Evolution of Angels

by Nathan Wall

  “I heard you guys needed a taxi?” Jarrod joked, his eyes turning the shadows into light, scanning for his friends. They fell on Christian and Travis, but couldn’t find his best friend. The armor receded from his face and his hopeful tone turned somber. “Where is Austin?”

  “Jarrod, is that you?” Christian sprung from the floor and wrapped his arms around Jarrod. His weak legs gave out, so Jarrod tucked his arms under Christian and slowly lowered him to the floor. With his lips quivering, he firmly grabbed Jarrod’s wrist. “We haven’t seen him since before we ended up here. One minute we were climbing up a slope and the next we’re running for our lives as these... things came from the darkness, devouring us, and pulling us apart. We weren’t ready. W-We were outmanned. It’s like they knew.”

  “Are there any other survivors?” Jarrod asked.

  “We’re all that’s left,” Hershiser cried, rubbing his face.

  “They know where we are, Jarrod,” Lian said, her eyes closed. She opened them and handed two sidearms to Travis and Christian. She looked at the four men and swallowed, holding her breath momentarily. “Can you walk?”

  “We’re still Rangers.” Travis cocked the gun. He pulled Hershiser up, who used all his might to stand, and nodded. “You can make it. Right, sir?”

  “I sure can.” Hershiser looked at Jarrod, at first shocked by the color of his armor. “That’s a good look on you. I’m glad the uniform department opted for some diversity for a change.”

  Jarrod smiled. The aurascales spread across his face, returning the ghoulish appearance. He turned, drove two quick fists into an advancing guard, threw him over the railing, and watched as he hit the stone bottom nine floors down.

  The cell opened up into a massive nine layer hallway. On both of the far ends of the walkway, two spiraling staircases were placed. Another catwalk with its own set of cells was directly across from them. Other prisoners stuck their hands out of their cells, yelling for help. Taking position outside of those cells, a few guards knelt and aimed with their crossbows.

  “Lian. Lead them out.” Jarrod pointed at the spiral staircase to their right. Without running, he jumped clear across the twenty foot gap and landed on the opposite walkway. He threw the first guard over the railing and caught an arrow midair fired by the other guard. He spun around and drove the arrow into the guard’s skull.

  Jarrod spotted seven men running up the staircase on a collision course with Lian. He ran, jumped over the railing, and glided to the attackers’ position. He shredded through the air and slammed into two guards, immediately crushing them against the wall. Three more were tossed to their death. Right as the last enemy was about to drive a sword into Jarrod, Travis blasted the guard in the back of the head.

  “I need you guys to get out of this complex and to the lake. Try and take up position and wait for me.” Jarrod jumped onto the railing, overlooking the bottom floor like a terrifying gargoyle. “If we want to get back home I’ll need to find Jackson and Oreios.”

  “I can help.” Lian grabbed his wrist, snaring his attention. “I can tell them where to go. Implant it in their minds.”

  “They’ll need more than that.” Jarrod jumped to the ground floor. He landed with a powerful crash and engaged a group of twenty men.

  As he moved throughout the group, evading their blows and breaking their limbs, a vapor trail of pink manifested. He flipped the last enemy combatant to the ground, held his arm up, and then stepped down on his shoulder. The sheer pain knocked the last guard out cold. The pink trail came together and glowed, engulfing the entire room. When everything came back into focus, Charon stood a few feet away from Jarrod.

  The two balled their fists and engaged. Jarrod was the first to strike, sending in six consecutive blows and landing two of them on Charon’s chest. He snatched Charon’s cloak, wrapped it around his neck, and tried to slam his head into a wall. In a quick pink light burst, Charon vanished from Jarrod’s grasp. Jarrod’s fist smashed into the stone wall.

  Almost simultaneously, another flash appeared behind Jarrod. Charon slung Jarrod over the shoulder and into the floor, cracking the cobblestones. He dropped a knee into Jarrod’s neck and repeatedly bludgeoned with a storm of fists.

  Jarrod grabbed an errant strike, twisted the arm around, and pushed Charon to the ground. Charon flipped forward, out of the arm bar hold, slid his legs under Jarrod’s arms, and countered by throwing him several yards. Jarrod slid across the ground and righted himself. When he looked up, Charon had vanished.

  Again, a quick spurt of pink appeared. Charon kicked Jarrod in the face, spinning him in circles. He vanished again, then reappeared, catching Jarrod with a haymaker. The process repeated several times. Jarrod remained off kilter with the constant teleporting.

  Jab, hook, uppercut; Jarrod found himself striking only air. Charon leapt from a vapor trail and bashed Jarrod’s forehead into the wall. He was gone as quickly as he appeared.

  Lian and the group made it to the ground floor. She stopped for a second, watching Charon dig into Jarrod. The aurascales tore apart and tried in vain to repair itself. Just then, she saw the next devastating blow, and called it out.

  “Right uppercut,” she yelled.

  Jarrod glanced at her and then moved out of the way of the next strike, sending Charon’s hand tearing through the wall. Jarrod took advantage, slamming Charon’s head into the stone before throwing him down to the other end of the giant hall.

  “Travis,” Lian said, grabbing him by the head. She transferred their escape route into his mind. Her eyes opened and he nodded. “Now go.”

  The damaged blue aurascales on Jarrod’s back slowly sealed shut. She saw him wink at her through the tattered sections of armor. He turned, tightening his fists. Charon vanished in a pink haze and she called out again.

  “Four o’clock,” she yelled.

  Jarrod spun around, driving a round house kick into Charon’s stomach as he appeared in the exact spot Lian called out. He jabbed Charon in the face, before he disappeared again.

  “Nine o’clock,” she called once more.

  True to form, Charon manifested to Jarrod’s left, but was again met by a fusillade of fists. Jarrod kicked Charon’s shin, tilting him forward. He followed with a palm strike to the cheekbone. His foot dug under a sword scattered on the floor, tossing it up. He snatched it midair and swiped, narrowly missing with a decapitating blow. Charon disappeared. Jarrod looked to Lian, but she shrugged.

  “Give me a second.” She closed her eyes, pressing in on her temple. Her eyes shot open, screaming, “Behind me.”

  Jarrod sprinted toward her—the pink light engulfing Lian—and jumped, but was too late. She vanished into the vapor. He rolled along the ground and looked up. She was tumbling in the air.

  He dashed up one of the many floor-to-ceiling columns, jumping across each level, making his way toward her. Upon reaching the third level, he leapt across the gap and caught her.

  As they barreled toward the opposite landing, another pink light devoured them. They exited the rift and rolled to a stop. Charon pried the two apart and teleported with the Lian in his grasp. The two of them manifested at the top of the ceiling. He left Lian dangling from one of the many stalactite formations.

  “I can’t hold on,” Lian cried, her sweaty hands slipping on the rock. She looked down to Jarrod and yelled one more thing before she fell. “Six o’clock.”

  Jarrod grabbed Charon by the neck when he appeared. His fingers dug into Charon’s body, squeezing the color from his face.

  “We’re going to catch her, now,” he commanded, slamming Charon’s head into the wall. The two of them teleported next to Lian as she fell. Jarrod took her and they reappeared safely on the ground level. He examined Lian for injuries. She breathed quickly, but was safe. Jarrod snarled at Charon. “Let’s see where else we can go.”

  He slammed Charon’s head into the floor and the two of them vanished from Lian’s sight. The rift took them to the middle of a rounded glass dome ro
oftop. With the blank night sky and massive full moon as a backdrop, the two rolled around exchanging blows. Jarrod’s fist snapped through the roof. The section around him slowly cracked. Charon teleported.

  The blue aurascales shifted along his back. A pink glow behind him reflected off the glass dome. Jarrod turned and lifted his arm to block a strike from Charon’s sword. He closed his eyes and the blade shattered into dozens of pieces. In shock, he looked at his arm to find a shield had materialized out of thin air.

  Charon stood in awe, dropping his broken weapon to the ground. He knelt and folded his hands together. Jarrod stood, examining the shield that soon vanished just as suddenly as it appeared. His left hand clasped around Charon’s throat. A wrist blade slithered over his right.

  “Take me back to the girl,” Jarrod commanded. Charon nodded. A rift carried them back to the great hall where they had left Lian. Jarrod looked around, but she was gone. Assuming she’d left to find Hershiser and the others, he gave another command. “Take me to Oreios and Jackson.”

  Another rift opened. Within a heartbeat, they were in Maya’s chamber. Charon vanished, leaving Jarrod there alone. Maya sat on a bench at the foot of her bed. Dressed only in her silk robe, she smiled. His facial armor folded into the shoulder plates. She gasped, hesitating in her step as his face was uniquely his; unlike the other remakes.

  “My, are your eyes ever a sight to behold,” Maya said, walking up next to him. His eyes couldn’t help but make note of her robe’s the low cut neckline. Men always salivated for her when she sang them her song. “You are not from the other Corners, are you?”

  Jarrod shook his head, watching her ass as she walked circles around him. Her finger caressed his chest. Her other hand massaged his back. She draped her right leg around his waist, ran her fingers through his hair, and pulled him in for a kiss. Her tongue entered his mouth, attempting to drain him just like all the others. Nothing happened.

  “What madness is this?” she asked, stunned as she pulled away. Remakes always reverted when she drained the essence of her Lord from them. Yet, his essence wasn’t present in Jarrod.

  “I don’t know what madness this is, but it’s not cheating if it’s a different zip code, is it?” Jarrod smirked, trying to give the appearance that he was no longer at war. He walked toward her as she scooted away. She fell backwards onto the bed. He leaned over her, suppressing the fact that his heart was still reserved for another. “What? You having second thoughts?”

  With her heart racing, a gentle calm slowly washed over her. Her knees widened, inviting him. She’d always been able to control their lust and use it to her advantage, but this one was different. Something about the struggle appealed to her. She found his domineering power and his frail humanity were intoxicating.

  “You are unlike anyone or anything I have come across in all my time,” she whispered as he pinned her hands above her head. The sliding sound of his wrist blades caught her ear, betraying his ulterior motive. Impressed by his deception, she breathed heavily into his ear. “An immortal’s lifetime is far too long to be lived alone.”

  Their lips connected another time. Her smooth legs wrapped around his waist and she threw him over her head. She stood, finding that Jarrod’s facial armor had already reformed for battle.

  “Call me paranoid, but I do not trust men I cannot control,” she said, clenching her fists.

  “And I don’t like women who’ve been around the block for thousands of years,” he replied, slowly making his way to the door. “So it seems we’re at an impasse.”

  “Seeing as you have made quick work of most of my following, I do not care to keep this fight up any longer,” she said, snapping her fingers. Charon appeared and bowed next to her. “Return him to where he belongs at once so this may end.”

  “I want Oreios and Jackson, as well as the prisoners who were able to escape to the shoreline,” Jarrod replied, walking over to Charon. “Let us go and it’s done.”

  “Agreed. The traitor, the remake, and the ones at the shoreline.” Maya smiled. “Now go, because my leniency will not last long.”

  The rift opened and spat him out in the middle of the forest. Oreios and Jackson were in the midst of a battle with a few Satyrs. Jarrod found Hershiser and the other prisoners from the cell shooting a path toward the shoreline. Absent among them was Lian. Jarrod faced Charon.

  “Where is she?” he yelled, knowing he’d been duped. Not only did he lose his best friend, but he also felt responsible for Lian’s well-being. His hands shook with anger and resentment toward himself.

  “Your deal has been made.” Charon smiled maliciously, nostrils flaring. A legion of Crill, Cyclopes, and Satyrs charged in behind him.

  Jarrod didn’t care. He was ready to fight them all.

  “Let’s fall back,” Jackson yelled, running down the slope.

  “But Lian,” Jarrod replied with Travis yanking his arm. He just knew something more could be done. For the first time in his life, failure became a reality. A helpless embrace that stunted the rhythm of his heart.

  “You have your orders,” Jackson commanded, standing at the shore of the lake.

  Oreios conjured two rock creatures. They pulled the arms off a Cyclops. He opened the rift back to their reality.

  Jackson and the others dragged Jarrod to the rift, screaming. His eyes twitched as he unleashed a hellacious scream at Charon. He pointed at the Ferryman and made a slashing motion across his neck. Charon waved with a smirk as Jarrod was engulfed by the pink light.

  * * *

  “Hello?” Lian screamed, pounding her fists on the cell door. She pushed her feet against the doorframe, pulling at the bars placed in the small window. Her sweaty fingers slipped and she fell unceremoniously onto the stone floor.

  Clacking footsteps stopped outside her door. It opened and three shadowy figures stood in the doorway. Two of them were hulking in nature; the other slender. Maya’s face became visible, shining in the light which beamed in from the cell’s lone exterior window. Lian put her finger to her temple and one of the guards took hold of Maya, holding a sword to her neck.

  “Let me out or I’ll have him kill you,” Lian said. Maya laughed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Lian persisted. “I’ll do it, I swear.”

  “What leverage do you have?”

  “All of the good kind,” Lian grunted, making the guard squeeze harder.

  “Even if you kill me, there are far too many minds in here for you to control.” Maya reached, running her fingers gently through Lian’s hair. The guard let her go. She pulled Lian into her warm embrace, whispering, “Eventually, child, they would kill you.”

  “Yeah, but you’d be dead.”

  “But so would he.” Maya handed Lian a set of dog tags.

  “Austin,” she gasped, reading the name on the tags. She looked up at Maya. “You lie.”

  “Read the minds of my men and you tell me,” Maya replied. Lian closed her eyes and found the words true. Maya knelt beside Lian and rubbed the tears from her face. “Come now, little girl. Us talented ladies need to stick together.”

  Episode 6

  Austin opened his eyes and scanned the dark cavernous room for the source of faint light that projected a great shadow over him. Unable to move his head, he tried flexing his arms, which were strapped down to the table—veins and sweat bulging from his muscles—in order to break free, but nothing worked.

  His lips trembled and he gnashed his teeth together. His breathing stuttered, closing his eyes and slowly forcing himself to exhale. He prodded around as best he could with his fingers, searching for something to free himself with, but they had taken everything.

  The creak of the door on the other side of the room drowned out the slow, methodical dripping of water behind him. He tried to look down, but the only thing in focus was his bloodied—probably broken—nose.

  “I see you’re up,” Charon’s soothing tone beckoned, creating a false sense of security within Austin. He knew better. His traini
ng told him so—his experiences, but he couldn’t resist. Something about the fatherly, silky vocals that resonated through the chamber commanded him to let go. Charon grinned. “Tell me. What do you know of us?”

  “I-I’m sorry?” Austin was in a state of euphoria. All he wanted to do was close his eyes. “We just go where we’re told.”

  “You and I have mutual acquaintances, both past and present. I’d like to know more about them.” The voice inched closer until it seemed to hover over him. Austin opened his eyes but could only make out the faint silhouette of a frail man. “I’m told for certain that you know the remake.”

  “The what?” Austin gasped for air, feeling as though a noose was tightening around his neck. “I don’t know any remake. I just want to go home.”

  “You don’t have a home.” Charon emerged from the darkness. The pale skin and scraggily white facial hair was a stark contrast to the shadowed eyes behind the tattered hood. His hair swayed wildly down to his shoulder blades. “I have seen the scars you hide. I can mend them. All you need to do is tell me of the remake. Tell me of the one that we can’t see.”

  Austin’s body convulsed. His jaw snapped shut so tightly that he could hear the cranking of a wheel turning in his head, crushing his teeth. The world around him seemed to shake on its axis. The white in his eyes turned to red. His fingers clamped down so hard that his nails penetrated his palms, causing a slow trickle of blood to move up his forearm and drizzle onto the floor.

  “Death will offer you no refuge.” Charon cupped his hand around Austin’s chin and squeezed, feeling a story emerge within Austin’s soul. “I have been to hell and back. The fire of the Fallen will not bind me. I can do this for eternity until you feel the fire of Lucifer inside your soul, even in your sleep, and you beg me to end it all. But I won’t.”

  Austin released a hellish scream as what felt like a jagged blade of fire tore up his back until finally there was nothing. He was floating in a sea of darkness, hands and feet unbound. In the distance, a light glimmered. He tried soaring toward it, but couldn’t move. Behind him a hole ripped in space, sucking him in and warping all it consumed. Smoke tied around his body, gagged him, and pulled him into the void.