It stood up and everyone around it moved back. It was a slender creature that towered about twelve feet up into the air. Instead of standing straight like a man would, this being was bent like a parenthesis. Its back stuck out far behind its head and its two long legs. Bone could be seen sticking out just above the skin, the ribs and spine defined through the creature's smokey white epidermis. Once it had stood to its fullest height, the most distinctive feature of this strange being was its massive birdlike wings. The broad feathers stretched in the new air as the creature stared up into the sky. A chill rushed over everyone as it looked down at them all.
“You were warned,” a voice buzzed from inside the chest of every man, woman, and child on the planet. It was deep and sounded like glass cracking. Along with it came fear that stabbed hard into everyone's heart. “Now I must intervene.”
Several more of the creatures flew through the sky from various directions and landed in the streets. They caged around people as they tried to flee, keeping them corralled like sheep. Their featureless faces stared deep into the crowds. Soldiers, policemen, mercenaries and politicians alike all huddled and quaked with terror. There was nothing they could do, no chance that they could fight. The people clumped together and waited.
“You are afraid,” the voice stated from inside. “If only you had this much fear earlier. Fear is good. It will save you.”
The first winged creature stood in the middle of the street, its long, skinny arms animated as the voice spoke. Its faceless head turned around and peered at everyone.
“You have proven yourselves incapable of self-control and thus, I am here to guide you.” There was no blocking the words out. They were just as loud no matter how hard one would squeeze on his ears. “Your rules and laws are now null and void. Cast away all of your previous notions of power and understand that you submit to me. I have appointed your new legislation and it will be followed to the teeth under punishment of death. I will seek out those who break my law, filter out your wicked and deliver upon them an unimaginable degree of judgment. Listen close, for this will only be spoken once and no exceptions shall be made in its execution.”
Everyone stared pale-faced at the being as it took a brief pause. It made sure everyone was paying close attention.
“There shall be no murder or rape. This is the first law,” it stated. “The second law states that no more harm shall befall the Earth or its ability to support life. And the last law. It's simple: never stop being afraid.”
The dark clouds above the cities dissipated and revealed an enormous metallic craft descending from the heavens. It was shaped like a gigantic ring, spinning like a record on a turntable as it approached the ground. The metal it was comprised of was old and rusted and held together by large bolts and welded strips the same way that the metal forms dotting the planet's surface were. With little more noise than a largish fan, it touched down in the street behind the winged creature. It crashed through any structure that stood in between it and the earth. As it stopped its powerful decent, a hum began from below.
“Your trial begins,” the voice growled from within.
Haley had been on her toes the moment the electricity in the hotel cut out. She peered out of the window and tried her best to catch a good glimpse of the assembly at the capitol building, but nothing could be made out in the pitch darkness. When the voice spoke the first time, she fell to her knees in surprise. The words and the way they were spoken sent such intense shivers down her spine and left her gasping for air. As soon as the sound left her head, Haley was on her feet and heading for the door.
She had her room somewhere on the twelfth floor of the tall hotel, so she began her stride toward the elevator. She realized that the electricity being out meant that the elevators wouldn't function. She turned to the stairs when she heard a scream and clattering rose up from a few floors below her feet. Her face went pale as she made her way back to her hotel room. She fumbled around with the key card for the door for a moment before she realized that the door hung open and unlocked.
More screams came through the walls. Haley could hear feet pounding as people attempted to flee. Things shattered and crashed as they were knocked aside. The screams started to die away, to grow distant. Haley's entire body trembled as she listened. As the noises came in and out of existence, growing only fainter with more time, fear burrowed itself into Haley's heart.
I have to hide! her thoughts screamed at her.
She darted into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Only a few seconds of standing in the dark passed before she doubted her hiding spot. There would be no way they wouldn't find her here. She left the bathroom and pried open the glass door to the balcony. She stepped over the railing and over the granite wall that kept drunk people from falling out of their rooms. With all the strength she could muster, she lowered herself so that she could crouch against the balcony siding. She stood on a thin sliver of surface, just out of sight of the room's windows.
The hotel room's door was thrown wide as a singular winged creature strode in, bent far over so it could fit beneath the ceiling. Haley breathed deep breaths, trying her best to stifle the shaky terror in her respiration. The being looked around, then disappeared out the door.
Haley had her eyes squeezed shut and held her breath, frightened that it would come to look for her on the balcony. The continuation of silence and her slipping grip inspired her to breathe again and open her eyes. She cried in fear as arms wrapped themselves around her waist and tugged her off of the wall. She screamed for help and thrashed about, pulling at the thin pale arms that held her. Her captor flew off through the sky toward a large, round metal structure that had smashed its way through buildings and monuments.
The air bit cold at Haley's cheeks as she screamed for her life. Even though she couldn't open her eyes much in the whipping air as they zoomed through the sky, she could make out other winged creatures flying, each holding terrified people in their arms. Thousands of them soared like locust down upon the ring.
Sound became defined as they slowed and landed. The creature continued to cling onto Haley who was far too fatigued at this point to continue thrashing about. It strode toward the nearest wall of the metal structure. The entire wall was lined with portholes that led into the actual interior of the vessel. It was these that all the winged creatures darted in and out of, bringing their human captives inside and leaving empty handed. The woman sobbed with defeat in the creature's arms. She felt a comforting hand running over her hair and patting her. When she opened her eyes she saw the creature's blank face staring down at her as it pet her reassuringly. Then the sky was blocked out and they were inside.
Haley did not continue to cry as the strange being carried her out a second door and the sun reappeared. None of the dark storm clouds remained in the sky. Instead, bright stars dotted its solid blue consistency. Large branches stretched across the woman's view of it all. The wood was vibrant and moist, abundant with life. She was able to look past her shoulder and see the majestic tree that they moved toward. Never before in her life had she seen a tree so large and green. The bark was wet with rain. Colored moss and vines grew in enormous quantities all over its surface.
In the distance, just beneath the tree was another one of the creatures. This one was different than the rest; it wore a dark black suit that fit its colossal form well. On its faceless head it wore a simple golden band above where its ears would be were it human, like a crown. That was the creature Haley was being taken to see, she soon realized. The three of them were the only intelligent life in the entire outdoor lot, which changed after Haley was set down before the suit-wearing creature, her captor taking its leave. She stared wide eyed and slack mouthed at the being. She could see now that it was seated in a large, wooden chair.
“Miss Flynn,” the voice spoke within her head. “I am glad you are here. You are afraid. Please, don't be.”
Her lips twitched as she tried to get them to move to her des
ign. “What are you?” she stuttered.
“I am a creature much older than the planet we stand upon,” the voice explained. The gigantic being moved its two fingered hands about as it spoke. “I am your watchful guardian.”
“You're all of these?” she gestured as if a horde of the creatures stood behind her.
“I am one. Those are all extensions of my being,” it told her.
Haley began to ask the question that stamped largest in her thoughts at the moment. “Are you – ”
“If you so wish,” it interrupted. “What I have to discuss with you is important. I have chosen you to represent your kind. Peace is what I would like to establish.”
“Me?” she asked, shocked.
“You are pure,” the being said. “Even though you do not hide in the dark from the filth of the world, you do not allow it to tarnish you. You are the only one who can save your species.”
-Chapter Thirty-Seven-
The Trial
When the electricity shut off and the cell doors slid open, Tim Simacean limped for freedom. The prison he had been kept in for the past couple of months was in complete chaos as the old man escaped. He used his crutches to hobble along, waiting for the larger waves of people to rush on past him. Men in uniforms and jumpsuits scrabbled through each other, fighting and yelling. Tim bode his time.
There was a sudden silence that disturbed the rancher more than any of the noises preceding it had. It seemed fake; as if Tim were being set up. He waited and listened. After a minute, he stood up from the bench. With little more consideration, he threw the crutches under his arms and escaped.
It was just when he could see the bright light from the open courtyard door that one of the freakish creatures snatched him up. The crutches clacked together as he was lifted off the ground and dragged out of the prison. They soared up into the sky at a chilling velocity. Through the mist of the clouds they flew until they dropped from the freezing water into an open field. In the middle, sunken in its own unique crater, sat a gigantic metallic star. Just like his own angel, it was composed of hundreds and hundreds of rusting and ruined pieces of metal. In the top of it, however, a large opening that exposed its dark and hollow interior. The creature that clasped onto Tim did not decelerate at all as it dropped into this opening and submerged them in darkness. In just a second they were back outside, flying high up into the sky. They had come out of an enormous rusty pig that had an opening in its forehead, just like the star. The place they had exited out into was a fair bit greener then where they had come. It was a bit windier, and the rain had begun sprinkling upon the adjacent highway.
Tim trembled. He could barely keep his eyes open against the wind as the monster carried him through the air. It was a while before they arrived at the city, but Tim could distinguish it as soon as he caught a glimpse. The swampy fields, the large, green parks. He recognized a few of the structures down below. They started dropping, approaching Washington D.C. with haste.
So many things banged together inside the old man's head. Ample amounts of confusion and terror. He looked from side to side at all of the other poor souls being carried through the air. It was a vibrating swarm, all moving toward the metal ring that had crushed its way upon the ground. Pain pulsated through Tim's chest as he tried to catch a breath. He panicked and tried to thrash about in the creature's huge hands but with no progress. Is this how it ends? He worried.
With little warning, the creature touched down onto the earth and continued to cradle the rancher as its wings folded back. It took large strides as it carried him in through an opening in the side of the rusty ring. It was dark inside, but light still poured in through the portholes on the side of the tunnel like construction. It stretched far in both directions. Left was the way Tim was taken. A stairway jutted down from the clunky metal floor, down which they descended. The stairs gave way to solid rock. There was a wide pathway that had been carved deep into the rock spiraling further below the Earth's surface. As they marched down it together with so many other creatures with prey in their arms, Tim realized that the tunnel ran the same length around as the ring topside. It must have been carved in directly underneath.
Few minutes passed before they were at the bottom. The giant underground chamber they all found themselves in smelled of sulfur and made Tim's cheeks get misty with sweat. The chamber glowed with the strange red light that the foreign lamps along the wall gave off. It was enormous and cube-shaped, tiny doors covered every surface. Thousands of little entrances jutted out into the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Into one of these holes Tim was deposited, followed by his captor. The creature shut the door behind it.
Tim found himself in a stark white room that was no smaller than his prison cell had been. Every surface seemed to gleam and glow so bright, contrasting dramatically when Tim would look down at himself. There was one small stool that the winged being gestured to. When Tim hesitated, it pushed him down so that he sat upon it.
“What's going on?” Tim asked, shivering in terror.
“This is the trial of Timothy Simacean,” his captor replied in its horrible voice that purred inside the old man's weak chest.
“Trial?” Tim echoed.
The creature gave no pause before continuing its ominous explanation. “An examination will take place of you, Timothy. Of your actions, your inaction. I am going to examine your soul. Do not expect any leniency. Mercy knows no home here.”
The rancher stared at the creature and its blank face. It swayed from side to side as it spoke. All he could do was gurgle out a few terrified and unintelligible blurbs of sound. The walls around him turned black, then transitioned to images of Tim shooting from the wall of his compound.
“You see the image before you; describe what's happening to me,” the being started.
The rancher's brow wrinkled in discomfort as he witnessed the crazed rage in his eyes. The way his lips curled skywards as he pulled the trigger. It made him wince. Still, he opened his mouth in defense of himself. “I was protecting my home from intruders.”
“You were killing people,” his captor stated. There was no anger or disgust in its tone. Just solid articulation. “At what time did this become a possibility in your mind? When did you decide to be a murderer?”
Tim's face blushed red. He couldn't tell if he was angry at the implication or if he was ashamed because of it. He tried to keep his tone steady as he answered. “When people broke onto my property and tried to kill me, in my own yard!” he retorted.
“How many did you kill?” the creature interrogated.
Tim put his forehead into his palms and thought about anything except how many murders he had performed. Murders? Even he was thinking it now. Was he not just a man protecting his house?
“I know how many it was,” the creature said again after a long moment of silence in which Tim patted his sweaty face. “The number doesn't matter. The crime doesn't either. I can see your thoughts, Timothy. Your true crime is the belief that you hold in your actions. The blatant refusal to accept full responsibility. Do you understand this?”
Tim's mouth hung slacked as he listened to the voice. His eyes were wide in horror, but understanding did not glimmer within them.
“Perhaps you are unable to,” the being suggested. “I will give you one chance. A choice.” It spread its long and thin arm to a platform that had morphed out from the wall. Upon it rested a glass of clear liquid. Tim followed the gesture and stared apprehensively at the thing. “If you drink this, you will go into a deep slumber. You will be imprisoned in a dreamless, comatose state until such time as we leave the Earth. Or you can choose to wait out your five minutes and be exterminated.”
The being climbed out of the hole in which they entered, then turned around to face Tim a last time. The old man was pale as he knelt in the bleached chamber. He looked up at the thing just as the hole began to seal itself.
“There is no mercy on your soul,” it said. The hole closed tight
and Tim was left alone with the glass of water.
He looked back down at the liquid. There was no way for him to tell how much time he had left to make his decision, but he didn't need long. The glass shot up to his mouth and the liquid was downed. It tasted just like water, no a flavor at all. His heart raced as he waited for something to happen.
The world vanished and the floor swept away from below him.
-Chapter Thirty-Eight-
American Prevailers
Andy rode along the highway with his gun clutched in his fist. His eyes seldom blinked as he crossed the border into Maryland. He did his best to stick to back road driving, trying to remain hidden from the creatures that had spent the last twenty hours collecting and detaining people. He had felt the voice, too. Nothing but fear remained in his stomach once the words had faded away. But not fear for himself.
The sun still ascended into the sky but was clipped by the edge of a cloud. It spilled rays of sunlight all over the luscious landscape and trees as they played in the breeze. There was nothing on the long and lonesome strip of highway except for a truck speeding in the distance and Andy's tiny motorcycle.
As Andy had figured, it was only a small matter of time before one of the winged creatures spotted him and began swooping downwards. It flew so fast as it darted through the air like a fish does in water. It slammed into the side of his bike with the broad part of its shoulder. Andy was thrown high into the air. His motorcycle flipped over itself and smashed into the highway, tossing sparks into the air as it scraped along. Andy soared through the air like a mad rag doll, crashing hard into the strip of vegetation that grew along the road. The wind had been knocked clean from his lungs.
He turned over and stared up at the clouds, gasping for air. Without a moment to collect his senses and react, the creature dropped down from the sky and landed on top of him. It leaned its face in close to his as if it gazed deep into Andy's own. He tried to struggle underneath the humongous creature. As his arms flailed, the being clasped onto them and pressed them deep into the ground. Its legs stood on the hitman's.
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