**hey readers!! Phoenix here! Just wanted to let you know I'm going to go to all my chapters and add a quote at the beginning and maybe end of every chapter! Sometimes they have to do with the chapter to come, sometimes I just put them up because I love them! Thanks for sticking with me so far!!(:

Quote: "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, it's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel alone." ~~Robin Williams**

Chapter 4

I don't feel anything at first.

My eyes just keep blinking away the spots that cloud my vision.

And then I become aware of the ringing in my ears. The tears streaming down my face from my burning eyes. The pain of something sharp sticking into my back and my whole right leg numbing.

Finally the panic starts to set in. I can't seem to move and my scream is stuck in my raw throat. When the ringing seems to dull my ears catch two things.

First, my name being called for, over and over again. Second, people screaming.

"Marie!"

"Marie . . . where are you?!"

I don't respond to these yells, but when another and another scream of pain rings out I struggle to regain full consciousness.

Through the fog clouding my brain I know that helping the injured around me is my first priority. I remember seeing an elderly lady holding the hand of a little boy, standing right behind me at the snack bar. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I open my eyes wider to look around.

Dust and smoke hang in the air, choking me and making me cough viciously. It's hard to make anything out, but there's something bright...flashlights? No, it's too bright and it looks like it's flickering...fire! The whole place is being engulfed in flame.

A strangled cry escapes my lips as I watch people run out the doors, tripping in their haste.

But I see a few that can't get up, and swiveling my head I can see lumps laying on the floor. An overwhelming need to help these strangers knocks away any feeling of fear I had boiling in me just moments before.

Looking down I see a large wooden beam lying on my right foot. Carefully I try to pull myself from it but what feels like spiked, iron teeth of pain clamp deep into the flesh of my ankle and all the way to my bones. I have to grind my jaw to keep from blacking out.

As black spots flash across my vision I feel the weight being lifted. Air rushes past me as the same person who lifted the beam lifts me as well.

I give a sharp cry as the pain races through my leg again. Along with the tears caused by the smoke, pain-induced tears stream down my cheek.

Strong arms are wrapped around me and the smoke around my saviors head keeps me from identifying him.

A cry filled with agony rings out to our left and I start to struggle against whoever is holding me.

"I'm sorry, but there is no time to heal these people. I have to get you out of here." The deep voice that makes it past the ringing in my ears is immediately recognizable.

"Nate- " The rest of my words are chocked off by a coughing fit.

My lungs feel like they are on fire!

"Hold on just a little longer." The worry in his voice makes what little mind is still working, wonder why a boy I've known for all of one day cares so much about me.

"These...people..." I try to mutter as my eyelids start to droop. The pain in my leg and the throbbing in my head is making me woozy.

Don't fall asleep! These people need your help. An inner voice urges me to keep fighting the exhaustion weighing down my bones.

"Eliza and Royce are getting them out so they can have more of a chance to survive." At his last words fresh air and a cool breeze hits my body. I welcome the reviving air.

My body starts to relax and my mind starts to drift off against my will. Before I can subside all the way into the comforting darkness I hear Nate mutter something that sounds close to, "She's already healing herself."

Then I feel his shoulders roll forward and then something incredibly soft, like silk or a feather, rubs my cheek. I barely register the pressure as we are lifted into the air.

For the second time that night my vision goes black.

***

"Pepper is she alright?"

"Her powers are waking up in a way...did most of the work."

The broken conversation that tears into my deep sleep wakes me fully.

It takes me a moment to collect my thoughts on what I had just experienced.

The theater.

Nate.

An explosion.

Then I was I was lifted into the air...by what?

I don't remember a helicopter, and the way we were just lifted into the sky, almost as if Nate had just pushed from the ground.

A door opening on the other side of the room brings in dim light so that I can take in my surroundings.

I'm lying in a king sized bed with blue cotton sheets that promise a good night's sleep. The walls are completely bare. There is a large black couch with a matching set of armchairs by the even larger fireplace. A fire is burning low, sending heat throughout the room. The floor is a dark hard wood.

In fact the whole room is cast in a comfortable, peaceful darkness.

It's only the young man standing in the middle of the room that brings me back to reality.

"Nate?! What's going on? What happened to the people in the theater? Where are Eliza and Royce?" In my haste for answers I jump from the comforts of the bed and onto the freezing floor, sending a shiver up my body. Only then do I realize I should be experiencing immense pain.

My eyes drop down to my right foot. I expect to see bandages, blood, broken bones. Instead I see...

Nothing.

I can move my toes with no problem or pain. My throat that once felt like it was being graded by a cheese slicer is now smooth and no longer has the taste of smoke.

A sudden dizziness sets me off balance and in less than a second Nate has crossed the floor with a flash of movement.

"Let me help you to the couch." His gentleness surprises me. Due to the exhaustion that wracks my whole body I let him lead me to the couch where the fire warms the goose bumps that were starting to spread over my arms.

But as soon as he helps me set down I ask the two questions I most want answered.

"First, what happened back there at the movies, and second, where are Eliza and Royce?"

"We're right here." Eliza's voice comes from behind me so I spin around, almost giving myself whiplash.

There stands Eliza, Royce and...Pepper from school. No emotion shows on any of their faces and by now I am officially more ticked off than scared.

"What.Is.Going.On." I demand through clenched teeth.

Nate is the first to reassure me. "Let's start with where we are. This is my house and we're only a few miles from your home. Now to answer your question as to what happened at the theater I am going to need you to be both patient and open minded at what we are about to tell you." His request is odd but figuring it's my only way to get an answer I nod.

Eliza, Royce, and Pepper file in behind me. Royce sits in the armchair next to Nate. Eliza and Pepper sit on either side of me on the couch.

Nate again is the first to talk. "Marie, all of us, including you, are not normal. As in not human." He pauses as if waiting for my reaction but I stay quiet. "Countless centuries before, God had given chosen human souls the power to heal. Those humans would make a broken nose mend, a fractured spine click back into place without any use of medical tools. They were also given wings so they could move from place to place much faster than on foot. These humans were given these gifts after they had died. They were known most commonly as Healers but we know them as angels of God. Many of the people around the Healers became afraid of them and proclaimed them witches. They were hung for healing the town's people. It was then that God chose specially picked Guardian Angels to watch over and protect the Healers. The Guardian Angels were granted the gift of wings, heightened senses, and other enhanced abilities. A lot like the Healers. Although now the Guardian Angels were helping the Healers stay hidden as they healed.

"God then picked human souls to become the Messenger. They send messages from Angel to Angel. He needed Angels able and ready to communicate between both the living realm and the spirtual realm. He granted these Angels the ability to go from both realms. They are most famously known for talking with the Lord or speaking with humans on God's will and message.

"Things were peaceful for about half a decade until a man by the name Isioleous decided to go rogue. He detested the idea of risking his life for another so he murdered the Healer that he was supposed to protect. God immediately stripped him of his Guardian Angel rank and he is now known as the first Fallen Angel. He's not Lucifer, mind you. That's a whole different story. So, Fallen Angels still have all the abilities they had before, but they stop aging the moment they decided to break away from God.

"They have to be killed right away before they can try and take out any other Healers or Guardians. When they are killed they go down into Hell and stay there. But if they aren't killed they will live on and on, gaining more experience and becoming more skilled. Guardians, Messengers, and Healers were made in such a way that it is much harder to kill them and keep them dead. They can leave this world by way of old age, sickness, or in the case of a Fallen Angel, murder.

"But when they die they go to a place between Heaven and Earth. They dwell in a home that their own minds make up. A shack in the woods perhaps. Beachfront with a picket fence. The only problem is that Healers have a calling. They were given the gift for the sole purpose of helping others.

"So when the Healers drops back down to Earth, the Guardians follow, always there to protect them. The Fallen Angels are always at the ready to kill a Healer, either momentarily or permanently-" My mind just can't stand another moment of this crazy talk and so I interrupt Nate in the middle of his sentence. I can feel the throbbing in my scull quickly returning.

"Why are you telling me this bedtime story? I asked what happened at the theater, not some crazed biblical fairytale.'" My outburst should at least warrant an apology, but they all remain silent and calm.

Eliza touches my arm to gain my attention and then she speaks, "Marie, that 'story' was true. Nate is just trying to give some of our background so it can start to make sense when we tell you this. At the theater Fallen Angels planted explosives to surprise their target. They wanted to grab a Healer...a very powerful Healer in fact. They were also probably hoping to kill the most respected Guardian Angel of all time." After she says this I have to refrain from gaping at her.

She, my best friend and the sanest person I know, was going along with these lies.

I look at her face and see nothing but seriousness and professionalism. My thoughts start to take a huge turn into crazy town and so for the sake of getting somewhere I decide to play along. Just to get answers.

"Ok, so let's say it really was Fallen Angels that blew up the theater. Who exactly was their target?"

Eliza answers immediately. "Nate, Royce, Pepper, me and mostly you." Her words take a few moments to process in my mind and by then a shaky laugh escapes my mouth.

When no one cracks a smile or yells "Just kidding!", I drop my grin.

"What do you mean they were coming for me? What did I or any of you do to make Fallen...Angels want to kill us?"

Royce smiles with a touch of sympathy at my current state of hysteria. "Well, you're right about what we did and still do to have Fallen Angels come after us. But it is also the Who. Who we are, is another reason those demons want us dead."

"So? What did we do, and who are we to them?" My question comes out quiet and I realize something then. Even though all of what they are saying is beyond impossible I am starting to believe their story. Here are two of my best friends, two people I trust most, telling me about the strange events that occurred at the theater. Why shouldn't I believe them?

But Eliza had looked me in the eye and lied about knowing Nate, twice. And Royce never once mentioned that our lives were at stake.

Royce must have seen the subdued anger and betrayal in my eyes because he hurried on, "Well that tale Nate was telling you lay within our blood. Long before this time we all died at a young age. When we died the Archangels had a message from God- Ah... I am getting ahead of myself. Archangels are the ones who physically talk to God and then pass it on to the Messengers. They're like Messengers, but with a higher pay grade. Anyhow, most of the time the specially picked humans who have died are informed by the Archangels themselves.

"That brings our story back to our time. When I died at the age of nineteen, March eleventh, 1345 I went to a place called Patellina. An area between Heaven and Earth, as Nate once mentioned, specially saved for Messengers, Healers, and Guardians when they die. The Archangels have a temple there, where they hold their meetings. I was ushered there confused, thinking I was still alive. The Archangels set me straight and told me my duties from then on were as a Messenger to a specific Guardian Angel.

"I was given wings and they told me the Guardian I was to report to. At first the thought of having someone control me for the rest of my lives revolted me. Then three things happened. First, the person I worked for became something of a brother to me. Second, that very same person was of such high rank, that it was an honor to work alongside him. Third, I never had so much fun in my previous short human life. I mean, I get to come back to life after I die and fight evil!" He slurs out in a dramatic voice. It almost brings a smile to my face. "Just like in a video game."

"Okay, first what exactly is it that you and all the other Messengers do? Second, you said that you died in the year 1345. That's impossible, you're only eighteen." My stubborn brain still refuses to recognize him as the angel he says he is. I've never seen winged soldiers flying about.

Instead of answering Royce looks over at Pepper and she looks down at her watch.

"We have exactly twenty minutes before she has to be returned home. How about I finish this?" They all nod and I impatiently turn to face Pepper.

"You obviously don't remember me, but my name is Pepanlina Reely. But this century calls for a more modern name and so you know me as Pepper Reely. We are limited on time so I'm going to make this short and we will continue this tomorrow. Eliza and Nate are Guardian Angels, meaning they are eternally required to protect one Healer. I am a Healer, myself, which means that I can help people as was explained before. Eliza has been my assigned Guardian Angel since the early fourteen hundreds.

"That means that whatever the cost, she will protect me. You, girly, are the same thing I am. A Healer and your Guardian Angel is the same man that Royce reports to." I follow her gaze to Nate and find his dark eyes watching me.

I can already see them all tense and ready to get this little meeting over, and so only two words escape my mouth. "Prove it."

Eliza, Royce, and Pepper look hesitantly at Nate and he speaks directly to me. "Marie, a human mind is fragile and what we have told you, you obviously don't fully understand or want to understand. I'm not sure it's such a good-"

"Frankly I don't believe once word coming out of your mouths. I don't know whether this is some strange, sick prank or if you're all just deranged. If you want me to believe you in any sense then I need proof. From what you have told me you all have wings. Let me see them." I demand.

Nate stands and the others immediately follow his lead. He nods towards the door and everyone except he and I leave.

"I just want you to know, it wasn't supposed to happen like this. I came back into your life just today to hopefully explain in time, we certainly weren't supposed to just dump this all on you in one go."

Well that plan sure didn't work out, but if what they are saying is true, then I guess they couldn't have planned for the explosion. After I shake my head in understanding, he extends his hand towards me and smiles.

My heart goes into a pitter pattering beat and I hesitantly slip my hand into his. When he pulls me to my feet we end up only a few inches away from each other and his scent envelops me. That woodsy, outdoors smell that seems to scatter my thoughts.

"Tomorrow you and I are going to talk. I'm going to try and explain things a bit more." He says quietly, and at his close proximity I feel that odd swirling in the pit of my stomach.

"For now, let's go outside and give you the proof that you're looking for." Nate says, not letting on that he can see the obvious blush now burning my face. Letting go of my hand he leads me towards the door of the bedroom.

We head down the hallway, passing three doors in total. When we reach the end my eye catches on a painting hanging at the very end of the hall. The only piece of artwork I see in this house.

Despite the fact that I know I should be heading outside, something draws me to the painting. It's obviously very old, with the corners ripped and frayed, and the edges turning a slight yellow. Although it looks too delicate to take out of its glass case the image itself is still immaculate.

When I'm close enough to examine the people depicted in the painting, I feel like gasping. The figures within the art are Nate, Eliza, Royce, Pepper, and a blonde that looks strangely identical to me. We all sit on lush green grass with a huge tree shadowing us. Wrapped around the tree trunk is a vine with glossy leaves and what looks like yellowish-orange fruit blossoming from the flowers. An afternoon sun blooms in the middle of the bright blue sky, and I can almost feel the slight breeze tilting the grass to the right.

Strangely we're are all wearing old style clothing. Eliza, Pepper and I are wearing what looks like long and heavy dresses maybe from the 17th century, as well as floppy hats with bright red flowers tucked into the top. Our hair is pulled up so that curls spill out on either side. Royce and Nate are wearing vests, dress pants, and lapels with a suit jacket.

We sit in a comfortable circle as if we were discussing something personal.

Nate's voice is what breaks me from my intense stare at the picture. "Tomorrow I will explain that painting to you. I'm afraid we don't have time right now..." Nate trails off, and despite the burning curiosity I have over seeing myself in a painting far older than I am now I quickly follow him out the door to the yard.

Outside warm air meets my chilled skin and I see Eliza, Royce, and Pepper standing there with their shirts clutched in their hands. Nate takes his off as well and I was definitely right in class when I first saw him. He works out.

Royce is also shirtless, showing off his abs that Eliza has no problem staring at. Eliza's left standing in a tank top, while Pepper has no shame in being only in a purple lacy bra.

After a second of hesitation, they all roll their shoulders forward slightly and the muscles in their backs contract. Behind all of them two large shapes that look like greatly oversized bird wings, stretch out.

The wings shake as if they have woken from a long nap.

Gasping I step closer and take in Peppers wings first. I know I asked for proof, but half of me wasn't actually expecting them to come through. I circle around her and stare at where they protrude from her back. I can't helping poking the area where they're connected to her skin.

"Ow!" Pepper exclaims, and I'm so speechless I just stare at her with a gaping mouth.

"I can assure you, they're very real." With that, Pepper's wings give a good shake and then stretch. Gasping I move back and out of their way. They aren't as large as Nate's or Royce's looks, but if I stretched me arms to full length they still wouldn't come close to the end.

It's hard to see in this dark light but I'm almost positive the color of her feathers is a light pink.

After another moment of stunned amazement I move to Eliza.

Her wings are the smallest out of the four of them and they are probably the most blinding. Their bright colors remind me of a male hummingbird's feathers. The top starts in a dark pink that fades into orange and right in the middle is a lime green. The lime green feathers fade just at the bottom tip of her wing into a dark navy blue that contrasts greatly with the vibrant colors.

My eyes take in every inch of her appendages and it takes me a moment to realize something.

This reflects Eliza in every way.

She loves anything bright, like neon blue, yellow, or pink. Her locker at school had all but been painted with the blinding colors.

Looking up into her eyes I see a painfully abundant amount of guilt and regret.

You don't have to be a genius to know when your best friend is sorry for whatever she did to you.

We both open our mouths at the same time to say something when Pepper interrupts.

"Hey, now girls. We can buy a sad movie and a quart of cookie dough ice cream later, but right now Marie is due back home." Her wings expand out as if to prove her point and so I take a step towards Royce.

His wings are much simpler and at least three times the size of Eliza's. They are a faint grey throughout the whole wing until my eyes reach the tips of his feathers. They are darker than the rest and I find my eyes flicking back and forth between Eliza's feathers and Royce's.

They both have the same navy blue color at the end of their wings.

I give them a confused stare and they both have an "I know something you don't know" look. Deciding to ask about that I later, I finally move on to Nate.

At first I don't even see his wings, but when I move slightly closer they finally appear. His wingspan is the largest out of the whole groups.

His wings are as black as obsidian, and right at the tips are beautiful white feathers. Watching them sway slightly in the air I know without a doubt that if a human saw his wings they would be terrified. The strong appendages practically scream supernatural power and I can almost feel the strength wash over me in an intimidating wave.

They are so foreign to me and yet something in my stomach clenches at the sight of those two colors together. Stretching my hand out hesitantly I let my fingers gently brush one of the white feathers. It's so soft I imagine my hand running across silk and for a minute it steals my breath as darkness starts to creep around my vision.

When I try to open my eyes it's strangely a lighter shade of night than it was only moments before.

There is a slight pressure on my hand and as seconds tick by I realize I'm walking forward while holding someone's hand. A strange weight seems to lie on my back.

What the freak?!

I don't seem to have control over my own body and as much as I fight I can't get out of this...this nightmare!

Panic seizes over me as "I" turn and catch only a slight glimpse of the person I'm holding hands with. It's obviously a guy who's fairly tall and has wings as dark as night-

"Marie, open your eyes. You're alright, you just have to open your eyes." Nate's urgent words pull me out of my daze.

Finally regaining sense of myself I start to gulp in air like a fish out of water. I realize I'm currently being held up by Nate and it's not that I don't like his warm body there to chase away the chills, but I'm not comfortable being so close to him.

Taking a deep breath I stand up on wobbly legs and take a step back. Everyone who had moved closer to see if I was alright moves back as well.

"This is going to...to sound crazy but I think I had a vision where I was trapped in someone else's body- or maybe it was my body but it felt so weird, like I couldn't control my own movements."

Looking around I'm relieved that none of them are laughing or calling me crazy.

"What did you see?" The questions rings out to my left and so I turn to face Royce.

"I, or whoever I seemed to be trapped in, was holding hands with a guy and walking. I was only able to catch a glimpse but the guy had wings as black as night, almost like Nate's just without the white edges." I stop and look at each of their facial expressions.

They give nothing away.

Pepper is the first to talk.

"For many people with a memory loss, there is a certain key 'thing' that can trigger old memories. For you at this very moment it was the color and feel of Nate's feathers. That memory that you had was really just you from a long time ago. Being a Healer means that you instinctively are trying to heal the memory that has been lost now that your brain realizes that you aren't who you thought you are. I believe that from the details that you told us, it was you and Nate before Nate's wings changed." She stops at my shocked facial expression.

"Wait, what do you mean I remembered something? Remembered from where and when?" They ignore my questions.

"It's time we get you home now." Royce says to me. He moves towards me in a slow way, almost like approaching a cornered bunny.

I move hastily away and blurt, "Answer my questions! None of this makes any sense!"

A slight blur crosses across my right side and before I know it Eliza has me locked in her iron-like fingers.

"We will explain some things tomorrow. I'll pick you up at three. Try not to get blown up, okay?" Before I can object, her hand is on my neck and I feel a slight pressure.

The theme of tonight seems to be me falling unconscious.

**Quote: It always shocked me when I realized that I wasn't the only person in the world who thought and felt strange and awful things. ~~John Green**