Seraphed Page #2

I wonder from time to time what the future will bring-I sure hope this sin't our fate.

• Science fiction

								

I paced, running my numb feet along the ground for a few minutes. Soon enough the exhaustion overcame the fear. Yawning, I managed to fling myself onto my bed before I was out cold. 

                                                                   • • •         

	I woke up to a blaring light forging a path through my closed eyelids. The bed creaked as I sat up and stretched. I brought my arms down to my side and noticed swelling muscles striping the sides of my forearms. 
“Aria!” My mother called up to me “Are you up? It’s nearly lunchtime.”
I quickly pulled on the baggiest sweatshirt I could find to hide my newly bestowed physique and scurried down the carpeted stairs.
“Good morning sweetheart.”
I acknowledged her with the brightest smile I could put on.
	“I heard there was a Seraph attack at your school yesterday. Are you okay?” 
I glanced at her, trying to shield my emotions. “Yes” I nodded.
“That’s good.” She says, “I was really worried.”
Before I could stop her she rested her hand on my brawny shoulders in relief. I tensed up.
“Have you…been working out?” 
It was a valid inquiry but it still embarrassed me all the same. I drew back from her touch.
“Yes” I replied, my voice slightly strained. I avoided eye contact, hoping she wouldn’t notice my unease. 
“I have plans with Jade for lunch” I quickly butted in, trying to change the subject. I stood up and walked towards the door, throwing on my sweater which now felt much tighter against my skin. 
“Oh, ok.” My mom sounded disappointed. I felt a bit sorry for her. As an only child, it was always me and her against the world. She divorced my father when I was only two. I barely remembered him and it didn’t help that she refrained from talking about him to me. 
	The sun against my skin was like a warm reminder that life was still continuing despite my odd transformation. Nothing had changed. I let out the exhale I didn't know I had been holding in. Unease still coiled in my stomach like a snake; should I tell Jade? Would she understand or would she freak out like I did?
	Jade was waiting patiently for me, her head buried in a book. Her room was neat as always, clothes perfectly tucked away in her many dresser drawers. Flourishing staghorn ferns filled the space above her wooden bedposts, framing her face as if in a picture. The warmly painted candy-pink walls brought a spark of hope into her room. I sat down next to her and she turned her head to face me. The uncomfort I felt inside must have been reflected on my face, because Jade reached out and slowly brushed my cheek.
	“Are you okay? You seem very stiff.”
I sighed, “Yes.” I wasn’t used to lying to Jade but I also felt opposed to telling her. I didn’t want to lose my friendship over a dang mutation.
	“Hey, Anything in particular you want to eat?” Jade said, changing the subject, “My Mom’s not home so we can have pizza!” I sighed and smiled at her as we ambled down the stairs two by two. I loved Jade for that, she didn’t go meddling in anyone’s business and never pushed.
	Three consecutive “Dings” shot through the air, interrupting the in depth conversation Jade and I had been submerged in. I sauntered over to the buzzing plastic box that sat neatly on the kitchen counter and pulled out two seaming slices of cheese pizza. I bit into the gooey wedge ferociously; apparently my appetite had increased as well. Jade stuck to nibbling on the crust of her pizza, eyeing me oddly.
	“Somebody's hungry,” She teased. I blushed and shot back a sneer remark that didn’t seem to dissuade her. 
	“You usually aren’t this…voracious.” I eyed her replying with a swift “Pulling out the fancy words, are we?” Instead of laughing like she usually would’ve in the circumstances, Jade drew back from me with a solemn expression.
“Aria, something’s up with you. I can tell.” Jade stared deep into my eyes. I could feel her prodding me from the inside, forcing the truth out. I tugged at my coat; which I’d neglected to take off. Was it getting warmer in here, or was it just the air that was thick with tension? 
“Do you want to take off your coat?” she added I shook my head, refraining from any visual contact. That’s when she lost it. Jade; the patient, caring child who always stood up for me lost it.
“Aria! What the heck is wrong with you!?” Jade hollered, “You’re not being fair to me!”
Her cheeks were molten red and I could practically see the steam draining off her as she glared at me. My shoulders trembled and I found myself stepping back. This…This wasn’t like Jade, she wasn’t this short-tempered. 
“For the love of cheesecake, get over here.” She demanded. “Now!”
It sounded more like a threat than a request so I walked my feet forward, slowly, despite myself. 
Jade loomed before me, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. A dark spark shone, thriving in her hate-filled eyes. A snarling grin crawled its way across her mouth. This wasn’t Jade. Jade wasn’t like this. 
I was brought back to reality by a jolt of pain that surged through the bulge in my abdomen. The throb brought me to my knees, my most vulnerable position. Jade smirked and let out a deep throaty chuckle.
 “There’s no use fighting it, Aria.” I looked up and met her gaze, just in time to see her shirt falling to shreds around her toned waist. Tentacled arms burst through the walls of her ribcage and fell neatly on the floorboards. With a twist of her head, her reassuring smile grew into a wide thin-lipped mouth. Needle thin teeth jutted out from her blood red gums, and a snake-like tongue darted its way towards me. 
I screamed louder than I ever thought I could manage, each word burning the sides of my throat. My breath; rippling and staggering, was weakly supporting the little life that still remained within me. I should have realized it before, the creature that loomed in front of me was none other than a Seraph. 
A deafening sound lurched from the mouth of the creature blurring out all the noise around us. The buzz of the fridge, the cars in the street, all melted away into familiar white-noise. The world seemed frozen in time.
“Aria,” The Seraph hissed, “Come with me.”
I stood as an unseen force compelled me onto my feet. I felt like a zombie; mindlessly obeying a greater power. 
	The Seraph led my mindless being over the threshold of Jade’s house. The street seemed deserted; the cars which had been rolling haphazardly along the boulevard had disappeared and the pedestrians along with them. All signs of life seemed to have vanished. My heart pounded, my veins pulsed; filled with fear. It was just me and the Seraph, it could do anything to me and no one would have a say in the matter.
My gaze rose to take in the sky above, it too looked different. The velvety gray clouds stood fixed neatly on the darkening sky. Their outlines reminded me of a titan; fleeting down from on-high to capture me in its outstretched arms. I shivered. The world seemed frozen in time. 

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