The Old Gods

To All Who Wander

Amir was standing on a cliff high above the City of the Lost Angels. Below him, an entire army of demons milled around. Gunfire rocked the streets of the ruined city, and men dressed in blood-red armor charged into the demon horde, stabbing and slashing at anything within reach of their weapons.

He was dressed in a warrior's garb. Golden armor, a sword strapped to his side and a shield bearing an unknown coat of arms lay in front of him. It was scratched and tarnished, with bits of metal gouged out by the claws of a demon. Robin and Leigh appeared beside him, clad in similar attire. Five people stood behind them. One of them was a ghostly girl, and her entire was made out of a misty blue smoke. Hollandair Cull, Hans Einarsson and his sister, Birgitte, flanked the ghost girl. The final warrior was another woman. Her eyes were golden and her hair seemed to be made out of fire. She issued a command, and all around him, the battlefield began to fall to pieces.

A pillar of black light shot up from the Tower of Angels. The tower collapsed in a pile of ancient marble and gold, crushing demon and human alike as the golden statues of Angels plummeted to the ground. A forty-metre y'all man emerged from the ruins. His feathery black wings stretched out. His name was Azrael, and he was angry. His amber eyes travelled past Amir and locked with the woman's. He raised a hand to strike, but as it fell, it slowly turned into a pair of jeans. Puzzled, Amir turned around to look for Robin and Leigh. The gigantic pair of jeans slammed into the cliff face, sending Amir into a seemingly endless free-fall.

"GAHHHH!" Amir screamed. He tore the jeans off his face and chucked them at Leigh, who was sitting on her bed and laughing at him.

"Oops. Sorry about that. I was packing. I've been looking for my jacket all morning." She said, waving her hand at the mess she'd made of her side of the room. Assorted bits of clothing were draped over the windowsill, the wardrobe, Leigh's desk, and somehow over Amir's bed frame.

Amir's trunk was already packed. There was no point staying in bed, not when Leigh was like this. Getting up, he proceeded to help Leigh look for her jacket.

"Is it the green one with the stripes?" He asked. Leigh nodded.

"It's right here." Amir said. The jacket had blended in with Leigh's blanket. She snagged it up, stuffed it into her overflowing trunk and locked it shut.

"There we go. Thanks for the help, Amir." She brushed the dust off her hands and tied her hair up with a scrunchie. Apparently, she'd taken a shower way before Amir had woken up. Amir brought out the comfiest clothes in his closet, took a shower and came out feeling ready to take on the world. They would meet up with Robin in front of Minnie's diner for breakfast and head to the dock at around ten.

With everything packed and ready, he and Leigh took turns helping each other lug their trunks down three flights of stairs. Amir had no idea how they were going to manage dragging their trunks all the way to the dock, but he reckoned his father would probably have something in the shed for them.

They found their parents sitting in the living room. Their father was reading the morning newspaper and their mother was working on one of her random model kits. The mantle was filled with the models she'd assembled over the years. On Amir and Leigh's tenth birthday, their mother had gotten miniature figures of the family carved out and placed in a replica of their own home. It came at a hefty cost, but it looked great.

"Morning, kids. Ready for your trip?" Their mother said.

"Darn right I am." Amir said, his teeth clenched. He pushed his trunk down the final few steps. It landed on the ground with a thunk. Their father turned around, mildly alarmed.

"Go easy on the trunks. If it breaks, I have no idea how you're going to fit all your clothing in your rucksacks. Do you need me to take you to Minnie's?" Their father offered.