Until The End Of Time

Chapter 20.2. The vault

It was past 8 pm. Kye paced back and forth in the dark living room, staring at the gigantic clock on the wall. It had been an addition that she asked Michael to put up two and a half years ago in an attempt to redecorate the loft. Made it more "homey". She had never finished the project, however. The simple clock didn't add much to the room, but it reminded her so much of the old one her family used to have before the War.

Kye had a few good childhood years, and for that, she could never complain. She only wished her future family would resemble some of that. The love and affection between husband and wife, parents and children might not sound like much, but to Kye, those were invaluable things and even luxuries that not everyone possessed.

Never, in a million years, she would imagine herself here. Never would she think her future would be built with an archangel whose eyes were bluer than the sky. She prayed for his return as well as the safety of thousands of people and angels out there.

Kye fidgeted with her hands while looking out at the city's skyline. It was as beautiful as ever when she ignored the darkness where light used to be. The parts that still lit up sparkled like rare diamonds in the night, hiding the wounded, damaged side of Ayham. The camps, the tortured, starved, and sickly. Kye's thought turned to her family for the millionth time, picturing her mom and Nick's faces.

Did they have something to eat? Water to drink? Were Mom's eyes hurt again when the electricity was out in most parts of the city? Was Nick safe or did he get into some trouble because of his smart mouth? The thoughts of them, as painful as they were, were the only thing that kept Kye sane in these past months. The truth was she didn't know if they were alive. She had begged Michael to let her go and search for them, but of course, he refused. The city, as chaotic as it always had been, had taken a turn for the worse. Much worse. No one was safe anymore, angel or not. Michael's group was at the last phase in their civil war against Raphael and Lucifer—all or nothing—so she understood. She couldn't add more to Michael's plate. On top of that, she didn't know where to start. The city had been half-destroyed, and the survivors were displaced. The only hope that she had hanged on was Michael's promise to look for her family.

Kye was getting lost in her thoughts when a loud explosion shook the whole city and threw her to the floor. She could see it before feeling the impact of whatever had hit the Clock Tower. The loft swayed as if it was in the middle of a major earthquake. That unlocked some dusty trauma of the War over twenty years ago that Kye didn't know that she had.

She fell forward, but luckily, the couch was right there for her to hold on to or her nose would have been broken. Struggling to stand up with the ring In her ears and stars in her vision, Kye watched the cloud of smoke replace the Clock Tower. The darkness spread to the rest of the city, and the sounds of chaos—screams and sirens—filled the air. They were faint, but nerve-wracking enough when Kye knew she was the only living soul in the building. Maybe, in the whole neighborhood.

The wealthy residents had long abandoned their luxury homes and ran to God-knows-where. Michael had yielded and settled on leaving two angels to protect Kye after a long debate between them. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving her alone, and she knew he would need every last angel tonight. Michael would charge in Raphael's stronghold by himself if he could. That was Michael.

On the other hand, every angel would rather be fighting next to him than guarding her, an irrelevant human. Kye had sent the two angels away as soon as Michael left. The way they looked so happy, so eager to leave, despite the potential punishments they would receive from Michael told Kye she had made the right choice.

Her life was insignificant. She knew Michael would be angry at this statement, but it was the truth. Thousands of people and angels out there depended on Michael and his small army. She would rather die than hinder that.