Chosen

Intro

FALCON HAD A HARD TIME SLEEPING THAT NIGHT. EVERY TIME closed her eyes, she could see them, these things with giant black wings on their backs that made them look as though they were ginormous birds. Falcon always counted thirteen of them- which in her mind was considered to be even worse luck.

She'd been having the same dream for nearly a month. Anytime Falcon had heard them, she'd been sure her ears had begun to bleed.

Falcon had wanted to tell her sister, Ashlynn, several times, but was sure that if she did her sister would call her absurd and send her back upstairs to her bedroom where she normally already spent most of her day. After mentioning it only once, she'd decided to stop altogether before she could get into trouble.

Ashlynn's form of punishments were either soap in the mouth or to be sent to bedroom without dinner. The taste of the soap was always awful- lava soap. Ashlynn would buy it in the form of a bar and force her to bite down into it so that she could yank it out of her mouth. It would stick to the back of her teeth, leaving a horrible after taste and a headache. Ashlynn would make her keep it in her mouth for twenty minutes before she'd be allowed to wash it out.

It had been the night that Ashlynn had sent Falcon to bed without dinner, that the dreams had begun. Falcon could only ever see the black wings at first. Ginormous like what an angels wings might be. The name came easy to her when she thought of them something she nor the internet had never heard of; Arcagoffs.

They seemed like nasty creatures from what Falcon had always seen. The way their wings protruded from their backs was unnatural- just below their shoulder blades- yet Falcon found herself wishing she could touch it.

Falcon closed her eyes once more, for what felt like the hundredth time that night hoping and praying for something different within her dreams. This time it was different, only not in the way she'd hoped.

She'd hoped her dreams might consist of a couple of cute guys at the pool or even the mall. Instead, she got fire. Brilliant, ablaze, everything orange and insanely hot, fire. Breathing through her nose, Falcon opened her eyes, telling herself it'd only been a dream.

She wished for the cool night's air, but the night felt hot and humid, forcing sweat to roll in beads down her face. At first, Falcon had thought that she might still be dreaming, but it quickly sank in that her bedroom was on fire.

“ASHLYNN!” She called, hoping that her sister might here her, but she could here her sisters salsa music under the door coming up the stairs. Falcon could feel her blood pulsing in her ears, making the fire louder than what it really was.

She knew that her only way to escape would be to open the window, however if she did that then she'd be fueling the fire and she'd go up in flames. Falcon felt a sudden pit at the bottom of her stomach. She didn't want to die.

Falcon was still sitting on the bed when something crashed through her window, shards blowing everywhere. She could feel a sharp sting suddenly in her left cheek and then something hard hitting her body and knocking the wind out of her, crushing the life from her body as heat rose up around them.

Gasping for breath, the thing moved off of Falcon and grabbed her tightly in what felt like muscular arms. She could barely make out the window as they headed towards it, feeling the warm blood seeping down the back of her head, her eyes blurry around the edges, so that her vision was becoming spotty.

She was sure she heard a snap of wings along with a loud screech, just as she saw the building collapse behind her. And somewhere behind her, in the distance, a wolf howling.

Chapter 1: Falcon

I woke with the taste of salt and iron in my mouth. Trying to sit up only caused white and black flashes like fireworks to begin to dance behind my closed eyelids. Keeping my eyelids shit tightly, I let out a low moan.

My body felt numb as I drifted back into something soft, unconsciousness already pulling me to far under to pay attention to anything. Especially the fact that there were no dreams of Arcagoffs.

When I woke again, my head no longer hurt and I found myself able to open my eyes to look around. I'd been laid in a large canopy bed with my old clothes gone. A rather large black v neck covered my mostly naked body, going down to mid-thigh. Clambering out of bed, I found myself exploring, slightly hobbling as I tripped, heading towards the closet.

I could see where the shirt had come from as the entire closet was filled with black v-neck shirts and blue jeans, a couple pairs of tennis shoes in the corner of the closet. Making my way back out of the closet, I finally looked at the rest of the room. There was a large dresser made of what looked like mahogany on a far wall. And then there was something that I'd seen in my dreams before, something that made me stop and stare; A simple, yet elegant, full length body mirror.

Standing in front of it, I felt my hand reach out gently brush the sides of the wood. I'd seen one of the mysterious creatures standing here so many times before, looking into this exact mirror at himself. I'd seen the mysterious creature touch it so many times.

A knock sounded at the door, making me jump. I turned to see a boy with black hair in a v-neck like the one I wore, and blue jeans like the ones from the closet, leaning against the door frame watching me with a small smile playing on his lips.

“You're awake.” He said finally, smiling a bit broader. “I'm glad.”

“I'm sorry, but who are you?” I asked gently, although I could see the pain that shone is his eyes by the question. Was I supposed to know him? Did I know him from somewhere?

“It's a long story.” He said with a dismal sigh. “For now, perhaps you should just rest, Falcon.”

“How do you know my name?” I asked curiously. My head spun as I sat down on the bed, bringing my knees up so that they were crisscross underneath me. Where was I? Who was he? He said no more, instead he just shut the door, leaving me in silence.

Laying back, I let my head hit the pillow, propping a sore arm up under it. I couldn't remember any reason as to why I'd be sore, or here in the first place. I hadn't done anything recently to cause any muscle or joint stiffness the way I was feeling.

Pulling my arm out from under the pillow, I studied the slightly tanned skin that looked as though had been stained by tanning bronzer. Holding my arms out in front of my face, my wrist facing towards the ceiling, I studied my arms closely.

After a while, I'd convinced myself there was nothing to see. There were no marks, no reason for my soreness, just my imagination. Then, I saw it, the harsh purpling-brown marks that covered my skin, almost hidden. They looked like fingertips where someone had held to tightly, scared to let go.

Climbing carefully out of bed, I made my way to the bedroom door, not even caring that I only had a t-shirt and under clothes on. I wasn't quite sure of where I was going as I opened the door, but I found myself surprised when I opened the door and found a long empty warehouse hallway. Deciding which way to go wasn't easy either, so I chose left and hoped for the best.

The place was fulled with twists and turn after turn as I tried to figure out where I was going. I finally found myself heading down a long corridor with one door at the end. Reaching the door, I forced the door to where it was barely cracked open.

It was a girls room, much prettier than the room I was staying in. The walls were painted a dusty blue with a queen size bed on one wall that rose high in the air. Pictures- of what I wasn't sure- hung on the walls.

Sitting on the bed was the the same dark haired boy from earlier, with a woman this time. The woman's hair was blonde and tied back into a ponytail. Something about the way she held herself while sitting on the bed was familiar, but yet I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

“She doesn't remember anything.” The boy said sadly.

“We knew it could be a possibility.”The woman answered, keeping her tone light.

“She has always remembered me.” He answered defiantly, slamming the picture frame he been holding down onto the nightstand beside him. I could see it clearly now; A young girl with bright gray eyes and blonde hair, standing with a tall handsome boy whose black hair swung to land across his violet eyes. Fingers intertwined, smiling brilliantly at each other. The girl had the same face as me, the boy was the same one sitting on the bed just a few mere feet from me.

I could feel a chill run down my spine as someone tapped me on my shoulder, making me jump. Turning around, I came face to face with a rather tall muscular girl. Her broad shoulders hidden by her long black hair.

“I-” I fumbled for words, the dark haired girl waiting and watching as the two from the bedroom came up behind me. I suddenly felt very small and trapped. “I'm sorry.” I squeaked.

“Don't be, Falcon. Falcon this is Etch. And of course, Etch you already know my sister Falcon.” I felt as though I'd just been punched in the gut. I turned towards the blonde woman behind me to see Ashlynn. I felt my stomach freeze over as she smiled gently at me.

“Okay, explain again.” I said, trying desperately to wrap my head around all of it. Ashlynn let out a sigh as she sat down on the bed, patting a spot beside her to get me to sit long enough to stop pacing.

“This isn't the first time you have been born. Reborn, I should say. You've lived several other lives before this one, something different each time of course. Always met Arion in some other way. He always got so creative when it came time for you first date, again. And you were always, always, happy.”

“Well, then what happened?” I asked, Ashlynn's smile had now faded, showing the wrinkles and worry lines that spread across her face.

“Your stubbornness, I suppose. In the past you'd died saving lives- being blown up, drowning, etc. Recently though, it was because you'd fallen in love with someone else, and you'd been forced to watch as he left you for another woman.”

“I died of a broken heart?” I asked, shaking my head. But I felt the urge to laugh at myself for being so stupid. “But what about Arion?”

“Arion couldn't find you.”

“I'd heard something earlier, that the two of you'd been talking about. That I always remembered him?” How could I not remember someone that I loved?

“You don't remember the big things, like all of the the previous lives you have lived together. Those dreams you've been having, they're not dreams Falcon. They're visions.”

“Visions? Like I'm psychic? Can see the future?”

“Yes, and much more. There is something special about you. Every thousand years, seven teenagers are called upon to save the world. These seven, they form the to defeat evil.”

“Defeat Evil?” I practically screeched. “This is a joke, right? You just went and told me all about how I've died all of these tragic deaths throughout several lives, and now you want me to go and join this thing called the Seven? And basically kill myself all over again?”I knew that I could get into trouble for snapping at her, but I was to freaked out and trying to process it all.

“Falcon”

“Ashlynn, if you want me to even think of talking to you anytime soon, then I suggest you get out, right now.” Ashlynn said nothing, only came over and kissed me on the cheek before walking out, closing the door behind her.

That night, I dreamt not of Arcagoff's but that i'd fallen off a mountain and rather than worrying about myself being saved, I worried about those that I'd passed, screaming for my help as I plummeted to my death. I knew what my decision had to be.