I stared at him blankly, trying to figure out of he was right in the head. "My... wings?" I questioned slowly.

Isaiah nodded. "Every Fallen Angel who makes it down here and services at least 24 hours has to get wings. Of course, the wings are already in you. But you need the power of a certain energy source to coax them out."

I regarded him cautiously, taking note of his unhappy expression. "Is it... going to hurt?"

He shifted his gaze, looking somewhere behind me. "Come on, there's a specific place you need to be." His response made me frown. He had avoided the question... which meant it most definitely would hurt.

Turning on his heel, Isaiah began walking down the hall. I hurried to follow him, keeping a hand on the hem of the sweatshirt so it didn't fly up. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear, but according to Isaiah, it was best not to wear pants? I didn't get that part. Did the wings come out of my legs or something?

As we were walking, I kept imagining what it would be like to have wings. The main thing was how annoying they would be when I tried to do everyday things, like sitting at a table, or trying to go to sleep. If anything, they would be an inconvenience. It was annoying... but even more than that, was Isaiah troubling silence. I had been around him long enough to know that he would at least make some sort of conversation as we walked around, but at that moment, he was completely silent. It made the already scary situation even more foreboding.

Isaiah stopped abruptly in from of a weird looking iron door. It was huge, at least eight feet tall, and about four feet wide. There were several steel latches going across it, as if it was holding something dangerous.

Isaiah waved his hand, undoing all the latches, and pulling the door open. Cautiously, I poked my head into the room, observing its contents. It was surprisingly... plain. The walls were starch white, as were the floors. The ceiling was quite high, higher than any normal room. In the center of the large room, there was a metal operating table, which confused me for 0.5 seconds before it clicked.

The wings were inside of me.

Looking reluctant, Isaiah pushed me toward the table. "Just... try to relax, and let it happen. The more you resist, the more it'll hurt."

I didn't get to turn and ask him what he meant, because I was pushed onto the metal table. The icy metal met my bare chest, puzzling me further as I thought I had on the hoodie... Before I could even think out sitting up to ask what was happening, I wrists were brought above my head and strapped down, as were my ankles. I pulled weakly at the restraints, the familiar scenario bringing back unwanted memories. My scars on full display, I wanted to curl up and hide my body from any prying eyes.

I heard retreating footsteps, and then two sets of new ones. At first, there was nothing. Until two icy hands set themselves onto my back. I jerked away from them, not wanting to remember what happened back then. But they just give up and leave me alone. A different set of hands held my shoulders down, restraining me from moving any further. The icy hands returned to my bare back, resting right beneath my shoulder blades.

My breathing turned ragged as the hands began to slowly heat up. It was unnoticeable at first, but was it got warmer, I began getting uncomfortable. The hands got hotter and hotter, and a burning sensation starting to radiate throughout my entire torso. Biting my lip, I held in any sounds of pain. Even in that situation, I was still able to worry about doing anything embarrassing.

As I was starting to wonder if my skin was being set on fire, the hands began to lift. I thought that the burning would leave with them, but it didn't. Instead, there was a pulling sensation from the middle of my spine. I arched my spine, trying to relieve the feeling, but the pulling got more intense. And then the dreaded happened.

I heard it before I felt it. But when I felt it... it was an incomparable feeling of pain. The skin on my back began to split open int two different areas. My teeth dug into my lips so hard I tasted blood, and tears began to run down my cheeks. I felt warm liquid running down my side, and smelt the familiar scene of rust and salt.

My ripping skin sent stabs of pain throughout my entire body. I felt something fuzzy pushing its way through the rips, sending aches down to the base of my spine. I couldn't hold everything in, and a whimper slipped through my lips. Panicking, I began pulling at the restraints, yanking my arms. I just wanted the pain to stop. But my moving arms pulled at the skin on my back, which in turn intensified the pain. But my mind was too muddled to care.

Sharp slices of pain that went through my back made my twitch my hips, which only sent more daggers through my shoulder blades. The things pushing out of my back continued, ignoring my attempts to make it stop. There was a certain part of one of the things that were too large to get out of the tear in my skin, so it split my skin even more. I blacked out after that, but the pain was so sharp it brought me back into consciousness. It scared me that not even passing out would let me escape.

Desperate, I began to slam my head into the metal repeatedly. I figured that knocking myself out would relieve me of all pain. There were muffled shouts, but I didn't stop. Not until two more hands grasped my head and forced me. Gasping for air, I shook my head, trying to free myself of the evil hands. The air kept getting caught in my throat, not reaching my lungs, sending me into further panic.

Just as I felt I was going to go crazy, the hands on my head sent a cool feeling through my aching head. Like tranquil lake water slowly seeping in. "Relax," came Isaiah's soothing voice. I sighed in relief as air began reaching my lungs again. The pain from my back dulled down until it was nothing, and my entire body untensed.

Isaiah continued to murmur calming nothings as I slowly faded into idyllic nothingness.

~