THEN

BEFORE

Bridget hugged 17-year-old Dina and 15-year-old Samantha Wesson as their mother's body burned. Their father was killed when they were young, their mother killed just one day ago. They were Hunters and this wasn't an unexpected end, but Dina knew that their mother had been targeted by the yellow-eyed demon. She would get her revenge, someday. She was steely-eyed while Sam sobbed.

When it was done, Bridget brought them inside and gave them each a glass of juice and insisted that they drink it.

"What's going to happen now?" Sam asked through sips. "Will you adopt us, Brige? Please don't let them take me away."

"We'll file the paperwork on your mother's death in six months when Dina turns eighteen, but Dina is in charge and I expect you both to keep going to school."

"I want to start Hunting full time," Dina said immediately. "If you really think it's important, I'll get a GED. But the quicker I get out there, the quicker I can find the demon who did this, and end him."

Bridget sighed. Teenagers. They always thought they knew best. "Your mom would have wanted you to graduate. And what about your friends? What will you tell them?"

"I don't have any friends. We didn't move here and Mom didn't buy this house until I was already in tenth grade. You know that. And anyway, what do you think, that I'm going to have my own little Scooby Gang? I can't tell anyone about hunting."

"You're going to graduate only three months after your birthday. You can stick it out for three months. It'll raise fewer questions."

"Don't you want to go to college?" Sam asked.

"Hell no," Dina said.

Sam's face crumbled. "Please don't die, Dina. Don't become a Hunter. Please don't leave me alone."

Dina drank her juice all in one swig, then said, "I'll finish school and then I'm becoming a Hunter and I'm not going to die."

FIVE YEARS LATER

Dina was sitting on the couch in her small apartment. The TV was on with the sound on low. She was in middle of knitting a scarf when her cell phone rang, the Caller ID showing that it was Samantha. She lay down her needles carefully so the yarn wouldn't get tangled and answered the call.

"Hey, Sammy, what's up?" Dina said.

"You have to come get me," Sam said without preamble.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"I think there's something wrong with me. I'm sick. I'm hearing voices and I can't shut them out. The voices comes to me in middle of class and suddenly it's like I'm not there. I'm going crazy. I want to come home, please."

"Have you talked to a doctor about this?" Dina said, struggling to stay calm.

"I can't."

"If you're sick, they can give you medicine."

"No!"

"And you expect me to drive there and drive us back home?"

"I hoped-"

"There's no money for a plane ticket," Dina interrupted. "And if you leave in middle of the semester you could lose your scholarship."

"I have to come home. There is no other choice." Sam's voice was suddenly hard and not herself. Dina felt a chill down her back.

"I'll ask Jun if I can borrow some money for a plane ticket."

Dina and Sam went over to Jun's apartment. He was there with his roommate Dev. They all sat together in the living room and Dina made the introductions.

"Sam, this is Junichiro Abe - Jun for short - a Hunter, and Devon Brown-"

"Devvy P., please," he interrupted. Dina gave him a look and he amended it to, "Yeah, Dev's fine. Like they say, your name is your destiny." When Sam looked puzzled, he added, "IT developer is my day job."

"Dev is our hacker and cryptographer," Dina finished. "Guys, this is my little sister, Samantha. Sam. She was in college when she started hearing voices (- Jun, I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can -) but when she recited some of it for me, I thought it sounded Enochian. Sam might be a prophet of the Lord. We need to get these messages translated."

Dev swiveled around in his chair from his computer to the couch. "I think I got it." Three heads turned his way. He swiveled back around and read from the screen. "The Devil is raising an army against heaven. You must stop him at all costs." He paused. "It repeats in slightly different words, but it's all the essentially the same thing. "We have to beat the Devil."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Dina asked.

"Was that a pun?" Jun asked.

Dina gave him a dirty look but before he could respond a light flashed and a man appeared before them.

"Hello," he said.

"Who the hell are you?" Dev said, mimicking Bart Simpson's voice.

"I am not from hell, I am from heaven. I am an angel and I am here to assist you."

"What the hell?" Jun said.

"I would appreciate it if you would stop using that expression," the man - the angel - said.

"Yeah, you just appeared out of nowhere in my apartment and we're supposed to believe you're an angel? Why did you just send an email telling us that God needed our help?" Jun said.

The angel looked uncomfortable. "I cannot explain God's ways."

"Convenient," Jun said. "And how do we know you're an angel?"

"I will show you."

For one millisecond the four humans were able to see the angel's true form, which was a flaming mass of wings and eyes and wheels. It was terrifying, not beautiful.

Sam grabbed Dina's arm. Dina cursed.

Dev blinked a bunch of times, clicked a few times on his computer and brought up a picture of cute kittens. "Who needs eyebleach after that?"

"Me," Sam said. She went over to Mike who vacated his chair. Sam sat down, looked at the screen and refused to turn back around.

"Fine, so you're a goddamn angel," Dina said.

"Why do all your emphatic phrases have to be so blasphemous?" the angel said.

Dina worked her jaw. "What's your name and why are you here?"

"Technically I do not have a name, only the archangels have names, but you may call me Uziel. The Devil has already begun amassing his army. I have more details. You must do your best to disrupt his army and his recruiting, and begin recruiting an army of your own. If the Devil will manage to raise an army despite your interference, you will have to be prepared to fight a war for heaven."

Dina, Dev and Jun all looked at each other. Dina snuck a look at Sam who was now looking at a slideshow of kittens.

"Being a Hunter is mostly pretty solitary," Dina said. "None of us signed up to be in an army."

"The fate of the world is at stake," Uziel said.