"Don't come near me."

The glass crunched and twisted under their feet, my warning falling on deaf ears. I huffed slightly, breathing feeling difficult as a small wave creapt up on me.

My spine from bottom-up grew hot, the overwhelming heat spreading out as if through my nerves. The feelings burned slowly from spine to all of my back, growing out until my chest ached and I couldn't breath.
  I was in the floor, doubled over gasping. My eyesight was blurring and everything seemed to be tinted red. I gasped, the pain in my body making my eyes water.


"I said leave me alone!"

Again I was ignored, looking across the floor where my head laid, pressed against the cold tile, to watching their feet - black with ash - come closer still.
  These demons weren't scavengers like before...


They looked more human, three of them towering over me as I laid curled in the floor of this building.
   One of them was in the middle, the other two standing behind him on either side. A typical demon positioning. The one in the middle was the leader.
He looked like a typical human, only lacking things like a flawed complexion or features that would look undesirable. He had black hair that draped around his face, ending halfway down his cheeks, going down longer on his neck.


I coughed and did my best to try and sit up, only resulting in leaning heavily on one arm that braced against the floor.
  The three of them laughed, grinning in sight of my condition.


I couldn't focus on them. My eyesight blurred occasionally and I felt sick.
Insanity...this was insanity.
I was shaking lightly, feeling as if I wanted to gag, yet not going through with the action. I gasped deeply every so often, and I felt as if my head was splitting open.

Nothing made sense, nothing mattered. I started to lose touch with what was going on, I couldn't recall where I was, what I was doing, or even the fact that the world was empty. All I could think about was these three demons.
Their smug grins, their black hair, and most of all, that overpowering sound coming from their chests. Pumping, harshly, forcing that sweet water out and around the system of veins.





  I opened my mouth after one gasp, feeling the last fleeting bit of my focus fade as I mouthed one last warning. Yet it was a bit too late for that, as I couldn't even produce sound to it.

"My my, looks like the little angel's so scared he can't talk." the leader cooed, all three of them laughing.






  I was tired of it calling me, it was getting on my nerves. The breathing calmed as I embraced the burning in my body. I let the overpowering heat take over, moving in the motions it demanded.
I stood swiftly, ignoring the glass crunching and piercing my feet. The rush fueled my movements fluidly.

One arm forward, pull back. The first one fell to the floor, gasping and sputtering, sending more of the blood I wanted onto the floor, occasional bits of it flying out from the gaping hole in his neck and throat.
I dropped the handful of blood skin and muscle by his face, as if returning what i'd just ripped out of him.

I looked up, feeling my muscles slack as my head wanted to lull to the side dully.
I stared at the leader and remaining demon before a blaring noise struck my head.





It was like a dog whistle almost, so shrill and white hot in my head. I took a step back, bending over and holding my ears.
  The heat receded and I felt clear thought returning instantly. The noise blared on, until I was able to recognize it.

An ambulance's siren.



  I looked up, the demons displaying the same painful reaction to the noise that I had. Only it seemed they didn't know what it was, they couldn't attempt to ignore it like me.
Taking that opportunity I raced over, back to the window I had flown through earlier, before the insanity started to sink in, before demons had tracked me down.


I felt myself nearly gasp as I cursed my very life at the moment. It was bad enough I had tried killing him, but if demons this powerful were with me, it meant he was in danger to. And with whatever injuries i'd caused, I wasn't sure he's make it without me.
   Without even thinking I jumped, wings ripping out a bit too fast, tearing at the skin harshly and ripping it in some places. I tried ignoring the searing pain, blood drizzling down my sides and off my back as I flew on, back to the hotel.

When I got there the noise was louder. I shifted direction, heading up instead of straight, and hovering to watch in awe.
  Two demons were already either dead or out cold on the roof. He was surrounded, and I watched as the four left circled in. Apparently they knew where we were, and more had swarmed him since I was away.

  Below me, on the cracked road was an ambulance. Someone was inside it, someone human. I stared at it wide-eyed before feeling part of my head erupt in pain.
  I looked back to the roof to see him take out one demon via a gunshot to the head. He wasn't using the crazy metal weapon of his anymore, and I felt guilty as to why...it was probably my fault.

  I took a few wing beats up, getting ready to swoop down and help, trying to use some sort of element of surprise to take out a demon or two.
Right as I got high enough though, the roof's metal door burst open. Two human men in tattered cloths burst in, carrying guns I knew could kill even me without much effort.
  The men aimed and fired several rounds, taking out all the demons before they knew what was going on.



I watched carefully, not trying to alert them I was here, just in case he needed help with those guys, again I would try to keep surprise on my side.






Something hot hit me.
It burned, and I winced. Everything felt like it was moving slowly.
Somehow I had my back facing the ground, and I was staring up at the sky. I was falling, and I couldn't move my wings. I couldn't process anything.

I heard people shouting angrily, and I heard my name being shouted. I couldn't manage to say anything, though I did feel my lips part a bit.

   Splat has never sounded more cruel.

I lay there, stunned, not knowing what was going on.
  My back was screaming in pain yet I couldn't really focus on it. I felt like I was underwater, and I wasn't breathing. The back of my head hurt, as did my back and wings.

I wasn't really sure how long I laid there, but at some point I couldn't practically taste the blood there was so much of it...
The two human men from the roof were at either of my sides, and at some point my vision focused enough I could see a woman crouched by my head, spitting off information and orders quickly.

  I didn't know what was happening, but I didn't like it. I tried to squirm around but the result was simply my fingers twitching. Everything felt clouded over, yet still I was trying to push around that to work my own body.
The woman was saying something to me, possibly commands to hold still and stop straining myself. She obviously had no idea who I was.
  I managed to turn my head, feeling what might have been actual pieces of my skull ripping off and making watery noises.

I looked up, to my left, and stared right into his eyes. He was crying, and I felt sick. I wanted to confront him, to ask how the hell he had the nerve to cry over me, after i'd nearly killed him.
But I wasn't sure I could manage all those words.


"Help me sit up."
He looked at me, stunned, and I stared back dully, feeling the weight of my eyelids get heavier.
I strained again, managing to shift my arms and lift my head. The pain was white hot and blinding.
  I think at some point I screamed from it, and fell back down, my head making another watery sloshing noise when it hit the ground.


People all around me were moving and rushing and calling to one another, yet not a word of it processed in my head. Instead I grit my teeth, took a deep breath, and focused.
  I strained again, this time managing to get up on my elbows, a screaming wanting to erupt from my throat.
I choked it down, feeling my body want to fall backwards again.


Yet it didn't. I was puzzled as to why until I looked over, seeing him staring at me with an emotion I couldn't place. He helped me sit up fully, and I felt my body take it's cue.

Imemdiantly I screamed, doubling over forward as I curled up and tried to stifle my screaming.




Muscles and nerves shot like wires in my skin. Blood stopped falling as my head reformed, from mush to skull to skin, down to the last strand of hair.
  My wings were the most painful, stretching out painfully as I felt my back burning. Yet it wasn't reforming the right ways.
  I arched my back, snapping the wings in and feeling a few stray feathers ripped out as they scraped the skin on their way in, tearing the skin up more.

Once they were in, broken as they may be, I felt my back shudder, the skin, bones, and muscle all sliding and burning around until everything was fixed.


Faintly I heard the men breathing, the silence of shock setting in the air.
Weakly I tottered, feeling hot hands on my back catch me when I fell backwards.
I was lowered down, trying to let my head settle from the blinding pain and confusion.
"What....happened....?" I coughed, not sure I would be able to fully understand the answer.

"Two of the men shot you out of the air. They thought you were with the demons."

I paused, and snorted sarcastically.
"Dumbasses. My wings are white." My voice sounded slurred and distant, and I knew my mind wasn't going to settle very easily.



Things grew more distant in tone as I felt the world rocking beneath me, spinning slowly in a circle.

The last things I remembered hearing were my own voice weakly groaning, and his voice saying my name gently, followed by the words, "I want you to meet my mother."

I barely focused on her face before my eyes fluttered shut, the last string of focus I had snapping.


























  The room was solid white... The IV hung by my head dripped slowly and I heard a heart monitor slowly rising in speed.
I looked around at the white walls and door, white sheets and ceiling.
The heart monitor must have been broken, it was going insane.

I heard the door burst open and looked around, feeling slightly less alarmed when I saw his familiar face come in.
  I sat up, though the movement was slower than I would usually take. There were bandages all over my body underneath the white shirt I had on. The pink lines all over my arms stood out in this colorless room.

I stared at them deeply before looking back up at him, feeling my own eyes ore into his.


And for once I only had one thing I wanted to say.





"You are a fucking idiot."