City of Dark Angels

Once again, in a brief moment we are flashed to the future. The world is still a lost place, as the curse hasn’t been reversed yet.

“He’s been here, in this time. He’s destroyed all of our systems, it’s only a matter of time before he takes apart our codes.” She says to us, as we stand at the entrance of the little island. It feels darker here, more warn down than before.

“What happens when he takes your codes apart?” I ask, not sure if I truly want to know the answer to that.

“We won’t be able to help you anymore..” The male AI says, a sadness filling up his face.

“He destroys the codes, he destroys us. He destroys any hope of man kind forever. You’ll be alone, on this island; for all eternity.”

“Where is the time portal?” Travis asks, his mind spinning with all the possibilities of our lost future.

The AI walks ahead of us down a darkened path, and off of another path on the shore of the island sits a large contraption, the door is closed and boarded up. We walk up to it.

“It just appeared here moments ago, and then our stuff was destroyed. We aren’t sure of how long we have until our codes are gone completely. But please, reverse that curse. Get what you need, get to the center and reverse that curse. No matter what it takes, you can’t let the world end; you can’t let Raviera take over everything. The fate of the world, it depends on you four.” She snaps her fingers and we are quickly back in our time. “I hope that opened your eyes to the task at hand.”

It did. It really did. The fate of the world depending on us, only adds more pressure to the task, so much more pressure and anxiety. Just knowing if we screw up, that it will be the end of everything for everybody and it will be all our fault. We know we can’t let that happen.

“How do we get an angel heart?” Travis asks, going through the list of items needed in his mind.

“Kill a dark angel, actually kill it. Dissect its heart, burn the heart and put its ashes into a bag. “I have to go, I will check on you before the time of the moon rising.”

“So, we have to kill a dark angel.” Erika says, “Then we must head back to the real world to find one.”

“I’m sure there will be plenty.”

***

I lurk behind a building, my gun out ready to fire. Travis, Erika, and Riley all lurking behind different buildings waiting for the dark angels to approach us.

‘Seven dark angel hearts.’ I whisper under my breath, the concept of it seeming like something out of a fantasy novel, but it’s now the reality of my life.

One approaches me, it’s teeth baring ready to take a lunge at me; I back up away from it and aim my gun. Ready to stun it. I shoot and it hits right where I want it to, the dark angel falls to the ground in a hard thud. I remember what I had been told to kill the dark angel, to slice it’s throat and let it bleed out. I get ready to do so, and a guilt washes over me.

This was someones family member, someones wife, someones mother. I shake my head trying not to let the guilt get the best of me, knowing that unlike Ravieras selfish sacrifice, this one is for the greater good. This sacrifice is for the future and mankind of the entire human race. Without this sacrifice, Raviera will win. And I can’t have Raviera win.

I take a deep breath and prepare myself, I close my eyes and slice along the angels neck, watching the blackened blood pour out and flow to the ground. I feel sick as I watch it flow but I know it’s for the best.

I lift up it’s shirt, and cut into the chest; the rib cage making a sickening cracking sound as I spread it open. The heart is black, and still beating slightly but not enough for the person to still be alive.

I wince as I reach in and grab the heart, cutting the veins and breaking it out of the chest. My hand soaked in black dark angel blood.

One down, six hearts to go.

Travis races over to me, a dark angel heart in his hands; looking pale and sickened at the task we just accomplished.

“I’m going to be sick.” He gulps, leaning down trying to keep himself from vomiting.

“What do we do with the hearts?” I say, trying to keep his mind focused and distracted.

“I found a bag, put them in here...we’ll burn them all at once.” He opens up a black plastic garbage bag and we toss in the hearts. Erika and Riley come over to us, and plop in the own hearts they collected.

“That’s the grossest thing I’ve ever had to do.” Riley says, wiping tears away from his eyes from puking.

“Well, four down...three to go.”

I hear the growl of a dark angel and turn around and shoot at it quickly, I race over to it’s face and jump back when I realize who I just shot.

Cecilia.

I cry out, and fall to the ground. “I can’t...I can’t kill her; we have to leave her...to wait for the curse to be reversed. She will be okay once it’s reversed right.”

“Delilah...we have to do this, there isn’t enough time to be looking for more angels. We have to take what we can get.”

“There will be other angels!” I yell out at Travis, not wanting to have to take Cecilia’s heart from her chest.

“We don’t have much time...” Erika says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I can do it, if you don’t have the strength to.”

I sigh, realizing what I have to do; I prepare to get it over with.

“I can do it.”

I close my eyes and start to slice open her neck when Travis calls out, “Delilah! Stop!” I look up and three dark angels race towards us, Travis shoots them down and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Cecilia is spared.