Can Angels Cry?

Deal

Valerye's P.O.V

The wind whistles through the deserted ruins that form the surface of Genesis. The mutilated bodies of dead Others line the side of the street to dry in the summer sun. I check the time before picking up my pace. I can't afford to be late, otherwise the entire deal is off. My only chance at making it big in the army.

My mouth curls in wry amusement. My curse, to become my salvation. The years of hearing everyone's hatred, anger, fear, all coming to fruition now. It took me many years to hone my curse, make it work for me - turn the unwanted thoughts of other against themselves. Seeds of jealousy, anger, love - all of them are the building blocks of control. With those foundations, I can set myself up in their minds, add brick upon brick to form a shelter, a lair in which my consciousness resides, dormant until I see fit, all the while building a wall around my own consciousness, to protect it from any that seek to do the same as myself.

When the Boss first learned of my powers, he tried to have me locked up, hidden from the rest of the world. That's where I met Flame - pretty, powerful, inherently dangerous - she was all that I wanted to be. I hated her from the moment I saw her. She exuded anger and jealousy, aimed mainly towards her brother, Damien - a "normal", as she called him. I took my chance to strike - worming my way through the barriers of her weak, damaged mind, forming my structures and then withdrawing - leaving behind a castle of power locked in her mind for later use. It was only two nights ago that I finally made use of my dormant plan.

"Shit." I murmur as I accidentally pass the entrance of the meeting point. I wheel around and jog to a pile of rubble, seemingly blocking the doorway to a centuries old highrise, too dilapidated to use as shelter or storage. But if you look closely, you can see a small crack in the wall next to the doorway, small enough for a cat to squeeze through. It seems pointless to bother trying to fit through, making it the perfect disguise for a hidden entrance. I head towards the crack and crouch down, with my head turned to left, towards the rubble and slowly lie flat on my stomach. As I descend, I notice a sizeable gap between the rubble and the wall, big enough to crawl through, but too small to notice at first glance. I wriggle through it, holding my breath to make my waist as thin as possible as I slide through.

Once my legs and feet are fully inside, I rise slowly and dust myself off. My breath catches on the dust particles wafting in the air, causing me to choke up as I head to the roof. Endless flights of stairs give me the opportunity to reflect on my actions over the last few days.

***

I stand on the rooftops of Genesis' Outer Layer, the evening breeze tousling my hair. The Boss' stern, yet young face edges unpleasantly into my mind, and with a breath of anticipation, I breach the wall around my consciousness.

The warbled, broken thoughts of Others pierce through my mind, forcing me to my knees in pain. I kneel, clutching my head, drawing in shallow, ragged breaths. The thoughts of the creatures come into focus and I latch onto the weakest mind, struggling for a foothold in uncharted territory.

My prey doesn't give in easily, desperately trying to push my influence away, but eventually his struggles cease and the fog in my eyes begins to clear as I start to view the land from his perspective. He is at the back of a pack of Others, their heads and wings unarmed. A scouting squad then. My current charge is useless to me, and with a hitched breath, I again step away from his consciousness, like leaping off a diving board into a deep, uncharted, unfriendly ocean. The pain washes over me yet again, but this time, I'm more aware of my surroundings. Instead of the endless white like before, I make out dark patches of consciousness, like welcoming beacons of shade in a suffocating light. One in particular stands out to me, for it pulses with a deep, primal energy, an anger, a determination that the other lack. 

I swoop in and circle around it, ignoring the waves of pain that wrack my body and mind every moment that I spend in this void of unconsciousness. The presence is formidable, that is for sure, and is surrounded by a wall of cast iron, stronger than any I have ever seen. I recall the multiple meetings that I would conduct in secret with self proclaimed clairvoyants and psychics, and their tales of the legendary cast-iron walls. Minds so damaged, so brutally powerful, that not even a brick or stone wall can contain it. Impregnable, so they say, but as far as the legends go, if one was to breach and enter a mind protected by cast-iron, they would have full control over the consciousness of the host.

For what feels like hours, I prowl around this consciousness, searching relentlessly for any weakness, any chink in its armour, until my body revolts and I am pulled out of the void, back into reality. I scream until my throat is raw, tears tracking a glistening path down my dirtied cheeks, converging in the hollows of my nose, before streaming off my chin onto the dusty roof. 

***

I drag my leaden legs up the final few stairs, breath hitched in my throat. "I'm so unfit," I mutter as I scrabble at the metal handle of the door leading out onto the rooftop, "for someone who's in the army..."
Warm rays of sunlight hits my face, forcing me to cringe as I rush to cover my head with my hood. Years of being hidden underground has made my skin intensely sensitive to direct light. Through squinted eyes, I make out the silhouette of the Boss, as he stands with his back to me in full uniform.
"You're late," he says, voice grating against my ears.
"You have my deepest apologies, sir." I bow as I spit out the words through gritted teeth.
"From your bitter tone, I sense the otherwise." He turns, face still shadowed by the sun behind him, but I can still envision his sneer, once handsome features, scarred and twisted beyond recognition, cold blue eyes staring, void of emotion, from behind a black mask. He struts towards me, cape billowing behind him, and digs his fingers under my chin, forcing me to gaze up at him in feigned fear. 
He smirks before a few seconds before letting go and returning to his speech. "I am forced to tell you that you have done well, surprisingly. Your previous incompetence had convinced me that this mission would follow a similar trend.  But, you've proved me wrong this time. All has been arranged as promised, you've been transferred into a different cohort and your quarters are in the Third Layer. More good work like this, and I might be able to pull some strings to have you transferred even deeper into Genesis. But remember, you don't have friends, you don't have family."
I nod.

"I only have prey."