OF HEAVEN AND HELL
The Demon and the Rescuer
It began on October the nineteenth. You woke up that morning and went through your usual morning rituals, which consisted of crawling out of bed and getting yourself together for work. Every morning as you went through the same ordeal, somehow your thoughts would stray to what you really intended on doing with your life. Were you seriously destined to spend the rest of your life, working some boring job at the local UPS? You couldn't help but think that there must be something out there waiting for you that actually held some significance. Well… let's just say that time was about to come.
Due to the recent suicidal climb in gas prices, you did away with you car. You lived in a small town anyways, so everything was pretty much within walking distance, including work. As you were walking down the sidewalk, you shrieked in alarm at the loud shattering sound of glass. Glistening shards littered the ground beneath the streetlight. You looked around for some guilty punk kid, but saw nobody. "That was weird," you thought to yourself. After standing there for a moment, you continued walking.
Crash! You nearly jumped out of your skin when the next streetlight you passed shattered just as the one before. This time you were pissed. "Okay… somebody is seriously screwing with me," you thought. Your eyes scanned your surroundings angrily, but still no person was in sight.
"I know you're out there so stop messing around!" you yelled. No voice answered in reply, so after much caution, you slowly started to walk again. Your eyes were fixed on the next streetlight. Would it break just like the others? Is somebody really screwing with you? Or is it some freaky coincidence? Still you approached the streetlight until you were practically next to it… and then you stopped. Again you looked around, but saw no one. You took a deep breath and stepped forward.
You exhaled in relief. "It didn't break!" you cried out. Just when you were about to continue on your way… the light shattered with the force of the last two combined. Panicking, you took off as fast as your legs would carry you. For every light you passed, it shattered. "Oh my God! What's going on?" you shrieked.
Finally, you came to an exhausting halt at the door of your workplace. The adrenaline was pumping and your heart was pounding, so it took several collective breaths to return you to a somewhat normal state. Then you adjusted your clothes and entered the building.
"Hey Liz!" piped a chubby woman that sat behind a desk, "you look like you just completed a mile run."
"Yeah…" you started to tell her about the streetlights, but decided it would sound crazy… so you let your words trail off.
The truck was ready for you to do your runs, and once you hopped inside and securely fastened your seatbelt, you turned the key. It wouldn't crank. You tried a few more times, but still it would not start. "Okay… what is up with today! Did I do something wrong?" you growled in frustration while letting your head sink to the steering wheel. For a moment you sat in your truck, trying to figure out what you should do next… but what you heard next, jerked you away from your thoughts.
A huge thump was heard on the top of the truck. It was so large, in fact, that it dented the roof of the vehicle! You sat there in horror. What was that? There aren't any trees around. Summoning your courage, you stood on the very edge of your seat and grabbed the top of the roof… then slowly peered above.
You saw nothing but a huge shiny dent. "What the heck hit this thing?" you thought to yourself. After examining the damage a bit more, you let yourself sink down into your seat. What you saw next would change your life forever…
Out of the left corner of your eye, you saw a dark figure. You turned your head and gasped in horror at what you saw. It stood on its back legs like a person did, but it was severely deformed. The skin was blood red and scaly. The cheeks were sunken in and the jaw jagged and pointed. If that didn't terrify you, then the razor sharp teeth and claws did.
Your ability to speak or yell for help was lost. No words or cries of help could be mustered. The creature violently grabbed you by the arm and pulled you right up to its face. It was studying you. The breath flowing from its mouth nearly made you vomit, and the claws were cutting into your skin. It made a deep hissing sound and enormous black, bat-link wings sprouted from its back.
"You're coming with me," he hissed through his teeth. With a flap of his demonic wings, you were flying past trees and houses… and then straight up towards the clouds. Still your unexplainable inability to make a sound remained. In any other horrific situation you would be screaming your lungs out. Why couldn't you open your mouth? Was he restraining you somehow? "Let me go!" you thought.
"Oh… you want me to let you go, do you? As you wish," he sneered as he let his grip slip. You began to plummet at horrendous spread. You struggled with all your might to let out a scream… until finally… the screech of absolute horror flew out with force.
Still you plummeted towards earth… down, down, and down you went. You closed your eyes, expecting to reach the end… but instead arms wrap around your waist and hoist you up once more. "It's alright. You're safe now," an unknown voice says.
You saw that your demon kidnapper was a few yards away from you. Then who were you being held by? You turned your head and saw a man's face. He had the face of an angel… but that probably seemed so, compared to the hideous face of the creature anyways. However, you were astounded when you discovered that this man actually had black feathery wings.
Suddenly, you began to feel an immense calm overcome you. Your heart stopped pounding a thousand miles a minute… and your nerves calmed. Soon your eyes began to feel heavy and slowly you slipped away from the world.
Out of Dreamland
You were gliding about the trees with the soft wind blowing through your locks. It was a beautiful sunny day and the rays of the sun made you feel calm and surreal…
Light began to seep through your lids, until finally you glanced up at the ceiling. "Was it all a dream?" you thought to yourself. As you sat up, cringing when the pain in your arm swam up to your shoulder. You gasped when you discovered that you had five distinct scratch marks on the lower half of your arm, just above the wrist line. "I thought it was all a dream! I must've scratched myself in my sleep. Yeah… that's got to be it," you reassured yourself.
Groggily, you got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to examine the damage done to your arm. You decided that you should take a shower first, and then patch it up afterwards. Once the water temperature was adjusted to the way you liked it, you stepped into the shower and lathered yourself up. The warm flowing water felt good and relaxed your aching muscles. Gradually you felt yourself waking up more and your thoughts strayed to the nightmare you dreamed last night.
"Who was the man in the dream… and why did he have black feathery wings? Is it some type of message or something? Do I have some destined encounter? Maybe I should look in the paper and check my astrology," your mind raced.
After you finished rinsing the suds off, you turned the water off and stepped out of the shower onto the fuzzy mat. You dried yourself and put on the blue bathrobe that was hanging on the corner of the bathroom door. The last thing you did was brush your teeth and comb out your tangled hair. When you were done, you walked back into your room.
The window was open. "Funny… I don't remember opening the window," you said out loud. You stuck your head out the window and glanced around, but saw nothing suspicious… so you closed it and walked over to the dresser to pick out some comfortable clothes. When you turned around, you let out a surprised squeak. The man from your dream was sitting in your window seal, looking at you with amusement and curiosity. You rubbed your eyes a couple of times to make sure you weren't seeing things… and pinched yourself to make sure you weren't still dreaming. Everything appeared to be normal. The only thing out of place was the man sitting in your window.
"W-who are you? What do you want?" you demanded, but in a shaky voice.
"You mean you don't remember me?" he says, smirking.
"That was a dream! It wasn't real!" you retorted.
"Oh really? Then where did those scratches on your arms come from?" he asked, pointing to the claw marks.
You glanced at your arm and then back at your mysterious visitor. "Well… if you are the man from my dream… or real life… or whatever… how come you don't have any wings?" you asked him puzzled.
"I do. I just can't fit into windows when they're out. See?" he replied as he stepped inside and the black feathery wings gracefully sprouted out from his back. You stood there stunned and stupefied. Who was this man… or rather WHAT was he?
"Who are you?" you demand.
"My name is David. I saved you yesterday… remember?"
"Well… what are you?" you ask while examining his wings with your eyes.
"I am an angel… or was one anyways," he replies solemnly.
"WAS? As in… USED TO BE?"
"Yeah… it's a long story and I don't really feel like talking about it," he blurts out.
"So I'm guessing that thing that took me was a demon… right?" you ask. David nods and walks over to you. You shrink back a little bit, but he gives you a reassuring look and you allow him to hold your arm and examine it.
"Sit down and I'll fix this up for you," he says while smiling warmly. You're not really in the position to argue, so you do as he instructed and take a seat on your bed. You don't pay attention to what he's doing, but instead are too busy examining his features. He has bright blue shimmering eyes and long brown hair that's pulled back. His wings are the most alluring asset… and you can't help but to stare at them.
"There… all better!" he pipes up, almost startling you. Your arm is completely healed… it was as if the scratches were never even there in the first place. You were dumbfounded.
"What? How?" your words trip over each other.
"Hey… I may not technically be an angel, but I still have some pretty cool powers!" he jokes, making you giggle. You realized that you sounded totally stupid and giddy, so you clear your throat and shut up.
"So… why are you here?" you ask David.
"That's a long story, and I don't think you'll take to it very well. No mortal would accept it," he replies.
"Do I look like an idiot? What… is there some horrific battle between good and evil?" you joke. David gives you a serious look. "You're joking right?"
"I'm afraid not," he replies, "I'm sure that you have guessed that there's always been an ongoing battle between good and evil." You nod. "Well… let's just say the scale is no longer balanced and has tipped more in the direction towards the dark side." Your eyes are wide.
"Well… what's happened?" you ask with morbid curiosity.
"You'll find out soon enough. Come with me and you'll find the answers… I promise," he says holding out his hand.
Through Smoke and Pain
You were gaping at David. Did he just ask you to come with him? Where were you going to go? Besides, you don't even really know him… who's to say he isn't actually a bad guy?
"I promise I won't bite," he replies. It was as if he knew what you were thinking about. "I would be suspicious too if I were in your position… but Liz… I'm asking for you to trust me."
"How do you know my name? I never told it to you!" you reply, shocked.
"I know a lot of things about you," he says… but sees the mortified look on your face and quickly adds, "But don't worry, I'm not a stalker."
You sit there for a minute, thinking of all your options. Should you decline his request? If you do, then what? You'll probably end up going back to the same old boring schedule that you hated will a passion. "What the heck! Why not!" you think to yourself.
"Okay… I'll go," you tell David. "Where are we going and how long are we going to be gone?"
"We're going somewhere that's safer than here. If I leave you hear, far more worse will come to take you than just that demon from the other day."
"What are you saying? Are those things looking for me!" you exclaim.
"Don't freak out… as long as you're with me you'll be safe," David replies.
"What are you my guardian angel!" you sarcastically joke.
"As a matter of fact…" he begins, "Yes." You look at David in total shock.
"I have a guardian angel?"
"The majority of humans no longer have one, due to the series of recent events… but for you however, it was necessary," he replies.
"Why am I so special?" you ask him curiously.
"As I said before… the answers will be revealed soon enough. For now, you're just going to have to trust me." David swings around and glares at the window. "We should go now. It's not safe here!" he whispers.
Your eyes are bulging out. "What is it!" you shakily whisper.
"You don't want to know," says David, "Pack your things… we need to leave… NOW."
You didn't have to be told twice. You grabbed a backpack and started throwing random clothes in it. It didn't matter that you were still in your bathrobe… you had more important things to worry about. The last thing you grabbed was a pair of shoes and a jacket. Finally, you walked over to David and took one last look at your precious room.
"Hop on. Lets go," he whispered. He hoists you up on his back, and jumps out of the window. You close your eyes and hold your breath. You've never liked heights, and you knew by the time you got to your destination, your nerves were going to be shot.
David was darting through the sky. If somebody looked up and saw you guys, they would probably blink and miss it he was going so fast! The two of you were coming upon a slight hill. As you got closer you could hear odd popping sounds. It resembled the sound of fireworks. To your horror, as you finally made your way over the top of the hill, you saw a nearby town wreathed in flames. People were running out into the street and murderous screams were ringing out through the smoky air.
"What's happening!" you scream through the wind.
"Remember when I said the scale had tipped in the dark direction?" said David, "Well… this is what I meant. Look close and you'll see."
You take a better look at the people in the streets and realized that they were being chased by something. They were under attack by creatures that closely resembled the one that nearly killed you. The popping sounds were coming from the guns and rifles of men, mainly the police department. It was obvious that their attempts were in vain, for the bullets didn't seem to be doing much damage.
"Why is this happening? What caused all this?" you ask in sorrow.
"I'll explain later… for now we need to focus on getting somewhere protected. This isn't just happening here… it's starting to happen everywhere," David replied solemnly.
You glanced at the horizon and saw smoke rising from all directions. David was right. This was happening on a mass scale. Is this the end of the world? What did this have to do with anything? You didn't understand what man had done to deserve such pain and suffering. More importantly, who was responsible for all of this and how could it be stopped?
Your mind kept racing and your eyes began to well up with tears. You knew that people… families… and children were suffering, and you were helpless to stop it. Somehow, without even having to look at you, David sensed your sorrow.
"Don't worry, we'll be safe soon. When we get there I'll explain everything to you. Until then, rest." As he finished, you felt the same calmness come over you like the time when he saved you from the demon. As your eyes began to get heavy, you thought one last thing… "David… please, take care of me."
He smiled and held onto you a little tighter and made his way through the smoke filled sky.