3 | Angelic

1.03 - Lunch Break

Eden smiled, taking in a deep breath of the smell coming from the fry truck in front of her. Beside her, Sam laughed at her and she nudged him playfully from where they stood in line for the their lunch. The air was warm around them, a light breeze blowing through, keeping the heat from getting too bad. People walked and chatted around them at the park the truck was parked at.

"Don't make fun of me," Eden chastised Sam, "it's been a long morning and I've been dreaming of these fries since you mentioned lunch."

"I'm not making fun of you," Sam defended, "you're just funny."

"While that is usually a compliment I appreciate, today it is not. You're making fun of me and we both know it," Eden persisted.

Sam laughed. "Fine, guilty as charged. Doesn't mean you're not still funny."

"I know I'm funny," Eden replied.

"At least you're confident," Sam said, still laughing.

They got to the front of the line and ordered their food, waiting patiently while they got it and then finding an empty picnic table to sit at to eat. Eden and Sam chatted idly about this and that, what their days had been like, things they had seen on the internet. It wasn't until movement out of the corner of her eye caught he attention that Eden began to lose track of the conversation she was supposed to be having with Sam.

It was barely visible to Eden, the main thing that had attracted her attention being the light reflecting off of the bracelet on the woman's wrist as she struggled. A man was holding onto her arm, trying to drag her into an alleyway as she struggled to get away from him. Her eyes were wide with panic and she looked like she wanted to scream for help— but the man had his other hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

Eden knew that she had to help.

"Oh, shoot," she feigned to Sam, "I just remembered that I forgot to make a call. Can you give me a minute?"

"Yeah, of course," Sam allowed.

"Thanks, I'll only be a minute," she told him, grabbing her bag and getting up, jogging away from the table.

Once in a place where she knew she wouldn't be seen, Eden pulled her mask out of her bag, and slipped it onto her face. Then she shed her jacket and blouse, leaving her in just her tank top and jeans. Finally, she tucked away her bag and clothes, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

"Alright, Sarandiel, are you ready to save a life?" she asked quietly.

I am more than ready.

Eden felt the surge of power in her bones that came with Sarandiel's increase in control and when she opened her eyes, she could tell they were glowing white. Wings of pure light had spread from her back and even her hair seemed to have turned a lighter shade of blonde where it still hung over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and focused, picturing the alleyway she had seen the woman being dragged into.

There was a tingling that spread all across her body and the sound of wings fluttering and when she opened her eyes, she was standing at the end of the alley, looking in. At the other end, she could see the man and woman, still struggling against each other as she fought with all her might. Neither of them saw her as she began a slow walk into the alley and towards them, but the woman's strength seemed to reach its end as she was forced down to the ground.

In a blink, Eden had reached them. She grabbed the back of the man's coat and lifted him easily into the air, flinging him backwards into the brick wall that had been behind him. He hit the wall with a heavy thump and stayed down on the ground, looking dazed. With him temporarily dealt with, Eden turned her attention to the woman, who was still on the ground and looking up at her in fear. So as not to scare her more, Eden knelt down and reached a hand out to her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice unmistakably mixed with Sarandiel's.

"I- I think so," the woman stuttered out. "Thank you."

"Here, let me help you up," she said, offering her hand once more.

This time, she took Eden's hand and she pulled her to her feet. The woman didn't look scared anymore, and that was a relief. She looked over at the man, still struggling to figure out where he was and what had happened and then back at Eden.

"What will happen to him?" she asked.

Eden's expression darkened. "He will be dealt with accordingly based on his crimes," she answered.

"Who are you?" the woman asked next.

"You may call me Sarandiel," she answered.

"Thank you, Sarandiel."

Eden nodded. "You are welcome. Now go, you will not want to see what happens next."

The woman seemed to understand her meaning and hurried out of the alleyway and back into civilization. Once she was gone, Eden turned on the man who was just now beginning to stand up again. He flinched once her eyes rounded on him and tried to inch away, but she but one hand on his chest and held him to the wall easily. He squirmed and struggled to get away but her strength was no match for his.

"You are not a good man," Eden said, "and you deserve to be punished for your crimes. Once we see how bad they truly are, we will judge accordingly."

"What are you goin' on about?" he questioned, sounding more than a little alarmed.

Eden reached forward with her other hand, right into his chest. The man cried out in alarm as she pulled her hand back out, a glowing red and black heart was resting in her hand. She shook her head as she looked at it, turning it over so she could appraise just how bad this man really was. There was a lot of black creeping into his heart and that didn't mean anything good for him. She looked up at him, smirking, and his eyes widened in even more terror.

"That is a lot of black..." she told him, "any good man won't have that much black in his heart. I suppose we must now judge accordingly."

Eden leaned down and whispered some words that she didn't understand over the heart. Something that looked like magic settled over the heart and she pulled back. Without warning, she shoved the heart back into his chest, leaving him gasping.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded.

"Just a little curse," she answered, "if you ever try to do anything bad, against the law, or generally not great, you will have the worst luck imaginable while you attempt it."

Eden stepped back, releasing the man. He ran off immediately but she didn't attempt to chase him. The curse would be enough punishment for him and would most likely end up in him being arrested for a crime of some kind. Unless he made an attempt to change his life very quickly. She closed her eyes and focused on the location where she had left her stuff. There was the tingling, the fluttering and when she opened her eyes she was back with her bag.

"Alright, Sarandiel, party's over."

The power drained from her bones and she staggered for a moment before regaining her balance. Once she was fine again, she quickly redressed, slipped her mask into her bag again and hurried back to where Sam was waiting for her. He looked up at her as she sat back down and didn't look suspicious in the slightest.

"Make your call?" he asked.

"Yup. Got everything sorted."