Fall.

Fall.

Fall...

It wasn't a phrase or word in her head. No thoughts, no notifications, nothing like that. It wasn't at all like how Eve communicated. It was more like instinct. Like watching the streets from the top floor of a skyscraper: the tingling in your feet, the sinking feeling in your chest. An obsessive pressure, a tug, that kept repeating over and over, growing more and more forceful. A little voice in the back of your head that asks: what would it be like?

Clouds spilled like lakes collapsing into waterfalls. Jenny strained hard, beating her four wings furiously, trying to resist the pull. But how do you resist gravity?

It seemed to swallow light itself. The bright blue sky, the clouds and the angel cities, and the angels themselves. Everything darkened.

All the while, the urge to fall rampaged through her body. A wordless incantation, a demonic mantra made entirely of manic thoughts.

Angels plummeted. Screaming. Their wings tearing. The light of their bodies streaking like the tail of a meteor burning in the atmosphere. Their buildings collapsed into vapor. Electricity crackled out of the shadow below, shattering what was left of the clouds, shattering the world, and Jenny, as well as billions of angels, struggled as best she could to resist. Her instincts, the angel's instincts, told her to go up. To break the surface of the sky and escape this pull, this horrid wretched pull, but it was more than Jenny could handle. Her body succumbed.

Gravity won. Her form gave out, twitching and fracturing, and she dropped. Face-forward, feeling as though something had jammed its hand in her mouth, grabbed her bottom jaw, and was trying to wrench it off. Her feet kicked behind her. Her wings beat over and over, but the air itself betrayed her. Tornado winds blew her toward the darkness, and then she heard an ugly snap behind her neck.

A searing, burning sharpness ran down her shoulder blades. The sound of fabric tearing, and she screamed as her wings were ripped from her back. They disintegrated into feathery sparks of light. The bright orange light of her body shimmered uncontrollably, and finally, she dropped into the gaping darkness with a splash.

It was just like jumping into water. Everything muffled. Everything blurred. She opened her mouth to scream, and darkness bubbled down her throat.

Slowly, she realized the other angels were with her. All of them sinking through the dark abyss, their various colors shining and mixing and out of focus, and it was like staring at pictures of distant galaxies. Of nebulas. So many colors, blurring into one another, shifting.

A crackling sound emanated. At first, she thought it was all around her. It was like ice cracking. Then she realized it was coming from within. Her body was solidifying.

The orange light of her body turned gelatinous, gooey and jelly-like. She couldn't breathe. Pressure closed in around her chest, her neck, and a jolt ran down from between her eyes to her navel.

Her bones had taken form, that had been the crackling sounds, and then flesh blossomed from each one. Her body felt as though she'd been tossed into a blender. Agony twisted through her as veins and arteries wrapped around her muscles. Her stomach burst into throbbing existence, followed by all the other organs, popping into her chest like flowers unfurling. Blood gushed through her as soon as her newly formed heart started beating.

Her light faded, swallowed up by her flesh, and one by one, the surrounding lights faded away as well. Leaving her and all the angels lost, falling through the darkness, blind. She couldn't breathe. She was choking. There was no air; she had lungs now, but there was no air. She clawed at her throat. Her eyes bulged. Her heart pounded. Her chest was going to implode.

Something opened underneath. Another jagged ugly thing, but light erupted from it. A welcoming light that brought sensation back - but no. That was cruel. Brutal. Her body ached with agony. Her flesh boiled on her bones. She wasn't sure if she'd heard the others screaming first or if she'd started screaming from the pain. Countless angels screamed and screamed, and then she saw it.

The new hole wasn't just a tear through this empty world. It was a mouth. Two rows of shining white teeth emerged. Two eyes opened, without pupils, bloodshot and massive. Long white hair floated all around the dark face, and Jenny was swallowed whole.

Teeth snapped shut, jetting her deeper into the mouth. Darkness once again embraced her, and she was floating. As though this new darkness were water, not just emptiness. But if she didn't get some air, she would burst. She would die. Every single muscle burned till she was sure they would all snap off her limbs. Light emerged above her, shimmering brightly. It was like she was at the bottom of a pool. Blurry figures emerged at the top. She kicked hard, trying to escape, trying to reach the top.

When finally, her head broke the surface, and she could suck in a desperate breath of air, light flashed all around. Light that hurt her eyes so much, it felt like someone had plunged daggers into her sockets. The screaming only grew louder, and she blinked and struggled as the lights flashed and flickered, breathing hard. Something was bubbling inside her. A terrible dangerous feeling that she could only describe as malice. A hunger so wretched it threatened to consume her.

And that presence. That incantation in her head. It wasn't fall fall fall anymore. Now it was eat eat eat.

Everything rumbled as she pulled herself out of the darkness. Her hand found the surface solid; it wasn’t at all like water. She got a distinct feeling that climbing out meant she could never return. It was a one-way entrance.

She'd climbed out halfway when her blinding surroundings shook violently. Her face fell flat against the dark surface. Then the lights went out. It no longer hurt to open her eyes. She could see. She could breathe. And now she must feast.

But where was she?

Blinking, she looked up and saw crowds of students clambering to get away from her. Tear-stricken faces. Screaming and shouting in terror. Climbing onto the large tables of the cafeteria. She was in the cafeteria! It was dark, the lights had gone out, but she could see the orange and white walls. And there were so many people still alive! She opened her mouth to beg them for help, but all she managed was a warbled scream.

Her limbs felt hollowed out. She was just skin stuck to bone. Decaying flesh. Where was her light? That glorious beautiful shimmering orange that her body once was? She tried to stand, her bare feet on top of the darkness. She had no balance, and she stumbled. She’d never walked before. She’d never had to use her feet to support her weight. She couldn't remain upright, and she fell forward, catching herself with her palms. Her fingers didn't sink into the hole beneath her, but she saw her face reflected in its rippling surface.

Her ugly, ruined face. Her teeth sticking out, her gums receding. Her brown skin marred. And her eyes... her eyes were empty. Her wings were gone, and she'd been forced to become something she wasn't.

And the hunger... the violent, revolting hunger that told her if she just had more blood. If she could just get more flesh. She could be complete. She could recover and be strong again, and maybe her wings would grow back. Children surrounded her. Students. Lunch aides. People were crying, and many of them were staring in utter shock and disbelief, still holding trays of cereal and milk and fruit.

On instinct, she lunged at the nearest child. She threw herself at him, landing on his chest, knocking his tray over. Her teeth closed at his throat before he could even protest.

Blooded

Something filled her head. A thought. A word? A message. Was it from Him? Was it His will? She wasn't sure. She didn't care. All that mattered was the hunger. All that mattered was the bust of sweetness as soon as his hot blood spurted into the back of her throat.

Milk mixed with blood on the tiled cafeteria floor. As she chewed through muscle and swallowed, she felt strength coursing through her. She looked up to see other bodies. So many meals. Just waiting to feed her. To replenish her.

The other angels crawled out of the darkness and rushed into the crowd. It became a feeding frenzy. A storm of screaming and blood. Her mind throbbed violently. The blood tasted better than anything possibly could, and she knew she'd need more. The agony. The pain. The unrelenting promise that pushed her forward. Eat. Eat. Eat.

It became a blur of flesh. Thoughts filled her head with every kill. Every bite. Every time she swallowed. Words and numbers. She was only vaguely aware of them. Her level climbed. She gained stat points. But what could that matter when it couldn't fill her belly?

She chased the rushing crowd up a flight of stairs, leaping from one body to the next. Boys screaming as she buried her fingernails in their faces and bit a chunk off their shoulders. Girls whose chests split open so she could lick their still-beating hearts. How soft they all were, the little ones. How easy they were to pin down and bite.

She fed all the way to the main lobby. Students pounded on the glass doors, screaming for them to be let out. But the doors would not open. And beyond the glass was only the Veil, the swirling darkness where she’d been unable to breathe. Now, they were trapped. Now, she and her kind could feast. Could heal. Could recover. And maybe He would free them once they'd eaten. Maybe He would allow them to return home.

Why were they crying? She tore at their clothes. Reached for their faces. Their bones snapped with such ease. Their guts spilled so freely, just begging her to slurp them up. But they kept struggling. Kept fighting back. Punching her. Grabbing her hair. Screaming in her face as she salivated and spit and hissed. But she and the other angels worked quickly through the terrified group.

Didn't they understand? She needed them. She had to do this. If she didn't eat, she'd perish. She'd die. It was His order. He wants this. They're His people too. Why couldn’t they just obey?

The feast in the lobby was an uproar that ended too soon. She nudged a woman. Stroked a boy's hair. Blood was stuck in her nose. She puked and tripped over a pile of dead. Dead meat was still. Still blood didn’t taste anywhere near as sweet.

She clawed at a twitching body, and then she heard sounds. The others hissed loudly, and there she was. She recognized herself. Bent over beside Susan, adorned in shiny red armor. She’d puked as well. It was her. She was staring at herself. Jenny's mind shattered. Caved in. Expanded. Hurt.

Everything hurt. She saw the fight. Saw the struggle. Angel after angel hissed and screeched and went after her and Susan.

How dare they? How dare they hurt her? Jenny, the angel, threw herself at the nearest angel and bit into their throats. She leaped to another, moving ever closer to herself and Susan, and she was just about to turn, to help herself fend off the attackers, when a blinding surge of pain tore through her side like a wildfire. She screamed and limped away, collapsing, clutching her shoulder with her one remaining arm. She'd hurt herself. She'd slashed off her own limb. Why?

How could she do this to herself?

The fight continued, and she watched from the floor, bleeding profusely. Then she heard a roar. An order. A command. From another angel, a stronger angel. Her vision faded when she sensed the Greater Ones approach. They were strong, too strong. They were going to kill her! The blue covering flashing as the blonde Greater One bit her fingers off. The larger black one launched itself forward. They'd hurt her! They'd hurt Susan!

And she was powerless. Something stomped on her back, and she heard a disgusting crack from her lower spine. Blood gushed out of her cut shoulder, and she lost all sense of self.

It wasn’t until light flooded the hallway, light that burned her eyes and made her want to scream, that she woke up. A bunch of blurry silhouettes moved around her; she heard voices. Shouting.

She tried to stand, pushing herself up with her one arm, but her legs wouldn't work. Pain burned at the base of her spine. She collapsed, and her nose struck the floor. She threw up again. But she saw. She saw and recognized Mrs. Monique carrying her limp body out. She saw one of the boys picking up Susan. They turned the corner, vanishing down the hall where the library was.

Why were they taking her away from herself?

Crying, hissing, and screeching, Jenny pulled herself forward. She slapped the floor with her one hand, and dragged her body, sliding on her own blood, crawling over students and angels.

She moved at a snail's pace, passing in and out of consciousness. Eat. Eat. Eat. The feeling raged in her head, and she licked blood off the floor. It did nothing to ease her. There was only one hope. Only one way to become human again. She had to eat herself. She was sure of it.

She'd managed to drag her body near the library, when the doors opened, and light hit her again. She shut her eyes, hissing and convulsing, and when she opened them, she saw herself. She saw herself towering over her, a look of hatred and rage on her own face. She wore the pink helmet, the flashlight duct taped to the top shining into her eyes. She swore she felt them sizzling, but she couldn't look away. She couldn't blink. She stared back at herself, hissing, pleading for just one bite. Anything to end the horrible cruel feeling in her head. Eat Eat Eat.

And then her shield came down onto her one hand with a decisive thud, slicing right through her fingers, and the connection between herselfand the angel faltered.

Jenny, in the angel’s body, was dragged into the library by her hair. Screaming, struggling. But she couldn't grab anything. She couldn't fight. Her legs refused to work. Then she was on a table, and Dr. Lee was on top of her. He wanted a tooth. He wanted an eye. She strained, trying to break free. Couldn't they see it was her? Didn't they know? She was in here!

A soft voice cut through the malice. It was Susan. Her sweet scent. Jenny picked up on that and held it firmly between her thoughts. And she stared at Susan. The blue armor. Her blue hair. Her tired face. Maybe. Just maybe if she ate her, then she could break free. She'd be rid of Him. She could just be.

Light flickered. Someone shouted. Her eye slipped out of its socket. The grip on her loosened, giving her enough leeway to move. She twisted her body as soon as someone was near, and she bit through someone's throat. She wasn't sure whose. But it wasn't Susan.

Ranking Bonus!

Tarnished Angel -> Imperfect Angel

Congratulations on breaching the first threshold!

30 Stat Points have been awarded

Exoskeleton Activated.

Orange light burst out of Jenny's, the angel's, navel. It covered her completely, solidifying, protecting her, strengthening her. With hot blood soothing her parched throat, she threw herself off the floor and onto Susan who screamed. Who screamed and screamed and screamed. Something was jammed into Jenny’s head. Another light erupted inside her, followed by a blinding and furious surge of energy that enveloped everything. The connection between her and the angel shivered again, violently.

She blinked forward through time. With each blink, a new face appeared. Mrs. Monique looking furious with her spear pointed at Jenny's, the angel's, face. Dr. Lee holding up his phone and talking softly to her, as if trying to win her over, as if she was a wild animal that needed to be tamed. And all the while she was crying. She was... sad beyond measure. Like she'd lived a lifetime and had nothing to show for it. Like she'd blinked and all her life had been a waste. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t communicate. Nobody understood her as she begged to be put out of her misery.

The feeling was gone. His presence was gone. There was nothing driving her thoughts. No more hunger, nothing pushing her forward. Nothing nothing nothing. She was empty and hollow and terrified. What had she become? Why was she like this? She just wanted to go home. To feel the warm breeze beneath her wings. To find a partner and melt her light with theirs...

In another blink, she saw Leslie who was squatting down and talking to her. Jenny reached for her, feeling sorry, feeling sad, and just wanting to be touched. Blue light flashed. Light that filled her with dread and panic. Run run run... She blinked again and again. The dead boy, the one whose throat she’d bitten through, got up and attacked. She saved Leslie. Then Dr. Lee was upon her. He wasn’t talking soothingly anymore; he had his katana ready to kill her. She knew that look in his eyes She’d seen it on her own face. A desire for blood. A hunger that would never be satiated.

He was shouting. Then he stepped forward to stab her, but Leslie got in the way. Leslie? Why was Leslie protecting her? But that didn’t matter. The dreadful feeling grew worse and worse, and the floor of the library gave away, and everything was falling.

Heavy things landed on top of her, crushing her already ruined back, and she saw the creature responsible. The Desecrated Angel. Even greater than the great ones. The Matriarch with a body made of molten, navy-blue metal. Eyes with blue pupils gleaming brighter than stars.

The Matriarch knelt and grabbed the bleeding Leslie who was crying and kicking. And Dr. Lee who'd passed out. It knelt and licked Jenny. It licked the blood off her face and back, and it grinned. You are useless to me.... it said. It spoke. It hissed. The language moved through her like a shudder. And then it was gone, and the next thing she saw was herself again. Covered in red. Covered in red in the way she was covered in orange. With large tentacles swirling around her. Face twisted with anger and hunger, so furious, that she felt it emanating through every single step, through the vibrations in the air.

And she accepted it. She surrendered to herself. She could rest.

Jenny stumbled back in shock. She was back in the gym, her heart racing, her head pounding. Her tentacles swished in agony, wrenched free from the angel's touch.

"What the fuck?" she whispered. She swallowed hard. There was a lump in her throat like she'd been crying. She couldn’t stop shaking, and she stepped away from the Imperfect Angel. It looked deflated. The lips of its wrinkled face curved in a smile. Its one eye stared right through her.

You’ve defeated Angel (stage ii) (level 11)

Experience has been awarded

+800 Energy

Leveled up!

Jenny Huang, Level 24 -> Level 25

+3 Stat Ponts

 

 

 

 

--- author's note ---