When Angels and Demons Fall in Love

Chapter 4

Elizabeth

'No!' I thought frantically. Kurt had been caught. I couldn't leave him when he could have done so several times during our escape. I couldn't do to him something so similar to what Peter had done to me. Kurt was my only friend.

I landed in the woods beside the road and watched with horror as some of the men stuffed Kurt into a small chest and chained it closed. They tossed it back into the trailer. One man climbed in after it, and they began to drive away. Making a split second decision and gritting my teeth, I took off and followed them from above.

The night hid any shadows that would have given me away. I felt a certain joy at this freedom, but at the same time, it was overshadowed with my fear as I pursued the truck. At daybreak, it arrived in Berlin, and I was forced to land. It was getting too light for it to be safe. Slipping into an alley, I grabbed some new clothes off of a random clothesline. Folding my wings away, I discarded my torn clothes for some jeans and a t-shirt, covering my wings with a loose sweater. Then, I continued to causally follow the truck until it pulled up to a small hotel. The men unloaded the trailer, taking Kurt's chest with them on a cart. I slipped into an alley beside the building, sat down, and waited for night to fall.

When darkness came, the men walked out once again with the chest. After throwing it roughly into the back of a small pickup truck, they climbed in. I winced, knowing that would've hurt badly from the inside of the chest. Right before they drove away, I ran up and jumped in. "Kurt?" I whispered. A weak voice replied, saying, "Elizabeth? I thought zat you had left." I gave a small laugh. "I couldn't just leave you, especially after you saved me." I began to fumble with the chains, but they were locked. Despair took over only for a second. I has come up with an idea. "Kurt, do you trust me?" I asked urgently. "Vhat? Vhat are you going to do!?" he asked in a panicked tone. "Do you trust me?" I repeated. He sighed. "Ja." I stood. "I'll need you to fight then." "VHAT!?" he shouted. "Shh!" I said. "Don't worry! I'll get you out. I just need you to fight until I can." "I don't want to fight!" he said urgently. "I'm not a killer! I'm an acrobat!" "You won't have to kill," I said reassuringly. "You just have to survive until I can come up with a way to get you out." He took a deep breath. "Ok," he said finally. "But please hurry!"

When the truck passed the front of the building, I quickly jumped out and followed the steady stream of people inside. A fight was just ending. A mutant that the announcer called Angel was holding his arms in the air in a victorious stance. He had wings like mine, but I don't think he could hide them as easily. They were larger by a few feet and a bright white. Another challenger came out and was defeated. This Angel was merciless. In all the matches I watched, all the while searching for a way to get Kurt out of the cage where the mutants fought once he was in, Angel always won very quickly. Any blood was cleaned up in between rounds. My fear grew with each mutant's death.

Eventually, I noticed that there was an electric field around the cage, which was probably why none of the mutants had tried to escape. I looked around, eventually finding the control panel. I slipped to the edge of the crowd, standing as close as possible to it without looking suspicious. I winced as Angel defeated another opponent. The announcer shouted, "Ja! Zehn Kämpfe, zehn Siege. Der Geflügelte Krieger. Der Raubvogel. Der Todesengel. ANGEL!" The applause was thunderous. I felt as if I was going to be sick. "Eine Runde Applaus für fat boy!" The crowd continued to chant, "Angel! Angel!" as the large mutant was rolled on a gigantic cart out of the room. Angel threw his arms in the air and let out a triumphant bellow.
I saw Kurt's chest being rolled forward as the announcer said, "Unser nächster Gegner kommt direkt aus dem Circus Munich. Damen und Herren. Der einzige, der einen Angel stehen könnte, ist der Teufel selbst! Präsentieren. Die erstaunliche, die fantastische, Nightcrawler!"

Kurt was tossed out of the chest into a heap on the floor. His eyes darted around quickly as he slowly stood. His chest was visibly heaving. He looked like a cornered animal, and in a way, he was. He was trapped. He attempted to teleport out, but instead got thrown back. The announcer laughed. "Vorsicht! Hochspannung. Leider Mutanten!" The crowd joined in the laughter.

I felt my anger grow. Although I couldn't understand German, I could understand enough of their body language and laughter to know that they were making fun of Kurt's pain. I turned on my heel and began to march up to the control panel, when another woman with a slightly revealing purple dress and wavy blond hair ambled up. The guard smiled and began to talk to her. I turned back around, waiting for her to leave.

Meanwhile, Kurt was attempting to stay away from Angel. He teleported to a beam above the floor, then back down once Angel went up to get him, then back up again. I heard Angel growl with my heightened hearing, "Fight! Or they'll kill us both!" I noticed at least ten men with guns surrounding the cage. My heart leapt. Kurt seemed to notice too. He stood on the beam above Angel, and seeming to brace himself, bore his fangs and growled. He teleported to Angel, grabbing him with his tail and throwing him. He teleported closer to the wall during the process, causing Angel to be thrown into the electric field. His eyes widened when one of Angel's wings seemed to get fried. Angel let out a yell of pain. Kurt jumped back in horror.

The crowd went into shocked silence, before bursting into cheers, chanting, "Nightcrawler! Nightcrawler!" I turned around. The guard had been knocked out, and the circuit board was at a dangerously high level. The woman was nowhere to be seen. I pushed forward to the cage. Angel was advancing on Kurt with a murderous look on his face, his charred wing swinging at an awkward angle. "I'm sorry!" cried Kurt, scrambling backwards. "I'm sorry!"

Suddenly, I heard the control panel blow up behind me. The whole room went dark. People began to scream and run in a panic. "Kurt!" I shouted. Angel had already ripped a hole out of the cage and began to fight his way out. Teleporting to me, Kurt wrapped his arms around my waist, and with a "bamf" noise, we were outside in an alley. Men with guns ran out of the building. They turned to me, shouting. I pushed Kurt behind me. I began to tremble, and with a terrified squeak, pointed down the road. The men began to sprint in that direction. I breathed out a sigh of relief and sank to the ground. Kurt looked at me, the fear in his eyes slowly being replaced by relief as well. I looked him up and down. The only injuries that I could see were a few bruises and a bit of singed hair, but sometimes, the worst damage done to a person is emotional, not physical. "Are you ok?" I asked worriedly. He smiled shakily. "Yeah. Let's get out of here."

Translations
• Ja = yes
• Zehn Kämpfe, zehn Siege = ten fights, ten victories
• Der geflügelte Krieger = the winged warrior
• Der Raubvogel = the bird of prey
• Der Todesengel. = the angel of death
• Unser nächster Gegner kommt direkt aus dem Circus Munich = our next opponent comes directly from the Circus Munich
• Damen und Herren = ladies and gentlemen
• Der einzige, einen Angel stehen könnte, ist der Teufel selbst! = the only one who could face an Angel is the devil himself!
• Präsentieren = presenting
• Die erstaunliche = the amazing
• Die fantastische = the fantastic
• Eine Runde Applaus für fat boy! = a round of applause for fat boy!
• Vorsicht = caution
• Hochspannung = high voltage
• Leider Mutanten = sorry mutants

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