Chapter Text
When Lucifer wakes up and opens his eyes onto the hot desert sun his first thought that it was it struck him as odd that he woke up, having never slept a day in his life. He stares up at the sky in a haze until his eyes burn and spots appear in his vision. Lucifer closes and curls onto his side, a puff of dusts settles on his body. A long moment passes where Lucifer hopes to simply drift back to sleep but just at the moment when it appears he might his eyes snap open. Quickly jumping to his feet Lucifer spins around and takes in the empty unending desert around him. Moments ago he was in the cage and now he was in the middle of nowhere, no sign of any angels, demons or even humans that might have broke him free.
Then Lucifer has only one option, walk until he finds civilization. With no signs and nothing in the horizon but dunes and cacti Lucifer picks a bird in the sky and follows it. As he walks he becomes aware of the way his body slowly degrades. Not the way he burned through Nicks body but in an entirely organic fashion. The hot burns and blisters his skin, his shoes rub painfully against his heel and the tips of his toes till each step hurts. The farther he walks, the more he sweats until every drop of water in his body is pulled out and evaporated. The first day ends and Lucifer collapses under a large rock as the sun disappears and takes the intense heat with it. Lucifer has always burned cold but even he began to shiver as the air around him turns to ice.
The sun rises and it all starts again. Lucifer wakes up to a snake slithering up his leg, he watches the creature poke at his pocket and flick his tongue out in search of food. When the snake finds nothing it wanders off to look somewhere else. With the sun starting to peak out over the horizon Lucifer is able to take in his surroundings. Spotting a flat shaped cactus a few feet away Lucifer climbs to his feet.
The sudden pain that hits him is nearly enough to knock him off his feet. As if his skin had shrunk around his bone, each movement pulls and tears his flesh. His feet swell in their shoes and feel as though each and every blister might suddenly burst. Despite all the pain, the overwhelming hunger and thirst urge him to shuffle towards the plant. Lucifer picks up a rock and knocks a chunk of cactus to the ground and kneels next to it. Carefully he rolls the stone along the needles, grinding them off them away from the succulent flesh.
He remembers watching the young humans struggle in the wilderness. Once surrounded by lush abundances they were reduced to scavenging what they could dig up from the sand and cracked dirt. Lucifer remembers Cain stumbling through the desert, his brother’s blood still freshly stained on his face, pricking his hands on the proto-cacti in a desperate attempt to quench his thirst. Though unpleasant, the memories served him well that day. When the bristles are finally rubbed off, Lucifer blows off the dust and peels the skin back. The tender flesh inside oozes out onto his fingers, Lucifer puts it to his lips and greedily sucks up the juices.
As the air around him warms Lucifer devours the cactus, eating up nearly all of it save for a small amount he rubs onto the red skin of his face hoping to sooth the burning. When the sun reaches its highest point Lucifer wobbles back to the shelter of his rock. At least he learned not to walk under the noon sun quickly.
With nothing else to do Lucifer contemplates the events of the last day. He had woken up and for a moment felt no different than the last time was on earth. Slowly he came to realize that his grace was tarnished in some way, he couldn’t fly nor could he heal the effects of the dessert that slowly wore away at him. He felt no demons and he felt no angels.
Waiting is difficult, Lucifer wants answers but knows he can’t tolerate another day like the last. He sits and watches the world around him till the sun begins to fall again. Though it is still much too hot Lucifer begins to walk again, if he stays another night in that desolate wasteland he might not have enough strength to ever leave. Each step hurts but with each step his anger burns a little stronger and pushes him forward.
Eventually he finds his way to a road, the black asphalt sends a new wave of heat towards him but also kindles a small spark of hope. A road must lead somewhere so he follows it. He doesn’t find anything but as it grows cold again, someone finds him.
“Hey!” someone calls from behind him. “You okay, son?”
Lucifer turns and finds an old man leaning out of his pick up truck. Lucifer tries to answer but his dry throat barely makes a sound. He shakes his head instead. The man turns off his vehicle and steps out, takes a few steps towards Lucifer before turning around and returning with a bottle of water. “Here, you don’t look so good.”
Lucifer rips the bottle form the mans hands and downs it in only a few gulps. The stranger puts a hand on Lucifer’s arm and the angel hisses from the pain of his sunburn. “Sorry, sorry! Why don’t you get into my truck with me? I’ll get you some more to drink.”
The old man drives him down the bumpy road in a truck with busted shocks, shaking Lucifer each time they run over a small pebble. Lucifer sinks into the softness of the beat up seat and rests his head against the side of the door. “Thank you.”
“No problem, no problem.” He reaches into his glove compartment and pulls out a half eaten granola bar. “What were you doing out there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sometimes them kids go out there to do that burning man nonsense.” The man gives Lucifer a once over. “You don’t look like one of ‘em kids, though.”
Lucifer doesn’t answer, having closed his eyes and quickly falling into a deep sleep.