If I Die Young

36. Fallen angel

I gasped for air the moment I felt myself regain consciousness. I felt like a fish out of water and it was a miracle I could even move. Suddenly I remembered the damage my body had sustained and I looked down at myself only to find that not only was I not a mangled, broken corpse anymore, but my arm was returned to its rightful place and every bone was as straight as a ruler. It was easy to breathe and I knew my suspicions had been correct.

"I can't die," I said quietly, listening to my voice as it echoed off of the walls, "I knew it."

Something resounded in the distance, making me snap my head towards what I realized was a door. Instantly I knew I was somewhere I shouldn't have been and I began to feel the panic set in.

"Hello?" I called out, leaning forward and finding that I was on the floor of the room. I was in a cell to be more specific, with a steel door and a cot. I saw myself in the mirror, the sheer perfection of my being completely undeniable. I wasn't a human being. I was some immortal, some legendary creature set to roam the Earth forever.

My hands reached out to the door, gripping the bars of the small window as I peered out. I saw other cell doors across the hall, ones labeled with numbers and letters. They all had S's after them.

"You've got to be shitting me," I snarled to myself, "I'm at PASCI?! How?!"

Something rattled down the hall and I knew there were other people in these cells. Someone came into view and I backed away, not wanting the man in the suit to see me. The closer they came though revealed more of a womanly figure, wearing a skirt suit and red heels. It was Ms. Renshaw, the other caseworker. I clamped my hand down over my mouth to keep from making a sound as I ducked out of view. The clicking sound of her heels on the tile eventually faded from my senses and I had to sit on the floor for just a few moments to regain my dizzied mind. Something was very, very amiss about this.

I didn't stay down for very long after that. My animalistic instincts kicked in and all I knew was that I was trapped. I flung my body at the steel door and let out one hell of a scream when I felt something shatter in my arm. Blood ran down my skin and I bit my lip to keep from screaming again when I pulled a piece of metal out from under my flesh. I wanted to cry but I wouldn't let myself, knowing that if I was going to make it out of here I had to stay strong. The lights flickered above me and I knew I had the power of the darkness on my side.

I slipped my hands down the steel of the door, watching as a thick, black fog radiated from my fingers and began to eat away at the metal like a corrosive agent. My skin grew pale and my veins stood out against them, filled with a black substance that I'm sure stunk like tar and rotten blood. The stench of death hung in the air and it didn't take long for me to make a hole big enough to slip through. The moment I was on the other side I knew it was only a matter of time before someone found me.

I picked a direction and began to walk, keeping my head high as I searched for an exit. I saw door after door instead, all labeled with a number and an S. S was powerful, dangerous, inhuman. They were all like me. I stopped in my tracks and I was just about to eat through another door when I heard footsteps. My fight or flight instinct seemed to malfunction and I panicked, but it was all for naught: the face that rounded the corner was a familiar one and he seemed to be looking for the girl standing in front of him.

"Sable?"

"Mr. Crowley!" I started towards him, only to stop in my tracks. Suddenly I realized exactly why he was assigned to my case. "Oh, no...not you."

"Sable, how the hell did you get here?" Mr. Crowley hissed, running forward as if to pull me into a hug. I backed up and shook my head, catching him by surprise.