Pleiades Saints

Chapter Five: Seed of Creation

Chapter Five: Seed of Creation

The bonesplitting wail of the siren echoed across all of Los Angeles, screaming panic to an empty city that the worst was yet to come. "Shizuka...what is that awful sound?" Kanato asked, clamping his hands over his ears. "It sounds familiar...but so terrible..."

Kamiya tugged and prodded at Ramiel's cape. "Hey, big guy, come on! We gotta get out of here, this place is gonna get nuked to high heaven, don't just stand there! It's just like the Americans to pull something like this...if it doesn't go their way the first time, they just blow the shit out of it!"

"Ramiel, please get us out of here!" I begged.

Ramiel's expression was stone-cold, and the tone in his voice was equally dead. "Very well."

A deafening pounding hammered my ears as Ramiel's gigantic wings beat the air. The next thing I knew, I was clinging onto his cape for my life, roaring wind slamming me like a wall and my surroundings an utter blur as the Nephilim took off at the speed of what felt like a jet airliner.

Behind me, it seemed like the world itself was ending. I clenched my teeth, clapping my hands over my ears. The sound of a colossal explosion assaulted my senses. Even that wasn't good enough to describe it. It was an utterly gargantuan sound, the impact blasting the surrounding area and rattling my bones. It sounded as though the Earth was splitting in two. I buried my face into Ramiel's cape, trying to block it out. My tears and hot sweat soaked the dense fabric. The horrible, earth-shattering noise lasted for less than a few seconds. I reluctantly looked up, surprised that my hearing had been left intact.

But just over my shoulder, the rest of the world had not been so lucky.

A giant mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke and billowing flames rose in the horizon, cloaking the city below in a firestorm. Everything I had seen in Los Angeles, everything I had ever known there- melted away in a matter of mere seconds. Once-towering skyscrapers were leveled down to nothing. I couldn't even see the Nephilim's mothership anymore. I couldn't see anything. All that beckoned me was a deathly haze of smoke and flame. Even from here, the heat of the nuclear blast struck my face. I felt my face burn red-hot as though I had gotten the worst sunburn in existence. The tight dress and boots I wore locked me in a bottle of my own sweat. Horrified wasn't even a good enough word to describe how I felt. Tears rolled down my face, almost seeming to sizzle as they came in contact with my burning skin. This...this is it, I thought. I won't ever make it home. I will never see my mother, my father, or any of my friends and family ever again. Everything is over. This world really is coming to an end. And this is only the beginning.

The others were left stunned into silence. Even Ramiel looked shocked beyond words. "I...I never would have imagined mere humans could create something so powerful. We Nephilim have grossly underestimated you...I see that now. Your kind hasn't survived as long as they have for nothing. As to be expected...it's only natural for beings blessed with the Seed of Wisdom to possess such abilities. You were cursed with a tiny size, but in turn gifted with the knowledge and wisdom to reach the stars...or drive yourselves to the depths of destruction."

I barely listened to his words. My mind was blank as sheet paper, unable to even work up the nerve to craft a response. I managed to tear myself away from the apocalyptic spectacle, only to gaze down at my sweat-drenched palms. "Kamiya...will they do this to the rest of the cities too?"

The brown-haired navyman was silent for what felt like an eternity. "If it works...they just might. They'll nuke this world to hell before they give it up to the damn giants." I heard the crack in his voice. I could tell that even now, he was struggling to hang onto his pragmatic self. "We...we can't worry about that now. Soon enough, this place'll be showered in fallout up to the next 100 miles. Trust me, you don't want radiation poisoning. My grandfather survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but everyone else...they weren't as fortunate. If...if we make it to Sacramento, we might be safe...as long as that hasn't been blown away too. Now come on, quit looking at it, or you'll go blind. We've probably only got a few hours before the fallout spreads far enough to reach us. The longer we wait, the worse off we'll be."