Susan carefully stepped over the bodies in the hall in front of the library. Behind her came Mrs. Monique, the only other person willing to inspect the large crash. Everyone had plenty of thoughts, but the other students were petrified, and Dr. Lee was obsessed with his specimen. The angel seemed to panic, stressed out and hissing about something. It curled up into a little orange ball, hugging its knees.

Two boys stayed behind to guard the door, lights and weapons at the ready. Leslie wouldn’t leave Dr. Lee’s side.

In the hallway, Susan winced at the dried blood splattered everywhere. One of the angels was headless. The rest were cut up and brutally slaughtered. She glanced back at Mrs. Monique, who nodded, and Susan peaked around the corner, keeping to the bloodstained wall for cover.

But nothing had changed about the main lobby. There were still countless bodies piled up against the glass doors of the entrance. None of them stirred. No notifications lit up in Susan's head. She glanced back at the math wing and saw all the angel bodies from when she and Jenny had fought them off, but didn't see anything alive or coming after them.

"The crash felt like it came from that side of the building," she said, motioning with her cattle prod. She clicked on the flashlight in her other hand; its beam cut through the swirling mist of the veil and shone upon some faces. She quickly aimed it higher, unable to stomach the way the other students’ eyes glistened in the light. She didn’t want to recognize anyone.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the crash. She’d rolled away from the falling barricade and hid under the librarian’s desk while the others freaked out. Once the shaking stopped, she knew she had to see what it was. And she took a moment to figure out her stats, applying a generous amount of her stage ii bonus to stamina. The rest she divvied up as best she could.

> Susan Brown

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> Human (stage ii) (Level 10)

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>

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> Stats:

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> Power: 10

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> Durability: 10

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> Stamina: 30

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> Agility: 11

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> Stat points available: (0)

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> Energy Available: (182)

Though making her way across the lobby, she wished she had more agility, wanting to get to the source of the crash quicker. She couldn't explain why, but she knew it had to do with Jenny. And even if her intuition was off, she couldn't just sit still. She'd explained to the others that they had to find out what it was. If it was a strong human, then they needed to group up. If it was dangerous... better to know what was coming than to hide in the library like sitting ducks. The orange Wretched Angel that had become angel (stage ii) was no longer affected by light; what if other angels got that ability too?

She was trying to be brave like Jenny had been when she left the library, but Susan was already trembling. She'd put so much into stamina to ensure she'd be able to heal Jenny no matter what state she was in. She just had to be alive. Please be alive.

She had kept her blue armor from earlier, even though the scales were cracked. It was still some protection, and she figured it was best to reserve her Energy for now. If anything came up, she and Mrs. Monique had their flashlights, and she had her thunder and light.

As they cut through the lobby, another violent tremor surged beneath their feet, making several of the bodies bounce and flop. Susan gasped. Mrs. Monique readied her spear, the flashlight in her mouth, a look of focused fury on her face.

They heard what sounded like an explosion up ahead, and another vibration nearly knocked them off their feet. It sounded like a landslide, and Susan shone her flashlight down into the other hallway as a cloud of dust billowed out. Rocks and loose debris clattered toward them; something must have collapsed.

Before they could proceed, they heard shouting, and Susan's flashlight revealed a silhouette in the dust cloud carrying something in their arms.

"Oh my god," said Mrs. Monique, stepping forward quickly as three others showed up behind the first figure.

They stepped out from the dust cloud, and Susan barely registered the notifications. They flipped through her head. She saw that they were human, wore armor, and were covered in blood and dust. But as soon as she noticed the boy in the larger boy’s arms, that was all she could focus on. It was Oliver, and the bottom half of his legs were missing.

"Oliver," she whispered. She'd bumped into him several times whenever she visited Jenny's house to do homework or watch movies or whatever. He was a sweet little kid who always wanted to hang out with them, but Jenny would turn him away and lock the door every time. But now he looked pasty and sick, and his legs ended at his knees. Should she heal him?

The boy holding him was shouting something. Mrs. Monique was fervently calling them forward, instructing them to go down the hallway and get to the library. Their voices echoed around Susan's head, but she focused on the frantic girl. She kept trying to turn back, but the other two held her arms and dragged her forward.

Susan stopped them. "What's wrong?" But she already knew the answer by the sinking feeling in her stomach.

The girl's eyes were wide and tearful. She was holding a bloodied knife in one hand, and her armor reminded Susan of a classic Knight, like something straight from the round table. The girl wrenched her arm free and signed quickly, her fingers in a flurry.

She pointed at Oliver, then signed, his sister is trapped back there.

After a quick glance at Mrs. Monique, who was confused by the sign language, Susan darted forward, the light from her flashlight bouncing all over the place.

Footsteps echoed from behind her. "Susan, wait!"

"You don't have to come with me!" shouted Susan, coming to a stop in the cloud of dust in front of the big lecture hall. The door was shut, and the shaders pulled down. To the left was the physics wing, from where Oliver and the others emerged.

Mrs. Monique nearly stumbled into her, and she started shouting back, but she stopped midsentence when she saw what had become of the physics labs.

The hallways had completely collapsed. The labs were blown out, their walls broken and scattered all over with tables and chairs strewn about. Large chunks of the ceiling stuck out like stalagmites, many with rods sticking out of them. Lockers had spilled from the hallway above, and there were countless bodies. Dust and the stench of rot filled her nose and made her cough.

"What the fuck are those things?" whispered Mrs. Monique, and Susan didn't even have a chance to be taken aback hearing the sweet librarian curse like that. She swore under her breath as well; babies crawled over the rubble, trying to climb over things, moving towards the room.

> Infant Angel (level 0)

They didn't seem to mind the flashlights at all. The beams drew their attention, and several of them exclaimed in glee. They looked like one- to two-year-old toddlers, some crawling, some walking on pudgy, shaky legs. The babies were covered in blood too, and Susan almost thought they were injured from the collapse, but then she noticed that the blood ran down their chin and stained their hands and arms. Like they'd been making a mess of spaghetti and tomato sauce.

While they squinted and laughed at the light, the babies didn't seem interested in either Susan or Mrs. Monique. They moved into the lab room, climbing over the remnants of the walls. She turned her flashlight into the room. The light flickered over a door that remained standing, still attached to a chunk of wall. She saw the upside-down tables, the gaping hole in the ceiling, and then the bodies.

These bodies weren't dead; they were alive and wriggling. Crawling over one another. Naked angels. They had to be Tarnished, but no notification appeared in her head.

She stepped forward hesitantly, wondering if she just had to get closer. Then she noticed that several of the angels were forcing the others forward, dragging something underneath the pile by long dark hair, dragging other angels by thin limbs. An ugly crater waited in the center of the room, a large hole lined with debris and chaos. The angels were headed toward it.

She only caught glimpses of what was beneath them, but she was sure she saw someone struggling, and there was a trail of blood. a Wretched Angel lay dead, as though the others had steamrolled over it. But before Susan could figure out what to do, the angels screeched in unison. Several of them stumbled.

A pale leg stuck out from the wriggling pile, skewered through the thigh on one of the ceiling rods. The angels heaved, but they couldn't move now. That was when she got the notification:

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

> Wretched Human (level 24)

What? That had to be wrong. There were so many angels; they must be messing up the notifications. Her heart racing, she shone her flashlight right into their faces. But no other notification appeared. And none of the angels reacted to the light. Their eyes shone eerily blue, and they didn’t even notice Susan or Mrs. Monique or their flashlights. They were hellbent on dragging that someone into the hole.

“No...” said Susan softly. She knew it was Jenny. It had to be Jenny. But she kept pushing the thought away, refusing to accept it. As if as long as she didn’t see Jenny’s face and couldn’t confirm it was Jenny, then it wouldn’t be Jenny, and Jenny would be safe. Susan was shaking as Mrs. Monique caught up, cursing again and again at the sight.

She clicked her prod on, the buzz ready to turn into lightning, but what if she struck Jenny too? She saw the leg twitch, saw the rid slide and cut through her thigh, and that was all Susan could bear. She dropped her flashlight and raised her arm, focusing on her hand, gathering herself. This had to work. It was definitely brighter than the flashlights. It just had to work!

A ball of light ballooned from her palm, expanding rapidly. It juggled for a moment before it separated from her skin. Valescent Light.

It was about the size of a beach ball. Rainbows splintered off, enshrouding the ruined physics lab with a shimmering brilliance.

The angels responded simultaneously. They went rigid, staring at the light, their teeth bared so Susan could see their spittle as they screeched. It was as though she’d splashed them with a bucket of ice water. Then all at once, the hall went silent. The blue light faded from their eyes, and every single angel dropped, motionless.

Had she killed all of them? No, that didn’t matter. Most of them fell on top of Jenny. What if she suffocated?

Susan rushed into the fray, nearly tripping on a piece of concrete. She got to the pile and pushed the bodies, ready to use her cattle prod on anything that even twitched. But there were still no notifications other than Wretched Human, and when she finally pulled off the last angel, she saw Jenny's face.

Her heart skipped a beat. "What?" whispered Susan, not sure what to freak out about first. Jenny's eyes were closed, her busted lips curved upward in a small smile. Her face was a mess, her once smooth and pale skin now burnt and peeling. Her nose was crushed, nearly flattened. Dried blood stuck to everything.

She was naked, but her skin was twisted and burnt and scratched in so many places. She looked shriveled. Then there was that hole in her side, right below her rib cage. A nasty ugly wound where the blood didn't just look dry, it looked like she'd been splashed with acid. Rainbow light shimmered over her ruined body.

"Jenny..." whispered Susan, trying again. Her voice broke. The cattle prod slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Her fingers trembled over Jenny's shoulder as though she might try to shake her best friend awake. But Susan was too afraid to touch her. Too afraid Jenny would crumble into ashes if she did.

Then Jenny's eyes opened, and Susan nearly flinched. She was staring back into the same eyes as the angels’. Horrible eyes that lacked the gentle brown eyes that she'd grown accustomed to seeing light up on Jenny's face. Now it was bloodshot and white and nightmarish.

"Hey," said Jenny weakly. When she opened her mouth, blood ran down the side of her face, revealing her missing teeth. Her top and bottom front teeth were gone. And was she bleeding internally?

Questions raged in Susan's head. Razor-sharp doubts cut through her lungs. She didn't know what to do. She knew Jenny needed healing, but how much? What first? What did Wretched Human mean?

"Jesus..." whispered Mrs. Monique who'd caught up. A baby hugged the end of her spear, and when Susan shot her a look of disbelief, the librarian shrugged. "I tried to kill one, but the stupid thing only giggled."

Infant Angel (Level 0)

Susan eyed the baby. It was cute, brown-skinned, and had a head of dark hair. Its eyes were green, and its pudgy, blood-covered fingers inspected Mrs. Monique's spear as though it was a new toy. At least they weren't a threat, she thought, turning back to Jenny.

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her chest was so tight. She didn't have enough Energy for a substantial potion, and she glanced around at the dead angels. Why hadn't she received any energy from them?

She was terrified that she wouldn't have enough stamina to use Valescent Light to fix Jenny. This much damage was beyond anything she’d expected. But maybe if she could heal her just enough, maybe then a potion or something would take her the rest of the way. Yes. That was the best thing to do. Close the wounds, restore as much flesh as she could, and get her out of here.

Jenny grabbed Susan's hand. "You can't take me to the library," she rasped. Her words came out wrong; without teeth, she couldn’t speak clearly, like speaking hurt.

"What...Why?" asked Susan, shaking her head, tears threatening to spill free. "What are you talking about? I have to heal you!" She thought about the sign language girl in knight's armor. Or the boy carrying Oliver. They both seemed strong. They might have more Energy.

"I can't heal," said Jenny, her empty eyes half closed.

And Susan didn't know where to look. She wanted to scream.

She'd been too slow. Too weak. If only she'd just killed that angel before and gotten to stage ii. Instead, she sat around doing nothing while Dr. Lee studied it. She could've leveled up and gotten her ability and found Jenny and... but then that angel never would've changed... did that count as taking an innocent life? She never would've known about that if she'd killed it right away. Frustration welled up like a ferocious beast inside her.

She wanted to smash something. "What do you mean you can't heal?"

"I'm tarnished." Jenny's face twitched, moving the broken cartilage of her nose.

"No," said Susan. She blinked, and this time tears did run down her cheeks. "It says Wretched. Wretched! Jenny, what does that mean? Why did you think you were tarnished?"

"Oh," said Jenny. "I guess... because I..."

"Because?" shouted Susan. "What did you do? What happened? Why can't I heal you?" What was the point of her new ability if she couldn't use it to save her best friend? Its rainbow-colored light dazzled overhead, mocking them.

But Jeny's eyes shut. "If you take me to the library... if you take me to the library..." She cut off and went silent. A tremor when through her body.

The Wretched Human notification in Susan's head flickered in a way she hadn't seen any notification flicker before. But just as Susan feared the worst, just as she prepared herself to force every bit of Valescent Light she could muster down Jenny's stubborn throat, Jenny spoke again. "Library... the Desecrated Angell will follow."

"Desecrated?" Susan repeated, breathless. She glanced around at the bodies and then at Mrs. Monique who was inspecting the crater. The babies waddled over and gathered around Jenny and Susan. They eyed her nervously, some of them whimpering. One sat beside Jenny's head and touched her forehead, leaving a streak of blood.

What the fuck are these things? Susan almost blurted out. But she swallowed the sob and glanced again at Jenny's wound.

"Jenny," she said, lightly shaking her friend.

Jenny's eyes flickered open.

"I have to try." Susan held up her finger, concentrating on her fingertip. Light sparkled into being, forming an opalescent orb that hovered over her nail. Its shine sent rainbows off in every direction, and the babies stared at it, mystified.

If this works, I can call that big ball back. The more she used it, the more aware she was. Like flexing a muscle. All she had to do was heal Jenny. And then they could figure out this Desecrated Angel thing.

Jenny's eyes widened. "Is that... your skill? I can't see any of the system stuff like this."

"I reached stage ii," said Susan. "Just like you did. And this was the skill I got. It's called Valescent Light and it fixed my leg. Look! See? It grew right back." She shifted on her knees, sticking out her leg to show Jenny.

But Jenny's eyes were shut. "It fixed your leg, huh?" Her voice was trailing off again. "That's good. I'm glad... I fucked up, Susan. I couldn't get enough Energy. I suck."

Susan bit her lip. Was that why Jenny was being so reckless? "Don't even... just let me try, okay?"

Her best friend nodded so weakly, Susan wasn't sure Jenny had nodded at all. But then her lips moved. "I trust you."

Susan sniffled. "I'm just going to use a little bit first, okay?"

There was no response. Mrs. Monique stepped over to watch, and Susan slowly lowered the little orb of light, bringing it to the terrible hole in Jenny's side. That seemed the direst as the light revealed the ruined, twisted strands of flesh inside. Her hand shook.

As soon as the light slid into the wound, the colorful strands spread out. Hope filled Susan’s chest. It was just like with her leg. Then, Jenny screamed.

She screamed so suddenly and shrill, that Susan fell back. The babies scattered away, and Mrs. Monique dropped to the floor, trying to find some way to help.

Jenny was panting, her hand slapping the floor until she found a rock and she squeezed it tight.

Susan was stunned. The light faded away, evaporating off the wound without having done anything. Her heart was shattering; her best friend was going to die.

"It's... okay," whispered Jenny, a strained smile on her face as she writhed on the floor. Her leg had slid up the rod, and fresh blood dripped onto the floor.

"I'm..."

"No," said Jenny firmly, a sob chasing that word. "You can't hurt me. It's okay. The skill I'm using takes the pain away. You didn't hurt me, Susan. It just surprised me, okay? But it's gone."

Susan couldn't stop crying. Her light had failed. Her new skill had failed. She'd failed.

"I promise," said Jenny, who’d shut her eyes tight. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "But Susan, I did it! I saved Oliver. So it's okay... okay? I saved him. But now you have to help him. You can heal his legs."

"No," said Susan. "No. I'm not leaving you. I'm going to heal you." She summoned another ball of light, her arm shaking so badly that her teeth chattered. What was she going to do? Make Jenny scream again and again until she died?

Frustrated, she curled her fingers into a fist, squeezing the orb of light, and the light blossomed.

Her entire right hand shimmered brightly, shining stronger than the light had before, and Susan's eyes went wide. The light raced down her arm, nearly halfway to her elbow. Her flesh had become light. Every color of the rainbow pulsed up and down her skin, marking her veins. It wasn't blood flowing through them; it was her spirit. With every pulse of her heart, more and more of herself flooded into her arm, and the light shone brighter and stronger.

Susan stared, her thoughts swirling rapidly. She touched it with her other hand, and her fingers slid right through. It felt warm, like stroking a beam of light spilling in through a window.

She looked down at Jenny, who wasn't moving. And she knew what she had to do. Whatever skill had turned Jenny into this... it was keeping her from healing. "Can you turn it off? That thing?”

Jenny was still shivering. "Yeah, but..."

"I won't let you die," said Susan. It was a promise. An oath.

Jenny shook her head. She opened her lips to speak again, but all she managed was a shudder. The whites of her eyes glistened as tears rolled down the sides of her head.

Susan grabbed Jenny's shoulder with her left hand, holding her light arm over Jenny's chest. It was a gamble, but if it worked, then maybe... just maybe this was crazy enough to save her. Whatever it cost. Even if it cost Susan her arm or her life. She wouldn’t let Jenny die. "I'm going to stick my hand inside you."