The Beginning

The rain and the night would cover up his tracks; it would throw the police off his trail. There is no way they could find him, now that he was two counties over. He pulled the girl by the wrist into an alley beside a bar. Anyone who passed by would be to drunk to notice anything was wrong. The girl tried to scream again but the duct tape over her mouth combined with the hundreds of other times she tried to scream stifled her voice to a mere squeak.

"Don't try it." He growled, "I'm not going to tell you again."

The girl whimpered and sobbed again; the rain had smeared the make up on her face painting it black.

He threw her down against the brick wall of the side of the bar, "I said shut it." He bent down in front of her, "You're no good to me dead, so I'm not going to kill you but I can make this experience very painful."

The girl sobbed again.

Suddenly, there was a burst of wind, scuttling the papers and trash in the alley.

"Let her go, Jeremy." A stern voice commanded.

Jeremy turned around and drew a silver gun from his coat.

It was a girl, a young girl, perhaps seventeen or eighteen. She wore all black; her golden hair was drenched with rain as was the long black trench coat that came down to her ankles.

"Listen, sweetheart," Jeremy said, still pointing his gun at the girl, “I don't want to hurt you so just turn around and walk away."

The girl cocked her head slightly, "You can't kill me, Jeremy." The words sounded like she was talking to a child. "Let her go."

"I can't!" Jeremy said, "I have to-"

"I know why you think you have to do it but I assure you kidnapping the daughter of a business man is not they way to get the money to impress your wife."

Jeremy cocked his gun, "How did you know that?"

The rain in the ally hardened, "I am not going to tell you again, Jeremy. Let her go." The girl took her hands out of her trench coat, "Now."

A shot echoed through the ally. Blood soaked through the girl’s jacket but she didn't move.

The girl touched the blood and rubbed it in between her fingers, "I told you, Jeremy." The girl walked towards him, "You can't kill me."

Jeremy lowered his gun, "Who are you?"

"Your guardian angel left you when you were fifteen, Jeremy. I can kill you where you stand."

"What are you talking about?!" Jeremy's heart was pounding. "Who are you?"

He might have been seeing things, the rain was dense and the lights in the ally were flickering but for a single moment he though he saw wings behind the girl. A pair of golden brown wings slowly spreading behind her, dripping with rain water but as soon as they were there, they disappeared.

"I am an angel of God." The girl said her voice was low and steady. "Jeremy, let her go."

"No, no, no," Jeremy shook his head, "Angels aren't real."

A golden dagger materialized in the girl’s hand, "That is exactly why your guardian angel left."

She walked up to Jeremy and stabbed him in the heart. Jeremy gasped, "Do not despair." the girl said, "this was always your path. This was your destiny from the beginning."

Jeremy fell to the ground in a puddle of blood, dead.

The dagger disappeared and the girl walked up to the daughter of the businessman and bent down in front of her. She was still crying and shaking.

"I am Arlima," the girl said, "solder under the order of the archangel Gabriel who is under the orders of God. I saved you so sixteen years from now you can save the life of twenty people in a drug store hold up by jumping in front of a gun. You will not remember this."

Arlima touched her on the forehead and the daughter of the businessman feel asleep.

Another gust of wind stirred up the alley.

"Talk about touched by an angel." A different voice said.

Arlima stood up but did not turn. "Perseferus." She said coldly. "Why are you here?"

Perseferus put his hands in his black trench coat, "You could stop this confounded rain, you know."

Arlima turned around, "I prefer to stay out of the natural order of things."

Perseferus motioned to the dead man on the ground, "What do you call that?"

"I call it following orders." Arlima said.

"Well, I call that boring."

Arlima spread her golden brown wings, "You are bordering on blasphemy, Perseferus."

"Very intimidating but you're not the only angel here." Perseferus spread his dark black wings. The rain made them shine like a dark star. "We may be the same rank, Arlima but I am the more experienced soldier."

Arlima stood close to Perseferus, "Only by 500 years. And when you fall into Hell, like Lucifer, for your blasphemy, I'll be right here to take your place."

Perseferus smiled, "Not unless you fall first."

Wind once again stirred the alley and he was gone.

Arlima lowered her wings, "I will never fall." she whispered.

For a split second Perseferus was back, "We all fall sometime, Arlima." Then he was gone, the soft whisper of his last sentence almost blended in with the rain, "Humans and angels."