The attack had caught John completely off-guard. Even as he watched the angels unsheathe their weapons, and scatter to slice down the humans, it did not register until a car came crashing down beside him. Rushing over to the vehicle, he ripped open the door – the car had been dropped on its bonnet and come to rest on its wheels – and pulled the driver out of the vehicle. The woman was in shock, and blood ran down her forehead, but John ripped his shirt and wrapped the wound. He stumbled over to his motorcycle, but realised he didn’t have his keys.

Looking up, an angel reared above him, but as the blade sliced down, it was intercepted by another, and the angel was promptly sliced by the weapon as another stood before him.

“She’s too much for you to handle,” the angel spoke. “I’ll take her, and you head to the bomb shelter on Third Street.”

“Wait, why are you helping us?” John asked.

“We condemned a man to death for falling in love. This is all I can do to repent my sins,” the angel explained. He then picked up the unconscious woman and flew into the air, swiftly cutting down any that opposed him. As John’s gaze wandered down from the angel, he caught sight of Jane, a small girl living across the road from him. She was being confronted by an angel, but John raced over the road, leapt onto the bonnet of a nearby car and jumped into the angel.

The attacker was so surprised by John’s onslaught that he stumbled back, and John reached and grabbed a dagger from the angel’s belt, and wasted no time in thrusting the weapon into the creature. The angel dissolved before him, and he fell to the ground. Looking up, he offered his hand to Jane, who slowly accepted the invitation.

The two ran back to John’s house, and he raced into his room to grab the keys to his motorcycle. Pausing at the drawers, he ripped open the bottom one and pulled out a pistol. Ripping out one of the floorboards by his feet, he grabbed a clip and shoved it into the gun.

Fear was no longer a factor in John’s actions, for all he was focused on was reaching the shelter. He could not explain why, but he felt a strong attachment to the young girl trailing behind him, and he knew that for some unknown reason, he would give his life to protect her.

Lifting her onto the motorcycle, John also jumped on and started the vehicle. Revving the engine, he spun the bike around and came to rest, now facing the road before him. “Hold on,” he ordered Jane.

John revved his engine again before taking off, angling the bike sharply into the centre of the road. Facing scattered traffic, he drove as fast as he could whilst still keeping enough control to manoeuvre throughout the traffic. Angels swooped down, trying to pick him off, but he was simply too fast. He swiftly swerved around each car, and soon outran all of his pursuers but one.

As he approached the shelter, he knew stopping would be suicide, so he continued to push his motorcycle forward. Angling himself onto the sidewalk, John hit top speed as he drove his bike along the street.

As he came up to a corner, John slammed his brakes and flicked his bike to the side. The bike skidded along and spun around, and by the time John was facing his pursuer, his pistol was withdrawn and aimed at the angel. Smiling, he fired two shots and dropped the creature before gunning his engine and heading back to the shelter.

There were now a few men struggling with the door, but with the exception of them, there was nobody else that had reached the building.

“We can’t get the door open!” the man exclaimed, frantically pushing and pulling on the door.

“Move,” John ordered. Pointing his gun to the lock, he fired three bullets into it, and the door blew open.

“You idiot!” one of the men exclaimed. “Now we can’t stop the angels from entering!”

“Don’t worry,” John assured him, “it will definitely have dead-locks on the other side.”

He then indicated for Jane to hop off his bike and head into the shelter.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he smiled, turning his bike around. Gunning the engine, he raced forward. John knew that he would not survive the onslaught, but he drove into the battle in order to help whoever he could. It was the ultimate sacrifice for his race.