• A man ran through rain-soaked streets in pale gray afternoon light. It had been raining most of the day, and his feet splashed through countless puddles on the asphalt. His breathing came hard; he was in decent shape, but not exactly an athlete and he’d been running awhile. Running away. Having just witnessed a massacre carried out by a single man in the dorm hall where he lived, he’d been the only one to get away. But the man, monster, thing, whatever he was, had pursued him. Looking around desperately for somewhere to hide, he spotted a seedy motel and ducked inside. There was no one in the little cashier’s box with its bulletproof glass, and luck was finally on his side. He opened the door and crouched down, trying to calm his breathing as his legs trembled and water pooled around him, dripping from his skin, clothes, and hair.

    Then he heard the door of the motel open, the cheerful jingle of the bell ringing to alert anyone that a customer was here. But this was no customer. “I know you’re in here….” a deep voice sing-songed. There was an evil sort of chuckle. “Daaaavid….That’s right, isn’t it? Your name is David? Oh, the angels must simply love you. A call back to one of their few and not so impressive victories, David and Goliath…ha. Unfortunately for you, it’s not a battle of man and giant, this time, more a match between an insect and a fly swatter. It’s really not fair.” Suddenly the man was there, in the opening of the cashier’s box, and David squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that those eyes like black holes would be his last sight on this earth.
    “No!” another deep male voice cried, and there was a flash of bright white light. “You will not have him Azaizel!” David opened his eyes again in surprise. There was another man standing there in the opening of the cashier’s box, and he was massive, and…dear God. Were those wings coming out of his back? He held a huge gleaming longsword in both hands, facing off with the black-eyed man, Azaizel, apparently. Azaizel snarled, his own black blade coming up. “Gabriel. I might have known. Coming to protect your little pet. But you didn’t stop me from wiping out that entire dorm hall, did you? That must irk you so.” The angel, he had to be an angel, growled. “Their spirits are being attended now. They will all enter the Kingdom. You, on the other hand, are going straight back to Hell!” He attacked, and David watched in awe through the glass as the two locked in an epic struggle.

    Suddenly, he heard a ‘pst!’ from the door, and looked back, eyes widening. Easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen beckoned from the door. “David, come here!” she whispered urgently. He stepped out of the cashier’s box reluctantly. He knew against the two busily destroying the lobby as they fought each other, it was little, if any, protection, but he still did not want to leave it. Then he came out and saw that the woman was not only holding a bow, but had a sword strapped to her hip and wings coming from her back. She was an angel, like Gabriel, and he stared, mouth gaping. “What on earth…” She shook her head, interrupting. “No time now!” There was a howl in the other room, Azaizel had spotted their attempted retreat. “No!” he screamed, charging. The woman grinned, grabbed David and pulled him close. “Not today, imp,” she said mischievously, and they vanished in a cloud of white smoke, leaving behind only the sound of her musical laugh. The demon screeched again, shattering all the glass in the room. Still standing in the other room, Gabriel shook his head, and vanished as well, leaving Azaizel to rage alone.