The Seventh Angel

Chapter 7

The moment I realize the door has been obliterated, I instinctively spin toward another exit sign behind me, but the brief silence is shattered by piercing screams and the unmistakable rush of wings.

"Agh!!" A colleague next to me cries out, only to be abruptly silenced.

"EVACUATE! NOW!" Someone shouts, and chaos erupts. Panic spreads like wildfire as people race toward the glowing exit signs in the pitch-black room.

"Oh my God!" I whisper, feeling the thud of a body being hurled against the wall beside me.

"Please, please get me out of here!" My mind snaps into survival mode. I make a desperate dash for safety, but stumble over someone lying on the floor and crash down.

Gunfire rips through the air, mingling with shouted commands. In the cacophony of noise and confusion, I scramble to my feet, only to see the exit in front of me blocked by something heavy.

"Damn it, the door won't budge!" I yank with all my strength, but it's useless. There's no other way out-except back through the lab.

I hesitate for only a second before sprinting back, recalculating my escape. Every step is careful, quiet. I've already noticed that the loudest ones attract unwanted attention.

"FIND CHLOERA QUINN! TAKE HER OUT OF HERE!" A familiar voice booms from the blue-haired security guard. I recognize him immediately.

Instinct screams at me to shout for help, but I bite back the urge and dart into the lab. The glow of emergency lights guides my way down the steps toward the massive windows.

I rush to the white table, my hands frantically searching for the remote to open the windows. But then I see it-the capsule. It's completely demolished, green liquid spilled everywhere, the lamps inside flickering erratically, casting unsettling shadows around the room.

My breath catches in my throat. The creature we've kept locked away for ten years... is free. And it's furious.

"Come on, where are you?" I mutter, tossing documents and clutter from the table in a panic until my fingers finally close around the remote.

"Yes!" I press it and rush toward the windows. The night sky is an inky black, the full moon illuminating Zephyros' raging sea. I stand by the glass, frantically tapping my wristwatch.

"Location is EvoCure Solutions," I whisper, sending my coordinates to my flying vehicle, hoping it will reach me in time. But then I realize-the gunfire has stopped! The screams are gone!

It's disturbingly quiet.

I'm standing exposed in the center of the room, too far from any cover. And as that realization dawns, the lights flicker back on, and something cold and unyielding presses firmly against my temple.

"Do not move", an unfamiliar,deep voice orders, sending a shiver of panic through me.Out of the corner of my eye, I can make out of the gleam of a silver gun-used by guards-now pressed against my temple, steady and unwavering.
Behind me,two massive white wings silently stir the air-the same wings I'd only ever seen in the motionless capsule.

The angel has found me!

"Please..."I barely whisper, the word escaping in a pitiful breath. It's strange,isn't it? To plead for your life when you know no one will hear you.But I don't move.I cooperate,holding on to the fleeting hope that maybe-just maybe-security will stop him in time.How naive of me.I could laugh if my life weren't on the line.

"Where are my comrades?" he growls, pressing the gun harder against my head, forcing me to shut my eyes in pain.

"I...they aren't here", I stammer,swallowing hard as his board figure looms behind me.Suddenly, the moment is shattered by a panicked voice.

"CHLOERA!" My father's voice cuts through the chaos.I'm violently turned and dragged into the angel's grasp,his hand clamping around my throat as he holds me like a shield.His wings stretch wide,casting a shadow over the room as the barrel of the gun remains firmly against my temple.

I face my father, who stands with handful of guards, their weapons trained on the angel.

"One step,and she dies", the angel promises, his voice cold and unyielding.Tears well in my eyes.Does her really think my father cares enough to save me? The last words he spoke of me flash through my mind, bitter and sharp.

"You are my daughter Chloe, but do not think I will spare you if you get in my way."

This is it isn't it? The end.

"Father..." My voice is barely a whisper, laced with resignation.I meet his blue gaze,seeing fear flicker behind his composed exterior.

"Please let her go.She has nothing to do with this",my father says,trying to remain calm,though I can hear the tremor beneath his words.

The angel's grip tightens around my throat, making it harder to breathe.

"Sir, what are your orders?" one of the guards ask,eyeing us, weapons ready. There are five of them,including my father.I doubt they could handle the force of a being who nearly wiped out the entire lab.

"Stand by! He has my daughter,for God's sake!" my father snaps, his calm veneer cracking.For once, he sounds like a father protecting his child.Too bad it's far too late.

"Sir, we cannot risk letting him escape."

" I GIVE THE ORDERS! I SAID STAND BY!" Mt father's shout echoes through the room. Slowly, the guards lower their weapons onto the floor, but I can sense tension radiating off them.

The angel's grip shifts,moving from my throat to my waist,pulling me against his chest.I catch a glimpse of him-clothed now, though I don't have time to question from who he has taken off of.He pulls me toward the opened windows,his wings stirrin the air with a soft whoosh.

"Sir! He's escaping!" A guard yells in panic, reaching for his weapon. But before he can react, the angel moves in a blur, shooting the guard in the leg. His scream pierces the air as he crumples to the ground, the gun pressed back against my temple. Everything happens so fast, no one dares move.

"Please...just let her go", my father pleads, his voice barely a whisper now, all authority stripped away.

"If anyone follows, she dies.Along with them", the angel warns,his voice low and lethal.His grip tightens around my waist,and befora I can react, he leaps out of the window with me in tow, his wings spreaded wide as we plummet towards the ground.

"CHLOEEE!!!" My father's voice fades as we fall from the towering building.
"Aghh!!" I scream in sheer terror as the wind tears into my clothes, my hair whipping wildly around my face. My glasses fly off, and the world becomes a blur of darkness and lights.Just when I'm certain we'll crash into the ocean below, the angel pulls up sharply, his strong arms wrapping around my waist and thigh as we ascend back into the night sky.

I clutch onto his neck in panic, my heart racing as we soar higher and higher, the city lights shrinking beneath us.In the distance, I catch a glimpse of my flying car-arrived too late to save me.

I'm in his hands,nowhere to escape!