As the adrenaline began to wear off and the world dulled back into its normal focus my mind whirled in a frenzy. What was that thing? Why did it attack us? Were there more of them out there? 

I busied my hands tending to Allegras wound as I thought through my questions. She was shivering, from the chill in the night air or from the rush of combat with the beast I couldn’t be sure, so I turned to focus my gaze on the cinders smouldering where the creature had been incinerated. Directing the heat through the grass towards a nearby log to provide more long lasting fuel for a campfire.

Turning back to Allegra I asked her if she had any idea what the nightmare we had just fought could be.

It took her a moment to register that I had spoken. When she finally snapped back into the present she shook her head. She had never seen anything like that in any of her research, but her areas of study had been primarily directed at healing and improving the capabilities of those housed inside the Citadel.

She shivered again and reached out to me, desperate for some kind of comfort to distract her from her thoughts.

We embraced again and I pulled her robes over her shoulders, then helped move her closer to the warmth of the fire.

Together we huddled silently in the glow of the crackling flames, there was no need for words, until finally we were able to drift off to sleep. There was much to do in the morning and we both already knew what the other would be focused on.

I tossed and turned for the remainder of the night, every cracking twig or rustling leaf was a threat that required my instant attention, but each time the threat proved to be a false alarm. Our rest passed uneventfully until just before dawn.

Allegra woke with a terrible scream and clawed at my arms that were wrapped protectively around her midsection, waking me from my own shallow slumber.

When I asked her what was wrong she simply looked at me, her green eyes blazing, and exclaimed she knew what the beast was. She had seen one before, before the experience had been expunged in the Chamber of Memories. She had fought it, in an arena in the basement of the Oracle’s chambers, and there had been others as well.

The creature we had fought was an Angel. And there were more, many more, and they were very angry.

Alexander Motus, Guardian #51