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Part 1: Daylight
Sometime in the not too distant future…
Alex Lannon stared at the highway stretched out before him and sighed as he tapped the steering wheel of the Jeep he was driving with his index finger a few times.
He'd been driving for days. Through desert, mountains, valleys, forest, and now desert again. And all this time spent traveling on the endless, empty highways were getting to him.
But every time turning back even crossed his weary mind, Alex remembered his promise to a dying man and to his home city, Vega. He would find it. He would find a new place for Vega's citizens to live before the nuclear power plant failed.
That promise had been made many months ago, and so much had happened since then, but the importance of it held. And now that Alex finally had a chance to explore the North American countryside, to search for a new home, he knew he couldn't give up. Vega's end was near, and he was the person the citizens were looking at to brave the world beyond the walls to find a new place to settle.
Besides, a certain someone - whose wings Alex could hear through the Jeep's open windows as he approached – wouldn't let him turn back even if he had wanted to.
The passenger door opened and the Archangel Michael, Alex's mentor and friend, slid onto the seat, dark hair ruffled from the wind.
"Anything?" Alex asked him.
Michael shook his head. "It's clear. Not a soul in sight, neither human nor angel."
"How far away are we from the nearest city?" Alex inquired.
"Still at least a day," Michael replied.
Alex nodded.
"There is no guarantee the abandoned city will be able to be secured," Michael told him. "Or that it won't have been utterly destroyed between the war's bombings and whatever events have occurred there since."
"But it's worth a shot," Alex said.
"Yes, it's worth visiting," Michael agreed. "That is why we are out here, after all."
Instead of back in Vega, protecting the citizens, thought Alex. Because that would only be delaying the inevitable.
Alex rubbed his eyes in attempt to be rid of the slight burning in them.
"We should stop," Michael said.
Alex knew he'd noticed him rubbing his eyes. Michael rarely missed anything. "No, I'm good."
"You won't be 'good' if you crash this vehicle," Michael told him. "Take a break. You've been driving most of the afternoon."
"Here?" Alex glanced around at the red rock and desert brush surrounding the highway they were traveling.
"While it is clear," Michael confirmed.
Alex sighed and pulled the Jeep over onto the shoulder of the road out of habit. After all, it was highly unlikely anyone would drive by.
He opened his door almost at the same time as Michael did, and they both stepped out of the vehicle.
"Stay close," Michael ordered. "And don't be long."
Alex nodded and wondered a ways off, kicking the rocks in his path as he went, but stayed within earshot of the angel, who barely strayed from the Jeep as his eyes scanned the horizon.
A few minutes into his break, Alex climbed a nearby cliff, carefully choosing his path since it was steep. When he reached the top he glanced around.
Wherever they were, the red rock surrounded them. And instead of taking in the stunning view for what it was, all he could think was that there were a lot of hiding places here.
Alex shook his head. It's clear, he reminded himself.
But he couldn't shake off the feeling of danger, and the markings twitched. Alex decided to take it as a warning.
After only a few more seconds Alex climbed down the cliff and walked back to the Jeep. As usual, it didn't seem like Michael had moved much. He stood where Alex had left him, with his hands behind his back.
"Let's go," Alex called out to him.
Michael glanced up. "Is something wrong?"
Alex shrugged. "Something's telling me there might be."
Just as Alex finished speaking Michael became tense and he turned his head to look behind them.
"Did you hear something?" Alex asked as he pulled his gun out of its holster.
"Get in the vehicle."
Alex did not question why. He jumped into the Jeep and Michael joined him just as he pulled the gear into drive.
Just as the Jeep hit forty miles per hour a body with raven wings appeared in the side mirror. As it hit fifty miles per hour, another appeared. Then another. Soon there was a half dozen of them.
"Are they higher angels?" Alex inquired.
Michael shook his head before glancing over his shoulder. "Evolved 8 balls."
Haven't run into those for a while, Alex mused as he pressed further down on the gas pedal.
He knew the flying 8 balls were nearly as fast as higher angels, so Alex turned off the main road, risking the bumpy terrain to try to find cover, an attempt to prevent the 8 balls from being able to attack and to try to lose them.
However, the red rocks were not close enough together to keep the 8 balls from flying between them and two caught up to the Jeep, landing on top of the roof.
Before Alex, and even Michael could react, one of them grabbed Alex's arm and yanked him out of the vehicle. The Jeep crashed into a nearby rock, and the 8 ball threw Alex down on the ground.
Alex groaned as he landed flat on his back.
The 8 ball snarled as it landed and retracted its wings. Just as it reached out towards Alex and he was pulling out his gun, a sword pierced through the angel's abdomen. It was quickly pulled back out and the 8 ball collapsed, dying.
Alex looked up to see Michael standing before him with the sun behind him, a sword in one hand and his other outstretched. Alex took it and Michael helped him to his feet.
"Are you alright?" Michael asked.
"I'll survive," Alex told him, wincing.
He noticed Michael was bleeding from his forehead. "You?"
"It's already healed," Michael assured him.
Alex could hear wings flapping, getting closer.
"We need to move," Michael said.
They ran for the Jeep, Alex jumping over the body of the second 8 ball. But while the damage to the Jeep didn't look severe, thanks to the bumper mounted bar, it refused to start when Alex hopped inside and turned the key.
He had no time to attempt to fix the Jeep. The other four 8 balls they'd seen earlier, along with four new ones, were already on the ground, yards away, by the time Alex and Michael were out of the vehicle again.
Michael pulled out his second sword and Alex raised his gun.
Two of the 8 balls wasted no time to attack, one male heading straight for Michael, another female, for Alex, as the rest climbed the rocky walls surrounding them.
Michael easily slayed the one coming at him, and Alex hit the one after him right between the eyes with the first bullet he fired.
The rest played harder to get. They walked like spiders over the rock walls so fast that they were almost a blur to Alex. And then, as if on cue, they all jumped at once, two towards Alex, and four towards Michael.
One of the two after Alex landed on top of him and he fell to the ground. He pushed the snarling creature off of him and kicked out at the second 8 ball, hitting it in the legs and tripping it.
Alex got to his feet and briefly glimpsed Michael kicking one 8 ball in the stomach as two others circled him, just beyond his sword reach. The fourth already lay dead on the ground, and the one Michael had kicked back soon joined it.
Alex elbowed the 8 ball that he'd thrown off him and kicked at the second again before shooting at it. The 8 ball fell with a bullet to the temple. The first 8 ball was on him again before he could turn back though, and it managed to rip the gun out of his hand.
Alex quickly reached for his sword and turned to face the veiny monster. In one quick motion he stabbed it in the chest.
Free of attackers, Alex glanced over to Michael and found that he was standing with all of his attackers by his feet as well.
Both took in heavy breaths, though Alex's were much more pronounced.
It was over. Or so they briefly thought.
Before either one could speak, an 8 ball crawled out of a large crevice and bolted towards Alex.
He had no time to react. He'd barely even glimpsed the creature before he felt himself being thrown through the air and his head hit something really hard.
The last thing he heard, before everything went black, was Michael shouting his name.
A/N: And...cliffhanger. Sorry, it made for the perfect end to Part 1. Part 2 should be up soon.