Elizabeth got everything she ever wanted out of going Wyld... with a few surprises thrown in. Nothing's ever simple when you're Wyld!
Elizabeth get's everything she ever wanted out of going Wyld... with a few surprises thrown in. Nothing's ever simple when you're Wyld!
Like the other hundred students I stared at the screen in boredom. This class was a joke; everybody already knew all this. But then Mr. Edwards came up with a new twist I didn't expect. Neither did anybody else, by the looks of it.
The screen had been showing images of various Wyld as he explained how everyone goes Wyld between their nineteenth and twentieth birthdays. They had figured that one out a couple of years ago. It wasn't a hundred percent certain, but nobody had changed younger or older than that since they came up with it so it was pretty solid.
Now the image switched to Stone Henge. That was weird. "So," Mr. Edwards said, "I suppose you're all wondering what a picture of Stone Henge is doing up here on the screen. The reason," he said, dramatically clicking the button to advance the slide show to the next image. That image was still of Stone Henge, but it was now populated with dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of hooded figures. Only they were all lying down. "is this!"
There was a lot of muttering over that one, but no one seemed to know what this was about. Smiling at stumping his students, Mr. Edwards continued, "Haven't seen this before, have you? It's only recently come to the attention of Wyld researchers because it happened when the super Wyld were still showing up. News about the man who exploded in Bakersfield or the woman who burnt down the Kremlin was bigger than some cultists somehow killing themselves at Stone Henge."
"Killing themselves?!" someone exclaimed, probably echoing all our thoughts.
He shrugged, "We don't actually know how they died. All we know is one morning they were found draped all over Stone Henge as if they'd been in the middle of some pagan ritual and simply... died."
"But what does that have to do with the Wyld?" someone else asked.
He grinned in triumph, "That's the question, isn't it? You see, this happened early in 2002. Only three days before a man had gone Wyld in Australia and managed to turn eight people to stone before he was shot down. Nothing like that ever happened again."
"What?!" some girl screamed shrilly. "There are tons of Wyld!"
He grinned even wider, "Yes, but not the super powerful Wyld that were showing up before that. You all know that early Wyld were stronger and totally out of control. Almost all were killed. The only known survivor is Kami, and nobody knows how she accomplished that. All other Wyld are much weaker and have much better control over their powers."
"Wait, are you saying those people dying at Stone Henge somehow... tamed the Wyld?!" someone else asked incredulously.
Mr. Edwards nodded eagerly, "That's exactly what I'm saying. This isn't known for certain, of course, but for a coincidence it's stretching things a bit, don't you think? We now believe that these people, who were from all over the world by the way, somehow changed the way Wyld manifest. For the better. We can only assume this was intentional, though whether they knew they would die or not is a mystery. As is why they died. Perhaps there was more they were trying to accomplish and made some kind of fatal mistake? Nobody alive knows."
There was a lot of noise after that as everyone had something to say on the issue. I just sat back in shock. Somebody actually did that?! "How?!" I nearly yelled before I realized I was even talking out loud.
Everybody stopped and stared at me, causing me to slide down in my seat pointlessly. Like they were going to stop looking at me because I slouched down! But Mr. Edwards seemed happy that I asked. "That, my friends, is the trillion dollar question! How did they do this? Is it magic? Some kind of religious ritual? Or was it science? Or, was it really just a coincidence? Did the changing of the Wyld manifestation even cause their deaths somehow? That's what researchers are trying to find out now. There is little to go on, though."
Someone snorted, "There's no such thing as magic!"
Mr. Edwards nodded, "Yes, I would have said the same twelve years ago. But now I routinely see people who look like creatures out of myth. I see people flying and doing the sorts of things we thought impossible before. At this point I'm prepared to keep an open mind."
There wasn't anywhere to go after that, so we moved back into the familiar territory of the different kinds of Wyld and Wyld powers. It was all old news, but everyone's attention was fixed after that bombshell. Which was probably the point.
I had to hand it to Mr. Edwards; he sure knew how to get people's attention. Especially impressive for a class as dry as Wyld Studies. I mean, it's not 2002! Everybody knows about the Wyld now! But it was a required class. Fortunately I got a teacher who is actually up on the most current events and knows how to present them in a way that will keep you from falling asleep.
That was my last class for the day. I hurried back to my dorm room and got my homework done. And just in time, there was a knock at my door. I opened it to see Jenny's smiling face. "Hi Jenny, great timing! I just finished my homework."
She rolled her eyes, "You can't let it wait for one day, can you Liz?" She was always telling me to take it easy but I wanted to do my best. "Come on, Chris and TJ are waiting!"
I laughed as she dragged me out of the room, pausing just long enough for me to grab my purse and close the door on our way out.
We met up with the boys outside the dorm. Jenny ran to TJ and was scooped up, laughing until he pressed his lips up against hers. I loved how happy that guy made her. She deserved it.
"Hey Angel, how are you?" Chris said as he walked up to me.
"Great, now that you're here." I said. We kissed and linked hands, turning to find Jenny and TJ still locked together. "Did you bring the crowbar?"
"It's in the car, I'll get it." Chris said, playing along. We'd spoken loud enough for Jenny and TJ to hear so they broke up. TJ was blushing and Jenny giggling happily. That girl has no shame.
"Come on, we'll be late." I said. Jenny stuck her tongue out at me, but took TJ's hand and followed us as we walked to the parking lot.
Soon we were all in Chris' car on our way to the movie theater. We were going to watch a new action movie that actually starred a Wyld. That was unheard of, but things were changing. Used to be Wyld practically had to pay to work in any industry.
We got to the movie with fifteen minutes to spare. Just enough time to get some snacks and find a good seat. Which took some doing; the movie is popular!
I think Jenny and TJ missed most of the movie, but Chris and I were content with holding hands and me resting my head on his shoulder. Okay, there might have been a kiss or two.
"Hey, do you think Tina Stroud did her own stunts?" TJ asked on our way out of the theater, referring to the Wyld star of the movie.
Chris shrugged, "She might have but I heard she definitely did some of the effects herself."
"I wonder what it's like to have powers like that?" Jenny mused. We all exchanged uncomfortable looks, knowing that it wouldn't be long before we all went Wyld. My nineteenth birthday was a month in the past and I'm the youngest of our group. It was surprising that none of us had manifested yet.
"Oh!" I breathed.
"What's wrong Angel?" Chris asked worriedly as I'd stopped moving in the middle of the parking lot.
I wanted to say something, but I couldn't quite get my voice to work. I could feel something weird welling up within me and it wasn't hard to imagine what it could be. Could I actually be the first...
"Liz!" Jenny screamed as the world went away in a flash of golden light.
"Chris?" I said weakly, hardly recognizing my own voice.
"Liz? Are you okay?" he asked, leaning over from where he sat in a chair next to my bed. Though I was looking him in the eye. I was propped up by something.
"I... think so? I went Wyld, right?" I said. He seemed to have trouble meeting my eyes. I knew he didn't have any prejudice against Wyld, so why... No, it couldn't have done that?!
He nodded, "Yeah. For some reason you passed out right after. You were out for about four hours."
Dreading the answer, I asked, "So, uh, how do I look?"
He smiled weakly, "Even more beautiful than before. Though I'm sorry to say you are now blonde."
I grimaced at that, knowing all the blonde jokes I'd be hearing in the near future. "If that's the worst, I can deal with that." I said. I glanced down and confirmed that going Wyld had not, in fact, undone everything I had done. That was a relief!
He nodded but didn't look very happy, "Well, there is something else. I'm... really sorry. I feel like this is my fault."
I frowned, "Your fault?! How could anything that happened when I manifested be your fault?"
There was a mirror sitting on a tray nearby and he picked it up so I could see. I gasped at the sight. I really was beautiful! I knew I wasn't bad looking before, but still. I now sported fine, delicate features with blonde hair and, yes, blue eyes. Really bright blue eyes, in fact. I didn't notice at first since I was so pleased with how I looked but there was something behind me that shifted and caught my attention.
"Uh, Chris? Is that what I think it is?" I asked weakly.
He nodded, grimacing, "Yeah, you've got wings."
"Wait." I said, finally putting what he'd said together in a way that made sense. "You think it's your fault that I look like an angel because you kept calling me Angel?! I don't think it works that way Chris!"
He shrugged, "I don't know, but I still feel guilty."
A laugh escaped my lips as I shook my head ruefully, "Don't. Much worse could have happened to me than this; trust me. Even if you had somehow influenced my change I wouldn't blame you. Being an angel could be kind of cool. Although I suppose the wings mean I'll need to change my wardrobe around some."
"See? Already thinking about shopping. She's fine." Jenny said, walking in with a big grin and something hidden behind her back.
Laughing again I said, "Hi Jenny. What are you hiding now?"
She got shy all of a sudden, not something I see often with her, and brought it out. That got me laughing so hard I cried. She had a soft little angel doll. Complete with blonde hair, blue eyes and, of course, wings. "Where did you get that?!" I said once my laughter was under control.
She shrugged, "I got it in the hospital gift shop, believe it or not. TJ's getting drinks; he'll be here in a few minutes."
I took the doll with a smile. It was just like Jenny to find something like that. But it was cute.
"You okay Angel?" Chris asked, wincing as he realized what he'd said.
I realized then that he was holding my hand. Probably had been since I was put in this bed. That was just like him. I reached over and held his hand in both of mine, "Relax Chris. I didn't mind you calling me Angel before and I'm not going to start having a problem with it now. It'll just be more appropriate now."
Chris shook his head, a smile threatening to form, "Only you could take something like this in stride. Most people hope they don't change physically when they manifest and you just shrug it off."
I didn't say what I wanted to say; that I had always hoped I'd change. That I would be complete. Maybe even be able to have children. But none of my friends knew about that part of my past. So I just said, "It'll take some getting used to, but it's not like I have any choice in the matter."
Chris still looked uncertain, so I pulled him down and kissed him. He looked surprised but certainly didn't complain.
"Ugh, get a room you two!" TJ said in mock disgust. He had a stack of sodas he was somehow balancing. Jenny took the one off the top, it was hers anyway, and he handed the other two to Chris.
"We appear to have a room, actually." I said, looking around at the room. There was another bed, but it was empty. The fact that my new wings were pretty much filling up the room might have had something to do with that.
Chris passed the Coke over to me after opening it. I took a sip and sighed in relief, "Thanks TJ."
He shrugged, "No big. How are you doing?"
"Okay. Not sure what I'm going to do with these things but I guess I'll figure it out." I said, pointing my thumb at my new appendages. They were kind of pretty, actually. What I could see of them. That got me thinking about flying. Would I actually be able to...?
We got to talking about powers; with one ridiculous idea after another. Frankly I wasn't worried about powers. I was more concerned with how... functional, my new body is.
My friends had to leave when the doctor came in to check on me. Chris kissed me before reluctantly letting go of my hand. I smiled at him as he left to let him know I was okay.
"So, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked once the door was closed behind my friends.
I shrugged, "Fine. I don't really feel all that different, frankly."
She nodded, "That's common. Your new body is natural for you now so it would feel normal. You may feel differently once you are moving around and dealing with your new wings."
I grimaced, "Yeah, I figured that would be awkward. But it's better than turning into a monster or something. So, what now?"
"Now, I check to make sure you are healthy. In very rare cases the Wyld manifestation can cause changes that are dangerous to your health." she replied.
So the doctor, her name was Thompson, gave me a thorough physical. By the end of it I was told I was completely healthy and normal looking. Then I asked the six million dollar question, "Can I get pregnant now?"
She looked surprised, "You couldn't before?"
I shook my head, "No, I definitely couldn't. I was... missing, some important parts."
She looked confused but shrugged it away, "Well, you should have no problems now. Everything appears completely normal and healthy, like I said."
I thanked her and she said I could leave once I filled out the ever-present paperwork. The main problem was going to be finding something to wear and squeezing my wings out the door. But I didn't care. My face was threatening to split from the huge smile I was sporting.
My friends noticed when they came back in, "What, did you win the lottery or something?" TJ asked, looking confused.
"Or something." I said, still smiling widely.
Jenny took a moment to catch on, but she finally did. "Does this mean, you're all better?" she asked. She knew I couldn't get pregnant. That had slipped out one teary night after I met Chris. She just didn't know why.
If anything my smile got bigger at the excited look on her face, "Yep, all better!"
"Uh, someone care to clue us poor males in here?" Chris said, looking back and forth between us.
I blushed, "Well, I had a birth defect. I couldn't get pregnant. Now everything's as it should be!"
Chris blushed too, "Oh. I see. Uh, that's great."
"Cool, now you two can have little cherubs!" TJ said, grinning widely.
I snagged my pillow and threw it at him but he neatly caught it and laughed.
"Ignore the neanderthal here." Jenny said, slapping him up the backside of his head.
I laughed a bit at the look on Chris' face, but I was still blushing at his remark. Truth be told, that was the first thought I had. That we could have kids, not cherubs, but still. But I knew it was too soon to be talking about that. We'd only been dating for a couple months.
Soon the paperwork arrived for me to fill out and I sent Jenny to find me something I could wear. TJ went with her. By the time they got back I had the paperwork taken care of. So I sent the boys out with the paperwork while Jenny helped me get dressed. It was easier than I thought. My wings were easier to handle than I expected and the halter top Jenny found for me was low enough in the back it didn't get in the way any.
"So, how do I look?" I asked her.
"Absolutely fabulous! You know I'm totally jealous of you now, right?" she said, pouting.
"As if you're not totally beautiful yourself!" I replied.
"Maybe, but you practically glow! Hey, I wonder if we took a photograph if you would have a halo?" Jenny snickered.
"Hah. Hah." I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She replied in kind and we dissolved into laughter. Then Jenny brushed my hair for me. I didn't need to worry about cleaning off makeup since it had apparently been destroyed when I changed.
Getting my wings folded as tightly to my body as I could, I managed to squeeze through the doorway. I didn't even have to turn sideways like I thought I would. Although I realized that hospitals tend to have wider doorways to allow for wheelchairs. I might have more trouble in other buildings.
We met up with the boys at the front desk. Thankfully they didn't make me sit in a wheelchair to leave. Since I just went Wyld keeping me there was more of a formality anyway. I had to wonder why I'd passed out though. That was unusual.
I shivered as we stepped outside. Chris put his arm around my waist, "You okay?"
"Just cold." I said, glad my wings didn't get in the way as much as I'd feared.
"Hey, do you think you can fly?" TJ said blurted.
"I've been wondering the same thing." I said with a laugh.
"Well not tonight. It's really late and we all have classes in the morning." Jenny said sternly.
"Yes mother." I said, rolling my eyes.
We all laughed and then stopped when we got to Chris' car. I think we all realized at the same time that there was no way I was going to fit inside. Maybe if he had an SUV or van, but not his little hatchback. "Uh, how far are we from the school?" I asked.
"A couple miles, I think." TJ said.
I sighed, "I guess I'm going for a walk."
"I'll walk with you." Chris said instantly.
I smiled at him, "Thanks Chris, but you shouldn't leave your car here. You three drive back, I'll be okay."
Jenny snorted, "As if! You boys drive back and we girls will walk."
"Forget it, we'll all walk. I don't need my car tomorrow. I can pick it up after classes." Chris said stubbornly. I realized I wasn't going to change his mind, so I stopped trying. It was rather dark, and cold, so his presence was welcome anyway.
The walk back was slow and cold, though Chris' arm around me helped. I could see one definite problem with having wings: clothes. If I could only wear halter tops I was going to freeze in the winter time.
We got back to the college without any problems and split up at the girl's dorm. We got our goodnight kisses and promises they'd come see us after classes. I made Chris promise to let me walk with him when he retrieved his car. He didn't seem to mind.
"So, how do you like being an angel so far?" Jenny asked impishly as we walked up the stairs.
I shrugged, "Hard to say. The wings are problematic, but if I'm able to fly that would make up for it. And being complete is worth it." That brought back the big goofy grin.
She smiled back and hugged me sideways, "I'm really happy that happened. You'd make a great mom."
"Thanks." I said, hugging her back. We split at the landing; her going right and me left. There was nobody around at this time of night, so I didn't have to deal with all the attention I knew my wings would bring. Once in my room I got undressed, not even thinking about trying to get any of my nightgowns on, and crawled into bed as best I could.
Elizabeth get's everything she ever wanted out of going Wyld... with a few surprises thrown in. Nothing's ever simple when you're Wyld!
Knocking at my door woke me in the morning. Groaning, I crawled out of bed and headed for the door. The weight of my wings reminded me of what happened, and that I couldn't wear most of my clothes. I turned aside to find something I could wear.
"Come on, Liz, open up!" Jenny yelled through the door. "I'll help you with the clothes issue!"
Sighing, I carefully opened the door so that nobody would be able to see me from outside. Despite being a girl's dorm guys did come inside occasionally. And not just family.
"Hey Liz, how you doing?" Jenny asked, sailing into the room with a plastic bag in each hand.
I just grumbled in response. I'm not much of a morning person. Jenny breezed past me into my room and upended the bags on my bed. "Here, this should last you until you have time to do some proper shopping." she said.
There were a couple of thin strap tank tops and several halter tops. There were also some halter top bras, something I hadn't really thought about. I felt behind me and confirmed that most of my bras would interfere with my wings.
"Thanks, I was wondering what I was going to wear today." I said as I picked each item up to look at it. They were clearly Jenny's, but not so form fitting that I couldn't manage with them, I hoped.
"That's what friends are for!" she said, holding one of the tank tops up to see if it was too high in the back. It was, so she stuffed it back in one of the bags. "Most of these probably won't work, or very well. But we should be able to put something together."
I ended up trying everything on, even the one she put away. Three of them worked, two halter tops and one of the other tank tops. I would have to pull it up like a dress, but the back was low enough to allow for my wings. The halter bra would also work and was a halfway decent fit. Certainly better than any of mine since I was apparently a couple sizes larger than before. That was a plus, mostly.
Being September it wouldn't get too cold during the day, so I'd be okay for now. But I worried about how winter was going to be. I wore the halter bra and one of the tops with some shorts. Paired with some sandals I was ready to go. Jenny insisted on brushing my hair again.
"You have a fetish for my hair or something?" I asked with a grin. She wasn't one to do things like brush her friends hair usually.
She shrugged, "I just thought you could use the help. And I don't want to be late for class."
I had to concede that one. We didn't have all day and my wings could get in the way. As it was she was having to work to keep my hair from tangling with my feathers. She finally went with a braid to solve that problem.
"You know you're shattering my illusions here? Angels are supposed to have long, full hair that floats around them, not get tangled up in their feathers!" Jenny whined.
"Hey, how do you think I feel? It doesn't exactly feel good to have my feathers yanked on. Nor my hair." I said.
"Sorry." she said.
My turn to shrug, "I wasn't blaming you, just saying. I suppose the reality was bound to be less glamorous than the fiction. Besides, I'm not really an angel. I just have wings."
"Chris might argue that one." Jenny said, walking around me to see her handiwork from all sides. She was grinning, as usual.
"He's biased." I said, blushing.
She snorted, "He better be! Come on, we need to get something to eat before classes start!"
"I haven't even taken a shower yet." I said, just then realizing the fact.
"Yeah, and how is that going to work? Wings, remember?" she said.
I groaned; she was right, of course. I wouldn't even fit in the shower stalls with these wings and how would I ever dry them? Being Wyld really sucks some times.
I followed Jenny out, marveling at how easily I got through the narrower doorways. Maybe I was getting used to these wings already?
As expected I drew a lot of attention. It wasn't too bad in the dorm, really, but everything seemed to stop when we stepped outside. That wasn't really true, though. It was mostly just the guys.
"Psst! I think they like what they see!" Jenny giggled.
I elbowed her, "Quit it! Let's get something to eat, I'm starving!"
She giggled again and continued on towards the cafeteria. Normally Jenny drew the bulk of the male attention, but I was understandably more interesting to both sexes this morning. Wyld with obvious physical changes aren't seen around campus much. Most of them do online courses if they go to college at all.
So far the only reaction I was getting was stares. Mostly of surprise or incredulity. I knew that would change. There were bound to be people who reacted negatively. Even in the Lake States the obviously different get hassled. I was just glad I didn't live in Texas!
We got to class without incident. A class which, thankfully, we had in common. It was the only one.
Once again everything stopped as everyone stared at me. I did my best to just smile and ignore the stares as I headed for my usual seat, Jenny right beside me. We were early enough that half the class hadn't arrived yet. I thought it interesting that most of the people who came in after I was seated either ignored me or simply didn't notice. I suspected the latter.
Class was stilted and confused as even the teacher was distracted. Eventually everyone became aware of me simply because the teacher kept staring at me. I did my best to ignore that and focus on the material. What there was of it.
"Well, that was a waste of time." Jenny grumbled as we got ready to go to our next class.
"Yeah, I hope all my classes aren't like that." I said with a sigh.
"Everyone on campus will know about you in a few minutes. By the end of the day it will be old news." Jenny said, shrugging it off. I hoped she was right but seeing as how she's one of the worst gossips around she probably was!
We had to split to go to our classes after that. She hugged me and whispered, "Good luck!" before hurrying for her next class that was on the other side of campus. I sighed again and turned towards my own class which wouldn't start for thirty minutes. But there was no class going in that room before hand so I could sit and work while I waited as I always did. Or at least, that was the plan.
Nobody gave me any trouble beyond the stares on the way to my next class until just as I was about to walk inside. "Hey, what are you doing?!" a man's voice demanded.
I turned to see Mr. Greenwood, the teacher for my next class, standing there. He looked furious. I glanced around, but there was nobody he could be talking to but me. "I was just going to go in early and wait for class to start, like I always do." I said.
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, "You're in my class?!"
I nodded, "Yeah, Elizabeth Cole. I manifested last night."
"Well I don't need trouble makers like you in my class!" he growled, blowing past me into the room and slamming the door in my face.
I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Sighing, I settled down to wait on the grass. He would have to open the door when class started.
A group of four approached the door a few minutes later, staring at me curiously. But it was still locked. "This door is always open early." one said.
"The teacher seems to have issues with me." I said, smiling weakly.
"You're in this class?! I don't remember you..." another guy said.
"That's because I manifested last night. I'm Elizabeth Cole." I said, waiting to see how they would react. I wasn't friendly with anyone in the class but I didn't hide in a corner, either.
"Oh yeah, I remember you. I'm Tammy." a short girl with spiky black hair said, holding her hand out. I shook it gladly. "Guess you can do worse than angel, huh?"
I smiled, "Yeah, it could have been much worse. The wings are a pain, but otherwise it's all good."
"Can you fly?" the guy who tried to open the door asked.
I shrugged, "Haven't had a chance to check yet."
"So what's Mr. Greenwood's damage?" the second guy asked.
"I don't know. He took one look at me and got hostile. Once I told him I'm in this class he said he 'doesn't need trouble makers like me in his class'." I said with a sigh.
The fourth member of the group was a tall girl with dirty blonde hair. She sat next to me and gave me a quick hug, "Don't worry about him. He can't keep you out of the class. Heck, he can't keep all of us out of his class." The other three all looked at her like she'd grown another head; not an entirely impossible prospect, come to think of it. "What?" she said, looking at what I assumed were her friends in confusion.
Tammy shook it off first, "Sorry Em, you just don't usually take to new people so quickly."
Em smiled shyly, "She just feels good, that's all."
"Huh?" I said, looking at Em.
She blushed, "I'm empathic. I sense emotions. You radiate good emotions, even when you're not feeling them. It's nice."
"Oookay..." I said, wondering what that meant.
The guy who had tried the door checked his watch and decided to try the door again. It was unlocked this time. "Come on guys, time for class." he said, holding the door for the rest of us.
He even held it for me after Em helped me up. I was a little surprised at that, but obviously at least one of them had already gone Wyld. I smiled my thanks at him as I stepped inside. Mr. Greenwood glared at me, but didn't say anything as I took my seat.
Em and her friends sat at the side of the room whereas my usual seat was in the middle. But at her urging I moved to sit with them. I ended up between Em and Tammy with the guys in front of us.
There was a little problem at the beginning of class because my wings were getting in the way but a quick move of a couple of desks took care of that problem. Mr. Greenwood glared at me the whole time.
We managed to talk a little during class. Mostly introducing ourselves properly. The empath was actually named Krista but her friends had started calling her Em after she discovered her power. Tammy hadn't gone Wyld yet, but hoped to soon. She said the suspense was killing her.
The polite guy who held the door was Scott. He hadn't gone Wyld yet, either. The last guy, who had said very little the whole time, was also Wyld. His name was Bobby. He was strong and fast, but that was about it. I felt there was something more there but didn't push it.
After class Bobby and Tammy had another class while the rest of us had a break before our next class. It was about the right time, so we decided to get lunch. I called Jenny and we all met at the Taco Bell on campus.
I introduced everyone and we headed inside. Jenny was bouncing on the balls of her feet wanting to know how my day had gone so far.
"Can you believe Mr. Greenwood actually tried to lock her out?" Em said in response to Jenny's questions.
Jenny gasped, "No way!"
Em nodded, "Yes, and he glared at her all through class. He feels very bad."
Jenny looked at me questioningly, "Em's an empath. He must have been really mad or something."
Em nodded as Jenny turned back to her, "Yes, very mad. He feels..." She broke off, glancing at me.
"Go ahead." I encouraged.
"Okay. I think he feels that Wyld that are different like you are less than human." Em said.
Jenny cursed under her breath. "Do you think he'll be a problem? Other than glaring?" she asked.
Em shrugged, "I don't know. I only know what he's feeling, not what he's thinking. I don't like him, though."
"Don't let her simple speech fool you, Em's a genius. Just not so good with people. Her power being what it is doesn't help much." Scott said.
Em blushed. It was obvious she didn't take compliments well. "So what are you studying?" I asked her.
She brightened a bit at the change of subject, "Well, I'm really..." she began, before Scott covered her mouth.
"Don't get her started! When I said she's a genius I was totally serious. She's taking every advanced math and science program the college has." he said hastily.
He took his hand away and she pouted with her eyes turned away from him. He didn't seem too bothered, though.
"So, what do you think will happen with Mr. Greenwood? Won't he get in trouble for locking you out?" Jenny asked.
Scott shook his head, "Probably not. He unlocked the door before class actually started so he could claim he just wanted to get ready for class before opening up or something. He'll probably just keep glaring at Elizabeth every class."
The conversation switched to majors and what kind of jobs we wanted after that, though Scott wouldn't let Em get involved. She just pouted the whole time. I had to wonder how talkative she'd really get if Scott weren't there?
We got our food and ate. Before we knew it we had to leave. Scott didn't have another class until three, but the rest of us had classes to get to.
I thought it was funny that manifesting had gotten me four new friends on my first day. Just when I was thinking it was going to be horrible.
I didn't have classes with any of them for the rest of the day, so we split up with promises to see each other later. I headed off for my third class of the day wondering what would happen there.
I wasn't too worried about the teacher for this class since she's Wyld, too. She's beautiful in an oddly severe way. With her pointed ears she reminds me of an Elf, but she calls herself Sidhe. What the difference was I didn't know, but she could get very annoyed at being called an Elf.
As expected, all I got out of Ms. Jennings was a raised eyebrow for a moment before her attention returned to her notes. The students were another matter. Far fewer of them showed surprise at my appearance but there were also some hostile looks I could have done without. Though they seemed to soften when I got closer to them.
My usual seat was near the front of the class but after my last class I decided that sitting in the back was probably best. Even folded up as small as I could make them my wings still took up a lot of room.
The only seat left in the back was next to one of the guys that had been glaring at me. He looked even more unhappy when it became apparent I was going to sit next to him.
Nothing much happened in class, though. People glared occasionally, but nobody said anything. I was able to concentrate on the class better than in Mr. Greenwood's class, but then Ms. Jennings was concentrating better than he had.
After that class I only had one left for the day, but there was over an hour until it started. Not knowing where my new friends would be, and knowing my old friends would be in class themselves, I decided to go for a walk. I knew I'd draw a lot of attention but figured I needed to get used to it.
I did draw a lot of attention, but it wasn't as bad as I feared. A few people approached me to ask if I could fly but of course I hadn't tried yet. I'd thought of doing so between classes but decided to wait until I had more time and less of an audience.
My last class was a breeze. Most people looked once or twice and then concentrated on the teacher. For his part, the teacher hardly even seemed to notice.
After class I headed back to the dorm to drop off my books. I had a little homework to do, but I wanted to find Chris to walk back with him to his car. Though I realized I'd still have the problem of how to get back myself. Though perhaps I'd fit in the back if there was nobody else there...
Jenny found me when I was coming out and she already had Bobby and Em with her. "Hi Liz, look who I found!" she said.
"Hi guys." I said, looking to see if Chris was nearby. I didn't see him, though.
"What are you looking for?" Em asked.
"Her boyfriend, probably. He had to leave his car at the hospital last night 'cause feather-brain over hear didn't fit in it." Jenny said. I slapped her with one wing, nearly knocking her over. "Hey!"
"Sorry." I said, "I didn't think I'd hit that hard."
She shrugged, "No harm, no foul. I already called TJ and he and Chris will be here shortly."
"I texted Tammy and Scott; they'll be here soon, too." Bobby said.
"So, how are we all going to get back after we walk up there? Liz still won't fit in the car." Jenny asked.
I shrugged, "I was thinking I might be able to squeeze into the back seat if it's empty, but that isn't much help with this many people. I guess I'll be walking again."
Em smiled, "That won't be necessary. Bobby has a van. Most of us will fit in that and we should even get Liz in on the trip back if some people ride in her boyfriends car."
"Sounds like we're all set then." Tammy said, surprising all of us. Scott was right behind her.
It wasn't long before TJ and Chris arrived. Tammy and her friends joked about the way we greeted each other, though Em looked a little subdued. I guessed she was getting a little intimidated by having so many people around. Especially if she could feel all of our emotions. That would have to suck in a crowd.
Everyone but Chris, Em and I ended up going in Bobby's van. I was surprised Em chose to walk with us. Then again, a lot less emotions to feel and she did say she liked what she felt from me.
We got to know Em a little better on the walk. Chris made the mistake of asking what her major was and she proceeded to prove Scott right with how talkative about science she can be. I didn't understand most of it but she was clearly very interested in just about every branch of science and far more knowledgeable than the both of us combined.
Em quieted as we approached the hospital until she was only responding in nods and grunts while looking over her shoulder. "You okay Em?" I asked.
She turned back to me, frowning, "We're being followed."
I glanced behind us and didn't see anyone. "Where?" I asked.
She shrugged, "I can't see them, just feel them. They're weird."
"How many?" Chris asked.
"I'm not sure." she replied.
"What are they planning?" Chris said, glancing over his shoulder.
Em shrugged, "I don't know. I only feel emotions and theirs are muddled. But they're focused on one of us."
I groaned, "That's probably me, then. I was wondering how long it would be before these wings got me in trouble."
Chris tightened his grip on my hand reassuringly, "Just pretend like we don't know about them. Em, will you keep an eye on them?" She nodded, "Okay. We'll know if they're going to try anything ahead of time then. Hopefully nothing will happen. Once we meet up with the others we'll be safe."
None of us ever saw who was following us. When we got to Chris' car the others were there waiting and Em said our follower(s) split. That was a relief.
Chris let TJ drive his car home so he could ride with me in the van. Jenny, Tammy and Scott joined them. That left just Chris, Bobby, Em and I. I crawled into the back row of seats and wedged myself in as best I could. There was no way I could use the seat belt but I fit.
On the way back I thought about how much I was going to need to do because of my transformation. Besides needing new clothes I'd have to get new identification. Plus I needed to tell my parents. I was certain they wouldn't be a problem. They coped with me before.
When we got back everyone wanted to find out if I could fly or not. Since I did, too, it didn't take much convincing to get me to give it a try.
We went out into one of the big grassy fields around the college. They all watched me expectantly while I tried to figure out how to get started. Should I get a running start? Or jump? Or both? Or just flap my wings?
Shrugging, I decided to start with flapping my wings and see how much lift I could generate. If it didn't feel like I was getting anywhere then I probably didn't have enough strength to fly. Made sense to me, anyway.
So I stood there feeling like an idiot while I flapped my wings as hard as I could. I was really clumsy at first but once I got my rhythm down I started rising! I was so surprised I fell right back down, but I wasn't high at the time. Chris helped me up, made sure I was okay and then stepped back to give me room to try again.
The second time I was ready for it and got into the rhythm easier. Soon the ground was dropping away. As I got further from the ground I found it got easier since I had more room to move my wings. Before long I was at least fifty feet up. I was feeling nervous about the height but was determined to explore this.
Figuring out how to move forward and turn took more work. After thirty minutes of flying I had the basics down, but I was tired. That brought up another problem; landing.
The easy answer was to close my wings and fall but somehow I didn't think that would be a very good idea. I tried just slowing my wings and that worked pretty well. I started losing altitude but I wasn't plummeting like a comet. My wings brushed the ground when I was about five feet up and I lost control. My hands and knees took most of the impact.
"You okay Angel?" Chris asked as he knelt beside me.
I started to answer and stopped to take stock. My hands burned a little from the impact; partially because I slid a bit after I hit. My knees were sore, too but not that bad. The biggest pain was in my wings where they hit the ground and even that wasn't much. "Yeah..." I said with some surprise, "I am. Not bad for my first time."
Chris helped me up and hugged me awkwardly since my wings were still half unfurled, "Yeah, not bad at all."
Everyone was beaming at me. "You know you have to take me flying once you have better control, right?" Jenny said.
"Ooh, me too!" Em agreed.
"Are you going to want to fly, too?" I teased Chris. He's afraid of heights so somehow I doubted that.
He surprised me by nodding, if a bit weakly, "Yeah, actually. If you're okay with that."
"Really? I didn't think you would want to." I said.
He shrugged, "I can't think of a better way to confront my fear of heights than in your arms."
Elizabeth get's everything she ever wanted out of going Wyld... with a few surprises thrown in. Nothing's ever simple when you're Wyld!
"Oh, how sweet!" Jenny exclaimed. Chris and I both blushed while she and Tammy laughed. I could tell those two were going to get along all too well.
I really was tired, and still had homework to do, so I suggested we get something to eat before getting down to work. Bobby volunteered to get pizza. TJ went with him once we all agreed on what we wanted. The rest of us found a table and sat.
They were all talking while I leaned against Chris and rested. I must have dozed off since I was awoken by the smell of pepperoni.
"Time to eat sleepy-head!" Jenny exclaimed right next to my ear. I jumped with a squeal, my wings hitting something in the process. Jenny squealed and landed on the grass in front of me, Chris stumbling into view on my other side.
"Sorry!" I said, realizing I'd hit both of them.
Chris had managed not to hit the ground, "I'm fine, and she asked for it. Don't worry." he said.
Jenny stuck her tongue out at him and smiled apologetically at me, "Sorry. Guess I'll have to be more careful about startling you with those wings."
"You could just not do that stuff you know." TJ said with a laugh.
Jenny sniffed dramatically, "What fun would that be?"
Everyone laughed and settled down to eat. We talked about classes, family and whatever else came to mind as we got to know each other better. Bobby was still distant, though. I was sure there was some secret associated with his powers that he wasn't sharing.
Once we were done eating I decided I needed to get some homework done and call my parents. They'd be upset if I waited too long to call. They were expecting this to happen, after all.
Chris gave me a toe curling kiss before leaving. I was walking on air on my way back to the dorm with Jenny. Tammy and Em shared an apartment nearby, so they caught a ride with Bobby.
"Hey, earth to Liz!" Jenny whispered, bumping into me with her shoulder. When I glanced over I saw that she wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked worried.
"What is it Jenny?" I asked.
She glanced around furtively before saying, "I think your stalker is back."
I looked around as well but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Where?" I asked.
She shrugged, "I don't know. I just have a funny feeling."
"It's probably just your imagination. Come on, I need to call my parents before I get started on my homework." I said, wrapping an arm around her waist to reassure her.
Jenny smiled weakly, "Yeah, you're probably right."
We made it back to our dorm without incident. I said goodnight to Jenny and went to my room. I didn't say anything to her, but I was getting a bad feeling too. But I shook it off as my imagination and called my parents.
Mom answered the phone, "Hello?"
"Hi Mom, how are you?" I said.
"Liz, is that you? You sound different." she said.
"Yeah, I went Wyld last night." I said, smiling as I thought about what it had given me.
"Really?! You sound good, does that mean...?" she asked, trailing off.
"Yep!" I chirped, "I'm all better now!"
"That's wonderful!" she enthused, then obviously not towards the phone, "Dave, get in here! Elizabeth is on the phone!"
A moment later Mom switched the phone over to speaker so she and Dad could hear me. "So, will we recognize you when we see you next?" Dad asked.
I glanced at the mirror, "Uh, maybe not. I've got more delicate features now with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. And wings."
I held my breath during the silence that followed, despite my certainty they would handle it well. Finally, Mom said, "But you're 100% female now, right?"
I laughed, "Yes, 100%. I was checked by a doctor and everything."
"Why were you seeing a doctor? Going Wyld doesn't usually involve a doctor." Dad said worriedly.
"I passed out when I went Wyld, but I'm fine. I woke a few hours later and the doctor gave me a clean bill of health." I said, hoping he didn't go on one of his worrying kicks.
"Well, if the doctor said you're alright. But if you feel off at all I want you to get back to that doctor immediately!" Dad said.
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Dad."
"And don't roll your eyes at your father." Mom added with laughter in her tone.
"Yes, Mother." I said, rolling my eyes again.
"So, how do you feel about the wings?" Dad asked hesitantly.
"I don't mind, really. They're awkward at times, but I already found out I can really fly! I'll need some practice before I want to try flying home or something like that, but I can fly!" I said, bubbling over. I was a little surprised at how happy I was about being able to fly. It's not like I'd ever given it much thought or anything.
"I'm glad you're so happy, dear. How about your friends? How are they handling it?" Mom said. She sounded a little teary. She'd consoled me more than once when the fact I could never have children was shoved in my face so she knew how important that was for me.
"They're great. Chris was apologetic at first because he thought he was responsible, though." I said, laughing a little at the memory.
"Why on Earth would he think he was responsible?" Mom asked.
"He calls me Angel a lot and, well, I look like an angel now! I think I've gotten him over his little guilt trip, though." I said.
Mom laughed, "Men can be so insecure sometimes!"
"Jess!" Dad whined.
"Oh, you know I'm kidding!" she replied, still laughing.
There was a pause while she composed herself before she asked, "What about your teachers? Are any of them giving you trouble?"
"Not really. I got stared at a lot in my first class and Mr. Greenwood kind of went ballistic when he found out I was in his class. He locked the door where the room is normally open, but he still opened it in time for class. All he did was glare at me after that." I said.
"Is he going to be a problem?" Dad asked worriedly.
"I don't think so. And I've got some friends in that class now." I said.
"Oh, new friends?" Mom asked with interest.
I laughed, "Yeah, it was because of Mr. Greenwood that we met, really. They came early like I did so they ended up sitting with me until Mr. Greenwood unlocked the door for class."
"Sounds like things are going well for my little angel." Mom said impishly. Dad groaned.
"Yeah, I thought it would be worse when I found out I had wings. But it's been pretty good so far." I said after rolling my eyes again.
"But...?" Mom said. Somehow she always picked up on it when I was holding something back.
"It's probably nothing." I said dismissively.
"Liz?" Dad asked.
I sighed, "Alright. I was walking with Em, one of my new friends that's an empath, and Chris when Em sensed someone following us. She said they were 'weird', which from her probably means unbalanced or something. She thought they were focused on one of us and I assumed it was me because of the wings."
"They? There's more than one stalker?!" Dad exclaimed, already jumping to the worst possible scenario as I knew he would.
"We don't know Dad. We never saw anybody, Em just sensed them. And Jenny and I thought we were being followed earlier, but that's probably just us being paranoid after what Em told us." I replied. I knew he'd freak out. I just hoped he didn't decide to come down and act as my bodyguard or something. He could get kind of overprotective that way.
"I want you to stay close to this empath friend whenever you can, along with your other friends." Mom said sternly. "Being an Angelic Wyld isn't as bad as some, but there are still plenty of people out there who would want to hurt you just because you're Wyld."
"Don't worry Mom, I'll be careful." I said.
"Maybe I should come down for a visit..." Dad started to say, before getting shushed by Mom.
"Following her around is just going to get you in trouble, dear." Mom told him. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, obviously talking to me now.
"Yeah, I am. I'm whole now, which is wonderful! The wings aren't that bad, really. And I have four new friends. Things are pretty good here." I said with a smile.
"And a boyfriend you love, right?" Mom added.
"Well, yeah." I admitted, blushing.
"Leave the poor girl alone, Jess." Dad chided. To me he said, "And you be careful, Angel, or I'll be coming down and acting as your shadow no matter what kind of trouble I might get in over it."
"Yes Dad." I said with a sigh, though I knew he meant every word. He wasn't the kind of Dad that cleaned his gun while the boy friend was visiting. He polished his Japanese sword collection instead. I think that was scarier for them.
"You probably have homework to get to, so we'll let you go now." Mom said. We said our 'I love you's and I hung up. As I knew they would, they took my going Wyld in stride like they did everything else. It's nice to have such cool parents. Even if they could be a little overprotective at times.
Concentrating on homework was a little easier after that, but I still worried about my stalker. Had he really been following Jenny and I earlier, or were we just being paranoid like I told Mom? I hoped it was the latter.
That was, unfortunately, part of the routine. Em sensed him almost everyday but none of us were ever able to spot him. Which was weird, especially after TJ went Wyld and got super fast reflexes. He would snap around whenever Em indicated she sensed him but even he couldn't spot the guy. And we knew it was a guy now, and only one. Em was able to narrow it down that much.
The guys always went out of there way to stay close to me. Especially Chris, but I didn't mind that! We were all getting a little on edge, though. After two weeks we still didn't know who this guy was or what he wanted.
On the plus side, even Mr. Greenwood had gotten used to me and there were far fewer dirty looks directed my way. Even some of the most hostile people seemed to calm down a lot after a while. It was weird, but I wasn't complaining.
Another bonus was flying. I practiced almost every day and after the first week I felt ready to try taking someone up with me. I gave Tammy the first shot because she's the smallest and lightest and I wasn't sure how much I could actually carry. That's when I realized I'm stronger than before because Tammy was light as a feather. Well, almost.
My wings had gotten stronger with all the practice and I was able to get off the ground pretty easily, even with Tammy. She screamed at first but settled down pretty quickly. And then she screamed because she was enjoying it.
The others all reacted pretty much the same way except Chris. As expected he held onto me really tightly for the first few minutes. But after a while he was able to relax enough to enjoy the view. Although, to be honest I think he was looking at me more than anything else.
We also discussed why Em said I 'felt good' and why people were reacting better around me than any of us thought they would. Em wasn't in on the discussion at first because she was at class but she cleared it up pretty fast when she did join us.
"You project good feelings. Didn't you know that?" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"So she overwhelms the negative people with positive feelings and they stop hating because of that?!" Jenny asked incredulously.
Em shrugged, "Something like that."
Bobby snorted, "Must be nice." Scott and Tammy looked at him like there was some special meaning in his words. Just one more thing that made me think there was some secret about Bobby they were keeping from us. Not that I held it against them; but I was curious.
"But, wait," Chris said, looking confused, "why isn't this stalker guy affected the same way?"
Em crinkled her nose, "He's weird."
Chris rolled his eyes, "Can't you give me a better answer than that?"
She kind of shrank back from him a bit so I sort of wrapped one of my wings part way around her. I'd noticed it seemed to make her feel safer when she was feeling overwhelmed. She smiled shyly at me and then turned back to Chris, "His emotions are crazy. They don't make sense."
Chris sighed and relaxed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I guess Liz' powers don't work on crazy."
"S'okay." Em murmured.
"I think this whole situation is getting to all of us." Tammy said. "We need to do something to relax."
"Like what?" Jenny asked.
"Dancing?" Tammy suggested. "There's a club near the college that's pretty cool with Wyld. What do you say?"
"I'm in!" Jenny said immediately. TJ and Scott nodded.
"Count me out." Bobby grunted.
"Aw, come on. It'll be fun!" Jenny exclaimed.
He just grunted again and walked off in a huff. "What did I say?" Jenny asked, bewildered.
"Don't worry about him." Scott said, "He's just not good with crowds."
"I'll skip, too." Em said, looking worried that we would be upset about it.
"I guess being an empath in a busy club would kind of suck." Jenny said thoughtfully. Em just nodded with obvious relief that we understood.
"Are you sure dancing is the best idea if it leaves Em and Bobby out?" I asked Tammy.
"Em likes to be alone sometimes. I don't think she'll mind, right?" she said, looking to Em.
Em shrugged, "Sure, I'll be fine. I wanted to get some reading done anyway."
"What about Bobby?" Chris asked.
"He gets like this sometimes. Even if we'd suggested something he would normally go for he'd probably react the same. It's just the way he is." Scott said, exchanging another one of those significant glances with Tammy.
"Well, I guess that settles it then. When shall we go?" Chris said.
Fortunately it was a Saturday so we could afford to be out late, since the club didn't even open until eight. Bobby let Scott take his van so we could all ride in it. That also meant I wouldn't have to fly home.
We had a little time, so Tammy, Jenny, Em and I went shopping. I didn't have anything to wear, after all!
The mall was a little overwhelming for Em, and me with all the attention I was getting, so we went somewhere a little quieter. My parents had sent me a little money for clothes and we spent most of it.
My wardrobe got a nice boost and I found a great short dress that I could wear without it bothering my wings. Em tried on a ton of stuff, too, but she only bought one skirt. Tammy and Jenny both picked up new dresses and shoes.
After that Jenny decided we needed to really go all out and got Tammy and Em to help with my hair. That was turning out to be the worst part about having wings; my hair got tangled up with my feathers all the time! It was so bad I ended up braiding my hair most of the time.
We ended up doing the works; hair, nails, makeup and everything. Em proved surprisingly adept with both hair and makeup considering she rarely did much with hers.
Finally, we were ready. And barely in time! The guys were already getting impatient waiting for us outside Tammy and Em's place (we had to get ready there since Em didn't have any transportation and the buses didn't go that late).
But all the work was worth it! Chris' jaw fell open when he saw. I'm pretty sure TJ and Scott were properly appreciative of Jenny and Tammy, but my eyes were on Chris. He always looks good but the guys had cleaned up for this trip, too, and he was looking better than ever.
"You really are an angel!" Chris breathed when he was finally able to speak.
"Chris!" I protested, slapping his arm. He winced; I'd forgotten my new strength again, "Sorry!"
He shrugged it off and kissed me. Em complained about him messing up my makeup but I didn't care. She insisted on fixing it anyway. She hadn't even bothered with any for Jenny since we all knew she and TJ would be lip locked the moment they saw each other.
Scott and Tammy looked awkward, though. They weren't really going out, though I suspected they both wanted to.
"Let's get this show on the road." Scott said, hurriedly turning to climb back in the van. Tammy sighed and got into the passengers seat while I crawled as far into the back as I could manage to leave room for the others. One of these days I was going to find a good way to ride in a car. Somehow.
It was a tight fit, but we all got in. Thankfully the drive was short.
The club was packed! It was like everybody had the same idea we had. Or maybe it was a regular thing for a lot of the other students. Either way I wasn't sure I'd even get in with my wings.
"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Scott asked Tammy, glancing meaningfully at me.
She shrugged, "We can try, at least."
After that it was too loud to hold a conversation as we entered the club and squeezed through the mass of people. I got a lot of dirty looks because of my wings, but I did manage to navigate the crowd.
I'd never really done the club thing before so it was all new to me. I was always shy about relationships before my surgery. I had some boyfriends but never for very long since I was scared of them finding out.
Chris seemed to know what he was doing, though, so I just followed his lead.
The night went by in a whirl. It seemed like only a moment before we were leaving. All of us were exhausted but smiling.
"We definitely need to do this more often!" Tammy said, smiling shyly at Scott.
"Uh, yeah, that would be good." he agreed awkwardly.
We were about halfway to the van when it happened.
One minute we were walking along arm in arm and the next I felt an arm go around my waist and yank me backwards. I looked down but couldn't see anything.
"Shit, he's invisible!" Chris yelled, running after me. The others were right on their heels, except for TJ. He was already beside me trying to get a hold of whoever was carrying me. But then he jerked back like he'd been hit and fell.
I was so stunned I didn't react at first. But seeing TJ fall got me moving. I struggled, clawed at the arm holding me and tried to move my wings but nothing seemed to faze him.
Soon we were around a corner of the building and out of sight of the others. Then I was slammed up against the wall, my wings painfully folded behind me. I finally got a look at my attacker then as he became visible. I didn't recognize him. Just an ordinary looking guy with brown hair and eyes. Thin, fairly tall. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Why are you fighting my love?" he asked, looking confused. "I know you love me. You show me everyday!"
"What?!" I screamed, hoping the others would hear me and find me quickly. "I don't even know you!"
"You make me feel your love everyday!" he growled.
And here I'd thought the wings would get me in trouble. Instead it's the 'happy aura' as Jenny likes to call it. "I don't have any control over that! Everybody feels it!" I said.
"Don't bother trying to talk sense into this one." Bobby said, suddenly appearing next to him. He grabbed the guy's arm that was holding me up against the wall and wrenched it aside, releasing me. I fell to my knees and looked up in surprise at Bobby.
"No, you won't keep her away from me!" the stalker screamed, aiming a fist at Bobby's head. Bobby's head was snapped to the side by the force of the blow. When he turned his face back towards the stalker his eyes had turned blood red and he had fangs barely showing in his mouth!
"SHE..." Bobby snarled, slamming the guy up against the wall, "IS..." another slam, "NOT..." he pulled him back and bared his fangs like he was about to bite him, "YOURS!!!"
"Bobby!" Scott yelled as he and the others rounded the corner. "Control yourself, man! You remember what happened last time!"
Bobby was just a centimeter or two from his neck and seemed to be struggling with himself.
"Bobby, remember your mother." Tammy said softly.
Bobby's head snapped around at that, staring angrily at Tammy. But that seemed to do the trick. He shook himself and his fangs retreated, along with the red in his eyes. He dropped the now-unconscious stalker and fell to his knees.
Chris took a look at the stalker and shook his head, "I think I recognize this guy. He's in one of my classes. Never talks to anybody that I know of."
Scott stepped next to Bobby and put his hand on his shoulder, "You okay man?" Bobby nodded weakly, looking uncertainly at me.
It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on at that point. I crawled over to him and wrapped my arms around him. He winced at first but then started crying in my arms when I said, "It's okay, I don't care if you're a Dark. You're still my friend and my hero."
We didn't get a chance to talk any after that. Apparently somebody else heard my screaming and the police were called. We told them what happened, minus the vampirism, and the stalker was hauled away with his hands handcuffed together but also to a Minotaur policeman so he wouldn't get away by going invisible.
Most of the night was spent explaining everything that happened. Scott told them Bobby came with us but didn't care for the crowds and hung around outside. We were all so exhausted by the time we were finally finished that we just went our separate ways and went to sleep.
Elizabeth gets everything she ever wanted out of going Wyld... with a few surprises thrown in. Nothing's ever simple when you're Wyld!
Once again I was awoken by a knocking on my door. I groaned, feeling all the aches and pains from the previous night's attack. Especially my wings. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fly for a while.
"Liz! Wake up!" Jenny yelled through the door without pausing from her pounding on it.
"I'm up!" I yelled back groggily.
Slowly and painfully I made my way to the door and opened it. Jenny came in followed by Tammy and Em.
"How are you feeling?" Em asked.
"Sore." I replied.
We all took a seat and an awkward silence fell. Finally Tammy spoke, "Jenny and I already talked about this, and I know what you said last night, but I wanted to make sure you're okay? With Bobby?"
"Of course! It's not his fault he's Dark. Besides, he saved me." I said.
Tammy relaxed a bit at that, "Em said you'd be fine but I worry about Bobby. He's had it rough since he went Wyld."
"I can imagine. Dark's aren't exactly popular." I said.
"That's not even the worst of it." Em said, earning a glare from Tammy. Em noticed and shrugged, "Bobby said we should tell her."
"No, he said we could tell her, if we wanted to." Tammy argued.
"But in Bobby-speak that's the same as asking us to tell her." Em replied.
"Yeah, I guess it kind of is." Tammy said thoughtfully.
"What are you two talking about?" Jenny asked.
"He bit his mother." Em said simply.
"What?!" Jenny and I exclaimed at the same time.
"Way to create confusion, Em." Tammy said, rolling her eyes. "What she means is that Bobby had a lot of trouble controlling himself at first and he lost control and bit his mother."
"Is she alright?" I asked.
"Yes and no." Tammy said. "She was so drained that she would have died. Bobby was desperate to save her life, so he turned her."
Jenny gasped, "Oh my god!"
Tammy nodded, "Yeah, it's a sore point for him. He feels really guilty about it. Especially since his dad, not wanting his wife to stay young while he grew old and died, asked Bobby to turn him, too."
"Did he?" I asked. Tammy nodded. "No wonder Em saying 'remember your mother' had such an effect on him. Is he going to be alright? About last night? It looked like he was pretty close to losing control there."
Tammy shrugged, "I think so? He's not real forthcoming with his feelings, as you've noticed. But the way you handled it last night was a big help. He's always worried people will freak when they find out he's Dark. He's never actually had to deal with it but, well, you know..."
I nodded, "Yeah, it's on the news often enough. Every time somebody discovers a Dark it's pretty much a forgone conclusion that they're going to get hunted down and killed or imprisoned for life. Things have gotten better for most Wyld here but not so much for Darks."
"Exactly." Tammy agreed. "He sees himself in every one of those news reports. Most of those people don't do anything wrong. Just being Dark is enough. It pisses me off but there's nothing Bobby can do but keep the true nature of his Wyld powers a secret. Fortunately he looks normal most of the time. But crowds make it really hard for him."
"Why was he there that night, then? If it makes it so much harder to control himself?" I asked.
"He was shadowing you. He was afraid your stalker would try something." Tammy said.
"Well, I'm sure glad he did. I'll have to remember to thank him properly now that I know the kind of risks he was taking for me." I said thoughtfully.
"So his parents are both vampires now?" Jenny asked.
Tammy nodded, "Yeah, though like him they don't actually need to drink blood. They do feel the thirst, though. And he gets stronger and faster when he drinks blood so they probably do, too."
"That must be so weird." I said. "I mean, they're too old to be Wyld, and yet they're vampires. And they'll be treated just like a Dark if anybody finds out. Can they turn other people, do you know?"
Tammy shrugged, "I guess? Other turned people can from what I've heard so I'd have to assume they could. Not that they would."
"We should go see him." Em said.
It took me a moment to realize what she was saying since we'd been talking about Bobby's parents. "Is something wrong?" I asked.
"He's pretty sure you're okay with him, but he didn't have a chance to gauge the reactions of Jenny, Chris or TJ. We should all get together so we can reassure him." Em replied.
"That's a good idea. I'll call the guys." Jenny said, bouncing out of the room with her cell phone already to her ear.
“I'll track down Scott and Bobby." Tammy said. She also pulled her cell phone out but headed out the door.
“Are you okay?" Em asked, moving to sit next to me with a strange expression.
I shrugged with a wince, “More or less. I'm sore all over but I don't think I broke anything."
“That must have been frightening." she said.
“Yeah, it was. I'm stronger than I was before but I couldn't match him. I was really impressed with how easily Bobby seemed to handle him. I was helpless." I said.
“I wonder if you can control your 'happy aura'?" Em mused as she leaned up against me.
“I don't know. I don't even feel it." I said. Turning towards her I started to ask, “Maybe you could help..." but I trailed off when I found she had turned to face me, toom and our faces were almost touching. There was something strange in her eyes and then she suddenly closed the gap and kissed me!
I was too stunned to react at first, then jerked backwards and fell off the couch. “What was that?!" I said, glaring up at her.
“Sorry, I'm sorry!" she whispered before dashing out of the room, nearly colliding with Jenny who was on her way back in.
“What was that about? And why are you sitting on the floor like that?" Jenny asked.
“Em kissed me!" I growled, pulling myself back up onto the couch.
Jenny's eyes widened, “Really?! Didn't see that coming."
“Neither did I." I agreed, wondering where it came from. Though once I started thinking about it it made sense. She said from the beginning that I 'felt good' and she hung around with me a lot even though we'd just met.
“Uh, the guys are coming over. Do you want to come down and meet them, or would you rather stay up here for a bit?" Jenny asked nervously.
I sighed, “I guess I'd better go down. I'd like to see Chris anyway."
Jenny helped me up and waited while I got dressed then we headed down. Chris and TJ were already waiting when we got there. After greeting each other we had just started to look around for Tammy and the others when I saw her walking angrily towards us with Scott and Bobby on her heels. Scott looked confused and Bobby just looked scared.
“What did you do to Em?!" Tammy demanded.
“Me?! I didn't do anything!" I protested.
“I just saw Em running away crying her eyes out! All I could get out of her was your name!" Tammy replied.
“She's the one that did something, not me!" I said.
Chris looked back and forth between us and asked, “What are we talking about here?"
“Em kissed her." Jenny explained.
“What?!" Chris and Tammy exclaimed simultaneously.
Chris turned to me with a questioning, hurt look. “Don't look at me like that, it wasn't my idea!" I said.
“Do you... like her, like that? I know the two of you got close very quickly..." Chris said fearfully.
“No, I don't like girls like that. Relax." I said, pulling him down for a kiss. The hurt look disappeared, much to my relief.
“Maybe we should find Em. Bobby?" Scott said, looking to his friend.
Bobby nodded, “Keep your cell phone handy." and took off. He ran so quickly I lost track of him almost immediately.
“Maybe we'd better move somewhere a bit more private." Scott said, motioning for the rest of us to follow him. I was only too happy to agree. I was still feeling pretty confused about the whole thing myself.
We ended up sitting in the grass where I'd first learned to fly. Scott got a call and told Bobby where we were. Once seated Chris put his arm around me and asked, “Are you okay?"
I nodded, “I guess. I'm just a little confused. Why would she do that?"
“Probably the same reason I do." Chris replied with a weak smirk.
I swatted his arm, “Not that. I mean, she knows I'm with you."
Tammy had calmed significantly, though she still seemed a bit peeved at me. “It's probably that damn aura of yours. Just like with that stalker."
“I'm not like him!" Em protested. We all turned in surprise at her voice. She was only a dozen feet away with Bobby holding her arm to keep her from running away; as she obviously wanted to.
“I know that Em. I just meant her aura confused you." Tammy said placatingly.
Bobby pushed her down next to Tammy before sitting on her other side without taking his hand off her arm.
Em looked down and muttered, “It's my fault."
“What do you mean?" Chris asked.
She sighed, “I knew Liz' aura made me feel good around her. I knew it was her powers."
“Yeah, so?" TJ prompted.
“I knew she loves Chris. But I..." she trailed off, staring at the grass.
“You what?" Bobby prompted softly.
“I wanted to believe she loved me." Em replied so softly I barely heard her.
“So, you like girls?" Scott said in surprise.
Em nodded without looking up at any of us, though she wasn't trying to get away from Bobby anymore.
Bobby let go of her arm and hugged her in a rare show of emotion. Tammy crawled over to join in and Bobby gratefully surrendered Em to her and backed away. Before the revelation he was a Vampire I would have been angry at him for it. But now I could see why he tended to keep his distance. The fact he hugged her in the first place was pretty impressive, actually.
When Tammy let go Em started to stand. “Where are you going?" Tammy asked her.
She glanced briefly at me before turning away and saying, “I should go, I'm making things weird."
I managed to grab onto her hand before she could get out of reach, "No, stay. You're still my friend, if you want to be?"
She looked down hopefully at me and then glanced at Chris worriedly. He smiled and pulled on her other hand, "It's cool, how could I be angry with somebody for falling for my beautiful angel?"
She still seemed reluctant, so Chris and I pulled her down for a hug. Next thing I knew she was balling her eyes out on my shoulder so I just held on until she calmed down. "You okay?" I asked when she stopped shaking.
She nodded into my shoulder, "I think so." She didn't move so I guessed she still needed some reassuring. Chris putting his hand on her shoulder seemed to help. Eventually she turned around to face everyone while still leaning against me.
I noticed Bobby, seeing that Em was a little more comfortable, seemed to be slowly backing away from us. "Don't worry Bobby, we're still friends, too." I said.
He looked startled to have the focus suddenly shift to him, and not very reassured. He really must have been distracted because he didn't even notice TJ moving up next to him until he'd put his hand on Bobby's shoulder, "It's cool, man. You're one of us."
Chris nodded agreement and Jenny ran up and hugged Bobby and TJ both.
"You feeling a little better now?" I asked, watching in amusement as he tried to pry Jenny off of him.
"Uh, I guess." he said as he finally got Jenny to let go of him. She giggled as she pulled TJ away.
"She doesn't just feel good; she is good!" Em said, hugging me again. "Sorry for making things awkward there."
I shrugged, "That's okay. I'm just glad all of you are willing to be seen with me now that I have these wings. A lot of people wouldn't."
"You never know what's going to happen when you go Wyld. It would be silly to stop associating with somebody because of something they can't even control." Scott said.
That got me thinking about my own secret. I thought about telling them all right then. That kind of thing always seems to get out eventually. But it wouldn't be fair to Chris to tell them all at once. Maybe I'd tell them after I told him. But for now I was just happy to be whole and have such good friends.