“Well, this is what it looks like,” Sarah said. “Pretty awful, isn’t it?”

The person lay on the path. He was almost unharmed, besides the massive hole in his chest. It had the diameter of a baseball bat and went right through him. Despite all this, it wasn’t bleeding at all. The flesh was cauterized, skin and flesh sealed shut by intense heat. “An Echo did this?”

“Yep.” The ambulance had already been called, and so Sarah knelt before the man, checking on his wound. He was barely conscious, shuddering and gasping for breath. “Calm down,” she said. “It’ll be alright. You’re very lucky nothing important was destroyed. Help will be here soon.” Then she held out her finger and licked it.

“Um, Sarah—”

“Shhh...” She pressed her finger against his lip. “I’m going to go now.”

If the man was even aware enough to respond, he certainly didn’t show it.

“Come on.” She headed down the trail, her flashlight lighting the path ahead. It was dusk; the silhouettes of the trees casting long shadows over the forest floor. The amber glow of the sun was giving way to deep red and purple hues that bled into the leaves and bark and soil.

“Why did you lick your finger?” I asked.

“Genetics,” she stated, as if it was obvious. “Inherited from my symbiote.”

“What?”

“Quinn, we’re Angels. We’re not mere humans anymore. Your DNA is being adapted., fused with your symbiote, changed irrevocably. Your Imago is one manifestation of that. And this is another.” She licked her finger and pressed it against my lips. At first, I didn’t notice anything, but quickly I felt a familiar sensation. “I hope it’s not too uncomfortable,” she said.

“It’s numb.”

Sarah nodded. “Anaesthetic saliva.” She chuckled. “Just like my symbiote. Just like Simulium herself. Although for her, it’s so she can drink blood without being noticed. You know, being a black fly, and all. I’m glad I’m not a vampire myself... yet.”

I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “Wait hold on. We’re, like, slowly turning into insects?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I recoiled as she put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s normal. Angels all go through a few changes. Nothing to be afraid of.” Her steps were so long. “Just think of it as a little upgrade.”

“Um.. Vespa?”

“Is this a surprise to you? Perhaps I should’ve made it clearer, yes? Your body is being made complete. An Angel, as you’re meant to be. My host. It’s the power that belongs to you, by birthright.”

“But what about... what about me? Who am I, then? Am I getting replaced by... something?”

“What’s so odd about that? You are an Angel now.”

I wanted out. I wanted control of who I was. Of what I was. But the more I seemed to try and find a way back, the further I felt myself slipping. “Hold on. This is... this is a lot to take in all at once.”

“Quiet,” said Sarah. “I hear it.”

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And I could hear it too. Heavy footsteps trampled through the undergrowth, crushing branches and leaves underfoot. It was big. Really big. But despite its size, I couldn’t see anything amid the foliage. We turned our flashlights off, and it appeared. A dark silhouette gilded with molten red that glowed faintly in the darkness.

“You think you can transform?” She asked. I heard the characteristic crackle of her transformation, the membranes forming over her skin, her bones and flesh dissolving and her Imago standing in its place. Sarah’s Imago was black all over, with a candy-red visor taking up the majority of her helmet. The body was smooth and polished, carapace shaped with agile curves. From her back draped two glassy wings.

I changed to my Imago, too. It felt smoother this time. Easier. As if this body was just waiting underneath my skin. No. I tried to push those thoughts away. A shell crystallized around me, muscles reforming underneath. Orange and black. Not quite as low-key as Sarah, but it would do.

“Need any help?” she asked, looking me over. “Oh my. You did a great job, Quinn.” She gave me four thumbs up.

The Echo was getting closer. What was it? It certainly couldn’t have been the same one I’d encountered with Heidi. And they certainly weren’t pigeons. I couldn’t imagine what sort of monstrosity could impale someone with such force.

“Quinn!” Sarah tackled me to the ground. We fell into the leaf litter just as a tree cracked horribly, splitting at the stump and crashing down where I’d been standing moments ago. It landed with a crash, raining down twigs and branches over us. And where the tree had stood, there was the Echo. Nearly seven feet tall and black, it was a huge hulking beast, crowned with two pairs of curved pointed horns that glowed like hot irons. Some sort of bull, perhaps?

It lowered its head and charged. Its hoofbeats thundered across the ground, moving with impressive speed for something of its side. We stepped aside just in time; horns kissed the air between us.

On instinct, I drew my glaive. The blade slipped easily from my palm and into my hand. When had it gotten so easy? I gave it a light twirl, admiring the sharp edge and serrated teeth alike. Sarah’s weapon materialized as well, an enormous pair of scissors with blades the size of longswords. “Stand back,” she said. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I can handle myself. I’m not a kid.”

“You really are,” she said, matter-of-factly. The Echo was turning around now, readying for a second charge. Sarah gripped the handles one the scissors one in each hand, opening the blades wide. The instant it passed us, she let go with one hand and swung the pair up, blades closing around its neck and scraping along its side, cutting a deep gash into the Echo’s skin. Red liquid dripped from it, superheated toxins burning the leaves and twigs as they fell onto the ground.

The creature bellowed and writhed, stamping around the clearing, apparently distracted. “You hurt it,” I said.

“No,” Vespa interrupted. “Echoes cannot feel pain. They only replicate the actions of creatures that did. They echo them.”

Unlike my last encounter, this Echo was much too big to overpower. Instead, with each charge, Sarah snipped away at its skin, weaving around its clumsy attacks with ease and counterattacking with deadly precision. Like a surgeon. Given she worked at the hospital, maybe she was a surgeon.

I probably should’ve asked.

The red ichor poured out from the Echo’s wounds, turning the grass and soil gray as ash. Its movements became sluggish; it stumbled forward but could scarcely find the strength. Sarah moved in for the killing blow. Unlike Heidi, who had beat the Echo down with an animalistic ferocity, Sarah approached the creature like a friend, laying the scissor blade against its neck as she readied her final slash.

And there it was again. A shadow in the trees, like a person. It was hard to make out in the darkness, but it seemed like she was watching Sarah closely.

“Sarah, up there!” I shouted, pointing at the figure.

Sarah turned for a moment, looking into the trees but apparently failing to see the person hunched among the branches. The Echo took the opportunity to escape, mustering all its strength and trampling off into the underbrush, vanishing almost as suddenly as it had appeared.

The person noticed me, though, glowing eyes locking with mine for a moment. She was a child, maybe nine or ten, wearing a perfectly-tailored purple suit. She smiled, but not in a comfortable way. No, the smile was stretched a bit to wide, as if her face would tear itself apart like a mask and reveal what true lay beneath. Alarm bells were already going off in my head, but Vespa confirmed my suspicions as the figure vanished into the trees.

“Demon.”