Sara stood atop the old steeple, one foot planted, the other dangling as she held fast to the steeple's cross. Her jersey with the wing decals moved with the gentle wind. Her baseball cap, worn backwards, sported a golden ellipse. Her long dirty blonde hair waved in the breeze.

The night was incredibly dark, with but the tiniest crescent of the moon aglow. The silhouette of the surrounding hills was barely discernable against the clear, dark sky. Yes, this was a night for stargazing, the whole milky way visible and beautiful, except for one thing.

She looked with disgust towards the eyesore that was the D. A. Emon research and development lab, it's various lights polluting the view even from half a mile away. It was so out of place. This was Plowshare, a quaint farming town known for its high quality harvests and friendly folk. why would they put a lab here? It was surrounded by an ugly fence, electrified and lined with consertine wire. Few were ever admitted inside. Sometimes days passed without a single soul entering or leaving. Frankly, the place creeped Sara out.

A sharp crack like thunder ripped through the night, startling Sara. What was that? It echoed through the quiet darkness, and it was difficult to discern where it came from. There was a second sounding which drew Sara's attention back towards the lab where she saw flashes of light. There were voices too, barely audible at this distance. Should she check it out?

Sara lept deftly down from the church roof, landing safely, then started running towards the lab grounds at a speed an Olympic runner would envy. That had to be firearms she heard. Guns were cmmon in this country place. Maybe someone was just shooting at a varmint? Only one way to find out.

Sara arrived at the fence and saw a grisly scene. A thin woman in a lab coat, a bundle in her arms, wasrunning along the fence, two security guards pursuing her with pistols. She was straining to carry the weight of the duffle bag size bundle. Amother shot rang out. The bullet struck the woman's back. She fell forward, losing her grip on her bundle, which rolled near to where Sara was watching.

One of the guards ran to the prone woman laying in the grass. He stepped on her back. "Thought you'd get away with company property, huh?" Sara let out an involuntary gasp, and the guard noticed her. "Get lost, kid!" he yelled coldly. The other guard soon caught up to the first.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll forget what you've seen here," he said in a threatening tone, but Sara didn't move.

"Forget her," the first guard said. "We'll deal with her later." The woman moaned in pain as he put his weight onto her wounded back. "I'm curious what was so important to smuggle out that this woman would coldly risk her life for." The bundle had started unraveling. A small hand was exposed. The bundle was a person! The second guard kicked the bundle, and it came unwrapped, revealing an adolescent sized figure. It's skin was mottled pink and black. It had two small horns atop it's head, and a stub of a tail.

"What is this? Some kind of freak?" The guard rolled the being over with the toe of his boot. The pitiful creature tried to move, but was too weak. "Whatever, let's get this thing back inside."

The woman, mortally wounded, looked up, noticing Sara. Their eyes met, then the woman laid her head down, and moved no more. But Sara saw the woman's final prayer in her dying eyes.

Save her!

Sara decided to answer that prayer. She extended her arm into the 5th dimension. Visualizing her weapon of choice, she closed her fingers around it, and drew it into normal spacetime. It was a typical wooden baseball bat. Holding her other hand palm up, a ball of light energy began to materialize. The light caught the attention of the guards.

"You're still here? Go away before you get hurt!"

Sara's eyes narrowed and a confident smirk played across her lips. She tossed the materialized ball upward.

Crack!

The sound of the bat contacting the ball echoed through the chilly night. The ball pierced through the metal fence as though it wasn't there, and one guard fell. The other guard raised his pistol.

Crack!

The bat resounded once more, and that guard fell, too. Sara then struck the fence, and a portion of it fell sending sparks in every direction. Releasing her grip, the wooden bat returned to the 5th dimension, leaving her hands free to gather up the blanket and lift the frail being from the ground. Sara wasn't much bigger than this being, and it was with some difficulty that she stood, but she was determined.

The air around Sara began to glow and shimmer as her clothes melted into a robe of light. A large set of feathery wings extended from her shoulder blades. Smaller wings appeared on her ankles and just above her ears. A luminous ring orbited her head, and her glow became more and more intense. For a moment, the area was as brilliant as the noonday sun.

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And then it wasn't.

* * *

"Investigators are still baffled by the events at the D. A. Emon lab in Plowshare, last night. There were no reports of explosions, only a brilliant light, but the site looked like a bomb went off, investigators said. There were charred remains of three victims, and melted slag where there was once steel fences. Investigators could find no ignition point or any sign of accelerant to explain what had caused the damage.

At a press release earlier today, an Emon representative said it was a tragic accident involving proprietary technology. He named the victims and extended the company's condolences to three families. He then reported the accident set back the schedule on many new products that were supposed to be available soon, and the lab would be taken out of operation indefinitely, which was quickly followed by a dive in market share prices for D. A. Emon and affiliates.

Police are said to be attempting to secure a search warrant to better understand the events, but no judge has granted one, citing that the event took place outside the facility. There are rumors the judges are in Emon's pockets, but these speculations have so far proven to be unsubstantiated."

* * *

The screen went black, and Dr. Gilead tossed the remote onto hits desk. The news was no surprise to him. Late last night, Sara had showed up at his clinic door carrying a mysterious person. The poor creature was in an incredibly bad state. He had stayed up the rest of the night monitoring her, and Sara had gone to do her own thing. The sun had just started to rise when a familiar voicecalled out through the door.

"Dr. G!" The door opened, and Sara entered, energetic as always. "How's the patient?"

"Good morning, Sara. she's stable, but it's still pretty close to dead. I'm amazed she lasted the night. "

"Well, of course she did! We couldn't be friends if shedidn't. "

"How are you so sure it's a she? "

"A girl knows, doc. Why is the light on in there? Wouldn't she rest better in the dark? "

"Well, she hasn't regained consciousness, but even unconscious she seems distressed by the dark, so I left it on. "

"You poor girl. I won'tlet you die. You hear me in there! " Sara spoke loudly.

"Now who's making it hard to rest? "

"Oops! My bad. Anyway, I looked through that bloody notebook we found wrapped up with her. Most of it is unreadable, but I was able to make out that it belongs to an intern working at the lab. From what I could make out, she discovered they were harvesting materials from her body! " she said, gesturing to the exam room.

"That's terrible! "

"I know, right? By the way, I think we need to decide on something to call her, at least until she is able to give us her name. I hate just calling her she all the time. "

"Fair enough. any ideas? "

Sara held up the bloody notebook. Much of the cover was obscured by the blood, but some words were visible.

May-Fe

Steph

Ellis

"May-fee Steph Ellis!"

Gilead groaned a bit, but knew better than to try to change Sara's mind. "I guess that works. "

They had also found a handmade doll in May-fee's blanket. It had been soaked in blood too. Sara pulled it out of her bag. "I managed to get most of the blood out of this. It's pretty cute." The doll was made of cloth, had yarn pigtails, and wore a simple dress. it's limbs were simple and rounded at the ends. "I wonder who made it? Hey, were you able to tell if she's an angel, Doc?"

Well, she does share about 95% of her DNA with angels, but the other 5% makes her pretty different. I think maybe she has some devil in her"

"How mysterious! I can't wait to get to know her. " Sara walked over to the bed. "We're gonna be best friends, you and I." May-fee's eyelid fluttered. "I think she's waking up. " Sara leaned over, her face near May-fee. An eyelid opened half way, revealing a red iris. She stirred.

"Anna?" He voice was weak. "Anna? " There was a hint of desperation.

"Is Anna this doll's name? Here you go. " Sara placed the doll on May-fee's chest

Apparently satisfied, May-fee sighed, her head rolled to one side, and a tear ran down to the pillow. She was also again. Gilead came in the exam room. "That's a good sign. she seems more relaxed, now. "

"That doll must be pretty important to her. "

"Indeed. let's leave her be to rest now. "

"Sure thing, Doc. I gotta get to school anyway. Take care of my new best friend, ok?"

"You can leave it to me. "

* * *

After school, Sara quickly returned to the clinic. She entered and called out, "Doctor G?"

"In here", he answered. Sara smiled when she entered the exam room. May-fee was sitting up, nibbling on a rice cake. Her pink patches were smaller, covered anew with dark scales. Anna was propped up by the pillow beside her. Gilead was sitting by the bed. Sara hopped onto the bed, knees first, her face near the other girl's. May-fee blinked.

"Good morning, bestie!"

"Um...hello... art thou Sara, she that deliverdest me from my peril?"

"Deliver what? like a pizza? "

"Her language skills are pretty archaic. She asked if you are the one that saved her. "

"Oh! Well, you could say that. I brought you here. " May-fee placed the fingers of one hand near her chin, then made a quarter circle motion until her palm was showing. Sara smiled and took the hand, and May-fee acted surprised.

"She also knows sign language. That gesture was a thank you. "

"Yay, I knew my bestie would be an interesting person. " May-fee wasnt sure what to do. "Do you have a name? " Sara asked.

"I knoweth naught."

"Where are you from? what kind of angel are you?"

"I knoweth naught"

"Well, don't worry. I have a name for you, until you remember your real name. May-fee Steph Ellis. It was on your notebook. It's that OK? "

"It will do."

"As for what kind of angel you are, you're my best friend, and that's all that matters. " Sara's face beamed.

"If thou sayest." Then Sara gave May-fee a hug. Her body stiffened.

"Oh, I'm sorry. "Sara said, releasing her.

"She's a little wary of physical contact, it seems. Give it time Sara. I've got a house call to make. I'll leave you two to get acquainted. "Gilead stood.

"Thanks, doc! By the way, have you...?"

"I haven't reported this to anyone."

"Good, I'm glad. I can only imagine how coldly they would examine her" Gilead nodded, and left the room. "I'm gonna call you Mae-mae!"

"Another name? " May-fee asked incredulously.

***