"What are you doing?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Come on. I think that maybe this thing is supposed to protect you."

She frowned. "What gave you that idea?"

He snorted. "Maybe the fact that he saved you from falling to your death."

"Chad, we don't know if the dream I had and what happened to me earlier are even related."

"They have to be. Nothing else makes any kind of sense."

"None of this makes any kind of sense!"

Chad ignored her and pulled her out into the hall. He led her to the stairwell and they climbed about five stories until they emerged huffing and puffing out onto the roof.

"What in the world are you doing?" Kelly wheezed.

"Look, my building is a lot smaller than yours is. There are only five stories in mine. You won't die if you leap off of this roof."

Her eyes bulged. "Excuse me?" she screeched. "I think the concrete I meet when I collide with it might have other ideas!"

He shook his head. "No, look." He pulled her over to the edge of the building and pointed to a large trash bin below. It was completely open and filled to the brim. "See, jump into that. It'll break your fall." He shrugged. "You still might break an arm or a leg or something, but that's fixable. Besides, they do it in movies all the time."

Kelly made a slow turn and fixed her friend with a lethal glower. "You know, I'm glad you think that this is all so interesting, and I am so happy that you base everything you do in life on whether or not it's done in Hollywood, but I am not leaping off of any kind of building just for kicks!"

"You'll be fine," he assured her. "Whatever it is that saved you this morning will save you again, I'm sure."

She continued to stare at him. "Chad, you are seriously more insane than I ever thought. I don't know what happened to me earlier! I don't know if my experience and my dream are even related! I don't know who or what Garren is and if he has anything to do with me! I don't know what that rhyme was, and I don't know why no one but you and I can see that feather!"

"So find out! Kelly, I have a feeling that you have something protecting you. Do you want to spend forever wondering what it is, or do you want to find out?"

"I'd rather stay on firm ground, if you don't mind. I don't want to repeat what happened earlier. It was horrifying!"

Chad heaved a sigh. "Kelly, nothing bad is going to happen to you, all right? Would I let anything bad happen to you?"

She scowled at him. "Only a broken leg or arm, right? I already broke both my leg and arm, thank you very much."

He huffed in frustration. "I'd do it myself, but I don't think that whatever is protecting you is going to do the same for me. Look, say that rhyme again."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Just do it, okay? I have a feeling."

She rolled her eyes. "Great. Just like you had a 'feeling' that your cat was telekinetic?"

His eyes narrowed. "That is totally not fair."

She smirked.

"Come on, Kelly," he all but pleaded. "You need to figure this out. I need to figure this out because, obviously, I'm involved too. I want to know why only we can see that feather just as badly as you do."

"And you think that me singing a rhyme and flinging myself off the roof will give us that answer?"

He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking, then nodded. "I do."

She sighed wearily and her shoulders slumped. "Okay, I'll say the rhyme, but I'm still not going to leap off the building."

"Kelly--"

"Shut up, Chad." She turned and looked down at the dumpster again and a warm breeze blew across her, tugging her hair in the way it had earlier that morning. She closed her eyes and saw the five girls dancing in a circle. She frowned and let the words leave her lips. "Sing the song of Guardians who live beyond the skies, who fly to fight beside us and help us when we cry. Come to us, great Guardians, your friendship is a must. We are your kindred spirit sisters; you have our promise and our trust." A strange sensation washed over her, a tingling feeling that resembled what she'd felt when she'd first touched the feather.

"I'm not scared ... Garren will always protect me."

She didn't think. It just happened. She held her arms out and let herself fall towards the ground. She heard Chad shout her name, but it didn't really register. Her eyes were still closed and she was flying, freefalling ... She wouldn't get hurt. She wasn't scared...