𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐚 [𝟏𝟖+]

Chapter 5

𝐃𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐚 hums a tune to herself, trying to drown out the disturbing noises coming from behind the mysterious door in their laboratory. Raspy groans, yells, and a string of muffled curses fill her ears as she peers around the door curiously. She hesitantly approaches the barricaded postern, but the door slams open before she can touch the doorknob. Out comes Oliver, dragging an unconscious man behind him. Upon closer inspection, the man appears to have deep, cloudy grey eyes. His tousled, silver hair looking more like the product of hereditary genetics rather than a product of age, as he appears quite youthful with his defined jawline and plump, parted lips. His nose is slightly hooked, yet it works marvelously with his thick, straight eyebrows. His eyebrows are darker than the rest of his hair, and his skin is slightly greyish-pale with dark marks and scars, almost looking like cracks. As Dahlia studies him more, the closest comparison she can make is that he looks like a younger, more handsome, and more human gargoyle. She takes note of the scars decorated along his back as Oliver struggles to turn him over.

"Is this... the demon?" She questions, staring at him in awe as she begins to poke and prod at him like some kind of piece of art. Oliver sighs, exasperated, "Yeah, that's him. Heavy fucker," He grabs Dahlia's hand, stopping her from poking the demon further, "He's passed out now, but he'll probably wake up soon, so it's better not to do that." He lectures her, and Dahlia smiles sheepishly as she steps away from them. "So, what now?" She asks, leaning on the board slightly, as Oliver points to the metal tray full of surgical instruments. 

"Hand me that scalpel, I'm going to make an incision along his back to ensure that his wings aren't growing back under his skin." Oliver puts his gloves on, and orders Dahlia. The puzzled woman widens her eyes and stares at him hesitantly. "But, won't that hurt? Page 137 of the demonology handbook says that alp wings are extremely painfu-" She rambles nervously, and Oliver stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, that guy isn't an alp, he's more like an incubus." He chuckles, and she blushes slightly, before finishing his thought. "Or a fallen angel," She adds, and he hums in agreement. She hands Oliver one of the scalpels hesitantly, and he wipes it on his lab-coat before tracing it down the demon's back. His back is something out of a horror movie. Covered in both fresh and healed cuts, needle marks, gruesome burn marks, and small nubs portruding out of his pale skin, which she assumes are the wings growing back in. 

She chewed on her bottom lip, feeling the slightest pange of sympathy for the creature, before cursing herself internally. 'Demons rule the underworld, they'd take over the human world the first chance they'd get. Don't be stupid, they don't need your sympathy.' She thinks to herself, before shaking her head and bringing herself back to reality. As Oliver makes a deep incision across one of the portruding nubs, the demon stirs himself awake and in the blink of an eye, turns over and smacks the blade out of the shorter man's hand. Before Oliver can react, the demon releases a guttural groan and throws Oliver across the room. Dahlia freezes, her eyes wide as she watches the violent exchange.

Oliver winces and clutches his stomach, moaning in pain. "D-dick." Is the only word that passes from his lips as he attempts to pick himself up. The demon lurches towards him, but Dahlia pins his arms behind his back in an attempt to stop him. He freezes up, and stops moving completely. "Why is a midget holding me?" He talks, his gruffed voice slightly shaking as he flips himself around and grabs Dahlia's arm, his sharp finger-nails lightly piercing her soft flesh. She cries out, struggling against his grip. There's no way this shorter, smaller woman could fight against this crude giant. With an exaggerated sigh, he releases her arm and sits on the gurney, slounching over.

Oliver massages his stomach as he walks towards him, and Dahlia rubs her sore arm, a bruise already forming. Oliver grabs a pair of handcuffs from the wall, cuffing the demon's hands together before beginning to speak. "This is D-dahlia, she'll be workin' with me here." He introduces her, keeping it short. The demon hums in a mocking tone, "Huh, couldn't do it yourself?" he speaks, amusement and sarcasm bleeding through his otherwise raspy voice. Oliver rolls his eyes and continues the incision, to which the demon responds with a sarcastic "Ow.". The demon stares at Dahlia with furrowed eyebrows, as she avoids his gaze, staring down at the floor.

He watches her with amusement, feeding off of her nervous energy. Oliver notices the brief tension between the two, and begins explaining, "Ah, she's never worked with a demon before. She's a student." He hums, and the demon sighs. Oliver's face brightens as he gets an idea, "Dahlia, why don't you try? Take over for me." He holds out the scalpel to her, and she takes it in her shaky hands, gulping as she slowly walks towards the demon. They both look at her expectingly, and she takes in a deep breath before beginning to slowly slice into him. He instantly thrashes around, and she holds him down, "Stop moving around, it'll hurt less if you stay still." She clenches her jaw, and he groans in annoyance, but stays still nontheless. He turns his head around, and she breathes out shakily as the anxiety starts growing in her stomach again from being watched.

"You don't look like the people who usually work here, you're young," He speaks, his metallic breath hitting her face as she focuses on the surgical procedure, ", Pretty, too." He continues, purring slightly, and she looks at him in disgust. "I would hate to accidentally mess up this very difficult procedure," She threatens, murmuring, and he holds his hand to his chest dramatically, feigning hurt. He winces sharply as she pulls out the first undergrown wing, and she presses her fingers against the cut, stopping the blackened blood from spraying out. After a few more incessant "I'm sorry"'s, followed by repeated "It's fine, you're fine"'s, she finally finishes the procedure, wiping the sweat off of her brow-bone and sighing in relief.