As the lightning filled the humid May night sky with brilliant flashes of neon whites and yellows, a man's soles splashed muddy water on the bottom of his pants as he ran through the dark alleys of Altoona PA's hood. As the rain washed away the sweat from his bare torso onto the pavement, he grasped the hand of the frantic woman trailing behind him and pulled her behind a building; shielding her with his body. He held one finger to her trembling lips, signaling her to hush her heavy breathing, and not to move. As groups of approaching footsteps echoed through the alleys surrounding them, the man furrowed his eyebrows and began to pull something from the back pocket of his torn dress pants. The onyx blade flashed as another steak of lightning filled the sky with light.
As the rain began to pick up, the sound of running footsteps began to fade. "This way", the man whispered to the woman, grabbing her hand with one of his, and holding the blade in the other. They started into a sprint, the woman frantically looking left and right in panic. The woman's sapphire dress was drenched in rain; what was once comparable to a gown from a fairytale, now resembled a washed out bed sheet. As the couple rounded the corner, they came to a subtle halt. A tall, dark figure emerged from the shadows of one of the many surrounding buildings. The man tightened his grip on the woman's hand as a drip of sweat slowly ran down his forehead.
"Looks like we're done running dear", muttered the man as he outstretched his arm as a protective shield across the woman's chest.
The dark figure stepped further out of the shadows, letting a vicious laugh escape its teeth. The woman's heart continued to beat rapidly as her eyes met the gaze of the onyx orbs transfixed on her. The figure was clearly at least 6 ft. tall; a man with hair to match his eyes, and two gargantuan white feathered wings that stretched out of his back that seemed to glow in the blackness of the stormy night.
"If you thought running would do anything but waste my time, you were clearly mistaken.. It wouldn't have to be like this if you would have just followed the rules." The winged man spit his words like fire, a wicked grin curled upon his face.
"Big words for a dead man!" the woman shouted involuntarily, tears streaming down her face. With a raise of an eyebrow, and one powerful thrust of his wings, he appeared in front of her in an instant. The woman braced herself, but the man just looked at her, and then at the one guarding her.
"You act as if you're enjoying this. Don't you think the big man would be a little upset if he knew how you were acting towards this? Besides, you're fighting me," the man guarding the woman said, pushing the woman behind him back, "not her."
He stealthily slipped something into the woman's hand as a clap of thunder erupted into the sky, shaking the ground beneath their feet. With one forward stride, forcing the winged man to step back, he outstretched his arms, allowing two wings to rip through his shoulder blades.
"Fine, if you want to break the code of our brotherhood, for this girl, I have no choice but to stop you myself."
With that, the dark man jumped up into the sky, leaving a few shimmering white feathers behind in the muddy puddles below. The force of air from his powerful takeoff pushed the woman backwards with a gasp, only to be caught by the arms of her protector. He slowly turned her trembling body around, embracing her in calming hug. He then pulled away slightly, placing a kiss upon her tear streamed lips, closing her grip on the knife which he had given her previously. Breaking the kiss, he whispered in her ear.
"No matter what he may do to me, or what he may try to do to you, I will protect you with my life. Your life is my life, and I promise you, and long as your heart.. my heart is full of life that keeps it beating, I will never die. "
He then stepped back placing the woman's hand on his chest. She looked into his eyes as he wiped a tear from her face.
"Do you feel that? That beating, the life that's flowing through my veins.. is you. That's all it ever was. The life that keeps my pulse, is the same life that keeps yours. I was put here to protect you, we are one in the same. When you die, I'll die. You, my dear, are my life, and my heart, is full of you."
More tears began streaming down the speechless woman's face as she nuzzled her face in the nape of is neck. "Let's keep it that way", she whispered. A small smile was barely noticable on his stressed face. He nodded, and disappeared into the sky after the other winged being, leaving behind a trail of shimmering feathers. The woman opened her sweaty palm and gazed at the knife which it held. "If what you say is true; that I am the life that keeps your heart beating, and you are mine, then I swear to love you as well, until the blood stops flowing, my hair stops growing, and my veins run dry", she whispered to herself, still looking at the blade. "Maybe even then."
The woman put one of her hands on her chest, feeling her pulse, as she moved her gaze into the storm filled sky as another streak of lightning flashed.
"Even then." She spoke aloud.
