1The guy next door

My life was perfect. I lived in a white house with a white picket fence. We have a dog, fival, and my parents are happily married. Every year my parents leave to some exotic place for a vacation, leaving us at home to "hold down the fort", as my mom would put it. However this time when they left things were much different.

"You know the drill hun. Don't stay up to late watching T.V., don't open the door for strangers, call 911 when you're in danger, watch your brother, DON'T FIGHT WITH YOUR BROTHER, feed the dog, and don't ring up the phone bill."

"Mom I can handle it." I smiled and kissed her. "Has anything like that ever happened?"

"Well, I suppose not. It doesn't hurt to be careful."

Dad walked by and picked up the last of their bags. "Ready to go hun?" He said to my Mom.

"Yea." She said. "Hold down the fort-

"When you're gone. I can handle it Mom." We both smiled and she hugged and kissed me. "Your brother is at his friends house... Bobby I think. He should be home around 9:00."

She put on her coat and moved to the door. With one last hug she and dad left. Not long after I sprawled out on the couch and watched some T.V. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another month all by myself I thought.

Hours later a knock at the door forced me to abandon my television entertainment. When I went to answer it I saw a man with black, scraggily hair, smudged face, and deep set eyes stared back through the window. I hesitated.

"Can I help you?"

He looked at me for a long time. Almost if he was studying me.

"Maybe..." He turned and walked away. When he was far enough away I backed away from the door and sat at the table. Something about him made me uneasy. I should call Mom I thought. No, she just left. Besides he hasn't done anything to me... yet. I sighed. The first day is always the most stressful I suppose.

Two Weeks Later

Once again my brother was at his friends house and I was keeping to myself. It was about 8:00 in the morning and I was eating my favorite cereal. The stuff on the back of the box was really stupid, but it kept me occupied. I planed to call a friend of mine to see if I could come over for a while. I was interrupted by a knock at the door. When I looked out It was that man again.

"I need to talk to you." He said.

I swallowed down the urge to run and hide. Wiping my mouth from the milk I opened the door.

He looked at me in the studying way again and asked me to step outside. This guy is gonna kill me I have to call 911, was my first thought, but I went against it and stepped out of the door way. He held out his hand and I shook it.

"My name is Dr. Carson. I live just down the road."

I smiled. "I haven't seen you around before."

He smiled a little and continued to study me. "I don't get out much."

"Do you need something? You can come in if you'd like..."

"No that's alright. You can help me though."

"Sure."

"Try not to scream."

"Wha-"

Dr. Carson pulled out a cloth and put it to my face. Instantly I felt my legs give and my mind start to fuzz. Panic flooded my whole body. He was going to kill me. I should have called Mom, 911, anything! I screamed to myself.

"I'll explain everything when we get to the lab." He threw me over his shoulder and jogged down the street with me flopping on his shoulder. The world looked like it was in a jar, fogged by some kind of steam.

His house was undistinguishable. I could tell it was a dark color and we were on a gravel driveway. He opened some kind of door that led to many, many stairs. After an eternity we arrived to a room. He flipped on a switch and laid me on a cold, steel, table.

"I've been working on a way to enhance human beings. I worked for the CIA. They believed that I could do things for the military, but when my subjects came out horribly disfigured and most dead they decided to pull the plug. I believe I can still make it work. I've perfected my methods. This time it will work. Don't worry about your family. We'll tell them you were kidnaped."

I started to gasp for breath. He's a psychopath! He could slowly kill me! I was overcome by panic. Sobs burst forth and he tried to calm me.

"It'll be alright. I'll take care of you."

He grabbed a knife and started to cut away at my clothing. Soon I was naked and my vision was returning to its normal state. Dr. Carson took blood samples and asked me about family. I didn't answer, but when the blood testing was over he smiled at me. "You're the one I've been looking for. You are going to be the first one to be a super human. Think of it as being a super hero."

He placed heart monitors on my chest and brain monitors on my forehead. "Please..." I whispered. "I don't want to die..."

"You won't! That's the beauty of it! I'm going to make sure you don't die. No matter what." He brought forth a syringe with a black liquid inside.

"This will start the transformation. Once it progresses far enough I'll place you in a chamber where you'll safely continue more injections and be able to develop to your full potential."

I faded in and out from then. I remember an operation, more injections, and I think I remember him touching me, but I can't be sure. The last thing I do remember, however was him placing me in a bowl thing filled with yellow gel. I was able to stand in it without sinking to deep.

"This gel will fill your lungs and allow you to breathe. So don't bother holding your breath." He started to place wires into my skin and a feeding tube into my abdomen. Before he closed the door he gave me one last look as if he was hoping that this time his subject wouldn't die. He closed the hatch above me and the gel started to flood in. It smelled of plastic and burnt hair. When it went past my head I hesitated to breathe, but after a few trial and errors I inhaled deeply. After that I don't remember what happened.

I woke to someone stroking my cheek.

"Wake up. Wake up."

I opened my eyes. For the first time I could see the whole room. I was no longer in my bowl, but sitting on the steel table. The room had many technical things in it. The bowl, many computers, the table, and a bed. I tried to stand, but I fell over. Dr. Carson held me up and sat me down on the bed.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked.

"Nothing." He looked deep into my eyes. He no longer in a studying sense, but in an almost mystified, loving sense. Anger soon built up.

"What did you do to me..." I growled.

He held up his hands and backed away. He smiled and grabbed a mirror that was placed behind a book shelf. He held it up for me to see. I was horrified. I was normal for all I knew, but besides the fact that I was naked... I had wings. I turned to the side and inspected them. I looked like I was an angel. Wings that were white with red and gray speckles folded neatly behind my back. This could not be happening to me!

"What... Why?"

"You are beautiful. They always thought I was crazy... I showed them..."

"You kidnaped me for this...!" I whispered. I punched the glass, utterly disgusted at the person I saw who looked nothing like me, but was. The glass shattered and fell at my feet.

"I understand it's hard to accept what's happened. This is a good thing. People will love you!"

I put my head in my hands and I sobbed. What have I gotten myself into? "Change be back..." I cried.

"I can't... you're I infused your DNA with the cerium... you are to remain this way forever."

I looked up at his eyes. I thought I caught a glimpse of pity or remorse, but I was wrong. It was of envy... I turned my head away. He grabbed my chin and looked into my eyes.

"I'm going to take care of you remember?" He said, probably thinking it would make me feel any better. I closed my eyes. I'll never see my family again...

"I'll get you some clothes." He walked out of the room and I heard him lock the door behind him. I have to get out of here... I thought. I looked around, but there wasn't a window, no drain pipe, no air vent. I was utterly trapped. When I heard him come back down the steps I sat back down on the bed. He presented me with a white cloth. I held it up and it looked like a dress... except there were holes in the back for my wings to fit through. I put it on and I looked positively heavenly. I held back the urge to cry. The world I knew, felt comfortable in was gone. I could NEVER be the same ever agin.

I winced, the pain wasn't excruciating, but more like a dull aching burn that crawled up and down my spine.

"Your muscles aren't used to carrying your wings yet. With some rest you can spread them... maybe even fly." I looked at him with utter disbelief. He took my by the hand and walked me upstairs. When he took me through the door at the top I had to withdraw. The light burned my eyes.

"How long was I down here...?" I whispered.

"About six months..." He mumbled. Again I wanted to cry, but I swallowed it back. Once my eyes adjusted He sat me down at a table and offered me cereal. I accepted and ate like crazy... I was strangely hungry after I was fed through a feeding tube. When I was done we both just sat here in silence.

"I can't let you outside for a while... Maybe never."

I sat there with my head down. I didn't have anything to say to him. I wasn't mad at him, just the opposite I felt almost like I loved him, I was mad at myself for letting myself get here. I asked for some aspirin, but he said no.

"I can't let you take any medicine... I don't know what the effects would do to you."

This man... I thought... How could he possibly do this to me. Does he even care about what I want? I never wanted to be this way...

He cleared his throat. I looked up and he smiled. "While you were unconscious for six months I took the liberty of making you your own room..." He paused. "Would you like to see it?"