The Irangel | Prequel Story |

Chapter 15 ~ Sparkly Awakening

When they arrived in Germany two days later, Tori opened the car door and let Justin out. He was still handcuffed, but he had grown to simply accept it.

"Come walk in the forest with me," said Tori, locking the Bugatti after parking it in the gravel off the road.

Justin looked around the woodsy area. They were headed towards the edge of a forest, the Bugatti a long walking distance away. It was near a long countryside road lined with abandoned farmhouses and a few mom-and-pop convenience stores. There was nobody around; the closest person would be at least ten kilometers away.

Justin hesitated, listening to Tori's footsteps stepping over small twigs and grass. Though he was bigger and tougher in build and size, he felt vulnerable with Tori and didn't like it. "Why should I? What are you going to do with me?" he asked, feeling the last of his confidence drain as the early afternoon sun started dwindling into twilight.

They had spent last night in the Bugatti instead of a hotel room since they were really close to the border. When Justin had woken up from sleep, he was reminded of the Ace Hood rap song's lyrics, "I woke up in the new Bugatti." Never thought I'd actually live out that song, he thought, amazed.

Tori turned, her hair fluttering in the small wind. She changed clothes in the car without any shame or embarrassment, Justin finding it hard to look away though he did so out of politeness. He realized she had a certain dangerous beauty about her. There was something classy yet an ethereal element about her. It must be the glitter, he thought, wondering once again why she sparkled so much. She didn't seem the type to wear flashy clothing, as evidenced by her business career wardrobe. Today she wore a light blue shirt and jean leggings with brown boots. It's nice to see her wear something different, Justin thought, thinking she looked cute in that outfit.

"You're the murderer, and you're worried about me hurting you?" Tori shook her head and started to gracefully walk back towards him.

Justin took a step back towards the Bugatti. "Save your breath," he said in a cold voice, getting defensive. "If it weren't for these handcuffs, I would've snapped your neck a long time ago."

Tori smiled a cruel, sadistic smile. "I'm stronger than a normal human," she said. "You wouldn't have made it to my neck before I broke one of your wrists."

She materialized her wings then, startling Justin as his jaw dropped ten meters. He gawked at her wings, an astonishing greyish white that, in rainy weather, would certainly give off the illusion of looking like mist or fog. Her skin shimmer increased to full brilliance, casting aside all façade of powder. Tori moved towards Justin with almost-instantaneous speed, stopping right in front of him and making him yelp and fall backward in astonishment.

He stared up at her as she stood over him in her full irangel appearance, looking almost like –

"Y-you're an angel," Justin stammered.

"No, not an angel: an irangel," Tori corrected him. "Irangel is the term I came up with to name former humans who became Iredescents. Iredescents are aliens from planet Iredescent. The Iredescent people look human, but they have wings and sparkly skin. Some of them might even be mermaids and mermen."

"No way," Justin breathed. This was way too much for him to take in. He was starting to think maybe this really was heaven and that Tori was an angel, not an alien called Iredescent.

Tori took the handcuffs off Justin, dropped them on the ground, and picked him up with little difficulty. Justin awkwardly held onto her, surprised that a woman was able to pick him up like that, and a gorgeous one at that. Tori lifted upward, making Justin gasp and cling tightly. He was almost too afraid to look down, but when he did, the view took his breath away.