Angels Among Us

This is my manuscript for the fiction workshop in my writing class. Enjoy!

Angels Among Us

*Tap tap tap tap*

The sound of my pen tapping the desk filled my office. It has truly been a long day of work, yearning for the skies throughout it. Soaring through the clouds is the one of the few places I feel at home.

I let my head fall into my hand, elbow propped up on my desk. "Ughhhhhhh." I groaned in boredom, wanting to get home. Something exciting would happen tonight after all. My daughter was to receive her wings in the ascension ceremony. With them, she would be considered an adult among the angel race.

Relative to time on Earth, we haven't been here for too long. Two, maybe three generations at most. Back then, we were just searching for a home, safe from the persecution of the previous race that "welcomed" us. We arrived in what the humans call Poland back in 1936. There was a beautiful mountain range there and we called it home. We later learned that it was called the Tatra Mountains and it formed somewhat of a natural border between the Second Republic of Poland and the Autonomous Land of Slovakia.

For a few years, we lived in peace. We mingled with the locals, buying food, clothes, and other provisions. We even grew close with some of the families that lived there. I remember a family that my parents and I became close with during that time. They had a son around my age, at least in terms of human life span. Angels lived for a few thousand years afterall. My parents had lived for about a millenia at this point. His name was Anatol Weiss. Each time we met as families, the food was delicious. The dishes they cooked were slightly different from what I found to be typical cooking of the Polish and Slovakian people but it was the good type of different.

I'll never forget that day in September of 1939. I was in bed, bundled up in the blankets as the cold air of the impending winter gnawed at my body. Rays of light from the morning sun pierced through my window and blinded me as I attempted to open my eyes.

I pulled the blanket over my head and let out a pained groan as if I was in extreme despair. Unfortunately, it was time to get up and attend school in my village. It was almost time for me to graduate and head off to university so I couldn't slack off now. I would be the among the first of my race to attend an institution of higher education on Earth. It was my duty to help establish a foothold for my people.

Keeping my eyes closed, I threw the blanket off of me and sat up. I turned my body and allowed my feet to drop to the floor. As usual this time of year, the floor was cold. The wood had a certain chill to it that penetrated through the thick skin of my feet. When I stood up, there was an unusual vibration coming from the floor. I raised my brow in confusion. Before long, I was able to hear the roar of a truck from outside. It did not sound familiar so I decided to take a look.

I quickly pulled on a sweater and put on my slippers. Fortunately there was no snow on the ground so I did not have to put on boots. I rushed through my house and exited through the front door.

As I got outside, I found that I wasn't the only one whose curiosity was piqued. At least half of the village was either in the streets or on their porches. I stood next to my parents but my father quickly pulled me behind him. I could immediately tell there was something wrong.

Just past my house, the truck came to a halt. Now I had a better view of it. It looked like a military truck. It was painted green and had green tarps hung over a scaffolding in the back. I was able to hear the shuffling of boots inside that back portion of the truck. Suddenly, the flaps on the rear of the truck flipped open and a squad of soldiers hopped out, fully armed and ready for battle.

They shuffled in an orderly fashion and lined up in front of the truck. The driver also quickly got out and rushed around to the passenger side of the truck and pulled the door open. A man dressed in black officer's clothing stepped out and walked around the truck, escorted by the driver. The man looked as if he felt superior to everyone around him. The air surrounding him felt as if it was disgusted to be in his presence.

The man stood tall in front of his men. He wore a black officer's hat with a silver symbol that looked like an eagle. On his upper arm was a band that had a swastika on it. He had some medals and other designations on his chest to signify his rank. His black pants were baggy on the top and stuck out to the sides. Finishing off with his black, leather boots, he looked quite intimidating.

He cleared his throat as if to get everyone's attention. "Guten tag, new citizens of the Reich. Under order from the Fuhrer himself, I, SS-Standartenfuhrer Hans Zimmerman, am here to inspect this village and root out any threats to the reich. I must speak to whoever represents this village."

Upon hearing this, the village was slightly shaken. Few people knew what to think. In terms of what I thought, I was only 17 at the time so I did not have much knowledge of the geopolitical situation surrounding us. I only knew a bit about the geography.

Over the next few weeks, we were forced to remain within our village. The humans that visited us turned out to be soldiers from the Third Reich of Nazi Germany. About a month after the initial visit, we were allowed to go out again.

I was excited to see the Weiss family. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found. We asked around and it seemed that a lot of families had gone missing. No one was willing to talk about the nature of their disappearance. This was awfully suspicious but we tried to avoid the topic as people seemed apprehensive when it was brought up.

Other than that, things got back to normal for us. Kids were outside playing, families were meeting up to have meals together, and various other normal things. Unfortunately, that all changed one day.

Throughout the history of the angel race, we have had a ceremony known as Ascension when children learn how to walk. The whole village would get together and the child would be granted their wings. The ceremony was quite beautiful. In the center of each angel village, there was a chapel with a marble pedestal inside. The child would be placed on top of the pedestal and they would drink a small cup of blood from their mother. This would ignite a change in their bodies. Their wings would manifest and emerge from their back. Fortunately, they would immediately retract after they completely manifested so they were not too conspicuous.

Although we were allowed to leave the village at this point, there were still Nazi soldiers patrolling the streets. One day, I was taking a nap on the bench in the backyard. The sun was out and a slight breeze wicked the sweat off my skin. It was a beautiful Spring day. Suddenly, I heard yelling out in the streets and among that, someone was crying. I ran out front to see what the commotion was.

A few houses down, I saw a squad of soldiers dragging a young girl along the street. She had her wings out and was kicking and screaming. Upon seeing the wings, my expression dropped. From what I had learned about my people's history, something like this is what started the series of issues that forced us to leave our previous home.

There was a man that left his wife on the porch of their house. "UNHAND MY DAUGHTER!"

A few of the soldiers raised their rifles and aimed them towards the man. A soldier stepped forwards. "Under the orders of the Fuhrer, we are to apprehend any individuals that possess inhuman characteristics. Stand down or we will open fire."

The man froze, a single tear rolling down his face. It was a struggle but he had already steeled his resolve. Who wouldn't risk their life for their child?

Out of his back emerged two wings. The wings of an adult angel were gorgeous. They looked as if they were ripped straight out of the bible, the white gentle glow rolling off of it like mist. They stretched out and spanned about ten feet. Even for someone like me who has been around this for their whole life, it was a sight to behold. The massive wings were breathtaking, appearing as if they were chiseled from marble. They looked invincible.

The squad leader of the soldiers looked as if he was panicking. "FIRE!"

Deafening gunshots sounded off, echoing through the mountains. I covered my ears and hid behind the bench on my porch. As the gunfire continued, it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon. Thus, I realized something was wrong. I peaked my head out from behind the bench and couldn't believe my eyes.

The man was advancing forwards with his wings contorted in front of him in the shape of a tower shield. Rounds from the rifles were colliding with it and then falling to the ground, crushed into coin-like lumps of metal.

Rifles in hand, firing away, the soldiers looked horrified. Soon, the only sound that prevailed was gentle clicking, signifying the lack of rounds in their magazines. Presumably, the man heard this as well and he spread his wings. This revealed a smug look on his face.

He scoffed. "Such primitive weapons. We tried to keep to ourselves but you fucking humans just had to pull this type of shit. Enjoy the view as it is the last thing that you will see before you go six feet under."

Taking a deep breath, the angel flexed his right wing and cocked it back as if he were about to hit something. He then walked up to the group of soldiers. "Sweetie, close your eyes."

The little girl nodded and closed her eyes, cowering under the grip of the soldiers. He then swept his wing across, meeting no resistance as he made his strike. The heads of all five soldiers were lopped clean off.

I was in shock. This was all too much. So many things were going through my head. Would we have to leave this place again? How many more people would have to die before we are finally safe? Why can't we just live in peace?

A lot of things changed after that. We had to leave Europe and went to America. Fortunately, they were a bit more accepting of us. It must have had something to do with the influx of refugees that were escaping to the United States. We were able to establish a town in what the humans called New York.

Our race wasn't that large. We had a few thousand people. We were governed by a council of elders. They were all older angels and they were quite powerful. Every decade, we would elect an Archangel. They would essentially be the elected monarch of our race. Under the Archangel of that time, we secured meetings with various officials that went all the way up to the highest levels of the United States government. In exchange for allowing for some routine, non-intrusive medical examinations, we would be allowed to become full fledged citizens of the United States.

After seeing the mistreatment of my people in Europe, I was enraged at how cruel humans could be. I wanted to get back at the Nazis for what they did to that little girl and how they forced my people to abandon another home. Unfortunately, I couldn't. This was due to the fact that I was helping my family get situated with a different way of life in America.

That was until my lucky day came. The United States Government announced that the army would be heading overseas to take down the treacherous Nazis. I immediately wanted to go and enlist but was stopped by my father. Apparently, the council of elders was in talks with the US Army regarding the formation of a unit composed entirely of angels. Everyone in our race had a deep desire to get back at the Nazis for forcing us out of our homes. We never got the chance in our previous home since the entire planet turned against us. This time, however, would be different.

With our assistance, the United States was able to put a quick end to the Nazi campaign, relieving Europe of this thorn in their sides. We suffered no casualties due to our near invincible bodies by human standards. We did suffer some injuries but they healed nicely. The soldiers we fought beside treated us as if we were gods among men, unparalleled in combat. We were welcomed home to the US with parades and parties. Everyone loved us.

By this time, I was sent off to college. But no, I didn't just go to any college. I went to the Harvard Business School. Part of how I got in there was that the medical researchers there wished to have a closer look at my anatomy. I decided to take advantage of my status as an angel and attended. Fortunately, they only wanted blood samples and x-rays. I was happy to oblige as the university gave me a full ride. The rest is history.

Nowadays, I am an executive at a big financial firm on Wall Street. We owned an entire building and my large office was situated on one of the upper floors. I had a whole corner to myself. I had my office arranged such that I had a great view of the sky. Working in the upper reaches of a skyscraper had its benefits for someone like me.

There was suddenly a knock on my door. I scrambled to look like I was doing something productive and called out. "Come in."

The door opened, revealing a dashing young man. He had dense, black, frizzy hair that held close to his head but puffed out a bit.. His sharp features were quite masculine and made him look quite professional. Dark skin provided a pleasing contrast against the light colored shirt he wore underneath his suit jacket. This was Andre "Dre" Holmes, one of the people on my team and a close friend since he started working at the firm.

Dre wore a gentle smile as he looked at me. "Lars, how goes the presentation? Anything I can help with?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "I wish I could have someone else do this but this is one of those things that I just have to do."

Dre shook his head and clicked his tongue. "You do too much, Lars. It doesn't hurt to get some help."

I shrugged. "Well it's not that I need help. I just can't focus anymore today. My daughter's coming of age is tonight after all and I'm too excited."

Dre appeared as if he remembered me telling him this and laughed. "That is completely reasonable. Getting your wings is like a bar mitzvah for you guys, right?"

I nodded and chuckled. "Indeed. I am not sure that they can compare in how fun a bar mitzvah is though."

Dre nearly choked and shook his head. "I don't know, man. I've heard you guys really know how to throw a party."

I sighed. "I guess you're right. I'll have to invite you and the fiance over some time."

Dre pointed at me as he wore a face of jest. "I'll hold you to that then. Anyways, if there is nothing to help you with, I'm gonna head home. It's date night tonight."

I smirked as I got up from my chair. I walked over to a cabinet in the corner of my office. It was made of dark wood and had a lock embedded in it. I flipped open a panel and entered a keycode. The lock clicked and I slid the cabinet open. From within, I grabbed a nice bottle of wine that I kept around as gifts for my friends. Each one was at least $100 and from the finest names.

I closed the cabinet, the lock engaging automatically. I then turned around and handed the bottle to Dre and smiled. "Send my regards to Kendra."

Dre's eyes were glowing. "Yo, how did you know I was still trying to figure out wine for tonight?"

I shrugged. "It's just an Angel's intuition. Go, she's probably waiting for you."

Dre nodded and started to head out of my office. "Thanks dude. I'll definitely get you back some time."

Once he was gone, I decided it was about time for me to go as well. I packed up my stuff and gripped my work bag in my hand. Like most modern businessmen, I used a backpack rather than a briefcase. It was much more convenient when walking. I pulled the straps over my shoulders and walked through the office.

As I made my voyage across the sea of cubicles, I was stopped multiple times as people chatted with me. Everyone around the office knew me as I had been working here for almost forty years.

After what felt like an eternity, I reached the elevator. There were a few people waiting. I pressed the button to go up, rather than down. By now, everyone knew that I didn't drive so it wasn't a surprise to anyone. I entered the elevator in my lonesome and started to prepare for flight.

I took off my suit jacket, tie, and shirt. I then folded them up and stuffed them into my backpack. Underneath my shirt, I wore a kevlar flight suit. It had openings in the back to allow for my wings to emerge.

The elevator opened up on the top floor of the building. All that lied up here was maintenance equipment and storage. There was also roof access, which was my destination. I opened the door to ascend the stairs and quickly arrived at the door that opened onto the roof. I put in the access code and opened the door.

As I pushed it open, a strong wind blew in my face. It made my slacks ripple. The wind was refreshing as the skies were ruled by the Angels. We even had the ability to take on fighter jets so not much could threaten us. As stated by the soldiers of old, we are gods among men. I do my best to not let that get to my head though.

I walked to the edge of the roof and looked over the city. The view was as breathtaking as ever. I get goosebumps every time I see it.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I flexed the muscles on my back. Slowly, my wings manifested, spanning out to about nine feet in total. It would take another forty years before they were fully grown.

Stepping up onto the ledge, I dropped, falling through the air. I closed my eyes, enjoying the air rushing against my face. Flexing the muscles again, I flapped my wings, taking flight. As fast as I fell, I ascended through the air, approaching the speed of sound. I didn't dare break it in order to avoid breaking all the windows in Manhattan.

With my high speed, the flight to my home in Westchester was short. Arriving at home, I landed in my backyard. I smiled as I looked at my home. After working for so many years, I had amassed quite the fortune. I lived in a large estate with my wife and three kids, the oldest of which being the daughter that was to receive her wings tonight.

When I walked in, my three children and wife were already waiting for me. They were dressed in their ceremonial robes. The robes of Ascended Angels were white with golden embroidering on it. The robes of those who had yet to ascend were black while the ones who were participating in the ceremony wore gray robes.

My daughter looked absolutely amazing. Her brown, wavy hair was done and she wore gorgeous earrings. She was growing up to be a fine woman.

I smiled and looked at my family after donning my white robes. "Are you guys ready?"