Black and White

Apollyon

The light from the sun shimmered of my skin as I fell from the sky, plummeting down. This is wrong! I thought as I could see Heaven shrinking in my view. I had tried to stop him, but River had everyone deceived, even, though I cannot fathom how, my God. I had warned them all, but they were all turned against me. Now I am falling and my falling fate, it seems, is inevitable.

The Earth is growing larger and larger, as if there is not gravity pushing me down, but a force opposite pulling me down. Try as I might, but my wings won't lift me up. It is as if they, large, and black, are bound by an invisible chain that cannot be broken until I am past the realm of Heaven. I can see the magic boundary now, where mortals are stopped and, to them, we become invisible. As I crash through the almost undetectable shield, I feel as though my soul has been ripped from me. The magic chain is severed. I unfurl my wings and soar over human reality.

I've been flying for over two hours, and, only now, have finally found a place to land, a small forest I can rest in, a dense, remote, area where I can think. What am I going to do? I screamed inside. I looked around and saw how alone I really was. Not just the fact that no one would be out in the middle of a forest at three in the morning, but my situation entirely. No one in Heaven, not even my brothers, would listen, and now I was on Earth alone. . I couldn't just tell anyone on Earth that I was an angel, well a fallen angel now. The words made my mind throb. Fallen Angel. Whether I like it or not, I am now, Apollyon, the Fallen Angel. Not that any of this was my fault of course. I must find a way to tell god the truth, which would not be easy seeing as I am banished from Heaven.

No. You are not alone, came a voice in my mind. "God?" I said aloud.

"Child." Called what could only be the music of my God's answer. "Do not despair, for I have not been deceived by River, but pretending I am on his side is only wise in times like these."

"But why have I been banished so?

"All will reveal itself with time, but until then hold on and be patient, or you will only make this harder on yourself."

"-but where am I to go? What if being patient means I am stuck here for years?" I asked, terrified.

"That, my child, is for you to decide. I can reach you anywhere. Do keep in mind, however, the situation precedent, from which I advise you to lay low."

"I understand." I said, despite my screaming inside, which, even though I know God could hear, I halted my concerns.

With that said, He was gone. I could feel his absence, but at least I had God on my side after all. I was foolish to ever think that he was blind. I walked on and on processing all that had happened in the last twelve hours, first the Counsel of High Angels getting lies thrown at their faces one after the other, my brothers looking at me with sad eyes, actually believing what they heard, and River's dark silhouette that should have been light, but I was the only one who could tell. River's smirk. River's dark silhouette shrinking as I fell from Heaven.

No. I had to stop dwelling on it, like my God had warned, 'It will only make it harder'. I had to get out of this place where I could sit and think. I should probably get different clothes to change into as well, I thought, looking down at my dirty jeans and feet. The bottom of my jeans was almost cached with mud by my bare feet. I asked myself where I was, and my 8th sense told me I was in a small forest in Southern Pennsylvania. Yes I said 8th sense. Angels have altogether counting the human average of five senses, ten. After the original five, there is our sense for spirit, animals, location of our soul, evil. I currently have only nine senses, most angels of my age have more, but when we get our own power of something then that becomes our tenth and final sense. I am over 500 years old, and uncommon, but not altogether impossible, I haven't even been given a clue as to what affinity I might have.

The quite stillness of the woods was fading as I came upon a city, a light breeze passed, and played with my almost shoulder length, dark hair as I stepped cautiously out of the dense curtain of trees. I found myself on the edge of a small road that wound up through the gradual mountain slope, and connected to what must have been a city, of which lights I could see from here. That's another super thing about angels: We have great vision, at night and during the day. The city was actually probably about 15 miles away, with the curves of road weaving with the landscape. I peered farther down the road with my eyes, not missing a thing and decided that it would be a good and somewhat remote route to take. I started down the road and realized how hungry I was. Angels didn't have to eat in Heaven, but on Earth it was a different story. Good thing God knew I would be needing cash. He must have made some materialize during his visit, I thought, gratefully, as I removed the bills from my pocket. The breeze was still soft as ever as it played with the feather of my wings. Ohh! My wings! I thought, surprised at how I could have forgotten them. I rushed back in to the trees, and tried to find a way to conceal them. If you're one of those people who think angels' wings are small and dainty, think again. I am around six feet tall, and therefore, have a sixteen foot wingspan, so I can't exactly just tuck them under my shirt. We have the ability to conceal our wings, by making them disappear altogether. They are still there, of course, but they are invisible, and intangible to anyone who sees, or comes close enough to brush past us. I do, however, make an extremely bright illumination around me, which could potentially, upset or disturb anyone around me and just might tip someone of as to what I am, when I hide my wings. This is a down fall. When I want to change back though, I can just silently gain back my wings. I stepped out of the trees, after I changed, and again started down the road. Maybe when I got to the City, I could find a GAP, or something, and then head for food, I planned. The road grew brighter, in the now rising sun, as I made my way into the town. I figured I must have been somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, because they were blanketed with deciduous trees, all a deep green, in height of summer. They were older, much older than the Rockies or the Himalayas, and were tall, but had a gentle slope. Not as beautiful as Heaven, of course, but the land was beautiful, and timeless in its own way. In Heaven it was always early summer. There wasn't a sun exactly, but the sky was filled with light. It is like the sky isn't up, and there are no limits. There is always fruit on the tree that never over ripen. There are clouds, but they aren't like those of Earth. They can carry you simply because you are weightless like everything. It isn't warm, but it isn't hot. There are natural springs, and falls. There is no limited space for Heaven, you can keep adding on.

Heaven is divided into seven parts total. Part seven is right in the center of all heavens, and is where God himself stays. Heavens one through three are where the souls of all who are good reside in between reincarnation, if they are reincarnated. Heavens four and five are where angels stay and train to protect from demons, and other demonic entities. Heaven six is the records. Everything is recorded every second of everyday on Earth, and is put into The Akashic Records or "The Book of Life". I am in part four of Heaven, and I am still in training, or was. The thought of not returning was a dagger to me. I am over five centuries old, but that is fairly young for and angel. Angels are all different ages in numbers, but we appear ageless. So even though I am about 500 years old, I appear sixteen.

I am now approaching the town and it seems to be about seven o'clock. I hope to avoid people as much as possible, since I probably look like some lunatic who just buried a body in the woods, due to my clothes, but there is morning traffic. As I walked down the street I got weird and unfriendly glances. I would have to find someplace to get new clothes soon. There was a mall with some department stores nearby on my left. If I am quick enough, I'll probably miss early customers. When I slipped inside the room was darker than I had thought it would be. The store had a strong scent to it, like cologne or some other incense. There was a woman behind a desk who looked up as I entered.

"Good Morning How's your day goin'so far?" She asked politely, though startled by my appearance. Funny that she should ask…..

"It could be better I suppose." I replied, indicating to my soiled wardrobe. "I may need some new clothes." I said

"Oh dear, yes, you just might. May I ask what happened?" She inquired.

"Oh, it's just that I came to go camping last night, and found out in the morning that my friend's trunk had popped on the way down to the camping site, and I lost my entire luggage." I said.

"Oh, okay. Say no more. I'll help you'ns find what you need..or is it just you?" She asked, looking outside of the shop.

"Yeah, it's just me I said with a crooked smile. She stared at me weird for a second before going off to a nearby rack.

"What size do you need?" She asked from over the isle. Her red ringlets bouncing around her face as she turn her head back in my direction. I told her my sizes, and she found a dark blue T-shirt, with a nice pair jeans. I found myself a pair of uncomfortable closed-toe shoes. One thing I can't stand is shoes. I hate wearing things on my feet. I do, however, like walking everywhere barefoot, except I don't think I would be able to enter a restaurant without shoes though, so I picked them up anyway.

"Is that everything?" She asked as I came over to the register to pay.

"Yes, I think so." I said. "Thank you for all of the help" I said every bit a sincere as I sounded. She smiled and said goodbye as I left the shop. I walked for a while and found several fast food diners and decided on one.

Cadence

Okay, so iHop wasn't my first choice of how to spend my birthday, but at least Mom had remembered, and at least we were doing something. My mother usually never took any work off to spend time with me on any of my birthdays, let alone have a chat with me on any normal day. She practically didn't even know me anymore, I thought as she babbled on about some meeting she had had yesterday and certain coworkers, who, 'don't like her' or 'may have been the one to de-friend her on facebook'. It wasn't like I didn't try to listen, but normally all I did was end up saying yeah, praying it wasn't a yes or no type question. My mother was the president of the local "Wells Fargo" bank in town and she loved her job, sometimes even more than me. Well, I know that that's not true, but she does love her job, a lot. I was awakened from my thoughts when I realized the waitress was there and that she had asked for my order twice now. Sure that I was turning red, I responded with the first think I saw on the menu. Good thing it was pancakes. My mother, being on a strict diet, had ordered nothing but a salad, and a glass of water.

The door of the unusually empty restaurant opened suddenly and someone stepped in. This someone was about 6' tall and had thick, messy onyx hair. He moved slowly, with his head down as he approached a table. I turned around and glanced back at him after he sat down. He looked up at that same moment, looking me directly in the eye. I had a sharp intake of breath as if those silvery eyes had sent an electric current through me. I quickly looked away, too surprised to be embarrassed. I saw my glass of orange juice that I was holding was about to be spilt, and I realized how much my hands were shaking. The waitress came back then, with the food. When she set it down and left, my mom's phone rang. She picked it up and made several, uh-hus and yeses, then hung up.

"I'm so sorry, Honey, but-"she started.

"You have to go?" I finished for her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll quick leave the bill and get going. Will you be okay getting home?" she said.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said. I had a driver's license, but mom, and I hadn't picked out a car yet, so I took to walking myself places. On the upside it was good exercise. She got up after she signed the check, and left. I took another fifteen minutes just picking at my pancakes. I turned back to glance at the mysterious guy behind me. He was staring at me. He was younger than I had thought and seemed to be about 16 years of age, or older perhaps, which was about one year older than I, who had just turned 15 today. He was still staring at me. He was looking me straight in my grey/blue eyes, and had a quick look of recognition flicker across his face before vanishing. I turned my attention back to the table and the bill lying there. A waitress came by collecting the bill. I stood up to leave, not daring a look back at Mr. Mysterious in the corner. When I got outside, the summer sun was high in the sky and the temperature must have been above 90 degrees Good thing I had worn my short shorts, and red tank top.

I had nowhere to be, so I decided to take the walk slow. My friends were all away on vacation, so I had the rest of the week to myself. I never have had that many friends. It wasn't that I was one of those socially challenged, freaky people, but it was that for some reason I couldn't relate to people well, I never have related to them well, not even my mom.

I took a left at the next corner, and gathered my long chocolate hair behind my back and out of the way as the hot sun beat down. School wasn't back until September, and it was only June 5th, so I still had basically my whole summer left. The problem was I didn't know how to spend it. I was still pondering this when a voice music made me freeze.

"Wait up." I did a 180 and found myself face to face with that guy from the restaurant. I hadn't even heard him coming. His eyes pierced me as his voice spoke once again, "Wait." He breathed.

"W-what?" I managed, bewildered.

"I need your help." He said. He looked fine to me. I wondered if he was joking, but his face was dead serious.

"But I don't even, I mean, who are you? What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Don't you know me?" He said, surprised, taking my hand.

"What? No, I don't, I'm sorry." I said, suspecting that he was insane, or that drugs were involved. I knew that I should have walked away, but I couldn't.

"Oh…. I'm sorry….."He looked down embarrassed, "I just thought…I'm sorry." He let my hand go, and turned to leave.

"Wait." I said, this time. "Who are you?"

Apollyon

I must have sounded like an insane maniac to her, but there was something about this person that seemed right, familiar. When I first spotted her in that store, I knew that somehow she would be tied into this. Before I could stop myself, I had asked if she knew me. Why would I ask that? I don't even know her. God, help me explain!

"I'm sorry," I said, "this must be really weird for you." She nodded, but wasn't sarcastic or rude, which I appreciated. "My name is Apollyon, but you can call me Apollo." I said, feeling like an idiot.

"That's an odd name." She said, then, "I like it." She finished, smiling. "My name is Cadence. How old are you?" she asked. I had to stop myself before I said 500.

"Sixteen."

"I just turned fifteen today." She said. So today was her birthday.

"Well, Happy Birthday, then." I said with a smile. She looked at me weirdly like the lady did in the store when I smiled. "What is it?" I asked.

"N-nothing...well...It's just that your eyes got brighter when you smiled." She said, and then she looked quickly away.

"Oh, it was probably the sun." I said, but when she looked back, she didn't look convinced. We kept walking, but I still didn't know why I was there. I still couldn't leave though. We had turned another corner onto and almost empty street. Suddenly there was a semi and a car, which had gotten turned around, that went down opposite sides of the street. I knew what was going to happen. When the two cars collided, the semi started to slide, a the while gathering speed, right towards us, we only had about six feet between us and the building, so I only had one option. I gathered her into my arms and as fast as I could, I regained my wings, and pushed of the ground and into the air.

Cadence was too shocked for words, and just stared down at the wreck below her. I flew until I found a more secluded area of trees by a park. I made sure no one was near, and then I landed on and laid her gently on a nearby bench. The shock had seemed to pass, and she stood up and came over to me gaping at me.

"What the hell just happened!" she asked looking hysterical. I slowly unfurled

Black wings with silvery tips, and said,

"What are you… are you an…?

"-angel." I finished for her. It was barely a whisper on my lips. She looked at me with disbelief and astonishment, and then she fainted.

Cadence

When I opened my eyes I was much disoriented. It took me awhile to remember what had happened. It came back to me in pieces. Waking up, mom surprising me by taking me out for my birthday, iHop, then… I snapped my head up. I was in the park on a bench. I whipped my head around violently trying to find him. When I did, I saw he was crouched in a corner by the trees watching me.

I tried to get up and almost fell over. He stood up slowly and cautiously approached me.

"Why are you here?" I asked hoping I didn't sound rude, I mean he was an angel. "I'm sorry. I just meant-"

"No- it's okay, really." He said sincerely, I guess I do owe you an explanation." He said. I waited for him to come over to the bench, but he kept his distance. "I was in Heaven." He began, "There was an angel. An angel named River." He cast his eyes downward. "Angel doesn't have to fall to go bad. " He said looking up. "I thought we were friends, but he set me up. He set me up and I took the blame."

"Took the blame for what?" I asked mystified. He looked up at me.

"We were together, with three other angels. We had gone off to settle a problem rising with demons near the edge of Heaven." We had them cornered, and River told the other angels, all except me, to go. He said that we could handle it. When they left he attacked me. He turned on me and let the demons escape, he said he 'had to start the new order'. He then must have changed the event in the Hall of Records. Only a Dark Angel can do that. When I got back to area seven, that's where there is a High Counsel of Angels, he was already there, and had told them the entire wrong story. He said I had let the Demons go and when they checked the account in the records it stated that I had.

"I was trying to go to God, when River intercepted me. He kicked me from the Heavens, and I fell. That is why I am here. God came to me and said he wasn't deceived by River. He said that I had to wait here for more orders. "He looked at me with serious eyes.

"This is bad. It could, and most likely will lead to a huge war." He said still looking at me. I didn't know what to say. Then I remembered something.

"What were you saying earlier about needing my help?" I knew I had caught him off guard, because his face became surprise, then instantly puzzled.

"I'm not sure." He said. "It's just when I saw you it was almost like the feeling of recognition I get when I see another angel. Your soul, it's different then a human soul, it's almost…I don't know, but for some reason I get the feeling that you have something to do with this."

"Hey, I didn't start this!" I said becoming angry. Who was this guy?

"No, no not that you started it, I just meant that you may have to come along with me, because when angels get a feeling about something, it isn't like a human's.

"What so you mean?" I asked calming down.

"They are like prophecies." He said with finality.