Syth

"Syth." A young man called out to a woman who was sitting on a tree branch. She grabbed hold of the tree and looked up to see him floating above. She stared at him until he realized she was down below. He floated in front of her and smiled, "I found you."

"Do you need something? I'm kind of busy."

"That's what I'd like to talk to you about." He floated closer to her and flattened his foot on the trunk as he crossed his arms. "There's a problem."

"I know. I'm observing for now, like I was told."

The young man closed his eyes, took his foot off the tree then touched his nose to hers. They looked into each others eyes. She was annoyed and wanted to get back to work, but he insisted on getting as much pleasure out of her as possible.

"What is it you want already?" The tone of her voice was harsh.

"I just wanted to take a good look at you once more."

"Where are you going?"

He pulled his head back and uncrossed his arms as he let out a sigh, "I wish it were me." His smile turned into a smirk.

"I can't be transferred, I'm right in the middle of something big!" She turned her head and bent her knee up just as she was about to fly up to talk to their boss about the situation. Her trip was cut short however, the young man placed his hand on her chest, her chest started to glow. Her head shifted quickly to him, it felt as if he were ripping out part of her soul. "What..." She felt weak.

"They're only orders. You're to be stricken of your duties and returned to Earth."

Her eyes became wide, "No!" She screamed, but it was no use. The glowing subsided and he pushed her off of the tree branch. She reached her hand up to him as she fell, time seemed to slow as she watched his essence blur from her sight. The last expression on his face looked more sad than maniacal, as she thought it had felt to push her off of that branch. Sound seemed to be silent for that slight moment she was falling, all she could concentrate on was the pain in her chest, the wind gusting through her hair, and the fading of his appearance. She was betrayed, never would she forget.

Time finally caught up with her; she closed her eyes and cleared her mind of all the vengeful thoughts she had. She wasn't sure why she was stripped of her duty or her power, but she was going to find out. Her body hit the ground with a thud. It rendered her unconscious in the middle of a park. Hardly anyone saw it, it was broad daylight but no one paid any attention. However, there was one who noticed her fall and who had rushed over to help her. It was the same person who she had been watching, her target who was causing trouble for the God's.

It was her assignment to watch him and with his next move, kill him. Now that very person was helping her.

The man knelt beside her and picked her head up, he shouted to her, "Ma'am! Ma'am! Are you already? Ma'am!"

She could hear a slight humming sound, she was beginning to gain consciousness. Her eyes weren't open yet, but she could start to hear what was going on around her. The man continued to yell as he wondered what he should do. He looked around with panic, people finally started to noticed, but they all just stood and stared in awe.

Her hearing returned to her, all that was heard was the wind once again and a few children laughing in the background. He looked down at her and watched her eyes twitch as she tried to open them. The most elated expression crossed his face, as if she were dead and he had brought her back to life. "Ma'am!" He said once more. She forced her eyes partially open and looked at him. She stared at him not knowing what was going on or where she was. "Can you move?" He asked. "That was a pretty big fall you took."

She had no idea what he was talking about. She shifted her eyes from side to side to figure out where she was. She didn't want to ask any questions just yet, she wanted to see if she could remember anything on her own. She opened her eyes more and looked up at the tree which shaded them while the branches blew softly in the wind.

"Can you understand me?" His expression turned to concern. He started to consider the possibility that she was deaf. But of course she was not.

"Uh huh." She finally replied. The smile re-appeared on his lips.

"Oh good, I was beginning to worry about you." She tried to get up, "No, you probably shouldn't move until someone checks you out."

"No need, I'm fine."

"But..." He couldn't persuade her, she pushed herself up and he eventually let go of her. He stood up and introduced himself, "I'm Joel, who might you be?"

"I'm...Syth." It seemed her memory was slowly returning to her.

"Syth? That's an unusual name, but aren't they all now-a-days?" He chuckled then moved on to the next subject, "How'd you get up in that tree?"

She stared up at the tree, trying to remember what had happened, why she was on the ground, and why she was beginning to feel a sharp pain in her chest. She ignored his question and quickly asked him one, "Who are you again?"

"I'm Joel."

"Yes, but why did you help me?"

"I saw you falling, I thought you might be hurt."

"Have we met before?" She squinted her eyes. Unfortunately she seemed unable to remember anything past falling from the tree.

"I don't think so." There was hesitation in his voice, he wasn't sure how to react to her or her questions. She stared up at the tree with the sun shining through the leaves down onto her face. He stared at her and it suddenly hit him that she was attractive. He blinked a few times and tried not to think about. Syth began to rub her chest from the pain, "Are you all right?"

She looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Your chest..."

She brushed her shirt off to cover up what she was doing, "Just an itch." He didn't believe her, but he wasn't going to pressure her, "Anyway, I, uh..." She started to turn away from him, wanting to leave and try to sort things out alone.

He stepped in front of her, "Well, what a sec! You could have a concussion! I think I should stay with you for a while to make sure."

It was a bad idea but he seemed so convincing and acted as if he really cared for her well being. "Uh," She cleared her throat, "I, I guess."

They walked together through the park for a while. At first it was silent and they tried to just enjoy the beautiful scenery, but after a while Joel thought it might be nice to get to know this person he just helped. He asked several questions and she answered them as bluntly as possible. He thought maybe he was doing something wrong, but she did answer him and it wasn't like she seemed to be uncomfortable around him. After some time went by she felt the urge to finally ask him a question,

"What were you doing at the park?" There was no reason for her to ask that question, it was impulse.

He was caught off guard as well, "Well..." It seemed difficult to answer, "I was contemplating."

"Contemplating what?" The tone of her voice seemed genuinely interested.

"It's...hard to explain." The atmosphere became tense, "You probably wouldn't believe me even if I told you." He chuckled.

She stopped, "Does it look like I'd be the type of person to run screaming through the park that you're mad?" He turned with a hint of shock as he looked at her,

"I guess not..." They continued walking, "I've discovered something. I don't know how or why I am placed with what I know, but it's a huge weight on my shoulders. I was given information regarding the God's, you know about the God's, right?"

"The God's?" Her head tilted to the side.

"Uh, well, they were revealed about a year ago and they told us that a new world was going to be created through means of purification. Anyway, they explained it in such a way that it sounded like they were going to save the human race by cleaning up the streets, giving people jobs, yadda yadda. Get this, I was recently told that they are planning to purify this planet by destroying everything on it. Well only a few people know of this knowledge and we've been trying to get more people involved and help them understand that having the God's around is not to everyone's best interest."

"They created Earth, they should be able to take it away." She was defending the God's without realizing it.

He looked surprised, "You want to be destroyed?!"

"Well, come on, who actually told you that information? I don't think the God's have reason to destroy the planet, not to mention let it go for this long without something happening." He still couldn't believe what she was saying. She stared at him and finally heard what she had said. Her body suddenly felt paralyzed, she couldn't move, speak or blink. Her chest began to throb once again, she couldn't even squint from the pain, she was unable to move at all.

Joel tried to shake her out of it, he continually called out her name trying to get a jolt out of her. She could barely hear him, she could see him and knew what he was saying, but could not hear the words. The humming sound from before was heard again and suddenly everything went black.

"Hey!" She could move again, she spun around trying to find any form of life, "What happened?! Joel!" Images started to flash back to her about her life before she fell. Her chest no longer felt filled with pain.

"Thanks." A young man's voice was heard and then his figure could finally be seen; it was the same man who pushed her.

"You! What the hell is going on?! Why'd you push me?!" She was furious, fists tightened and teeth clenched. "You took my life away for that meager day just so you could get your information?"

"I told you, orders from above. But I'm afraid you'll no longer be able to see him. You're being re-assigned."

"Just like that, huh?"

"You gave us the information we needed. The man will no longer be a problem." All she could do was glare at his satisfied expression. It was the type of glare that could melt steal, send shivers up your spine and make convicts cry. It indeed frightened him but he tried not to let it show. He cleared his throat, "Orders from above." He repeated. "You understand."

He waved and faded into the darkness. She lowered her head and looked down at the empty floor. She was furious for being taken advantage of, but knew she could do nothing. A feeling of regret and sorrow fell over her; she was going to miss Joel, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her knees hit the floor. Scream after scream was let out, it echoed back at her which made her feel more alone than ever. It was the first time she had ever shed tears, over the very person she was willing to kill.