You are My Doom

Chapter 4: Doom

Chapter 4: Doom

I am a centennial, standing vigil at my father's side. The audience chamber is filled with the spirits of the dead and dying, waiting for their cases to be heard. A child comes forward. Even his ethereal form is shaking in fright.

I am a wall of cool indifference as I listen to my father list out the boy's sins. Stealing, lying and envy were a theme in the boy's short life. It matters not that the boy was starving and alone on the streets because eventually those who shunned him will get their moment on their knees in front of the King of the Damned.

I am a gargoyle, ugly and frightening as I deliver the first of the boy's punishments. Eternal suffering for a soul no more than ten, whose only crime was trying to survive in a world who forgot to care.

I cannot figure out this woman's angle. I have been watching her for the majority of the day, and have seen her do so many peculiar things. I cannot figure out why she is giving so much of herself to complete strangers. I thought last night was a fluke for her. I believed she helped me out of fear and self-preservation, but the more I observe her, the less certain I am.

I have never met anyone like her. My life is filled with the worst parts of humanity. I grew up in Hell, training to be the second in command. I am the first born of Lucifer Morningstar and crowned Prince of Hell. Last week, when I turned 30, I took on my roll as the Angel of Wrath. Now that I am at my full power, I can read peoples emotions and manipulate them to suit my purpose. Also, my preexisting abilities such as shadow walking have strengthened; I can now walk between realms and stay for long periods of time in the shadow realm.

I have spent the past 8 hours shifting in the shadows, watching Eden in her day to day life. I cannot figure out what her motives are. She is clearly bight, but she is spending her time and money on people that could never pay her back.

I watch her spend more money than she makes in a week on two children, from all accounts, she barely knows. The boy did not even ask for a new backpack. He just wanted her to get some supplies for his sister's period. Her efforts are only repaid by a simple thank you. She did not even put his request in her report; which I only know because I read over her shoulder as she typed it back at the office, from the safety of the shadows, of course.

Why would she not say in her report how destitute those kids were? They clearly were not getting the care they deserve. Judging by the state of that shack, that old man was not doing much to improve their lives. I cannot imagine what kind of conditions they came from for those kids to think that was okay, and yet, I could feel the complete love and adoration flowing from that family. They have so little and yet so much.

Growing up, I never wanted for anything. Even though we never lacked for material possessions, our childhoods were not filled with love and happiness. My father forced Eve, the Angle of Temptation, to have seven kids in ten years. Thus, making our mother resent us. With Pain and Panic being the only set of twins, she spent almost that entire decade pregnant. Eve only ever seemed to care about her youngest child, Revelation, which was fine with the rest of us. Eve was and still is a deplorable person who is always trying to pit us against each other.

Even with all of us being born so close together, we all had exactly what we needed. All of us were taught basic arithmetic and language skills, but we all specialized in different areas. We did not have much of a choice in what we studied; it was decided by what you were best at. Lucifer had an idea of what he wanted all of us to be used for before we were even born. I have never totally understood what the details of his plans were, but I have figured out the big picture.

For the most part, the women were left to their own devices. Lucifer, along with most of the original Seraphim Angels, believe women simply exist to entertain the men. Panic fulfilled the role seamlessly with her endless supply of pranks and general mischief. Karma, unfortunately, had the less desirable side of the entertainment spectrum. While Panic was able to stay relatively ignorant of the true malicious nature of the Dark Angels, Karma was thrown into the fray far too young. Revelation was protected by Eve for the most part. Rev tried to fade into the background, simply observing and learning from the rest of us. She excelled at anything academic and actually ended up tutoring several of her older siblings. Since leaving Hell, she has done her best to shun her true nature and meld into the human world.