Rise Of The Nephilim

“Your Dominance!” A Babylonian Epoch stood at the threshold of the room. Āmand hardened his stare at him.

“Are we under attack?”

“No, Dominance. Our guards have spotted a group of Humans near the south entry of the citadel.”

“Perhaps they saw our Nephilim enter on our return,” Kal offered.

“Perhaps. But unless they are brandishing weapons, I doubt that they will be of any risk to us.”

“One was seen holding some sort of weapon.”

Āmand’s stance became more rigid; the look in his eyes widened. “How unfortunate.” This would be an opportunity to prove his commitment to the edict of the Fallen, as well as to Kal. He exited the room and took flight from the bridge―Kal in tow, as well as their personal Epoch guards. They flew over Lake Babylonia and dipped between caves until they set down on the landing near the entrance of the citadel.

“Holy shit!” “What the F!” “We’re screwed!” a few of the Goths said as they stood at the entry, screaming.Others making promises to do good with their eyes half-closed; Phillipo’s lips moved hastily in prayer. However, Patel’s eyes remained wide and fixed on the approaching lepers. He fired in frantic bursts; but the more he sprayed, the more they came. It seemed like there was an infestation of lepers in the tunnel system.

Two dark shadows appeared, bearing the shapes of large wings attached to Human forms. If it were not for the sudden blast of wind that shot overhead, ruffling hairs, Phillipo and the Goths would have missed this ominous sight.

Phillipo looked up and mumbled, “Sweet Mary and Joseph. This can’t be real.”

Jake yelled out, “It’s him, the Dark Dragon.”

“There are two of them,” Mike yelled out. “We are definitely screwed.”

However, to their surprise, they saw the dark shadows swoop down upon the lepers, cutting them down until they were dead.

They stared voicelessly, their limbs frozen.

Kal began to move swiftly toward the group.

“No!” Āmand commanded. But Kal refused to heed his command. “Lord Kal, I order you to cease your attack!”

The group stood frozen to the spot. Patel’s rifle hung limply by his side.

Kal lowered himself, just inches from the group. His eyes glistened with anger. He wanted so much to raise his wings and run them through. And although he could not have fathomed why Āmand wanted to spare them, he was bound to heed his commands.

“Why spare them?” he asked.

Āmand stepped closer to the group. They stepped back, slightly closer to the wall. Āmand looked at Kal and saw the anger in his eyes. He knew that he should have cut them down along with the lepers. However, something had changed his mind. Maybe it was the fear he saw on their faces, or it could have been something he felt deep inside his soul. Something that told him that taking their lives would have been wrong. Yet this was not something that he could reveal to Kal.

“We need to question them. Find out how they came to find this place.” He focused his attention on the group. “Is there a leader amongst you?”

There was no response. The group only stared in horror at them, scanning them from head to feet, gawking at their wings.

“Do you not speak?” Āmand questioned.

Phillipo tried to respond, but his lips trembled and the words would not leave his lips.

Āmand moved in closer. Patel, his hands shaking with the rifle still in his hands, was finally able to utter the words, “Don’t come any closer,” though his voice trembled and his words came out mangled. Āmand reached out and grabbed the mouth of the rifle, bending it back toward his face.

“Boys should not play with such dangerous weapons,” he said. Patel immediately dropped the rifle to the ground, staring at it in disbelief.

Give me strength, Father, Phillipo prayed silently.

“You, old man, are you their leader?”

Phillipo looked at the others. They had not chosen him as their leader, but he was their elder, so it fell on him to assume the role. Besides, they were too afraid to speak.

Sweet Mary and Joseph, give me the words.

He took in a deep breath. “Yes.” He spoke with his eyes to the ground.

“How did you come to find this place?”

Phillipo searched his mind for the right words. He knew he could not reveal their mission to find him, the Dark Dragon, and their intention to seek his destruction. That would have meant instant death for him and his band of idle Goths.

“We . . . we―”

“Spit it out, man!” Āmand insisted.

Help me.

“We hid in the subway, trying to avoid being captured by those―” He stopped himself, realizing that the creatures that had launched the attack on the city had been some of the very same creatures standing in front of them.

Āmand and Kal gave him a sly look.

He continued: “We were hiding when the lepers found us. We took off running, trying to get away from them. We had no idea where we were going, we knew only that we had to get away. Next thing we knew, we ended up here, at this dead end. There was nowhere else to turn. Then you showed up.”

“How unfortunate. You do realize that we cannot allow you to leave.”

“What?” Pete blurted out.

“Oh, it’s alive!” Āmand announced with a smirk on his face. “You know too much.”

“But―” Phillipo’s words were cut short as the citadel wall slid to the side, revealing an opening. The group backed away.

“What the fuck!” Jake said.

“Lord Āmand, why are you doing this?” Kal asked. “You are risking all of our lives and the survival of Babylon!”

“You are questioning my decision? Again?”

“I will have nothing to do with this! My loyalty will only go so far,” Kal said. He stormed into the citadel and took flight.

Āmand worried that he’d made an enemy of Kal, but his decision felt right. Now he was forced to decide the fate of his new captors. This was something altogether new for him. Living beneath the earth, completely hidden from Humans, had its benefits.

“Please,” Āmand extended an invitation into his city with the palm of his hand.

“You mean . . . you want us to go in there?” Phillipo asked.

“Yes, you will be my guests.”

“What if we refuse?” Jake asked.

Āmand gave him a hard stare. “Well then I will have no choice but to destroy you all,” he responded, slightly lifting his wings.

Phillipo looked at all the Goths. “Remember what I said before. If you have faith and trust in the Father, then everything will be all right.”

They nodded their heads in agreement, even as their eyes glistened with fear. They were beginning to trust and believe what he’d been saying. After all, they should have all been dead by now―if not by the hands of soldiers or the lepers, then by the hands of the Dark Dragon. But they were still alive. And as long as they could still breathe air, they had a chance.

“Whoa!” Mike was the first person to express his feelings about the cave as they walked farther down the platform, overlooking a part of Babylonia.

They all looked up and down in awe of this world that they’d not even known existed.

“Take them to the cave outside the imps’ lair,” Āmand ordered the Epochs standing guard near the entrance.

“Yes, Your Dominance,” one replied.

“Hey, get your fucking hands off me,” Jake demanded when an Epoch grabbed him by the waist and lifted off the landing. The others protested as well, as it was their turn to be flown off the landing by these strange, unearthly creatures. They filled the air around them with screams of terror; all except Phillipo, who kept his eyes closed, refusing to look down at the bottom of the cave. His stomach felt as if it would fall out at any moment. His heart skipped several beats as it raced in step with his trepidation. Then, as if his curiosity had gotten the better of him, he opened his eyes and was immediately struck by its beauty―the crystal-clear waters of Lake Babylonia, the colorful flora, set within a subterranean rainforest. It was Eden.

They landed. Darkness and the decaying smell of death surrounded them. Some wept when the sound of chains being unhinged rattled at their fragile nerves.

The iron gate creaked as an Epoch opened it. Another Epoch grabbed them one by one and pushed them into a shallow cave―just enough room to stand.

It was black as night. The air felt cold and deadly. When the Epoch began to wrap the chains around the gate, securing it with a metal lock, Janine screamed out, “No, please don’t leave us here!”

Phillipo wrapped his hands around the bars of the gate and shook them desperately while the Goths huddled together in the center of the cave. “Don’t you have a soul? How can you leave us here?” he asked. One of the Epoch grunted before taking flight along with the others, disappearing into the darkness.

“Let’s face it, we’re as good as dead,” Jake blurted out, tears stained black from heavy eye makeup sliding down his face.

Phillipo ceased his repeated shaking of the iron bars. He sank to the floor in defeat. “Perhaps you are right; we are as good as dead.”