Espial (10 page)

     When I did,
I found myself standing on top of the welcome desk.

     “Oh wow!
That was incredible! I did it!” I shouted, my wings flapping excitedly.

     “Excellent,”
smiled Div. “The more you practice, soon you won’t even need to close your
eyes. You’ll be able to simply think it, disappearing then reappearing
somewhere else.”

     I jumped
down and walked over to her.

     “Try again,
but this time think of someplace high.”

     I followed
her instruction like before, this time envisioning the chandeliers. When I
opened my eyes, I was hovering next to one of them. Panic set in and I began to
fall.

     “Use your
wings!” shouted Div from far below

     I was
panicking and couldn’t gain control over them, so began to scream.

     “Think
about flapping them!”

     “Flap!
Flap!” I shouted. My wings jerked and then began flapping, slowing my fall. I
hovered a few inches off of the ground. “Stop flapping!” I shouted, and they
immediately folded, causing me to land with a thump on the floor. I looked up
to see Div covering her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking up and down.
She was laughing at me, along with Sacra who had been watching from behind the
desk.

     “That was
the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time,” Sacra cackled.

            I
rolled my eyes. “Can we work on something else, please?”

            “No.
You need to get better control of your wings. You should be using them like
your hands; with minimal thought, yet they should know exactly what to do.”

            Div
had me run numerous flight drills from various heights within the lobby. We
realized it was nearly midnight by the time we finished. Rider came in with
three cots and told us we would be sleeping by the welcome desk. Div, Sacra and
I settled ourselves in. Sacra passed me a silver goblet with the wing vibrancy
beverage.

     “The last
time you you’ll need to drink this.” She said.

     I finished
the drink and fell asleep.

The
demon began plucking the feathers off of the wings of the angel slowly and
causing the angel much pain. The angel shrieked as the demon laughed. It began
picking its teeth with the point of one of the feathers. Lightning cracked,
illuminating where it stood. It was in the rooftop café.

#         

            I
awoke slowly, my body aching from the intensive training the day prior. Div and
Sacra were at the welcome desk discussing locations ideal for fighting off the
demon army. I walked over to get a better understanding.

            “Oh
wow!” said Sacra when she noticed me. “Div look!”

            “Oh
look at that!” exclaimed Div.

            “What’s
wrong?” I asked, concerned that something nasty had grown on my face overnight.

            “Your
wings and your hair!” said Sacra. “Here take a look at yourself.”

            She
enlarged a hologram screen in front of us. She typed in a short command, and
the screen displayed a mirror. I stepped forward and did not recognize the
reflection looking back at me.

     “Oh! What
happened?” I asked in shock. My hair had grown a few inches and was completely
blonde, just like my mother’s. Dark brown highlights wove their way throughout
my hair. My wings had also turned fully platinum. Both my hair and wings were
extremely shiny, glittering in the light.

     “The elixir
must have recoded the genetic makeup of your hair,” suggested Div. “My hair was
dark brown before I began unsheathing. Then it turned green to match my wings.”

     “This
is…great,” I said. “I actually look good.”

     “Good? You
look stellar!” exclaimed Sacra. “Your hair and wings are gorgeous! And perfect
timing for this.” She reached down and pulled out a white leather catsuit. It
was form-fitting from the neck to the ankles. Red stripes lined the outer seam
of the outfit. She then pulled up a pair of matching white leather boots. They
too had a red stripe along the seams of the soles.

     We were
giggling when Rider came out from the defense department.

     “Sato has
found out that we intercepted his four spies. He has mobilized his army and
they are coming earlier than we had anticipated. They should be reaching us by
midday.” He turned to me, his eyes widening. “Sol. You look beautiful, just
like your mother.”

     “Thanks,
Rider,” I replied beaming.

     An
emergency alarm began ringing, red lights flashing throughout the building.
Bouncing off of the chandeliers, the room lit up terrifyingly.

     “Oh no
that’s the alarm for the bunkers,” said Rider, running back over to the defense
room. “Wait here!”

     As he took
off, the ARC’s invisible army appeared surrounding the welcome desk.

     “What
happened, General Matthews?” asked Div, unsheathing her sword. The same angel
leader from yesterday took a step toward her.

     “Sato sent
a small troupe over night,” he reported, voice rumbling. “They knew the
location of the bunker’s emergency exit and blocked it off. They were
questioned then exterminated.”

     “He’s
keeping us trapped within the ARC,” stated Sacra.

     “Yes,”
replied Matthews. “We sent two of our own to assess his army’s positioning.
They are on the move and will be here within three hours at 12:00.”

     Rider ran
back into the lobby followed by a few agents from the defense department.

            “I
alerted Los Angeles: we must begin transporting everyone immediately. Get
everyone out then come back here to prepare for a fight. General, unfortunately
the day has come to initiate code white.”

     “Yes.” His
aura brightened and the army of angels all nodded. They then disappeared.

     “What’s
code white?” I asked.

     “Complete
evacuation of the ARC with the knowledge that the ARC will be destroyed,” he
replied grimly. “Our defense agents will take over here, Sacra. The three of
you, head to the bunkers and help transition everyone into the ATS.” He took
Sacra’s place behind the desk and shut down the hologram interface. Rider
unsheathed his sword and began speaking a range of incantations while swinging
it in various formations. The generator stopped running and the only light came
from the chandeliers. “Descendo y vivirae!” said Rider. The chandeliers slowly
descended from the ceiling. When they reached the floor, each bulb opened up
and I saw that electricity was not what kept them lit. Yellow orbs floated from
all of the open bulbs towards the center of the lobby. They hovered in the air
and turned red. Rider continued his chants and the welcome desk began sinking
into the floor. It stopped halfway when sword handles began pushing through the
top. Hundreds of swords lined the circular desk. The chandeliers retracted back
up towards the ceiling. Iron spokes slid down in front of each doorway in the
lobby. The murals decorating the lobby turned bright. The skeletal samurai
angels depicted in each painting began to move. They slowly stepped out of
their frames and floated down to the floor, their armor clanking. They
brandished the very weapons they were depicted fighting with. These angels did
not speak, just floated toward the welcome desk, nodding at us in greeting.
They then turned and faced the ARC’s main door.

     The
emergency lights stopped flashing and the room remained lit by the red orbs
floating all around. I felt a strange sense of both fright and comfort when
taking in this new setting.

     “Come.
Let’s hurry,” said Div. She led me and Sacra towards the tunnel entry. Sacra
leaned forward and dove down, wings pressed tight against her back. “Go!” said
Div.

     I leaned
forward and dove down, making sure to keep my wings flat against me. The tunnel
slanted and I turned my body so that my legs led the way down. I landed next to
Glinda in a brightly lit hall. It was a smaller version of the lobby, but
without a welcome desk. Numbered doors indicated the cabins in which everyone
was residing. All of the doors stood open and I could see angels preparing to
evacuate. Alex was standing in the hall with Glinda, and came over to greet us,
pulling me into a hug.

     “You are
absolutely stunning,” he whispered into my hair.

     “Thanks
Alex,” I replied, pulling him tight.

     We stepped
apart and I remembered that Luke was with my mother.

     “Let me
check on my mother,” I said to Div.

     “Quickly. I
will begin with cabins one through thirty. You’ll help me with those while
Sacra handles the rest with Alex and Glinda.”

     I rushed
forward to cabin eleven where I found my mother talking with Luke, seemingly
concerned.

     “Oh Sol you
look incredible!” said my mother, rushing over to hug me. I held her tight,
knowing that it would be some time before I saw her again.

     “Mom, I can
only stay to help evacuate. I need to head back upstairs to stop Sato from
destroying everything.”

     “I know,
sweetie. I’ve always known that there would come a day where I’d have to let
you go for this very reason.” She began tearing. “I’m ready. I have everything
set up at the Los Angeles location, so don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

     I pulled
her in for another tight hug. She picked up a small sack and left the room. I
then turned to Luke.

     “Luke, I
hate that we’re not ok.”

     “I know
Sol. You’ve made your choice and I’ve made mine.”

     “What do
you mean?”

     “I’m here
to help get everyone through the ATS. When this is all over, I’m going to stay
and work at the Los Angeles center for good.”

     “You’re
never going back to Terredome?”

     He shook
his head.

     “Are you
doing this just because of Alex?”

     “No,” he
replied, looking down. I wasn’t entirely convinced. “It’s what I want.”

     I reached
up and gave him a light kiss.

     “What was
that for?” he asked, searching my eyes while still holding me close.

     I couldn’t
find the right words, so I simply looked down. He ran his fingers through my
hair and left the room. I headed back into the hall to find Div and Glinda
lining everyone up in front of a blank wall with no door.

     “I thought we
were heading to the ATS?” I asked.

     “Hee-hee,”
giggled Glinda. She then waved her hand in front of the wall. It wobbled and
disappeared.

     “I should
have known,” I said.

            Div
began calling out cabin numbers in groups of ten and showing them down the short
hallway and into the ATS. She turned to me, asking me to run ahead and begin
activating the launch codes on all of the pods, including the large emergency
one. I followed her orders as everyone began filing into the room. She and
Glinda joined me at the desk. “There are two hundred and fifty angels and
Espials that need evacuating from the one hundred occupied cabins. I’m going to
initiate an access sequence that will keep the pods activated so that we don’t
have to keep re-entering the codes.” She quickly typed a series of commands
onto the screen. “Cabins one through twenty-nine, please board an available
single pod or the mass transport one,” she called out.

            Angels
began stepping on the pods and disappearing instantaneously. The lights around
the standing pads stayed green after each transport. The large one made a
slight hum when it transported the group standing on it. My mother boarded one
closest to the desk and waved before disappearing in front of my eyes.

            “Cabins
thirty through fifty-nine,” she called out again. The process repeated itself.
Flash after flash of various colors occurred each time an angel disappeared. A
confirmation message popped up on the hologram each time Los Angeles received a
transport. Soon everyone was gone except for me, Luke, Sacra, Div, Glinda, and
Alex.

            “Let’s
head back into the lobby. Sato’s army should be here within a few minutes. We
can leave the ATS on,” recommended Div.

     “Why?” I
asked, unsure that was a good idea.

     “In the
event we’re not on the winning side of the fight, those left can have a chance
of survival if they make into here. Los Angeles has orders to shut the system
down if no one has come through by sunset.”

     “Alright,”
I replied. “Let’s go.”

     We made our
way up through the tunnel, with Luke holding onto Sacra. Back in the lobby, we
found Rider, the ATS military, and the samurai angels facing the main door. The
red orbs hovered just above our heads. Glinda waved her hand at the elevators
and all but one fully came back down, sealing the tunnel entries shut. The last
one slowly descended, leaving a small space through which one could slide
through. “Just in case,” she winked.

     “Quiet,”
said Rider.

     We stood
motionless and looked at the main door. After a few seconds, we could here
distant sounds from behind it. Growling and gnawing were heard, along with
rocks being moved.

     “They’re in
the main passageways,” said Rider, pulling out his sword. To my right, Glinda
pulled out eight knives from her bosom, each blade resting in the webbing
between her fingers. The handles of the blades were covered in pink jewels, lined
up along her fingertips. Her dark eyes slowly turned hot pink. Sacra unsheathed
her sword, her blue aura brightening. The tips of her short, spiky hair glinted
and turned dark blue. Div removed the belt holding her sword, tossing it onto
the floor, causing it to slide and rest near the remaining tunnel opening. From
her back, she pulled out two pairs of sais, passing the gold pair I had
practiced with to me. As I reached for them, her finger nails grew several
inches and turned emerald green before my eyes. The defense room door opened
and angels quietly filed out, making their way through the tunnel Glinda had
left open. Ace appeared and stood alongside Rider. He was holding a red bow,
however I could not see any arrows. His crimson wings turned maroon as he
lifted his bow and took aim towards the door, pulling the string back.

     We could
now hear the demons immediately outside of the ARC’s main door. Loud bangs rang
out as they pounded against it. Everything was shaking. Luke followed the
defense department angels into the tunnel, giving me a long look before he
jumped down. I saw Alex walk up towards Rider, his brown wings shimmering. From
his pants pockets he removed several white-feathered darts. He turned to give
me a comforting smile. I noticed that his eyes were now silver. General
Matthews flapped his wings three times slowly. His army then took battle
stances. Some held spears, others axes and swords. Two colossal battle axes
appeared in Matthews’ hands, silver and shaped like wings. He spun them around
several times and rested them with a loud clank onto the ground. His entire
army gave off a soft white glow as their auras dimmed to prepare for battle.

     “Ace,”
spoke Rider calmly. “On my command, trigger the door panel. Everyone get
ready.”