The clouds were breathtaking. The rising sun turned the large cottony puffs into brilliant flames of hot pinks and oranges. The few birds in the sky darted between and through the puffs like a chorus of ballet dancers. Below, the dawning light set the ocean waves into swirling flames. This was her domain. Though she loved the earth and all things on it, it was the sky where she truly felt like herself. The steady breeze as she flew caressed her like a lover’s touch. Here she could be free. Here, nothing else mattered. More gulls started rising to join her in flight, a few, unfortunately, serving as an early morning snack. She looked ahead and saw the distant island. She knew who awaited her there. Her heart nearly burst at the thought of him holding her in his arms once more, feeling his warmth pressed against her bare skin. She increased her pace, her wings flapped even more intensely as she strived with every muscle to reach him. She longed for his touch, for his body, for his love. Yet something was wrong.

No matter how hard she strained, no matter how fast she flew, the island always stayed at the same point on the horizon. Soon, dark black storm clouds began filling the once brilliant sky, rumbles of thunder, and flashes of lightning tore through the sky as the gulls dove to seek refuge from the storm. Rain and hail began to assault her scales but such paltry things were nothing to her, minor annoyances at best. As the storm’s fury increased, she began to fear for the safety of her beloved as he was much more fragile than her. Nothing would keep her from the man who owned her body and soul. She felt her blood pulsing through her veins, her muscles straining with each beat of her massive wings. A tremendous burst of lightning struck her and she cried out in surprise. She suddenly felt a large agonizing pain on her back and craned her head to look. The sight filled her with unmitigated horror.

She saw the thin membrane between the ribs of her wings beginning to char, tear, and shred into useless ribbons of flesh.  Those ghastly streamers continued to spiral from her as the ribs between them decayed and rotted into nothingness. She then began to spin out of control, spiraling downwards to the turbulent sea below in an absolute panic. Soon, she felt the muscles on her back that held her wings begin to tear out of her and she almost blacked out from the pain.  She hit the waiting ocean with a splash that sent spray flying dozens of feet into the air. 

As she struggled to reach the surface, she felt the remains of her once-glorious wings completely tear off her body. The saltwater surged against her raw and tortured flesh to cause even more pain. She didn’t know what was happening to her but one thought remained fixed in mind: she had to reach her love no matter the cost. She had to make sure he was safe. 

She finally breached the surface as she fought the waves that threatened to drag her back under. Choking and gasping for breath, she found the island only a few scant yards before her. 

She could see her love on the beach running towards the surf to help her. His face was full of worry as he called her name. Just as soon as he touched the water, another bolt of lightning struck at him as if the gods themselves targeted him. The bolt might as well have been made of dragonfire itself as it incinerated him on the spot. She cried out in grief as she watched the charred bones of her lover tumble into the waves to be tossed haphazardly back to the beach.

Exhausted, her soul and the reason for living lost to her, she stopped struggling and allowed the waves to consume her as well.

***

Becca awoke with a sharp gasp, her hand clutched to her breast.  She had that strange nightmare again. She’d been having it every night for the past week after she regained consciousness. She ran her hand through her sweat-matted hair and tried to calm her breathing. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do given the circumstances, even if the nightmare hadn’t happened.

She still wasn’t entirely clear as to where she exactly was and that had already put her on edge.  All she had been told by the various doctors and nurses was that she had been seriously injured in a home invasion and that St. Christopher’s wasn’t equipped to deal with her trauma. Thus, she had been sent to a facility outside Chicago. Dr. Morrow, the lead physician, had told her that her family had also been injured but were too unstable for transport so they had remained at St. Christopher’s. Everyone else at the party had been killed. 

She had felt a large piece of her soul wither and die at the news. Dr. Morrow tried to be as consoling and sympathetic as he could but Becca didn’t hear him. She was in shock, dead to the world, as the tears fell like a steady river. Even now, all she could do was just sit there on the bed, her head on her knees, and weep. She wept until the tears wouldn’t flow anymore yet her body still wracked with sobs. 

It was horrible enough that she had lost so dear a friend as Marcy, a great teacher and partner like Carl, a man she viewed as a second father like Richard. But then...then...to find out he was gone too. That so very nearly broke her entirely. The only thing that kept her even sane at that point was the fact that her parents were still alive. 

How?! How could some punk with a gun take everything away from me?! We would've given him anything he asked for. Derrick’s Falls is a safe town. Sure, we had some teens trying to be all “gangster” but when half of your town are literal guard dogs, the crime rate is almost non-existent. Hell, half of the crimes that are committed are done just so things don’t look too out-of-the-ordinary!  God, how am I even going to look at the town the same way again?

Every time that I go to Mocha-Me-Crazy, I’ll be reminded of Carl and the stories he’d swap. Marcy at Landman’s Tailoring, Richard at the hardware store. God, just so many memories. How am I even going to be able to go past that dark store without---without--, she took a deep steady breath, without thinking of Kyle? How many summer afternoons did we spend talking on that stoop out front? How many nights did he have to cancel a movie with me because he knew Ricard needed help at the store with something or other? He always put others’ needs before his own and that’s part of why I fell in love with him in the first place. I knew he wanted to spend more time with me as his best friend but he just didn’t realize that I wanted more. I was about ready to grab a neon sign that said “Will you go out with me?” when that night happened.

Becca grinned as the memory played out. It wasn’t even some big epic event you’d see in a movie. Kyle was just locking up the store since Richard was out of town and I was just walking past to grab some dinner. We just started talking like we normally do but somehow, in some way, something changed. He started seeing me not just as his best friend but as a woman. 

I still remember the look in his eyes as his brain shifted his concept of me from “friend” to “eligible woman”. It was so cute the way he stuttered and stammered asking me out to Maisey’s for a burger. He was acting like a little lost puppy trying to find its master and God was he so adorable.  Of course, I knew he already was a puppy by then so it wasn’t---.

Suddenly, Becca’s eyes widened as she threw her head back in shock. Wait a damn minute! He’s a puppy! Richard is too! No burglar could possibly take one of them down unless he brought a tank, let alone both. So unless that guy was Van Helsing and came packing with silver, Kyle and Richard would have rushed us to the hospital! Even if I had to be transported out, Kyle would be tearing through the entire state to get here, on all fours if he had to! Something is seriously messed up. I don’t know what it is yet but I’m damn well going to find out!

***

Lilith reached over to the hall-full wine glass on her bedside table as Edward rose from the bed. After taking a long sip, she turned around to see the man wiping himself off and begin to redress. There wasn’t anything romantic in their relationship. They had simply needed a release after dealing with that idiot Beckett and his simpering explanations for the break-in. She was already in a foul mood due to the Greco situation and it had soured from there. To say the man was lucky he hadn’t ended up as an appetizer for this evening’s activities was an understatement. 

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the would-be thieves had managed to crack the system mainframe, something she had paid exorbitant amounts of money to ensure could not happen by the very best cybersecurity firm on the planet. She fired the firm on the spot and immediately went to the second-best competitor since the top firm clearly was using false advertising. No information appeared to have been stolen but Lilith still fumed. Her company was one of the many prizes she had acquired in her long life and someone had dared to mess with it. As soon as she found out who and where they were, there would come a reckoning. 

Edward had finished dressing and stood at attention by her bedside. Lilith lay on the expensive silk sheets completely unashamed of her nakedness being on full display. Most men would have certainly had a reaction to the way she stretched her body with every curve moving in a sensual dance as she twisted along the silk. Not Edward though. He stood neatly at attention and waited for his mistress’ next command. 

“You may go, Edward. If I have need of you, I’ll call.”

He bowed and silently exited the bedroom. 

She pulled herself up further on the bed and tucked her legs under her. Edward had been quite rough with her, as she had instructed of course. If she had been a normal human woman, it was quite likely she would have a massive series of bruises on her legs, thighs, and buttocks, possibly even some broken bones.

She knew why she preferred casual sex with Edward to something with more intimacy. Though she had taken many men to her bed before and since Michael, none made her feel the way he did.  When they were joined, she had felt a completeness she'd never known. With his death, there was now a void in her that no man could ever fill. Any joy in physical intimacy had died with him. Now, sex was simply another form of endorphin release when she needed to relax.

As she emptied her glass, she reached for her phone and dialed a number no one else had access to. After three rings the caller responded. 

“Status of your patient?”

“Awake and cognizant ma’am,” a scratchy male voice answered. “Apart from the normal psychological reactions we expected, there have been no complications. Though the patient still continues to inquire as to the status of her parents. Do we continue with the cover story?”

“For now. If she’s anything like her mother though, that won’t last long.” Lilith tried to keep the venom out of her voice but she knew she failed. “If she continues to press, move on to Phase 2. That should shut her up for a while.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Is there anything else I should be aware of, doctor?”

Dr. Morrow knew better than most to not keep anything from his employer, no matter how insignificant it seemed. “There are still those slight irregularities we’ve found in her blood work. It’s nothing we’ve seen before but we are monitoring it and it doesn’t seem to be causing the patient distress. If the situation changes, I’ll contact you immediately of course.”

“No matter what time or whom I’m with, doctor. Your patient is now the single most important person on this planet as far as you’re concerned. If you fail me, you know the consequences.”

She heard the audible gulp and smiled at the thought that he knew exactly what she meant. “That will be all doctor.” She disconnected the call before he could reply and dialed another number.

“Yes ma’am,’’ an older feminine voice answered.

“Report please.”

“We have been observing the subjects for the last seventy-two hours since the final treatment was administered. We’ve found the disease in complete remission in approximately eighty percent of those who’ve received Remedium. None of the treated subjects are showing any negative side effects at this time. We are continuing to monitor as per standard protocol.”

“And for our other subjects?”
“Currently, at only sixty percent. We are unsure if it’s due to genetic differences or Remedium’s baseline formula. We are investigating both. That said, it is a marked improvement from the initial trials of only thirty percent showing remission.”

Lilith smiled wide and a note of genuine happiness entered her tone. “Excellent news. I expect daily reports on the subjects, please. Once the protocol has been completed, ensure that our more exotic guests ensure the subjects' silence on the matter. I have plans for Remedium and I don’t want some idiot Tweeting about it until I’m ready for the public announcement, is that clear?”

“Crystal ma’am.”

Lilith disconnected the call and poured herself another glass of wine. For the first time in a very long time, she actually felt genuine happiness. She drained the glass and placed it back on the nightstand. I was a fool to send Edward away. Oh well, nothing I can’t handle myself. 

She leaned back against the stacked pillows and made herself comfortable. Then as she lowered her hands down her body and gently began to caress her bud, she closed her eyes and whispered softly, “Michael.”