Deadly Wings [IN EDITING]

Prologue

I remember the day the sky turned black, drained of color. I remember the screams, the panic, the crying. The attacks were sudden. None of us suspected it.

I was thirteen when the Fallen flew down to New York City, grabbing children from their mothers, pushing people down on the cement pavements of the crowded streets. Civilians were desperate to escape the unknown monsters, jumping over cars and people, some crushed against the pavement, unable to move or stand.

I was holding my mother's hand as I ran along her, the beating of my infant heart louder than the screams surrounding me. My father was shortly in front, guiding us through the panicked streets of Manhattan.

"Keep up, honey! We need to keep going!" My mother shouted beside me, her strong grip slowly making my fingers numb.

"Mom, what are those!?" I continued to run, my breathing hitching as I watched one of the enormous black-winged monsters grab a struggling man by the throat. Ever so slowly, the man stopped struggling, hanging lifelessly in the air. I gulped, feeling my eyes fill with water, as I held back a scream.

I closed my eyes shut, letting my mother guide me through the crowd, knowing we would near the edge of the city soon enough. The screaming got louder and I looked above me, watching the sky turn grey as hundreds of man-like creatures with black wings flew above. They were like crows circling their prey.

Abruptly, my mother's strong grip within my own was gone, and I felt my stomach dropping as I heard the piercing scream of my name.

"Victoria!"

"Mom!" I turned, watching as my mother's body was swept from the ground, held tightly in the arms of one of the monsters. For the what seemed like the hundredth time that day, I screamed, tears flowing from my face as I ran towards the opposite direction of the crowd's flow, pushing forcefully through.

"Mom!" I ran as fast as I could, as she was taken away from me, her body suddenly hanging lifeless into the arms of the flying demon, until I could no longer see nor hear the flapping of the wings. I recognized the strong arms holding me tightly from behind, small sobs leaving my father's lips. He pulled me back, but I continued to scream frantically for my mother.

I had lost my mother that day. I had lost my home, my belongings, my normal life. I had seen death around me for the first time. It was gruesome, unbearable to watch. Hell had officially taken over on Earth.

Literally.