Original Sin

Chapter 15

All this time, Hailey managed to avoid this kind of violation to her body from the hands of monstrous men. She was the perfect human, and every man who walked the earth thought a piece of that perfection belongs to them, no questions asked. 

But this was different- This was an angel. Hailey shouldn't have to worry. Yet, it was happening, and she was powerless to stop it.

She felt his breath on her skin, tugging the sleeve of her T-shirt down to expose her shoulder. Hailey wanted to shudder, scream, claw his face, but it was useless. She was at his mercy. This angelic power overwhelmed and frightened her.

"You know, at first I didn't understand why Lucifer was so enamored with a human girl," Michael muttered against the skin on her neck. "It was unfathomable to think someone as inferior as you could seduce a superior being, yet it happened twice. I was there, you see, in the Garden."

If he was there that day, Hailey hadn't noticed. She was focused on Lucifer and God and His punishment. What exactly did he hear and see? Does he comprehend the gravity of humanity's situation on Earth? 

"You were all the evidence God needed that His creations were, in fact, perfect, and that His angels were not." Michael's teeth grazed her ear. Every breath he took seethed with anger. 

"But I think I'm beginning to see the beauty in humans." His voice trailed off as his finger slowly trickled up her thigh and toyed with the edge of her shorts. 

This is it, the final moment, the point where I lose whatever dignity I have left. Hailey's thoughts tried to find a sense of security or comfort but there was none. After all, what was Hailey's life but a constant struggle to survive, moving from place to place, existing in the world but never really living in it? And just when an opportunity arose to end her suffering, here was Michael, ripping the iron key from her neck and stuffing it into his pocket, ready to ravage her like the ugly beast he was.

"Thank you for the key, Miss Hailey. Now, let's take this next part slowly, shall we?" Cold hands slipped under her shirt, gripping her waist. They weren't rough like Alex's. These hands were cold and calculating. Michael lacked empathy, the emotion that warms your soul.

His hands traveled lower. It's okay. It's going to be okay. Just endure it. Endure it. She repeated the mantra over and over, but didn't really believe a word of it. 

Then she heard it.*

Michael's movements stilled.

Wings...Wind...Heat...

A gust of wind blew through the shack. Not just wind; it had physical form. It charged at Michael, ripping him from Hailey. Michael was thrown through the wall into the trees at the back of the house.

Freed from Michael's power, Hailey collapsed on the floor. The tears flowed and she gasped for breath, shaking violently from every touch Michael inflicted. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She dared not scream though. Slowly, Hailey managed to crawl to her hands and knees. As the dust settled, she saw a very angry, very protective, pissed-off angel. His back was turned to her, but it made no difference. She already knew who it was. Still, Hailey shuffled to the side enough to see his eyes. They were no longer the loving eyes she knew, but eyes on fire. If one looked long enough, they saw their greatest sins and felt the ultimate anger of those they hurt. His brows furrowed and his mouth snarled. In place of perfect teeth were fangs. Every inch of his body held a fiery rage that made Hailey cower into the nearest corner and draw her knees into her chest. She'd never been so scared.

This wasn't Alex.

This was Lucifer.

Her rational mind reminded Hailey that Lucifer and Alex were one in the same. He wouldn't hurt her. He loved her. 

But it was difficult to believe such rationality with this image in front of her.

Michael reappeared, now hunched over in anger. His icy blue eye shot daggers at Alex, but Alex's orange eyes were far more terrifying as he held the point of the sword up, poised to strike. Michael withdrew his own sword, just like Alex's but instead of a fire engulfing the blade, Hailey saw ice.

They were out to kill each other. 

Alex lunged forward with a great roar. Michael reciprocated with a hiss of his own. The impact was too bright. Hailey had to close her eyes to keep her retinas from burning up. The clash of metal on metal could be heard for miles. It probably sounded like thunder to people on the other side of the island.

The light subsided, but the violence did not. She watched Alex's blade cut through the muscles in Michael's leg. Michael's sword retaliated slicing a large gash in Alex's toned abs.

Neither one seemed at all bothered or even hurt! How was this possible? The two angels slashed and tore each other's flesh continuously. Alex withdrew another sword, now wielding doubles. Yet, Michael seemed just as skillful- His viciousness never eased and his sword never left his hand. 

They truly are arch angels, like generals that would lead an army into the deepest pits of Hell. 

As Alex aimed his sword towards Michael's head, only to be blocked and dodged again, Hailey spotted something odd. On the ground, in a near disintegrated state, was Melanie's body. For a moment, Hailey thought she saw it twitching. She stared a little more- It was no mirage. Melanie's body was somewhat alive, moving beneath the battling duo. 

Hailey couldn't hear anything over the clash of swords and ferocity of angels. However, she saw Melanie's arm jerk upwards. The other one made the same motion. Melanie lifted her head with such a jarring motion Hailey was sure it cracked bones. Those eyes were dead, grey and dead, like a zombie from a B-grade movie. Melanie had no soul left inside. Out of the corner of her eye, Hailey spied Michael's signature smirk and moving tongue, the kind he had in the cave at Mount Ararat and again when they found the key at Istanbul. He was reciting something, though Hailey didn't even have time to guess what it might be. That smirk proclaimed his victory. He couldn't beat Alex with brute force alone, so he resorted to underhanded tactics. Melanie stood ready to strike Alex from behind. She was poised to claw the skull from his body.

Perhaps Hailey's next action could be considered irrational. In the moment, Alex was terrifying. She couldn't hide that fear from her face. The rational part of Hailey's head begged her to think of her own safety. Run away now! It screamed at her.

But she chose not to listen.

Love is a funny thing. Hailey always marveled at its ability to make even the most cautious, rational creatures act impulsively. Right now, her husband was going to die if she did not intervene. That was all the justification she needed to charge forward, disregarding all other thoughts. 

Melanie craned her lifeless arm forward.

Hailey mustered every ounce of energy in her body to make a dash between Alex's back and the claw of a zombified woman.

Her breath came in gulps. 

She knew what was coming.

No turning back now. 

Never.

One second...Two seconds...Three seconds...

Her feet planted squarely in front of Melanie, and that arm reached forward and plunged into Hailey's chest. All the adrenaline coursing through her veins was not enough to block the pain. She felt bones breaking, her heart beating, and a warm, wet sensation spreading throughout her body. Her vision blurred, and things became too foggy to understand completely.

Alex was screaming. That much she heard. Then the cutting sound of a blade slicing roughly through bone- She could only assume that was Melanie, now completely dead, as if she wasn't before.

Hailey crumpled into warm arms, cradled against Alex's chest. He was speaking to her, she could faintly see that, but he made no sound. 

The long life inside her was fading. How long had she sought death? Still, this was not the end she imagined.

The world darkened. All she saw now was a faint light shining below her and Alex's dark irises consuming her entirely. 

She was falling...falling...deeper into oblivion. 

So, this is what death feels like?