Sara took a step back as the man stepped closer.
"Sara, it's me", he spoke softly as the red light faded from his eyes. Sara froze as her heart leapt into her throat.
"Michael"? She asked, the image of the burning red eyes still seared into her retinas.
She watched him move closer.
"It's me, Sara", he repeated as he came to stand in front of her.
"Michael… I don't understand…Where are we"? She said and the panic in her voice did not escape her.
She was terrified. She could feel a heat coming off of Michael, a searing heat that left her feeling drained.
He reached to stroke her cheek. "Its okay, Sara… Everything's going to be perfect now… We can be together now… just like you always wanted. All you have to do is take my hand".
Sara was lifting her hand to comply when a voice spoke up behind her.
"Sara, don't"!
Sara's head whipped around, her astonished eyes unbelieving of what she was seeing.
"Michael"? She said in confusion.
She whipped her head back around to the first Michael. Was she seeing things? How could there be two of them? She took a step sideways and held up her hands as the second Michael stepped closer.
"Don't come any closer, either of you, please", she begged frantically her fear growing by the second.
The two Michaels were facing each other.
"Leave her alone Dimitri", the second Michael said calmly his jaw tightening, as a blue light began to surround him.
Sara stumbled and almost fell in her attempt to get away from them. But the two men seemed not to notice as they approached each other.
"Or what, Michael? What are you gonna do about it if I don't? You're gonna save her, now? Is that it"? The one called Dimitri sneered, as his eyes took on their red glow and then began to spread until it engulfed his entire being.
Sara's head whipped from one man to the other as she watched this exchange.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do", Michael said and stepped closer.
Dimitri's sneer turned colder, more menacing. "She has a debt to pay, Michael you know how these things work".
Michael shook his head.
"No, she has no debt, you know this was an accident…she didn't do this to herself, not this time", Michael countered.
Dimitri grinned.
"A mere technicality, Mike. You know how I love to skip over the legal mumbo jumbo. I think she will fit in nicely…you know where", he said grinning as he tilted his head towards the earth.
Sara felt her panic rising. What was this exactly? Was she hearing what she thought she was hearing? She took yet another step back her attention never leaving Dimitri. He was changing before her astonished yet terrified eyes. Sara watched as great wings unfolded from his shoulders and his short hair fell long about his shoulders, a color as black as soot. She fought a scream as his face took on angular planes and a hollowness that would have implied a terrible illness if not for the cruelty etched there.
Sara gasped and stumbled to the ground in her frantic efforts to put some space between herself and this monstrosity.
Michael's head whipped around, his attention drawn by her fall giving Dimitri just the oppertunity he had been waiting for. Grinning eviliy he seized the moment, raising a glowing red hand. Sara's hand flew to her mouth almost blocking the terrified scream that issued from her mouth, as a bolt of red light with what looked like motes of glowing steel shot out of his palm and hit Michael square in the chest.
Sara screamed again as Michael flew back and landed somewhere out of sight. When she looked to Dimitri again he was standing just in front of her.
She then watched in horror as his dark wings grew larger and he bent towards her with his hand open in silent offering.