“Come on, kids. Stop messing around and get ready for your bath!”

“One second, sis. We’ve just got to save it.”

“Don’t you lie to me, child. I know you can save at any time!” Melissa stood at the door to the lounge room, glaring at her brothers as they quickly saved their game and shuffled out of the room.

Melissa’s parents were at a friend’s place for dinner, so it was up to her to look after the children for the night. She was only seventeen, but it had always been her dream to work with children, so she felt a great sense of achievement every second she managed to tolerate her siblings.

“Oh cool! Check out all of the angels!” the youngest child, Matt, exclaimed, staring out the window.

“Child, your imagination is as wide as your voice is irritating,” Melissa smiled in a warm tone. “Bath, now.”

“Whoa…” John trailed off, as he, too, looked out the window.

Melissa turned to see what all the commotion was. She gasped as the sky was slowly filled with what could only be called angels.

Unable to take her eyes from the beings, she rushed outside to see what was going on. The angels came to rest as they filled the entire sky, and the silence was overwhelming.

“Humans,” an angel spoke, “you have betrayed and attacked us beyond forgiveness. It is our resolve, then, that you are not trustworthy, and we therefore declare war with you.”

“What’s going on?” Melissa whispered, feeling the panic rise within her. “What have we done?”

In synchronisation, every single angel unsheathed their weapons, and Melissa could not move as a discarded sheathe came crashing down beside her.

Looking at the roads in front of her, she knew it would be hopeless trying to escape via car. She ran inside and grabbed her sister of only six months, and ran outside to try and find some cover as the angels began diving down and cutting down the humans frantically running for safety.

A neighbour of hers yelled out to her of an abandoned bomb shelter, where he was going to seek refuge. She tried to follow behind him, but an angel swooped past and sliced him down.

Screaming, Melissa tried to help him, but she was in so much shock that she could hardly see through the tears. Her two brothers ran on ahead, not realising she was distracted.

The angel that had delivered the initial blow swooped back, smiling as he let his sword drop by his side. “Foolish sentiments,” he muttered. Holding his arm back, the angel slapped Melissa across her face, and she fell onto the ground, her sister held close.

The angel again smiled as he walked up to her. He pulled out a small dagger and held it to her throat, the eerie grin still lighting his face.

Applying a slight amount of pressure on the dagger, he pulled on the small child until Melissa hesitantly lost her grip. The angel then flew high into the sky, the baby held triumphantly in the air.

Melissa cried out as she watched the angel fly higher and higher. The angel eventually came to rest, well above the clouds, and arched his wings as he loosed his grip on the child.

Before the child had descended very far, another angelic being flew past and swept up the child, a sword distinctly within the being’s arm. Melissa could only assume what was destined for her sister, and she screamed until she was too weak to stand. By this time, Matt had returned to her side, and was promptly dragging her forward. Another angel landed behind the two, his sword held high. The angel grunted as he stumbled forward, and the blade fell behind him. John stood behind the creature, the first angel’s discarded sword resting on the ground beside him.

“Come on, Mel,” he said encouragingly, “let’s get to that shelter.”

“I… I can’t. Not without Julie…”

“It’s too late for that!” John insisted. “All we can focus on right now is our own survival.”

Melissa looked into her brother’s eyes; a fiery strength burned within them. She then turned her gaze to Matt, whose fear was evident.

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” John smiled. “Remember all those games we play? This is the real thing. Let’s show them what we’ve got!”

Matt returned the smile, and nodded. He helped Melissa to her feet, and the trio ran for cover. All around them, people were being cut down helplessly, but there were also some offering resistance.

All those with firearms struck from cover, ducking out from behind cars and houses to bring down angels, whilst those who could not defend themselves ran for safety.

Whilst each and every member of the resistance was cut down, their sacrifice was enough to give the others time to escape, and for each one who lost their life, many others were saved.

Melissa breathed a sigh of relief as the door to the bomb shelter came into view. The line was huge, but overhead a being was fiercely cutting down anything that threatened the humans. This being held in his hands two daggers composed of what seemed like light, and bore a striking resemblance to the Angel of Judgement she’d read so much of. Melissa smiled in appreciation as the being, labelled a half-angel, cut down wave after wave of enemies, never once faltering.

Three angels came together and summoned a large ball of energy, which they promptly fired at the bomb shelter, but the half-angel swooped across and batted away the ball with his wings.

It was not long until Melissa was safe amongst the shelter, which was amazingly much larger than she had anticipated. The shelter itself was quite small, but there was a staircase previously hidden under a large hatch, leading into another room. This underground room was incredibly large, and Melissa found she could not see any of the walls at all, which is what enabled so many people to seek shelter within the room.

Melissa had lost track of all time within the shelter. She could still hear explosions, which raged on for quite some time, and she’d given up trying to find any of the walls of the cavern. Fatigued with the events, Melissa took off her jacket and rolled it up, preparing it as a pillow. As she laid her head on the jacket, Matt rested his head on her stomach, and was asleep instantly. Melissa stroked his hair softly, wondering what they had done to deserve such trauma.

She could only guess why the angels were wiping out all traces of the human race, but as her mind wandered to the half-angel, fighting tirelessly to protect them, she could not help but smile.

John, of course, was fascinated by the being, and his mind was racing as he formed his sentences. “That guy was so cool! His wings were white, but they had black tips! He had a tattoo on his hand, and under his eye! I can’t believe how awesome he was at fighting! Did you see him deflect that ball? And what about his daggers!” John never found himself at a loss for words as he recounted the half-angel, and Melissa smiled warmly. She was trying not to focus on her sister, and John was obliviously helping her cause.

Listening to the words of praise and awe from John, Melissa found her eyes slowly getting heavier, and she gratefully accepted the sleep awaiting her.

“They’re gone! They’re gone!”

Melissa’s eyes flickered open, and her gaze focused on John racing through the shelter, telling everyone of the results of the battle.

“All the angels have been killed! We’re safe! It’s over!”

Melissa could not believe what she was hearing. She leapt to her feet, leaving Matt to groggily awaken from his own slumber. A man rushed down the stairs, confirming the news.

“They’re all gone!” he exclaimed. “Some other army came from the heavens and wiped them all out! There’s not a single one left!”

Melissa needed to hear no more. She pulled on her jacket and lifted her brother up. It was not often she carried him in her arms, but this was a special occasion. Melissa followed the rest of the humans up the stairs and out of the sanctum. Looking around, buildings were on fire, cars were overturned, and everything had been torn apart, but there was not a single body on the streets. Above all else, the church stood tall, completely untouched as the inhabitants slowly walked out.

As Melissa admired the crucifix, standing so valiantly in the sky, she thought she caught sight of a being resting off it.

Knowing that it was so, she smiled, knowing it was one of those who had risked everything to protect her kind. She nodded in appreciation, and slowly walked back to her house.

Matt snuggled up to her and went back to sleep in her arms, whilst John marched triumphantly forward. His head was held high, and his step held a spring Melissa had never seen before.

Matt soon woke back up, and insisted he walked by himself, yet his hand slipped into Melissa’s as soon as his feet were on the ground.

As Melissa rounded the corner, she caught sight of her parents standing outside the front door. As she caught sight of them, her eyes lit up and she ran over, not saying a word as she leapt into her mother’s arms.

“Mom, I’m so glad to see you!” she exclaimed, tears in her eyes. “Julie, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t do anything…”

Melissa felt her mother’s grip loosen, and she looked into her mother’s eyes. Her mother’s gaze was fixed straight ahead, and Melissa turned to see what her parents were watching.

A long being stood there, his head held low and something small within his arms. Melissa, thinking it was a tribute of some kind, hesitated before slowly stepping forward. By the time she reached the half-angel, she felt an undeniable peace, and she tried to look into the being’s eyes. Despite how hard she tried to focus, the being’s face was covered with eternal shadow, so that all she could make out was his mouth, which curled back into an eerie grin as he held forward the package.

Melissa reached forward and accepted the bundle, wrapped up in a part of the half-angel’s coat. She hesitated before lifting the coat. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed as she realised it was Julie, snugly wrapped up and peacefully asleep.

“Thank you…” Melissa whispered, the tears again building up in her eyes. “Thank you so much…”

The teenager then turned to face her parents, holding forth the small child. “We’re safe… We’re all safe,” the girl whispered, smiling weakly.

The half-angel turned and began walking away. The family turned again to thank him, but he had already vanished into the shadows, heading for the hills so that he could furthermore absorb the warmth of the battle he had taken part in.