Chapter 9

9

 

Darkness and daylight came and went. The blurred glow of the sky was forever disappearing as I slipped in and out of consciousness. This stupor didn't come gently though. My body and eyes may have been asleep, but my senses certainly weren't. All around me, I could hear the last cries of the living as they perished. I could feel my head pounding like a thousand drums. I could taste blood burning in my mouth.

Yet I lay on the ground, dead by movement, but living in unseen agony. Soon, voices began to hammer in my head; the cries from before and conversations from years ago suddenly formed an endless loop of noises. But then, I heard something else. Above all the commotion in my head, there came a voice from the outside world. It wasn't clear, but it sounded deep and hollow, like a soldier. Were they back for more? Were they not satisfied with my oblivious state? Without warning, I felt myself rising from the ground, into the arms of someone robust. They mumbled something vague and abrupt, before hauling me over their shoulder. Other bodies followed after, all being stacked on top of me like corpses. The weight of their bodies on top of mine was unbearable, like a hundred blocks of bloodstained steel. I let out a muffled groan. My chest already ached, and with ten or so angels crushing me against a shoulder blade, it felt like agony. Then they threw us recklessly into something. Metal bars met my body and forced bruises upon my skin.

I couldn't even open my eyes, but I swear I felt everything. Blood poured from my lips, hands and chest like a rivulet, stinging my open wounds. The groans and moans from those next to me rung in my ears. I tried to move away, but it was no use. Heavily sedated, I lay helpless and still, until we began to move. My body suddenly swayed back and forth, jolting from side to side uncontrollably. I could hear the others sliding around too; all of us crashing into each other. Each time, a yelp or muffled groan escaped somebody's mouth.

 I murmured inaudible sounds, fresh blood coating my lips. Every part of me ached, and the constant whines of others echoed disturbingly.

Then there was a sudden jolt. My chest seized up, releasing a pain-filled cry. I twitched sideways, shoving into the back of another, making them choke and splutter. They cursed me under their breath, but I was too focused on how I had moved at all.

Wasn't I almost paralysed by the sedative? It was only then that I realised...I had just made my own breakthrough. I could suddenly move, which meant I could fight. At once, I heaved myself up, feeling for my sword and steadily opening my eyes. But the bulk of my sword had vanished, and as I awoke, I was greeted by dismay. For steel bars surrounded me like a prison, and bloody bodies lay at my feet. The cage we were trapped in was on the move, dragging us away from the rest of the world. It jolted up and down, the cart wheels below treading over charred ground and turned up earth. My weapons were gone too; they had left me with nothing but a plague of horror and disgust. Now how would I fight back? Despair came with panic and I limped over to the bars, in case somebody was still out there.

"H-HELP!" I choked out, blood spilling from my mouth again. "SOMEBODY H-HELP!" The more I cried, the more hope died within me. We were either trapped or dead, and nobody could defend us now. But then, someone came into view. It sparked hope in my eyes, and I called out to them. "HELP US! PLEASE!"

They didn't answer. Odd. Surely they could hear me. I called again, but still no reply. Maybe they were too far away to hear my cries? Then the cart took a turn and leant closer towards my target.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I cried desperately. They must have been deaf. Or dead. For when the cart swerved onto a path, I passed what I wish I'd never seen...

A body lay lifelessly next to a soldier's deserted gun, bleeding from a jagged wound in his side. My heart stopped, making me vomit in my own mouth. But it wasn't the bleeding or the gore that made me feel so ill. It was the fact that this was the bloodied body of a new recruit. The same one that I had been partnered with just a few hours ago. He was gone right before my eyes.  I didn't even get to say goodbye.

 Tears flooded out of my eyes, as I reached out to him through the bars. He couldn't hear me, but time and time again I screamed his name to the world. My hand had just met his face when the cart swerved again and sent me flying backwards. With a tremendous force, I slammed into the back of the cage, colliding with other blood-stained angels. They cried with the deepest distress. I guess they saw what I had seen...and more.  I didn't even want to look around me anymore. I didn't want to know which other friends had died. I didn't want to experience the trauma of witnessing every little life being torn apart before my eyes. But I had to do all three at once.

 I cried and cried for what seemed like decades. There was no strength left in me to mourn, but I did anyway. It wasn't that I was close friends with him, but seeing him like that, after standing next to him so recently, killed me. He didn't deserve this. None of us did. Which is why, as I lay beside the chaos, I vowed eternal hatred for humans; innocent or guilty. I would never love, never forgive, and never submit to them. Ever.

 

 

Author's Note

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