Emergence

Chapter 1
*Emily*

    “Emily Danvers, you are the most stubborn girl I’ve ever met,” my mother told me.  “You are getting on that plane and flying to your uncle’s.”
    “No,” I said simply, putting my sunglasses on.  My mother was driving me to the airport, against my will, I might add.
    “Please don’t be difficult, I’m doing this for us,” she was talking about abandoning me at her brother Richard’s house across the country.  A brother whom I’ve only seen once when I was five, and that was twelve years ago.  And I did not want to be left at his house for who knows how long while she and her boyfriend Markus travel to who knows where for “work”.
    “Oh please,” I replied, annoyed.  “If you’re doing this for anyone, it isn’t us: you and me.  You’re doing it for you and your boy-toy,” I muttered.
    Mom sighed and focused on the road.  I knew she wouldn’t’ touch that one.  We rode in silence for the rest of the way.
    At the terminal she handed me my bags and my ticket and said, “Listen, it’s just for a couple of months until Markus and I get settled, okay?”
    I rolled my eyes and hugged her, so she wouldn’t cry or something.  She did anyway.  “Bye Mom,” I said and got on the plane.

~*~*~*~

    The cab left me off at Richard’s house.  It looked bigger than I remembered it.... 
         A middle-aged man with gray hair and brown eyes came out of the house and toward the cab.  He awkwardly grabbed a couple of suitcases out of the car after paying the driver.  “Come on in,” he told me, and we walked up to the house.
    The inside of his house was comfortable and clean, but not in an everything-has-to-be-in-it’s-place-all-the-time anal style that my mom enforced back home.  Richard led me up to the second floor via a narrow stairway.
    My room was pretty big.  It was painted a faint light blue.  It had a fading gray rug underneath the old desk, bed, and bureau.  The closet was medium-sized with sliding doors.
    “Well,” Richard started with a slightly forced cheerful voice.  “Um, I go to work from eight in the morning to five p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I go from eleven at night until five in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  So will you be okay at home?  I have to go to work tonight, since it’s Thursday.”
    Did he think I was five years old?  I tried to keep any sarcasm out of my voice, “Sure, I’ll be cool.”  I forced a smile.
    He left then to go to work.  I kept myself busy by unpacking my clothes and hanging them up, something I’d rarely (if ever) done at home, but I didn’t want Richard to see my habits for at least a week, which would be a stretch. 
         When I was finished with my clothes, I moved on to my books, placing them on shelves I’d installed using Richard’s tool kit from the basement.  Lastly I unpacked my laptop and put it on the desk.  I sat on the supremely comfortable chair and went online.  No email from my mother, of course not. 
         My father died when I was a kid and it seemed I’d lost my mother too.  She was not longer the mother I knew and loved.  She’d only write once a month if she remembered.  My best friend Amber had written me an email and I was answering it when an Instant Message popped up on the screen.

    FallenAngel003: hello.

    I stared at the screen for a while before typing.

    EmmaD103190: hi...do i know you?
    FallenAngel003: no.

    Okay, this was getting a little creepy.  But I wanted to figure out who this person was…maybe someone from my old school?  Amber wasn’t a jerk or anything, but she’d had a sarcastic, weird sense of humor...

    EmmaD103190: should i?
    FallenAngel003: no.
    EmmaD103190: then why are you talking to me?
    FallenAngel003: because you need to know the kind of danger you might be facing.
    EmmaD103190: …you mean like vampires and werewolves? lol
    FallenAngel003: no.
    EmmaD103190: …so why am I in danger?  who’s dangerous?
    FallenAngel003: I am.

    I quickly logged off.  Now I was really freaked out.  If it was someone from my old school they would have given up long before that.  So there were two options.  One was that I was crazy.  That I was just so bored that I perceived something that wasn’t real.  Or there was option number two, which was that some creep was after me, messing with my head....  Both options didn’t exactly thrill me.  But chances were that this was the first and last time that I’d hear from FallenAngel003.
    I set my alarm clock for seven a.m. and changed.  I curled into my surprisingly comfortable bed.  I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.







































*Chapter 2*

    Despite my many protests, Richard drove me to school the next morning.  Did he think that I’d go “attack-of-the-neglected-teenager” on him or something?  I wouldn’t have minded walking, anyway.  It would have given me a chance to familiarize myself with this tiny city.
    Later that day, after I got my moronic school ID and schedule, I walked into my last period class: Calculus with Mr. Retrook.  Math was my worst subject.  I hoped at least after school the day would improve.
    As soon as I entered the classroom, a little after the bell, I soon realized this class was really going to suck.
Mr. Retrook had me stand up in front of the class, like a 3rd grader for Show-And-Tell.  “Class, we have a new student.  Please say hello and make her feel welcome.”
    Most of the kids were still talking to their friends.  I felt a little sorry for Mr. Retrook.  His glasses kept sliding down his unbelievably large nose.  And he was constantly sniffing and wiping it on a handkerchief.  His baldhead was not quite hidden under his hairpiece.  His lanky form was swallowed by an oversized polo shirt and gargantuan tie.
    I made my way to my seat in the back.  I glanced at the boy sitting next to me.  I did a double take.  This guy was seriously good-looking.  I’m not the type of girl who said, “That guy is ‘hot’ or ‘cute’” but this guy definitely was.  He ran his hand through his brown-blonde almost shoulder-length hair and his gray-blue eyes met mine for a split second.  I quickly looked toward the board and tried to take notes for an hour.
    Ten minutes before the last bell was to ring Mr. Retrook announced that this was it for the day and that we could talk until the bell rang.  I rolled my eyes as the girly-girls sat together and whispered hurriedly about boyfriends and whatever else that they discuss.  The guy to my right took a cell phone out of his pocket and moved his thumb around the keyboard, answering a text message.  When he was done he slid the phone back into his pocket.  He stood.
    I focused on the book in front of me.  I was reading Withering Heights.  I tried to focus solely on that but I kept reading the same line at least six times over again.
    “Hi,” I heard a voice from the seat in front of me.  I looked up.  There he was.  He wore a black shirt, black jeans, and black and gray sneakers.
    “Hey,” I muttered.  I trained my hazel eyes on his gray-blue ones.  “Can I help you?” I asked.
    “I just thought that I’d introduce myself.  I’m Rob Yatero,” he replied.
    “Emily Danvers.” I said, butterflies in my stomach.  He smiled.
    “So how old are you?” he asked.
    “What’s with the third degree?”  I closed my book.
    “Just want to get to know you.  Hey, I didn’t know you could read!” he said.
    “What?”
    His smile faded. “I...uh...huh?”
    His phone vibrated and he hurriedly answered a text.  I rolled my eyes and looked around the class before returning to my book.  But someone caught my attention.  A girl with blazing light green eyes and brown-red hair pulled into a ponytail.  Her clothes were black and red and her long legs were crossed in front of her.  I could see nothing that would be funny, but the smirk on her face told me otherwise.  She glanced at me and I felt a chill run down my spine.
    The bell rang and I shot out of there.





















*Chapter 3*

    As soon as I got “home” I logged online to check my email.  An Instant Message popped up on the screen.
   
    FallenAngel003: I apologize if I frightened you last night.

            My breath caught in my throat.  Should I reply or block?  Curiosity and sensibility battled in my head for a moment.  Curiosity won me over and I replied.

    EmmaD103190: What are you protecting me from?  Why?

    Before I could see his response, the power went out.  I groaned and searched for a candle.  I hoped that power would come back on before Richard got home.  Suddenly there was a crash and I fell to the floor.  I looked up and thought I was delirious.
    A girl with blazing light green eyes and brown-red hair stood in front of me.  Her eyes sparkled and her hair fell past her shoulders in waves.  A flaming red shirt and finger-less gloves set off her black pants and hoodie.  In her hand she held a black lighter and she was clicking it repeatedly.  I recognized her as the girl from my class, if it were possible.
    “Nice entrance, eh?” she smiled.  “Not that I need to crash through your window, it just seemed like fun.”
    “Who…who are you?” I stammered, trying to control the urge to scream hysterically and find a way out.
    “Tina Morgan, nice to meet you,” she said conversationally, as though she hadn’t broken into my house.  “I’m afraid I’m supposed to kill you though, so it doesn’t matter.”  She lifted me over her shoulder and jumped out of the window.  Before I could focus, we were in a deserted park.
    She plopped me in the middle of it and my knee was cut on the gravel.  I groaned.
    “Y’know, I‘ve been thinking about something.”  Tina said, cracking her knuckles.  “I’ve been thinking that maybe I shouldn’t kill you.”
    “Go with that thought,” I pleaded.
    She laughed.  “Not that I care about you, of course.  But I think maybe it might be fun for me to see what they will do.”  She smiled as she confirmed her decision.  “Okay.  I’ll help you.”
    As she stuck out a hand to help me up, something flew in between my would-be killer and me.  A man with black-feathered wings, long black hair and glowing green eyes stepped forward.  He exuded an aura of power.
    Tina hissed and reached for her lighters, one in each hand.  They both stepped into a fighting stance.  I was stunned and thought I was going to faint.
    “Keep away from her,” the mysterious guy said in a melodiously deep voice.
    Tina laughed.  “You got it, Fly-Boy.”
    “I know you’ve been sent to kill her.”
    My head spun.
    “Yes I was,” Tina seemed to be goading him on.
    He attacked with claws that seemed to sprout suddenly.  Tina spun away, but not before his claws ripped her pant leg.  She looked down.  “Damn it!” she growled.  “These were my favorite pants!”
    She clicked open a lighter and the flame started immediately.  She moved her hands and the fire formed a “glove” around each hand.  They fought, dodging each punch, kick, or scratch intended for one another.  Finally I’d had enough and found my voice.  “Hey!” I yelled.  “Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?  If you don’t stop fighting, I’ll leave!”
    They both turned towards me.  The guy seemed to oblige.  Tina shrugged and threw one last punch at him.  It hit him squarely in the jaw and she laughed.  “Had to do it,” she smiled evilly.  She ripped off his tie and clicked the lighter.  The tie became a pile of soot at her feet.
    “Hey!” he exclaimed.
    She shrugged.
    I rolled my eyes.  “What the hell is going on?  Who are you people?  What are you?  What the hell does any of this have to do with?” my voice rose in pitch and volume.
    “Shhh, I understand that you have questions, but we must get out of sight,” he turned to Tina.  “I assume you have transportation?”
    Tina flicked a lighter at him.  “Of course I do, Bird Boy.”  She took a key from her shirt and motioned for us to follow.  She led us to a silver car, low to the ground, and by the looks of it, very fast.  She shoved me into the backseat and hopped into the driver’s seat.  The wings disappeared and his back rippled slightly as the guy stepped into the car.
    Tina took off like a shot and weaved in and out of traffic and onto the highway.  The man looked book at me frequently, as if measuring the amount of sanity I had left, which, to be honest, wasn’t much.
    Tina took a turn at a house.  She shut off the engine and exited the car.  She opened the back door and grabbed my hand.  She roughly pulled me out and let me fall against the man’s supporting arms.  He practically carried me into the building.
    Inside was warm with a large fireplace and simple furnishings.  He set me on the couch.  Tina spun around, a flame erupting from her palm and racing toward the fireplace.  The logs erupted in flame.  She winked at me.  “I don’t need a lighter, but they’re fun to play with.”  She turned to the guy standing near the fireplace.  “So Mystique, what now?”
    He turned to face us.  “We’ll have to think of how to protect her without alerting the humans and Seekers.”
    Tina snorted, “I hate humans.  They’re almost completely useless and those Seekers are pains-in-the-asses.”
         The guy’s features melted into a boy of about seventeen with brown-blonde, almost shoulder-length hair and gray-blue eyes.  His tall lanky form was covered in a black shirt and pants.  His black and gray sneakers looked old and worn.  It was Rob Yatero from my Pre-Calculus class earlier that day!
         The small amount of sanity I had left had suddenly disappeared.  I was in a loft with two very scary people, one of whom had insulted me, and the other had tried to kill me and probably would try again.  I panicked and ran for my life.  I ran into the street as far as I could.
         I stopped dead in my tracks.  Ahead of me was a monster.  There was no other way to describe it.  It stood at least seven feet tall.  Its skin was rotten and oozing a glowing green…substance.  Its eyes glowed red and it hunched over; its claws were more than razor-sharp and at were at least nine inches long.
         It growled and took a swipe at me.  Luckily my knees buckled from running and its lethal claws missed my head by half an inch.  I landed hard on the ground and the monster closed in for the kill.
         I heard a whistle.  I turned to see Tina strolling casually toward me, holding an open bottle of liquor and taking a few sips from it every now and again.
         The monster hissed, “Traitor!”
         Tina ripped of a piece of her sleeve and stuck it into the bottle so that a sliver of it showed.  She flicked a lighter and set the cloth on fire.  She tossed the bottle into the air and delivered a perfect roundhouse kick.  The bottle catapulted with greater force than I expected and flew into the creature’s stomach, exploding on impact.  Luckily, I was not covered in the sticky goo that resulted.
         Tina strode over to me, “Yuck.”  She scrunched her nose.  “If I’d remembered how messy that was going to be, I wouldn’t have killed it like that.”
         “H-h-how’d you g-get here?” I stammered as she helped me to my feet.  I know I sounded like an idiot, but I had to know.
         “You might know it as Teleporting.  You know, folding matter into a void and jumping through.  It’s another power I have, besides the Pyrokeneticism.  Also, if certain emotions are strong enough I can sometimes sense them.”
         I couldn’t really grasp what she was saying, but I got the gist of it.  “Oh,” I said.
         “By the way, it only took me as long as it did to get here because I stopped at the liquor store down the street,” she grinned.
         “L-l-liquor store?” I murmured.
         “Yeah, I figured that now would be a good time for a drink.  Looks like it came in handy, eh?  Pity I couldn’t drink more of it, though.  Now close your eyes and hold your breath.”
         I did.  I felt a very uncomfortable pressure on my chest for a moment.  Then it was gone.  I opened my eyes to see Tina’s loft.  My mind whirled.
         Rob helped Tina get me onto the couch.  “I’m going to a club…I’ll leave you love birds alone,” Tina winked and disappeared in a puff of red vapor.
         Rob knelt in front of me.  I stupidly thought he was preparing to propose until he opened a First Aid Kit.  I laughed inwardly at my stupidity.  He cleaned and sterilized the cut on my knee and the scrapes on my palms from when I fell.  When he was done he dug into a bag I hadn’t noticed before and tossed me a pair of sweatpants, a shirt, and a hoodie. “I thought you’d be more comfortable getting out of those clothes,” he said.
         I ignored the many sexual jokes that presented themselves in my head and grabbed the clothes thankfully.
         I changed in the bathroom.  Rob was sitting on the couch, staring into the fire when I came out.  “Apparently you can’t read,” I smirked.  “These are a few sizes too big for me.”  I swept my arms up and down to indicate my new clothing.
         He cracked a smile.  “Sorry about that.”
         I stretched out on the other side of the couch.  “Don’t sweat it.”  Then, for some reason, something hit me.  “Are you FallenAngel003?
         He nodded.
         “Um…what are you?” I asked, a little afraid of the answer.
         “I’m a shape-shifting Guardian,” he told me softly.
         “In English please,” I muttered.
         He sighed.  “I’m part of a race called Guardians…or Angels, I suppose.  We are assigned to certain humans that have Potential.  I can’t tell you too much more about that.  But I was cast out of The Gateway…or Heaven, if you prefer, for breaking certain rules.  I was bound to Human Form but left with some power to survive.”
         “What rule?”
         “Can’t tell you.”
         “Okay…what’s with the shape-shifting-thing?” I asked.
         “Part of who I am.  But I’m in Human Form now so I’m not as powerful as I once was.  That’s why Tina Morgan beat me to saving you from that Seeker.”
         “What the hell is a Seeker?”  I flashed on the hideous creature I’d seen earlier.
         “That monstrosity that Tina saved you from.  They destroy Cast-Out Guardians and Traitors.”
         “Traitors?”
         “Tina Morgan’s job is to…dispatch…Cast-Out Guardians and sometimes those they protect.  But she’s wild and she decided to help us.  For fun,” he answered.
         Whoa.  The situation seemed to become weirder minute by minute.  “Can she be trusted?”  I asked, concerned.
         “For now,” he answered warily.
         It was silent for a few minutes.  I sat watching the fire.
         “Listen,” Rob said, his eyes meeting mine.  “Get some sleep.  We’ll talk more in the morning.”
         I hated being spoken to as though I were a small child.  “I’m not a child, Rob.  I’ll go to sleep when I please,” I retorted.  What was it about this shape-shifting non-human seventeen-year-old guy that brought out the sarcastic darker side in me?
         “Oh Jesus!  Just go to sleep!” he muttered, practically yelled, aggravated.
         “Fine!” I matched his tone.  I lay down, my head resting on his lap.  I felt a feeling of safety and security.  I fell asleep almost immediately.


Chapter 4
*Rob*
         
         I watched her sleep.  I dared to touch her hair, she didn’t wake.  She looked so fragile.  I regretted yelling at her.
         It was amazing being able to touch her, even to speak to her.  I was actually almost glad when Deatira cast me out of The Gateway.
         “Sirobiz, you’ve become a liability,” she’d announced in front of the Counsel.  “We, in accordance with The Law, revoke your Guardian-Mission status.  You are now a Cast-Out and bound to Human Form.”
         I had felt an uncomfortable sensation as my body morphed into my new Base Form, my true physical appearance: Human.
         I felt weaker than I had before, but it didn’t matter.  I was with Emily Danvers.  I hoped that someday she’d return this love.
         I had no idea how I fell for her or when.  It was as though I could see the world clearly one day.
         I wished I had telepathy like some Guardians tonight to know what she was thinking.  I couldn’t bear the pain and the confusion I saw in her eyes.
         I laughed silently as I remembered how I seriously entertained the idea of proposing to her when I knelt to clean her knee, but that was ridiculous.
         She stirred a little, adjusting her neck position and my heart jumped.  I was tempted to wake her and confess my love, but that was ludicrous.
         Should I tell her at all?  Would she love me?  I pictured her smile as I told her; how her eyes would light up, how she’d throw her arms around me and…okay it was best that I didn’t do that to myself.
         But what if she despised me for the other secret I was keeping from her?  I pictured her face falling, her eyes dulling over with pain.  I pictured her broken and crying and…shit, why couldn’t I stop doing this?
         I looked at her face and my senses (which were stronger than an average human’s) picked up more than they normally did.  I needed to hone these skills but peaceful moments like then; I could easily use these senses.  I could hear her deep breathing and her slow, steady heartbeat was a song to me and made my own heart quicken.  I could smell the sweet shampoo she’d used in her hair this morning.  I could feel the gentle softness of her hair.  All of it was so intoxicating.
         Suddenly there was a puff of red vapor and Tina Morgan stepped into her loft.  “Hey Birdy-Boy,” she greeted too loudly.
         “Shhh, you’ll wake her!” I hushed.
         She rolled her eyes.  Then stopped abruptly, “Shit, man!” she exclaimed, smacking her forehead with one hand and clicking her lighter in the other.
         “What?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.
         “The emotions that I’m getting from you are practically visible, you miserable bastard.”  Then she laughed.  “Get over yourself and tell her!”
         “Shut the hell up, Burn-Out!”  I could barely control my voice.  I wanted to shift into my Guardian Form and tear her apart.  She’d already hurt Emily enough, more than even Emily, herself knew.  And I wanted to tear Tina Morgan apart with just about every fiber of my being.
         Emily adjusted again and my rage quickly melted.  If I killed or fought Tina, Emily could get hurt.  I couldn’t allow that.
         “Seriously dude.  Get over yourself.  If you keep this up you’ll get a freakin’ ulcer.”
         “I’m touched by your concern, “I mumbled sarcastically.
         She stuck her tongue out at me.  “C’mon, give the Human a pillow and come get something to eat or drink so you don’t faint.  I don’t want to have to drag your ass to and from The Jet.”
         “The Jet?” I wondered aloud as I gently extricated myself from Emily and placed her head on a soft pillow.  I followed her to a large kitchen.  I sat on the counter.
         “My car,” she answered, handing me a bottle.  It was beer.
         Tina shoved the beer back into my hands.  “Don’t be such a monk, you’re not Human.  It doesn’t affect us like it does them.”
         “Are you going to tell her?” she asked as she popped open a beer with her belt buckle and sipped it.          
         “Tell her what?” I clicked her lighter.
         “You know what,” I answered.
         “That you’re in love with her?  As much as that would thrill me, it’ll be more fun to watch you two attempt to handle it.”
         “Not that.  Does the name Rentu-Ki mean anything to you?”
         Tina’s eyes narrowed, “That Cast-Out that I dispatched twelve years ago?  What does that have to do with Sleeping Weirdo?”
         “His Human name was Jonathan Danvers.  He married Margaret and had one child.  When that child grew to be five years older her father was killed in a fire.
         Tina sighed.  “Shit.”
         I jumped off the counter.  I made eye contact and put on the fiercest face I could muster: “Tina, let me tell you.  I’ll accept you ‘help’ for now but if you hurt her in any way or betray us, I will spend as long as it takes to hunt you down and destroy you.”
         She laughed, winked, and went to her room.  “I know.”