by Kenneth Neal
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An Angel Descends
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The crew members make every effort to remove themselves from the multisectioned studio while the trampled mob can be seen from overhead leaving the building in floods. A cameraman was able to make it outside among a select few, all of them streaming out of their offices making a bolt for the nearby highway. The cameraman is on his cell phone panting and sweating, pumping the other arm back and forth for the additional burst of speed he desperately needs.
He’s shouting into his phone, trying to tell his brother of the ridiculous events that have just taken place and make himself heard with the sounds of carnage in the background. His brother on the other end, who is working in his cubicle, rubbing his sore shiner on his left cheek. Daniel can barely make out what his brother is belting out through his earpiece and is surveying the deluge of footage on his desktop back in San Francisco.
A shaky, color-inverted POV (point of view) can be seen coming from outside Daniel’s building with an erratic flight pattern. Eventually plowing directly through the glass window paneling, a winged creature, seemingly frail, man-like in feature, careens through a line of stationary desks and work stations within the office. It comes to a dead stop near Daniel’s location, lying on the floor convulsing as if it is in critical withdrawal, like a fish out of water.
Grayed in complexion, its head, arms, wings and tail flapping about, with smears of a deep blue or indigo streaking across its mouth and arms. Its hue similar to the Soulless pack, its paleness displays and even greater absence of color approaching the shade of white. Also absent are the glowing surges of blue the others appear to prominently display, its veins appear to be drained, dried and devoid of life.
The end of the tail has dorsal fin like flap which should act as a type of rudder during flight. The wings extend organically from underneath the wrist, flowing outward to the scale of a man-sized manta ray with tremendous talon-like claws. Its body begins a strange evaporation stage that causes great concern for those nearby who are running out the door. This deprived “Angel” appears to be splintering into pieces, gasping and dematerializing within our atmosphere.
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No Longer Safe
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A collection of office mates continue their escape out of the building through the labyrinth of stairwells, their trail comes to a complete stop as the hallway itself begins a violent rumble. Emergency lights from the ceiling begin to flicker as the group look about in cautious amazement. One of the members gives a nervous cry to “Get the fuck out of here” as another violent tremor knocks a number of office mates off their feet and a series of cement bricks are loosen out of place surrounding the stairwell.
Suddenly, a peak of outdoor sunlight emerges between the cracks, which creates another horrible discovery, an outline of something large, likeness to that of a Neanderthal/gorilla can barely be seen from the inside. Its bare fists barricade through, and with its display of ferocious might, it delivers another blow to the building. Weakening its overall structure, this causes the mass exodus of Daniel and his crew to make another turn downward. As they fall at abrasive speeds to the exposed Earth, fortunately just two stories above ground. The fall is cushioned by scrapping/sliding off debris minimizing the general impact from a non-fatal fall from a collapsing stair well.
They take the time to gather themselves having mere moments to stagger and observe the amount of wreckage that have taken place on the outside. The goliath that has succeeded in demolishing the building’s front corner is clearly taller than the other Soulless creatures that have been spotted before. Its boulder-like biceps create a fearsome image onto those who just witnessed its power. The group stands with awe and dread as the giant belts a harrowing roar that makes the ground tremble with caution.
The creature makes a combative swing with his claws extended, raking through the lower half of Daniel’s body. Sending his upper half flying into the air, plummeting on the ground ten yards away as screams can be heard at the sight of Daniel’s bloodied face and torso.
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Let Them Feed
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Looking up into the clouds above, they also see dozens of Angels that crashed into their facility circling the neighboring buildings with vultureistic intentions. All of them carrying similar streaks of indigo along their arms and mouth splattered about their pale colored bodies. Displaying a slight resemblance to the Soulless creatures, the Angels’ bodies do not display the network of blue veins that are prominent on their brethren.
They are, however, the only airborne threat that has filled the skies hunting in pack formations. Some continue to make diving/swooping gestures at those on land. The same POV will change back to one of the Angels who start to make its descent. Its vision is quite vivid as it has spotted its target from afar, and makes its way towards the crowd below.
One of the ladies can clearly see the impending danger that appears to be speeding towards her from overhead. She grabs her trusty purse strapped by her side and reaches in to retrieve her pistol and aims out of instinct. She fires of an entire round with a number of successful hits on the wing, chest and forehead, knocking its trajectory off course, plummeting hard and cracking the freshly paved asphalt. Its carcass creates a minimal impact giving a burning effect; its skin appears to dissipate into the atmosphere, burning to the point where it is eventually left as a shallow husk.
The same POV would start again from the prospective further down the block by another Angel flying above. It has spotted the same target as its fallen brethren, which is currently staggering down the city block. Within its field of vision lies the Soulless, emitting a bright blue-like spectrum with a near perfect outline of glowing blue veins from its prospective as it swoops down at accelerating speeds and collides with its target talon-first, pinning it to the concrete ground. The angel begins its visceral meal by plunging its teeth into the meaty torso, firmly holding its victim in place by planting its claws and feet down on all-fours.
Soon after, two more angels descend onto their recent Soulless buffet by inviting themselves to the festivities, of which the original hunter angel does not take likely to unwelcomed guests. They all begin to gorge themselves on what was once an insurmountable band of mindless monsters; turns out to be on the bottom of the food chain. After observing this gorefest, Daniel’s crew begins to make their way through the city. They intersect more religious sages as they begin to perform their Holy Banishing ritual. They will be scattered across the city and can be seen on rooftops and along city streets closing them off, one by one, to fend off these ravenous invaders.
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Seal Them! Seal Them All!!!
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Tunnels continue to ripple throughout the city. A pedestrian on foot is in desperate pursuit to flee from the chaos surrounding him as he is engulfed into another swirling vortex materializing in his path. He runs franticly, racing through an active Tunnel before it dissipates providing a broader scale of Purgatory’s natural order. Showing the masses of Soulless aimlessly wondering this treacherous land, growling and fending off the Angels that hover above scouring for their meals.
The Soulless have shown aggression amongst themselves, even turning on one another and eventually developing cannibalistic needs. They thrive eternally in this forgotten place. A single starved Soulless was spotted doubled over in pain and grief, his legs appear to have lost all strength to remain upright. Its blue hue has dimmed to a near grey as a display of his lost of ravenous vitality. The creature staggers to its knees, scratching the ground below as if its reaching for its last search for substance. Their body masses varying in shape, soon to develop a metamorphic stage sprouting wings and taking its first flight and craving for one of their own. They reset all desires; screech into the night sky in search of a meal most fitting for a carnivorous Soulless Angel appetite, those of their own brethren not yet transformed.
Sweep
ing across the land, another Tunnel that has just materialized showing an Angel in savage pursuit of its prey, a wondering Soulless. Speeding through the portal and emerging onto busy city streets of Times Square, it plows through oncoming cars and traffic to acquire its target within grasp. The Soulless appears to be converging onto a fleeing human as the Angel speeds across the sidewalk, knocking the human off his feet, only to tackle its prey of a fellow Soulless on the asphalt.
Another Angel flies through, visibly weaken by malnutrition, enters our atmosphere, only to be greeted by the searing heat from our atmosphere. In a sweeping movement, it hurtles itself high into the sky closer and closer into the sun with its wings outstretched, its body begins to disintegrate moments after entering our realm. Its body crumbles into bits in the air, the ashes swirl about in an effortless ballet of decay and death. A grand spectacle as it was the last creature of Purgatory reported in the city and this pattern follows throughout the nation.
This high altitude is adjacent to one of the many rooftops in downtown where another clergyman is fully engrossed in his Holy Banishing seal. He is reached the mid-point of his ritualistic technique by splitting an active Tunnel in two divisions. By slamming his hands together, he makes an exhausted effort to collapse one of the last vortexes that have plagued the city with paranormal havoc. Unforeseen by many, but to some, it would appear to be human destiny realized; a plight stemming from overpopulation that was a threat that was brought on by our own overzealous hands.
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Global Reports Confirmed
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International televised coverage has reported minimal to zero additional sightings of such monsters for the time being. The wreckage has been assessed and the death toll continues to climb far worst then any man-made or natural disaster within this realm. Simulcasts infiltrating all television networks and online journalists reveal the severity of this global and abominable strike against modern society.
This event, calculated long before any known human measurement of record or time, always seem to bear a result similarly stark outcome throughout the ages. Footage captured from Rome, Stockholm, Tokyo and Houston, all displaying the aftermath that has left everyone wary and unsettled, leaving the general census paranoid of the imminent return of any these Soulless creatures. Never to have solace again, leaving all grouped together to repave the tattered scraps and rubble; gripped in fear of the arrival of these once fabled flickering fields of blue.
--- End ---