When a group of Caribbean high schoolers find themselves drawn into the echoes of a war that has been raging on for centuries before they existed; they find themselves faced with a decision. Would each among them, stand on the side of the Angels, li...
The bell had long since echoed through the classrooms and hallways, leaving nothing but silence and emptiness: a hollow building near void of life. It was an average Thursday evening, the school was blanketed in a cool shade while the Caribbean sun was slowly descending. I sat at my desk in an empty classroom with nothing but the rush of the wind through the windows and the whispered dragging of my pencil as I wrote. Practicing for my Simultaneous Equations exam on Friday, I figured I'd get some last minute cramming in before I walked home.
Focused on finding the value of 'x', I almost failed to notice the slight tremor that slithered through the classroom. Figuring it was a small earthquake, something that was common, I brushed it off. When it happened a second time, I became unsettled; something felt off and that feeling began nawing at me. Leaving my seat, I walked to the blandly painted gray door before reaching for the knob. After a third tremor made the old chairs and tables creak complacently, a feeling of dread washed over my entire body.
I was inexplicably terrified of leaving that room but something in my chest pushed for me to turn that knob and timidly step past its steel frame. Seeing nothing a miss at first, I was half ready to grab my book bag and bolt, when a flash of pulsating, blood-red light emanating from the Home Economics lab caught my attention. Though the sun was still out, the eerie glow shone like it was piercing complete darkness.
Deciding against my better judgement, I snuck along the hall, curiosity overwriting my base instincts as I attempted to get a better look. Soon close enough to be bathed in the glowing crimson, its touch sent a jolt of fear down my spine that was unlike anything I had ever felt. It froze me in place, making my heart race as beads of sweat casually rolled off my forehead.
Close enough to see though one of the decorative bricks that lined a strip along the wall, I thought I had momentarily plunged into insanity. My eyes were seeing, but for the life of me, my mind could not comprehend the beings that stood mere meters away.
There were three of them. The ones on either side resembled gargoyles made of flesh; hunched over with tucked, tattered wings and claws on each of its six fingers. The one in the middle was different; based on biology alone, it looked female. Unlike the others, she was covered by crimson armor from neck to toe. Her face bore these mechanical lines that ran from her forehead, through her glowing purple eyes and down, integrating through her armor; these lines emitted a shallow purple flame that seemed to cause her no harm. Her hair was the freakiest, long, flowing like a river and floating in the air around her.
It took a while to come to terms with the sight of it all, but when I did, I noticed she had someone by the neck, hoisted in the air as they struggled. It was Mr. Bright, my Home Economics teacher. Quieter than most teachers, Mr. Bright was always kind and helpful, I knew he'd never hurt even a fly. Yet, these things were interested in him.
"Where are they, Eon, you gutless coward?" she snapped, tightening the grip on his neck while taunting him with her bladed tail.
"Eon?" I whispered to myself, genuinely confused.
"Tell me where you've hidden Hell's elements and maybe...just maybe, I'd end you quickly."
When Mr. Bright finally spoke, his voice was deeper than usual, reverberating off the walls as his eyes glowed a brilliant white.
"You can torment me all you want Eisheth but you and the rest of your kind would never find them."
"Tsk tsk tsk, pittiful little Eon, heavens shame. You can stand as tall as you want upon your false pride, but I was there centuries ago; the slaughter you lead your fellow angels into...or did we forget already? Honestly, I've killed so many of your kind it's hardly any fun any more. Tell me, how's Avexis? Oh, that's right, your wife was one of the many...many angels you failed that day. You wanna know how she died, hmmm? I killed her!"
The glow radiating from Mr. Bright's eyes intensified and I could feel his seething rage from where I was hidden.
"I killed her while her back was turned," Eisheth taunted in an unsettling sweet voice, "stabbed her right through the heart with this very tail," she said, waiving it in his face.
"You demon bitch! I'd rip you apart limb by limb!" he screamed, his voice echoing as raw power surrounded his body.
With an unforeseen smirk, Eisheth rendered him silent, "I knew it was going to be easy but not this easy. I could see it in you. You never hid the elements, they're all right here, tied to your very essence. Now, all I have to do is kill you and rip what belongs to hell out of a corpse."
Within a split second, her tail whipped around and buried itself deep into Mr. Bright's chest. His eyes widened as bright, white blood shot past his lips and the glow of his eyes faded.
"See, that wasn't too bad," Eisheth teased, wiping the blood off his chin and bringing it to her lips, "Hmmmm, your wife tasted better. Now die!" As claws sprouted from her fingertips and she prepared to slash his throat, Mr. Bright started laughing. Grabbing onto her hands, he looked her dead in the eyes as his entire body started pulsating with white light that sent waves through the entire building.
"Let's see you rip them from my body when you're dead Eisheth!"
Before I could react, Mr. Bright turned into a blinding light that engulfed everything in sight and stripped all sound from around us. I'm not sure what happened next but all I remembered was being knocked back into a concrete pillar and blacking out.
When my eyes finally drifted open, night had fallen and I was absorbed by complete darkness. My body felt paralysed, despite my many attempts, I could not move a muscle. The pain radiating from my shoulder suggested it was dislocated and the wet feeling combing through my hair meant I was bleeding. Fading for the last time, my eyes didn't reopen until I heard the blare of my alarm clock.
In a panic, I shot upright, gasping for air, drenched in sweat and still wearing my school uniform. Perplexed that was I sitting in my room, I wondered if everything was nothing more that a crazy dream. My shoulder felt fine, better than usual actually and there was no injury to my head.
I was relieved until I noticed the blood on my shirt. Less sure now that it was a dream, my heart started to race. "Angels, demons, elements? Was is all real?" Taking notice of a strange feeling within myself, I felt it growing the more panicked I became. From my elbows to the tips of my fingers started to tingle; it was an odd sensation that immediately drew my attention. Looking down, both my arms were covered in a black aura. Resembling shallow flames of shadow, the aura slowly crept along my body until I was fully consumed. It didn't burn or cause any pain, instead it felt almost like armor.
Standing in front of my mirror, I noticed my eyes were pitch black. The longer I stared at my reflection, the more my body faded into the darkness that wrapped my room. Without any effort, I had vanished into the shadows, becoming one with the dark. Unsure as to what was happening to me, I was certain about one thing, I loved it.
The final surprise came when I grabbed the doorknob to leave my room and ripped the whole thing off its hinges; I was super strong. With a bit of concentration, I was able to make the aura recede but explaining the door to my parents was another story entirely.
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