The Tenth Year

Chapter 3 - Bar

"Such a drag."

I never would have taken the job of the representative if I knew it involved situations like this one. Here I was, minding my own business, about to collect my master's latest recruit when a small army of humans appeared right in front of me. I usually didn't pay them much attention, unless I was extremely bored, but this specific group was standing between me and my mark. Oh, they were also armed to the teeth, which is never a good sign.

"Keep away from my daughter!" one of them yelled pointing his shotgun right at me.

I really wanted to just kill them all and get it over with, but after my last outbreak that involved a hundred and twenty three dead 'potential co-warriors', as my master put it, I was prohibited from killing anyone. Maybe I could just nick them a little. Still, it was never a good idea to start a fight. They all ended in blood, and never mine.

I was contemplating leaving and coming back for the girl later on the day, when the rest of them would probably be asleep, or better yet changed too, when one of them had the nerve to shoot at me. The bullet hit me in my abdomen, the force so great it pushed me back a few feet. The bullet bounced off my armor but I was certain it had left a taint in the shiny black material.

"No one messes with my armor," I muttered behind clenched teeth. I had come here just to get the girl. No muss, no fuss. But they had to ruin my peaceful mission. Once in a while I was really excited to see how people would react at a time like this, when their loved ones were taken away from them for good. People were so interesting sometimes. But tonight I had no patience for this. It was my eleventh mission this week where someone tried to kill, and quite frankly, I was getting tired of it.

Another shot came at me but I blocked it with my wings. I watched in delight the shock in the human faces in front of me. My black feathers may look and feel as soft as anything of this world but only a weapon forged by Angelsteel can hurt them.

I stretch my wings at my sides to intimidate the humans as much as possible. Some of them stumbled backwards, ready to run, I could taste their fear in the air, but for some reason they decided to stand their ground. For the past nine years I was paying close attention to humans and their manners, but it was at times like this when I could still find myself surprised by their actions. I took a step forward but none of them quivered.

"Don't come any closer!" the same man as before yelled at me.

I tilted my head to the side analyzing the situation. He was the girl's father. He was protecting her from me. Even though he knew that she was one of us from the moment her eyes turned black. Was he too stupid or too desperate to realize that he had no choice but to let her go?

His eyes shone with determination and a fire I had encountered only a few times during the past nine years. I smiled as it dawned on me. Hope. The man standing in front of me still had hope inside of him. Even at the sight of an angel, he still hoped that he could truly save his daughter from becoming like me.

My smile grew wider. I was getting really good at understanding people. I knew my face must have looked insane to them as I watched them falter, their guns shaking violently in their hands. I loved humans. They always found new ways to entertain me. Still, I had a job to do.

"Give me the girl and I will let you live," I said even though I really wanted to kill them. It was easier, faster and frankly so much more amusing. But I had my orders. Some of them would probably end up fighting alongside me in the upcoming war. I had to keep them alive because our numbers were fewer than those of the white angels. One more year and all this would be over.

The girl's father spat on the ground between us. "Go to Hell!"

Oh, the irony! If only people knew there was no Hell to go to. Someone should have told them a long time ago that there was only one place to go and that was Heaven, where every soul was turned into an angel, either of the dark or the light side. An angel who would later join the battle between the two sides. Being here and taking people while they were still alive was simply skipping a step. The step of death. But the two leaders were restless; the fight had to end soon. And waiting for more humans to die, took too much time. It was, truly, such a drag.

If I killed the people in front of me it would take dozens of years for their souls to be molded into angels, but if I waited for their eyes to change while they were still alive it would only take a couple of months before they were ready for battle. I shook my head in frustration. So many decisions that I never wanted to bother my handsome head with.

I was about to shrug the situation off and just fly away, willing to revisit the girl once most of her protectors had gone to sleep, the less dead bodies the better, when a tiny figure with long blond hair made her way between the men and stood at the front.

"Natalie, go back!"

Interesting. The girl was tiny, probably around ten, in human years. Her eyes had the beautiful black color that I was born to love. I smiled at her, inviting her to come closer.

The man saw my reaction at the sight of the girl and put his arms around her. "Stop! You don't know what you are doing!" He was crying now. I hated it when people cried. It was so frustrating. It made their faces all wet and red, most of the time ugly, too. I never seemed to understand why they'd want to look like that.

The girl broke free from her father's embrace. "It's okay, daddy," I heard her say. She used her little hands to brush the tears away from the man's face. "It's my time to go. You stay here and live for as long as you can. I will be fine." Now, that was an interesting turn of events. That girl was special, I could tell. When she turned to face me I saw the human spark still shining in her, now inhuman, eyes. I couldn't stop my smile.

I extended my hand toward her. She took a few unstable steps away from her father and closer to me. When she reached me she closed her tiny fingers around my palm. I was about to take flight and lead us both away when she turned to her father. I thought she was about to say 'I love you', or 'Goodbye', or something else I've heard so many times in the past from the humans I took away, but when she opened her mouth I was once more surprised.

"See you soon," she said and her voice was clear and steady, like she was sure she would see her father soon.

As I raced across the sky with the little girl on my embrace, I couldn't help but bring back to my memory another tiny blond girl that piqued my interest in the human race almost nine years ago. I only saw her twice but both times her reaction surprised me. Just like Gage had told me after he first met her, she was very unpredictable. Each time I saw her, I became more eager to watch and study humanity. I was willing to bet that if the time came for us to meet again I'd find myself surprised once more.

I wondered what she was doing right now. I felt the tips of my lips lift in a smile. I reached for her essence with my mind. I could feel her on the human world. She still hadn't changed. She was one of the last ones. How interesting.

I started flying toward our headquarters in Kalasahar, our floating city hidden behind the clouds. "It won't be long before we meet again," I muttered as we reached the gates.