The Pariah

Chapter 63

Chapter Song: Twenty One Pilots - Heathens 

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We flew through the cold, winters air for almost three hours. My wings were sore. It felt like when I run for too long that my legs become like jello, except it was like that with my wings instead. And I wasn't the only one. Beside me, one of the younger Angels -- I'd say eighteen, maybe nineteen -- was beginning to lower to the ground, which was equivalent to slowing down when running. 

I call up, toward the front, where Kilgard was. "Hey! Let's take a break, huh?"

We sink to the ground and almost everyone slips to the ground, in a sitting position. Sweat glides down my neck and I wipe it away. My wings tuck against my back, but don't go away completely. I kneel down next to the Angel that had gotten tired the quickest. 

"Hey, you okay?" I ask. 

The Angel, a young man, nods, though his face says that he wasn't okay. 

I sit myself down beside him, butt freezing over in the cold. I was thankful for my artificial limb right now, because I could use it to support myself in the snow, without feeling any of the cold. "You sure? You don't seem like you're okay."

He brings his knees up to his chest and rests his chin on top of his makeshift wall. "I'm nervous."

"I see."

"It's just..." he sighs and fully turns to me. His breath was falling out of his mouth and disappearing in the air. "How do you prepare for something like this?"

I wish I had the answer to that question. It would be nice to know for myself. But because I didn't, all I could do was stand up from the snow, turn to him and offer my hand. "Get up. We're gonna defend each other, okay? No preparing."

"Eh, but--"

"Erin!" Taurus hissed at me. "We've got trouble."

My senses picked up the instant the words reached my ears. "What kind of trouble?" I question as I walk with him quickly, through the snow. 

We kneel down and Taurus points further into the woods that we'd flown across. That's when I see it. Dark Angels. But something was off about them. They were stumbling around, coughing and leaning on each other. They looked fatigued and just about ready to fall over. My eyes narrow on them, to try and pinpoint what exactly was the matter with them, but I couldn't tell. 

"They're disoriented, maybe we can take 'em," I whisper to Taurus. 

Kilgard kneels down my right side and the rest of the Angels fall in line behind us. "Why do they appear so..."

"Sickly," Taurus concludes. "I don't know what they have, but I don't like it. I wouldn't risk it."

"But why would they be out here if they were sick?" Another Angel asks and it's a good question. 

The troopers seemed to be having a rough time going through the snow. They kept falling and using the trees to guide them. One Dark Angel just falls into the snow and nobody seems to pay attention as his body sinks into the snow. Another Dark Angel leans up against the closest tree and releases a long, drawn out coughing fit. 

But when his head lifts, he seems to look right at us. He grumbles loudly and it catches the attention of those behind him and they all turn to look in our direction. My stomach drops when they begin walking this way, with increasing vigor. 

"We have to go." I say. "We have to fly."

"Yeah, I agree." Taurus says. 

We extend our wings outwards and take to the sky. It's not long before we feel that the troops had the same idea and were flying after us. One Angel comes flying right at me, arms wide open and a sickly look on her face. I grab her and we end up wrestling in mid-air for some time. I manage to wedge my knee in between us and shove her off of me, sending her falling to the ground, where she doesn't rise up again.