The Angel And The Youtuber

4

When the movie was over, Jack stood from the couch and stretched. "That was amazing! What movie was that?"

"It's called Tomorrowland." Matt answered, folding the blanket he had been using. "It's pretty good, I guess."

"I have to admit, for a Disney movie, it's pretty out there." Ryan muttered to himself.

Mark walked downstairs and looked at everyone. "What's up?"

Jack bounded over to him. "Mark! We just watched a movie! God, they're so cool! I didn't know pictures could move and tell us a story!"

Mark laughed. "I'm guessing you enjoyed it?"

"Hell yeah!"

Mark winced at Jack's yell, but smiled anyway. "Good, I'm glad you did."

Matt looked at Mark, his head tilted. "Headache?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah. I'll take some painkillers. It'll be fine."

"Huh?" Jack muttered. "What's going on?"

"I just have a headache." Mark explained. "It happens a lot, since pretty much all I do is stare at screens."

"Oh! I can help!"

Mark stared at Jack. "How?"

Jack led Mark to the living room, sitting him down on the floor. He stood in front of Mark and smiled. "Stay still." Mark nodded, sitting up straight. Ryan and Matt stood around Mark, watching curiously.

Jack took a deep breath, closing his eyes and holding his hands out toward Mark's head. When he opened them, they were silver. His wings stretched open as his hand glowed. Mark watched with wide eyes as light transferred from Jack's hand to his head. Suddenly, his headache disappeared, and Jack returned back to normal.

"Woah!" Ryan exclaimed. "That was so cool!"

Jack shrugged. "It's whatever."

"What else can you do?" Mark asked.

"I don't know, really. I haven't really tried. I know I can heal bruises, cuts, and broken bones though. The rest I have yet to find out."

"Wow." Matt whispered.

A knock came from the door. Mark stood from the floor, brushing himself off. "I'll get it."

Jack ducked behind the couch, causing Ryan to stare. "Just in case." Jack winked, and Ryan nodded.

Mark opened the door to a man in a lab coat. The man smiled, sticking his hand out. "Hello. Professor Kasey, from McFarland Laboratory."

Mark shook his hand. "Mark Fishbach, from Cincinnati, Ohio."

The professor chuckled. "Someone with a sense of humor. Fantastic. Well, one of your neighbors called us and said that the specimen that escaped our lab today fell from the sky and landed in your backyard. Is this true?"

Mark gave him a nervous smile. "What? No, it's not. No one's here that shouldn't be! Just me, my two roommates, and my dog!"

"M-hmm." The professor reached forward and pulled a strand of green hair from Mark's shirt. "And does one of your roommates, by any chance, have dyed, vibrant green hair?"

Mark nodded. "Yes, sir! He just dyed it yesterday."

"Ah, I see. Well, since there's been a misunderstanding, I'll take my leave. Have a nice day, sir."

"You, too." Mark closed the door and sighed, leaning against it.

"Nice one, Mark." Matt called out to him.

Mark turned to him. "Well, what was I supposed to say? 'Hey, your escaped specimen is hiding in my living room, cowering in fear?'"

Mark heard a sob from behind the couch. "I can't go back..."

Mark walked over and looked behind the couch, seeing Jack curled into his knees, crying and shaking. "I can't go back to the lab. I can't."

"Hey, Jack." Mark said softly, making Jack look up. "It's alright. We're not letting you go back."

"Jack..." Ryan paused. "What exactly happened over there?"

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "The place is literal hell. They abuse us- put us through strenuous testing and barely let us eat or rest. They put needles in us and put stuff in our veins to test them, and usually it just ends up hurting us. They claim to help us, and they always end up doing the opposite."

"That sounds horrible." Mark muttered. "Jack, I'm so sorry."

Jack sniffed. "Once, when I was five or six, the put this orange substance into my veins. I woke up two days later. I didn't feel any different, but I knew something happened. The scientists took me into another room, and... I saw me. A copy of me, I guess, but... he was different. Darker. He looked and sounded like me, but it wasn't me. He attacked me, to the point where I almost died."

"Does that sort of thing happen all the time?" Matt asked.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Every day, for twenty hours. It's torture."

"Is that why you left?" Jack nodded, and Matt was left speechless. "I... I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be." Jack looked up at the three and forced a smile. "You're helping me now. There's no need to feel sorry."

Matt and Ryan smiled back, while Mark stood still, seeing through the man's façade.