Chapter Seven

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Xavier convinced me to stay another night with him, because he kept getting me beers until I was definitely tipsy. He was evil. That morning, we ordered room service breakfast and just talked about nothing in particular. I suggested that we go for a walk so we toured the city by ourselves until lunch time, when we stopped at a little French cafe. I couldn’t resist getting a crepe with Nutella and strawberries. It was my heritage, after all. Xavier reminded me about the museums in Dublin while I was munching on that and I said I still wanted to do it.

We arrived at the National Museum of Ireland half an hour later, due to traffic in the city. We walked around quietly talking and teasing each other for a few hours. I kept pointing out facts and dates that weren’t true.

“That was invented in the previous year.”

“That was painted in Italy, not France. Come on, how could they get that wrong? Italy was the birth of the Renaissance.”

“That uniform was actually owned by a lieutenant, not a general. You can tell by the number of stars.”

After the millionth correction, Xavier’s hand shot out. “Aimee, stop. You’re ruining my museum experience.”

“I was just saying…” I grumbled under my breath, too low for him to hear. My eyes raised to his. “Want to know about the angels?”

His eyes lit up at the opportunity that I laid out in front of him; the chance to learn definite knowledge and he eagerly nodded.

I told him the condensed version of what Reven told me. “The angels were created by God, after the first few humans were. God created only sixteen. There are eight hierarchs, designated in three different spheres, with different jobs, and two angels per hierarch.” I went into explaining how the angel system worked. “It’s complicated. In order from closest to God to farthest in the First Sphere; the Seraphim, Ariel and Hope; the Cherubim; Raphael and Uriel; the Thrones; Sarah and Amelia. In the Second Sphere: the Dominions, Reven and Adam; the Virtues, Belle and Cecilia; the Powers, Thaddeus and Elias. The Third Sphere; the Principalities, Zella and Marion; and the Archangels; Michael and Gabriel.”

“That’s a lot to take in. I might have to make a chart.” Xavier joked and elbowed my ribs. “Gabriel is your father?”

“Yes…”

“How many of them have you encountered, or have you seen all of them?”

I counted the numbers in my head. “I haven’t met either of the Seraphim, the Powers, or the Cherubim. Usually the angels are with their partners. So, it’s odd the encounter one by themselves.”

Xavier bobbed his head, his body language telling me to continue with my story.

“The angels had been to Earth, but at the same time they haven’t. Travelling between the two planes takes massive amounts of energy, and the angels don’t have enough. Their physical bodies stayed in Heaven while their metaphysical souls wandered among the humans. They were observers. They watched while humans grew, evolved, and changed the world around them. God has always been big on ‘free will’, with the humans, that is. That immentity was never given to the angels. They were basically slaves, with no escape of death.” I tried not to get choked up when the memory flashed before my closed eyes. “You should have seen it, Xavier. They just wanted to be like us; to have choices.”

“You’re sympathizing with them.”

“Yeah, actually I am.” I snapped back.

“So what if they wanted free will? It’s no excuse to kill millions of people.”

“No, but can’t you see what you humans are doing to this planet?!”

“Aimee, keep your voice down.” Xavier’s ice blue eyes narrowed as he hissed the words at me.

“No, you are all a plague to this planet. Killing it, suffocating it, polluting it, wasting resources, overpopulating it. There won’t be anything left when you’re done with it.”

“You’re sounding like you’re one of them.”

My eyes tinged red. “I am though. Who was I kidding all these years?” I pointed to my eyes. “Is this human?” I pointed to his ribs. “Was what I did to you human?” I zipped away and zipped back as fast as I could, breathing heavily with rage. “Is this human?” I paused. “You think I’m a traitor, but I’m not. I’ll never be human.”

“You’re scaring people, Aimee. Stop it.”

“No.”

“Aimee, you need to turn yourself in. Before it’s too late.”

“What?” I shrieked and humans looked at me. I muttered, “Ta bron orm,” loud enough for them to hear. “You’re insane, Xavier. I thought you cared about me. It’s like you want to see me dead, or dissected like a frog in biology class.”

“I do care about you, Aimee. More than you’ll ever know.”

I let out a harsh, cold laugh. “Funny way of showing it.”

“Aimee… You have to.”

“And how do you think I’m supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know.” He looked down and looked back up to my eyes. “But if you don’t, I will. I can’t let you hurt people.” His voice shook a little, but his tone was firm.

He meant it.

My eyes widened and then I turned away because I didn’t want Xavier to see my eyes turn blue. “I should have left with Reven…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“I did not just hear you mention his name.”

“You did.”

“No wonder you’re like this. It’s always been about him.”

“Don’t talk about him like that.”

“Fine. Have it your way.”

Without turning back, I said, “This is goodbye, Xavier.”

“What about us?”

“There is no ‘us’. It was a mistake.”

“A mistake? Are you kidding me? What about how we felt?”

“You’re just my friend, Xavier. That was only lust.” I swallowed my guilt as I lied.

“Only lust?!”

“What can I say? It’s been awhile since I’ve had a good lay. Since Reven.”

“When did you turn so cold? Damn it, I love you, Aimee. I always have.”

Hearing those words broke me on the inside, but I didn’t show it. That was exactly what I didn’t want to hear him say. “You can’t love me, Xavier. I’m not something that was made to love, or be loved. We were a mistake. I was a mistake. I’m the first and only Nephilim. Nephilim and angels aren’t meant for this world.”

“But you’re here anyways and I don’t care. I’m glad the angels fell because you wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t. And are you saying you don’t love me?”

“Xavier…” I turned my head to him, my vision blurring with unshed tears.

He had his fists clenched and I could see his heart beating fast in the artery on his neck. “Just answer the question, Aimee. Please.” His voice was gruff but it cracked on the last word.

“I do care about you, Xavier.”

“That’s not the same.”

“I care enough to not let you love me.”

“That’s bullshit!”

I looked over him once more, with watery eyes, knowing it was the last time I’d see him. “This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.”

“You know,” he whispered softly, turning away from me because he knew I could hear him anyway, “I always hoped that you would love me. I watched while you loved him, even though it killed me inside. When you found out about him, I thought I finally had a chance… But then your mom died and you left shortly after. There’s some part of me that still hopes you do, even though the truth is laid out before me. You will never love me like I want you to.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, leaving the room. Then I added, “for everything, Xavier, for everything.” I ran as fast as I could back to the hotel, dodging cars and pedestrians. My momentum would cause anything I collided with to go flying. When I got to our room in the hotel, I broke the handle and grabbed my bags, then I took the elevator to the underground parking.

The facility was a hundred miles away and I really didn’t want to waste all of my energy running. Even I had a limit. I also had a feeling that tonight was going to be a long night.

Conveniently, Xavier had chose a ritzy hotel to stay at and it was summer. Sports cars were available to choose from. My eyes browsed the selections and I quickly chose a black Ferrari. I stepped back and looked for security cameras. Thankfully, there were none, but I did hear footsteps growing louder. I needed to hurry. After breaking the lock on the door, I simultaneously closed the door with my left hand after I threw my bags into the passenger seat and pulled apart the wires under the steering wheel with my right. I brushed them together over and over again until the engine roared to life. I glanced over the map to choose my route and then I was off.

I paid attention to the traffic laws while I was still in Dublin. I didn’t speed because, one; I didn’t need to and, two; I didn’t want to get pulled over by the police and cause a scene. The reality was that they would die and I would get away.

The cityscape faded into the suburbs and then into rolling emerald hills. I guess they didn’t called Ireland the “Emerald Isle” for nothing. The sun began to melt back down into the bumpy horizon and finally it was just me and the open road, save for the flock of sheep grazing in the distance.

I let my face express my emotion, and a devilish grin pulled on either side of my lips. I pressed harder on the gas. The numbers climbed as I kept pressing… 75, 80, 90, 100, 115, 130…

I was pushed up against the back of my seat when I floored it completely. Its top speed as 204 miles per hour. I loved the feeling of incredible speed, or the dizzying rush as everything blurred and rushed past me. It was exhilarating, and very, very human. Being alone, like this, wasn’t bad at all. It was as peaceful as it was a feeling of pure euphoria. How could I explain why I liked this so much? The power of the engine, felt through my fingertips that were on the steering wheel, transferred so much good energy into me. I could feel it elevating my mood and fueling my determination.

I finally eased the Ferrari back down to 80. It was dark now, stars showing up into the fabric of the evening sky. They glittered and accompanied me as I raced down the lonely, winding road. With one hand on the wheel, I glanced around and decided that the owners had kept this machine in impeccable shape. I could see no scratches, dings, or any imperfections of any kind in the interior. The only sign that the Ferrari wasn’t brand new was the faint smell of cigars. I didn’t particularly like the smell of smoke, but I didn’t mind it. I’ve never smoked; I never wanted to get caught up in a typical human vice. I felt slightly guilty for stealing the owner’s baby, but oh well… I needed a car.

I checked my map and it seemed like I was only a few miles away from the base. Now, the terrain around the road had turned from rolling green pastures to rocky, shrub-ridden hills. I ditched the car behind a mound of dirt, out of view of the road. Even though I might need it later, I still wiped off my prints after I grabbed my bags from the other side of the car. After destroying my prints, I knelt on the ground and loaded the special ammunition into my guns. I checked the scope on the sniper rifle and everything seemed perfect. I attached the silencers to each of the guns. I slung the rifle over my back, placed the handguns back into the bag, zipped it up, and headed off. I made sure to pivot my feet after each step to destroy my prints.

I heaved my backpack onto one shoulder and carried the duffel bag in the other arm. I began running at a steady pace along the road, letting my senses expand far beyond what was considered humanly possible. But I wasn’t human, was I? I had reined them in because I had been in so many heavily populated areas; Chicago, O’Hare, and Dublin. My vision became clearer and more attuned to the night, my hearing swelled so I could hear most things within a square mile of myself, and my smell broadened to that of a dog’s. Everything was quiet.

After a mile or so, the road came to a stop at a very large, at least seven foot tall, chain link fence topped with curling barbed wire. There was a gate, of course, but that would be monitored. I swerved left and walked along the perimeter of the fence for quite some time. When I was satisfied, I inspected it further. The area past the fence was only flat ground, which was very odd considering the rest of the region was full of hills. There was a faint buzzing sound coming from the fence. Of course it has to be electrified.

I made sure I had a good grip on my belongings and jumped over the barricade, just barely clearing it. The impact to the ground was jarring, hurting the balls of my feet. The extra weight from my bags was the cause. I shook it off mentally and kept jogging.

I caught sight of a security camera, “Shit.”

I dropped down to a knee and let go of my bags, rotating the rifle around and sighting the camera in my scope. I pulled the trigger. My aim was spot-on, the camera was blasted away, but the shot was too loud for my taste.

I picked up my bags and sprinted away, fleeing from the scene. They would know something was up once they realized the camera was out.

Suddenly, the ground fell away and I had to slam my heels into the ground to keep myself from plummeting over the edge. It was a huge square pit in the ground, probably thousands of square feet, and in the center was the McLoughlin Base of Scientific and Agricultural Research.

Agricultural research, my ass.

I dropped low to the ground as I studied the building. I only saw one entrance, with five armed guards pacing around the perimeter of the building. Surveillance cameras swivelled around on their posts. Spot lights lit up the entire building, which was an amazing feat considering I didn’t notice the lights before. The building had no windows, which made it look weird.

This was bad; one way in, one way out, and no other possible exits unless I wanted to smash a hole in the wall. Eh, I’ll figure it out later. It took a few seconds to come up with my plan; take out the spotlights, next the cameras, and then the guards. Once I started, I needed to act fast.

I grabbed both handguns and put them in the waistband of my jeans. The sniper rifle was still slung against my back again. I knew I couldn’t drag the duffel bag along with me. I placed some of the bullets into my backpack, along with some cash and the picture. I couldn’t even look at it right now; I didn’t want to get emotional.

“Calculated risk,” I whispered under my steady breathing. I might be able to grab the bag later, but I couldn’t be certain.

It’s time.

I laid myself flat against the ground and sighted in my scope once again. Rapidly firing, I took out the lights and the cameras, then I jumped down, pulling out my Desert Eagle. All you could hear was the whoosh of the bullets as they pierced the air, and a short crunch as they punctured the skulls of the five guards. I shot them in the head because I didn’t take pleasure in suffering. I swiped a key card from one of the bodies and ran inside, shooting down cameras as I went in further.

The first level of the building was clear, but the base went ten levels into the ground. Two ways down; taking the stairs or the elevator. Since elevators could be shut off by controls and the cables could be cut, the taking the stairs was the only option for me unless I was suicidal. Who knows what the humans would do?

I went straight down to Level 10, but I ran into a small problem; the lights had been cut. When someone is hundreds of feet underground, there is not a hint of light. Complete darkness. I took a minute to let my vision get used to the darkness.

I had stopped at the bottom of the stairwell and now quietly swung my rifle around. The scope could sense heat and as long as I had this gun, I could see my enemies. I silently nudged the door open and surveyed the room. I saw nothing and took a step forward. I moved slow and silent until my foot brushed against something.

I knelt down and touched whatever it was, trying to figure out the identity of the object. I felt fabric but under the fabric was something slightly squishy but solid. I snatched my hand away when it touched liquid.

I grabbed my gun and looked through the scope. There was a very, very faint source of heat, in the shape of a human body.

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