The next two weeks passed slowly. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened. I still thought about the fire constantly but I assured Alex and my family it was fine. True to Alex’s cop friend’s words, nothing more was revealed to the public, or to us. I started watching the news regularly. There were a few other arrests that started as public “incidents” but they were explained away as normal crimes. Burglary mostly. The crime rate in our area wasn’t great so it made sense, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t suspicious. In the back of my mind I wondered if there was any connection between what happened in the mall, and other public incidents since. It was hard to draw any conclusions since I wasn’t there for any of them. The mall was covered up so swiftly, who’s to say they didn’t do it again.

With prom tomorrow I'd been trying desperately to put the incident out of my mind so I can fully enjoy my last big high school memory before graduation. I managed to set it aside long enough to do well on all my finals, and Alex did too. We had gone back to our normal light hearted hangouts and haven’t talked about it too much. Jake and my parents seemed to have all but forgotten.

I tried on the full outfit one last time in the mirror before bed. I stared at myself carefully, turning every which way to observe how the dress looked at different angles. I practiced my balance in the heels, as I wasn’t very used to wearing them. Once I was satisfied I carefully took everything off and went to sleep.

The day of prom I was ready way too early. Alex finally arrived to get me and smiled brightly at me. “See, you look great. Are you excited?” He asked while slipping a corsage onto my wrist.

“I am, thank you,” I smiled back at him. We posed for several pictures to appease my parents. Thankfully Jake stepped in for a few of them trying to be funny. He winked each time he saved us from poses that looked far too much like a couple.

“With that, we’re off,” he smiled and held the passenger door open for me. I carefully stepped in, wobbling slightly on the heels, and he closed the door and came around to his side. I glanced at the backseat and the car was noticeably cleaner than yesterday.

“Wow, not even a little bit of gym smell left,” I teased as he closed his door. “Just for me?”

“Ha Ha,” he replied sarcastically while gently hitting my arm. “But yes I figured the gym smell would take away from the experience so I cleaned,” he smiled and took off towards the party.

The night started well. There weren’t many jokes about the whole Angel thing, or about us being a couple surprisingly. When there were jokes, Alex kept his word and complimented their original clever Angel joke that we’d never heard before, then redirecting their attention elsewhere. We laughed and danced and were having a really good time. They served us dinner and I slipped my feet off the edge of my heels for a moment of relief while we ate. Near the end of our meal Alex got a bit quiet and was staring at me. It was making me nervous so I tried to avoid eye contact, opting instead to scratch lightly at my back, turning the other way in the process. The edges of the dress must have been moving around too much because my back was red and oddly itchy.

Alex noticed my discomfort and asked me to step outside with him for some fresh air. I gladly accepted and we headed for a small alley behind the building. We passed a few couples but it was mostly empty.

“Romantic alley,” I chirped sarcastically trying to lighten the mood while still itching as the discomfort in my back started to become painful.

“Or scary, I could be a murderer,” he waved his fingers around and laughed. He looked at my back and frowned, turning more serious. “Hey you should stop itching, it's really red, are you ok? If the dress is bothering you, we can head out now. I think it's wrapping up anyways,” he said while removing his suit jacket. “Also put this on you look like I really did try to murder you,” he laughed.

“Ha Ha, thank you,” I said dryly while putting on the jacket, “Ya we can go no-” I stopped in the middle of my sentence and gasped. Pain started to shoot out of my back near my shoulder blades where I had been relentlessly scratching. Alex placed a hand on my shoulder trying to figure out what was hurting me and recoiled in pain. He put his hand up between us and there was blood.

We looked at his hand and we both froze. “I’m sorry, maybe there's a safety pin in there?” He questioned while stepping behind me to help me get the jacket back off in my pained state. With the jacket half way off he gasped and shoved the jacket back on me roughly.

“What was that for?” I asked fearfully.

“Stop, we can't talk about it right now, come with me,” he whispered harshly and grabbed my wrist. He picked up the pace, practically running me back to his car. I felt like we were back in the mall and started to shut down again. Only this time I was in pain, itchy, and my back felt like fire.

“Alex, is there something-” I started

“Please please don’t ask yet you need to wait,” He begged desperately. He was walking too quickly. His hand was still around my wrist and I could barely keep up in the heels. He kept glancing around but there didn’t seem to be anyone there.

We finally got to the car and he popped his seat forwards gesturing for me to get in the back seat. “But why-” I gasped again at a new streak of pain and changed my mind. The question seemed unimportant. I got in the back and he popped the seat back and slid in, closing the door in one swift motion. He looked back at me as he started the car, concern plastered across his face, and started to drive.

“Remember my aunt’s cabin from last summer? No one’s there right now and we’re pretty close to the lake. We’re going there. Take that jacket off now please,” he nearly ordered me. I could tell he was trying to be calm but the panic in his voice sent shivers down my already aching spine. He was always calm, always my rock, and got me through times I can’t even speak of, and now he was panicking, driving way too fast, glancing back at me too much. “Jacket. Now please,” he said in desperation as he reached back and touched my wrist gently to bring me back to reality. I removed the jacket and heard a tear in the fabric as it freed itself from something it was stuck on. I gently felt for my back and instead felt something cold, hard, and sharp protruding from it. Whatever made Alex bleed didn’t come from the jacket, it was on me.

“Alex I’m scared, what did you see?” I asked desperately.

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He breathed deeply, trying to keep his focus on the road and setting his cruise control to just safely over the speed limit. “I’m not completely sure but Angel, it’s going to be okay I promise. Just breathe, we’ll be there soon. 30 minutes. Try to take a nap ok?”

“Okay,” I said, still unsure, “thank you, I trust you.” With that I pretended to nap. The irritation in my back was far too great to actually sleep but I wanted him to relax and focus on driving. I lied there with my eyes closed and tried to understand what I was feeling on my back, in my back, but I couldn’t see it. It was driving me crazy.

A while later I felt the car slow and turn onto a dirt road. We were nearing the secluded lakeside cabin we had visited last summer. This time instead of a bathing suit and joy I brought with me fear, Alex’s bloody hand, and a mysteriously ripped jacket I was clinging onto. I opened my eyes as the car slowly stopped at the cabin, pretending to rouse from my sleep.

“I know you were faking, but thank you,” he said sincerely to put an end to my act. He got out and folded his seat forward, extending a hand to help me out of the back. “How much pain are you in? Can you walk in?” he asked worriedly while trying to look behind me.

“I can walk, the pain isn’t as bad now it just itches,” I said trying to be calm. It wasn’t a lie. The pain was bad for a moment but now all I felt was a deep itch and fear.

With that he helped me inside and locked the door. He turned the lights on and meticulously closed all of the curtains before finally coming to me. I was standing on the welcome mat awkwardly. I had no idea what was happening. He stood in front of me and grabbed both of my shoulders. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for something.

“I lied,” he whispered and looked down. “My friend on the force told me more. It happened more than once. Not just fire but weird things happening to people. Each time the police made it disappear and each time the person was sent away. I don’t know where. Neither does he. The FBI has taken over the case and all they can do is contain the initial scene. Even they don’t know what’s happening, it’s serious. He only told me so I could watch out for myself as a favor, and he swore me to secrecy. I didn’t want you to panic. I'm so sorry,” he breathed deeply after stumbling out the apology. His voice shook and so did his hands, but they remained tightly gripping my shoulders.

“But why are you telling me this now, what’s going on Alex, I’m scared,” I nearly cried as I choked out the end of my sentence.

“I know, I'm not completely sure what it is, all I know is what I told you but I think something like that is happening to you, and I don’t want you sent to god knows where if someone sees you. I’m going to show you in the mirror, but please try not to freak out okay?” he pleaded.

I nodded and tried to prepare myself, but the fear in his eyes while looking at my back made it impossible to calm down. It had to be bad for him to react like this. He gently led me to the bathroom mirror and I didn’t even need to turn to see what had him so frightened. He was right. Something was terribly wrong and if anyone saw me I’d be sent out and locked away somewhere. Maybe I should be. The thought crossed my mind for an instant before I shook my head to dismiss it and tried to focus on what I was looking at. It didn’t look real. I had to be in a nightmare.

Staring back at me in the mirror was me, my eyes wide, dress ripped, and Alex standing far enough in front of me not to be hit by the unwelcome additions to my body. Wings, sharp, metal blades for wings. They looked more hellish than angelic and I could almost laugh at the irony if I weren’t so terrified. They were large and resting down behind me, reaching down to my calves. I could feel the metal resting against my calf, but it didn’t hurt me like it did Alex. I was protected. Like the fire, I thought with horror once again filling my mind. I reached back with one hand grabbing a metal imitation of a feather hard enough to confirm my theory.

“Hey don’t!” Alex shouted at me in a panic.

I revealed my unscathed hand after desperately trying again to pierce the hand on the sharp tip of one of the blades. My blades. Alex breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of me unharmed but no relief came to me. I was a freak. I only knew of a few others and they’d all been locked up secretly. No one even knew this was happening. What about my parents and brother? I couldn’t go home like this.

“Say something, please,” Alex begged quietly.

I opened my mouth to speak but words didn't come out. I realized that I no longer felt any itching in my back and rolled my shoulders to relax my tensed muscles. In response the wings moved with them naturally, as if I was controlling them and they’d always been there. The wings moving frightened Alex. He jumped forwards even more and nearly landed on the bathroom counter to avoid them.

“I’m sorry, Fuck I’m so sorry I hurt you earlier, I didn’t mean to move them,” I choked out. With words finally leaving my mouth I couldn’t contain it anymore. I started to cry, violently.

Alex reached out to comfort me but paused, unsure if it was safe. “It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean to and it was just a scratch, look it’s fine now,” he said, holding up his hand to show a bit of dried blood on what looked like nothing more than a deep cat scratch across the palm. I tried to nod but I continued to sob loudly, unable to reply. “Come on, sit down,” he said softly and led me to the couch, making sure to leave room behind me for the wings.

I went to sit and was stopped by the wings flat against my legs. The realization only made me cry more so I stood in place for a few minutes, crying, while Alex watched helplessly. Once I had control again I sniffled and took a deep breath. Alex handed me a few tissues which I gladly accepted. I cleared my throat to speak.

“Okay, take a few steps back, I think I can move them but I’m not sure how to control them yet and I don’t want to hurt you,” I said shamefully. Alex backed up enough that I was certain they couldn’t reach him. I took a deep breath and tried to move them as if they were an extension of my back. The muscles felt almost natural, but a bit clumsy. I was able to fold them, the blade-like feathers separating at the roots and moving to a more arched shape like they were mid-flight. I felt them move to the side at my command almost too naturally and I sat down, wings tucked next to me on either side. I breathed a long needed sigh of relief and sat back a little. Now that I was more aware of them they felt like a part of me.I could feel the couch through them, like it was part of my skin, and I could turn the individual blades so their backs were resting on the couch, and it wouldn’t cut the material.

“Okay, that’s progress,” Alex smiled trying to reassure me. He sat in the armchair across from me and opened an alcohol cloth package from the first aid kit under the coffee table. He cleaned the scratch I left on his hand and then showed it to me. “See good as new,” he smiled again.

I frowned in response. “Aren’t you scared? I could’ve really hurt you. We have no idea what’s going on and I don’t think we can tell anyone right now,” I said, ashamed. I started to spiral again and he grabbed my hand.

“I’m not scared of you. We know it’s happening to other people, we know they weren’t hurt, we just don’t know why,” he looked at me seriously while still holding onto my hand across the table.

“School’s almost over, and neither of us have jobs yet, but what do we do about our parents? They’ll ask questions if we aren’t home soon,” I asked.

“You aren’t gonna like it but I was thinking about that on the drive over. The best option for now is to say we stayed at a hotel tonight, you know, as a couple, and tomorrow we’ll say we want to take a spontaneous vacation. I’ll have them tell the school about the vacation too. Since grades are finished it won’t be an issue. We can end our vacation once we figure this out. It’ll be okay,” he said calmly. He traced the cut on his palm while awaiting my response to the proposition.

“Actually I agree, I think that’s our safest bet for now,” I replied. A wave of fatigue hit me and I yawned and stretched while getting up to claim one of the bedrooms.

“Hey did you know your wings open up when you stretch, it’s very angeli-” he started, amused.

“Don’t finish that word, I have weapons now,” I cut him off jokingly. We both laughed a bit, glad for the small bit of normalcy between us.

Alex got up and followed me to the hallway. “Come to think of it, can you sleep like that, or will they like, retract eventually?” he asked innocently.

I paused, not really knowing the answer. It would be a lot easier if they would. “I’m not sure, but I think I'll be able to sleep either way. I'm exhausted and believe it or not they don't feel that weird, and they don’t hurt me. Besides I already sleep on my side so I’ll just keep them behind me,” I said trying to reassure myself more than him.

“Okay great,” he smiled warmly, “I’ll text our parents saying we got a hotel. Tonight just try to sleep, and tomorrow we’ll see if we can figure out more about how the wings work, okay?”

I nodded in agreement and walked into one of the rooms. As I expected I had enough control to position the wings behind me in a way that wouldn’t cut the bed or disturb my sleep. If I put thought into it I could keep them from being too dangerous by controlling the way they were pointing, but the extra focus and muscle control required was making me tired and sore. It’s as if I was working out for the first time in years.