Nirvana

She ran. Her panting breaths were all that rang in her ears. She had to be sure. She had to check, just to make sure he was still there. She heaved heavily, her lungs begging her to take a break. She ran past the strangered tombs, past the lonely graves, staggering over the blankets of dirt in her path. She could see his tombstone in the clearance as the clouds parted and gave way to the moon’s light. She was almost there, just a few more feet. Her feet got caught in the dirt and she fell face first into the cold soil. Why was there so much of it? She raised her head to see that the grave was completely dug up. That didn’t matter. She just needed to see him. She crawled to the edge, looked down and gasped. The coffin was wide open with no one inside. “What’s wrong little Angel?” Came a deep raspy voice. She spun to face whoever it was. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by a group of humans. She couldn’t see any of their faces and that scared her the most. “Lost something?” “What do you want?” She demanded. Most of them carried weapons such as pitchforks and bats. They took a few steps closer. She held out her hand, ready to cast a spell that would summon her bow. “Don’t come any closer. I don't want to hurt anyone.” "Oh, but we do." One man threatened. A green-glowing aura formed around her hand, the particles of the air shimmered as something was being pulled through. Then the glow vanished and the shimmering stopped. “What the-?” The gang of people started to laugh hysterically. They moved in closer. "Please...please just go away!” She cried, adrenaline pumping through her veins. One of them lunged at her, swinging his bat. She screamed and ducked. She tried to run, but the ground seemed to wrap around her feet. She struggled, trying to free herself, but the dirt was like quick sand. The harder she tried, the more it tried to suck her in. The group of people jumped in, closing in on her fast. She screamed and shut her eyes tight awaiting the pain. Instantaneously, there was a loud bang and the man closest to her burst into flames. A loud alarm rang in her ears. Was it the shock? She couldn't block it out no matter how hard she covered her ears. The wind swirled around her, the trees were screaming. Then silence fell and she opened her eyes. Everyone was gone, but the world had been engulfed by fire. Someone grabbed her shoulder from behind and she whipped her head around to meet them. She gasped as she met the strangers eyes. No, he wasn't a stranger, a friend. Someone dear to her. Yet someone haunted her. He smiled down at her warmly. “I missed you...Vanessa.” Vanessa awoke drenched in sweat to the sound of her phone ringing. She strained her eyes to read the caller ID as she tried to shake sleep from her mind. There were several messages from Sarina, one of her closest friends. She’d overslept on their first day of Senior year and Sarina was not happy about it. “Damn-it.” As if on cue, she heard an aggressive knock at her door. “Hold on! I’m coming!” She pulled the curtains closed to block out the bright light coming in through the window. When she opened the door, Sarina stood there, fully dressed in her Phoenix academy uniform with her arms folded across her chest. “Hey, Rina. I was just about to hop in the shower-” she started. “Bullshit. You overslept again.” Sarina accused. "Why don't you ever go to sleep on time? You can’t afford to be showing up late this year. Do you want to wreck your scholarship?” “I know, I’m sorry. I tried to sleep, I just...had a lot on my mind. I'll do better from now on, promise.” “You better. I have more important things to be doing than being your personal alarm clock. We were supposed to attend the freshman entrance ceremony 20 minutes ago. I can not keep neglecting my duties because you care so little about yours.” Vanessa rolled her eyes. She was really laying into her today. She must be really stressed out. “I got it mom, thanks for checkin in on me.” “If you're not in the quad in the next 10 minutes, you'll be explaining our tardiness to Mr. Cane alone.” Once Sarina had gone, Vanessa quickly washed her face and threw on her uniform. She threw her curls into a bun and did a mental checklist before putting on her shoes. This year would be the last year she wore this uniform. It had felt like no time had passed since she enrolled and already it was nearly over. As she passed the mirror, she spotted a picture frame sitting on the nightstand by her bed. It was a picture of her as a small child next to a boy, a friend from long ago. Her dream flashed in her head and she walked over to place the picture face down before leaving her room. It was a warm day and the first day after summer vacation. The trees swayed in the gentle breeze. The sun shone brightly, through a clear blue sky. The warmth on Vanessa’s cheeks made her drowsy, but she forced herself onward as she made her way to meet her friends. Almost 15 minutes had passed since Sarina visited Vanessa’s room. She should have left, but she wanted to give Vanessa a few extra minutes. If they left now, they'll still be able to make the closing part of the ceremony. The headmaster won't be happy, however. Usually, seniors didn’t arrive at school for another hour, but as a student council member, she was obligated to attend and assist new coming students. She hated being late to these sorts of things. She was about to leave when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Instincts told her to fight, but she quickly figured out who it was by the familiar cologne. "Did I scare you?" Katskai asked. "Not in the slightest. Will you stop fooling around?" she pulled away. “You’re late.” "Am I?" Katskai asked. “Last I checked, I wasn't an official member of the council.” "Oh? Then why are you here?" "To tease you before everyone else takes up all your time." he smirked seeing her blush. "I hate you.” it came out almost like a whisper. He gently kissed the top of her head. "No you don’t.” Suddenly there was a third arm being wrapped around them. "I wanna kiss too.” Raid teased as he puckered his lips close to them. They pulled to get away from him. Katskai glared at his friend for interrupting. Oblivious, Raid just smiled. “Where is everybody? Were we not supposed to be meeting up here?” “We were, but Nessa and Renei are late. I swear, this is the last time I will help any of you.” Renei and Vanessa came charging down the path from the dorm halls. “Finally!" After the council members introduced themselves, the gang departed for their morning classes. As her friends said their goodbyes for the morning, Vanessa found herself thinking back to the dream she had earlier. She'd had the same dream for over a week now, but this time it was different. It seemed so strange this time. It would usually end right before the beating, but this time He appeared. It was strange to see him after all these years. He was...different from the last time she'd seen him. Alive, that is. He was older with a weird look on his face. The strangest bit was his eyes. They were red. A hand tapped her shoulder and she jumped. “You okay Ness?” Sarina asked. Vanessa hadn’t realized how spaced out she must have been. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” This wasn’t entirely a lie. She'd only had about four hours of sleep and it was far from restful. “You go ahead. I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick.” Sarina nodded and headed into the classroom. Vanessa took a slow stroll toward the bathroom. It wasn’t far, but she wanted a few minutes alone to herself. A breeze brushed her face and she stopped to take in the morning view. The air smelled sweet and the sun was warm on her face. As nice as it felt, she was saddened. It’s been five years since Dylan's funeral. Another school year she’d have to endure without him. It hurt thinking back to all the plans they'd made for highschool and never got the chance to do. Of course, Sarina and the others kept her from feeling lonely, but his absence left a hole in her heart. Their friend group didn’t feel complete. “I miss you Dyl.” she confessed. She wondered if he could see her from heaven. If he missed her. “Excuse me? Are you okay?” Vanessa spun around, growing tired of people surprising her. Standing before her was a boy she’d never seen before. He was tall and lean. His eyes were hazel, his hair long and silver. Was he another Angel or did he dye it that way? “I’m fine. The campus is beautiful this time of year.” “Is that why you're crying?” Vanessa touched her cheek, it was wet. She hadn't even felt the tears fall. With haste, she wiped them away. "No, I had...dust. Um, who are you?" “I’m Darren. A junior” he held out his hand. Vanessa glanced down at the boy’s hand. "Are you...human?" He laughed nervously. "Yeah, I am. Is that weird? I know this used to be an Angel exclusive academy." "I'm Vanessa, a senior.” she ignored his hand until he was forced to let it fall awkwardly. "I know. I remember you from the ceremony." The space between them filled with awkward silence. "You should be in class." "I know. I was actually heading there now, but I got a little lost. This school is so big, it’s hard to navigate. I’m looking for room 206B.” The final bell rang. "You're not too far. If you turn this corner there will be a double door where all the science classes are held.” She turned to leave. "Wait! I kind of lost my map earlier. Do you know where the office is to get another one?" Vanessa dug into her bag and handed him a card. “It's for the student council room. As one of the staff after your class, they should show you the way. We're offering tour guides for the rest of the week. I really have to go now, goodbye.” she hurried off before he could say anything more. “That was a pretty long trip to the bathroom.” Sarina noted as Vanessa sat at her desk. “Sorry, I got held up by a transfer student. He was asking for directions.” “Did you tell him about the buddy system?” she asked with a smirk. “Yeah, he might stop by our office sometime today for a tour guide.” “Great! I worked so hard to organize it, I'd be so bummed if no one came. Are you sure you don't want to participate?” “No.” Vanessa said bluntly. “I don't really want to interact with them.” Sarina sighed. "I won't force you, but as a council member you're going to have to learn to tolerate them. We'll get a bad rep if people feel like we're discriminating against people." “I'm not, I just...I just don't want to get too close to them.” It wasn’t uncommon for most supernatural beings to dislike the human race, especially Angels. For years the humans had a habit of being greedy and violent, casting out or destroying what they couldn’t understand. The story goes that long ago Adonai, a beautiful and powerful being, also known as God, created Angels to make the humans happy. Their purpose was to bring peace and guide the humans through disasters and save them from starvation. After a while, the humans grew greedy and turned on their Angelic comrades. They burned them at the stake, drained their blood and harvested their flesh. The meat from an Angel is said to be powerful enough to cure most, if not all, diseases. Thousands of Angels were tortured and killed. It took several thousand years for the humans to agree to coexist with the Angels under the conditions that there were rules and restrictions for what angels were allowed to do. However, Vanessa's distaste went far beyond that, yet she herself didn't know. She'd lost the majority of her memories from her childhood in a fire at the orphanage where she was raised. Weeeeeooooooowwweeeee!!!!! Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert! Vanessa’s muscles tensed as the alarm sounded. It was an alarm, she was accustomed to hearing, yet it still made her skin crawl. Attention Phoenix highschool students. A hellgate has appeared at City Hall. All humans and unlicensed herd hunters are instructed to evacuate the building and return to their dorms immediately. “Could this be a drill?” Sarina asked. “I don’t think so.” Vanessa followed other students heading out. “I highly doubt they’d cut classes this early for a drill. Let’s get suited up.” Attention all senior disciples, a herd of common imps have emerged from a hellgate near city hall. Your mission is to defend and protect citizens as they make their way to safety. Vanessa and Raid sat on the rooftop near City Hall. They were sent out in teams of two to cover more ground. For five years there has been an alarming amount of hell gates appearing all over the country. The National Angelic Army was too overwhelmed to handle all of it which led to the licensing of Angels who have come of age to assist their hometowns in protecting civilians. They were called Herd Hunters. Vanessa stood and prepped her uniform. All Herd Hunters wore a white jumpsuit equipped with gray sensors on their legs and arms to intensify their powers and agility. She pulled her hood over her head and mask over her mouth. It was essential to their safety that their identities were unknown to the public. A pair of pure white wings sprouted from Vanessa’s back. “I’m going to clear Madison Street. Watch yourself Raid, don’t allow yourself to get cornered.” “When do I ever? You should worry about yourself” Both of them leaped from the roof and went their separate ways. “Stay close!” Vanessa saluted him in response. As she made her way toward Madison Street, she caught a glimpse of a demon cornering a child and an older woman. “No, please, go away!” the woman cried. Her daughter clung tightly to her side. Tears streamed down her face. The demon roared a terrifying sound. Its lips stretched into a distorted smile. It grew closer, reaching its long claws out to them. The little girl screamed. Suddenly the demon jerked and let out a screech before its body dropped to the ground. There was a green arrow sticking through its head. Its skin steamed and boiled into a thick red liquid. It evaporated until all was left was a clumpy red stain. Vanessa flew down from the ledge she was standing on. In her hand was a bow made from vines and roots. “Are you two okay?” She could see the child still whimpering behind the older woman. The woman stared in awe. A wide smile spread across her face as she raced over to grab Vanessa’s hand. “Oh God, thank you Miss Angel! God is looking over us. Praise him. Please, you must help my family. Will you come to my house and bless my husband? He’s very sick you see. The doctor says he could die. We really need a miracle.” Vanessa glanced down at the woman’s hand. Her breath quickened, her heart raced, and before she knew it, she was back in that shed. Whack! Whack! Whack! “Ahhh!” Vanessa tried her best to keep her voice down as the paddle struck her bare skin. She’d get 10 more lashes for screaming. Her skin was starting to bruise, making the paddle hurt even more. Her uncle got a phone call and stepped out to answer. Vanessa whimpered as she struggled to pull her pants over her tender bottom. She hoped he wouldn’t remember her outburst because she wouldn’t be able to bear another strike. She scratched at the bandages on her arm from yesterday’s beating. Usually her uncles wouldn’t beat them anywhere visible nor would they aim to break any skin. However, he'd come to her very drunk and it intensified his anger. He'd taken all his frustration out on her, not caring what he hit and how hard. When he was done, there were swollen cuts all over her arms and back. Of course they said it was her own fault for making him so angry. Luckily, she healed fast, so the swelling had ceased. When her Uncle entered back into the room, he noticed her pants being pulled back up. “Trying to get out of your ten extra lashes?” he chuckled as Vanessa's tears pooled down her cheeks. “No matter, Daddy wants you upstairs with the others. Let’s go.” he grabbed her arm and Vanessa winced. She glanced down to see old scars that have yet to fade and she knew there were many more to come. “Let go of me!” Vanessa screamed as she yanked her hand out of the woman’s grip. “Don’t ever touch me!” she hugged her arm against her chest. The woman’s face formed a concerned frown. “I’m sorry...I-I thought.” the woman stammered “You thought I’d be compelled to do whatever you asked. That Angels still only exist to solve all your problems, right?” Vanessa felt her face grow hot with anger. They were all the same, ungrateful disgusting beings. No better than the demons that threaten them. “Not all Angels perform miracles. Educate yourself before you piss off the wrong person.” The woman was left speechless. “Get indoors before you get hurt.” Vanessa turned to leave as her communicator buzzed. She tapped her headset and Katskai’s voice came through. “Ness! Where are you?” “Katskai? I’m near Madison, why?” she could hear the frantic in his voice. Was he in trouble? “I can’t find Sarina,” he explained. “She was with me 10 minutes ago, but she went off on her own. A fire broke out down here and I have my hands full trying to get civilians off the streets. I can’t keep the herd at bay on my own.” “Got it, I’ll find her.” Vanessa promised. The call dropped. Vanessa inhaled deeply, letting her power flow through her. Her eyes glowed an emerald hue. “AAHHGH!!” Sarina screamed as she crashed to the pavement. Her skin scraped against the hard concrete. The fabric of her uniform had been singed from the sudden fire outbreak leaving patches unprotected. It was fine though, she’d get someone to heal her wounds later. Right now, she was surrounded by dozens of blood thirsty demons. Sarina used her powers to make a spear made of ice. One demon tried to jump on her, but she dodged and plunged her spear through its stomach. It howled in pain and fell to the ground. Another demon came for her, this one was faster. It dug its claws into her skin. She screamed as she tried to shake it off. It clung to her body, digging deeper the harder she fought. She slammed her back into a wall until it let her go. Red, bloody marks were left on her ribs. “f**k!” She cried, holding her wounded side. She drove her spear into the demon's head. Something else grabbed her from behind and threw her toward the ground. She rolled, stopping in the grass. Grass and dirt clung to her jumpsuit as she climbed to her feet. More demons crowded around her, snapping their teeth together. She tried to freeze the ground to slow them down, but the air was so hot and humid from the fire the ice melted beneath their feet. “You guys want to play?” Sarina stretched her arm out and her spear became a giant hammer. “Let’s play.” Sarina lifted her hammer and brought it down hard, shaking the ground and breaking the concrete. The demons fell back. Sarina swung her hammer violently, hitting them with each blow. The impact shattered their heads. The demons coward away as she gave them an icy glare. They trampled over each other to get away. Sarina chased after them. One slammed into the wall and she bashed its head in. Its body boiled and disintegrated. “What’s wrong?! I thought you guys wanted to play!” Sarina swung her hammer again, sending a wave of demons stumbling back. Before Sarina could get too full of herself, something grabbed her by the hair and sent her flying through the glass door of an office building. She groaned as she lay on the shards of glass, waiting for the pain to subside. The ground shook as heavy footsteps approached. She lifted her head to see an Ogre-like demon walking toward her. He had large heavy fists and red, bumpy skin. It growled at her. “Now you guys are really pissing me off.” Sarina said as she tiredly rose to her feet. She lifted her hammer, ready to swing. He charged at her with all his might, Sarina couldn’t swing quick enough and he knocked into her, sending her crashing through the wall and back to the ground, hitting her head. Sarina groaned loudly as the room spun and her ears rang. The imp stood over her and lifted its foot to stomp on her. However, she moved just in time. It tried to punch her, but she kicked at its fat legs and it fell. She swung her hammer at its head, but its body shifted, causing her to hit its stomach instead. The hammer cracked and broke into pieces. “You gotta be f*****g kidding me!” The demon rose to its feet and threw a punch. She dodged and flapped her wings, trying to get a little distance from the monster. Before she could get far it grabbed her wing and threw her, once again, to the ground. This time it stepped on her wing, keeping her in place. It smiled as she wailed in pain, “My wing!” The demon ignored her cries and put both its fist together, ready to finish her.