Relic

Found

We all stared at the object in the middle of the desk. I put it there and now Jack and Kelly stared at me in disbelief. I pushed my fingers into my hair, pulling on the curls.

"Fuck!" Jack screamed and walked out of the room. Kelly shook her head and began to chew on her fingernails.

The relic sat there in all its subtle glory. It was confirmation of what we all feared. Human kind had been condemned, we were at our last, the horsemen were stirring. The appearance of the seven Archangels should have been confirmation enough, it was for me. And I am sure it was enough the hundreds of thousands of people that were killed by their hand.

When they descended 25 years ago the world had pretty much collapsed. The internet and most of our smart technology was knocked out. We were left with basic landlines as way as communication and electricity but that was a small virtue. The angels appeared and took over nations, killed false prophets and swindlers that had been using the Lord's name for their own gain. Momentarily, the media called it a mass act of terrorism each blaming some huge corporation for their ability in conducting such a huge operation.

That soon ended when the Archangels began to address us themselves.

'God has left you' they had said, 'He has sent us, to learn from you, to teach you, to observe and decide your fate'. They had done that and then things changed.

The Fallen came to sway mankind. If the angels came with the intention of saving us than God was interfering and if God was interfering with our will, the Devil could too.

That was when the Holy Relic was stolen. This wasn't just a relic the humans had decided were holy. No, most of those had been destroyed by the Fallen and Archangels. This was a Relic from the highest form of angel, the Seraphim. Since its loss, the world is far from what we knew it to be. War, famine and plague had taken over. Humans were turned into demons, joined the Archangels' armies or were left to fend for themselves.

"Why the fuck did you bring it here?" Jack stormed back into the room and towards me so fast I stumbled into the wall behind me.

I opened and closed my mouth, not able to form words.

"Where did you find it?" Kelly asked, her voice quiet.

"Home," I muttered, still pressed against the wall, "It was just... I just found it. I've never seen it before,"

"You brought it here! You have put us all in danger! What if you had been followed? The cities are forbidden." She continued.

"I know..."

"You have no reason to go back there,"

"I needed to see..."

"They could have spotted you," Kelly's voice became shrill and she looked at me with fear in her eyes. Caramel skin looked pale under the artificial lights of her office. She pulled out her desk chair and sat in it heavily before rubbing her face.

"I needed to see. I just wanted to see if we missed something, if maybe, there was a clue or something that could tell me who I am, where I belong!" I skirted around Jack who was still seething and stood in front of the desk. "I wasn't followed and I wasn't spotted. We both know that. I'm the best scout you have. As soon as I found it, I came back and straight to you,"

"You should have left that thing where it was!" Jack sneered.

"Jack! Why don't you go grab some scouts and check our perimeters?" Kelly glared at him for a while. I didn't look back, just waited to hear the door slam shut to signal his departure. When it came, Kelly sighed and closed her eyes. "I know you feel lost, that you want to find some indication of who your parents were, about your past. But we have combed through that apartment, I have given you time and resources and man power. There is nothing there. We found you there. That was all there was. You can no longer risk going back there and risk exposing us to the demons and angels that are out there," she ended quietly. She had built this compound and was responsible for the community here. Kelly had found me abandoned in a town house, had brought me back here and raised me, trained me. Suddenly, the look in her eye turned, gone was my surrogate mother and instead my leader. "Now, you have brought the Holy Relic into our home, risking men, women and children that have lived her under my safety! You are a fool!"