Ethereal Fall [Undergoing Major Editing] | #Wattys2016

Chapter Sixteen

As the rain slowly died, drops of water rolled off the canopy. Pitter-patter they fell on the grass. A miracle had come, and it had disappeared just as quickly.

I joined Iris and two other women, a dirty blonde and a redhead - whom I later learned were Hailey and Janet - on their log. Something had been nagging me from the back of mind, so I decided that I should ask it. "Um, can I ask a quick question?"

"Go for it," Brian said.

"Do you know why Lance had such a large set of memories?"

Brian looked at his comrades, almost like he was unsure of the answer.

"I'm not sure myself, actually. He's not that old either. Maybe he had just gone through a lot in his life? Whatever the case may be, that ultimately sparked the beginning of our rebellion." Brian smiled. "And I'm grateful for that, even if that led to his own demise."

I looked down at my hands, unable to return his smile. They shook as I grabbed fistfuls of the skirt. Lance... I shook my head vigorously, mentally slapping myself. No, stop dwelling on the past! He wouldn't want that for you!

Clearing my throat, I forced myself to divert my thoughts. We had a war to plan out. It was time for me to get serious. "So... What were you guys discussing before?"

Iris peaked at me through the corner of her eye, an almost skeptical look. No more on Lance? she seemed to ask.

I shook my head.

Brain grit his teeth. "Seems like torching all the villages didn't shake the Angels at all. They really are heartless."

I sat forward, clasping my hands and resting my elbows on my knees. "Since I know the Angels first-hand, I guess I can help a little. What kind of information do you guys need?"

Their expressions all seemed to relax at that moment. I guess I had given them a sliver of hope, however small it may be.

One of the men, roughly in his mid-fifties with a buzz cut, stood up. His straight-as-a-pin stance and tattered army uniform gave away his formerly being in the military. "My name is Franklin. May I ask, do the Angels have weapons of any sort? Guns? Swords? The like?"

"Not that I know of. Though..." I closed my eyes, racking the back of my brain as I entered the darkest of my memories. "They have been granted with powers by God. As far as I know, they have the ability to float, teleport, shoot beams of light from their hands, cut off a person's voice..."

I watched as some of them started jotting this down on notepads. Pens and paper... More stealing, perhaps?

"And, do they have any weaknesses?"

I thought for a moment, listing all of them in my head before responding, "Yes, they do. Terrible sight, a lack of sophisticated intelligence, unable to sense human presence. But their biggest weakness has to be a lack of human empathy." The words tumbled out of my mouth like I had practiced it beforehand. I was surprised at myself at knowing all of this. Had the Angels unknowingly been letting their guard down and revealing their weaknesses to us?

"Can you explain that?" a young man sitting next to Franklin asked, notepad in his hands.

"Explain what?"

"Their lack of human empathy?"

"Oh, well, since they've have been sitting up here in Ethereal for eons, watching over dead souls who have lost their sense of self and their human instinct, it's natural that over time, the Angels would forget the nature of humans." I wasn't sure if that was the real reason, but it seemed very likely.

"Thank you very much, Asteria," Franklin said as he sat back down.

"Does anyone have any ideas from that helpful supply of info?" Brian asked. It was obvious that he was the leader of the rebels at this point.

A girl with long, unkempt, chocolate-brown hair raised her hand, looking no older than thirteen. Standing up, she said, "I devise that we attack in the most unpredictably human way possible." She held her knuckles to her chin in deep thought. "They'll think we have the upper hand with our strength in numbers and will attack as a whole. So we should do...a sneak attack? Or guerrilla tactics, maybe? Only instead of with guns and rifles, we use slingshots and rocks? Either way, I also advise that we send a spy over to the Angels."

The girl looked at me, a hardened, severe expression on her face. "We have someone who could act as a perfect double spy right here." When our eyes met, her expression suddenly softened, and she smiled. "Oh, I didn't mean to be rude. My name's Raegan, by the way. Nice to meet you."

As Raegan sat down, I blinked in astonishment. This girl... So young yet so educated in warfare.

She read my expression and giggled. "I played a lot of video games when I was alive. Don't be surprised if I suddenly start blurting out random things and pretending to be speaking into a walkie-talkie."

I started laughing too, and gradually, so did Iris, then Brian, then the rest of them. The thick, melancholy air had become light with the sound of laughter. This was fine too. Fighting when we're down wasn't smart. We all need a little cheering up. I exchanged looks with Brian, and he gave me a thumbs-up.

It seemed like ages ago when I was sitting in my office at the Disposal Branch, typing away at the computer keyboard and following orders with no hesitation like a robot. It felt nice to laugh, smile, and talk with actual people, actual people who cared about each other.

Brian cleared his throat. "Ahem. So, let's hear all of you have to say about the plan proposed by Raegan. Ivan?"

Ivan stood up, pen and paper in hand. "Yeah, um... I think the idea of guerrilla-style fighting is smart, and so is sending Asteria as a double spy. But even if we manage to land hits against them, aren't they immortal? Nothing we do can kill them."

The mood was dampened once again at his question. Even I hadn't thought of that.

"Well, the answer's easy." Janet stood up, flicking back her fiery red curls. "Their existence in Ethereal survives on the sole fact that Ethereal exists."

People started muttering.

"I don't quite get what you mean," Brian said.

Janet shrugged, and a wicked grin spread across her face. "It's simple. We'll just fight until Ethereal has been destroyed and can't function anymore, so they have no use ruling over this godforsaken place."

✧

Hi everyone!

So... I'm back!! Yeah, so sorry for that ULTRA long hiatus (I've been studying my ass off for math and chem). So anyway, I decided to write another chapter, and expect another chapter to be edited within a few days :)

Until next time, please

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