what damage this young girl could actually do. There had been no talk of super powers or anything along those lines. He wasn’t sure what the girl was or how she had thrown him at the wall without touching him. He was going to find out though, one way or another. He was heading out of Skye’s house towards his government issued black sedan when his thoughts were interrupted.

         “What do we do with the, uh, parents?” Trent, one of his men asked. Black hadn’t planned on hurting anyone. But as The Boss had said, he had to kill anyone who got in his way. Black grabbed the driver’s side door and yanked it open. Throwing his gun into the back of the car he slid into the seat. Sighing he started the engine and slammed the door shut. He could see Trent standing in the front doorway, a strained look on his face. Trent was his newest team member. The Boss had decided Black would be the best person to whip him into shape. He was young and good looking, with his short cropped brown hair and handsome face he made girl’s hearts flutter with a simple smile. Black wasn’t sure what had made Trent want a job with them but he didn’t really care. His private life was his own business, and Black couldn’t care less, but to get far in Black’s team he’d have to get used to hurting others. He rolled down the window and started to pull away from the house.

         “Burn everything.” He barked, as he sped away.





Trent walked back towards the hallway where Skye’s parents lay. He gagged when he saw the blood puddled around her father. Trent had insisted on calling an ambulance but Black refused. He said he couldn’t involve anyone else. That had been The Boss’s order, and you don’t disobey The Boss.

         “Black said to burn everything,” he told the rest of his team members. Gravely they set to work, pouring gasoline on everything they saw. As they worked Trent couldn’t help picturing the look on Skye’s face when she had seen her parents. His chest hurt just thinking about it. He couldn’t figure out why Black thought she was a danger to them. He shook his head, attempting to forget her, this was his job, and he had to focus. Ken, the second in command on his team, glanced at him and nodded. Everyone but him left for the cars, exiting quickly. He went to the door taking one last look at the bodies of Skye’s now dead parents next to each other a few feet away. Silently he apologized to them a lump rising in his throat. No, he thought, do your job. With one last look he lit a match and threw it in front of him, backing out of the house quickly. He watched as smoke crept from the windows and out the open door. As he drove away he thought he saw a flash of blue at the edge of the forest behind the house but it quickly disappeared. He sighed and focused on the road, trying to ignore the image of Skye’s heartbroken face that wouldn’t leave his mind.



Aria stumbled through the woods pushing branches out of her way. She didn’t think Black was coming after her, yet anyways, but figured she better keep moving. Her stomach was growling and her ankle was burning. Suddenly she stopped. Her vision was blurring and darkening. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. No, she thought, not yet. She struggled to hold on but couldn’t resist against the darkness fighting to envelop her.



         I woke suddenly, bolting upright. I was in the forest behind my house. My dress was wet and stained with mud from where I had been lying on the ground. I was starving and my whole body was aching. Carefully I pushed myself off the ground, gingerly stepping on my ankle. There was a dull burning but I figured I’d be fine. I made my way back the way I had come, or rather the way I had watched myself come. I was thinking about what had happened. It was confusing to me. All I knew was that somehow, someone had taken over control of my body. I kept walking, stumbling over rocks and slipping in mud. Suddenly I had a flashback, of my father leaning against the wall, blood on his hands. I fell to the ground clutching my chest. No, it’s not possible, he can’t be dead! I lay on the ground for awhile tears flowing freely now.

         “Get up!” I heard a voice say. I bolted up, startled. Frantically I glanced around me, but the forest was empty except for the occasional bird or rabbit that paused to watch me before scurrying away quickly.

         “Hello?” I whispered, too afraid to be loud.

         “Skye listen to me carefully.” The voice said. I gasped, realizing the voice was coming from my head.

         “My name is Aria.” I realized the voice was female.

         “How are you in my head?” I asked, feeling stupid after I said it. I really had lost my mind if I was talking to myself.

         “Skye, listen to me. seventeen years ago, a few days after you were born, a group of scientist decided to try an experiment. They had already been combining animals with people or animals with animals. They also changed the genetic structure of five girls, their biggest accomplishment, they thought, turning them into super beings. The scientists weren’t satisfied though, they wanted more. And so they decided to combine all five girls to make one indestructible weapon. A child was born in a hospital near their lab. The child’s mother died giving birth and nobody knew who her father was. One of the scientists stole her from the hospital, and took her back to the lab. They hooked the baby and the five super girls up to a machine called GESTEC. It transferred the five girl’s powers and souls into the tiny child’s body. Their plan had a flaw though. The scientists had thought that one of the girls would emerge as the controller of the body. But days went by and the child managed to keep hold over her body. They hadn’t expected this and so they figured their experiment had failed. However, it hadn’t. But thinking they had failed they prepared to put the girl’s back to their original states. During the days they had waited to see someone emerge, they had sent the girl’s bodies to another building for safe keeping. Because of this they had to wait for the bodies to be brought back to the lab. However, before the bodies could be delivered back and the girls returned to their original states, the lab was destroyed. The government had gotten word of such experiments and was afraid it would soon leak to the public. Their solution was to destroy everyone and everything associated with the lab. They arrested the scientists and sent them to a maximum security prison then dropped a small bomb on the lab destroying all evidence of any experiments. Everyone left in the building died, everyone but the child. Miraculously she survived no doubt because of the beings inside of her. One of the governmental officials in charge of clean up discovered the child. She took her to a foster home, knowing that if anyone found out about the baby surely she would be killed. The woman didn’t have the heart to let something like that happen. So the child remained at the foster home, unknown to the government, or so she thought. A few months later the child was adopted. She lived happily ever after, until now.” Aria explained.

         “The baby, was me? And you’re one of the girls?” I guessed scared of the answer.

         “Yes,” Aria said, “and now the government must be finishing what they started.”

         “But I haven’t done anything wrong! And how did they find out? And, and, this can’t be happening!” I protested.

         “It is Skye. And they don’t care about you, and they don’t care about your family. They only care about making sure they don’t look bad. And you, we, could make them look very bad.” At the mention of my family my heart speed up and my breathing became strained. I clenched my fists. "Yes, we could make them look very, very, bad," I thought.

         “Exactly,” Aria agreed, “there’s more to the story though. I told you they were bombed before they could return us to normal right? Well if we could find our bodies and somehow make the scientists rebuild GESTEC we could go back to how we were before. We would have a better chance at revenge with six super girls than one.”

         “Revenge? What reason do you have,” I asked confused. It had been my family Black had killed. Did Aria honestly care about them?

         “Skye I was a normal girl before they did this to me. I was taken from my family. My whole life was destroyed. My family was killed too. Part of the government knew about what was happening but did nothing. And for that I hate them. Sure in the end they did stop the scientist, but after my family was gone. They can’t bring them back, nobody can. I’ll ruin them. And they’ve just given us the perfect chance to do it.” I found myself feeling sorry for Aria. I realized this had to be real. I wasn’t dreaming. Then I thought of my parents and my anger rose.

         “Let’s do it.” I said. 



         I made my way through the woods back towards my house. As I emerged from the woods, brushing leaves and grass from my dress, I glanced towards the street. I gasped and dove back into the cover of the trees. I peeked out from behind a huge oak tree watching a large black SUV rumble down the road. It seemed to pause for a second before continuing on down the paved road. When it disappeared from my sight I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

         “You need to be more careful! What if the driver had seen you?” Aria scolded me as I slid to the ground.

         “If you make even one mistake that could be the end, for all of us, not just you,” she said in a softer voice.

         “Wait, you said five girls were put in me, but how come I can only talk with you?” I realized I was sitting in a puddle of mud but was too tired to care.

         “I’m not sure, maybe I’m stronger then them.” She said, sounding pleased with herself.

         “So what do we do now?” I swatted away a fly that had landed on my knee. “Where did you say they sent the bodies?”

         “I didn’t actually, but my guess is-” she paused suddenly. I sniffed. For a second I thought I could smell something burning but the wind picked up and it was gone. I pushed my self off the ground, my dress sticking to my legs from the mud I was now covered in. Pushing a branch out of my way I stumbled out of the woods immediately wishing I hadn’t. I was looking at my house, engulfed in flames.

         “No,” I screamed running forward.

         “Skye stop,” Aria yelled at me, I could feel her trying to control my body. I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face.

         “No, no, no,” I whispered my energy drained.

         “Skye we have to go,” Aria said quietly. She was right of course, I could here the sirens of approaching fire trucks. My house was on a mountain, my closest neighbor lived a mile away, so I wasn’t sure who had reported the fire. Right now though, I didn’t care. If I got caught that would be the end. No chance for revenge, or returning the girls to their bodies. Reluctantly I headed down the road staying on the grass, ready to dive into the woods that surrounded me as soon as I saw signs of anyone.

         “So where do I go?” I sniffled, continuing down the road, my flip flops slapping against the wet ground.

         “The bus station, from there we’ll head to the airport.” Aria explained.

         “Airport? Where are we going?”

         “Where is the biggest part of the government located Skye?”

         “Uhm, Washington D.C?” I guessed.

         “Exactly.”



I finally made it downtown, about a mile away from the bus station. I continued making my way past the shops and restaurants when I happened to glance at my reflection in a shop window. I gasped and froze staring at myself. My hair was matted with mud and had grass scattered through it. My arms and legs were also covered with mud and my dress was stained and torn. I looked like a deranged hobo.

         “Hmm, so that’s why everyone has been giving you strange looks,” Aria said.

“Oh ha ha, very funny.” I looked around me then ducked into the little shop. A small bell dinged as I stepped inside.

         “Welcome to Lydia’s,” a voice called out to me as I searched the shop for something to wear. I looked towards the source of the voice and saw a bored looking girl flipping through a magazine. She had black shoulder length hair with chunky red streaks in it. She was dressed in all black and had tattoos covering both arms. Her name tag said Kat. She was the only other person in the shop. Kat looked up from her magazine to find me watching her. She stared at me with a shocked look on her face. I dashed behind a rack with jeans on it and pretended to busy myself with searching for the perfect pair of jeans. I grabbed a pair that looked like it would fit me then began searching for a shirt. I found a dressy green and blue tank top and grabbed it off the hanger. I could feel Kat watching my every move but she seemed startled when I suddenly spoke to her.

         “Uhm, where are the dressing rooms,” I asked. She pointed towards the back of the store, a puzzled look on her face. I located the dressing rooms and changed into the new clothes. Luckily they fit perfectly. I then proceeded to rub off the mud on my arms and legs. Lastly I shook out my hair emptying it of grass. I looked a little better. Now I had to figure out what to do. I didn’t have any money, and I’d never stolen anything before.

         “Skye, you know what you have to do,” Aria told me. I sighed but knew she was right. I balled my dress up and got down on my knees. I crawled out of the dressing rooms and hid behind a rack marked as sale items. I peeked around a frilly white shirt towards the front door. I looked around for Kat but she wasn’t at the check out counter. I stood up cautiously keeping an eye out for her. When I was sure she wasn’t close I sprinted towards the door. I threw it open and started down the street. When I saw the police cars parked directly in front of the shop I froze. Kat was talking to an officer when she saw me.

         “That’s her!” she screamed pointing towards me. I took off down the street, towards the bus station.

         “Freeze!” I heard an officer yell. I glanced back and almost peed my pants. Six police officers were running full speed towards me. I was ready to take the officer’s advice and freeze when Aria’s voice in my head startled me.

         “Keep going Skye, you can’t stop now. If you give up, we will never get back to normal.” I sped up knowing this was true and dashed across the street. Cars honked at me but I kept going. I turned into an alley not really sure where I was going now. I just knew I had to get away. If they took me to the police station they would start asking questions. I knew they would never believe my story. I had to keep moving. I turned down another alley and stopped suddenly. It was a dead end.

         “No!” I screamed. I ran up to the brick wall that stood in my way. I pushed and kicked at it with all my strength. No, No, No, I thought, this can’t be happening!

         “Do something Aria!” I screamed out loud.

         “Do what Skye? I can only move things with my mind. I can’t just blast a hole through a wall.”

         “But, But,” I stuttered.

         “Do something!” Aria screamed at me.

          “Freeze!” a voice yelled at me. I jumped and spun around to find an officer with a gun pointed at me. I gasped, what was wrong with these guys. It’s not like I’d done anything wrong.

         “Get down on the ground, right now. Hands on your head. Now!” he screamed at me. I was panicking now. I was having trouble breathing and my vision was darkening. I lurched forward suddenly too dizzy to stay upright. The last thing I remember was the officer shouting something to a man behind him. 

                             



         Dan stared at the girl lying on the ground in front of him. His captain had said her name was Skye. He couldn’t take his eyes from her. She was shaking, like she was having a seizure, but he wasn’t sure if he should approach her. What if it was a trick? Then suddenly her hair was changing. It was turning snow white. Starting from the roots her hair was slowly lightening. Dan closed his eyes, then reopened them. This was impossible. Skye’s hair was now completely snow white. She sat up suddenly, blinking. Her eyes were a deep blue color now. She was looking around like she was unsure of where she was. Finally her eyes passed over him. He panicked and pulled the trigger. She pulled herself to her feet and held up her hands, palms out.



Ivory blasted the man shooting at her with fire from her hands.  He was thrown back into another officer who had just rounded the corner. The second man was shocked for a second than unleashed a storm of bullets on her. She blasted them all away with fire. Ivory was frightened. That was the only reason she was using her powers. She turned around. Skye had been having trouble with the brick wall, Ivory had been paying close attention to what had been happening. She was utterly confused though, why were they trying so hard to capture Skye? She hadn’t even stolen the clothes before the police had shown up. Ivory held up her hands towards the wall and blasted it. The flames shocked her. They flew back at her bouncing from the wall. Nothing happened though, the wall didn’t give. Ivory turned around to find all six officers staring at her, guns drawn. She thought quickly and did the first thing she could think of. She held out her hands towards the men and ran forward screaming while she did so. The officers dove to the side to avoid the flames. She kept running past them and turned down the first alley she saw. She sprinted past metal dumpsters that reeked of rotten food, past a large fence, chained and locked, till she reached the end of the alley. The alley split in two now, right or left? She had a second to decide. She chose left and continued to run at full speed. She squinted, what was that? Up ahead. A door. She ran at it, reaching for the handle, please be unlocked she prayed, and pushed. The door opened with a bang. It bounced from the wall and almost knocked her back, but she managed to stay upright and kept going. The door slammed shut behind her, leaving her in darkness. Ivory held up her hands, creating floating fire balls for light. Looking around she figured it was just a storage place.  There were large boxes stacked in a corner, but other than that it appeared to be empty. She was bent over hands on her knees trying to catch her breath, when she heard the voices.

“Where’d she go?” someone asked outside. Ivory covered her mouth, attempting to muffle her loud breathing.

“Find her, no matter what, you better find her.” Another voice yelled. It was different from the first. Maybe the captain Ivory thought. She heard shuffling outside then the door handle began to turn. Quickly Ivory put out the fire balls, and ran to the corner with all the boxes. She vaulted on top of one then climbed up to another. She climbed until she was at the highest box, then she laid down, hoping she was out of sight to anyone on the ground.



Dan slowly opened the small metal door. It led into a dark room, the only light came from the entrance he was now standing in.

“If you’re in here, come out now, or I will be forced to shoot.” Dan said in a voice he hoped didn’t sound too frightened. He stepped into the building cautiously. He guessed she wasn’t in here. It was pretty empty except for some large boxes stacked in a corner. He did one more quick sweep of the place before backing out through the doorway. She wasn’t in there, she couldn’t be, there was no where to hide. He let the door slam behind him.

“She’s not in there,” he called to his captain. Mark He nodded and headed down the alley. He was grumbling into his phone, reporting back to headquarters that they had lost the girl. Skye, the girl who had suddenly changed almost completely and shot fire out of her hands. He was confused, and ready to go home and sleep. Crazy, he thought to himself, you must be crazy.



Ivory watched the man leave then heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn’t seen her, thankfully, she was safe, for now at least. She sat up and began to climb down from the boxes.

         “Ahh!” she cried as her grip slipped and she fell to the cold hard floor.