Nephilum

Chapter 21

"That's the base?" Sam and I asked in perfect unison.

James nodded. "Kind of smart really. No one would want to go into a sewer manhole."

"Please tell me we don't have to actually go down there." I pleaded.

"Yeah, but we have to wait for Hunter and George. As soon as they start blowing things up, we move. But we need to go as fast as possible."

I nodded. He went over to talk to a couple different angels, leaving me with Sam, Devin, and Michael.

Sam looked from me to Devin before winking and pulling Michael with her as she went somewhere else. I glared at her, but she just smiled in return.

Devin turned to me. Awkwardness hung heavily in the air around us.

"So, I hope you find your brother." He started.

"I will." I replied flatly.

He gave me an awkward smile before fleeting off to go talk to some other angel.

I stood there by myself, trying not to look weird, when I heard it. The voice.  My father.

"You know, this is a bad  idea."

I closed my eyes tightly, trying not to let anyone see how weird I was acting. I turned away from the others so they wouldn't see me talking to myself.

"Go away." I grit through my teeth.

"No can do Lizzie."

"Don't call me Lizzy."

"I'm your father, I can call you whatever I want." There was a hard underlying tone in his voice.

"You most definitely are not my father. My father is at home right now. Mourning the disappearance of his daughter and son."

"I am your father. There is no denying that. You know what you can do; where do you think you got that from?"

"You may be my biological father but you certainly aren't my dad. You will never be my dad." I muttered more forcefully.

"Lizzy, are you ok?" James asked, coming up from behind me.

"I'm fine." I told him, shrugging away from his hand. He gave me an unconvinced look, but didn't say anything. 

Seconds later a deafening series of booms rocked on our left. The ground shook slightly and the groups assembled themselves. 

James, Devin, and I started our descent into the manhole first. The rusty ladder we were clinging to trembled under our weight. None of us said anything as we kept climbed down. There was absolutely no light down here and it reeked of sewer. 

I gasped as my foot missed a rung and I nearly slipped onto James. Adrenaline coursed through me like blood in my veins and I had to take a moment to regain my composure.

"You ok?" James asked, removing his hand from my leg. He had went to catch me in case I fell. 

"Yeah." I replied a little breathlessly. 

There was a clunk sound as James jumped from the ladder to the ground. "There's about a foot left between you guys and the ground." James commented from below us. 

"Thanks for the heads up." Devin called from above me.

James didn't answer and I decided to jump the rest of the way. Pain laced through my feet and up to my shins from the impact. I bumped into James as Devin jumped down to join us. "Sorry." I mumbled. It wasn't really my fault I ran into him, it's not like I can see in the dark.