Welcome to Strangely

She sits in a small, dusky room, swirling her finger in intricate patterns through the dust on the floor to her side. Her one ankle is shackled to a metal chain. Where the metal ring rubs against her ankle it leaves grey smears of dirt. 

“Abby?”

She looks up from the dirty floor, in the voice's direction. 

The woman is small and petite, the brilliant white wings on her back looks too heavy for her to carry on such a small frame. She smiles a hesitant smile. “I thought I'd stop by and see how you’re doing.”

Abby says nothing as she stares up at the woman.

“I apologise for having to keep you imprisoned, but soon you will learn all you need to know and why it was necessary for us to keep you here.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Abby mumbles.

“I want to give you something very important.” The woman pulls a wrapped parcel from behind her back.

“You keep me prisoner, and now you want to give me a gift? Get away from me, you creep.” Abby snarls.

The woman takes a step or two closer and places the haphazardly wrapped parcel next to Abby on the ground.

Sarcastically, Abby sneers, “Gee, you shouldn’t have gone through all that trouble.”

“Open it,” the woman insists.

“Tell me who you are first,” Abby says in a determined voice.

“If you open the gift, I will explain why you are here.”

Abby rolls her eyes. “If you explain why I’m here, I’ll open the package.”

“Your co-operation ensures the safety of your friends.”

Quickly, Abby sits up straight, her dirty wings cushioning her back from the cold, stone wall. “Which friends?” She asks.

“Emily, Jenny and Zara.”

Abby kicks her unshackled leg in the air, in the woman's direction. “You better not have hurt them! I swear...”

“No need for that kind of language, young lady.”

“Gah! Don’t young lady me!”

The woman says, in the same calm tone of voice as when she spoke first, “Please open your gift, Abby.”

“No,” Abby sulks.

“You should take the gift. For protection.”

“Unshackle me first,” Abby demands.

The woman sighs a long, loud sound before she calls, “Sebastian. In here, please.”

A tall boy of about eighteen years walks into the room, peering around the door first before he pushes it open fully.

From where Abby sits in the corner opposite the door, and although the light in the room is minimal, she can see the amazing blue colour of his eyes. They are practically glowing in the dark.

The tip of his black wing snags on the door, and he turns a little to the side as he walks into the room.

“You called,” he says to the woman.

“Remove her restraints,” the woman says.

He lifts his eyebrows in a questioning gesture. “You sure? Is she ready?”

“She won’t co-operate unless we do.”

He crosses the room to Abby, and kneeling beside her, he unlocks the shackles, and they make a loud racket as they land on the cold concrete floor.

Quickly Abby pulls her leg up to her waist and rubs her sore bones.

The woman asks, “So will you open your gift now?”

“Where am I?” Abby asks Sebastian.

Sebastian glances over his shoulder quickly and then turns back to Abby. “You’re in the OtherWorld.”

Scared, Abby pushes herself back against the wall. The heels of her feet slip on the grey concrete floor. “The OtherWorld is full of demons. Are you… Demons?”

Sebastian chuckles softly. “No, we're not the demons.”

“Then who are you?”

“We are the banished and abandoned.”

Abby pushes herself up against the wall. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said.” He turns sideways and introduces the woman. “This is Gorgon, and she is banished. The rest of us are abandoned.”

“You must be evil though, aren’t you? Your wings are black.”

He smirks. “And you’ll need to wash, your wings are almost as black as mine.”

“Are you saying you’re just dirty?”

Sebastian laughs. “There’s a bathroom down the hall. Clean up and then I’ll take you topside.”

Confused, Abby looks from him to the woman. “What do you mean, topside?”

“You know, like top and side. On top.”

“On top of what?”

Gorgon steps closer. “The OtherWorld is the upside-down of the top. If it is easier for you to understand, you can think of it as another dimension, not running parallel with the world, but more the negative reflection of the world.”

It sounds confusing, and Abby did not want to feel confused. She decides she should be defensive; she should be the one asking the questions, not them. “I’ve heard of you,” Abby tells Gorgon. “You used to be a Changeless, you made the prophesy.”

Gorgon nods her head. “That’s a story for another time. Get cleaned up and then go with Sebastian so he can show you around. Once you understand where you are, you will be more than willing to accept my gift.”