The alarm clock went off promptly at 6:30 in the morning. With a groan, Tristan flips the off switch and rolls back over on his pillow. Training himself to wake up in the morning for school was turning out to be a more difficult task than he originally thought. He had been at it for nearly a week and he still couldn’t make himself actually get out of bed. How he was supposed to get up in time to shower and drive to school at the end of August was a mystery. One thing he could count on to get him up and going was his dog Bowser, a pure four-year old pug. Bowser jumped up and down on the floor, begging to be let outside to do his business. After a few minutes of exchange between owner and pet, Tristan was finally dragged from bed.

He had a meeting at nine that morning. It was a meeting about some side work for him to do while he was in school. It wasn’t complicated really, just involved him sleeping and writing down the things that happened while he was asleep. Simple enough really - he liked to sleep, even if he was trying hard to not do it as much, and his sleep was always interesting. He had very vivid dream sequences that were mostly caused by his need for constant sustenance due to his physical health. At the age of twelve he was diagnosed with hypoglycemia – a physical condition that was related to diabetes, only instead of having too high blood sugar caused by lack of insulin, it was caused by too low blood sugar from too much insulin. Thus, he was constantly eating something. The doctors said they wanted someone with unique patterns and abilities. Today they’d be giving him in-depth instructions and the homework he’d need to help them. The project paid well, but he didn’t need the money.

His family had always been well off. His father was a doctor, his mother a lawyer, and he had been left with all of the inheritance when they died three years ago. They left him with everything, their home, their fortune, and specific instructions to not get rid of either until the “right time” (and he’d know when the was, even if he didn’t know what they were talking about). This inheritance left the rest of his relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents) in a rage. They blamed him for their death and they believed that he had killed them for the money and estate. Not only that, but they felt they deserved it more than him. He was an only child and his relatives had always been really close and kind to him until his parents died.

These thoughts passed through his mind in the shower. It had been three years, and he was finally getting to the point where he could be self-reliant. For the past few years he couldn’t focus mentally. Depression ruled his world and he was essentially a mental vegetable. He was now ready to start school, finally at 21 years old, he was a Freshman, getting off his lazy behind and being something – if only for his parents.

It would be a difficult year.

The phone was what took Tristan out of his nap at about three o'clock that afternoon. "I swear, if it's another telemarketer I'm going to...." He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Josh, his best friend since...well since forever it seemed. He'd known him for as long as he could remember and he was the one who had been his family and stuck around after the fiasco involving his parents. "Hello?"

"You up? I'm coming over there in about 15 minutes."

"What for?"

"We're going out again remember? For your birthday?"

"Was that tonight?"

"Yeah, that's tonight."

"Well, yeah, I'm up, but it's not that late yet. What happened to dinner?"

"We're doing something else before dinner, just trust me. It's the 21, it's gotta be good dude."

"Yeah, alright." Whatever. He was already 21, but he made it a rule that he celebrated it at least three weeks after his real birthday. His birthday was the anniversary of his parents death. The night he turned 18 they had passed away while he was out. The doctor's performing the autopsy couldn't find a reason for it aside from natural causes. Their bodies just gave out. Tristan had come home the next morning from a night out with his friends at a nearby Casino and found them asleep on the couch- only not really sleeping. The doctor's said the time of death had been right before midnight of the day after his birthday. Exactly right before midnight. It was hard to celebrate his own life on a day like that, and that's why he created the rule. He knew his parents would want him to still celebrate life and be with his friends (the few of them that were the only people he had left), but he needed it to be on a more appropriate day. I just hope it's nothing too crazy.

"So, the big 21! What's your poison! It's on me!" Josh, a brunette and built like a jock, grinned at Tristan from across their table at the downtown restaurant Moxie's. They were a group of five. The others came (Tristan figured) for the drinks. They were all old friends of his from high school, but few of them he kept up with on a regular basis. Every few weeks or so they'd stop by with Josh and be social. They all got along fine, and they liked each other enough, but he could tell that he made them uncomfortable. Most of that was because, how do you act around someone who had gone through all he had?

Tristan smiled a little, "I don't know. What's good? What do you recommend?"

Josh eyed the menu for a few minutes, reading it over carefully. "You need something sugary. You're always way too mellow. Get this one!" He pointed at the menu towards the Lindberg Lemonade. "Start you on something that isn't too outrageous." Tristan nodded a little. It sounded good enough. He liked lemonade and had always been interested in trying the hard ones with the alcohol in them. He saw this as a good opportunity to relax. With school starting up again after so many years, he could feel his body begin to tense all over. His shoulders especially were giving him a lot of pain and all along his spine. It all just sat in his back. Might be a good time to invest in a masseuse.

"School is starting up for you again soon right Tristan?" Julia, a blonde and petite girl, commented casually in an effort to make small talk with him. He nodded slowly, reading the menu and debating on what his entree' should be. "Have you picked out a major?"

"I'm debating between art, journalism, and youth counseling." Three very different majors, but all of them had a part of his passion. He enjoyed drawing, sculpting, and anything he could really get his hands on artistically whether it be traditional art form or in a written form. Going with his writing talents, he wanted to pursue the world of journalism as well and see things new to his everyday world. Counseling seemed like a good path for him as well, as he had always been an easy listener and problem solver. However, if he took on that he would like it to be more in a casual setting like a mentorship. Seeing as he had four years to decide, he wasn't too concerned and would mostly be focusing on generals.

Julia smiled at him, a very odd kind of smile, and it wasn't something he'd seen for quite some time. It was almost like she was flirting with him? "That's really amazing Tristan. I'm really proud of you." There were nods across the table.

"This is going to be a GREAT year!" Josh beamed.

Time passed and they eventually all made their way over to Tristan's house. Seeing as he was the only one who had a lot of space, a 'sweet' entertainment system in the living room, and no one to bother, it made sense. Half of the group was trashed, a fourth mildly buzzed, and the other fourth completely sober. Tristan found himself in the mildly buzzed category. Josh was the only sober one, being the responsible one and didn't drink so he could drive them all around. Ashley and Mark disappeared, Tristan just hoped not to HIS bedroom. Josh also excused himself briefly for a few minutes and left Tristan alone with Julia in the living room. Julia was one of the drunk ones. He got an odd feeling that this was almost set up.

Julia sat next to him on the couch, leaning towards him some and smiling, slightly blank. "I love your house. It's so cool!" It was a rather intriguing place. He could understand why he wasn't allowed to get rid of it. It had beautiful gate like archways in the entryway, fine white stone (of some kind) on the floors, and pearly carpet in the main rooms. That was just the beginning of the elegance of the mansion. "I think you're really cool too...."

Here it comes, the love confession. Julia had always been blatantly obvious that she was physically attracted to him, but never seemed to show any interest aside from that. "Thanks."

"Like really cool," she continued, "do you ever feel lonely here?"

How do I answer this without her coming onto me?! "It can at times, but I've got my pets."

"Oh I love your pets! Where's Bowser! BOWSER!" She called repeatedly for the dog and then laughed (even though the dog was too busy sleeping to care), "I was just wondering. I would get pretty lonely. Don't you ever wish you had someone else here with you? A roommate or something?"

"Sometimes I do, yes," he said honestly. "Josh may be coming here soon once he graduates in the winter."

"That's so nice of him," She smiled at him again, and then watched as Belle, his mothers long-haired white cat waltzed into the room. "I didn't know you had a kitty!"

He smiled, this is going better than I thought. "Yeah, I have a dog, a cat, and a bunny."

"A BUNNY!"

"Yeah, he's in the other room. I can bring him in if you want to see him. He's about three years old. His name is Boo." He explained and then stood up, and headed to the nearby all season porch where he kept the rabbit. He carried the cage into the living room and set it on the coffee table before pulling Boo out. "He doesn't bite or anything. He's really good." Boo was his other best friend outside of Josh. He was small and cuddly and had little attitude (unlike his other pets). He was much like Tristan, but that was because he was his pet, where as the other animals belonged to his parents. He had gotten Boo the morning of his birthday, his first present that he received that day.

"He's so cute...kinda like you." She blushed furiously, "I guess it's pretty obvious I like you huh?"

"Yes?" Spoke too soon. He liked her enough. He didn't really know her very well though. She was sweet and attractive though and had potential.

She leaned on him a little, "I thought so." She was about to run a hand up his leg, but he reached for the remote control.

"Let's watch a movie!"

"I LOVE MOVIES!"

He turned on the TV and then put Boo on the couch by her while he went to find a DVD to put into the player. Deciding that a classic comedy for his age group: Wayne's World, would be an appropriate choice. When he went back to the couch, he saw Julia holding Boo, gently stroking his fur. Boo seemed to like her, which was a plus. Boo was good at judging character. Josh returned shortly after all of that with some of Tristan's fathers' favorite scotch. Tristan couldn't help but smile, as it was oddly appropriate. He would have shared one with his father this year, so why not with his friend/brother?

The movie played, and within the hour all were asleep.

Tristan moaned loudly, not from a hang over or from sleeping awkwardly on the couch from the night before, but because of a throbbing pain in-between his shoulder blades. Julia and Josh were still asleep nearby. Somehow managing to sit up and then stand, he fumbled his way into the kitchen in search of some kind of pain medication. IB Profin, Tylenol Extra Strength, Advil, and the rest were prescription medications that wouldn't do anything for pain. None of these will work. He sighed deeply and squatted down to look for a hot pack.

"Hey man, what ya doing?" Josh asked, entering the kitchen, now also awake.

"huh?" Tristan lifted his head up, in a cupboard unfortunately, smacking the top of his head on the roof. "Ow...."

"What are you doing?" He repeated.

"Looking for a hot pack. My back is absolutely killing me."

Josh sighed, "Go back in and lay down. Seriously, you really just need to relax. Let someone take care of you for a change."

"You sound like my mother."

"Well that's good! I'll find it alright?"

Tristan rolled his eyes and climbed out of the cupboard, falling back onto the floor. "I don't think I can get up." He grabbed onto the handles of the other cupboards by him and pulled himself up. Slowly, ignoring Josh, he trudged back into the living room. He found his favorite recliner, which was across from the couch where Julia lay on half of it. That was when things really started to get strange. He watched Julia as she slept, thinking about the night before, and crouching behind her was the most hideous of creatures, gently stroking her back and smirking at him. It was short, maybe a few feet tall. Fangs dripped out of it's mouth. It had blood red eyes, and distorted golden skin that looks hard like rock. It's hands were large with sharp claws. It didn't wear clothing, and it had no gender defining anatomy. As it stroked her back, it whispered in a slightly grainy voice in another language he had never heard before and yet understood.

"Pretty girl no? You like her no? You can have her, yes you can. Pretty girl wants you too."

Tristan blinked a few times, trying to get the image out of his mind thinking it was something he was making up, but when he opened his eyes again, the creature was still there. Now it's hands moved from stroking her back to massaging her breasts.

"Pretty girl, so tender and juicy. You'll like her. You really will. She likes you. You can have her now. All of her. She'll be lots of fun. She'll show you things and do good things for you."

"Hey Josh, can you grab a thermometer please?!" Tristan called out, grabbing a blanket, all of a sudden feeling very cold with fear.

Josh came in and tossed him the thermometer and frowned, "What's up?"

"I think I'm sick. I'm hallucinating or something." The creature still sat there, with it's same devilish grin, staying silent. He closed his eyes. Oddly enough, he wasn't running a fever.

Tristan groaned as he flopped onto his couch. He was exhausted and it was only the first week of school. He hardly had any homework but he could already tell that the semester was going to be trying. While he had a lot of interesting reading to do, it was also very hard reading. To make matters worse, he was hallucinating still about the monsters he had seen on Julia the morning after his 'party'. They all wanted him to do things. They always seemed slightly appealing, but at the same time he could see they were bad choices. He found the best solution was to do the opposite of what they begged. Added to that was the increasing back pain in his shoulders.

-I'm hungry, why isn't the food out yet. You always have the food out by now.-

He opened his eyes and looked around the room, "Who said that?"

-I have to poop man! You just came home and totally ignored me! I've been waiting for you ALL DAY! Come on man!! LET ME OUT!!!-

He looked around the room, searching for the source of the voices. At his feet were Belle, his mothers cat, and Bowser. "You've gotta be kidding me."

-I'm waiting!- They both seemed to tell him in unison. He could hear their voices in his mind. Hesitantly he stood from the couch, and walked into the kitchen, looking over his shoulder a few times at the two as they followed him. With a shaking hand, he opened the back door to let Bowser outside to do his business and then made his way to fill both of their food dishes. He almost called Josh, but decided against it, not wanting to bother him with something so petty. He was just tired, it would go away after he slept. Or would it? So many strange things have been happening to him lately. In the dream world he lost control of his life, lied to by a group of people who now owned him and he couldn't escape from. He didn’t know if they were the good group of scientists, or the bad, but he couldn't let them know that he was onto the bigger reason for the study. That he had been tipped off. Instead, he filled out his paperwork and played dumb, giving them what they wanted. He had no other options at the moment. If it kept persisting, he would think about going to get a test done to see if everything was fine in his head. Just when things started to seem fine, they changed. One good thing about the dreams at least was his new friendships he was developing. He wanted to know if they were real people or imagined, and if they were real people, how similar were they in the dream to reality. He himself looked the same, but did that apply to the others? Kaitlyn.... He shook his head, and let Bowser back inside.

-I feel SO much better now.- Bowser commented and then looked up at him. -Well, I pooped! Give me a treat!-

"Eat your dinner." Tristan mumbled, and went back to the couch to lay down. His back pain was at the point where he couldn't lay on his back. Nothing could touch it, clothing was staring to bother him even and he would have changed that had he not felt so cold. Sleep came, but not easily, and it was dreamless and short.

When he awoke, he found his head was dizzy, mostly from not eating something before his nap. His back pain seemed to have ceased, magically vanished into thin air. He stumbled through the kitchen again, and opened the refrigerator and searched for an easily accessible fruit or candy. Finding an apple, he took a bite, and waited for the natural sugars to flow through him before eating more. "Why is it so damp in here?" He wondered out loud. He felt wet, practically all over his body. Did he sweat out a fever? He looked down at Bowser, who seemed to be looking up at him curiously. "Don’t have anything to say anymore?"

-Where are you hurt?-

"I'm not hurt, I feel fine," he mumbled. I'm nuts, it's official. I'm completely nuts, and I really should just stop fighting it now. I see monsters and I talk to animals! I'm chronically depressed, with an insulin malfunction that keeps me constantly supped up on sugar. My life is fucked.

-You smell like hurt. I can see the hurt on you.-

Tristan looked down at the dog and then curiously at what he could see of himself from behind. His shirt was unbelievably sticky and he irritatedly picked it from against his back. "I'm not hurt, I just sweat a lot okay? I'm fine. Wait, no I'm not fine because I'm talking to a dog! I'm not supposed to understand you! I'm not supposed to speak your language!" He looked down at his fingers and saw blood. It dripped to the floor, it was all over him it seemed.

-Where are you hurt?- Bowser repeated.

Ignoring the dog, he went to the master bathroom, and stood in shock in front of the mirror. Extending from his back, were a fresh pair of the palest of pink feather wings. "What the-?" And from there, he fainted.

When Tristan came too, he saw his mother. She sat by him, covered in a slight glow of pure light. She held a moist wash cloth her hands and dabbed it against his forehead. "Mom, am I, um...." He looked around him confused. He was still in his house on the floor in the master bathroom. When he looked more carefully at his mother, he saw white wings extending from her back. "Dead?"

"No sweetie, you aren't dead. We'll both explain once your father comes back up here with some juice. It'll help you feel better." On cue, his father arrived with a glass of orange juice. Mom handed it to him, and he slowly drank it, even if his fainting hadn't been caused by his condition. He looked up at his father while he drank and also saw a glow around him as well as blood red wings. The pink ones he had seen on himself were starting to make sense. "How do you feel?"

"Better," he said quietly, "I'm dreaming again right? Or just hallucinating, I've been doing that a lot."

"You aren't hallucinating," Dad extended a hand for Tristan to take (who did gratefully). He led Tristan towards the bed, which was now his but had once belonged to his parents, and forced him to sit down again. "It's time we told you everything." He looked at his wife and then nodded. She knelt in front of Tristan and grabbed one of his hands gently.

"Tristan, you're not exactly human." Questions started to flood into his mind, but he held them in until the end. "Your father and I are both angels. Back when we were created, we were still young. In Heaven age is based on the level of spiritual growth and understanding, and not on years like it is on Earth. We had just been created, our understanding was that of an infant and so our bodies reflected that. One day, a horde of demons stormed through, as they sometimes do that, thinking they can prevail, and their mission was to take as many of the angels that were still small and young, to Earth and the underworld so that they could be fallen and used against everyone in Heaven. We were among those taken.

"We were dropped at human homes and raised by human families. We didn't have our wings and we started to age as the humans do. We met by fluke, or perhaps by appointment in High School, and we both grew our wings when we were 16 years old. I guess you could say we were High School sweethearts. We fell in love long before we discovered the truth. Since we were both still pure of heart, mind, and body, when we grew our wings we were told that we could come home again.

"In Heaven there is no marriage or children, especially among the angels. We could love, but there was no consequence to love. All of this information was scary and sudden, which I'm sure is how you feel right now. We wanted a more slow transition. Obviously we wanted to go home, but we weren't ready to become full fledged angels. We were told that we could stay on Earth and grow into our duties until we were ready. We were married as soon as we graduated, and spent our time concentrating on honing our abilities.

"Time passed and we longed for children of our own. We were however barren. We prayed and God worked a deal with us. We would be allowed to have a child, but we would also have to go home again to fully perform our jobs as angels by the time that child grew to an adult. We were only given 18 years with you, but they were wonderful. And of course because we are angels, it would only make sense for us to create an angel of our own.

"The demons you're seeing aren't hallucinations, they're real, and that is one of your abilities. We didn't want to overwhelm you, so we set up a plan, I guess you could say, a timeline of when your abilities will arrive. The demons you see right now, are demons of temptation. Which should be self explanatory enough, they're put on the Earth to tempt others to do wrong things. There are familiars, which are demons that learn of all the habits and personalities of humans and then mimic them to make humans believe things that aren't true. There are demons of destruction, who only kill and destroy. There are others, but I think you get the picture. They're real and they are out there and you can see them. You will always see them and they will try to harm you and drag you away from your path. They can take you to places that are only accessible by the spirit and not by the body. They'll take you there at any time to torture you. The thing that happens, is in the physical realm it will only be a second away, but in the spiritual realm it could be a lot longer. That's what the medicine was for. There isn't much left, but you can take it and use it if you are ever trapped and can't get away or if being in their presence is too overwhelming."

"Do I have to go with you now?" Tristan asked, "Now that I've grown my wings I mean, do I have to go...home?"

The two looked at one another and his mother sighed, "We would love it if you could come with us, but you were created here and this is where you'll spend your lifetime. Your spiritual body would be so young in Heaven. It's been decided that it's best for you to grow and to learn here, as if you were human until the great battle between good and evil where you will be called upon to take your place among the ranks with the rest of us. Don't be disappointed or sad. You are not alone in this. There are others like you. You'll look the same through out your years here, just as you would if you were home, and you'll still be able to help and do your duties once you've learned of them all. The humans will not be able to see your wings. They will not know unless you make it known what you really are, and once they know they will always see. You must be very careful with who you tell. Don't make the same mistakes we did. It may seem like you are immortal here, but you are not. If you are killed here, you will be sent to us provided it wasn't done in a way where you would lose your divinity like suicide for the purpose of being with us." She looked at him sternly, "Be careful. The longer you are here the better it is for everyone else. Your powers will be able to protect you."

"What about the animals, why can I hear them?"

"you can hear them because you can listen to all of creation now," his father explained. "If you listen hard enough you can hear plants, even humans, but the humans are harder to understand because their minds are so jumpy and complex, and given that you live on Earth it would be a great disturbance of privacy." He put a hand on Tristan's shoulder, "You must be careful to not become one of the fallen. Being on Earth, it is possible for you to sin where in Heaven it isn't. I'm not saying you have to be perfect, because of everything that happened you were created and raised in fallen conditions, but each time you do you lose some of your divine powers. Each time you follow the path or perform a duty that is requested of you, you can gain those powers back. If you lose too much of your divine powers, you will begin to gain the dark powers. The farther you step away, the harder it is to find the will to come back."

He already felt as if he had fallen to a point of beyond all hope. After everything that had happened to him and everything he allowed himself to do after his parents death, he couldn't imagine he had any bit of divinity left. All of this made him very sad, and he couldn't help but cry. "I've already failed."

"Sh, no you haven't." His mother said softly and moved next to him, holding him closely. "You've been wonderful, we're so proud of you. We're so proud that we wanted desperately to be the ones to tell you the truth."

"But I-," he managed through heavy breaths, "I've been horrible!"

"Horrible would be doing them without remorse."

Tristan took in a deep breathe and held onto her tightly, not ever wanting to let go. he didn't want them to leave him again. "What do I do now?"

"For now, just do as you have been. When it's time to know more, you'll know." They each gave him a gentle kiss, before fading away from his sight.

"What if I don't know how?" He lay on the bed, curled tightly into his arms, and continued to cry.