Saved or Stolen?

Chapter 1

Trigger Warning: blood, violence

I looked up at angelic, winged figures surrounding a building, their glowing weapons creating explosions and waves of energy that were so powerful, I could feel them running through me. Next to me lay a mangled body riddled with holes and wounds. The only recognizable thing was the mane of blue hair flowing around a face that could only be described as heavenly, if it weren't two feet away from its body and covered in blood. Her wings too were mangled but the hollow frame of plumage and some feathers still were there. I crept closer and huddled next to the still lukewarm body and kept close to the wing of the last person that had ever cared for me.

I watched in terror from beneath the red-stained, once white, feathers as a egg-shell colored truck pulled up to the building and wingless men hopped out, covered in armor and in possession of horrible weapons that could only be Anti-Air. Two more men opened the back of the truck, and inside, was the most horrifying thing I had ever seen. People, humans, were in the back of that truck, with shackles around their ankles and necks. Their backs were bloody and the wings that they once had were replaced by scarred tatters, barely recognizable as the types of wings. The bars separating their cells cut into their wounds as they couldn't move any farther from the wall than an inch due to their chains. Most of them had assumed expressions that could only mean defeat.

The thing was, none had white angel wings. They had insect wings, and some had claws or fins, or other additions that could only make them stronger, but had pulled them down to the brink of insanity and death. Maybe they hadn't made it to our district yet. Well, until then. The section of the city in which only angel Humanoids were allowed, and we were only allowed in the limits of the Angelic District.

Two men left the truck not wearing armor nor bearing weapons, and began to search the ground, poking at bodies to see if they moved. If they did, the men would drag them into the truck and shackle them into the truck. Only one Angelic had been taken. As the men neared me, my breathing became heavier and my heartbeat faster. My pupils dilated and my eyes widened as one of the men spotted the mangled corpse that used to be my own mother.

"Oi, Al! This one is certainly dead!" He cackled as he kicked her dismembered body. A little more blood spilled onto my still whitish wings. I whimpered as the tattered wing of my mother's last time protecting me, even her death, was tossed away.

"Al! Get your ass over here! We have another live one!" The man sneering at me had a dark brown beard and eyes that were cold as ice. "This lil fucker thought he could hide from us!" He picked me up by the back of my shirt. My neck ached from the weight of my entire body, but as fear and anger took hold of me, my vision turned blood red. My entire body felt strange, as if it were under more pressure than it was used to. Fear gripped me, mingling with my grief and anger. My fingers elongated into claws, the hair that fell a little bit over my eyes darkened to a deeper purple than its usual color and I could feel some of it parting as something that was very solid pushed through my skin. My wings shuddered and glowed, but I couldn't see them change. After a few seconds of the glow, I shifted them. There was no longer the sound of feathers brushing softly against each other but scales and webbing rubbing together. They felt much lighter, as if there were less covering them. And for the first time, my extra appendages were cold. The cool air brushed past the now thin and angular instead of wide and graceful wings I used to possess. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a low, guttural growl. The man holding me dropped my collar and surprisingly, I landed on my feet, upright.

"Derek, there's something wrong with this one!" Al said, backing away his face awash with panic.

"You think I don't know that? But the Boss will be so happy if we catch him!" Derek cracked his knuckles and glared at me. I fanned out my wings, and flapped them. The came in front of my face and I could see red scales with black webbed skin between them and a hooked joint. The first thing that came to my mind was, I'm a demon! I went from an Angel to a Demon!

I lashed out with my claws, the air whistling from their speed. I hissed and realized that I possessed fangs along with my claws, horns and wings.

"Stay away from me!" I growled, my voice several octaves lower and two clashing tones at once. My eyes widened and I covered my mouth taken aback by the horrible sound that had come out of my mouth. While I was distracted, one of the men (Derek I think) grabbed me from behind and ran their finger down my back between my wings. I flinched and temporarily became immobile while they knocked me across the head with a heavy object that, looking back on it now, I realize it was probably one of the bones of my deceased mother.

I awoke to a blinding white surrounding me. I felt as if I were submerged in molasses because when I tried to move my arms, my movements were slow and sluggish. My eyes shot open all the way and I realized I was lying on a rather comfortable mattress clothed in unfamiliar textiles. My eyes drifted down to recognize long black cotton pants, red sneakers, and a white buttoned up long sleeve shirt. I sat up quickly when I remembered the wingless state and pain all the Humanoids were in, the ones in the truck, and hoping with all I had that I would be able to fly again. I twitched the familiar muscles and felt feathers and flesh beneath my white shirt. The lack of wing holes crushed my most valuable appendages.

"But... how?" I muttered, my voice once again a child's light tones.

"You're okay, kid," a voice next to me said in a soothing voice. "You're not going to lose your wings!" I turned to find a man sitting next to me in a dark suit with a red tie.

"Who are-" I began to say.

"I am Dr. Cornelius Talism, and you?" he smiled, and he seemed to really care about my wellbeing. But one can never be too careful with normal humans. They can always turn on you in a millisecond. Never, NEVER trust them.

"I'm D-Dae-" I paused, knowing that names held power. I considered giving a fake name, but decided against it. "Daedalus, my na-name is Daedalus," I muttered. This guy was really intimidating, even though his eyes smiled along with his mouth.

"Well, D-Dae-Daedalus, you, my little friend, have been saved from a horrible demise!" he said jovially, as if getting kidnaped after my mother was killed was being saved.

"How?" I asked cautiously. Dr. Talism face fell for a second, but he hitched his smile back up.

"As I recall, you were unconscious when we had obtained you. You had a nasty bump on your head, and a severe concussion. But do not fear! You're safe here! We fixed and cleaned you up!" He grinned.

"Right, I'll just get up now and go home now." I sat up, but Dr. Talism pushed me back down.

"No, my boy, you have to stay here. You cannot leave!" I saw a glint in his eyes that I really did not like.

"I'm seven! I can handle myself! Please just let me walk around?" I pleaded.

"Only this room, but if you try to escape, there will be serious consequences," Dr. Talism stood up and walked to the door. It slid open and promptly shut after Dr. Talism left. A red light clicked on above it and the door made a clicking noise.

I sucked in a breath and scanned the room for other exits, but to no avail. I plucked at the new--and slightly uncomfortable I might add--garment that they had replaced my t-shirt with. I pulled my wings closer to me, and lifted the bottom of my shirt, pulling until it came off completely. The cool air attacked my bare chest, while my white feathered wings shot out, and I stretched them to their full extent. As I made my way to the sealed door, I observed what else I was wearing. The unfamiliar white longsleeve shirt was crumpled on the ground, but that wasn't all they had changed concerning my clothing. They had exchanged my jeans for grey, almost black, linnen pants. My blue sneakers had been swapped for blood red running shoes. I made my way to a mirror near the door and stared at my reflection.

My hair had changed back from the strange dark lavender and back to its normal light lilac. My bare chest was lean, though I was very small. I switched my attention to my wings and flexed them.
"I have my feathers. Good." A slight pinkish tinge caught my attention. As I investigated further, memories of what that must have meant came crashing down on me.

"No, no nononononononononono!" I screamed, not sure if anyone could hear me. Tears erupted from my eyes and swiftly came cascading down my cheeks.