To Be Obscure

| CH. 36

For a moment—and only a short moment—I remembered Abigail in her loving days. Back when I was a boy, chasing after her through the wheat fields, or as a young man, tending to her house chores and repairs. She'd catered to me and praised my every move; much like she did even after our change. She took pride in my strength and will to please her, and for it, I killed so many. For her. In her name.

I learned long ago killing was unnecessary, and I planned for her to be the last death I'd inflict.

"Abby!" Ron's strangled voice broke free from Victor's hold. He'd tossed him to the ground and scurried up to his feet. The dagger glimmered in his hand.

"Don't!" Abigail ordered, raising one hand. "He'll kill you!"

Victor screamed, staggering to his feet, but he didn't need to attack. I sidestepped enough to grab Ron by the shoulder, hindering him. He swung the blade at my face, scratching my cheek with just its tip, but I shook my head and popped his arm back so far, I heard three discs in his back snap out of place. His cry echoed into the night; his eyes went white.

I held no sympathy.

"She was right," I said into his ear as he shook my hand. "Didn't you always listen to her? Why stop tonight?"

"You're an animal," Abigail barked at me. "He will make you pay."

Ron dropped to my feet, a quivering mess of agonizing howls. I brought my heel down onto the side of his neck, severing his skull from his spine. His last gasp left me at ease.

"An animal, you say?" I sucked my teeth. "Why, Abby, wasn't it you who made me that way?"

Victor ran back to the windows of the manors, slapping his hands against the glass. The sounds echoed within the garden, causing a stir from within the buildings' halls. Shouts came out from the open windows, and Victor shouted up at them in return.

"Now!" he called out into the night. "It is now!"

"Now," I rolled my head back once as the breeze hit my face, "is when it ends."

"You think you can simply show your face and destroy me?" Abigail clung to a tree, hanging from its branch; her hair blew in the breeze. "It isn't so easy to destroy a God."

"You aren't a God," I snapped, reaching for two of the bloodied daggers near my feet, "nor are you an Angel."

She clawed up the tree branch as the shouts continued behind me. Her glowing eyes looked in their direction, and she hissed into the night. "I am an Angel," she snarled, "a fallen Angel, just as He is."

Men and women came out from the three manors, filling the emptied space of the garden. Not all were on our side, and only came out to defend Abigail against those who were. The gleam of weapons reflected with the moon's light as Evergreens and humans circled each other around us. Victor grabbed a gun from one of the men and checked it for ammo; he was as ready as they were.

While the curses and yells filled the air, I felt like a commander to an army. Watching, waiting to give word to attack. Victor looked at me, and silently asked, "Are you ready?"

The Evergreens who sided with Abigail were rabid. Their backs hunched over, teeth bare. Some purposely scooped up the blood of their fallen comrades, smearing it on their faces. All the while, those who sided with Victor stood tall, ready to end this lie; proud and ready to be free of her fake religion.

Funny how those who believed in Him were insane, and those who wished to be free, had my utmost respect.

"Now!" I said again as Abigail hopped down from her branch. "Now!"