Sophie

Sophie was screaming. An airless scream. A scream that couldn't escape her lungs. She was falling. Falling from heaven. Cast out. Her eyes widened with fear, her wings useless in her descent. She felt the gravity of the Earth's pull.

Until everything went dark.

--

Sophie woke up, she slowly pushed herself from the floor, dirt all around her. Her wings luckily, not broken. The impact of her body had left a crater, the dirt had flung back. She blinked slowly, the daytime sun overhead, causing her to squint. She looked up, seeing a tree line surrounding the crater. Her eyes widened, she had done this. Fallen from heaven. Her mind was fog so she didn't remember why she was cast out. Why she was sent here.

She rose steadily to her feet, she stretched her beautiful white wings outwards to test if they were broken. She ached a bit from the impact. She swun her gaze upwards at the noises coming towards her. They were getting louder now, the sound of human voices, dogs barking. She panicked. Her mind a blur but she knew to avoid them. She didn't know why but she knew she had to run.

She encouraged her mind to run, to will her legs to move. She stumbled, clasping at the bank of dirt as she scurried up the side of the crater. Once she had reached the top, she stood, wobbly. She swayed, but a sense of urgency crept over her as she put one foot in front of the other. The panic rising in her throat. She didn't dare look back to the source of the many approaching sounds.

One foot in front of the other, faster and faster and she found herself running, weaving in and out between the trees, away from the noise. Yet she felt the danger, the fear willing her legs to run faster. Run. She told herself. She tucked her wings in tightly for there was no room to take off here and she didn't want to injure herself on the trees.

She kept going, the voices sounding out all around her now. She felt tears well in her eyes, a certain hopelessness began to creep up on her.

Her failure of succeeding to blend in with the humans and survive would be over before it she could even begin.

Fear kept her going, the fog clearing in her mind, leading way to ideas to escape.

Time seemed to slow as a net cast over her. She stumbled, her face hitting the floor first. Humans towering over her tiny frame, her wings still tucked in out of fear. She twisted her body to look at them, her captors.

"Gottacha" A man said, his blue eyes piercing her. He crouched down to inspect her. She felt like he was undressing her with his eyes, the wave of malice within them. Fear rised in her throat and the thought of what would happen next. "We got a pretty one boys" He said, his tone light with humour. Another man approached and whistled. "She's going to fetch us a good price".

The dogs came close, more humans too. She looked around, her eyes wide with fear. She gripped the net, pulling at it.

The two men then struggled with the net to reveal her to the rest of the group, their grip firm on her arms as they held her. "Whats your name?" The first man breathed in her face. She turned her head away not speaking. "Shy this one isn't she".

With a flare of anger, Sophie spread her wings and flapped downwards as hard as she could, she barely lifted the men off the ground as they all squealed with surprise. Their grip barely giving way to any sense of freedom.

"You're not going anywhere, pretty thing" As they pulled her back to earth. Another human came up behind her, once she'd landed and tucked her wings back in again for the fear of getting them injured, and place a contraption over them. She pushed as they pulled, her wings clipped. She screamed, tears lacing her cheeks now, as they mauled her. The grip suffocating her arms.

They overpowered her and bound her arms and legs. "Let's go, wrap it up" The men around her smiled, cars pulling up now, preparing to pick up the party and their dogs.

The men who still had her gripped between them hauled her over to a car and shoved her inside. "No more screaming otherwise we'll remove that pretty little tongue" One of them pushed at her face, forcing her into the rear seats of the pick up.

She felt the hum of the engine as the men moved with such an organised force, that they were already in the car driving her away from the scene. She lay there, the cool leather clutching at her tear stained cheek. Her body trembling and aching. She didn't know what was going to happen to her next.

The car screeched to a stop, Sophie heard commotion, she tried to lift her head to see, grunting as she did so, the driver and passenger in the front of the vehicle almost froze in fear, they armed themselves with shot guns. The sound of dogs whelping, as the barked at something moving amongst the vehicles. Sophie could hear the car doors open, the men struggling and grunting facing off whatever it was.

Sophie screamed for help, the passenger covering her mouth. She bit his hand. "You bitch" He aimed the butt of the gun towards her until the door of the car flung open and the men were hauled out by a strong arm. Disarmed easily and thrown to the ground.

She caught a glimpse of dark hair and strong features. The door opened, the light revealing her to the stranger, she groaned as she was slid off the leather seats, trying to get a better look at the stranger who had dragged her out of the car and with effortless ease, slung her over his shoulder. His words were unkind, a growl almost.

This didn't feel like anymore of a rescue than the humans capturing her and clipping her wings. She wanted to scream but his grip of her told her otherwise. She stayed quiet, trying to see where she was being taken. She didn't know what he was but she made a strategic guess based on his dark wings that gently cupped her cheek with each bounce of movement he made. Her dirt- ridden hair falling across her face so she couldn't see.

She smelt the scent of pine, as if they'd never left the forest. The boots of the stranger clacked upon a wooden deck, before a creak of a wooden door followed. The warmth hitting her from inside this strange place. Another door sounded, before the stranger stooped to lift her and place her on something soft. A bed. She got a better look at the stranger's face this time, his features strong and handsome. Her dirt ridden face, stained cheeks and messy hair made her feel inadequate in his presence. He cut the bindings off her, her wings ached even more now. She rubbed her wrists where the bonds were restraining her.

She looked up, her doe eyes studying him as he spoke, his voice both soft and authoritive. She watched him move out of the door into the other room, leaving the door wide for her to watch him. She watched him study his wings. He was injured. She frowned, she made to move off the bed, but stumbled, hitting the floor. Her legs were tired and aching from the running. She had never really had to use them before as she had flown everywhere in heaven. The gravity weighed down on her.

She felt vulernable in this position, her simple white dress covered in dirt.

Sophie felt the familiar strong hands brace around her body, lifting her up on the bed, laying her with her legs stretched out, careful of her wings.

Sophie looked up at the cup, demanding that she drank. So she drank. She was surprisingly thirsty as she gripped the cup in desperation. He spoke again, she nodded understanding what he was saying.

"Sophie" Her voice hoarse and dry, her voice quiet in answer to his question. She watches as he moved across the room, his hulking presence filling it, especially with those jet black wings.

She found it with herself to need, to want to speak. She looked down at herself as he demanded that she get up and get dressed. A thin layer of dirt covered her arms, her hair and her face, she slowly and gently swung her gaze around to look for somewhere to wash herself before dirtying another dress.

Her brown eyes found his, a twinkle in them appearing at his strange kindness to help drink and get dressed, yet she felt the needed to be clean. She eyed him, slowly parting her parched lips "I don't... I don't want to dirty your dress" She said the words sounding strange on her lips. Instead she swung her legs over the side of the bed, and huffed, trying to stand. Her gaze met his again.

"You're....A demon... are you?" She stuttered, the words feeling foreign in her mouth. Ignoring his pressing demand to undress. She felt her wings stretch a bit as she leant upwards to balance herself to stand. Her toes wriggling into the rug that spread beside the bed. She felt a weird tingling in his presence, liek her body repelled him, like any natural enemy should.

"Please...Please can I have a shower first?" She asked, fear cracked in her voice at her demand and whether he would fulfil it.

"I wish to clean myself before dressing" She said with a tad more confident, the syllables and vowels now rolling off her tongue with a bit more ease.