CHAPTER 1

City life had always been relatively easy. People flocked the streets in herds while hundreds of cars sped by, constantly breaking the speed limit. It was all moderately normal, and the city folk were so used to it that they would never be able to notice something out of the ordinary. They were all far too blinded by the need to get to work or by the errands they had to run. Parents had to rush their kids to violin lessons, dance practice, or even take them out to buy clothing at the local department stores.

It was a simple, basic, and very routine life. That's why it was no wonder that when part of the sky opened up—showing perhaps a piece of the heavens beyond the cloud covered ocean—no one even noticed. Not even the people who were looking into the sky—perhaps wondering what errand they had forgotten to run or what kid they had to drop off next—managed to notice the break in the blue and white above. Perhaps some had noticed but had decided that it was of no concern to them and just moved on. It was hard to tell.

Well, if nobody had detected the breach within the cloud coated sky, then they extremely hadn't detected what appeared to be falling from it. Again, it absolutely was of no concern to them. They had folks to see, things to try and do, and places to be. They could not bother themselves with the heavens that currently appeared to be dropping something into their little, everyday town.

What was falling from the opening within the sky wasn't what usually came from the clouds above. Rather than a snowflake or a driblet or perhaps the ball sized hail that was typically created, the heavens had discharged what appeared like somebody's being, a boy to be precise. He was falling quite quickly, the air speeding past him as he plummeted towards the planet below. What was coming at him from below, however, wasn't the pavement of the road or the grass of the park. Instead, he was heading right towards the roof of a building, a widely known building for the children of the town. He could not see it though. Not solely were his eyes closed, however he was falling backwards.

When the boy's eyes slowly opened, his mind finally becoming aware, the first thing he felt was the cold air speeding past him. He may feel it even through the material of his dark attire—the black pants and robes that coated his whole body. His hands felt like ice, and that they were turning a pale blue from the chilling altitude he was at. However, the more he fell, the colder it looked as if it would get. He tried to manoeuvre a bit, however his body hurt everywhere. Nothing would respond for him, and his head shortly began throbbing from each the downward momentum and his own frustration. He wasn't certain just what was happening, however he knew it wasn't good sensible.

Instead of making an attempt to manoeuvre, he centered his attention on the sky above. He may still see the break within the cloudiness, the opening that had dropped him into this town. At least it had been still open, thus he may come back if he thus so. However, just as that thought registered in his mind, the clouds began reforming. The opening on top of him was closing. He wished to call out towards it, to try it from disappearing and cutting him off from his world, however it absolutely was all in vain. Before even a word may escape his lips, his body slammed into something hard. There was just one moment of pain before his whole world went black.

One of the biggest buildings within the entire town, to not mention one in all the foremost active, wasn't what somebody would think about. It wasn't a shopping mall, nor was it some kind of workplace. Instead it absolutely was a school, one among the best within the entire area. Each floor had lecture rooms, bathrooms, a commons room, and rows upon rows of lockers that lined either side of the hallways. It absolutely was a really nice school building, however with such a rich school came high expectations.

For the most part, the students at the school were well behaved. Most got good enough grades to manage their means through the school year; however some were allowed to remain just because their parents may afford it. The worse the grades, the more it cost to stay going there. Interestingly enough, this wasn't a university or something of the type. It absolutely was a non-public high school for the very wealthy and intelligent. Some students were able to get in for very little to nothing whereas others' parents had to drag in the money simply to stay them there for one more semester. At least it absolutely was diverse—for the foremost part.

"Ms. Carlson?" called a voice from the entranceway. An instructor stood there, his blond hair falling to his shoulders. A pair of glasses framed his hazel eyes, hidden partly by his long bangs. The schoolroom he was standing in belonged to him, and he was ready to leave. However, he had to attend for the young lady first.

The lady sitting alone at one among the desks did not acknowledge him. If she had even heard him, she showed no sign of it. She was still focusing on the papers before her, scribbling things down along with her black pen. She had to unendingly stop to brush back her long, very dark brown hair. Her bangs kept falling into her bright inexperienced eyes, and she presently needed to examine what she was doing. She was nearly through with what appeared like a worksheet full of mathematics problems.

"Jaida?" the male teacher called out once more. He sighed once she did not respond and placed on a determined face. "Jaida Carlson!” this point he got her attention. She stopped working and turned to him, blinking in confusion.

"What is it, Mr. Owens?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"I got to get home, therefore may you please end your work elsewhere?" he asked as with politeness as he might underneath the circumstances.

"Alright," she sighed as she closed her mathematics book and shoved the papers into a folder. She places each into a bag at her aspect and stood up. She smiled to Mr. Owens before going away the schoolroom in order that he may lock it.

"You ought to get home," he told her as he stuffed the key back to his pocket. "I'm certain your mother's distressed."

"It's alright," she assured him with a little smile. "I sometimes stay out later than this. She does not mind. i am fine on my own."

"You still should not stay out too late," he warned her as he began heading down the corridor. "This town is dangerous once dark."

"I know." She gave him a large smile as she shouldered her bag. "I'm not stupid, Mr. Owens."

"That you are not," he said with a smile to himself as he continuing on his way. However, he and Jaida stopped dead in their tracks after they heard a rather loud thud on top of them. Both looked to the ceiling, however neither one was certain just what had happened.

"What was that?" asked Jaida as she continued to look up at the ceiling as if it controls the answer she wanted.

"I'm unsure. It looked like one thing hit the roof."

"I'll go check it out!" she called back as she ran down the corridor and round the corner. There wasn't even time for Mr. Owens to stop her. She was out of his voice range long before he realized what was happening. He wasn't near to let her go and investigate by herself, thus he set down his heavy baggage and ran after her. However, he had tons of catching up to try and do. Maintaining with the school's star runner wasn't a simple task.

Jaida ran up the last flight of stairs within the entire building, coming back to the door that might lead her onto the roof. The door was forever kept open. The students would typically stay up there throughout the longer passing periods. It gave an excellent view of the town, and it had been usually peaceful on the top of the school. The lecturers did not appear to mind if they went up there as long as they weren't late to their classes.

Jaida shoved open the door and was instantly met with a blast of cold air. It absolutely was windy outside, and also the sky was coated in thick grey clouds, permitting very little to no warmth to flee to the world below. As shortly as she had recovered from the frenzy of air, she opened her eyes and glanced around. She did not have to look for very long as her bright eyes fell on the sole thing that might have hit the building. Lying directly within the center of the roof was a figure clad in black.

Jaida sprinted towards the thing she assumed was an individual and quickly noticed that it had been unconscious. Upon nearer examination, she realised that the person was a young man, most likely only a couple of years older than she was. He was wearing black robes, one thing not seen on most citizens of the town. Then again, she quickly realised that nothing regarding this boy was normal. His skin was most likely the foremost excellent resemblance of cream there was, and his hair was deep ebony. However, there was one thing really strange regarding him, stranger than his clothing and his presence on the school's roof (how he had gotten there was anyone's guess). From his back came a pair of wings—long, black, feathered wings.

Curiosity quickly got the best of her, and Jaida reached out to touch the soft looking structures on his back. The second her hand came in touch with a feather, one thing began glowing from around the boy's neck. She felt a tiny low twitch return from the feather she had touched, thus she pulled her hand away. She watched in awe as his wings began to fold and shrink. They were disappearing into his back, and once they were gone, she noticed that there was no proof that they'd ever existed. There weren't even two wing sized rips in his robes. It had been as if she had simply imagined the entire thing

Jaida glanced around a bit more, suddenly very interested by how he had gotten there and where he had come from. She turned her attention towards the sky and stared in awe at what seemed to be a hole leading to the heavens. It had been open directly on top of the school. However, it had been slowly closing as the wall of clouds swirled along to seal it off from searching eyes. She was so awe struck by the sight that she did not even notice when the door to the roof was forcefully thrown open, slamming into the metal siding around it.

"Jaida!" called Mr. Owens as he ran over to her, noticing the manner she was looking at the sky. However, his attention quickly went from her to the boy that was lying at her feet. "What the…?" he began, drawing her attention. She looked from her teacher to the black haired boy. She was beginning to piece together her own conclusion regarding what he was and wherever he had come from, however it absolutely was hard to believe. Maybe she would not tell Mr. Owens regarding the boy's uncommon black wings or regarding the opening within the sky.

"I found him like this," she told him, kneeling down next to the boy. She looked him over for injuries, and upon such an in depth examination, it had been hard to not notice all of the bruises and cuts on his hands and face. She may additionally see that he had quite a few nicks in his clothing. The actual fact that he had most likely fallen from the sky wasn't of much help to his condition.

"I wonder how he got here…" began Mr. Owens as his voice trailed off in thought. He quickly shook his head, deciding that it did not matter right now. "Well, more significantly, we should get him to a hospital, just in case."

Jaida nodded in agreement and remained silent as Mr. Owens pulled out a mobile phone and demanded an ambulance. For some reason she could not stop looking at the boy. She kept brooding about what he was, regarding his wings, and regarding the gap within the sky. Simply what's happening here? May he probably be…an angel?

The streets were forever so dark within the residential district of the town. The streetlamps provided little light. Some of them were broken and in desperate need of repairs. It extremely did not help that the streets were dangerous to walk at the hours of darkness, particularly if you were alone. At least it wasn't quite as dangerous within the residential district, considering that everybody was sort of a neighbour, and friendly neighbours at that. Nobody would dare attack somebody here.

Jaida walked quietly, her hands holding tight to the strap on her bag. She glanced up at her current companion. Mr. Owens was keeping just as quiet as she was as he walked together with her down the streets towards her house. They’d simply come back from the hospital where they had stayed just a bit too long. By the time they'd left the facility, the sky was already black. He had insisted on walking her home, being a accountable adult. Besides, he did not live far away from the area.

"I'm fine currently," she told him. "My home is just a block away."

"You're sure?" he asked, and she only nodded in response." Alright then, i am going to see you tomorrow. Keep in mind to complete your school assignment."

"Yeah," she said, sounding a bit distracted. Mr. Owens simply turned and started walking within the other way, leaving her to walk home on her own.

Jaida shivered a bit within the cold night air, her skirt and short-sleeved button-up top doing very little to guard her. She despised the uniform with a passion. It had been the only skirt she owned, however at least it wasn't too short. It fell to merely higher than her knees, and it absolutely was a black color. Still, the uniform was just so boring. They may have come up with one thing better than a white shirt, black skirt, white socks, and black and white lawn tennis shoes. The faculty of their school simply did not have any style or imagination.

She turned the corner and smiled as she walked two homes down and crossed the road. There was a light on, gleaming through the lounge window. She may make out a figure against the light and quickly ran towards the door. She knocked thrice, and the figure within the window padded over. There was a soft click, and therefore the door was pulled open. Jaida beamed brightly.

"Hi mom," she said, attempting to ignore the disturbed expression on her mother's face.

"Jaida, thank God," she sighed in relief, hugging her girl. "I was so worried regarding you." She frees her, her expression quickly changing into stern. "Just where have you been? I called the school, and that they aforementioned you left hours past. You actually had me worried this point."

"I'm fine," she said as she stepped into their little house, closing the door behind her. She set her bag down and walked into the lounge, plopping down on the sole couch that they had. it had been a smaller area, however it had been homely and spacious to her.

"Did you walk home by yourself?" her mother asked, dreading the response as she sat down in a reclining chair.

"No," began Jaida as she turned on their TV. "Mr. Owens walked with me."

A smile tugged at her mother's lips, and she knew precisely why.

"Bless that man," Ms. Carlson said with associate air of admiration. Mr. Owens was well known through their neighbourhood, and it wasn't as a result of he was an impressive teacher. He was well liked by everybody. He was forever looking out for others, ensuring that none of his students, particularly the ladies, walked the streets at the hours of darkness. He was a real gentleman if ever there was one.

"I'm kind of hungry," began Jaida as her stomach growled. She hadn't consumed something yet, and it had been already nine o'clock. She hadn't realized it till just now, however she was starving.

"I left you a plate in the refrigerator. Simply stick it within the microwave for a couple of minutes, and it will be fine."

"Thanks mommy." She sprinted to the kitchen to get her dinner.

"Jaida!" Ms. Carlson called out, showing within the just as even as Jaida hit the "cook" button. "Just why were you out so late?"

"Oh…" she began, attempting to come to a decision what to inform her. Should she really mention the boy she had found on the roof of their school? It had been strange enough that he was wearing foreign clothing; however he had simply appeared there. Folks did not simply fall out of the sky like that. "Well, you see…there was this boy…”

"A boy?" her mother questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow at her daughter.

"He was on the school roof…unconscious," explained Jaida, selecting her words rigorously. "Mr. Owens thought we must take him to the hospital, simply just."

"I see." Her mother now not appeared quite so curious. It had been most likely because she realized that the boy had nothing to actually do with her daughter. "Well then, how is he?"

"He…well…he looked pretty crushed up, like he had just come back from a fight," explained Jaida, her voice suddenly taking up a worried tone. "He had cuts and bruises all over, however the doctors aforesaid he'd most likely be okay. It just depends on how hard he hit his head." She wasn't on the point of telling her mother that he had possibly fallen from over 10 thousand feet and slammed into their school's roof. If that actually was the case, then it absolutely was a miracle he wasn't dead. There is one thing terribly odd about that boy…

"Was he from your school?" her mother questioned as she began to clean the dishes that were sitting within the sink. She had forgotten them in worry over her daughter.

"No, I've ne'er seen him before. He may be a new student." That or he is an angel. She could still remember the soft feathers of his wings…but did not angels have white wings? Why had his been black?

The microwave bell dinged; signal that her dinner was prepared. She took the plate, being careful to not burn her hands, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving her mother to do the dishes in peace. Besides, she did not need to speak regarding the boy any longer. She did not wish her mother to become as suspicious of him as Mr. Owens had been. However, it is not like she may blame either of them. He was quite strange sight.

Jaida walked up the steps close to their house's entranceway and headed into one amongst the rooms. The upstairs corridor wasn't terribly huge at all, however it did lead to 3 completely different areas. One was her sleeping room. The other 2 were a guest room and a rest room. Her mother's sleeping room was placed downstairs next to the lounge.

Their house wasn't terribly huge; however it ought not to be. There was solely the two of them. They did not even need the lounge, considering the actual fact that neither one had a lot of time to only sit and watch TV. She spent most of her time in school, and her mother worked nearly twelve hours each day. She had to in order to keep the bill collectors off from their front door.

Jaida sat down on her bed, finally removing her shoes and putting them within the corner by her dresser. Her room was rather simple, consisting of solely what she needed. She had a closet that she most likely could not fit any more stuff in although she tried. A mirror was stationed over a wooden table where she kept plenty of her books. A dresser held most of her clothing, and then there was her bed, that was simply a bit too huge.

In reality, the area itself was large and rather empty since it had originally belonged to her parents. If she had the money, there would most likely be a couple of additional decorations, and also the walls would not be so bland and brown. She might solely hope that all the extra hours her mother was putting in place may enable them at least a couple of luxuries.

Jaida finished her dinner and so went back downstairs to fetch her bag. She had some school assignment to complete up. She stole a look at her mother, ensuring she did not want any help, before heading back up the stairs. Emptying her bag onto the ground of her sleeping room, she searched through her books to search out those she needed. Usually she would have finished all of her work by now, but the trip to the hospital had extremely taken a great deal of time. Currently she had a small amount of catching up to try and do.

She set the book down on her table and force up her chair, reading the chapter she required to get through before tomorrow. History wasn't her favourite class, however she required to read for it. There was only a one-half probability that they'd actually get quizzed on the material tomorrow; however she could not chance it. She had to try and do well at school. She had to try and do well in all of her classes for that matter. Presently she had a 4.0 mark average, straight A's in each subject. She was near to being the highest of her class, and she required to stay it that way. Right now, her mother was paying nothing for her to go to school. As long as she did not slack off, it'd keep that way. It had to. Money was laborious to come by.

Jaida sighed after finishing the chapter, deciding that it had been too late to worry regarding anything else right now. She'd end the remainder of her work before school tomorrow. Right now she wished to only collapse on her bed and sleep. She quickly changed out of her uniform and pulled on a pair of moon-blue pajamas. She then flopped down on her bed, her head touching the pillow. She quickly cleared her mind, and before she knew it, she was sound asleep.

The next day at school was shaping up to be a very tough one for Jaida. It was a Friday, and she was finding it more and more arduous to concentrate with each hour that passed. By the time she was in her English class, she had resorted to staring out the window. For a few reason, she could not stop puzzling over what had happened yesterday. It wasn't like her to let her mind wander, however she kept puzzling over what she'd do after school. She wished to move right over to the hospital and check on the boy.

She was positive Mr. Owens had noticed her distraction, and in contrast to what a normal teacher would do, he left her alone. He did not call on her at all throughout class, and once the bell rang, he walked over as she was putting her books away. His class was the last one in every of the day, and his room was on the very high floor.

"You appeared distracted today," he told her, barely catching her attention.

"Yeah," she said, undecided just how to answer him. "Maybe i am simply tired." She got up and shouldered her bag, giving him a little smile. "I'll see you on Monday, Mr. Owens."

"Aren't you staying after?" he asked her as she began to move out his door. He could not recall one day where she did not stay after to work on school assignment.

"Not today. I actually have one thing to do." thereupon said, she ran down the corridor, feeling rather anxious. She hoped that once she got to the hospital, he'd already be awake. There have been such a lot of things she wished to ask him. She had to understand who he was...and what he was.