Turning his head again, Michael looked behind him. It was dark, and he was walking home from Max and Isabelle's house. Not normally a big deal, but something wasn't right tonight. A small, hooded shape flew from right behind him into the trees on his right, hitting one with a sickening crack and falling to the ground. Michael drew the knife he had recently started carrying on him and slowly approached it. Whatever it was, it wasn't moving.
He looked down. It appeared to be a dark brown burlap cloak. He was about to walk away when he noticed what appeared to be a foot peaking out from the bottom. He grasped what he guessed was the hood and pulled it back a bit. His extraordinary hazel eyes widened at the sight. It looked like a girl at first glance, but when he looked closer, he noticed that it was no ordinary girl. Her cheekbones were far too exaggerated, the tops of her ears had a slight point to them and her grass green irises didn't have a pupil. Only a tiny pinprick of white in the corners. Her lashes were incredibly long, and were heavy with the rain that had just started to fall. Her extremely pale skin had a slight green cast to it, as it the skin on top were just a covering to conceal the forest green skin underneath. Her slender neck was on display, and Michael saw the beginning of a swirling mass on the bottom. As he continued to pull the cloak down, he saw that the swirls continued down her body, from her neck, over one of her breasts and down one of her sides to end just underneath her hip bone.
.
The crazy thing about them though, was that they were moving. The swirls kept twisting and traveling under her skin, as if blown by an invisible wind. Michael finally noticed her clothes. Or rather, what was left of them. Large black gems and silver chains held together the remains of a shirt, which barely covered her chest. A low slung black belt was attached to a long green sash that fell down between her legs, and which pooled around her slender ankles. Her white blond hair was long and soft [Imagine Baby Doll in Sucker Punch, but without the pigtails] but streaked with a startling dark red. The blood that was coming from a head wound. And that wasn't the only wound. Small gashes up her arms, legs, and on her sides bled profusely.
Michael was freaking out. This girl…whatever she was…needed help. But if he helped her, wouldn't he just be inflicting more pain on his already endangered family. And besides, she looked like she was going to die anyways. That would just be a mess, right? As he got up to leave, her hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around his ankle. Her mind connected with his. He saw her in an ancient palace, with Japanese cherry blossoms everywhere. He saw her smiling, and holding a small boy who looked just like her. And then everything shifted. He saw huge monsters and vast armies attacking her house. He saw her jumping and slashing at the monsters with long swords. He saw her commanding elements, and doing things that he never could have imagined, and he was an alien. And then he saw the destruction. She had saved her home, but she was the only survivor. She had fainted, and was lying to die, when a beam of light fell from the sky onto her. She vanished moments later. The vision faded, and he realized that her hand had fallen away from his skin. He knew what he had to do. He had to take her to Liz. He bent down and threw the rest of the cloak off, and had to stop and stare. She, this girl, this thing, had wings.
Liz awoke with a start. There was a knocking at her window. She threw the blankets off and rushed to the window when she realized it was Michael. He hurried in; clutching something to him so tightly that it looked it would pain him to be separated. He laid it on the ground and turned around, causing her to gasp. His crisp white shirt was stained with blood; too dark red to belong to anyone even him. He motioned to the ground, aware that words were not necessary right now. Liz pulled the cloak back and stared. She hurried to get the first aid kit her mother always kept in the house; she was going to need it. It was going to be a long night.