I could have never guessed what happened next. Walking home that day was scarier than usual. It felt like there was someone watching me. I knew they were following me, because every time I turned around, there would be something in the distance. It looked like a small group of people.
The group was getting closer each time I looked back at them. I rounded a corner and decided to wait for them to catch up. When they did, they were surprised to see me standing there. The look of surprise changed to fear as fire began to surround them.
When the smoke lifted, they were completely unaffected. There were scorch marks on the ground around them in a semicircle. This is when I finally got a good look at them. They had backpacks on, were my age, and went to the same school as I did. Then I noticed more things about them.
There were three girls and two guys in the group. They were all about the same height as me. The guys looked like the protective type. The kind that would put themselves in between trouble and the girls. The girls didn't look like they wanted to be protected, but accepted it anyway.
"How are you still alive?," I asked, perplexed.
"A protective barrier," the leader said.
"How?," I probed further.
"We're like you. We're not fully human," he responded.
"You saw that?"
"Everyone did."
"Who are you guys?"
"My name is Will. The skinny dude next to me is John, the beauty behind me is Jenna, next to John is Emily, and behind you is Hannah."
I quickly turn and find a familiar face smiling back at me.
"It's been a really long time, hasn't it?," I ask.
"It has," Hannah said.
"You two know each other?," Will asks, surprised.
"We went to school together," Hannah says.
"We were best friends," I add.
"Hug?," she asked.
I gave her the biggest hug I could. She was a little shorter than me, so she came off the ground a bit. I set her back down gently after a second. I was leaning down, so she took advantage of it and ruffled my hair. I let her do it because we hadn't seen each other in years.
"I missed you," she said.
"I missed you, too," I responded.
I then turned back to everyone, and said,"Ok. Now that I know who you are, it's time to tell me what you are."
Will grew wolf ears and a big, fluffy tail with grey fur. John grew brown and white feathered bird wings. Jenna and Emily grew bright, white wings, and a halo formed around their heads. Hannah grew a long, sleek, black tail, and cute, black cat ears.
I closed my eyes and tried to make my wings and horns come out, but nothing happened. I must have looked really stupid, because Jenna and Emily started to giggle.
"You haven't learned to control it yet?," Will asked.
"I'm only just learning about this," I said as I opened my eyes. I hadn't realized it would be so hard to summon my wings.
"Really!," they said in unison.
"Then we're gonna have to teach you," Will said.