Hear the Crickets

by BJ Sheldon

  Lillith fell from view, and I was pulled back to my own fight by my adversary. She came back at me, angry that I seemed to be able to defend myself so easily. I stayed in control, not allowing fear or anxiety to seep into my subconscious. She grew desperate and began to lash out in anger, wielding her sword quickly and chaotically, but I managed to stay one step ahead of her, blocking everything she threw at me.

  She tripped and fell to the ground. I could have ended her there, but for some reason I decided to give her time to stand. Something in the back of my mind told me it was a stupid idea, but I found I was enjoying the fight way too much to end it quite yet. There was also a part of me that wanted to win through skill and not out of sheer luck. An effort to test my ability in preparation of the war to come. But my foe used my hesitation to her advantage, grabbing a handful of dirt. She tossed it at my eyes, blinding me for a moment. I instantly felt the tip of her sword pierce my gut, slicing me all the way through as it exited out my back. She ripped the sword out of me and stood back with a confident air, waiting for me to fall.

  The dust cleared from my vision, and I glanced down. Blood flowed from the wound. The pain was excruciating. It always fascinated me as to how human I could be at times. My blood flowed like theirs. My bones broke like theirs.

  But mortals didn’t heal the way I could, or as quickly.

  I lifted up my tank top and watched the hole above my belly button quickly close up. A scar remained where the gaping wound once bled, and I looked up to once against face my aggressor. She stood there, shock etched into her brow as she tried to grasp what she’d just seen.

  I could hear Dorian behind me fighting off his own opponents. I’d seen them attacking him earlier. One was about his height and a formidable opponent. But the other was close to seven feet tall with shoulders the size of boulders. He wasn’t uncoordinated like most people his size. Instead, he was quick and strong. Dorian grunted and fought with all his strength to keep them both at bay.

  Suddenly, someone sneezed.

  I recognized the sound.

  Sean was allergic to dust, and we were kicking up enough to keep him sneezing for days. The smaller of the two warriors who’d been fighting Dorian backed away from the battle and looked curiously toward the area of brush nearby. Then, the warrior leaned in and squinted, creeping closer to the edge of the site. He held out his sword, ready to destroy whoever might be hiding there. As quick as one could blink, a knife flew from the darkness and landed right between the Hybrid’s eyes. He fell back, his death immediate.

  “Bless you,” I heard Sam say.

  “Thanks,” said Sean.

  My girl jolted forward, once more aiming her sword for my abdomen. I reeled sideways, using my sword to knock her off balance. I lost my footing and began to stumble back, fighting to stay upright. She raised her sword, ready to bring it down on me.

  A gunshot went off.

  My aggressor fell and landed beside me. A pool of blood gathered from the back of her head, and her lifeless eyes stared at me.

  I looked up and saw Sean standing out in the open near the edge of the site. He gave me a thumbs up and then ducked back down behind the cover of the brush.

  Relieved, I rushed to help Dorian fight off the enormous Hybrid who had Dorian on the run. We double-teamed the giant, doing what we could to slow him down. But he was strong.

  Too strong.

  He pressed us back with every swing he took. His giant hands gripped the hilt of his broadsword as he attempted to aim for my head. I ducked forward just in time, but he managed to graze one of my wings.

  I screamed out in pain. The feeling in my wings was far more sensitive than any other part of my body. I fell to my knees in agony.

  The large warrior’s patience had begun to wear thin. He grunted loudly and swung as hard as he could. Dorian bowed back, the giant sword nearly hitting his face. The broadsword came down, aimed at Dorian’s neck. His Chakram came together, creating a V and stopping the sword short of slicing him in two.

  I tried to get up and help him, but my wings were taking longer than normal to heal, the pain making it impossible for me to move.

  Dorian’s strength was beginning to wane. He wouldn’t be able to hold off the large Hybrid for much longer.

  A knife suddenly flew from the brush, landing straight into the temple of Dorian’s aggressor. The giant remained upright, blinking wildly as he seemingly tried to make sense of what had just happened. His hand reached up and grasped the handle of the knife and pulled it out slowly, dropping it to the dirt below. His eyes narrowed. Blood poured from the wound in his head, rushing down his face. Suddenly, his expression glazed over and he fell, dead, and landed directly on top of Dorian, pinning him beneath his enemy’s massive body.

  That only left Lillith’s assailant and Raja.

  Dorian wriggled his way out from under the dead Hybrid and struggled a bit to stand as he caught his breath.

  While Lillith continued to play cat and mouse with her Hybrid attacker, Raja jumped down and landed between the brush at the edge of the site and me. A malevolent smile spread across his face as he turned his back to us and slowly walked toward the brush.

  He was going after Sam and Sean.

  I lurched forward to attack, but Dorian grabbed my arm and held me back. Then, in a swift motion, he ran and leapt high into the air, trying to bring his Chakram down on Raja. But the fiery angel seemed to sense the attack and swung his sword over his shoulder, stopping Dorian’s blades from slicing into him. Raja turned and faced his aggressor, the sound of their blades reverberating loudly with each blow.

  My wing had begun to heal, and the pain subsided. I leapt to my feet and positioned myself between the two of them and my mortal friends. If Raja wanted to get to them, he’d have to go through me.

  I glanced over at Lillith’s progress just in time to see her sever the head of her victim. Without pausing, she jumped into action and joined her brother in his fight against Raja.

  Twice as strong as any Hybrid and three times as fast, Raja seemed unstoppable. It seemed to take every ounce of the siblings’ stamina to keep up, and they were still losing. I couldn’t stand by any longer and do nothing, so I rushed in to help them. But Raja continued to beat us back at every opportunity.

  Lillith was knocked backward as Raja’s sword sliced into her arm. She shrieked and gripped the wound in an attempt to hold back the bleeding. I dropped my sword, rushed to her side, tore off a strip of material from the bottom of my tank top, and used it as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

  Once her wound was wrapped, I stood to help Dorian face off against Raja. Suddenly, I felt something strike me on the side of the head. I must have blacked out, although it felt like only a second or two, because the next thing I remembered was Lillith calling my name as I forced my eyes open. Everything was blurry from the blow, and I shook my head in an attempt to focus. I reached for my sword, but it was gone. Panic struck, I began to crawl around in a desperate search to locate it.

  “Skyy!” I heard Dorian scream. My head whipped back just in time to see Dorian thrown into a large rock. He crumpled to the ground in a heap and was instantly out cold.

  I found Lillith’s sabre and scrambled up off the dirt, preparing to stand my ground. But Raja’s reflexes were faster than mine as he spun around. With sword in hand, he grazed my chest, blood quickly spilling from the wound.

  My breathing instantly became labored. I grasped for my neck and fell to the ground, struggling for every breath. Everything around me began to spin.

  Raja stopped a few feet in front of me, his eyes dancing with vile joy.

  In his hand, he held my sword.

  He lifted it up and inspected it carefully.

  “Hidden in plain sight. I should’ve known. It was your mother’s specialty. Thank you, Skyy. Your contribution to the cause will be noted.”

  Raja winked and spread his wings outward. He jumped, caught the air current and flew away with my sword.

&nbs
p; Chapter 17

  “I...I don’t feel so good,” I said, gulping for air.

  “Gotta say. You’ve looked better,” said Sean. The moment Raja disappeared into the distance, Sean had scurried to my side. He sat behind me and cradled my head and shoulders in his arms.

  Dorian had come to just in time to witness Raja flying away with the sword. The siblings stood shoulder to shoulder staring down at me with confusion in their eyes.

  “Thanks. Nice shooting by the way.” I began to cough slightly. My breathing had become labored, and talking had started to grow increasingly difficult.

  “And you said video games were a waste of time.” Sean tried to force a laugh, probably to try and lighten my mood. He looked up and addressed the others. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong with her? It’s just a scratch.”

  Lillith and Dorian glanced at one another but remained silent.

  “What aren’t you guys telling me? What’s going on?” Sean’s voice became more insistent.

  Lillith turned and walked toward Sam, keeping him away from the sight of me.

  My skin had turned gray, and my dark blue veins were more pronounced than usual. I glanced down at my chest. The sight was grotesque.

  And I suddenly understood what was happening to me.

  I was dying.

  Dorian’s hand brushed against the back of his neck. He looked apprehensive, but at the same time, I could see he was trying hard not to worry Sean.

  It wasn’t working.

  “Dammit Dorian. If someone doesn’t start talking soon, I swear to God, I don’t give a shit how strong you are. I’ll beat it out of you if I have to!”

  Sean wanted answers.

  “Sean. Leave him be. He’s just trying to protect you,” I mumbled, straining to get the words out.

  I’d grown weaker. It wouldn’t be long.

  “What’s going on?” he asked. “He barely scratched you. This doesn’t make sense. You’re fine. You have to be fine.”

  “He got me with my own sword. The sword...the sword is the spear. The Spear of Azazel.” I struggled to speak, but I had to tell him. We couldn’t hide the truth from him or Sam anymore. Not after what they’d just witnessed. “My mother shielded it...changed it so no one could discover its true identity.”

  “What?’ Sean barked loudly.

  “I’m sorry. We should have told you.”

  “Your sword? It’s the spear?”

  I nodded weakly.

  “How long have you known?” he asked.

  “Just a few days,” said Dorian. “I swear.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” I could hear the betrayal in Sean’s voice. “You should have told us!”

  “Actually. If we’re being honest here, I knew, too,” said Lillith, leaning in. She glanced over at Sean, who didn’t look amused. He glared at her, forcing her to promptly take a step back.

  “We figured it was better you didn’t know. Safer that way,” Dorian replied.

  “Safer for who?” Sean held me tighter. “Why does she look like this?”

  “In terms you can understand?” Lillith said. “She’s been poisoned by her own sword.”

  “But she’s not an angel,” said Sean.

  Lillith grew quiet.

  Sam found his way to my side. He crouched down and held my hand. “What’s going to happen to her?” he asked.

  Dorian gazed down at me. His eyes held incredible sadness as I watched a tear fight its way down his cheek. “She’s going to die.” His words were sharp and to the point.

  And ironic.

  For years—centuries—I’d wanted nothing more than to die. To feel nothing. To no longer be lonely and miserable and question God about my existence. Even before I could fly, I used to dream about how it would feel to leave this world on my own terms. Instead, I watched people live and die while I continued on without a purpose.

  A purpose, a meaning to life, a reason to be. I’d always believed that without any of that, living was pointless. After all, a life without a future wasn’t really a life.

  But as I lay there, surrounded by friends, people who cared about me, I suddenly realized that I had more to live for than I ever had before. I’d been wrong all those years. It wasn’t a purpose—or friendship or love— that gave someone the reason to live.

  It was a belief in something. Anything. To believe was the root of why people existed in the first place. A belief in God or a higher power. A belief in what it meant to be a friend; that alone was far more important than friendship itself. Believing in love and how it could change you for the better was far more important than just saying the word. Belief in mankind—that they could get past all the wars, hatred, and dysfunction and move ahead—was the reason to continue on. It was the whole reason to look ahead and be positive about the world.

  I wanted to live, continue to be around, and believe that I could make a difference anywhere I went, to leave a part of myself with those I came in contact with along the way.

  But it was too late. Raja had cut me with the Spear of Azazel, my own sword. And it had poisoned me. My body was going into shock, and there was no way to stop it. After all those years of wanting the taste of death, all I wanted was to live.

  “There has to be something you can do. She’s immortal. She can’t die,” Sean said, choking back angry tears. “She can’t.”

  I watched Dorian hastily wipe something from his face with the back of his hand, clearly trying to be strong for the others.

  But he was failing.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t think there’s anything we can do,” he confessed.

  My head fell to the side as Sean continued to cradle me in his arms. I no longer had the strength to hold it in place. Sam continued to hold my hand while kneeling at my side and watched the scene unfold. But his face wasn’t filled with grief, anger, or even sadness. Rather, all I saw was curiosity. He was a great kid. Nothing seemed to faze him. Not even the sight of a dying girl with wings.

  “Hey,” I said to him. “You okay?”

  Sam smiled brightly. “You’re the one who’s injured, and you’re concerned about me?” He gripped my hand tighter. “You’re a piece of work, aren’t ya?”

  It was difficult to breathe, but I forcibly inhaled and exhaled the best I could and tried to give a reassuring smile. I was terrified on the inside, but I was determined not to let Sam see it.

  “You shouldn’t be here. You should go home. This isn’t your fight,” I said.

  “There’s already too much complacency in this world, too many that can’t see the bigger picture when things begin to happen. They’re too busy going about their own lives to care about the lives of others. We’re all connected on this earth; the needs of the many are way more important than the selfish desires of the few. Your world is my world. Your enemy is my enemy. Your fight is my fight,” said Sam.

  “How did you get so smart?” I asked, gasping steadily for air.

  He shrugged. “Just lucky, I guess.”

  Sean didn’t move. He continued to hold me as if his life depended on it. Sam picked himself up and backed away. Lillith stood behind him and placed her arms around his shoulders, hugging him from behind.

  Dorian stepped forward and knelt down by my side. His fingers brushed the hair out of my face.

  “We have to do something,” I heard Sean say. “We can’t just let her die.”

  I could feel Dorian’s fingers gently graze my cheek. I tried to raise my hand to touch his face, but my arm wouldn’t move. Everything around me began to blur, and everyone’s voices started to become muffled. I felt myself losing the battle to stay conscious, and my eyes felt heavy.

  The poison of the sword had more than done its job. I could no longer keep my eyelids from closing. My surroundings began to fade and my senses shut down completely.

  Then, it all went dark.

  My mind raced. I felt as though I was trapped in a large room with no lights. I called out, but no one answered, my voice echoing off t
he walls. There was something in the distance trying to break through the darkness. It appeared blurry at first, slowly coming into focus. Shadowy, bare feet walked toward me, almost as if in slow motion. Long, flowing garments nearly touched the ground as she grew closer.

  She stopped and crouched down at my side, reaching for me. Her touch was warm as she placed my hands in hers. My eyes went from her fingers and gradually traveled upward to her face. Her features were familiar. Her smile friendly.

  “Skyy.” Her voice was soft, her eyes never leaving me.

  “Where am I?” I asked.

  “Nowhere. You’re still with your friends in the Badlands. But time is running out.”

  “Who are you?”

  She grinned. “No one of any importance. Not any more at least.”

  “You look familiar. Like a face I once knew.”

  “It’ll come to you.” She gripped my hands a bit tighter and held them close to her chest. “But I need you to focus right now, to concentrate as hard as you can.”

  “I know I know you.” I couldn’t let go of how familiar she looked.

  “Skyy. Focus. I need you to repeat what I’m about to say to you.”

  “Repeat?”

  “Yes. Repeat. Can you do that?”

  My eyes studied her face. Her name was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t think clearly.

  “Skyy. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Say what I say. Okay?”