Crimson colored leaves littered the pavement as their car rolled over them onto the road. Birds sang rapturously through the roar of the wind. Jolie Winters fidgeted in the back seat of her parents Jeep Liberty, humming along to the radio.

“Jolie, are you excited for this year's trip? I think it will be the best one yet,” Jolie’s mom inquired while turning around in the passenger's seat, Carrissa Winters had soft features; corn-colored hair and muddled brown eyes. She looked young, but the wrinkles around her eyes gave her age away. Her husband, Tom, complimented her nicely with his tall stature and mane of honey colored hair that brushed along his ears. “This is going to be our last trip all together kiddo before you head off to that college kiddo. It feels like it was just yesterday when you were a little girl with pigtails that used to hold my hand as I walked her to school,” Her father beamed, his voice filled with nostalgia.

“This was fun when I was like five guys but I’m 17 now. I'm not a big fan of sitting around a campfire and listening to the same elementary ghost stories that I hear year after year,” Jolie huffed. She was going to college in North Carolina in a few months, she was practically an adult. She was tired of being treated like a child and having to be expected to act like an adult. It was exasperating, to say the least.

Mrs. Winters smile quickly faded from her face before she looked over at her husband. He gave her a small smile and placed his hand on hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze as they pulled into their campsite. They had gone here every fall since Jolie was just five years old. It was their annual visit to Autumn Falls in Stone Gap, Virginia and Jolie couldn't be dreading it anymore.

Jolie burst out of the car not waiting for her parents to join her. She quietly took in her surroundings; the rush of the evergreen forest and the smell of the river just a mile down. Her knees felt like rubber from being cramped in the car for three hours. She shuffled some leaves around waiting to hear the click of the car doors opening. She knew it was odd it was taking them so long but she hesitated before she turned around since she was still mad at them for making her go on this trip again. “What's taking you so long?” Jolie called out as she turned around. But when she looked in the car no one was there. The seat belts were even still buckled in.

Panic slowly crawled over her as her throat tightened with fear. Snapping her eyes shut she began to count to ten.When she opened them again nothing had changed, it was eerily quiet. She rushed to the car not believing her eyes.

A rustling in the trees behind Jolie caused her head to snap in that direction. The short, spiky haircut with the blond tips. That was the first thing she noticed about the man at the edge of the woods. He seemed to be in his early twenties and was devastatingly handsome with his fit build. But his eyes, they looked so unnatural. They were a bright violet that seemed to captivate you as you looked into them.

Jolie's body froze where she stood. The man came out of the trees and walked around her, taking her in like a farmer would his cattle. As he turned his head she noticed a weird mark on the side of his neck that seemed to be branded onto his skin.

“Sorry for the trance, I tend to have that effect on women. I’m Theo,” He remarked with a sly smile that revealed a perfectly white set of teeth.

Jolie seemed to find her voice as he spoke. “Oh, really? I don't find you that much of a looker, blondie.” Theo looked taken aback by her comment, but it only lasted a second before he returned to his cold exterior. “What have you done with my parents?” Jolie demanded while taking a step towards him.

“Who? Oh, that terribly bland couple that was in the car. I sent them back to their home, to their real lives.”

“What do you mean real lives? They’re my parents, they raised me.”

“I know this may come as a shocker to you sweetheart but they aren't your parents and you are not exactly human yourself either.”

Jolie’s head was spinning from his lies, desperately trying to make sense of his words. She wondered what kind of jerk just bluntly said these things to people. “Oh really, then what am I?” She mocked with a hint of fear in her voice. even though she doesn't trust Theo, she still couldn't help but feel an uneasy feeling coming from a memory in the back of her head trying to resurface. She never felt like she fit in her family; she looked nothing like her parents with her sharp features and long, wavy chestnut hair. Her large emerald eyes that were flecked with gold always seemed to trouble her family. No one in her family line had ever had green eyes like hers before. She always knew she didn't belong.

Theo didn't speak for a long time, unsure if he should tell her yet. “You’re a Pleiadian, a being of light,” he finally spoke.

Jolie opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Her vision blurred as her legs gave out from underneath her. The last thing she saw was Theo moving inhumanly fast towards her before she blacked out. God, he really was breathtaking.

When Jolie awoke, her body felt stiff and her tongue felt dry and cracked like she hadn't had anything to drink in days. How long had she been there and was what happened in the woods a dream? She genuinely hoped so. Jolie sat up in the bed and found herself on silk sheets in a large oak king size bed. There was art decorating the walls, looking like a museum. The walls were wallpapered with an ornate black and white design. It was the most enamoring room she had ever been in.

A creek sounded as the large wooden door in the corner opened. Theo came in with a nervous look on his face. His strong broad shoulders slumped forward. It was barely noticeable to the naked eye but Jolie noticed.

All he said was, “They want to see you.” His eyes pleaded with her to not ask him any questions, he wouldn't be able to answer them anyways. Without warning, he whispered, “I have orders to take you to the council.” She got out of bed soundlessly and followed him into the hallway. There was no point in trying to resist at this point, she was already in too deep to escape now.

The brightness in the hallway startled her at first. The lights that hung from the walls were holding a fluorescent orb of light. She swore she saw something inside the light for a moment but quickly looked away.

They came to an open archway that gave way to a grand foyer that contained high ceilings with glass as their roofing. Sunlight beamed down on a long table in the middle of the room. Two women and a man sat behind it with their hands rested lightly in their laps. They all looked like they were in their thirties and were extraordinarily pulchritudinous. That wasn't what shocked her, though, it was their eyes. They were violet, just like Theos.

“Jolie this is the council: Maia, Taygeta, and Celeno,” Theo spoke up. They all nodded as each of their names were announced. Jolie's hands started to sweat out of anticipation. The women, Maia spoke first. She seemed to be the head of the council.

“I apologize Ms. Winters–”

“Jolie's fine thanks,” Jolie interrupted briskly. Maia's eyes flashed for a moment, a look of hot anger in them. She composed herself quickly as Theo stiffened next to her. Jolie pretended not to feel it. She had the right to feel angry; her family was missing and she was taken against her will.

“Jolie I am sure you are keen to find out why you're here. You want answers and I will give them to you if you keep your mouth shut and listen.” Maia's voice dripped with contempt. Jolie clenched her fists and forced an apologetic smile.

“As Theo mentioned, we are Pleiadians. We are an ancient race of people that come from the Pleiades star cluster in the Taurus constellation. In other words, we are stars. We prefer the term people of light, though. We fell from our home in the sky when Cain killed Abel. This resorted God to end us down to protect humanity.” Theo scoffed at the word God and Maia shot him a look that could break glass.

“As I was saying, we were sent to protect humanity and fight as needed. We have two forms, the one you are seeing now and our true form. Our true form looks like a figure made of complete bright light. Once we came here we adapted to look like a human so we could blend in. We developed abilities such as being able to tap into the human mind and being able to travel through time. We have been here for a long time Jolie and we will be here til the end.”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with me.” The words came flying out of Jole's mouth before she could stop herself. She couldn't help it, she was just so confused.

“You are one of us Jolie but a bit different. Your mother was human while your father was Pleiadian. You were hidden away at birth before your parents were hunted down and killed,” Theo explained.

Jolie didn't think this could get any worse, but it did. “What do you mean my parents are dead! Ive lived with them my whole life. You've got it all wrong, I think you have the wrong girl.” Jolie tried to turn to leave but Theo was blocking her way.

Maia gave her a pitying look, “That human couple you have stayed with couldn't have children so your biological mother placed you with them so you could have a normal life. Those humans were made to believe that you were actually their biological child. You were hidden very well, it took an immense amount of time to track you down.”

Maia let out an exasperated sigh, “We are not your enemy child, we are your family.”

Back in the room, she was originally brought in, Jolie paced the hardwood floor trying to find logic in all of this. She couldn't help but remember a fleeting memory of when she was a child. She remembered she used to look up at the stars and reach out to them, longing to join them in the sky. It felt like that was where she belonged. That feeling only lasted for a few months as a child before it went away. She didn't even remember any of this till now. How could she forget something like that? Was this feeling inside of her always there and she just didn't notice because she hid it so well.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the window in front of her bursting open bringing a large man dressed in black with it. Glass shards rained down onto her head cutting her cheeks. The man gradually rose and an odd sensation dread flowed through Jolie. She knew he was no Pleiadian. His hair was as white and lifeless as snow and his eyes were a frightening shade of black. She had never seen someone so empty and drained of all human emotion. As he lunged at her, the door was broken down and in flooded Theo and a bunch of other men with violet eyes. They carried swords that glittered in the light and seemed to be made out of a crystal material.

Theo swung into action knocking Jolie behind him as he lunged his sword into the black-eyed man's chest. The man cried out and dissolved into black ash. Jolie couldn't believe she just saw someone murdered before her eyes. Her heart was trying to leap out of her chest as her knees began to turn into rubber. She tried to close her eyes but they seemed to be held open by an invisible force.

Theo rushed over to her, a look of concern clouded his face. “Are you alright sweetheart?” He quaked. “I'm really not a big fan of that word,” she whispered back. Theo laughed quietly and gave her a tight smile. The men behind them muttered curses under their breath about Theo being reckless once again.

“The council didn’t tell you everything, Jolie. There are dark forces here, trying to wipe out our race. What you saw just then was a Djinn. They are shadow people, they lurk in the dark and can take any human form. They survive by devouring people's energies and sucking them dry. And you being half Pleiadian makes you a target. If they capture you we will lose this war.”

Jolie spoke through trembling lips, “What's so special about me?” She was terrified of the answer she would receive.

Theo took her hand in his and traced it with his thumb as he talked, it seemed to soothe her. “There is a prophecy that was foretold that a child of a human and Pleiadian will bring balance to the world. That’s you, you are so much more powerful than you could ever know. So tell me, will you help us.”

Jolie looked at the pile of withering ashes in front of her and thought of what her life used to be like. How dull it was, a void of normalcy that repeated day after day. She always ached for something more, for something to excite her. She used to watch movies and envy the characters on the screen. How could she go back to her life when it was all a lie? Was she to go back to parents that weren't even hers? She never even got to mourn her real ones.

Theo looked at her waiting for her answer. Jolie turned towards to him as her eyes hardened. She gave him a small smile and said four words.