‹ Prequel: In an Instant
Sequel: Delilahs Darkness
Status: 2017 Nanowrimo Project!

City of Dark Angels

Erikas Blood

After the collection of the hearts, we gather up some feathers to be burned as well. Travis looks at the watch on his wrist to check how much time that we have before the moon rise.

“It’s 4:15, we have two hours until we have to meet Death in the center of the city. What else do we need?”

I repeat the list inside my head and check off what we already have, seven angel hearts; check, feathers of a dark angel; check.

“We need our blood.” I say to the group. Reaching into my pocket to grab the syringe I took from the room in the tower.

“I’m so tired of getting prodded.” Travis says eyeing the needle.

“Oh come here you big baby.” I pull him towards me, and slowly inject the needle into his vein.

“Delilah, I was a heroine addict remember...this isn’t new to me.” I glance at him and my eyes glass over in remorse.

“Right, I’m sorry Travis.” I say to him, remembering everything he told me while we were inside the brink. I pull the needle out of his vein after taking enough blood and filling up a vile with it. I clean off the needle and take a deep breath before jabbing it into my own skin. A vile of it fills up and I take it out, feeling slightly dizzy and light headed.

“Whose next?” I ask turning to Erika and Riley.

Erika volunteers to be first, I gently insert the needle into her vein and pull back on the syringe.

I gasp at what fills the needle.

“Delilah? What is it?” She asks, taken aback by my shock.

Her blood is tinted by black.

I step back away from her.

She looks down, and her face fills with fear.

“No, no, no!” She cries out, “I just can’t be one of him, his injections were not supposed to work!”

“It’s okay Erika, you’ll be okay; you just need time and it will be out of your system.” I reassure her, reminding her that it happened to me as well.

“I can feel the memories...” She says, twitching slightly. “I can remember the day my mother gave me up for adoption, I was six months old but I can remember it. I remember meeting my new family, an older lady who already had six other kids. She was so mean. I grew up with a mean adopted mother, my father...he was never home. The kids, they taunted me, because I had cancer. I didn’t have any hair and they called me baldy...they were so...MEAN!” At the last word she mumbles out, her eyes turn black and she pulls away from my grasp on her shoulder.

“Erika... stay with us, Erika.” Travis tries to coax her back to us, but she begins thrashing about, screaming all kinds of obscenities.

“Travis, I am not mad at you...I am mad at mother, for taking me away from you; you had no memory of me...because I erased your memory of me when I died. I was able to do that from the City of Angels. I was able to control that; you already had so much going on in your life. I couldn’t give you the hurt of knowing you had a dead little sister.”

“It’s okay Erika, I’m not mad at you either. Just, stay with us okay. Please Erika, you have to stay.” He holds her hand as she lays on the floor, her rapid breathing beginning to steady. She opens her eyes and it’s the normal brown it always was.

“What...what happened to me?” Erika sits up, rubbing her head; dazed and confused about it all.

“Shh...we don’t need to talk about it.” I say, injecting the needle into her arm once more. Pulling out clear red blood. The curse fully out of her system. We all sigh in relief as I fill the vile with it.

“Riley, you’re up!” I wave him over to me and he holds out his arm, “I know you hate needles, just take a deep breath.”

He does so and looks away and grabs Erika’s hand right before I put the needle in, she squeezes his hand and I take out the blood I need.

“There, it’s all over.”

He looks down at the vile of blood and faints, just like he’s always done since he was a kid; whether it be getting a blood test or a flu shot. Erika catches him before he cascades into the ground completely.

“He’s done that since he was a kid.” I smirk as he opens his eyes, “It never fails.”

“Oh, shut up.” He says his cheeks flushing from embarrassment.

“I think we have everything.” Travis says checking the time on his watch, which now reads 4:45. An hour and 15 minutes until we meet with Death; to know if he is truly on our side or if he still belongs to the enemy.

“It will take some time to get back into the city, I think we should start walking there.” Erika says, still dazed from the experience of nearly being a dark angel.

***

The walk to the City of Angels feels longer than ever before, Erika can’t transport us there as nearly turning into one weakened her ability to do so; so we had to make our way there by foot.

The air is soundless, the world is emptier than ever before. As the curse has taken over almost all of humanity, we walk in silence.

Until Travis breaks it between us.

“Delilah...can I uhm talk to you about something?” He asks nervously, taking a deep breath before he can say anything more.

“Of course Travis, you can tell me anything; you’re my best friend.”

“See, that’s the thing...the past few days have been quite the crazy adventure you know.” He starts off, and I glance at him wondering why he’s so nervous.

“Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy.”

“And you want to know what Delilah?”

“Yes Travis?”

“I’ve enjoyed every single crazy second I’ve spent with you during it all.” My heart beats rapidly at this confession, starting to get a hint of where he’s going with it.

“I can say the same Travis, and I’m sorry for things I said when I wasn’t myself... that wasn’t me.” I tell him and he smiles.

“I know Delilah...as you said, you weren’t yourself.”

“I saw how you where when you thought you lost me.” I tell him about the vision I had about watching him drink, he sighs at this confession and grabs my hand turning to me.

“I couldn’t control myself, I shouldn’t have drank...but losing you was worse than anything that would have happened next with my addiction.”

“Travis...I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything.” He says, leaning into me and my heart beats faster than ever before.

The moment suddenly gets interrupted by a flash of smoke in front of us, I cough into the fog trying to find the source of such. I am met by the eyes of my best friend.

“Sierra?” I whisper and her eyes turn a dark black.