Before These Wings (Wings Book 1)

by Wendy Knight

  * * *

  THE SUN HADN’T EVEN completely risen yet when Cole heard movement. He rolled over, straining to see in the darkness. Phoenyx leaned against the wall, trying to balance and pull her shoes on at the same time. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice guttural and still deep from sleep.

  “I—I can’t sleep. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  He sat up, running a hand through his hair and yawning. “Where are you going?”

  “To check on my mom. I don’t trust her.”

  Of course she was. The first rays of light would come over the mountain soon, but apparently it was more fun to go running through the streets alone while it was still dark. He groaned, buried his face in his pillow for ten whole seconds and then pushed himself out of bed. “I’m coming with you.”

  “We can’t leave Enika alone,” Phoenyx whispered. “Especially while she’s sleeping.”

  “She’s not sleeping,” Enika mumbled. “She wishes she was, but she’s not. Let me grab my shoes.”

  Ten minutes later they were out the door and jogging through town. Phoenyx was agitated and even a brisk walk was too slow for her. Finally, she left them and sprinted ahead. Even after all this time, she was still a runner. Or maybe because of it. Escaping the Garce required speed.

  Either way, she left them behind, and by the time they came around the corner to Melina’s house, she was already inside, the front door swinging on its hinges. He’d barely made it up the front porch steps when she reappeared. “They’re gone.”

  Which she had already known, somehow.

  “Are you serious? But they promised.” Enika peered around Phoenyx’s shoulders, as if Melina and Cherish would pop out of the closet or something.

  Through tight lips, Phoenyx said, “That’s my mom for you.”

  “Maybe they just went for an early morning run, as we’ve done,” Cole said. He knew it wasn’t true, but one could dream. Yes, he’d wished a slow, painful death on them just the night before, but that had been anger talking. Losing them would hurt Phoenyx. More than anything, he wanted to protect her from pain.

  They scoured the streets, but there were no runners. No one was up yet, actually. Why would they be, when there were no jobs, no farms, no school to go to? No point to getting up at all.

  It was Akit they found instead. She waited in the shadows, watching the sun’s rays anxiously. “Are you coming with them, then?” she asked when Phoenyx jogged up to her, breathing hard.

  Phoenyx froze, and the defeat that flashed across her face nearly destroyed him. “They went with you?” she whispered.

  “Yes, of course. They went on the first pod just after the sun set last night. We held the last pod for you, but we must hurry. If the sun rises, we will not survive.” Akit looked again toward the mountains and her wings fluttered anxiously.

  Enika held her breath, watching with wide, frightened eyes as her fists clenched and unclenched.

  “I’m not going,” Phoenyx said flatly. “So go. Take your pod and my family and go before the sun kills you.” She whirled and sprinted in the opposite direction, back toward home.

  Akit watched her go, infinite sadness in her eyes. “You would have been beautiful as one of us,” she said softly.

  Cole frowned. Their whole obsession with Phoenyx creeped him out, but he didn’t have time to worry about that now. Enika was already gone, racing after Phoenyx. He backed away from Akit, uncomfortable turning his back on her.

  She scowled at him, blue eyes flashing red as she bared her teeth. He jumped away from her and shock at her instantaneous transformation sent adrenaline through his veins. Suddenly, she wasn’t so beautiful anymore.

  “Cole!” Enika bellowed, voice echoing through the silent streets. Akit hissed and rose into the sky, shooting through the twilight and out of sight.

  * * *

  THEY WAITED WEEKS. THE snow came, and with it bitter cold. They moved to a house with a fireplace and started stripping trees for firewood. It meant that they were in the middle of the neighborhood again, but it was nearly empty.

  The Pys seemed to have abandoned them. The fruit stopped growing, the vegetables died, and if not for Enika’s massive amount of food storage she’d amassed over the last few months, they would have been on the verge of starvation again.

  Phoenyx watched the skies obsessively, but no one ever returned. Rarely did they see the Pys, and they all knew it was only a matter of time before the Garce returned.

  “They’re going to the next city over.” Phoenyx came into the living room, bundled up already in a huge coat and boots. “I’m going to confront them.”

  Enika sighed and pushed herself to her feet. “They could have chosen a warmer night, but whatever.” She padded toward the hall closet, muttering.

  “You don’t have to go,” Phoenyx objected, but Enika waved a hand dismissively and dug her way out of sight. Whoever lived here before had a thing for coats, jackets, umbrellas, hats, scarves… it was borderline ridiculous. Cole went too, because there was no way Phoenyx was going alone in winter with all the rabid men out there, half-starved and woman-deprived. She was tough and she was fast, but there were too many places for someone to hide and wait for an ambush.

  “We’re going.” Enika emerged, bundled from head to toe. He could barely see her curls beneath the hat and scarf. “But let’s go fast before the next storm hits.”

  Cole pulled a hat down low over his ears and followed them out the door, buttoning up the borrowed coat as he went. The bitter cold attacked immediately, nipping at his exposed skin. Fall had been paradise. Winter? It was an icy hell. No cold, no warmth, no electricity.

  They jogged, slipping on black ice and barely keeping each other upright, through the abandoned neighborhood streets and out past the freeway. Cole would have killed for hot chocolate right about then, but the constant movement kept the frostbite away.

  Hopefully.

  To the east of the freeway was a long stretch of road and then they’d hit the next neighborhood. Phoenyx hesitated, eyes scanning the empty fields. Cole looked too, but there were no glowing red eyes. No blue metallic wings either, but he knew the Pys could hide if they wanted.

  “It’s okay,” Enika said, “Let’s go.”

  Still, Phoenyx and Cole both drew their weapons because it was stupid not to. They full out sprinted through the snow for as long as they could, Phoenyx leading them because she was freakishly fast and more surefooted than they were. At any second, he expected the Garce to spring from the shadows.

  None came.

  They made it to the first house in the next city, breathing hard. No attacks, no guttural growling, nothing. Maybe the Pys really had killed the Garce off. Now if they’d just give back all the women they’d taken, Earth could get on with its life.

  Their breath was frozen white puffs hanging in the air, and despite their layers, they started shivering immediately. “Let’s find their stupid meeting and go home,” Phoenyx said through chattering teeth. Cole had no idea how cold it was, but he’d guess below zero. He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded.

  It wasn’t hard to find the Pys when they wanted to be found. In the night sky, their glowing blue and black wings lit up like a beacon, and they followed it until they found the gathering. There were significantly fewer people here than had been at their own neighborhood, and very few women, leading Cole to believe the Pys had already collected many of them for their program.

  He stopped at the fringes. These were different Pys, but he could see Akit in the background. She watched Phoenyx immediately and didn’t let her out of her sights.

  It was damn creepy.

  Phoenyx didn’t seem to notice, or if she did, she didn’t care. “Where are they?” she yelled, shoving her way through the crowd.

  “Oh. So we’re just jumping right in then,” Enika said under her breath. “Okay.”

  The Pys stopped talking and stared at her, disgust curling their lips, but Phoenyx spoke again before they had a ch
ance to respond.

  “You took my mother and my sister weeks ago. You took many others from our neighborhood before that. No one has returned. We haven’t heard from them, we haven’t had any sign that they’re even alive. Where are they?” Her voice dropped dangerously.

  She whirled on the crowd, flinging her hand toward the Pys. “They keep taking and taking, but they haven’t brought anyone back. In our neighborhood, they abandoned us. No more food, no more warmth. They took all the women there and then left us to die without bringing them back. Are you really going to sign up for that?”

  “We didn’t take anyone,” one of the Pys said, her voice soothing even against Cole’s will. “They volunteered.”

  “They volunteered under the impression that you would bring them back. It’s been months. Months since the first ones left, and they haven’t returned.”

  The Pys hissed, eyes red. Behind Cole, the safety of a gun clicked off. He turned, hand already on his own weapon, but the gun wasn’t trained on him. It was on the Pys.

  Keven was holding it.

  Because of course he was.

  So was his entire family.

  Akit moved forward, lightning fast. “We will return them. They’re healing now. The first wave will return soon. Please, until then, no fighting. We didn’t realize your home was suffering. We’ll take care of you.” She spread her arms. “We’ll take care of all of you.”

  Keven didn’t lower the gun, but he nodded toward the fruit trees that were miraculously still growing despite the cold. “You should eat while you can.”

  Phoenyx ignored Akit. To everyone gathered, she said, “Please. Don’t do this until there’s proof that you’ll make it back alive. Just—just think. Before the invasion, we wouldn’t even buy hot dogs without reading all the reviews online. We wouldn’t go to a dentist without getting recommendations from friends. And now you’re willing to—to change your very DNA and risk who knows what without talking to anyone who’s done it?”

  There was murmuring. She was reaching them.

  It was common sense. He didn’t understand why she needed to say it at all. Maybe after struggling so long to survive, losing so much, people were grasping at anything that promised a better future, even if it was becoming alien to everything you’d known.

  Or maybe the beauty of the Pys was everything they’d ever wanted. He didn’t know. Didn’t understand it.

  To the Pys, she said in barely a whisper, “Please. Please, bring them back.”

  His heart broke.

  Arguing broke out. The Pys watched silently, horror and confusion written on their beautiful faces. Had no one ever questioned them before? Never fought for answers?

  Phoenyx had joined in the arguments, and he remembered a time that just giving a report in the front of class had terrified her. Now, she spoke passionately, even begging, with no fear. “Please, just give it time. Wait to see what happens. Don’t sign up without proof that it will be okay.”

  People left, shaking their heads. His little Phoenyx had gotten through to them when she hadn’t even been able to reach her own mother. It was the fear in her voice, probably. And the anger. Maybe this neighborhood was just smarter.

  “Come on,” Keven said. “It’s warm at our house.”

  Chapter 8

  THEY STAYED UNTIL MORNING, WHEN THE Pys wouldn’t be out. Keven’s family was huge, and it was mind-boggling that they had all survived. Where everyone else still alive looked out for themselves, they shared breakfast and warmth with Phoenyx, Cole, and Enika and even told them they could stay if they needed to.

  It was tempting. But Phoenyx had sat at the window all night, and she’d seen the Pys. They were angry, and they were watching her. If she stayed here, she made this whole family a target for that anger.

  The fact that they were so furious solidified in Phoenyx’s mind that something very dark was going on. If they just wanted to help these humans, they wouldn’t be so pissed off when she questioned them. No, they were mad because she’d taken something from them.

  She just didn’t quite understand what.

  They thanked Keven’s family profusely and started their race home, bundled with bags of fruit and vegetables. It wasn’t as cold as the night before, but the sun was weak through the clouds and didn’t offer much warmth.

  They made it halfway to the interstate, in the lonely stretch of what had once been farmland, when Phoenyx heard the growl. “Run!” she screamed, grabbing Enika’s hand. Cole jerked his gun out of its holster and spun, firing off round after round while Phoenyx and Enika escaped.

  The bullets wouldn’t stop the Garce though. It was probably akin to a bee sting — it hurt and deterred them, but if they were hungry enough, they didn’t care.

  She heard the click of an empty chamber and whirled around, pulling out her own weapon as Cole sprinted toward them, trying to reload while he ran. The Garce shook its awful head, inky black blood splattering the white snow, and started after him.

  Phoenyx fired until Cole caught up, keeping the Garce at bay. They raced forward, trying to fire off shots over their shoulder when it started after them. “Just make it to the trees,” Phoenyx panted.

  Enika raced ahead, grabbing huge rocks as she could find them and throwing them with the skill of a seasoned baseball player. Cole and Phoenyx took turns running and firing, each escaping while the other attacked. As long as there was only one Garce, they would make it.

  But there was never just one Garce. They were pack aliens. Phoenyx knew this and knew the other one had to be coming.

  Just get to the trees. Get to the trees.

  She was running out of ammo.

  She ran harder, the trees in sight. Only a hundred yards or so. Enika was almost there, she would be there if she’d stop throwing rocks—

  At the other Garce. Enika had found it before they did. Phoenyx would have screamed, but she had no breath and screaming wouldn’t save anyone. Maybe if she was a banshee, but she had no magical powers. She could run, and that was all.

  So she ran.

  She sprinted with everything she had, watched Enika make it to the trees and scramble up the branches like a monkey, watched Cole fighting off the Garce with every step, even watched as if from a distance as she kept shooting, kept reloading.

  And she ran.

  The Garce were close, but the bullets distracted them. They snapped at snarled at each other like lions fighting over a piece of meat, and in that much time, she made it to the trees. Cole grabbed her and flung her up into the branches before swinging himself up after her. They went higher and higher, up to where the wood was dangerously thin, and settled next to Enika, breathing hard, shaking with effort.

  They were safe, but stuck in a tree.

  Below them, the Garce snarled and sprang on back legs, sucking the light from everything around them until the snow was grey and the air a shadowy black. They couldn’t reach and weren’t smart enough to climb.

  Hopefully.

  “Are you guys okay?” Phoenyx asked breathlessly.

  Enika nodded. “Rocks don’t really work against Garce, by the way.”

  Cole nodded. “I’m fine. You?”

  Phoenyx was scratched and bruised but still alive. That was all that mattered. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

  They watched the Garce silently for several long seconds. The aliens were rabid below them, desperation fueling their frenzy.

  “Well… Now what?” Cole checked his belt. “I don’t have enough ammo to get us home.”

  “I’m out.” Phoenyx held up her useless weapon. “I guess we wait until they get tired and go back to their home.” Wherever home was. She wasn’t even sure they had homes. Or a ship. They had just fallen from the sky — just appeared one day. She’d never seen a ship, and in all her running and trying to survive, she’d never run across a nest or a burrow or whatever it was Garce lived in. Maybe they just roamed around killing stuff.

  That was a happy thought.

  No one asked what th
ey were undoubtedly all thinking. What if the Garce don’t get tired and go home?

  They spent hours clinging to their branches. It got colder as the sun started to set, and Phoenyx’s hands stiffened against the chill. Still, the Garce attacked. They didn’t tire, and the tree, though thick-trunked, wouldn’t hold up under their onslaught forever.

  They were going to die in this tree.

  The last rays fell to the west and with it, any source of heat. Phoenyx shivered so hard it was difficult to cling to her branch and Cole and Enika weren’t any better off. When she saw the metallic blue wings streaking through the air, she thought she was dreaming, a hallucination brought on by fear and a frozen brain.

  But no, the Pys really were flying into the rescue, moving so fast the Garce didn’t see them coming. Phoenyx almost cried, except the tears would have frozen to her face.

  “Look. Our little loud mouth is stuck in a tree.” Aylin buzzed around them like a hummingbird. The Garce fell back onto four feet, watching suspiciously. They didn’t run — a testament to how hungry they must have been.

  “I’m hungry…” Akit said, tipping her head to the side so her dark blue hair tumbled across her shoulder, shimmering in the moonlight. “But I’d rather starve than help you.” Her metallic eyes narrowed dangerously. “Good luck surviving this.”

  And they were gone, flashing off into the night and dissolving in the shadows beyond. They’d left them there to die.

  Enika growled under her breath, and Cole swore, but Phoenyx just watched them go. These creatures that were supposed to save them weren’t so nice after all.

  Big surprise.

  She tipped her branch so she was closer to Enika’s and pulled Cole near too, trying to share warmth. They huddled that way for hours, and her eyes grew heavy, her body exhausted, her soul too tired to keep fighting. Enika and Cole kept up a constant conversation, trying to keep themselves awake, or from giving up, or Phoenyx didn’t know what, but she couldn’t find words that would keep the darkness at bay. And she was so cold. I’ll just… rest my eyes.