Landed Wings

chapter 6: PASSWORD



ASHLYNN

The first trick is to get out my house. My mother is serious about security, I think our house alarm is designed to keep me in, rather than keep other people out. I’m seventeen years old and my mother has never given me the alarm code – unbelievable. That’s not a big problem though, she made the mistake of giving the code to my father. He’s easy. He can’t remember anything so he writes down everything in a folder he labeled - get this, “Passwords”. In the folder, everything is in alphabetical order so, you guessed it, “Alarm Password” is right at the top, nice and convenient for me. Disabling the alarm was the easy part but then I have a decision to make. Do I set the alarm when I leave so if they wake up in the middle of the night they won’t notice it’s off or do I just take my chances? The door does the little beep-beep sound when it opens but I already disabled that sensor so it’s fine. I’ve decided, I’m just going to take my chances. I’ll be back before they wake up and if they notice the alarm’s off, I’ll just blame it on my dad. He can’t remember anything anyway. Pleased with my plan, I made my way to the house alarm around two in the morning. I punch in the code, “PEACE”, smile and wait for the alarm to disable. What I see instead is a message across the screen saying, “Incorrect Passcode. Please try again.” My smile is replaced with a serious frown and fast beating heart. My mother must have changed the password. Not good. Hoping she gave the new password to my dad, I sneak into their office to check his password file. Nothing. PEACE is the last password on his list. Okay, think, think, think. Where am I going to find the new password? Maybe the list of old passwords will help, let’s see. Before PEACE, it was WAR, before that it was DAY and before that NIGHT. None of that is helpful, if she’s going for opposites, if I know today’s password, I would probably be able to guess the next password, but right now, I don’t have a clue. I won’t just give up, there’s got to be a way to figure this out…Looking down my dad’s file of passwords, I see what I need – the password to her computer. I bet she keeps a file of passwords so she doesn’t forget. Turning to the computer, I log on and BINGO, there’s her Passwords folder. Being the precise person that she is, my mother noted the password change as well as the date and time she made the change. Good for her, great for me. I punched in CHAOS (what kind of password is that?) and watched those beautiful words, “Alarm Deactivated” roll across the panel. Satisfied, I walk out closing the door softly behind me.

I left at three in the morning, flew around a bit, singing softly to myself. No one comes out this time of night. They all obey curfew. Sky Patrol doesn’t bother checking anymore because no one breaks the rules. So I have the sky to myself. I think about what I will do, or say. How am I going to see that boy again? What if I get caught by other LandBound? I don’t even know if they have a curfew. I figure the worst case scenario is getting caught and losing my wings. I dip a little in the air at the thought. That’s a pretty bad consequence. Best case scenario, I meet the boy, learn what I need to know, and leave. Nice and Easy. I wish I really believed that would happen. I have this feeling in my stomach, the same feeling I had when I was caught in that updraft with my father all those years ago. Cold, raw fear, as if I am flying into more than I can handle. I will do it anyway of course. I swoop down into the same field I found the first time and land gently. I quickly fold my wings against my back and crouch down low, looking around – watching and listening for any sign of life. No coat this time, I need to be able to fly away quickly if necessary. I make my way back through the path into town but don’t see anyone around. Of course that doesn’t mean they aren’t here-I can feel this strange tingle on the back of my neck…It feels like someone is watching me from afar. I stay low crawling, crouching and walking around. Five minutes later, there are still no signs of life so I figure it’s okay to stand up. The tingle is growing to an itch. The town looks different at night, not as dusty or run down but really quiet with spooky shadows everywhere. This is turning out to be a waste of time. I am getting nowhere walking around. I don’t see the boy, or anyone else for that matter. I wonder if I pluck off a few of my feathers and drop them on the ground, if anyone would come. Nay that hurt and it isn’t worth the risk of Sky Patrol tracing the feathers back to me anyway. That one feather I left behind last time was already a liability. I’m starting to get tired. I’m thinking about just going home and trying next time. This trip has been pointless. What…?! I’m pinned against the wall before I can even think about screaming. My mouth is covered by a rough hand, calloused and big. I struggle to break free, thrashing my wings back and forth. The itch is unbearable now. I can’t see who it is, because my back is to my attacker. I know whoever it is, they are taller than me, and obviously male.

“Princess, I suggest you stop struggling or they’ll be hell to pay later. Just go with it.”

I stop, but only because I am shocked. I had thought this boy rude, but not murderous. I don’t like to admit it, but I am a little scared. Okay, maybe more than a little scared. This was obviously a bad idea. At least the itch is gone. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m pinned to a wall. I haven’t forgotten the look of hatred in this boy’s eyes. He lets go of my mouth. I draw in a breath to scream, I don’t even care about Sky Patrol. Before I can scream, he turns me around and puts his mouth on mine. I stop breathing. I can’t move.

“Hey! Mocha! What are you doing out so late at night – oh.”

Whoever it was obviously sees Mocha’s mouth on mine and it makes him chuckle.

“Well I’ll just leave you to it then.”

Mocha breaks away and grins at whoever it is.

“You won’t tell anyone will you, Hazel?”

What a pretty name for such a crude man. Even in my

precarious situation, I can’t help but wonder how the LandBound are named. Are their names based on the color their wings would have been if they were SkyBound? I have so many questions and I don’t know that I’ll ever have a chance to ask them.

“Wouldn’t dream of it Mocha. You need your pleasure where you can get it.”

As he walks away chuckling, I wrench myself away from Mocha. I want out of this disgusting place. I’m not curious anymore.

“Don’t ever touch me again.”

He doesn’t smile or say anything, he just stares at me.

“Why?”

He stops, takes a deep breath and continues on with rage etched in the hard planes of his face.

“Why would you come back here? Were you not listening the last time Princess? I wasn’t lying to you. If he had seen you, all alone, walking by yourself with your wings on your back for the world to see, do you think he would have been nice? Hazel is a pig who hates all SkyBound, and your foolishness almost got us both in trouble – you’re lucky he’s almost blind.”

“Why do you care what happens to me?”

I didn’t think his expression could get any darker but I was wrong.

“Who says I care about you? I only care about me. Obviously you’re here to cause problems. I don’t need problems in my life. Now go back up to the sky where you belong and don’t come back down here.”

“I’m not leaving until you tell me why there were no scars on that little girl’s back. Who are her parents? Was she born LandBound? How is that possible? And why…”

I stop and stare harder, looking for what I already know will be there. On his back…. I could see his wings peeking through. I look at the ground and there I see a caramel colored feather, clearly not mine. I look up at him.

“Why do you have wings? Obviously you’re SkyBound so why are you down here and not up there? If they find you, they’re going to clip your wings.”

He looks shocked and looks down at a feather – his feather. Finally, I think he gets why I’m back.

“If you tell anyone…anyone Princess, I swear on my mother’s grave that I will see you dead.”

I pull back in shock at his harsh words.

“You’ve wasted your time coming back here. I won’t tell you what you want to know.”

He pauses and smiles, a pained ironic smile.

“If you really want to know…ask your mother.”

After that statement, he just walks away. Within seconds he’s just gone and I’m all alone. Shocked, all I can do is stare. Then the questions seem to flood my brain all at once – why would my mother have any idea about the LandBound? If he knows who my mother is then he knows who I am – how would he know that? Something is not right. I need to talk to my mother. I pick up the feather, open my wings for flight, simultaneously dreading and welcoming the answers to my questions. I’ve been flying blind and I need to know why.

MOCHA

I know what I have to do. It’s not easy. But it’s necessary. Damn Ginger. As Ashlynn flies away, I send thoughts her way. Come back…come back…come back…

She doesn’t know it, but soon she will feel compelled to come back here again. That feeling will override her logic; cause her to come even if it makes sense to stay away. This is what I can do. It’s just one of the unintended consequences of the experiments. I don’t do it often because I understand morally, it’s wrong. But I also understand that I have to do it. Because, unlike Princess Ashlynn, I understand some things are bigger than what I want to do. I make the call to the only living person I trust with my life. The phone rings, and on the fifth ring, as always, she picks up.

“Ginger?”

“Mocha… I’m listening.”

“She’s receptive even in long distances. She came today. The instructions were well planted.”

“Will she come again?”

“Yes…very soon.”

“Perfect. Mocha, I have to ask you to do something I’ve never asked you to do before. You’re not going to like it but I’m going to need you to trust me. Do you trust me, Mocha?”

“With my life.”

“Good. I know I can count on you. I need you to plant the suggestion in her mind that she is falling in love with you. She will be easier to manipulate if she’s emotionally attached to our cause…to you. I need you to act like you have the same feelings for her.”

“Ginger, I don’t even know if I can do that and even so…that’s cruel. I’m a soldier, not an actor. I don’t even know how to act like I have feelings for anyone – they took that from me when they took my mother.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for it. I only ask you because I know more than anyone what they took from you – the price you’ve paid all these years for mistakes you didn’t make. I can’t bring your mother back but I can make sure we strike at those responsible. The only way to win this war is to fight to win. We all do things in this war we don’t want to do but that must be done. When our young Ms. Ashlynn flew down in search of a LandBound adventure, she set a series of events in motion that let our enemies know we are alive and active. They don’t know who you are, but they now know the other participant in their experiment lives. They know, as we have always suspected, that Ashlynn would eventually come here looking for what’s missing – looking for you. We’ve all made sacrifices because we know if we don’t, living kind may not survive. Today, it’s your turn, I’m asking you for your sacrifice.”

“What if she can feel me? She can push too, she just doesn’t know it.”

“You have more experience. Be subtle. It has to seem

natural – like it’s her idea. Next time she comes, don’t drop your hard guy act, but soften to her. I’m sure you understand.”

I can’t help but hesitate. This isn’t what I signed up for. Do I really want to pretend to love someone who will only think they love me because I put that thought in their mind? No. I don’t. But it’s necessary. Ashlynn is nothing like I imagined, she’s naïve, clueless, and pampered, flying around in a world she doesn’t know anything about. I guess it doesn’t really matter what she understands, I’ve been fighting for a long time and if she can help me end this then I’m going to do what I have to. I don’t know how well she can hear me from so far, but I send her the thought anyway…with an add-on. Come back…come back…come back…love me…love me…