City of Dark Angels

"The city of angels was created in a laboratory?" Erika asks out loud and Death gazes into her direction and nods.

"Not the entire thing, just the scientific parts. Like the portal and the weather, it's all controlled from a laboratory. Until Raviera took over, now we can't even get into the system. All we can do is watch from the cameras what is going on."

"So, what did they mean by us being the three?" Travis asks, referencing to what one of the men in a lab coat said.

"Well, now its the forth because of Riley. And you are the four that cannot and will not be changed into dark angels." Death tells us, "Everyone else in the world can and will be changed into dark angels, at the discretion of Raviera."

"What exactly is a 'Dark Angel?'" I ask, since I keep hearing this term everywhere but haven't yet had a proper definition assigned to it.

Death scrunches up his nose, his eyes swell up with fear in them. I can sense a danger arising, but nonetheless I still crave an answer.

Before Death can mutter a single word, Erika chimes in and provides the answer that I have been longing for.

"A dark angel, the opposite of a light angel, not a demon but possesses the powers of such. Used for the evils of the world, can read minds and use those thoughts against you to turn you into one of them. Even the best of the best can turn into a dark angel. That's his true and one and only plan, turn the world into dark angels."

Death nods at her description and suddenly disappears into the void once again, we are starting to become used to this.

"But why are we the only four unable to turn?" Riley asks, looking frightened with the weight of the world being planted on his shoulders.

"We think its in the bloodstream." One of the men in lab coats replies directing us to a chair in the middle of the room, he pulls out a giant needle.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I ain't afraid of no needle!" Travis says striding up to the chair confidently and laying down, making himself comfortable. The man grabs his arm roughly, and jabs the needle into his veins. "Jesus Christ man!"

"Thought you weren't afraid, eh tough guy?" The man mocks him, filling up the syringe with his blood.

"Well, I didn't think you would mob me with that thing!" The man rolls his eyes and puts a bandage on his arm. He gets up and curses the man under his breath.

"Whose next?" I find myself shaking at my intense fear of needles, but despite the fear I walk slowly up to the chair and lay down.

"Wanna go easy on me?" I ask as he puts the needle near my vein. He laughs and jabs it in. "What the actual hell?"

When he's finished removing a liter of blood from my body I stand up and pace myself on getting back to the group, a wave of dizziness washes over me from the loss of the blood.

"You better go easy on my little brother." I say, sitting down on a bench hanging my head down to make the dizzy feeling go away.

"We don't need their blood, since you're siblings it's all the same blood in our systems."

"Right, so you torture the older sibling." Travis says rubbing his arm, and leaning over to check if I'm okay. He lifts up my face with his hand and looks into my eyes.

The man laughs and leaves with our blood through a metal door, another man walks out and steps towards us. A frown on his face as he see's the condition that we are in.

"Sorry about him, he's kind of an asshole." He says reaching out to shake our hands, "I'm Dr. Jayley, but you can just call me Jay."

"You might want to hire a nicer nurse." I say, sitting up as the dizziness finally begins to retreat.

"He's a work in progress, anyways, you are here because as you know...you are the only three, I'm sorry four, that cannot and will not be turned into Dark Angels. What that generally means is, if a Dark Angel approaches you they do not have the power no matter how hard they try, to turn you into one of them, it is impossible."

"Has something like this ever happened before?" Riley asks curiously, listening intently to the explanation. The man shakes his head in a firm no.

"Then how do you know it is impossible?" I ask him.

"Because, you've all have had plenty of exposure to them already. And none of you have changed, nor have showed signs of changing. Therefore, the conclusion is, you four cannot and will not turn into dark angels. Is that a good enough explanation?"

We all nod, but I still find myself skeptical of this. "So, what do we do now? Just sit in this lab and wait out the end of the world?"

"...not exactly, you do still have to stop Raviera from attempting to recruit people to the city of angels, but I also have another task. But this task, it's just for Riley and Erika. If you two could follow me please."

"What's the task?" I insist on knowing first before I let my little brother walk off with Jay.

"You'll find out soon enough." He says, as they escape behind the metal doors.

***

Hours later, the three of them finally make their return. Riley is carrying a gun in his hands, and Erika has a bow and arrow.

"Whoa, why does my little brother have a gun?" I ask, my big sister instincts kicking into overdrive. Travis's big brother instincts also kick in, as he wonders as to why his little sister has a bow and arrow.

"Relax little sis, he's teaching us how to fight. In case we are out in the world, and are approached by a Dark Angel."

"But they can't and won't turn us." I say perplexed.

"Yes, that is correct. Even though they can't and won't turn you doesn't mean they can't hurt you and knock you down for awhile, so a protection exercise is needed. Don't worry they only learned from the best." Jay explains to me, and I settle my heart down from breaking through my rib cage. "Remember, aim for the throat, the heart, and the knees."

"Throat, heart and knees." Riley and Erika repeat to Jay.

He smiles brightly and turns to Travis and I. "See, they are quick learners."

"I'm already dead big brother, whats the worse that can happen to me now?" Erika jokes, Travis doesn't take to this joke very well.

"You may be dead, but you're still my little sister, and I feel I have to make up for all the lost time by protecting you."

She smiles, then looks down at her feet. A small tear escaping out of the corner of her eye and running down her cheek.

"I'm sorry I had never reached out to you, I wanted to but Death said it wasn't safe. Especially the condition that you were in for so long, I just couldn't do that to you..."

"I understand, but we are here together now. And we have a fight to win, together." He says, reaching out to graze her shoulder.

Death pops back just then, a knife in his hand and blood pouring down his arm.

"Some of them, have escaped into the word."