Revelations

“Angelica, it's time to wake up. You can’t stay here.”

I open my sleepy eyes. That voice, I know it—

It’s mine.

It’s Angie.

“Get your ass out of bed we got to move!”

I’m inside my room but it’s bathed in sick light. There is no warmth, outside the window the garden is dead. The air is frigid and cold.

I close my eyes.

Angie starts shaking me to get up but it's no use, I don’t want to wake up. Not after everything that’s happened.

“Fine, we’ll do it the hard way.” She says angrily.

Suddenly I feel myself being grabbed and lifted up. Angie is carrying me like a baby. We leave the room and go out in the vastness.

“Where are we going? I want to go back!”

“You can never go back there, we have to keep going.”

Finally I get tired of being carried like a child. I’m not a child after all! I kicked my legs and struggled until Angie dropped me.

“Oof! Why did you drop me like that?”

Angie kneels down and gingerly caresses my hair and cheek. She looks so dreamy. My knight in shining armor. I start to get sleepy again.

SLAP!

Angie slapped me!

“What are…”

SLAP! SLAP!

“Are you clear now?”

”That hurt!”

SLAP! SLAP! She winds up for another powerful slap—

“Okay okay okay! Okay, okay, OKAY! That’s enough! Was that really necessary?”

“….”

”Yes.”

I rub my cheeks which stung as well as a few tears.

“Are you clear headed now? If not then the next move is going to be a German suplex.”

“I remember everything so please stop hitting me!”

”No promises.” Angie looks around suspiciously. “Come on, we aren't safe here, we have to keep moving.”

“But why? It’s just us here… isn’t it?”

When I turn around I see a dense fog coming towards us. However when I look closer the fog is writhing like a snake with monstrous faces.

“Follow me, we’ll talk on the way.” Angie is already walking fast in the other direction.

“Wait for me!”

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We travelled for what seemed like an eternity but neither of us spoke. I sensed that we were still close to a danger I did not know about.

Finally, Angie turned to me. “We can talk now.”

“Angie, what’s happening? Why did you leave me? What the hell is the Director? I don’t understand anything! It’s all…”

I didn’t mean to start crying but I did; mostly because it’s such a relief to see Angie again. I run up to her from behind and bury my face into her back.

“I thought you left me forever.”

She lays her hands over mine. “It’s not forever, I tried telling you I had to leave. It wasn’t my place to stay any longer. Don’t you see? A body cannot live with two souls; there's only room for one. I wanted to tell you that, I guess I was hoping you’d just forget about me.”

“I would never forget about you! You’re more than a friend. You mean so much more to me!”

She turned and put her hands on my shoulders, “I know, I know, that’s why I had to leave. It’s all a bit complicated but here’s the deal, you're a special case which is why I’m here now. Angelica, your life is in danger”

”By this Rahab? Why am I a special case—what could he possibly want with me?”

”I’ll try and keep this brief: do you remember when Rook talked about The Icon of Pride? Somebody used its power to possess a bunch of people in a cult, and then did a blood sacrifice ritual to resurrect this titan.”

“Yes I remember… some of that. What does this have to me, or even Principal Rook?”

“Because, Rook was there that day with The Director. He told me some other details he didn’t tell you.”

“When–”

”Shutup. Doesn’t matter. So 16 years ago the ritual opened a tear in the Veil that allowed the cult leader to escape with the Icon. Rook found your mother with a group of pregnant women trying to kill their babies even though the mind control was broken. This made me realize something about who your father was…

“….”

“What if Rahab was already resurrected and he was the original cult leader? And the reason the women were so desperate to kill their babies was the father—”

“Don’t say it!”

I fell forward into Angie’s arms who caught me. I don’t think I can handle the truth anymore. I just want to be ignorant.

“Angie, I don't want to know anymore. Please stop.”

“Do you remember when you put your life on the line against Rook? Do you remember the feeling? That thirst and confidence you had that what you were doing was right?”

”No… I don’t think I can remember.”

“It was the bravest and most courageous act you have ever done. Angelica, it's time for you to stop running away and embrace the destiny that you’ve been given. It’s calling. All you need to do is believe in yourself. After all—“

Angie lifts my head up. She’s staring intensely.

“I believe in you, my Angel.”

I smiled weakly and teased, “So, what you’re saying is I have to beat a primordial god and his army on my own?”

Angie smiles with a radiance I have never seen before. She brought me close and kissed me on the forehead.

“You are never alone.”

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Back in the “real world” I couldn't move. My hands, body, and feet were tied. I was even gagged.

I tried to look around but the place was dimly lit with torches. I think I’m in…some sort of mega cavern and—oh wait I’m not alone. There are dozens of men in robes and—

“Interesting.”

Above me the Director—or Rahab, I don’t know I guess it's both—is standing over me with a ceremonial knife.

Holy shit…

“It’s no matter, I will begin the sacrifice.”

Angie! You said I wouldn’t be alone. I could really, really, really use some help about now!

I heard loud echoes that sounded like gunshots. But my focus was on the knife that was hovering over my chest!

Angie help me please!

I don’t understand, have I been abandoned again?

The gunshots grow closer. I can plainly hear them now and then suddenly—an explosion!

BOOOOM!

The concussion was so great I felt like somebody jumped on my chest and knocked the wind out of me.

I saw a blur that looked like fire shooting and a giant steel door flying overhead. Crash, clunk!

The air and atmosphere shifted. Somebody had arrived.

“Queenie, Dom. Take care of it. I don’t have time for foolish coup d’états.”

“Yes sir.”

“You got it boss!”

I don’t know who was crazy enough to try and save me but I thanked them from the bottom of my heart. However they were too late; nothing short of an army was going to stop the Director possessed by an ancient chaos god.

“Witness me, O Ancient of Days!” Rahab mocked. The knife shook in anticipation above my chest. “Restore what is mine… or watch my own daughter become a living sacrifice—the very fate you once spared Isaac! Surely you will not violate your laws you set forth?”

It was then, in the darkest most perilous moment of my life, I heard a voice call out to me—

“Angelica!”

I couldn’t believe it—Sable? What was she doing here? Is she insane?

I smiled to myself. Sable, despite being the cold Tyrantess on the outside, not only cared enough about me to save me from myself in the tournament—cared enough to risk her life to save me even now. Heh, what a softie…

“Angelica!”

It’s okay Sable, there’s nothing you could have done. Just knowing you tried to save me is enough. I wish we could have been friends...

The knife plunged down into me.

Goodbye.