Man, I've been inactive like hell. Anyway, I've written a prologue for a novel I'm willing to publish officially. It's called "Crestfallen", and it's about a highschool girl named "Destiny" who finds a Dark Angel shot down by government fighter-jets named "Jared". As they begin to fall in love, the government wants Jared for their own purposes, and an unwanted, shadowy presence tries to pull them apart...
They're a bit long, but they're the length of each chapter. Here's the prologue, and you can find the rest of the chapters on Fictionpress.
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3093879/1/Fallen-Solitude-Crestfallen
The moon crested above the rippling waters of the calm ocean and the sound of waves lapping against the sand of the shore brought a smile to my face. I always enjoyed staying out late at night, overlooking the serene waters. It put me into a comatose state.
It was the one place where I could just sit, relax, and watch the solitary rippling waves licking the shore, keeping me company.
I was a curious girl, but curiosity was one thing that attracted danger, and danger was the one thing that was waiting for me tonight.
A strange soaring sound that overruled the slapping waves pulled me out of my exhausted easing sensation.
With a puzzling expression appearing on my face, I hastily scanned the vast waters, searching for what had aroused me. My attention turned to the sky, where I saw a black winged shadow dart across the light of the moon. Two screaming hawks of metal followed. Government Fighter-Jets.
Without knowing what I said, I shouted. “What the hell?”
Sparks of light burst from the jets and I saw them for what they really were.
Bullets.
The bullets zipped through the air, clearly trying to hit the figure, but the silhouette danced and sliced through the air, dodging the gunshots.
As if hit by a natural instinct, I rapidly searched my pockets for my IPhone. I had to get this on video. I let out a small grunt of disappointment when I realized I left it at home. Finding nothing else to do, I continued to watch the fight with excitement pulsing through my veins.
The silhouette constantly zipped through the air, as if a part of the atmosphere itself. It then ascended higher into the black heavens, its dark form blending in with the sky and only able to be deciphered by the stars. The jets followed.
The black silhouette vaulted its wings out farther, gaining altitude as it rose and dipped, ascending higher and higher.
I didn’t know exactly what was happening, but whatever it was, it was giving me an adrenaline rush.
The bullets didn’t stop flying out. Before I could digest what was going on, the figure began to fall, red liquid flying out in thin lines from one of its wings.
It’s wings tilted upward from the pressure of the fall, as it plummeted at an angle and into the dark forest that detained the shoreline, kicking up tree branches and leaves into the air.
I jerked, bringing a hand to my lips, paralyzed by shock. What happened? It was shot, was it going to die? What exactly was it?
I watched as the jets hovered a bit before they rocketed away from the scene and out of sight.
Staying where I was, I tried to process what just happened in front of my eyes. What did I just see? For a curious person, I despised questions. A fight between a strange winged creature and government fighter-jets was something you’d see in a movie, not exactly real life. If I hadn’t gone crazy and hallucinated, I wanted to see behind the curtains of the show. This couldn’t be over.
Desperate to get them off my thoughts, I sauntered towards the dark forest, my pace slow at first, but then I ran in frenzy to see what had fallen into the forest. Curiosity killed the cat.
Large trees and grey stones loomed and towered above me as I strolled through the dark forestry, relying on memory to take me where I last saw the silhouette fall. The outward stretch of tree branches blogged out the moonlight, which allowed the darkness to impair my vision.
I focused on the dirt pathway below my feet as my only source of direction. My shoes crunching over the dead leaves gave me a shudder and an unwanted sensation, allowing me to believe that I wasn’t alone.
Owls hooted in the distance, mingling with the howling of a pack of wolves. A heavy fog hung in the air, settling over the forest, darkening the trees overhead. The thick scent of maple wood filled my nose, swirling around my lungs with a sweet aroma but it barely managed to calm my racing pulse.
A black smudge that stood out the most against the light brown pathway caught my attention. I moved closer and plucked it from where it lay.
A black feather.
It was about the size of my forearm and the silk black threads reflected grey against what little light the moon offered.
I looked ahead of where I was, noticing more of them, littered and scattered across the ground. The trail led somewhere off the path and into the skulking darkness that seemed to spiral in front of my vision like a black ribbon, tempting me to go in. I followed the trail of black feathers.
As I led myself into the mass of shadows and imminent large objects, I felt something hard and prickly slap against my arm.
I jolted and whirled around to see what had touched me, with the hairs on the nape of my neck standing on end, I realized it was just a tree branch. Suddenly, I realized that maybe going through the forest - especially alone - wasn’t as good as an idea that I thought it would be.
Still, I was questioning and determined. I wanted to know what animal had been shot down from the skies. The feathers were way too big for any bird that I knew of.
Drops and splatters of red liquid began to fuse with the feathers. The fallen animal had tumbled over the uprooted trees, leaving them painted with blood.
I pushed the branches and brushwood out of my way, and my blood froze when I saw what was lying in the center of the clearing.
A Dark Angel.
His black wings were missing half of the feathers that they seemed to require. The wingspan had to be at least as long as my full sized bed. The frail and yet muscular body lay sprawled on its stomach, facedown, in a pool of blood. He seemed to be unconscious.
If the situation hadn’t been so grave, I would’ve blushed at the fact that he wasn’t wearing anything.
I froze where I stood, unsure if I should run away, or stay longer to get a closer look of what was going on. Ha. Look at that. A real Angel lying right there and here I was, gawking at him with no camera. No proof.
Just like always, curiosity griped control of my actions and I dared a step closer. When the Angel didn’t move, I took another. The Angel’s right arm made a sudden jolt and I froze in my tracks, setting the hazard limits. Danger seemed to roll off him like a scent.
The Angel slowly opened his eyes and the first place he directed them was to the black sky. I broke the limits I had set and stepped closer.
We were separated by a few feet when the Angel made an attempt at standing up. He only got onto his knees before his hands slipped on the blood-soaked grass and he faltered. Trembling, he rolled over to his back and lay there, staring at the sky, as if expecting a black hole to open and pull him into its blackness.
I didn’t realize that I was closing the space between us at a much faster pace until the Angel turned his head my way, a dangerous smile surfacing his face.
I didn’t move. I couldn’t. The way he stared at my face, as if he was reading into my eyes, paralyzed me from the inside out.
Slowly, I tilted my head to the side in question. Who are you?
The Angel smiled, but the emotion burning in his eyes was anything but serenity. “Jared.”
I blinked in surprise. Why did he say that? Was that his name? The uneasy thought that he could read my mind chilled me to the bone. I’ve heard that Angels could read your emotions but seeing it in reality made me shiver.
As I stepped closer, my heart leaped up in my throat when I saw that two gashes from the bullets were holed deep in his right wing. Even so, Jared didn’t seem to care as much. It was as if he couldn’t feel it. All his attention was focused on me.
I risked a question, wondering if he could understand. “Why were those government jets chasing you?”
Jared remained still except for the unbroken rise and fall of his chest. “I let my guard down.”
Since I didn’t know exactly what he meant, I asked another. “Are you a real Dark Angel?”
His smile grew wider. “I don’t look like one?”
Before I could open my mouth to say something else, a vibrant light out of the corner of my eye shifted my attention to the left. I saw a spotlight from the sky being shone through the thick branches, and the sound of helicopter blades slicing the air rang in my ears.
Jared’s dark smile left his face and an alarming expression replaced it. Instinctively, he rolled over to his hands and knees once more and tried again to get up. Loose ends of his long, black hair fell over his grey eyes.
Acting on impulse, I dropped to his side, hooked his arm over my neck, and pulled him into a standing position. Even for the sheer size of his wings, he was surprisingly lighter than I thought. Holding the weight of another body on my shoulder wasn’t as heavy as it seemed - at that moment.
The helicopter engine sounded closer, encouraging me to get out of there.
Suddenly, I thought that carrying a Dark Angel out of government property wasn’t such a good idea. I mean, seriously? I’m saving a Dark Angel? But there was something about him. Something that told me to never judge a book by it’s cover.
Relying on memory to navigate my way out of the forest, I hastily found our way out of the thicket of trees and bushes and back to where I was earlier - which wasn't a good thing. The clear sky gave the jets and helicopters a better chance to spot us and that was something I definitely did not want to put at risk.
With the thought spinning around my head, I quickened my steps and we rapidly began to make our way to my car.
Our feet sank into the sand, slowing down our running pace; giving gave me a fresh rush of panic. I could feel the government aircrafts approaching faster. I knew they spotted me running with Jared and this didn’t exactly put a warm feeling inside of me.
I peered ahead and made out the outline of my blue Passat, parked at the edge of the parking lot. I reached out to grab the door handle before I was close enough to grasp it.
I yanked the handle, but the door didn’t budge.
Locked.
I swore under my breath, and hastily slapped my pockets in search of my car keys. Please don’t tell me I dropped them in the forest. Please don’t tell me I dropped them in the forest.
I felt the familiar lump of my car keys in my back pocket and pinched them out. My fingers fumbled with the buttons as I pressed unlock. I just flung the door open, and helped Jared into the passenger seat, when a pulsating light swept over the car.
I looked up, bringing my hand to my eyes to block out the blinding light of the government copter.
Driven by instinct alone, I threw myself into the driver’s seat, stuck the keys into the ignition, and stomped on the gas, not even waiting for the engine to warm up.
The wheels buffed the road, and the vehicle swerved before it drove off.
I couldn’t see the spotlight anymore, but that didn’t give me a reason to believe that the aircrafts stopped chasing me. I sharply yanked the wheel to the left, rounding a turn, in hopes of shaking them off, but no avail.
I didn’t keep the Passat at a steady pace, because if the car drove straightly, then I would risk the pilots inside the aircrafts to see my license plate clearly. I wonder what they were thinking of me, now. Drunk driving, probably.
I was too busy gluing my eyes to the street to look at Jared. When I did, I felt my heart skip a beat.
His wings were gone.
He noticed me staring, and shrugged, as if nothing was going on, and gave me a look that said: I’ll explain later?
I grunted, and pressed my face to the glass, trying to view above the car to make sure they were gone. The sharp, clanging sound to my left and right told me otherwise.
Great. Now, they were trying to shoot me. What did I get myself into?
Up ahead, I noticed a thicket of trees that blocked out all view from the sky. Frantically, I set my direction there.
Once I got the thick branches’ shadows blanketing the Passat, I stomped the brake, heaving the car to a complete stop. I heard the echo of the screeching tires die away in the distance.
My breathing was heavy, and black tinged the edges of my vision. I was barely able to see the slow-moving spotlight seeping through the tree branches, searching for us. I turned to Jared. “I think you owe me an explanation.”
Jared threw off a dangerous grin. “Hmm. Where to start…”
I was shocked at his ability to be chased down by the government, and still look tranquil. I was beginning to wonder.
“How long were you being chased down?”
“Months.” He said it so plain, so casual, I almost didn’t believe him.
“Maybe there was a reason why I fell next to you. Maybe it was Destiny,” His smile grew wider. “Like your name.”
I didn’t want to know how he found out my name.
He continued. “You see, the reason why you could see my wings before, and not now, is because I can control when people can see them, or not.”
I pondered this. If he could control when people could see his wings, why couldn’t he just stop the pilots from seeing them? I voiced the thought.
“There was too much technology in the way for me to touch their minds.”
I stared at him.
“I can only interact with human’s thought through clear channels. If there’s too much machinery in the way, I can’t really do anything.” His flirty smile gradually became grave while he said this. Finally, he was taking notice of the situation.
Jared gave me a look that told me we were done.
“I still have questions.” I said quickly, trying unsuccessfully to catch his attention before it shifted to the copters that were still circling the skies.
“Some questions can’t get answers.”
I followed his gaze and swallowed the lump in my throat. My next question was the most concerning. “What am I going to do?”
Without warning, he opened the car door.
“What are you doing?!” I shrieked in a tiny voice to avoid unwanted attention.
“I’m going to draw them off, while you run.” He gazed at me with a soft, but crucial expression.
I suddenly felt a small shred of compassion that quickly doubled itself to the point dread. I blinked back the tears that burned in my throat.
What was wrong with me? Why was I crying? I barely knew him, and I was already rippling with regret.
“What about your wings? Aren’t you injured?”
Answering my question in a silent technique, his wings suddenly burst from his back, like explosives. I saw the bullet wounds were completely healed, despite small drops of dried blood. Ok, excessive curing. That’s one new thing I learned about Dark Angels.
Still, in my mind, I replayed the moment when I saw him being shot down from the sky; that terrible scene when I saw him lying lifelessly in the middle of the forest, surrounded by his own blood. Looking at the government copters drained away all hope.
I could sense Jared took notice of my concern. He leaned back into the car, took my face in his hands, and kissed me. His lips pressed over mine, in a caring, fond, affection.
All troubles and problem that surrounded me seemed to slither from my grip like sand. It was like gravity decided to abandon me.
I recalled the times in my life when I’d been kissed, but none could compare to the way he did it. I inhaled, smelling the strong scent of earth, and lingering spice.
His lips parted from mine, and I felt like the weight of a truck had been dropped on me. A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek.
I watched as Jared climbed out of the Passat, and stretch his wings out farther. With his back to me, he said, “Once I get their full attention, drive away.” His wings slapped the air, an
