The Real World
The real world. The words were a cold finger running down my spine. Its icy talons wrapped around my chest, making it suddenly harder to breathe.
She runs over to the wall and types something in. Every now and then, she'd mutter something like "Vital signs, check. Heart rate, 80bpm." She presses a series of buttons on one of the number pads and swipes a card that was hanging around her neck. "This should make you guys more comfortable. I'm Mrs. Delores by the way." The straps around our bodies go limp and we all instinctively jump up. That was weird. I felt heavier, slower, less agile.
Must have been some heavy drugs. "Iggy, window at 11 o'clock! U&A, guys!" I command. I jump up and pull out my… what? I stumble forward, barely stopping myself from falling onto my face. Why can't I feel my wings? Everything feels like it's in slow motion as I touch my back and feel nothing beneath my shirt. This can't be happening. I motion Gazzy over and check his back. No wings. Angel, Nudge, Iggy, Fang, still nothing. There weren't even any surgery marks. It's like they were never even there.
"Err, why are you guys looking at your backs?" Sarah asks, tilting her head to the side.
"Want to see mine? I have this cool dolphin-shaped mole behind my right shoulder," Marcus offers, grinning.
Sarah turns to him and blinks. "No comment."
I didn't have the time or patience for this. I turn to Mrs. Delores. "Where are we? This is the School, right?" The others cringe at the name. I make a mental note to refrain from using the S-word around them. "What do you want with us?" We all assume fighting positions.
"Whoaa, cool your jets, Jamie. We're your friends, remember?" says Marcus.
Fang lets out a dry laugh. "Friends, huh? Then let us out of here."
"We will, as soon as your parents get here." The one word stops us dead in our tracks.