Trying something different, going to post two shorter chapters each time I would normally post. This was a recommendation on how to get more eyes on the work. Hope everyone doesn't mind and hope it works!

****************************************************************************************************************

Crouching over a stadium seat is a hell of a lot less comfortable than you would think.

We had been in position for twenty minutes now just waiting inside this cavernous structure. The house lights were turned on, for improved visibility. I thought it strange how different a concert stadium looked without anyone in it. Rows of naked seating radiated out from the stage. Above the ground seats was another shelf of seats on the balcony.

The place still smelt of the pressed bodies and sweat. The floor was sticky with gum and fluids I did not want to think too hard about.

Wood and metal seats would provide us with precious little cover from an angry angel. Most of the soldiers crouched behind portable metal barriers. They were suited to protecting against small arms fire but we had no idea what, if any, protection they would offer now.

We were spread out on both the balcony and the lower seating. All the Seers predicted the angel would appear somewhere near the stage so we had prepared for that. We were really screwed if it appeared behind us.

My agitation was becoming unbearable. My heart thudded in my chest and sweat rolled down my face. This armor was not designed to breathe, that was clear.

While I fretted with my discomfort, I realized I felt like I was being watched. The sudden sensation crept up my back and neck. I looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

On my left, way up in the nosebleed seats, I found him. There was someone sitting there, plain as day. How the hell did we miss him? He was wearing a long dark coat and appeared relaxed. Not the stance I would think someone would take when surrounded by soldiers with heavy weapons. When I noticed he wasn’t moving, I sighed. It must be a mannequin or prop or something.

He turned his head and stared straight at me.

I opened my mouth to tell everyone that we weren’t alone.

A sudden bloom of pain in my head distracted me and brought me back to more immediate concerns. It was too intense to ignore. Things around me took on an unreal cast, blurring for a moment and then becoming ultra-focused and detailed. The air around me hushed and time slowed to a standstill. Motes of dust that danced in the air slowed to a crawl or seemed to not move at all.

I’d felt it before, or something very much like it. Only once, ever. The day they first turned on us.

Rays of light erupted from the sky, a glowing sun appearing over the seats of the stadium. I should have felt awe, or fear, I suppose. But I did not. I felt a burning roar through my being; my skin seemed too small for my body. There was an odd rush of emotions that staggered me; anger, fear, lust, and rage all fought for control of my mind. Blood throbbed through my body.

Glancing up, I saw the seated figure was missing.

The ball of light faded revealing a winged man in impossibly articulated, golden armor. Wisps of smoke trailed from his ten-foot tall body and wingtips. His golden armor shone in the stadium lights. A Y-shape was open in the front of his helm, yet still obscured most of his face. Regardless, I could see the cold disdain in his glowing silver eyes. Strange energy danced around his body, slithering around him like luminous living things. He hung there in the air, while the world stopped around him. I saw him, frozen in the eternity between the beats of my heart. I felt him with an awareness a hundred times stronger than the one I felt towards my fellow Changed. Even with my eyes closed, I knew where he was as much as I knew where my hand was. And as he glanced around, I knew he could feel me too.