The Fallen

Chapter 4 - The Descent

Leo, Virgo, Aquarius, and Scorpio gazed into the vast depths of the portal. The vacuum of space was cold and empty.

After they each took a slow breath, the foursome leaped into the void, softly floating downward from the heavens of the Celestial Plane. They passed the many astronomical spectacles of the universe: the outskirts of the Milky Way, the various gas giants, and the belt of rock and dust that guards the inner planets. A marvelous site, but it was nothing compared to the elegant beauty of their home.

There it was, a small blue marble of white, green, and cerulean, with a minuscule gray orb circling it.

"Tsk, what a runty planet," Scorpio grunted.

Once the zodiacs hit the mesosphere, they began to speed up, their velocity increasing with every millisecond.

"We're going in hot!" Leo exclaimed.

 Virgo stared studiously at the sphere of rock and water as it grew bigger, trying to pinpoint their expected dropping spot. She noticed a mass of land with a strange inner cutout, and what looked like a strip poking out of the south-eastern side. Her maps (memorized of course) had said this was one of the Americas. Whether it was north or south was the question.

"Virgo? Where are we landing?!" Aquarius asked worriedly.

"Just give me a minute; Massachusetts is hard to find! It's not like the lines of longitude and latitude are written on the planet!" Virgo yelled. She wasn't the type of person to panic, but they were coming upon the stratosphere, and she didn't have much time left to think.

"Wasn't there something in that map about a cape?"

"Ladies!" Scorpio shouted, interrupting them. "Is that it?" He pointed to a hook-like land formation; the curling glacial landform of Cape Cod Bay, while Leo hung onto his elbow.

"Remember! We have human bodies. Meaning we can be injured and possibly killed. I've heard stories of humans slaughtering their own out of pride, so we must tread with caution!" Leo clamored. The high winds were beating at his ears, muffling any sort of normal sound.

"So, what will happen when we hit the ground?" Aquarius asked.

Leo paused. "...let's try not to think about that."

"Hello! Troposphere incoming!" Scorpio yelled urgently.

Virgo gnawed at her lower lip, trying to remember how inland their destination was. "Aim for the southwest! Near the border!" She could visualize dotted lines around the state, but nothing more. Frantic, she viciously tugged the group to the left, trying to line up their aim. They were going to crash in a mere 80,000 feet, Scorpio was right--they didn't have much time left.

The zodiacs continued to plummet from the sky, passing cloud level. They gawked at the massive splotch of green. It was a mostly flat land with hills, millions of rivers ran through it, and thousands of lakes dotted it.

"I think that's it!" Virgo screamed in relief. She extended her arm toward a body of water framed by a town. A single, dilapidated, lighthouse stood warily near a small harbor.

"Pose like Dyantha's statue!" Aquarius screeched. Dyantha was a divine being among the zodiacs, but none were as famed as Celestia, the creator of the universe. Their statues were praised by the brethren of the stars, gazing upon their former rulers. The story is told in a way that contorts old-world thinking, contradicting the aftermath. Celestia was acknowledged for her grave sacrifice, while Dyantha was known for breaking a vow, and destroying what Celestia had given her mind, body, and soul to create. But in doing so, the universe was born, creating the zodiacs and Earth, which inhabits over 7 billion life forms. Some legends say Dyantha broke Celestia's crystal flower out of jealousy, some say out of loneliness, and others say out of love.

Dyantha's statue was of her with her arms above her head, palms together pointed towards the sky. Celestia's quartz structure was of her with her arms outstretched, as if she was ready to embrace everything she had created.

The zodiacs braced themselves for the impact as they dived into the lake, plunging into the depths of the water. Leo and Aquarius powered their way to the surface, with Virgo slowly trailing behind with weak strokes.

Virgo burst from the water, gasping for air. She looked around. "Where's Scorpio?" she asked with a shaky breath.

From the corner of his eye, Leo spotted bubbles surfacing. "He's underwater!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Leo and Aquarius dove back down to the bottom of the lake, pulling an unconscious Scorpio up by his arms. Virgo remained on the surface, calculating how much oxygen Scorpio's human body could retain before his lungs collapsed. Meanwhile, the cold chill of the pulsating water was creeping beneath her skin, numbing her nerves and paralyzing her toes.

Ten seconds passed, and nothing had appeared. Just as Virgo was about to dive down after them, Leo and Aquarius resurfaced with Scorpio slung over both of their shoulders. From nearby, a blaring horn sounded.

"You there! Are you all right?" An unknown voice bellowed.

"Over here!" Aquarius shouted. A small boat drifted toward the zodiacs; a small, wrinkly old man its pilot.

"What are you kids doing in the water?" The old man glanced at Scorpio, whose head was hanging limply to one side. "Is he okay?"

"I can't tell if he's breathing!" Leo exclaimed.

"Then get him in here! He needs CPR!" The man yelled as he helped Leo pull Scorpio into the small boat. Aquarius and Virgo tumbled in after them. The man set Scorpio on his back and started to press his hands on his chest.

"He's going to hurt him-"

"No! He's trying to help him." Virgo cut Leo off.

Aquarius nodded. "Humans can't breathe without air, and when water fills the lungs they can die. He's trying to pump the water out of his lungs," she whispered.

After a few more pumps, Scorpio's entire body shuddered as he turned to his side to cough up water, violently convulsing until he could breathe.

Scorpio swore. "Drowning sucks."

"I bet," the man replied. "What were you four doing alone in the middle of the reservoir?"

 Aquarius' brows knotted together in confusion. "Isn't this Starlight Bay, Massachusetts?"

 "It is. But according to government records, this is a reservoir. Despite what the locals call it."

The zodiacs sailed to shore on the old man's boat. After a few more quick questions from him, and a few vague and nondescriptive answers from the foursome, the latter sprinted away, leaving the old man in the lake shore sand.

Stopping to rest on the outskirts of town, the zodiacs paused to catch their breath.

"That was too close," Scorpio said.

"You said it, " Leo agreed.

Virgo leveled her gaze with Scorpio. "Next time... try not to drown."

Scorpio gave Virgo a deadly glare as Aquarius patted his shoulder gently.

 Leo held up a hand to Virgo. "Calm down, it isn't his fault he can't swim."

Virgo stared Leo in the eye, remaining composed as she snuffed out the twinge of anger that was flickering in her stomach. "I'm not blaming him for anything, I just don't think it was necessary to almost die the second we land. We're not immutable anymore. Once we die, we die- that's it! And I don't think this should be taken lightly. Didn't you feel the pain?"

Scorpio flinched at the concern in Virgo's voice, but he couldn't think of any other response than, "Um..."

 Aquarius' gaze turned stoic and serious. "Virgo's right- we have to be more careful. Or we're done for."

~Margo S. Winters