© Jojo B 2018

All rights including those in copyright in the content of this story are owned by Jojo B. It's Illegal to steal and/or copy.

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Flaws and Feathers

Chapter 1

Rotting twigs and dead leaves crunched under our footsteps. The earth was damp, the soil itself saturated with moisture. It was almost like a sponge, that cushioned each step we took. The army of trees surrounding us, stretched upwards, as if trying to caress the clouds with their barren branches.

Our family owned several acres of land, as well as a fairly decent sized house and a cabin near the lake. In summer it was quite nice to go out for walks under the green canopy, but right now, England was showing just how miserable the weather could be.

"No, no, no, please don't rain," I looked up at the sky and begged, once I felt the cold droplet splash against my cheek.

"The clouds can't hear you, Vienna," my sister Gwen murmured as she quickened her pace. "I guess this serves us right for not bringing raincoats."

She was right. The two of us had thought the rain might let up on the short trip from the house to the cabin. It usually took exactly seven minutes, through the woods, but clearly anything could happen in that time.

"No!" I cried when the heavens broke loose, and I took off running down the dirt path towards the cabin, chin tucked to my chest and shoulders hunched, as I tried to conserve body heat.

Gwen ran just a few steps behind me, our heavy Dr Marten boots treading in the muddy earth. The rain began to soak through my thick jumper, and my hair was sodden in just moments. My eyes were narrowed to the point where I could barely see anything, which was probably what led to me tripping over something solid and crashing down in a messy heap.

My sister came to a stop beside me, but her attention was on something else. Both of us were breathing heavily, neither of us very sporty individuals. Cold was seeping into my muscles and I desperately resisted the urge to shiver.

"Vienna," Gwen spoke quietly, fear in her voice.

"I'm fine, I'll live," I huffed as I slowly got to my feet, muddy twigs and dead leaves hanging off me.

"Vienna, look," Gwen repeated urgently.

I sent her a confused look, seeing that Gwen's glasses had fogged up. She quickly took them off and rubbed them on the cuff of her damp sleeve, before returning them to her face and pointing at the ground with a shocked expression. I followed her finger to the shape that looked very much like a human being.

"Oh my God," I breathed, my chest constricting in fear. "We found a body."

I took a step back, realising that was what I had tripped over in my haste. A dead body. It was a boy, covered in mud and...missing a shirt for some reason. He was lying on his back, the rain washing some of the mud away to reveal intricate tattoos over his torso and shoulders.

"Gwen," I sent my sister a wild look. "I know I always used to say stupid things like 'what if one day we find a body in the woods?', but I didn't mean it. This can't be happening. Gwen! Are you listening?"

I could see she was trying to stay calm, but her shaking hands gave her away. She was just as terrified as I was. There were so many questions running through my mind. Who was this guy? How long had he been here? How did he die? And if it was murder...which was probably the case, where the hell was the killer?!

"They could still be out here," I inched closer to my sister as I looked around for a sign of anybody.

"We should call the police," Gwen turned to me, her hand already reaching for her pocket to get her phone.

"Yeah, let's do that once we are in a safe place," I gripped her hand, wanting to pull her away.

She let me drag her a few steps away from the body and towards the cabin, her eyes still on the boy. He didn't look like he had been dead for very long, which was all the more reason for us to hurry it up.

"He just moved," Gwen widened her eyes, pulling her hand out of my grip.

"Gwen," I stared at her with my jaw open, rain streaking down my face. "Do you want to die?"

She ignored me as she went to crouch down by the pale figure. I sighed, not wanting to leave her out there alone, but also not wanting to make the rest of the journey without her. We had to stay together right now. I crept to her side again, reluctantly crouched down beside her when I thought I saw movement of his chest. Frowning lightly, I realised he was breathing.

"Should we check his pulse? Just to make sure?" Gwen looked to me for direction.

"Okay," I spoke lowly in agreement.

When neither of us moved, I rolled my eyes. This was where I had to step in and get my hands dirty. Taking a breath, I stretched my hand towards the boy's pale face, reaching for his neck with my index and middle finger. The closer my hand got, the louder my heart pounded, until it was almost defeaning. Once my fingers touched his neck, the boy inhaled sharply, his eyelids flying open and revealing wild grey eyes. I withdrew quickly out of instinct, and Gwen flinched beside me.

"Okay, definitely alive," I felt the need to say.

The boy blinked up at the sky for a few moments, his face one of great confusion, before he turned to look at us. As soon as our eyes met, I felt a flare of heat rise at the back of my tattooed neck, making me frown and rub it gently. It had been a strange sensation, something I hadn't experienced before. I didn't understand it.

As quickly as he looked at me, the boy looked away. He was clearly disoriented as he breathed light and fast, eyes all over the place. I was still in complete disbelief that he really was alive. What the hell had happened to him? When he weakly attempted to sit up, Gwen stepped in, her nurturing side pushing out her timidity.

"Hey," she said softly. "You shouldn't move. I don't know what happened here, but you're hurt. I'm going to call an ambulance."

The male simply stared at her, his eyes wide and lips parted. It could have been possible that he had some sort of memory loss, or that he didn't understand what Gwen was telling him. When he didn't respond to her after another few seconds, I cleared my throat.

"We are calling you an ambulance," I pronounced each word loud and clear. "Nod if you understand."

"No," he finally grunted out in a raspy voice. "No ambulance. Just...food...water."

Gwen and I shared a look. It was possible that he had collapsed out of exhaustion and dehydration, but it seemed a lot more complicated than that. Why was he on our property? And where his clothes? His upper body was bare, but on his lower body he wore a pair of torn shorts.

"What's your name?" I questioned him as gently as I could. "Do you know what happened?"

He wouldn't look at me when he answered, "I do not remember."

"You don't remember your name?" my eyes widened as it dawned on my how serious this may be.

"My name is Raphael," he sent me a quick glance. "I do not remember what happened."

"Raphael," I repeated quietly as I thought to myself. "I don't know any Raphaels. Last name?"

"Vienna," Gwen sent me a look. "He needs our help, not an interrogation."

I watched as my sister reached for Raphael carefully. Her hand lightly gripped his arm, trying to help him up, but instead she gasped and quickly let go. I looked between them sharply, seeing how all the blood had drained from Gwen's face. I held her arm and kept her steady as she swayed a little, feeling panic tighten around my chest.

"What did you do?" I frowned at him in distrust.

Raphael had somehow managed to sit himself up now, and he looked at Gwen with wide grey eyes, his face full of worry and what appeared to be guilt.

"I do not kno - "

"Never mind," I cut him off, before looking at Gwen, who seemed to have some colour slowly returning to her face.

"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly.

"Yeah, I just felt a little lightheaded for a moment. I'm okay now," she assured me. "Probably nothing to do with him."

Somehow, I doubted that. She didn't have any medical conditions that may have made her lightheaded, so it didn't make sense. By now the rain had let up, but the air still remained cold and damp.

"We can take you somewhere warm, and give you food and water," Gwen said to the boy.

He nodded, "Thank you."

I was wary of touching him, but after watching him struggle to get to his feet for a few moments, I sighed and leant a helping hand. Gwen and I both assisted Raphael to his feet, and it was only then, that we realised how tall he really was. He was well over 6ft for sure.

We had each of Raphael's thick arms draped over our shoulders, and we slowly started to walk him to the cabin. It made sense to take him there, instead of home, as it was closer than the house was. Plus, we didn't want our mother coming home and asking us a whole bunch of questions we didn't know the answers to. Yet.

"You're heavy," I muttered under my breath as Raphael leaned his weight on us.

"Vienna," Gwen hissed at me, sending me the kind of gaze that told me not to be rude.

Letting out a deep breath, I said nothing. The back of my neck was prickling, and this time I did recognise the feeling. It was as if the hairs were standing up, maybe out of nervousness...or from the sense that someone was following. Turning my head quickly to look behind us, I saw nothing but trees. I must have just felt super on edge, seeing as five minutes ago, I thought our lives were in danger.

After dragging our feet for another five minutes, we arrived at the cabin. It was rather spacious, a three bedroom, with a kitchen, bathroom and living room. Gwen and I had been planning to spend the weekend there, watching movies and building a bonfire to roast marshmallows on...if it was dry enough. But for now, there was a change in plans.

I searched my pocket with my free hand as we got to the front door, only to find that they were empty.

"Shit," I grumbled quietly.

"What?" Gwen looked at me with worried eyes as she half held the male up.

"I think I dropped my keys when we were running," I recalled.

"I've got mine," Gwen grunted in effort as she managed to pull out her keys and get the front door open.

As soon as we were inside, we half carried Raphael to the kitchen and let him sit heavily on one of the wooden chairs.

"I guess he needs to eat and drink before he sorts out...the mess," I murmured, gesturing to the mud that was streaked in Raphael's hair and all over his body.

Gwen nodded, heading to the fridge that was actually stocked up. When Gwen and I weren't in the cabin, our younger brother Joe often brought his friends up to go fishing at the nearby lake. The fridge still had the remnants of their teenage-boy banquets. The kind of food that held very little nutritional value. At least Gwen had some of her cereal bars tucked away in the cupboard.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went to hand it to Raphael, who struggled to open it for a few moments, before he unscrewed the cap successfully.

"These should help for now," Gwen said to him as she placed two cereal bars down on the table in front of him. "How long has it been since you last ate? If it was very long ago, it's best to eat a little, bit by bit. Later on I can get you something heavier."

Raphael was busy chugging the water down as if his life depended on it. His grey eyes were locked on Gwen's, as his Adams apple bobbed up and down continuously. The fingers of his free hand drummed on the table top restlessly, though he looked very tired and worn out, so his actions were probably due to nerves. Once he had drank almost the whole bottle of water, Raphael shuddered and placed the bottle down. His hands reached for a cereal bar and he tore the wrapper off it in seconds, before consuming the whole thing in two large bites.

I watched in amusement as Raphael chewed, a lump of cereal bar moving against his left cheek. Gwen looked at me hesitantly, wondering if she should repeat herself, but I brushed it off with a wave of my hand. He was hungry, so best to let him eat. It wasn't as if a couple of cereal bars would give him stomach cramps. He would barely be full afterwards. I knew I wouldn't. Raphael unwrapped and ate the second bar in less than a minute and Gwen actually looked like she wanted to go ahead and find him more food.

"Thank you," Raphael said after washing it down with the rest of the water.

He was looking at Gwen, not me, so I didn't bother replying. My sister smiled softly, and stayed standing on the opposite side of the table. I went ahead and took a seat.

"Where do you come from, Raphael?" I asked him.

He met my eye for a miniscule of a second before averting his gaze. Even with that brief eye contact, I felt heat again at the back of my neck and I wondered what was going on. Was that my body trying to say I found him attractive? I mean, that wouldn't be wrong. Even with mud splattered over his face, I could see he was a good looking boy, but I wasn't feeling anything towards him. And why would I? I had no idea who he was.

"And don't say you don't know," I quickly added when he opened his mouth to speak.

Raphael hesitated, making me crease my brows. Did he honestly have amnesia?

"I do not come from here," he answered lowly. "I would guess I come from somewhere far away."

"So...you really don't know?" I looked at him closely.

It was hard to take him seriously when he was still covered in dirt, and Gwen must have thought the same. The mud was starting to dry and Raphael was scratching off the flakes on his side absent-mindedly.

"How about a shower?" my older sister suggested brightly. "That way you'll feel more comfortable."

He nodded without a word, slowly pushing his chair back to stand up. Gwen walked around the table to lead him to the bathroom, and I watched them disappear round the corner. My sister was good at being patient and explaining things, like how the shower worked for example, but I knew as soon as the water was running, she would want to be out of there as soon as possible. Being in a small space with a half dressed, decent looking boy, was not something Gwen was familiar with. At eighteen, she had never had a boyfriend or anything close. I was pretty much the same at seventeen, if you didn't count a kiss back when I was in Year 3.

I looked up from the crumbs on the table top when Gwen returned.

"Should we tell him our names?" I asked her quietly whilst Raphael was in the shower. "Or do we play it safe?"

"What is he going to do with our names?" she looked at me dryly. "I don't think he's dangerous...he's just confused. Something happened to him."

"I hope you're right," I murmured.

"Jeez, don't say that Vienna. You're scaring me," Gwen sent me a small frown.

I automatically grinned mischievously, "You scare too easily."

"True," she shrugged a shoulder. "The plan is, we get him feeling better again, maybe we let him stay the night here, then in the morning we arrange for him to go back wherever he came from. He must have family out there looking for him. Or friends."

I nodded in agreement, "Sounds like a plan."

I got up to go to the room Gwen and I shared here at the cabin. Joe had the small room, and our parents had the master bedroom, though our mother rarely slept there anymore. She and Dad split up a couple years ago, Mum started working more and spent less time in the cabin. If it wasn't for Gwen moaning at me and Joe to tidy up after ourselves, the place would likely be a mess.

Entering the room, I kicked my muddy shoes off by the door and stepped onto the warm, thick rug. The walls, ceilings and floors were made entirely of wood. There was one double bed in the room, which Gwen and I used to share back when our whole family would spend time in the cabin. Nowadays, Gwen kept this bed and I slept in our parents kingsized bed. My clothes were still in this room though, so I quickly changed out of my wet jeans and jumper, and put on warm clean clothes. I shoved on some slippers and headed back to the kitchen area just as Raphael was leaving the bathroom.

Gwen and I both stared. Now that he was completely free of dirt, we could see just how muscled Raphael was. He looked like a model, or an actor. His hair was so much darker than I had initially thought. It was raven black, and brought out the contrast of his grey eyes. His chest was decorated with thick black tattoos that travelled along his collarbones, in a  similar pattern to the Greek meander, but simpler. Symmetrical black marks adorned his sides, and his shoulders, snaking over the mounds of his muscles as if made by the strokes of a paintbrush.

"Do you have any clothes I could wear?" Raphael kept his distance, probably uncomfortable with our stares.

Both Gwen and I snapped out of it, my sister flaming red in the process. I cleared my throat and acted cool, nodding at Raphael's request.

"I'll check my brother's things," I went to Joe's room.

Digging through his clothes, I knew Joe was not as built as Raphael was, but he had a lot of loose fitting jumpers and hoodies. Grabbing one of his hoodies and some jogging bottoms, I went back to pass them to Raphael, only to see something that made my steps falter. On his back was what appeared to be another tattoo on first glance, but seeing it closely, it looked more like a wound than anything. A huge V shaped scar that spanned from the back of his shoulders to the small of his back. Part of me wanted to take it as some Halloween makeup, but he had just stepped out of a shower. Plus, it was January. It had to be real.

Raphael turned to take the clothes from me, uttering a quiet thanks. I nodded in return and quickly rejoined my sister on the other side of the kitchen table. Raphael put on Joe's hoodie, then disappeared back into the bathroom to put on the jogging bottoms.  

Once he was dressed, we all sat down at the table. Raphael on one side, Gwen and I on the other. My mind was still on the gruesome scar that I had seen on his back. It had been deep black, unlike anything I'd ever seen. I wondered if someone had intentionally mutilated him. It didn't look like an accident. The mark was too perfectly shaped.

"My name is Gwen," she interrupted my thoughts when she introduced herself to Raphael.

"Gwen," he repeated with a gentle tone.

"I'm Vienna," I added.

Raphael nodded, keeping his eyes on the table top.

"So how did you end up in the woods?" Gwen questioned him.

"And how long have you been there?" I asked.

Raphael shrugged lightly, running a hand through his damp black hair, "I woke up and I was there. I do not know how long, maybe a few days."

It made sense as to why he had been so hungry and thirsty.

"Do you remember anything before that?" Gwens face showed deep concern.

Raphael met her gaze and let out a small sigh, "Pain."

"Did someone hurt you?" I asked quietly, wishing Raphael remembered the answer to that question.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Gwen look at me in confusion. She hadn't seen what I had just seen.

Raphael kept his gaze low. He didn't speak for quite some time, and the longer the silence lasted, the heavier the air felt. The back of my neck was tingling again and I raised my hand to rub it tenderly, trying to disperse the feeling.

"I need to find my friends," he changed the subject.

"Okay," Gwen said after sending me another questionable glance. "Do you have a phone? Do you know their numbers?"

Raphael's brows raised for a second, as if he hadn't been considering that. I was surprised to see a faint smile on his face, as he shook his head to himself and let out a deep, sad sigh.

"You don't?" Gwen frowned lightly.

He lifted his almost silver eyed gaze to meet hers, "I do not."

Gwen blinked at him from behind her tortoise spectacles, and I slightly narrowed my eyes. This was more than a little weird.

"You know, if you tell us what is really going on, we can help you a lot better," I said to him lowly.

Raphael was forced to meet my eye and he held it for longer than I expected him to. There was another pause, and just when I thought he was about to say something, his stomach spoke instead. A loud rumbling sound made Raphael quickly wrap an arm around his middle, his eyes widening as if confused. Gwen dispersed the tense atmosphere with a light laugh, and she got up from the table.

"Let me get you something to sort that out," she smiled as she headed to the fridge.

Raphael smiled after her, his face almost radiating, as it looked so different from when he wasn't smiling. And that's exactly what his facial expression returned to when he quickly glanced back at me. The way he acted towards me was odd, as if he had something against me for some reason, even though we had just met. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that he already knew me, but it wouldn't have made any sense.

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What did you think? It's pretty different huh?  Bet you're excited for the rest of the boys!

J

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