02

Chapter 1: Naissance

An afternoon in the Amazon could not have surpassed the heat surrounding the Revrex lab.

"Damn A.C. has to break down today of all days when I choose to wear pants..." muttered Jennifer as she slowly got all the computers on standby.

It felt like a swamp, the suppressing humidity and heat stifling all who dared to accomplish anything in the small lab. Only one woman managed to stay in the lab, Jennifer, the overworked and exhausted temp left to finish the days requirements. Most days she was left to take care of the samples of DNA of the special project, yet today was different. At least none of those sleazy guys are here to gawk at me today she thought languidly, as she tapped a sequence into the computer.

"You know some day when you decide to wake up, I hope I'll be able to witness that moment." she sighed. Slowly, she rose her eyes and gazed at the immense cocoon of interlocked feathers cased at the center of the observation section. Despite the fact that Jennifer saw this cocoon everyday, its presence never failed to astound her. The entwined feathers looked like an intricate yet delicate puzzle; the white color of the feathers seemed as if they glowed from their pure color. The only detail that marred its simple beauty were the heavy metal chains that held up the shell in the air, securing the wings from opening. With only a few computers left, Jennifer made her last round.

As she neared the final computer, a low rumble began to resound and the little hairs on the back of her neck rose in attention. "What on earth..." she cried twisting her head in all directions, searching for the strange disturbance. The rumble then intensified into a loud screech, shocking her into a heap on the floor. With only her fingers in her ears, she huddled into a ball and peered fearfully at the majestic sight of the cocoon. It seemed as if it pulsed with life, beating louder and louder as the seconds passed. She began to sob and pull her legs closer to her chest, wishing this nightmare to be all a dream.

"Oh God, oh God.." she sobbed through choked gasps, as the feathers started to flick in movement. Suddenly, the wings began to move against their restraints, straining against the metal. Even in her state of shock she was able to hear the low growl within the cocoon. Her eyes widened as the wings withdrew from the chains, thinking that the cocoon was not yet ready to open. All of a sudden, a scream filled the air, Jennifer didn't know if it was either her scream or one coming from the cocoon, and the wings snapped the chains with a loud snap. The last thing that graced her dying eyes was the bright blinding light, and the graceful yet menacing body that emerged from the wings.

"An angel..." she gasped as she slipped into the grip of death.

*

Chapter 2: Plus d'Obscurité

"Natural causes my ass.." muttered George under his breath, grimacing at the scene before him. In all of his career as detective, never had he seen a case as bizarre as the one before him. Her name was Jennifer Macavoli. An intriguing name, matched with a beautiful face. Yet her features and her arms were marred with faint scratches. What a waste, he thought.

"So what do you think, huh George? She must have seen Briar's new fiancé to have an expression like that." chuckled Dean, the newly promoted DA, whose pompous mannerisms made him the official asshole of the troupe. With a quick dodge, he managed to avoid being slammed in the face by the towering body of Briar.

"You little shit mother fucker! Why don't you try and see how easily I can kick your scrawny ass!" spouted Briar, his temperature rising fast. Sadly enough, his hotheadedness made him an easy prey for heckling.

"I'm going to leave you two ladies fight your pointless battles, I'm going to figure out how the hell this woman died all of a sudden, and half of the ceiling appears to have been ripped clean off. It doesn't make any sense." muttered George under his breath as he kneeled next to the body of the young woman.

"Fucking circus man, what is the world coming to?" mumbled Briar as he gripped his hips in anxiety. Dean then sneered, "You better watch that mouth Briar, or I can get you in some deep shit that you'll need a shovel to dig yourself out."

George just sighed, ignored the continuing bickering behind him, and gently closed the woman's eyes and parted lips. He couldn't begin to fathom how this woman just died with no warning. According to her associates, she never mentioned having heart problems. The poor woman looked like she was shocked to death. Her eyes were wide open and staring off into what was left of the ceiling. Was there someone who didn't like her, or envied her position? he thought. Yet the chances of someone envying a temp was unlikely. She was relatively a lonely woman who kept to herself, so it was hard to imagine that she did anything to bother anyone. But then psychos don't normally need reason to kill, he reasoned.

And how in the world did the ceiling crumble? Did this maniac use a bomb to penetrate the lab's defenses? But that didn't explain why the woman died without a scratch, bruise, or burn.

Six hours and two coffees later, George shuffled into his small apartment. The place suited him fine despite his mother's qualms about the crime rate and rare infestation which occurred in the complex. His favorite part of the kitchen was the large refrigerator, where his only loyal companion helped him out with his problems, an ice cold Corona. Even as the cool liquid went down his throat, his mind would not clear.

The phone then began to ring incessantly.

"Fine! Fine! I'm coming!" he yelled as he raced to the phone before the answering machine would beat him.

"....hello," he puffed, as he clutched his sides with pain.

"George, you won't fucking believe what we found out about the hole in the ceiling of the Revrex building."

"What, Briar, don't keep me in suspense."

"Alright, alright. Fuck man, you sure are wound up tonight. Drink some bourbon, it'll help you out in a jiffy."

"Corona's my choice of poison," he muttered.

"That's good too. So as I was saying, Dean and I managed to find out that the fragments from the ceiling weren't burned away from an explosive. But you knew that since we didn't smell cordite in the room. Well, apparently it was blown away from a massive concentration of energy. I know it sounds like something you would see on the X-Files, but it's almost as if there was a small tornado that burst through the ceiling."

"You're right Briar, that is the strangest thing I've ever heard. I'll get back to you tomorrow after I have some sleep."

"Will do captain. Have fun tonight!"

"Right," he sighed as he slumped into the couch, and dropped the phone beside him.

With another loud sigh he pondered about life, which in itself was an exhausting topic to think about. Life was becoming monotonous: get up, eat, think like a deranged killer, slowly turn insane with the stress, and then somehow at the end of the day go to sleep. "I hate being an insomniac." he grumbled as he took another swig of ol' Corona. At least I don't have to worry about any woman to bother me right now, he thought. Lately, his arguments of being a bachelor were weakening; a woman would be a nice change of routine but he would never admit that, even to himself.

Nervously he fiddled with his ring , sliding it quickly up and down. After a few more minutes of fiddling around, he came to the conclusion that a sleep-inducing pill would cure his mind's muddiness. Grimacing, he downed the pill with the last bit of Corona that was left. The next morning he groggily remembered dreaming of his childhood bible study classes.