Modern Day Angel

The year was 2024... at least, we think it was. Time meant nothing, now.
It’s said, that those who sin, will burn forever in the depths of hell...
I guess they got tired of waiting...

The world was decimated. Pillars of fire ravaged the ground, burning everything in sight.
The horrible smell of sulfur and lava filled the air. Constant heat attacked the flesh of those who survived the first wave.
There were survivors, mind you. Over half of the world’s population perished on this day. Those who survived called this horrible catastrophe the Executioner’s March. For those who have been slain rise again, and march as Demons.
Out of the very earth rose Demons from the lowest pits of hell. Titans of monsters. Wings reaching 30 feet in length. Horns, spiked lava-stone armor. Macabre warriors of an as-of-yet unseen enemy. And our Lord remains silent.
Weapons that Human’s currently wield, guns, are of no use. All they do is slow them down, and make them angry. These monsters can only be killed one way. A blade through the neck, and the head removed. Because of this, many of the survivors now use Blades. Swords, daggers, anything with an edge.
Most of the latest Demons to spurt from the mouth of hell, are smaller than the generals. Ergo, they’re easier to fight. Decapitation is one thing. Getting a Demon off guard long enough to get it done, is another.
Men usually led this fight, but women, sometimes, insisted on fighting alongside. They were usually the last to be killed, surprising enough. One woman, in particular, was cut off from the traveling group, by a single demon. They left her behind after the monster appeared. The group was already battered from their previous battle.
She was no match for this monster. Her sword did no damage to the Demon’s scale like armor.
Her sword was ripped from her hand and tossed aside, as the demon strode to her, his huge, dark-red sword in hand. Its feet thumped on the ashy, ruined ground, as it strode closer and closer to her. A growl slid out from between its massive, carnivorous teeth. Its eyes were fixated on her, and the feast she would be. She was, after all, a lean woman, and as she was retreating, tripped, and fell on her butt. She tried to scoot away, but the demon’s long stride was too much to keep away.
Its sword grazed her cheek, as it smiled wickedly. He had seen her, but he hadn’t noticed the man next to him. With a flash of light, a silver blade slid through the air, through the demon’s arm, black blood spurting out onto the ground, as it roared in pain.
Its roar was cut short, as the blade turned, and traveled through its neck, as well. It’s horned, toothed head rolled back onto the ground, as the body fell limply.
He sighed quietly, as he slid the black blood from his sword, onto the crude clothing of the demon, then looked to the woman.
The woman took a quick moment to analyze him. The man was of just over her height, wearing Black jeans and a chain mail, with steel protectors on his shins, feet, and knees, and strange steel gauntlets covering his hand to his elbows. His horned helmet hid his face and shaded his eyes, but she knew he was watching her. She winced as he took a step toward her, but stopped as he extended his hand to her. The gauntlet took up a lot of his fingers, but most of the palms were bare. She gently put her hand in his, before he clenched it, and brought her to her feet. Two more demons were on the approach from the west, so he hurried her on.
“Run!” He yelled, letting her go, and putting both hands on Necrolyph, his intricate sword.
When she had stayed with him, to fight, he looked back to her. “I said, Run!” he yelled at her, again.
“No! I’ll fight with you!” she said back to him.
He grabbed her wrist, put his sword onto his back then nearly dragged her as he ran. “I’ve no time for this! Run!”
They both ran from the demons, as fast as they could.
Soon enough, the Demons gave chase. They kept running, and running. Soon they ran out of ground to run on. Ahead of them was a cliff with a massive fall. No one would survive a fall from it.
The woman started slowing when she saw the cliff. “No! Keep going!” he yelled to her.
“It’s a cliff!” she yelled. The man grabbed her arm and kept running, almost dragging her again.
“I know! Keep running! Trust me!” He yelled, coming close to the cliff.
The woman started running again, getting just ahead of him, then she leapt at the end of the cliff. He leapt just behind her.
The woman had closed her eyes during the leap, but suddenly felt the man’s arms around her. She opened her eyes to see the ground extremely far away... but not getting any closer. She couldn’t tell if she were falling or not. Suddenly, she heard a loud flap, right above her. She looked up to see the bottom of the man’s chin, as he looks forward, but she also saw something else.
Protruding from the man’s back was a pair of immense, black-feathered wings! He looked ahead as he lazily flapped, the air traveling across both their bodies at a tremendous rate of speed. The woman stared at his massive, majestic wings, the feathers ruffling gently. She felt a warmth and comfort like no other, as his arms were gently wrapped around her, keeping her airborne with him. The feeling of flying was unreal. Suddenly, she was snapped back to reality by the roar of a demon, chasing them. The man looked back quickly, seeing a demon on the approach. He flapped a few times, getting more altitude, then swung his shoulder over, as time seemed to slow.
As the man rolled, he pulled a gun from the back of his belt. He took aim past both of their legs, aiming for the demon, then pulled the trigger twice, rolled his shoulder again, and kept flying, as if it hadn’t happened. He then tucked the gun away, and went into a suicide nose dive, headed for the spiky, ruined cavern. She screamed, and gripped his hands as he dove into the cave.
The man flapped, dodged, and swooped around as if he’s flown through this countless times. He came, sometimes, close to a spire, or lava vein, but pulling out just quickly enough to miss it. Her eyes were closed from fear, unable to take seeing the high-speed, underground slalom. He knew the demons would follow him, and he knew that they weren’t as agile as he was. Finally, he pulled out of the cavern, high into the air, then glided along, shaking the woman gently to get her attention.
Finally, she forced her eyes open, to see how high above the earth they were. The world was ruined, now. The ground was burnt near black, and the air was red with heat. With a flap of his gigantic wings, he dove nearly straight down, folding the wings against his and her bodies, as they free fell. Even with the speed of the air traveling across their bodies, the warmth and gentle touch of his feathers was soothing. He opened his wings again before they hit the ground, then glided close to the ground with quick speed. He finally slowed, and with a look back, flapped to stop.
Flapping to a stop, he slowly let them both down, slowly landing on his feet. He let her go, but she immediately fell to the ground, shocked and weakened by the adrenaline pumping through her. She moaned and panted, trying to keep her heart from leaping out of her chest. The woman quickly turned over, and scooted away from the angelic, yet demonic man. Her mind was so overflown with thoughts that she couldn’t think; she couldn’t tell what he was, anymore. He seemed human, apart from the incredibly oversized, black, Raven-like wings coming off of his back. At this time, they were folded up against his back, but still visible. He took a step toward her, but she scooted away again.
He licked his lips gently, knelt to her, then looked into her eyes with an innocent look. His hands rose, and took his helmet off, then set it on the ground, for the first time revealing himself. His face was smooth, with an edgy jaw, and thin lips. Her attention was caught by his eyes, near immediately. They were a deep, deep gold. Dark, but still gold. He watched her, as he slowly removed his gauntlets from his hands, then set them on the ground next to his helmet. He took the sword from it’s back-strap, and set it on the ground too. Totally unarmed, he approached her slowly, watching her with a neutral, innocent look, still. She watched him approach a step, but kept herself in line. She couldn’t help but blankly stare at the gargantuan wings on his back.
“Are... are you all right?” he asked, quietly. His voice sounded much different without his helmet. The helmet reverberated his voice and made it sound more menacing than it was now. His voice now was smooth, and not too low. It matched his face. Her eyes slid shut, and she sighed quietly, as she fell to her side. He slid on his knees, and caught her, then gently let her down.

Chapter II: Angel by my Side

When the woman finally awoke, she woke slowly and naturally, lying on a rather comfortable couch, under a heavy fur blanket. She smirked at the feel of the soft accommodations. The smell of cooking bacon and eggs slid past her nose. This was such an ancient smell to her.
Then, finally, the memories of flight, and the winged man popped into her mind, and she instantly sat up. Around her she saw the man’s home. It was a home dug out of the ground, as were most at that time. The walls were almost painstakingly smooth, but nothing decorated them.
It was a cozy little home-under-the-dirt. The home made her feel almost at ease, but she heard someone’s footsteps reverberate from the carved hallway. She watched as the man who had saved her life, the one with the wings, walked out from the other room, completely stripped of his armor, and in normal clothing.
His wings weren’t on his back, where they had previously been. She stared at his back as he walked into the kitchen, the source of the mouth-watering smell. On the base of his neck were small, tribal-looking tattoos...
Sitting up, she looked down to see that she was completely naked! She pulled the blanket up to hide herself, looking around for her clothes. Her clothes were lying neatly on the table next to her, completely cleaned. He walked out from the kitchen, to see her scrambling, wrapping her bare self in the blanket to hide herself from him.
“Good morning.” He simply said.
“Why am I naked!?” she exclaimed, very angry with him.
“I had to wash your clothes.” He said.
“Why?” she asked.
“To make you feel more at home. I couldn’t have redressed you, because you would have woken up and been in a fouler mood than you are now.” He said, laughing quietly.
She quickly redressed herself as he walked back into the kitchen.
The man came into the main room with her, holding a plate of scrambled eggs, and two strips of bacon! These foods were rare since the Executioner’s march. Chickens and Pigs, animals of that sort, were killed off nearly immediately, to try and kill Human’s off. She wondered where he got food like this, but said nothing. He brought her the plate, and set it down on the table right in front of her, with a partway smile on his face. He stood straight up again, then walked to his chair and sat, watching her in a reclined position. The wonderful smell of the food completely dissolved the anger within her, and made her smile.
“How’d... who...” The words she wanted to say wouldn’t come to mind.
“Go ahead...” he said, in a sarcastic, almost teasing way.
“... you cooked me breakfast?” she asked. He nodded with a smile. She also noticed that he had no food, himself.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, picking up the plate. “The eggs, I can imagine, but... the bacon.” She picked up a piece of bacon, and took a bite.
He looked at her in a questioning look. “... good?” he asked.
“... it’s... fantastic.” She said, with a smile. She chewed the bacon, then took another bite with a large smile. “Where did you get the pork for it?” she asked.
“It’s not pork.” He said.
“Then what is it?” she asked.
“... I can’t tell you... otherwise you won’t eat it.” He said.
“I’m hungry... and I want to know... I’d eat it if you said it was Demon meat.” She said.
... he merely smiled.
“It is?” she asked, taking another bite. His smile grew into a grin, then nodded. She shrugged, then after a short amount of time. “It’s really good. I didn’t know that the Demons were edible.” She said.
“You have to cook the muscle for some time, but it comes out just as well as pork.” He said.
“... you’re not hungry?” she asked.
“ I haven’t cooked for anybody in a long time... a long time.” He said to himself. She offered him a piece, but he turned it down. “I’m not hungry right now.” He said.
After her meal, she sighed with a smile, but then looked at him with a casual look, asking, “What are you?” Her question was like a slap in the face to him, and he watched her as such.
“Well... it’s kind of hard to explain.” He said.
“I’ve got plenty of time.” She said.
“... well...” he mumbled, trying to think.
It took a lot of thought about how he was what he was. Some, who have seen him, have labeled him a sign of the ending of the war, sent by the Lord Almighty. Others see him as a raven-winged omen of death. Both were right, in a way.
All that he knows is that he has been sent to this world by someone, or something, and that thing has given him a sword, and a mission. Although he knows not what the mission’s goal truly is, he knows he has yet to achieve it, because he’s still alive... in a sense.
He rubbed his chin gently, trying to think of what to tell her, but she was quickly becoming impatient, thinking that he was stalling.
“Come on, tell me.” She stated, almost eagerly.
“... I am...” he started. “... psh... I’m a monster. People don’t know what to think of me. Kill me, or protect me. Nobody likes me, at least that’s one unanimous vote.” He said, almost laughing.
“Come on. You’ve got to tell me how you got wings like yours... where are they?” she asked.
“I can hide them from sight, well... from existence, rather.” He said.
“Show them to me. I’d love to examine them...” she said.
He smirked, almost blushing.
With a flash, as she watched, his gargantuan, feathered wings sprouted from his back, and grew at a tremendous rate, until they reached the size she remembers from her brief flight.
She slowly stood up, as did he, then he watched her, almost ashamed from his extra appendages. She watched him with such wonder, and excitement, that she almost looked like fainting.
He slowly turned his back to her, and spread his massive wings, each feather slowly moving apart, the muscles in his back and on his wings slowly tensing and bulging. His wings stretched to full spread, nearly touching each wall of the large room. He sighed quietly, looking over his shoulder to her. She slowly, step by step, approached him, gently reached her hand out, and barely touching one of the feathers on his wings. His wing twitched when she touched it, and it made her jump, and laugh nervously.
She touched his wing again, this time keeping the touch constant. He did his best not to twitch again. She dragged her fingers across the silky warmth of his wings, almost falling into a trance at how they felt. She felt his feathers with her full hand, down each tip, making him almost shudder at the feeling. How she touched his wings, almost felt like dragging a finger up your spine.
She felt the stiff, yet light bone in each major portion of his wing, gently caressing across it. His other wing slowly fell limply as she massaged along his left wing. His eyes slowly slid shut, and his mouth barely gaped, as she rubbed her hand all over his wing. She snickered quietly, at the expression on his face, then moved about to the front, and began rubbing the underside of the feathers in front. Again, his face made her laugh slightly. Suddenly, he snapped out of his trance, then stood straight, clearing his throat and shaking his head gently. She couldn’t help but laugh as he did. He smirked, then folded both his wings against his back, and stepped back from her a step.
As he retreated, she approached him, one full step, with a smile on her face. He smirked to her again, then tried to look at anything but her. She watched his eyes as they wandered around the room. His face slowly turned to the right, as his eyes traveled along the wall, trying not to look at the beautiful woman. Quickly, he felt her hand on his jaw, pulling his head to look at her again, but just as he realized it had happened, he felt the warmth of her soft lips on his.
A dumbfounded look spread on his face, as he stare at her. She stared at him, just as well back, almost shocked with the jolt she felt when she kissed him.
“I... wanted to thank you for saving me...” she whispered.
He snapped out of his fantasy again, then felt embarrassed, and blushed. She did as well, but as he look away, he looked back to her, and said, “I want to show you something...”

Chapter III: The Sky is Yours

He gently took her hand, and pulled her along as she walked with him, to the door. He opened the door, to the barren, burnt wasteland, then stepped out with her. He smiled, then stood behind her, and gently put his hands on her sides. She laughed quietly and squirmed her body as he put his hands on her.
“You’re going to love it.” He said, whispering into her ear.
She gripped his hands as his hands gripped her sides, and his massive wings spread. He flapped once, and they were off, hovering a few inches above the ground. He flapped again, and again, getting more altitude, then flew straight for a few lazy moments, flapping hard and gaining altitude.
Slowly but surely, they began to approach the ashy layer of air covering the planet, hiding the sun from the surface of the earth. As they approached at such a slow pace, she could hear his words as they flew. “Once we reach the ash, I want you to close your eyes, and hold your breath as best you can. You only need to hold it for a few moments...” he said.
“Okay.” She replied, watching up with him. She looked down, and marveled at how far above the ruined earth they were.
Closer and closer the ash layers became, menacingly black, almost as black as the feathers on the man’s wings. Already could you smell the intense stench of burn. “Now, hold your breath.” He said to her. She took a deep breath, and held it, shutting her eyes and trusting the man.
After what seemed like moments, she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Her lungs slowly started to ache. She couldn’t hold her breath much longer, but she knew if she inhaled the ash, it would nearly kill her.
Finally, the man spoke to her. “Okay... open your eyes and breathe.” He said.
She opened her eyes, to find something no one has seen in decades. For twenty years, the ash layer had covered the stars, but no longer. Infinite blue stretched out, across the sky, the ash layer looking like liquid ground as it moved with the winds.
She marveled and stared at the size of the moon, how incredibly large it appeared, and the comforting lunar light it gave off.
Cool, cool air swept across them, sweeping the ash from their bodies, the sweat that always existed, cooling them. She gasped, taking in so clean of air that she’s barely experienced before the catastrophe. She coughed violently, getting years and years of horribly dirty air out of her lungs, taking in the solar, clean air, the crystal-clean oxygen, untainted by years of ash. Her head rushed and spun because of the powerful intake of purified air. Although it was thin, it was still strongly rich compared to what they breathed every day.
She laughed, and looked back at him, as he flaps in place, the winds shedding the ash from his wings. His stamina was incredible, as he flapped so lazily, keeping them in the paradise lost. She wanted to stay there forever, and he wished that they could be.
She sighed and wanted to lie back, as the cool rush of clean air swept along every crease of her body, soothing and relaxing her. She groaned and moaned, laughing, wanting always to come back. Even through the wind, through the powerful impact of the world above, he could hear her, as clear as day. “... thank you.”
He smiled, then kept flapping, keeping her there. “I want you... to do something for me...” she said to him. He listened intently. “... bring me here before I die... please.” She pleaded.
He watched her with a very serious look. “... with me... that will be a very long time...” he said, then came very, very close to her ear. “... I will bring you, whenever you wish.” He whispered, then gently kissed her cheek. She smiled, and nearly lost herself in the fancy, when he kissed her cheek. She knew how grateful she was, and she knew how perfect he seemed. As his stamina slowly came shorter and shorter, he spoke to her.
“We must leave... I can’t keep this up much longer.” He said, quietly.
“Then take us down... let’s go home.” She said. He smiled, then flapped hard once, flipping them back, and pointing him down, then he wrapped his wings completely around her body, as they fell through the ash layer, and through the hot, horribly hot air. As they came close to the ground, he slowly spread his wings again, gliding on the heat, as he flew near effortlessly. He saw home, but kept gliding, merely wanting to fly. She spread her arms, laughing quietly.
He did slow loops, long climbs and long dives, merely flying through the air, before turning back. They had both had enough flying for today.
They approached his home, came down very gently, to a hover, then landed on his feet, and let her go. She turned to him, and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him, thanking him for giving her a glimpse of what was. He felt rather embarrassed, as she hugged him so strongly. He couldn’t think; he could only feel.