by Cheree Alsop
“What’s this?” she asked. She opened it and fell silent. Picture after picture lined the pages, and all of them were of her. In one, she was watching the sunset from the balcony. In another, she was eating in the cafeteria with Skylar, Brie, and Alana. All four of the girls were laughing while Jayce, Alana’s boyfriend, lay across the table holding a tray on his chest.
“This one’s my favorite,” I told her. I took the book and flipped to the last page. It was a picture of us lying on the grass as we had the day I fell from the balcony and she saved me. Her head was resting on my shoulder, my blue wings spread beneath us. It was beautiful in its simplicity, and also because of what it represented. “You saved my life that day.”
“You saved mine many times,” she said, her voice somewhat steady.
I shook my head. “When I saw you with Randy, I questioned everything, the point of this place, me going to school, even my existence. I felt like you deserved so much more, but that without you, I was nothing.” I pointed at the picture. “That was the moment I realized with you in my arms, I had everything in the world.”
She gave me such a sweet smile I had to answer it with a kiss. I smiled against her lips, my world complete.
Chapter Nineteen
“What are these?” Ava asked, thumbing through the pile by my lamp.
I glanced at them as I attempted to tie my shoes. “Bear brought those up. They’re thank you cards from parents and students about the Galdoni thing.”
Ava gave me an incredulous look. “And by Galdoni thing, you’re referring to you jumping through the window and putting your life in danger to prevent students getting shot?”
I shrugged. “And the thing at Alice’s party. It really doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter?” Ava held up the stack. “There’s like twenty letters here.”
I pulled open the drawer below the lamp to reveal about four times that many. “The ones you’re holding are the letters he brought up yesterday. Bear recommended they write because I don’t have a phone,” I explained, hoping to put off what I knew was coming.
“Reece, you’ve got to read these,” Ava protested. “The people who wrote them are grateful for your sacrifice. You deserve to hear what they have to say.”
I shook my head and pointed out, “Without us, they wouldn’t have been in danger.”
Ava speared me with a look. “So are you saying that if I wasn’t in the audience and if someone came to the school only to shoot students and that Galdoni had nothing to do with it, you wouldn’t have dived through that window?”
“Of course I would have,” I replied.
She held up a hand before I could argue further. “Point for me. Now be quiet and take what you deserve.”
I sat back on the bed with a long-suffering sigh.
She opened the first card. “Dear Mr. Galdoni.” She looked up at me. “How formal.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you for jumping on the bad guy.” Her words slowed. “Because of you, my brother was able to come home.” She held up the card; there was a picture drawn in crayon of a little boy in red standing next to his brother in blue. Ava blinked. “That may be the sweetest thing I’ve ever read.”
She handed me the card. I looked at the child’s penmanship and traced a finger along the drawing. She began the next one, which turned out to be a letter.
“Dear Reece, you don’t know me, but I sit two seats up from you in our English class. At home, it’s just my mom and I. My dad left us when I was ten, so I’m all my mom has left. So you see, if I don’t come home, my mom has no one.” Ava’s brow creased as she continued, “I was sitting on the front row when the man with the gun and the Galdoni came in. I usually don’t sit on the front row, and I don’t know why I did that day. Jeff usually saves me a seat in the back with him, but he was home sick and those were the only seats left for the pep rally.”
“There are splotches on the paper,” Ava said quietly, interrupting her reading. “I think he was crying when he wrote this.”
I set down the card and leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. The position hurt my side, but I didn’t care. I closed my eyes and listened to the letter.
“When they came in, the man pointed the gun directly at me. I literally stared down the barrel, like they say in the old Westerns. And they’re right. When you look at death, everything in your life flashes before your eyes. I’m not ready to die. My mom needs me, and someday if my dad ever comes back, I think he might need me, too. The man was yelling and swearing, but I didn’t hear any of it. All I could hear was my heart pounding. I kept hoping that by the end of the day, it would still be pounding.”
“Oh, Reece,” Ava said in a heartbroken voice.
“I know,” I replied softly.
She took a calming breath and continued, “When the glass broke with you diving through it, I thought it was the gun and I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to watch myself die. When I opened them again, you had pulverized the man with the gun. The man was down, and the gun slid to a stop at my feet. I heard you fight the Galdoni, but I couldn’t take my eyes off that gun. Because of you, the bullet didn’t kill me. Because of you, I was able to go home to Mom and eat our favorite food, spaghetti, and talk about how crazy the day was. Because of you, I am alive to write this letter. Because of you, my whole life will go on as long as I don’t do something stupid like step onto a road without looking and get hit by a car, which I won’t do because I know what I would be missing now. Thank you for my life.”
“It’s signed by Trae Evans,” Ava concluded quietly.
I sat in silence for a few minutes. I knew Trae. He was a good student. Mrs. Taylor called on him often in class and he always had an answer. I hadn’t seen him at the assembly, but I knew where the gun stopped. I had glimpsed a pair of gray tennis shoes in front of it when I glanced over to be sure it was out of the fight before I was attacked by the Galdoni. I held out a hand and Ava gave me the letter.
She picked up the next one, some sort of card in a brown envelope. I was busy reading through Trae’s letter again when Ava screamed.
“No!” she cried over and over again. “No, no, no, no!”
“What is it?” I asked, my heart pounding.
She held out the card. Two pictures fell to the ground. My heart stopped entirely at the sight of Seth and Sam tied up and bound to chairs. I used my foot to move it off the other picture, revealing Alice and Brian as well. Alice was crying and there was so much fear in her eyes I could barely breathe.
My fingers trembled as I held up the note. It was scrawled in rough penmanship.
“We have your friends. Call us so we can work out a trade. If cops or Galdoni show up other than you two, your friends will be killed without question.” There was a number written on the bottom.
“We’ve got to go,” Ava said, her voice on the edge of hysteria. “We’ve got to save them.”
“Ava, wait!” I grabbed her arm. “We need help.”
“You heard what the letter said. If we bring help, they die.” She shook my hand off. “Reece, we have to go! Now! I’m not letting our friends suffer because of me.”
I couldn’t argue. She ran out the door and I hurried after her. I paused in the hallway. “We need a phone.” I glanced into Saro’s room. He wasn’t there, but his cellphone was lying on the desk. I grabbed it and ran toward the balcony after Ava.
She walked from me to the balcony and back as I pressed the numbers with shaking fingers. A gruff voice answered. “About time. I thought you liked your friends too much to make them wait.” I recognized the voice. It was Steel, the black-winged Galdoni from the attack at Alice’s house.
“Your letter was mixed with a bunch of others. I wouldn’t have even found it if it wasn’t for Ava. How dare—”
The voice on the other end of the phone gave a dangerous chuckle. “How dare I?” Steel asked, his tone amused. “I dare because I have something you want, which is also a coincidence because you happen to have something I ne
ed very badly.”
“You’re not—”
“Meet us on the Parkway building in fifteen minutes. If you bring anyone, your friends die.” The voice cut out.
I glared at the phone.
“What did he say?” Ava asked.
“They want to meet us on the Parkway building.”
“Then let’s go.” She turned to the balcony.
I grabbed her hand. “Ava, it’s risky. They want you for our friends. I’m not willing to make that trade.”
Ava’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s me they want,” she said passionately. “We’ll find a way to fight them, but our friends aren’t going to suffer for it. Who knows what they’ll do if we don’t show up? We need to buy us some time, and standing here isn’t going to help.”
“We need to tell Kale,” I protested.
Ava shook her head. “I will not risk our friends getting a bullet because we disobeyed their orders. I’m going with or without you.”
I had no choice. I shoved the cellphone in my pocket and took off after her. My shoulder ached but I ignored it and pushed my wings harder. The lights on the Parkway building blinked in the distance.
***
I could see the figures waiting on the top of the building when we drew near. My heart pounded in my throat at the sight of Seth and Sam tied up near one corner of the roof with Alice and Brian on the other corner. Two Galdoni stood by each pair. I pushed a button on the cellphone and shoved it back in my pocket. We landed on the roof. I met Seth’s gaze. His eyes were wide and filled with tears. He couldn’t speak past the tape across his mouth.
“About time you got here,” Steel growled.
“How’s your arm?” I asked, tipping my head to indicate the cast. “Maybe your name should be twig instead of Steel.”
He took a step toward me. The Galdoni with brown wings I recognized from Alice’s party grabbed his arm. “Remember why we’re here.”
Steel’s eyes narrowed. “Give us the girl and you can have your friends back.”
“Why would you keep your word?” Ava demanded.
Steel shrugged. “I guess you caught me in a good mood.”
“What do they want with Ava?” I asked, stalling for time.
“What makes you think they want just Ava?” Steel asked.
A small pop sounded. I winced when something struck me in the chest and looked down to see a dart protruding from my shirt. I stumbled back as numbness ran through my arms and legs.
“That’s right,” Steel said, a sneer crossing his face. “We have orders to kill you, and I wouldn’t mind doing it while your friends watch.”
Ava grabbed my arm, helping me stand. “Are you so afraid of one boy that you have to tranquilize him first?” she demanded.
“He knows I can snap him in two,” I said, my words slurring from the effects of the dart.
Steel gave her a predatory smile. “We have one for you, too, doll.”
She shrieked when a dart hit her shoulder. “Coward,” she spat, tearing it out and throwing it on the ground.
“Coward.” Steel’s eyebrows lifted. “We’ll see who the coward is when you arrive at our destination. Any chance you remember Mr. Samuelson?”
I had never seen such terror on Ava’s face. Her skin paled and a shadow of something animal came into her eyes, something scared and backed into a corner, ready to lash out but unable.
“I won’t go back,” she said, shaking her head. “He’ll never touch me again.” She stumbled toward the edge of the roof. I lunged for her.
“Grab her, idiot!” Steel yelled at the nearest Galdoni. “She can’t fly with the tranquilizer.”
Ava fell off the building. The tip of her gray wings vanished over the side as she plummeted. I jumped after her. My wings wouldn’t work. I held them to my sides to fall faster. I reached Ava and pulled her against my body. I turned as we fell so I could shield her from the impact. Ava’s eyes were closed. It was as if she had already accepted the fall as a better fate than returning to Mr. Samuelson.
I hit a pile of cardboard boxes and garbage that had piled up in the alley. Pain surged at the impact and I blacked out.
I forced my way back to consciousness, fighting the darkness with every ounce of strength I had left. I couldn’t catch my breath. I couldn’t feel my arms or legs. I forced my eyes open. Ava was on her knees. She kept repeating my name, but her head drooped and it looked like she could barely keep her eyes open.
Hands grabbed Ava’s shoulders. “Let me go!” she shrieked. She bared her teeth and hit Steel like I had taught her, a punch to the face and a knee to the groin, except she was too slow from the effects of the tranquilizer. Steel slapped her hands away and gripped her in a bear hug. The effects of the tranquilizer took full effect. Her head lulled forward and she stopped struggling.
Sirens sounded in the distance. Steel’s eyes widened. He looked behind me. “We’ve got to go.”
“What about him?” the Galdoni I couldn’t see asked.
“Finish him,” Steel said.
A shadow crossed my face. I gathered my strength. It took every ounce of effort to lift an arm above my head in an attempt to shield it. Something hit my arm with the force of a battering ram before it glanced off my head.
“Come on,” Steel commanded.
Another Galdoni grabbed Ava. They raised their wings, blocking out the sight of the moon rising between the buildings. The sirens grew louder. Something warm dripped down the side of my face. I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
A voice spoke. “Reece, Reece, where are you?”
The sound was muted and distant. I realized it was coming from the cellphone in my pocket. I couldn’t get the arm that had been hit to respond. The fingers of my other arm twitched. I shrugged my shoulder and managed to flop it across my chest.
“Reece, answer me,” Kale demanded, his voice tight.
I worked the phone from my pocket. It fell onto the ground. “Kale,” I rasped.
“Reece, oh thank goodness,” he exclaimed. “Where are you?”
“They took her, Kale.” Tears burned in my eyes. I closed them. “I failed her.”
“We’re on the roof of the Parkway building,” Kale said. “I had Saro’s phone traced. That was smart of you to call.”
“Seth, Alice,” I slurred.
“Your friends are safe,” Kale reassured me. “We got here before the Galdoni could hurt them. They flew off, cowards,” he spat. Concern flooded his voice. “Where are you?”
The sirens reached the end of the alley. I let out a slow breath. The tranquilizer and the force of the fall made it hard to draw air into my lungs. I could feel my brain protesting the lack of oxygen. The sirens’ song echoed along the walls.
I remembered standing on the roof with Skylar, wishing with all my might that I could chase the sirens and help rescue people the way Superman did. Now the sirens were coming for me. I would have laughed at the irony, but my will was gone, taken by the wings that had swept Ava from my side.
Chapter Twenty
I knew Ava was gone the second I awoke. The pain didn’t matter; the fact that I couldn’t catch my breath didn’t matter. I had promised her she was safe. I had to make it right.
I sat up and Saro caught me. “Let me go,” I gasped. “I have to save her.”
“Not like this,” he argued, gentleness in his voice. “You won’t be any good to her like this.”
“He’ll hurt her,” I protested, fighting his grip. My struggles barely moved the Galdoni. I gritted my teeth. “I can’t let him touch her.”
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” Saro said. “Calm down or Dr. Ray will put a sedative in your IV; then you’ll be no help to anyone.”
The sense of his words ate through my adrenaline. Pain filled my nerves, threatening to send me under again regardless of whether Dr. Ray was there to help or not. I struggled to breathe. I settled back on the bed. Each breath sent stabbing aches through my sides. I had to focus to draw air in deep enough.
Saro’s voice was subdued when he spoke again. “Dr. Ray said you broke a bunch of ribs and fractured your wings in that fall, not to mention your arm.” I glanced down at the bandages. “He had to stabilize the compound fracture of both bones with plates, but you’re going to have to take it easy.”
“I can’t take it easy,” I said, fighting for strength. “I’ve got to find Ava.”
“We’re working on that,” Saro replied. He rubbed the back of his neck, then leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Reece, what happened on that building? All we know is what the police captured from your phone call. When we arrived, the Galdoni were already preparing to leave.” His eyes met mine. “But I think your call saved your friends’ lives. They were definitely planning to push them off the roof. We got there just in time.”
“We shouldn’t have left without you guys. I know that.” Guilt filled me at my stupidity.
Saro shook his head. “We found the note Steel wrote you. I can’t blame you for doing what you felt you had to in order to protect your friends.”
“Would you have handled it differently?”
He hesitated, then said, “Probably not. I’m as hotheaded as you are.”
I gave a small smile that I didn’t feel. “What do I do, Saro?” I didn’t care that I let the despair I felt show in my voice. I was lost, adrift. Ava was out there somewhere probably afraid and possibly being hurt by Mr. Samuelson, whoever he was. “I need to find her.”
Saro nodded. “I know, Reece. I know. We’re doing our best.”
***
The next time I awoke, I peered through the groggy haze to see Koden sitting next to the bed. He had his dark red wings pulled up on either side of the chair, and he was looking at something in his hand. His curly blond hair hung in his eyes. When he looked up and saw that I was awake, the intensity in his blue gaze made him look far older than a child.