Otherworldly Feeling

Undue Punishment

I was an ordinary angel my whole life. I'd always followed the rules, I was a respectable person, I showed empathy and love to everyone, no matter what. But then I make a single mistake and all of that goes out the window and no longer matters. It is callous, it is unjust. I was an unwilling and unknowing participant in a demon's malevolent plot.

I'd been writing to a man named Brannon for years, possibly a decade at the very least, and never once had I thought he was a demon. He manipulated me, acting charming and pleasant. And now here I sit, in front of my superiors as they exile me to Earth. All because I wasn't aware of who I was speaking to. I'd seen angels being exiled before, but it's one of those things you never expect to happen to yourself.

The other angels prepare to beam me down to Earth, and I close my eyes. I knew how bright and how flashy the portal was, and being so close to it meant it'd probably be even brighter and flashier. I await a few seconds until it's quiet, and open my eyes. As I look, I see a lot of green. I'd been beamed to a desolate spot in the forest. Of course, humans were unaware of our existence so obviously I couldn't just be beamed to the middle of a city. I sit there for a few minutes, on my knees as I take in what's happened.

After moments of isolating silence, a sudden loud crackling sound came from behind me, causing me to jump up and run behind a tree. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. I hid, bringing my hands up to my mouth to hide my fast breathing. The sound stopped after a few seconds, but I knew it still wasn't safe as I heard rustling on the grass.

"Fuck! Fuck all of you! Fuck all of you and your bullshit laws!" A man shouted at the top of his lungs, causing the birds nearby to quickly flutter away. "Damn it.." He let out an exasperated sigh. I heard his footsteps as he began walking closer to the tree I hid behind. He kept getting closer and I had nowhere else to go. I looked around, trying to find another hiding spot, but it was too late.

"What the fuck? Are you some kind of crazy person or something?" The man stepped back, either startled or confused. Perhaps both. I turned to him, frightened. He looked normal, but his clothing stood out to me. It was all black and ripped, and was tight around his body. This wasn't typical human wear. I let out an uncontrollable gasp, and although it was quiet, he heard. My gaze turned to his face, and saw he was also examining me. I was frozen solid, unable to move. This was one of them. One of those diabolical creatures of Hell.

We stood there for what felt like hours, just staring at each other. But then, I noticed his eyebrows rising in surprise. He couldn't have realized, right? I prayed in my head, gulping dry as he parted his lips to speak.

"Holy shit, one of those princely assholes." He let out a chuckle of disbelief as his body relaxed.
I should run, I thought to myself, run as far away from here before he has a chance of harming me. I kept yelling at my feet to move, but I couldn't. I felt stuck, his gaze holding me in place. He was about the same size as me, but demons had more aggressive tendencies than angels, so he could definitely fight better than I.

He took a step closer. "You know, I just got exiled because one of your perfect little friends was trying to get intel on me. You all think we're fucking idiots, don't you?" His face shifted quickly, from a belittling smile to an angry growl. Every step he took forward, I instinctively took one back. I was still very unaware of my surroundings, completely focused on him as if to be prepared for any attack he might swing at me, which caused me to trip on an exposed root. I was about to fall flat on my back, when the demon grabbed me by my robe and pulled me up, inches away from himself. I could see a few of his demonic characteristics, even in his human form. He had sharp canines, and his brown eyes seemed almost red.

I realized he'd been speaking to me when he suddenly shouted in my face. "Hey! Are you listening to me, feathers?" He looks me up and down, his grip on my robes tightening. I stare at him for a second before mustering up the courage to speak. "Release me, demon. You are no more powerful than I am here. Not anymore." I furrow my brows and raise my chin, trying to swallow my fear. He scoffs and drops me, which made me trip a bit.

"So you were exiled as well? Heh, I guess not all of you are as pure as you say you are." The demon stares at me. I look at him, maintaining eye contact. I clear my throat. "You're acting like all demons are more intelligent than me. I managed to identify a demon that had been sending me letters." It was half the truth, excluding the fact I wasn't the one that'd figured it out. 

When I finished speaking, the demon's eyes widened. He stomped over to me and held my shoulders tightly, so tightly that I felt like he was going to rip my arms off. "Philip?!" He spoke my name, in bewilderment. It took me a fraction of a second before I understood. I harshly pushed him away and yelled "You!? You evil creature!! You got me exiled and stuck here!" My mind went blank and my vision turned red. Never before have I felt such an intense anger before. This man, this.. demon! He was Brannon! And now he was twisting the story in my face!

"You're trying to blame me?! You and your heavenly brothers were trying to get into our shit! Don't act faultless when this all your fault!" Brannon shouted back, with more rage than I could ever hold.
"My fault?! How can this be my fault? I wasn't even aware you were a devil! You manipulated me in an attempt to discover our weaknesses! To wage war on us!" I was so furious my voice cracked as I spoke. Maybe it was disuse. Maybe it was because I'd never screamed like that before.

We both stared at each other, eyebrows furrowed in anger. All that was heard in the silence was the sound of our heavy breathing from all the screaming. I realized neither of us had anything else to say, so I cautiously stood up straight and began stepping away, off to go find civilization. Brannon stared at me walking away. "Where do you think you're going, feathers?" He yelled after me. I could still hear anger on his voice, but it had died down a bit.
"I'm going to go find a town or something of the sort." I spoke. I tried to sound serious, but I'm sure my annoyance managed to slip out.

I walked for a bit, before I heard footsteps speeding behind me. They slowed their pace once they were beside me. I knew it was him, considering no one else was around. Both of us stayed silent for a few moments before he looked at me. "You're not gonna tell me to fuck off?"
"Follow me if you must. And I don't use the same barbaric language your kind does." I quickly responded, not even turning to look at him. I wouldn't dare, knowing his face would put me in an even worse mood.

We walked, and walked, amidst the calmness of the woods. The leaves rustling lightly with the breeze, the birds singing, and our bare feet stepping on the rocky ground. I had no sense of direction at the moment, still dazed. I found myself looking at my surroundings, amazed. It was beautiful all around, so colorful and yet so serene. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Brannon spoke.

"I didn't know you were an angel either." He stated, seemingly out of nowhere. I raised an eyebrow, confused. "Pardon?" I replied, still grounding myself from having been floating inside my own head. He repeated himself. "I didn't know you were an angel either. You said earlier you didn't know I was a demon, and I didn't know you were an angel either. So we're even, right?" I stared at him for a moment before loudly responding. "No! No, we're not even! How am I supposed to trust you? You're a being of deception. For all I'm aware, you haven't even been exiled and are still trying to trick me!"

"Hey, at least I'm trying, alright? Instead of being like you, just aimlessly staring at everything and getting us completely lost!" He responds, trying to be louder than me. "There's not point in me lying to you, alright? Just- Forget it! I don't even know why I was trying to get along with you." He crosses his arms over his chest like a fussy child. I look at his arms, through the corner of my eye. His skin was an olive tone, golden I could say. And his fingernails were long, but they were dirty.

"I know you're looking. You're not discreet at all, you know that?" He says, and my gaze snaps up to his face, to find him scowling. I turn my eyes back ahead of me and let out a soft sigh of frustration. "You're nothing like your letters." I mutter, mostly to myself. He grunted quietly and rolled his eyes, and we left it at that. We walked the rest of the way in silence.