Zeke, prepped for operation, clenched a syringe filled with sparkling, kaleidoscopic liquid in his hand as he entered the patient room with an equally geared up Ugo and AJ. He felt the bronze metal push against the palm of his glove and into his flesh, his knuckles protruded and appeared they were going to rip out of his skin.

He and his friends halted near the door. Zeke gazed at the demonic nimbus emanating from Naomi’s cadaverous form. It was like staring at a cursed corpse. The intense stench of sulfur bypassed the protection of his mask and fiddled his nose with the stink. He glanced at the others, and they were visibly fighting back the will to vomit.

The room was congested with the sound of ghostly whistling and a pandemonium of malevolent, childish voices. It made it hard for Zeke to focus on his own thoughts. Maybe not having the option to get lost in his personal sea of thoughts was a blessing. He took the first step forward, alarming Ugo and AJ. They stared for a bit and then followed his lead.

As Zeke got closer, he contemplated (as best as he could) how much life-force Naomi had got sapped out of her. Her eyes were closed, the thick black roots and spots mushroomed all over her face; it was hard to point out her features under all blackened growth. She was barely breathing. Zeke cursed himself for spending almost another hour outside the room debating the procedure with the others. He stopped by her bed and placed a thumb on her right eyelid and pushed it up — it was completely gray. He checked the other, and it was gray, too. The demonic virus was minutes away from taking over her Container.

“Ugo, AJ, help me get these straps off her,” Zeke requested politely. He kneeled to put the syringe down and then undid the straps.

Ugo and AJ walked to the other side of the bed and started removing the straps.

“Okay, now let’s turn her over to the side,” Zeke said. He grabbed onto a shoulder, Ugo grabbed her arm, and AJ her thigh. They turned her over to her side and held her in the position. “Ugo, keep a hold of her.”

Ugo let out a lewd chuckle.

“That’s the job you’re going to give him?” AJ protested.

“Yes, because I’d prefer for you to be the one to lift her shirt up.”

“Wait, what? Aww…. can we switch?” Ugo whined. He became mardy as he watched AJ reach over Naomi and grasp the end of her white shirt. Ugo moved his eyes down.

“I’ll crack your hips,” AJ said calmly.

Ugo looked away.

She lifted it, unveiling miles of thin whitened skin plagued with black stripes as wide as a child’s arm and so many black dots they looked like holes. Zeke studied the horror and noticed the stink becoming more intense. The virus was working hard to fulfil their desire for ownership of the heavenly body. Zeke located the spinal cord easily because of her withered frame. The cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacrum, the coccyx, they were all so evident that they could use her as a prop to teach a biology class. The roots covered most of the bones, though. Again, Zeke found himself surprised he knew what to do. No voice, no visions, he just knew. He focused on an area in the middle of her spine that was clear of blackened roots and grabbed the syringe off the floor. Zeke kept the tool steady in his hand and placed a thumb on the tip of the plunger; he neared it towards the thoracic. Zeke squinted at a gray dot that appeared beneath her shoulder blade, causing him to slow a bit. The dot expanded after he blinked once.

The sharpened wing tip shot forward and stabbed him in the chest. Blood sprayed, and he glided through the air.

He crash landed on the unforgiving stone floor using his shoulder and then rolled onto his back. The syringe was still in his hand. He got back up quickly and watched the gray, blood-stained wing withdraw into an unconscious Naomi. Ugo and AJ stared at him, suspended in animation.

“Don’t let go of her!” Zeke stressed. An unpleasant itch took place on his chest, he looked down and witnessed blood leaking out from the center. He dabbed the wound with his fingers and hissed. “It’s okay, it didn’t go in too deep.” he reassured.

Zeke wasn’t sure how hurt he actually was. It stung, but he felt fine for the most part. He knew that didn’t really mean anything.

But causing panic right now will only slow down the process. He marched towards Naomi again before the influx of second thoughts could inundate his brain. He locked his eyes on the target, raised the syringe, and plummet it towards the spine —

A wing sprouted and sent him flying away with a movement that resembled a backhand slap. It seemed sentient, and with attitude. This time, the syringe flew out of his hand, and Zeke landed on his back as the wing retreated. Ugo and AJ let go of Naomi and she fell on her stomach.

“We’re trying to help you!” AJ yelled to Naomi.

“It’s probably not her fault,” Zeke uttered, while forcing himself back on his feet. His entire body was aching now, like he was sitting in the microwave with radiating sores spreading across his body. Blood smeared his shirt, and lots of it was still leaking. He continued talking before his friends could comment on it. “It could be a self-defense mechanism that keeps people from getting near that spot.”

Ugo looked at Naomi. “I’m guessing to keep anybody from cutting off her wings, or something. So, what’re we going to do?”

Zeke’s inner ear twinged. He then said, “Cut off her wings.”

Ugo and AJ gave Zeke a look.

“Are you serious?” AJ said.

“We have to! We need to inject the medicine into her spinal cord to save her life! We’re at the point of no return!”

“We can’t cut off an angel’s wings!” Ugo replied in a fuss. “Isn’t that like the biggest sin of all?”

“Shouldn’t we ask for permission first?” AJ suggested.

“Yeah, or like, get her to sign something, you know for safety measure, so that she doesn’t tell Daddy what we did when we send her back home and He comes back pissed.”

“God isn’t going to sue us!” Zeke snapped.

“How do you know? From what I heard, He’s a pretty vengeful Guy! I’m just saying if I send my daughter to the hospital with just a cough and she returns missing a leg, I’ll sue the hospital to the ground!”

“What the hell are we even going to cut her wings with?” AJ shouted.

Zeke paused and curled his lip to the side. “Crap… I have no idea.”

Ugo groaned and doubled over. The groans quickly evolved into cries of agony. He shivered.

“Now, you too?” Naomi said in a panic.

He plugged his fingers into his ears and wobbled back until he hit a wall. “Caramba, it feels like someone is rubbing sandpaper into my eardrums!” he slid down and screamed continually. He clenched his face shut for a long beat and then released.

Ugo stared back at AJ and Zeke with a blank look. He smiled softly.

Zeke recognized that look. He asked, “What did you see…”

“Um… I…”

“Do you know what to do, right?” Zeke asked. “What is it?”

Ugo brushed his hands down his face and slowly stood up. AJ stared at him, perplexed. He walked over to the other side of the bed and faced Naomi directly and then walked backwards until he touched the door.

“Zeke, are you sure about this?” Ugo asked sternly.

“Yeah. I am.”

AJ shot glances between them, back and forth. “What the hell is going on?”

“Guys, when I say, get real close to her.” Ugo stuck his hand out to the side with the palm facing up and then slightly dipped his hand in a curved position, like a beggar’s hand.

“What are you going to—”

“Rutapexy Samhita!” Ugo invoked. The lights of the chandelier shook and dimmed as hectic cobalt blue zig-zags materialized and danced in his hand, demanding all attention. The flashy, jagged stripes rose and dropped in a short distance between his palm and shoulder. A shape was taking form in the epicenter of the blue storm. The saw-toothed streaks rotated in unison and it conjured a knife. The lightning dissipated, and the tool fell to Ugo’s hand. It was as large as a chef’s knife and the blue-hued blade was molded after a scalpel, teasing an extremely sharp edge for the most efficient dissection. Small bursts of electricity raced around the blade. White gauze swaddled the handle; it had a symbol that looked Arabic.

Ugo held the knife in his hand with care and skill, like he’s held it a million times before.

AJ gawked. “How did you—”

“I have no idea! Now, go to Naomi, now! I’m ready!”

The tinge of the knife’s blade glowed like neon, and the electricity grew and performed pirouettes up and down the blade. Ugo’s expression darkened as he focused on Naomi.

Zeke and AJ turned to Naomi and plodded toward her. They got closer, and closer, and closer, and closer… Ugo dashed as both wings bursted out, pushing Zeke and AJ away.

As Zeke and AJ soared through the air, Ugo stretched the knife back, and then swung with everything he had. The wings hopped a few feet into the air and electricity trickled around its scapulars.

A continuous elephantine scream exploded out of Naomi as Zeke, AJ, and her enormous feathered forelimbs hit the floor.

The godly, blasting scream caused the room to shake; Zeke and AJ covered their ears, Ugo fell on his back and covered his, as well. The larder fell on its front and the chandelier came crashing down.

“Inject the medicine before it’s too late!” Ugo shouted from the top of his lungs.

Zeke worked every bone in his body to pick himself up. He used every mental technique he could muster to keep his body from focusing on the aches and tried looking for the syringe, but the screams pierced into his eardrums and he stopped to push his fingers into them even deeper. He tried searching for the syringe again and then noticed cracks sprawling across the floor, walls and ceiling — they were all coughing out dust, hinting that they are going to crumble.

When AJ rose, Zeke looked over to her as she sprinted, rolled over the larder, and grabbed the syringe off the floor. For a heart-stopping moment, she expertly tossed the syringe over to Zeke, and he barely caught it.

He wasted no more time and bolted as fast as he could. He jumped over the giant wing in the way, wrapped his hand around the body of the syringe, allowing one ear to be a victim of Naomi’s thundering scream, and pierced the needle into her spine, he moved his hand back with an open palm and slammed it into the plunger, injecting the liquefied unicorn horn in its entirety. Zeke pulled out the syringe and the screaming softened. The gray wings withered until they became black and white dust that looked like ashes — it glided through the room.

The screaming stopped. Zeke receded while he fixated on Naomi. He stopped, lowered his mask, and dropped the syringe.

Now, he could let his body focus on the pain, and it all came rushing in like a wave made of agony — His ears, his chest, his back… everything. He screamed for five seconds straight and then collapsed.

###

A hand rammed into Zeke’s cheek, whirling him back to the world of the conscious. He was on the floor with his back against the wall. Ugo was crouched before him and his bruised face zoomed into his eyeline. He saw him raise a hand.

“Hey, I’m awake!”

Ugo halted and withdrew his hand. “Oh, bueno.”

“That’s the course of action you take to help someone who passed out? Slapping them?”

“Dude, I’m not going to do CPR on you. No way, I am not wasting my first kiss like that.”

Zeke spotted AJ near Naomi’s bed, analyzing the angel in silence.

He rose with a heavy grunt and then hunched over and put his hand over his wound, taking a moment to hiss and steady his breath and then straightened himself. He scanned the room. It was dark and in ruins, but silent at last. A cell phone’s flashlight in the center of the room was the only light in the room. He turned to AJ and dawdled to her. He froze just like her when he saw the blight banishing itself from Naomi’s flesh and her hair turning golden.

AJ turned to Zeke and her eyes widened. “Zeke!” She touched his arm.

“I’m fine,” he said without taking his eyes off Naomi.

AJ let go and returned to focusing on Naomi. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I was thinking what to do, and I got distracted—”

“It’s okay. I would, too, it’s a spectacle to see to say the least.”

Naomi’s cheeks and lips expanded and became fuller while her complexion warmed. Ugo showed up to watch alongside them. “Oh, so does this mean that she’s blonde, originally? Jackpot! That’s so my type.”

“Every girl is your type,” AJ rasped.

Her skin thickened, and the spots and streaks had vanished. Zeke smiled, but a thought came into mind that made him frown immediately.

Still without looking away, he said, “You’re going to bombard her with questions when she wakes up, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Ugo replied. “I have to figure out her tastes in music, food, movies, and TV shows.”

AJ knew right away who he was really referring to. “It’s only fair, given that we saved her life,” she said.

“She doesn’t really have to tell you anything, you know,” Zeke said.

Ugo sighed. “I know. She doesn’t have to. I won’t be too aggressive. I’ll let her tell me things in small doses throughout a long period. Let the relationship flourish.”

AJ bit her lip and hissed, “Why not?”

“Like I said before, maybe, we’re not meant to.”

“What? Because she’s an angel? Come on, she can tell me her favorite color or something,” Ugo said.

“And it’s her duty to not blab about things like that. You know, the answer to it all might not even be satisfactory, anyway.”

“Yeah, maybe it will or maybe it won’t, but you never know until you ask. Who knows, she may be a nerdy angel, huh? Talk about the perfect package, am I right?”

Zeke could hear Ugo continue to ramble in the background but tuned him out as he resumed, “You may not want to know the answers.”

“I rather know why, then not know,” AJ mumbled.

“Really?” Zeke shook with a quivering lip and inhaled deeply. “I’m content—no, I have conformed to the fact that things are just randomized, that the universe doesn’t have a grand scheme for anything. It doesn’t care about anything. Bad things, good things, fortune, and misfortune are all just based on… absurdity. Learning that there is a cosmic reason for all of this crap would suck.

“That would mean that some force believed that it was just to put me in the position that I am in now. To hand me this terrible inheritance. That it was all part of someone’s plan. That everything shitty that happens is part of someone’s plan. I don’t want to hear there’s a reason for it. I don’t want to hear about it being part of a grandiose plan that’s for everybody’s well-being because it obviously is not! If there is a certainty that someone can put other people in certain situations, then why don’t we have the right to choose them ourselves? If it isn’t all random, if there is a certain path we can follow, then why does it feel like we have no control over it? Why can’t we have control over it? Because of predestination? To me, that’s cruelty.”

It was like he just finished a marathon. He panted like a dog and sweat prickled his forehead. The aches all over his body screeched, especially the wound on his chest.

“Okay, I have the feeling that you weren’t talking to me,” Ugo said calmly.

Zeke moved his eyes to the floor as he blinked his tears of rage away and found a glimmer of solace when he spotted his grandmother’s book. He walked to it and picked it up. He examined as if he held for the very first time. The word ‘God’ kept flashing on and off in his mind’s eye. An omnipotent, supposedly benevolent entity killed off one of the non-violent minorities of the Rosario clan who had a book that helped lead him and his friends to save an angel.

While Adelmo Rosario once helped set up a fake clandestine charity to help teen addicts and then used the funds to sell drugs to the same kids and new ones to add to the statistics. That guy has never faced a single medical complication since the day he was born. Where’s the plan for that? His seething anger made him shake, and then he heard a small groan. He faced the bed and saw a revitalized sunflower blondie sitting up from it. She looked around with slow movements; she was rejuvenated but still a bit feeble. Her head cocked to the side, Zeke raised his mask and rushed to her.

“Head tilting?” Zeke put the book down and started the examination. “Don’t tell me you got an ear infection.”

Naomi snickered sweetly. “No, no, I’m fine. I feel fine. No, better than that.” She checked her hands and grinned. “I feel great! Healthy! I think the bug is out of me!” she eyed Zeke, then AJ, and then Ugo — he puffed his chest out and winked at her. “Oh… I understand now… you all are the legendary Healers of the Realm of mortals.”

They all became stone-faced.

Naomi made a nervous smile. “Do you not like to be called that? I’m sorry…” she looked away for a moment and then mentioned, “you’re all much younger than I imagined. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Let me help you with that.” Ugo stepped forward and kneeled. He squinted and puckered his lips as his best attempt at a seductive look. “I am Ugo Aguilar Flores Morata. Pleasure to meet—” Ugo choked on his shirt collar as AJ grabbed the back of it and pulled him away.

AJ gave Naomi a stale look. “My name is AJ.”

“Ah, yes. He told me.” Naomi averted her gaze to Zeke. “And your name is…?”

“Zeke.”

Naomi saw the wound on Zeke’s chest and her expression turned grim. “Oh, no… I apologize.” she scanned the others and grew dejected upon seeing their bruises, tears welled in her eyes. “I am so sorry.”

“No, no, this wasn’t all caused by you, babe,” Ugo said.

“Did you just call her ‘babe’?” AJ questioned.

“Just let it happen.”

“It’s okay, you were sick,” Zeke said coolly. “A patient shouldn’t have to apologize for anything they do when they’re sick.”

Naomi beckoned Zeke over. “Come here, let me tend your wound…”

Zeke pursed his lips and gave Naomi a look. “Okay…” he leaned towards her as she extended her hand and cupped it over the wound. Her hand radiated a moon-white glow, causing Zeke to close his eyes. For about three seconds, he experienced the zenith of peace and joy and enwrapping of a gracious otherworldly force. It was unlike anything he went through before. When he opened his eyes, he saw the glow fading from Naomi’s hand as she pulled it back and he looked down on his chest — a bloody hole in his shirt but unveiling just his unscathed tanned skin.

“That felt… amazing,” he uttered.

“I want to bask in heavenly glory, too. Do me next!” Ugo begged.

Naomi fell back on the bed and started panting.

“Naomi?” Zeke asked, concerned.

“I’m fine. I’m just...tired. I’m sorry. I don’t think… I can… do much more healing than that for the day. I’m out of mana.”

“Right, of course, you need to rest.”

Ugo sighed and walked to the cell phone on the floor in the center of the room.

Zeke looked over to AJ and caught her standing silently while beaming at Naomi with a contemptuous look that became shrouded in darkness as soon as Ugo picked up the cell and the flashlight focused on the wall.

In the darkness, Zeke could sense that AJ is about to blurt something out. Something filled with disdain, for sure. He heard a single breath escape from her mouth and then—

“It’s three thirty-seven in the morning!” Ugo shouted.

“What?” Zeke and AJ shouted back.