All His Angels Are Starving

"Something's moving down there," came Mrs. Monique's voice through the clouds of swirling dust. She'd ventured toward the crater to give Jenny and Susan space and shone her flashlight into the depths of the basement.

But Jenny only barely registered what the librarian said. She kept replaying the first notification over and over. Blooded. Blooded. Blooded.

Blooded: You have tasted blood from another world.

+20 Stat points have been awarded.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? The other notifications spurted rapidly, like fireworks bursting uncontrollably before fading away. She'd killed a bunch of angels. Gained a ton of Experience and Energy and had racked up a lot of stat points. But she was too afraid to ask the Guidance System to elaborate, too afraid that she'd done something terrible. That worry was lodged in her thoughts like a thorn. She kept thinking about how that other world collapsed and... hadn't that strange dark water caught her? She remembered drowning. How was she even here?

Eve, are you there? Are you back in my head?

Yes, Jenny Huang. I never left. Congratulations on your Blooded status.

Am I screwed up now? What happened? She couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that something horrid loomed inside her. With Susan’s light having dispersed, the ruined lab rooms filled with the eerie gloom of the void. Her best friend lay on top of her, her eyes shut tight.

Susan Brown surrendered much of her spirit to resurrect you. She pulled you back into your body.

Resurrect? Jenny’s eyes went wide. Resurrect? A bead of sweat trailed down Susan’s nose and landed on Jenny’s face. Then Susan started trembling, and that was all Jeny could concentrate on.

"Susan!" Jenny's breath caught in her throat. Her lungs burned. The hole in her side, now healed and closed, ached. But at least now it felt more like she'd been punched in the gut rather than bore through with a rod.

"I'm alright," she said weakly. "Just feeling really tired." She lifted her head off Jenny and tried to sit up, blinking. Her eyes were bloodshot. Dark bags hung beneath them as though she hadn't slept in days. Her face was sunken. What had she given up to heal Jenny? What was the cost?

Jenny's body wasn't fully healed. She pushed herself off the floor, wincing as her shoulder cracked. She clenched her new fingers into a fist. They were pinker than the rest of her hand, and they felt strange. Like she could feel her old fingers, her original fingers, but she saw these new ones now attached to her palm. The holes in her thigh and side were covered in pale, pink flesh, though the skin around the wounds was still red and angry. Susan had done everything she could; Jenny even had her teeth back. The rest could be taken care of with potions or sprays or whatever else they could come up with.

But what about Susan? What was wrong with her? Susan’s eyes were shut and she was swaying as though she might collapse any moment. Jenny grabbed Susan’s arm and held her steady, searching her best friend’s face and trying to figure out what to do.

But the worst part? The worst part was, even as she fretted about Susan's exhausted state and what her best friend sacrificed to save her, all Jenny could think about was how much she was starving. Starving. The hunger that throbbed deep within her belly made her left eye hurt. She felt it in every limb, every muscle. Felt the saliva pooling underneath her tongue because Susan’s body looked so soft...

So sweet. Like her flesh would just melt in Jenny’s mouth. And her blood! Her blood would be so warm and filling, and she wanted to compare the taste to the Angel’s blood. Wanted to know how different the flesh would feel ripping between her teeth. Her stomach rumbled, and Jenny recoiled in horror, making Susan flinch as though Jenny had actually tried to take a bite.

“Does it still hurt?” asked Susan, her voice small. Her eyelids struggling to stay up. She placed her hand over Jenny’s, even though her arm was shaking from the effort.

Jenny bit her bottom lip with her newly grown teeth, blinking away tears. Her jaw ached, but it was nothing compared to the ache of hunger that made her teeth yearn to sink into flesh. What the fuck is wrong with me? No, I need to think about Susan right now. But not like that!

How can I heal her?

I've got enough energy. Maybe I can make something to restore her. She reached for the system, trying to shape another potion with her thoughts, something that would restore Susan’s stamina and take away her tiredness. It was trying to use a muscle she hadn’t in a long time, though it couldn’t have been more than an hour since she’d activated Severed Spirit.

I would not recommend this course of action.

Are you just saying that so I don’t waste Energy? Jenny took a deep breath. She had to try something, didn’t she?

Susan Brown's skill drained her spirit to heal you. Not stamina. Not Energy. Spirit cannot be restored by any means other than sleep.

Frustration built up inside Jenny. So much so that she wanted to use Ignite and burn everything around them down. Feeling helpless, she pulled Susan in for a hug, terribly aware of how close her jaws were to Susan's throat. But she pressed her cheek to Susan's, both of them covered with dust and dirt and dried blood, and even though she was naked, she didn't care. She squeezed her best friend harder than she'd ever hugged her before. “Thank you for saving me.”

Susan started to say something, but surrendered and weakly hugged Jenny back.

Why? thought Jenny. Why'd you go so far, you big dummy? Just for me? It wasn’t a question she could voice yet. Maybe after all this was over.

"Fuck." Mrs. Monique scrambled back from the crater and rushed toward them, kicking up loose rubble and dust. "We have to get back to the library. Right now. There's at least a dozen angels down there."

Jenny sniffled. Her nose felt crooked, but at least she had a nose again. She took a deep breath, and let Susan go.

"Did they see you?" asked Susan, who scratched one side of her face, keeping her eyes on the floor. She seemed a little rejuvenated, her face flushed red.

Mrs. Monique put her flashlight in a pocket and then knelt to help Susan to her feet. "I can't tell. There's too much dust and something big." Once she had Susan standing, she turned to help Jenny and froze. "Jenny, your eye!"

Jenny blinked. She’d still been thinking about hugging Susan, but the heat from their embrace evaporated as Mrs. Monique’s face morphed from shock to fear.

"But it says... No, it says you're human." Mrs. Monique stepped back and raised her spear, holding it with both hands and aiming at Jenny. The light from her flashlight stuck out of her pocket and made her metallic armor seem to shimmer.

The librarian reminded Jenny of a spooked cat, arching its back and baring its fangs, trying to determine whether an approaching stranger was dangerous. Jenny covered her left eye with her palm, realizing it had been stinging this entire time. She hadn't noticed because of her nose and her other injuries and the hunger...

She eyed the librarian, salivating at the thought of peeling off her skin and chewing through the exposed muscles and then.... no no no no!

Susan raised her arms, looking between Mrs. Monique and Jenny. She opened her mouth to protest, suggesting this was because of what Jenny did to survive, but Mrs. Monique shook her head. She wasn't taking any chances.

“Eve?” whispered Jenny. “Am I still human?” She lowered her hand; her palm came away glistening with blood. She was crying blood.

"Who’s Eve?" said Susan, a note of alarm in her voice.

"Eve?" repeated Mrs. Monique, adjusting her grip on the spear. "Something's not right. Something's definitely fucked up."

Shit. I said that out loud. Jenny was about to try and explain, but Eve’s words appeared in her head and she hesitated.

Your body remains Human.

But why is my eye still... and only one of them?

When you severed your spirit, you perished, Jenny Huang. You died. You ripped your soul from your body and it had to be ripped back.

Died? Jenny blinked and wiped the blood off her cheek, unable to meet Susan’s eyes. No. I was thinking. I was fighting. I was-

Your brain continued to function. Processing and reacting to sensory data.

The visions of the other world falling apart, of the dark water consuming her, of the hollowed feeling when she’d been Severed... she shuddered violently, then took a deep breath.

"Mrs. Monique," said Jenny when she felt steady enough. She looked at Susan and raised her blood-covered hand. "It's alright, I can explain." Her head spun as she looked between the two. Her stomach twisted with hunger and disgust and self-loathing. "But right now, there's something down there that wants my blood. And if I go to the library, it'll come after me. And if we stay here, you guys will get caught up in it."

"What thing?" asked Mrs. Monique, still holding the spear, still looking angry.

"A Desecrated Angel." Just saying its name made Jenny’s heart race. "It can control the dead. It's-"

Mrs. Monique let out a frustrated scream. The spear shook. The tip came so close to Jenny's nose that she could almost taste the metallic point. Could almost feel it plunging through her head.

Susan cried out, but Mrs. Monique didn't attack. Jenny hadn't flinched either. She stared right back into the librarian's eyes. There was no time for this, and she saw Mrs. Monique’s shoulders relaxing.

Mrs. Monique looked at the babies. They were sitting around Jenny, watching everything unfold quietly, sucking on their fingers or toes. Susan's hand was on Mrs. Monique's wrist.

Finally, she whispered, "I don't know what to do." Her voice quivered for a moment, and for that brief instance, Jenny saw a shadow of the familiar sweet librarian who was always ready to help, to talk, to brighten anyone's day. But that vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Replaced by that steel-eyed woman holding a spear pointing in Jenny's face.

Tears ran down Jenny's left cheek. She didn't look away. Mrs. Monique was only Level 3, and she had every right to be afraid. Maybe she even sensed the horrid thoughts coiling around Jenny’s brain. A subconscious awareness that something was definitely wrong.

"So, you're not one of them? asked Mrs. Monique. “You didn't turn into one of them?"

Jenny shook her head no. She glanced at Susan who lowered Mrs. Monique's spear then faltered on her feet. Jenny scrambled to catch her.

"Sorry," whispered Susan. "I'm okay."

Jenny picked up the cattle prod and put it in Susan's hands. "Where's your flashlight? You guys have to get back to the library." She figured if they used their lights, they should be fine. Nothing would bother them. The Desecrated Angel only wanted her.

"No," said Susan, mumbling and trying to steady herself. "I'm not leaving you alone again."

A heartbreaking warmth filled Jenny's heart as she stared into her best friend's eyes. Susan didn't hesitate for a second over Jenny's strange, bleeding eye. Her lips were pressed tight. She looked determined, but what good was determination if she was exhausted?

But before Jenny could say anything, that terrible hunger crawled up her throat again, and all she could think about was Susan's flesh and... Jenny was the one to look away first. Her strength returned with every heartbeat, and she couldn't help but remember Susan's fingers wrapped around her heart, squeezing it. No. Susan could not stay with her.

What if Jenny really was turning into an angel now? Or something worse? Who’d protect Susan from her?

They had to get to the library. Away from her. With the others. Then Susan could rest. They'd be with Oliver and his friends and maybe Susan could even heal Oliver’s legs once she’d recovered.

In the meantime, Jenny could go find Miriam and the others in that room in the chem wing. She sighed. She'd nearly forgotten about Miriam in all the chaos since. Was the poor girl still alive?

A tremor shook the floor. Everything rattled. Mrs. Monique whipped around to face the crater. Susan tripped into Jenny's arms. The babies cried out and latched onto Jenny's legs.

Then a beam of blue light shot out of the crater and through the hole in the ceiling. Wind battered them and sent rubble flying, clearing the dust, and Jenny dug her toes into the floor and held Susan tight. Her babies rolled and struggled, but they’d just have to fend for themselves.

The beam shimmered and surged, a lance through the entire building, and then it burst into radiant blue bubbles. Each one floated and sparkled like afterimages before fizzing out. Goosebumps raced up and down Jenny's body. She recognized the light. Realized what was coming. And that light was much, much stronger than the flash she’d seen earlier.

She stepped forward and grabbed Mrs. Monique's shoulder and spoke as firmly as she could, "Take Susan and get out. Get back to the library. They only want me!"

The librarian looked terrified. Her eyes wide. "What?" The librarian's gaze had changed completely. Her anger and steadfastness from a moment ago had vanished, replaced with nothing but abject fear. Did the light mess with her? Her lips were trembling and she looked like she’d burst into tears any second now.

Jenny turned to find Susan petrified. Her arms were wrapped around her chest and she stared at where the blue light had shimmered. It was the same as when the Survival Challenge began; Susan was rooted to the spot, terrified.

Then the rubble shifted. Her babies squealed with fright as the half-waddled half-ran back to her. A nauseating aura of dread crackled through the air. Her heart thundered. All the dead angels, the ones Susan had knocked out with her own light, twitched in unison. As well as all the other bodies strewn about the ruins of the lab room. The bodies of students and teachers. Some of them were crushed by tables and chunks of the ceiling.

Every single one of them opened their shining blue eyes. Their arms and legs jerked, and they groaned, forming a chorus of undead voices that came from above as well as below and behind them. Echoing from the hallway leading to the lobby.

Panic spread through her chest like a whirlwind. Jenny pushed Susan behind her and shouted for Mrs. Monique to get a hold of herself. But whatever that blue beam of light had been, it hadn't only awakened the dead. It messed with the living too, a sense of dread that felt like a night terror. Her heart pounded as the bodies crawled toward them. There wasn’t a single notification for any of these things.

She thought about rushing into the pit. Would all these undead creatures follow her? They only wanted her, right? But what if they also went after Susan? What if that Desecrated Angel was after all of them now?

She couldn’t take that chance. She'd have to protect her. She’d have to fight to the death. But the undead approached from every direction. What was she supposed to do?

Golden light flashed, and her hatchet returned to her hand. Its new obsidian face glistened, aching to slice. Her next thought was her nakedness. She was just about to spend Energy to create new Medium Armor and possibly another shield when another notification burst through her desperate planning.

Activate Exoskeleton?

Exoskeleton?

Yes, she thought, eyeing the closest pile of undead angels, the ones that tried to drag her into the hole. It was a mess of limbs. She glanced at the dead students... their torn flesh and clothes. They blinked and stared at their hands and wailed. So far, only the angels were crawling toward them. Maybe the humans... maybe they were still in there?

Pressure erupted inside Jenny's navel. She cried out as the sensation expanded outward, pushing against her belly button and the base of her spine. Like something was struggling to burst through her skin. Her muscles clenched. Her back arched as though she was seizing, and, looking up at the ceiling and making eye contact with another angel, the pressure released all at once.

A gelatinous red substance that looked like thickened blood spurted out of her belly button.

 

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author note

rolls over, hugs knees, tries not to cry... am tired

also damn, i dont know if ya'll saw what happened here in NYC the past few days but all that smoke made things so awful and triggered me so hard

but we push forward! also with this chapter, angels is now over 100k words!!!!!!!!

up to chapter 46 now on patreon!

more soon xoxo