I was lying in my bed, though I had no idea how long I’d been here. In fact, I didn’t even remember coming to my room, which meant that the girls must have brought me.

My skull crushing migraine had been hitting me in waves, overwhelming me with pain so that I wasn’t very aware of anything else beyond that. Whenever the headache receded, I’d been aware of the fact that there was always someone there, either holding my hand or just watching over me. Several times, I thought that they were talking to me but the words never quite made sense.

With a groan, I slowly sat up, fully aware of the pounding in my head. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been, having receded to the point where it was now just a normal bad headache rather than a crippling migraine.

“You’re up,” Dani said from where she sat beside my bed. She gave me an odd look and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” I answered, my voice sounding odd to my ears. “My head still hurts but not as bad.”

Dani nodded at that, giving me a faint smile and saying, “The worst is over.”

“Thank God,” I muttered, wondering what I would have done if Dani had told me that the worst was yet to come. I considered it for a moment then decided that I probably would have screamed profanities.

“Wait,” Dani said, getting up and putting a hand on my shoulder. She smiled faintly, though it was a little sad. “You’ve been out of it for almost two days.”

“Two days?” I gasped, then wincing as my headache hit me. Dani didn’t need to point out exactly what that much time meant since I could already feel that my body had continued changing while I was out of it.

“You’re probably starving,” she said, giving me a forced grin. “I’ll go let the others know you’re up and get some food going.” Then she paused, giving me a sympathetic look before adding, “Come on out whenever you’re ready.”

When Dani left a moment later, she closed my bedroom door behind her. She had made a less than subtle effort to give me some privacy, and that alone was enough to make me nervous. I slowly removed my blankets, seeing that I was completely naked in bed. That didn’t surprise me, nor did my body.

“Oh shit,” I whispered.

My body had definitely continued to change while I was out of it and now I couldn’t see any traces of the old me. My breasts were nice, round and firm, and looked to be the same size as what Rebecca, Dani, and Nicole had. The rest of my body looked equally feminine, though I definitely had great muscle tone. This looked like a body that could have belonged to an aerobics instructor…or an angel.

When I reached between my legs, I found the equipment that would be expected of a normal woman. Mister happy had vanished while I was out of it, not even bothering to say goodbye. I pulled my hand away, shaking a little as I did so.

“It’s done,” I said, though I was pretty sure that my changes weren’t fully complete. I still felt a number of aches and pains in my joins and gut which suggested that the virus may have finished remodeling my outside but that it was still putting some finishing touches on the inside. Still, I had no doubt that I was in the final stages of my transformation from man into angel.

I climbed out of bed, feeling awkward and unbalanced but I was relieved to discover that my legs no longer felt like jello. I was actually able to stand up and walk around, though I kept one hand on the wall until I was sure that I was stable enough to walk without one.

“I’m a girl now,” I said with a sigh of resignation as I sat back down on my bed.

I cupped my new breasts and then ran my hands down the rest of my body, silently reminding myself that this was who I was from now on. This was now my body and I’d just have to get used to it. Then my stomach grumbled and I let out a sigh, realizing that as curious as I was about my new body, I was also starving.

After a moment of hesitation, I went to get dressed, only to find the sweat suits that had in my room were now gone. Instead, I found some new clothes stacked up on my dresser as well as a pair of tennis shoes on the floor beside it. The sizes were all smaller than what I was used to, but I had no doubt that they’d all fit me perfectly.

I held up a shirt which had been on top of the pile, a black T shirt that had a logo on the front which looked like angel wings and a halo. The Angel Squad logo. I stared at the shirt for a moment and then shook my head before getting dressed.

When I left my room and started for the kitchen, I already knew that Dani, Rebecca, and Nicole would be there waiting for me. I felt nervous about seeing them like this, not to mention more than a little self-conscious. However, my appearance wouldn’t be a surprise to any of them so I just grimaced and tried to keep it under control.

As I expected, all three of the girls were waiting for me at the end of the hallway. I stopped and looked them over nervously, fully aware of the fact that all three of them were staring at me, making me even more nervous and self-conscious.

Nicole suddenly threw her arms around me in a hug, exclaiming, “I’m glad you’re up…”

“How are you feeling?” Rebecca asked me, giving me a concerned look.

“Hungry,” I responded, looking her in the eyes and realizing that we were now exactly eye level. I had been a bit taller than her and the others when I first arrived, but that was obviously no longer the case.

Then Rebecca hugged me as well, using only one arm. I noticed that the other arm was no longer in a sling but it was still wrapped in bandages. “Have you looked in a mirror yet?” she asked as she pulled away. She sounded just a little nervous, perhaps afraid of how I’d react to my new face.

“Not yet,” I responded awkwardly, unable to meet her eyes.

“Come on,” Dani exclaimed, “Give the girl some room. At least give her a chance to eat.”

As Dani had promised when she’d left my room, she’d begun getting food ready for me. Of course, most of it appeared to be leftovers that had been pulled out of the fridge and reheated, but that was perfectly fine with me. There was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, a couple slices of pizza, and even a bowl of chili. There was more food than I’d ever eaten at one time in my life but I dug in began gulping it down.

Rebecca, Dani, and Nicole sat with me and helped themselves to some of the food, but they only snacked a little. Mostly, they talked among themselves but kept a close eye on me, almost as if afraid I’d freak out at any moment. It was clear that all three of them were worried about me.

While I ate, I noticed that my headache was receding until it was merely a dull pain, the kind I probably wouldn’t bother to take anything for on most days. When I’d finished most of the food, I turned my attention to the bowl of chili and cautiously sniffed it. I stuck a finger and licked it, finding that it was delicious, with just enough heat to let me know it was there but not enough to actually burn. I happily dug into the chili, then noticed that Dani had a smug look on her face.

“What?” I asked her suspiciously.

“A little easier to eat this time, isn’t it?” she asked.

“This can’t be the same stuff,” I protested. “It isn’t nearly as hot…”

“Your tolerance is just higher now,” Rebecca told me with an amused look.

Dani nodded at that and pulled out a cigarette. However, after a glare from Nicole, she put it back into the pack and gave me a look of chagrin.

“Back before I changed,” Dani said, gesturing to the bowl of chili, “this was my prize winning recipe. I entered it into a few contests and won a couple prizes, including best chili in one and hottest chili in two.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise. I took another bite of the chili, deciding that since it was no longer too hot to eat, I could definitely appreciate the flavor.

“Now it might as well be mild,” Dani complained with a shake of her head. “If I actually want to feel the heat, I have to throw in a couple ghost peppers.”

“I never liked hot food before I changed,” Nicole told me.

“I never ate hot food before I changed,” Rebecca pointed out with a wry smile. “I was on a pretty strict diet.”

Once I finished eating, I just sat there, staring down at my own hands. They were the hands of a stranger, feminine with longer nails. I wasn’t sure why the virus would cause nails and hair to grow, other than to shed excess mass, but they had. What was even odder was that they hadn’t grown a lot more.

“I…I need to see myself,” I finally said, looking up at the others. They shared knowing looks with each other but didn’t say anything.

I got up and made my way to the bathroom, feeling almost as though I was heading to my own execution. I was relieved when none of the others followed since I wanted a little privacy for this.

When I reached the bathroom and looked into the mirror above the sink, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Rebecca’s face staring back at me. However, expecting it and actually seeing it with my own eyes were two different things. The sight hit me almost like a physical blow.

“At least I look younger,” I joked weakly.

Just like the other angels, I now looked like I was only eighteen or nineteen years old. However, that was probably the one part of my transformation that I didn’t really care about one way or another. The loss of a few years of age wasn’t anything at all compared to switching genders.

“Oh God,” I groaned, not sure what I could think or do.

There was no doubt that this was permanent, that there was no way I could possibly change back. Somehow, I had to adjust to this and move on with my life. The problem was, I couldn’t see any life for me like this.

My family and friends had been cut from my life and there was absolutely no way I could face them with this or explain what had happened to me. Now I’d lost my face, my body, and my very identity. The harkon virus had just erased Jarrod West and left me with no idea of who I was anymore.

I staggered back from the mirror and collapsed to my knees, feeling overwhelmed by everything that was happening. I began crying, sobbing like a baby. I had no idea how long I remained like that before a pair of hands settled on my shoulder and then pulled me in for a hug.

“It’s okay,” Nicole told me quietly. “Let it all out.”

“We’re sisters now,” Rebecca said as she crouched down beside me, giving me a sympathetic look and then a gentle hug. “We’ll help you anyway we can.”

I felt ashamed of myself for losing control like this and crying uncontrollably. However, neither Rebecca or Nicole seemed the least bit judgmental. Instead, they just held me, somehow making me actually feel a little better…as if I wasn’t going through this alone.