1.6 The Fall to Reality

As the creature let go of Ray he felt the wind whoosh by him. He was falling to his death without a parachute or any form of rescue possible. He felt himself slipping into the tail end of the darkness from the creature. The friction against the air caused his skin to almost burning. The ice on his skin started to melt. He was moving through the clouds which felt like needles piercing the already frozen skin. Ray turned to face the earth greeting him below. He wondered if any of his body parts would be found. He wondered if he would turn to splatter on hitting the ground. Just then something penetrated his senses. Samael. He had heard the name before on lips that mattered to him. The past few months made more sense to him. He thought about his wife who had refused him citing this creature as her betrothed. But how was it possible for his Cassandra to have acquaintance with a creature who was clearly not of this world?

Ray couldn't imagine Cassie to be in love with this destructive creature. It wasn't the feeling of love that kept her away from him. It was fear. Cassie was scared for him. She was scared of Samael and Ray had to protect her somehow. Somehow he had to prevent his death even if it seemed impossible. He had to stop falling.

Ray was literally falling from the sky. The ice that had accumulated around him had melted and he could feel the heat of friction of the air through which he plummeted towards the ground. The clouds slowly gave way as he had a clear view of the land where he fell. He was now a little distance from the desert where the research facility was situated. He needed to stop falling however and he needed to act against gravity. Science taught him that it was not possible but faith had taught him something far different. Ray closed his eyes and prayed to the Lord to perform a miracle, to save his life and grant him the power to protect his wife and his world. No sooner did the words come out of his heart than he stabilized, floating high above the ground. For a moment Ray wondered whether he was really dead and his body had met the fate that his soul had not. Then something hit the corner of his eyes. It was reflected light. Ray turned around to see the source. He was the source and the light was reflected off the rainbow coloured wings that came out of his shoulder. In a daze and in a fit of adrenaline rush Ray flew over the desert and landed in an oasis.

Ray felt the light from the cloudless sky soak into his numb skin. He walked over to a fountain where he saw the light gleaming from his skin. Over his head, a halo spread in rainbow colours. His skin lost its natural colours and was covered in the various hues of light and all over his body were the markings like Cassandra's tattoo. He had no idea where his wings had come from but as soon as his adrenaline rush receded so did the wings and the tattoo.

He scanned the desert for any sign of the soldiers who fell to their death with him. He found torn pieces of flesh, a hand, a shoe with the foot in it. Ray was aghast with the scenes that he witnessed. He needed to splash some water on his face to prevent him from going to shock. The sky was setting in the western sky. With that as a reference, he set out for the research centre. It was at the northern end of the desert.

He studied the stars to find his way. Astronomy and astrology, both fascinated him in his early years. He never saw astrology as anything apart from astronomy, a concept for which he was laughed at. He believed in destiny and prophecy, concepts that should be as much alien from the scientific mind as that of God. However, Ray believed in God more than he believed his senses.

He was numb with fear and cold but kept walking. He reached his desired destination by dawn. The rescue workers all lay suffocated on the ground. Not a single living soul remained. When he walked towards the ambulance he felt a clicking noise from inside. Stanley was still breathing and in his hand held a pressure torch. It was made from a piezoelectric material connected to a circuit with an LED. Pressing a diaphragm connected with the piezoelectric material allowed the LED to glow for a short while. "The light kept me going." Stanley breathed on seeing Ray.