Winged

Chapter One

Cairo stepped into his apartment without many expectations. He didn't even notice that the door was unlocked. That was most likely why he was so surprised to find a young man with chestnut brown hair and a bloodied leg, lying on his living room floor.

Cairo stopped for a moment—a long moment—and stared at what was in front him. Soon enough, he came back to his senses and spoke. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked, swallowing and attempting to act tough.

The man lifted his head, looking at Cairo with dark, shadow-brown eyes. "I need your help," he said, failing to elaborate.

Cairo's eyes focused in on the man's injured leg. "You want me to call an ambulance?"

The man shook he head, pulling himself up onto the edge of the couch. "No. Someone's trying to kill me. And I need you to stop them."

Cairo blinked, replaying the sentence in his head. "Sorry, what?"

The man tried to take a step, but his expression looked pained. Cairo glanced again at the man's leg. "My name is Luc Romeria. I'm twenty-three years old. There is a winged creature out there trying to take my life, and the only one who can stop it is you. Please, trust me."

Cairo blinked again, having no clue what this man—Luc—was talking about. "Are you sure you're alright?" Cairo asked, growing concerned. "I don't think you're... really thinking straight."

Luc sighed, looking Cairo in the eyes. "I'm not drunk. And I'm not joking. You need to help me, or this thing will kill me. We really don't have much time."

Cairo stepped forward cautiously. "Alright. Alright. Whatever you say." Luc gave him an annoyed expression, then clenched his jaw in pain. "I'll be right back," Cairo said, ducking quickly into the hallway to grab his first aid kit out of the closet. He returned and took out a roll of bandages, kneeling next to Luc, who didn't seem very happy about it.

"Listen to me," Luc reiterated tiredly. "You have the power to control them. It's genetic. When it gets here, you're going to have to take hegemony over it. It's the only way to stop it from killing me. You have to help me, alright?"

Cairo finished bandaging Luc's leg, then rose to examine his face. He seemed sincere, as if he really was fearing for his death. "the winged creatures?" Cairo asked, doubtful.

"Yes," Luc nodded, glancing at the window and door with a set jaw. Cairo began to wonder if the man was paranoid. He didn't seem like the type, but you never knew what PTSD could do to a person.

"Like birds?" Cairo asked flatly.

Luc shook his head and laughed dryly. "No, more like angels. Only less angelic."

Cairo sighed, walking toward the kitchen. "You're insane."

"I'm really sorry to drag you into this, kid. I am."

"I'm not a kid," Cairo said, returning his first aid kit to the closet. "I'm twenty."

"When it gets here, you'll need to take hegemony."

"And how do I do that?" he joked, "Call out its name?"

"Of course not. It'd never be that easy. You have to touch its forehead."

"Right," Cairo agreed sarcastically. In all honesty, he almost wished some of this was real.

Luc's eyes flicked to the window. "It's here."

"What's h-"

A large crash sounded from the window, and they both spun around to see a tall silhouette of a man, glaring at Luc. Two large, white wings spread on his either side, folding inwards onto his back once his toes touched onto the carpet.

Cairo gawked, completely in awe of what stood before him. Unfortunately, Cairo was soon pulled out of his trance when the angel lunged for Luc.

It moved much faster than a human, and it had Luc's chest pinned against the coffee table before either of them could even react. The angel's hand radiated a white light, and Cairo saw Luc clasp his jaw shut, clearly in pain.

Cairo knew that this was his time to move. He had to stop the angel, to take hege-whatever it was, and to save Luc. As guilty as he felt about it, his inner child was extremely excited at the sight of a real angel; yet, he still hesitated in taking action. The world seemed slow. Dulled. There was some part of him that knew: once he did this, there was no going back. No going back to his old life. No finishing college. No becoming a veteranarian. No future.

Then Luc screamed. A pained, long, high pitched scream that he was clearly trying his best to hold in. There was no part of Cairo that could stand by and watch someone get hurt. He ran forward, closing the short distance between them, and touched the winged man's forehead.

The angel released Luc almost immediately as a burst of light shot out from where Cairo had touched him. He clutched his head, reeling back in shock. Cairo instinctively took a step backwards.

Luc stood, breathing heavily, and watched with Cairo as the angel squeezed his eyes shut, and reopened them again, looking up at the two.

"Tell it to stop," Luc said, warning in his tone.

"What?" Cairo asked, blinking at him.

The angel pushed himself back onto his feet, lunging once again toward Luc.

"ANGEL, STOP!" Cairo shouted. The angel stopped, an inch away from Luc's collar, and fell limp, turning to meet Cairo's eyes for the first time.

Cairo watched as a tear rolled down the angel's cheek, landing on the cold, glass covered carpet.