After Raziel had disappeared, Zachariel was left standing, hand outstretched. Despite having a few of his questions answered, the Soraphim’s response simply spawned a thousand more. He grimaced, so frustrated that he felt like tearing the feathers from his wings, though he shook it off. Getting to Ben and Ariana before Raziel or the demons was crucial for him.
Zachariel sheathed his sword, the sound echoing through the desolate Riverglade village. Most of the buildings were rubble, and the town square was totally obliterated. Part of him ached to take off into the air after Ben and his daughter, but his duty as village chief bound him to look for survivors and render honors to the dead. These were his people, his friends. Zachariel knew all their names, their hopes and dreams, and their kindness.
Now they were gone. This was the price for his failure.
He spread his wings and sped around the town, searching. At one point, he had come across the sight of a person under a rock. Hopeful, he lifted it, but found the villager staring skyward, eyes glazed over. This was Sandra Hali, one of the best bakers in town, and one of the kindest souls in New Eden.
And Death had claimed her.
Zachariel eased the body to the town square, where he crossed her arms. Holding onto the tiniest hope of finding a survivor, he left to search.
He didn’t. For an hour, Zachariel scoured the remains of Riverglade village, but only found bodies. The music shop owner, the village messenger, and so many others. Finally, he stumbled across a small arm sticking out of the rubble. He quickly uncovered it to find Shelly Marsed, one of Ariana’s biggest fans from the festival.
Zachariel lifted the young girl from the rubble and gently wrapped her in a white cloth he found nearby. He gathered all the bodies in one place and tried to make them as restful as possible.
As he stood and mourned the loss, Zachariel caught sight of his cottage. It was partially intact, but still ruined beyond all hope of repair. He stepped inside and walked to the ruins of Ariana’s room. Her bed remained, a stuffed rabbit laid on it, next to her pillow. Zachariel picked it up and looked at it. It was gray, with black buttons for eyes, and a little mouth sewn in.
Mr. Peter, Zachariel thought as he recognized it. I gave this to Ariana the night I found her.
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The unnerving death throes of the last demon sounded as Zachariel yanked his blade from its gut, vanquishing it to dust. He and his comrades had barely won a devastating battle with the demons not too long before. Their job was to hold the human hospital at any cost, and the cost was indeed great.
He looked around at his angel brethren, many of whom suffered grievous injuries. One angel had lost half of his wing, another had his arm amputated, no doubt because of a demon bite. He grimaced as he walked into the hospital to their main objective, a young woman named Alyssa Winters. Whereas other angels were merely soldiers, he was assigned to guard Alyssa since birth, for unclear reasons. Even so, he had come to enjoy it. She was a sweet, kind girl, a light in the life of others, including him. But in that same life, there was pain, darkness that chased her until eventually it manifested in her choices.
Now Alyssa was spiraling.
Zachariel frowned. In recent days, the demons had ratcheted up their assault on her soul, so much so that he had to call in his fellow angels to protect her, many of whom died in the brutal battle. Despite that, she was safe from demonic influence…for now, at least.
His brows creased as a thought came to him. The demons were normally cowards, retreating at the first sign of angel presence and yet, something was different. They pursued Alyssa relentlessly, and he didn’t even know why.
Dismissing the thought, Zachariel entered the worn-down doctor’s office and found her. She was young, beautiful, and didn’t look a day over seventeen. Her thin hand rested on her curved belly, which, even in the early stages of pregnancy, seemed far too great a weight for her small frame to handle. Her once-golden hair was faded, streaks of white shimmered in the dim light of the office, her sunken-in eyes hidden in the shadows of her bangs. On her gaunt face was a small frown as the doctor gave her the bad news.
“So?” Alyssa asked, “How does the baby look?”
The doctor eyed the sonogram sadly. “It’s surviving, for now,” she said. “Her vital signs are erratic, sometimes unstable.” She looked at her, “Are you still taking…?”
Alyssa bit her lip and nodded.
“Oh. I see.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Alyssa asked. “I don’t want her to suffer because of me.”
The doctor opened Alyssa’s files and looked. “Well, she’s still got a while before she’s here.. If you quit now—”
“—then she could be born healthy?”
The doctor removed her glasses and bit them. “Can I be honest with you?”
Alyssa nodded quickly.
“There’s no telling how the baby will turn out. She could have birth defects, mental illness, withdrawals as if she herself were addicted, or maybe even stillborn. I would consider maybe…sparing her of all that.”
Alyssa’s eyes widened, “You mean…?”
The doctor nodded solemnly. Tears flowed from Alyssa’s eyes.
“I-I can’t.” She clutched her belly. “I-I already gave her a name. Ariana.”
“I know, but—”
“This…this is me and Bryan’s baby. We didn’t mean for it to happen, sure, but I love him. I just…I can’t.”
“I understand.” The doctor nodded slowly. “But you know what that means, don’t you?”
Alyssa’s azure eyes brimmed with tears. “Yes. It means I—” she inhaled slowly, “—I have to stop.”
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“Yes,” the doctor confirmed. “If you have anything on you now, I’ll throw it away for you. No judgment, okay?”
Zachariel could see the small plastic bag of white powder with a pipe in her jacket pocket. Alyssa kept one hand on her belly, the other in that same pocket.
“Come on, Alyssa,” Zachariel whispered in her ear, hoping to the Maker that she could hear. “This is the only way you can heal. Do this for you and your daughter.”
Alyssa gripped the pocket harder. The doctor raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have any on you?”
Alyssa looked up and smiled at her. “N-no. I’ll throw the ones at home away, though.”
The doctor’s stare intensified. “Ma’am, don’t lie to me. I’ve seen—”
“—thank you for seeing me. I’ve got to get back to my boyfriend, though,” Alyssa said quickly as she jumped off the table and briskly made her way to the door. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
Zachariel grimaced as he followed her outside the hospital, onto the downtrodden city streets. He caught up to her and whispered again, “Come on, Alyssa. Throw them away. Please.”
As if she heard him, she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes shifted to a nearby trash can. She pulled the bag out of her pocket and slowly walked over to it.
“Yes, that’s it.” Zachariel smiled. “You can do it. You’re strong.”
Finally, Alyssa dumped the bag into the trash and walked away, hands in her pockets. Her heavy breaths settled as she walked back to meet her boyfriend.
If Zachariel could have hugged her, he would have. Since childhood, he watched her struggle, both with her troubled life and her choices. And yet, he knew the girl with the beautiful heart was still somewhere deep within her. He hadn’t given up on her. He never would.
For the rest of her walk, Zachariel stayed with her, whispering encouraging words. Slowly, a warm smile came to Alyssa’s face.
As she rounded the corner, she suddenly froze. Her boyfriend, Bryan,—the only person she had learned to truly trust—was standing in another woman’s arms, their lips locked.
Once Zachariel had noticed, he narrowed his eyes. The other woman was possessed. He quickly drew his blade and chased her away from the woman’s body. He spun around. Bryan and Alyssa faced each other, the latter with tears in her eyes. Demon or not, Bryan had betrayed her trust, broken her heart. She turned away and ran as Bryan called her name.
Zachariel grit his teeth and desperately gave chase, knowing what she was about to do. He caught her as she dug through the trash can.
“Alyssa, don’t do this,” Zachariel begged. “He’s not worth your life or your baby’s!”
Alyssa sobbed as she dug obsessively until she finally found it. She moved into a dark, dead-end alleyway as she sat against the wall and dug in her pockets.
“Stop!” Zachariel cried, but it was too late. She loaded it into a plastic pipe, lit the bottom, and inhaled sharply.
Zachariel fell to his knees in front of her as he stared at the young woman, whose eyes glossed up as she numbed the pain away. A few moments later, she convulsed and clutched her stomach.
“No, no. Please, no…” Zachariel begged, hoping his cries would reach the Creator. “…please don’t let her…”
Alyssa stopped convulsing. A puddle of blood spread out from between her legs; her glossed eyes snapped back to attentiveness. She clutched her belly in horror.
“No…” she whispered. “Oh god, not my baby. Please, not…”
As Alyssa cried, the apparition of an infant materialized next to Zachariel, white-blonde hair barely covering her head. Her cries echoed against the cramped walls of the alley.
Zachariel’s eyes widened. It was Ariana, who was supposed to be Alyssa’s first child.
He quickly scooped up the young spirit and looked at Alyssa once more. Her face streamed with tears, and yet she sat still, staring off into nothing, numb to the world. Zachariel gently clutched the baby to his chest, closed his eyes, and uttered a desperate prayer. A light appeared from the sky, and with it, his friend and fellow angel Kira appeared next to him.
“Zachariel? What’s going on?” Kira looked at Alyssa as her eyes widened in heartbreak. “Oh, no...”
“I need you to help her, Kira. She...is not well,” Zachariel explained.
Kira nodded, and she walked over to Alyssa. She knelt and assessed her. “I think I can help.” She glanced over at Ariana, who cried in Zachariel’s arms. “Wait. Is that…?”
“This little one was hers.” Zachariel grimaced.
As Kira frowned, another light flashed. Out of it came a young messenger angel. “I’ve come with news for the one called Zachariel.”
Kira and Zachariel exchanged glances. “What for?”
The young messenger cleared his throat. “You are immediately required to gather the spirit of Ariana and take her to New Eden to raise her. Once there, you will immediately take up a post as chief in a village called Riverglade.”
“I—” His jaw clenched. “—I can’t just abandon my comrades to go live out a life of comfort. Reinforcements on Earth are sparse enough, as is! Tell whoever gave the order that—”
“—it comes directly from the Creator himself, so I wouldn’t advise disobedience,” the messenger angel snapped, before regaining his composure and standing back to attention as he closed the scroll. “Sir.”
Zachariel sighed in disbelief as he looked over at Alyssa. It wasn't that long ago that she was an innocent young girl, her spirit shining like the brightest star in the sky. Over the years, however, he watched in horror as her life slowly turned her into the tragedy that she was now.
Most of all, he had failed her.
After a few seconds of silence, Bryan had spotted her in the alley and immediately knelt by her, checking on her and calling for help. Kira stood up and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“She’ll be okay, Zachariel.” Kira gestured to Bryan. “I’ll guide him so that he finds her the help she needs. You take the girl and go.”
Zachariel glanced one more time at Alyssa as Bryan lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the hospital. He partially tucked the infant into his tunic and held her tight as he spread his wings.
Ariana wailed as he ascended. The heavy rain fell, as if the sky itself were mourning the tragedy, two lights taken from the world far too soon.
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Zachariel had just finished tucking Ariana into her new bed when he handed her a small stuffed rabbit, which—along with their cottage—was donated by the citizens of Riverglade village, the people he was now charged with protecting. She held it close to her chest as she slept peacefully. He sang her a lullaby.
Calm your wonderful soul. The angels have you tonight. Oh, calm your painful heart.
After she had fallen asleep, Zachariel sat next to her, pondering his failure with her mother. For years, he tried to guard her from demonic influence, and yet she still succumbed to it. Tears fell from his cheeks onto Ariana’s bed.
What did I do wrong?
A sigh escaped Zachariel’s lips as he watched the child of Alyssa as she slept peacefully, as if the events of the previous night had never even happened. How he wished it were so. If he could do it all over again, he…
Zachariel froze, his eyes widening in realization. In front of him was a second chance. This was his shot at redemption, a chance to ensure that the past tragedy of the Winters family wouldn't repeat itself. This time, he would stop at nothing to make sure that little Ariana didn’t end up like her mother.
Above all, he would ensure that she lived a full, happy life…and that her heart wouldn’t ever have to break.
The ruins of Ariana’s room returned to his sight as Zachariel clutched the stuffed rabbit and tied it to his belt. He walked back outside to find his friend and former Commander Gabriel praying over the deceased of Riverglade village. The Archangel looked up at him sadly as he approached. “I’m sorry, friend. Maybe if I…”
Zachariel dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. “You had to take care of Kafziel. How is he, by the way?”
“Doing better. I summoned some healers to take care of him. What of Daniel?”
“I summoned Quriel to retrieve him. Also had him work on evacuating the villagers, but…” Zachariel stared at the covered corpses as he grimaced, “…he couldn’t save everyone. Neither could I.”
Gabriel stood to his full height just as he had finished lining up the bodies and registering their last rites. He gripped the handle of his sword. “Should I?”
“No. They were my citizens, and I failed them.” Zachariel drew his blade and willed it to light with holy fire. He solemnly walked by each body and lit it, briefly whispering a prayer to each one. As he finished, he stared skyward with tears in his eyes.
Gabriel walked behind him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I know how you suffer, but what’s done is done. They’re in the Creator’s hands now.”
Zachariel glanced at the dancing flames one last time as he slowly turned around. He and Gabriel spread their wings, tearing past the billowing smoke and into the night sky.