Can Angels Cry?

Encounter

Lilliana's P.O.V

No one really remembers much about the war. It was too long ago. Our elders tell us of fire and smoke and our enemies dropping bombs to disfigure our people. But their memories are hazy at best. Our leaders say that we are a product of Mother Nature's scrupulous method of evolution, the top of the food chain, the perfect hunters. But then, why did we try to eradicate the other creatures that we shared this planet with? We are not so different to them, after all. Were they a threat to our survival? Or were they merely just a pest that we tried to exterminate? The point is, we failed.

They live, hiding in small crevices, scavenging in the dark abysses of what were once great cities of glass and steel. We broke everything that they stood for, in the process losing our own morals and becoming no better than murderers. But to think such thoughts is treason.

I shiver, the night wind pushing my hair back. I remember the reason I snuck out to the Borderlands. To think freely, away from the iron fist of my family, telling me that I am the Scourge of the Angels, destined to eradicate humanity. Destined to fight their Warrior that they have been training over the years. Who this Warrior is, no one knows. All we know is that it stands for our downfall and will stop at nothing to bring us down. "Is it such a bad thing?" I whisper into the night. "Are we not murderers and thieves? Bandits who killed for a bit of gold? Why should we survive?"

I freeze as I hear the sound of wings in the distance, my trained ears picking up the way that they disturb the air. I dive off the edge of the cliff, spreading my own wings just enough to slow my descent and stop me from splattering on the ground below. I land softly and run for the nearest boulder, rushing behind it. After a few seconds of huffing and puffing, I stick my head around the edge of the boulder and spot a shadowy figure standing where I was just moments ago. They also dive from the cliff and I panic. I barely even register the different shape of its wings before I spread my wings and take off, shooting upwards through the air like a bullet. Below me, the figure notices and starts to follow. I beat my wings harder, gasping for breath as I rise. When I am just above the clouds, I wheel around, tucking my wings against my back, and dive, my wings silent as I drop like a stone. Milliseconds before I hit the ground, I spread them again and push forward and up, above the cliff face. Looking behind me, I realise that I have lost my pursuer and, filled with dread for my punishment to come, fly back home as fast as my wings will take me.

***

Flame's P.O.V

I'm on first patrol, with Damien, Josh and Valerye. We walk through the empty streets in silence, listening to the wind howling through the empty window frames of the buildings around us. My brother Damien's head is bowed, his black hair covering his face. I know what he is thinking though. We all do. We are walking through a graveyard of our people, skeletons pushed to the edges of the streets and the smell of rot permeating the air. The last raid by the Others resulted in an enormous loss of human life, with only three Other casualties. Josh's face is green and his blue eyes are lined with tears. He lost his mother and sisters in the raid and his father is off, drunk, in one of the underground pubs.

Valerye is the only one, other than me, who has managed to keep her resolve over the past few days, her temper staying as fiery as her hair. "Well," she drawls, "are we going to continue to walk like we're in a funeral parade or are we going to actually, you know, talk?" Other than my nod, she receives no acknowledgment. She sighs deeply. "Flame? What are you going to do now? Now that the Others have made a move? Are they going to, you know, use you?"

"I don't know," I say slowly, "at this point, they haven't said anything. I don't know if they fully trust me yet, even though I was born right in front of their very eyes. If it wasn't for these stupid things," I gesture to my back, "I would be a regular soldier, just like you guys. But because of them I am a 'danger to humanity' at the same time as being 'humanity's last chance'. They really need to make up their minds now, before I just leave."

"Leave?" Josh questions, "Why would you leave? No matter what they say, we need you, with or without your wings. You're the best soldier we have and the wings are only an added bonus."

"I don't know, Josh. Whenever there's a raid or a skirmish I'm always told to stay here. On the sidelines. God, if they only knew how badly I want to fight! They killed everyone I loved except for Damien! But yet our stupid, fucking leaders think that I will join the Others! They're such idiots!"

I stiffen suddenly. "There's one near here, I can sense it."

"Flame, we need to get-"

"No!" I take off my jacket and shiver as I am blasted by the cold night air. "I'm going after it! If you tell anyone-"

"Okay fine! Just be safe..."

"I will, don't worry. Nothing can hurt me."

I spread my wings slowly, my veins showing through the thin, papery flesh, and take off. My wings are not like the wings of the Others. When we managed to take one hostage once, we discovered that behind their wing armour, their wings were like those of birds, feathery and bony. Mine were more like bat wings, segments of thin, but strong, flesh between bony 'fingers' you could say. They're heavy and loud, making stealth difficult but not impossible. They are the same colour as my hair, black as ebony and are almost invisible at night. When I was a child, I was shunned by most humans because of them. They called me names and pushed me around and often tried to break my wings. When I was 12, I tried to cut them off with my brother's army blades but the blades just shattered. That was when I realised that they were impenetrable. At 13, I was offered a place in the army and I jumped at it willingly, hoping that it would earn me some respect. At first, it did not. In fact I was harassed more than ever. Only when I took down an Other by myself did people realise that I was loyal to humanity. But that's still not enough for our leaders.

I land on the edge of a cliff and scan the area around me. I am about to give up when I notice some movement behind a boulder maybe 200m away. Intrigued, I dive from the cliff and watch in shock as a figure shoots upwards from behind the boulder. Others never retreat though, I think, filled with wonder. The figure continues to rise until I can no longer see it. I anticipate its moves and am filled with satisfaction when I see it emerge from the cloud cover, dropping straight downwards. I watch as it spreads its wings and flies up over the cliff and zooms away to the East, towards our city. Then, just as it is about to disappear from view, the figure adjusts its course a little to the right and starts to head South-East. I note its direction before heading back to the city, confused by this unusual encounter. Could it be... another human... like me?