The Angels Wept Tears Of Blood. (1 of 3)

[dc]

I thought about it, and the stories deserve a thread of their own, so here is a new one for you all.

This one has a few interlinking stories, so you need to read them IN ORDER to fully appreciate them.

[dc]

August 15th 2008


Draven Cage's eyes flashed open, "REBEKAHHHH!," he roared, awoken from a nightmare he must live with every day. It had been almost a year since the death of the love of his life. That would be hard for most people, but add in the fact that he himself had killed her, with a single shot to the head, compounds the grief and misery. So what if he had to do it, so what if he had no choice, "It was for the greater good," Dimitri had told him before he was taken too. The greater good was the salvation of mankind as a race, the continuation of life on this planet. Draven d**ned himself to Hell with his actions, a consequence he knew before he fired that fateful shot, a consequence he was prepared to live with. God took pity on Cage and imbued him with certain 'powers'. He had a perception of things that were going to happen, he had been given invulnerabilty similar to the character played by Brandon Lee, Vincent Perez and others in the hit movie series The Crow and he had been given a purpose......to fight evil on Earth until he went home, to Hell. The power of The Crow was a curse as well as a blessing from God. d**ned to Hell anyway, Cage had tried many times to commit suicide over the pain and guilt his actions brought, but everytime he hung himself, shot himself or slit his throat or wrists, he never died. he was cursed to help humanity in it's unknowing war against the evils of this world.


Later that same day the doors of a dingy bar opened and then slammed shut, a tall stranger walked over to the bartender and produced a piece of paper, on which was a name and nothing else, Laura Walker. "Can I help you," asked the barman as the paper was slipped under his nose.

"I'm looking for this woman, do you know where I can find her," asked the stranger in a mild Italian accent, dressed exactly like Hugh Jackman when he played Wolverine in the X-Men movie eight years ago. Blue denim jeans, brown boots, white vest, brown leather jacket, sideburns to match and wild hair. He looked a menacing sight, truth be told. Who he was and why he wanted this woman was soon to be revealed.

"I don't know who she is....em....Mr.....," the barman said, waiting for a name. "Diavolo, Angelo Diavolo," came the response. "Well Mr Diavolo, I don't know who she is, but you see that guy over there?" Angelo looked over to where the barman was pointing. Sitting in the far corner of the bar was Victor Bain, a scruffy guy, but someone who could get information on anyone or anything, for a price.

"Thank you," said Angelo as he made his way over to the dark recess of the building. "I am Angelo DiavoloI was told you could help me Mr Bain," Angelo asked as he sat down. "Maybe I can Mr Diavolo, maybe I can't. Depends on what you can offer me in return," said Victor in response. If only Victor had known what lay ahead, maybe things would have worked out better. "What I can offer you is not important, what I can spare you is what you should concern yourself Mr Bain," said Angelo in a stern, mildly demonic voice, "I want you to look at me now, and see what could be in store for you if you do not help me." Victor complied, a little shaken by the sudden change in tone from the Italian man he had just met. He looked Angelo in the eyes and finally saw the real meaning of fear.

Victor's face turned chalk white as the images flashed before him.......rivers of blood, men and women being torn limb from limb, carnage, fire, death, suffering. And in the middle of it all was Victor Bain, his wife Sue and their three kids, tied to posts and made to watch the destruction unfold. As they do this Abgelo Diavolo walks over to them and slits the first child, his only daughter from her neck, past her chest, through her navel and stopping at her groin, he then proceeds to do the same to the other two kids, the boys screaming for their father to help them, Sue shrieking in terror and sorrow for her children. Angelo then takes the sword and draws it across Sue's throat, slicing her deeply, the blood splatters over Victor's face and clothes, and he begins to struggle with his bonds. Angelo turns to Victor and says, "I will take my time killing your children Mr Bain, I will make you watch every second of their suffering, I will prolong their agony for as long as their bodies and spirit can withstand. Then I will take their souls and place them with my many other claims." Victor broke down and cried, unable to protect his family form a world in chaos. "Or you can kill them quickly Mr Bain.....I give you the choice, kill your own children, or watch them suffer for a very long time."

Angelo clapped his hands and brought Victor back into this world. "Wha.....wha.....what was that," Victor asked. "That, Mr Bain, is your future, that is your epitaph, that, Mr Bain, is your end," said Angelo in response, "Now can you help me?" Victor slumped in his chair and sighed, knowing he had no choice, "Meet me here tomorrow, I'll have what you want." Angelo looked at him with a look of pure evil, "Ok then, but remember this. I can find you no matter where you go, so do not disappoint." And with that he left the bar, and left Victor trembling in terror.

Before all of that had occured, Draven got out of his bed, went over and looked out the window at the people on the streets. Not one of them knew how close they had came to being eradicated, wiped out, condemned by Shivron. Not one of them knew of the fallen angel in their midst. even if they did, they probably wouldn't care, Santo Ferino can do that to you. It wasn't always like that, it used to be like an episode of The Wonder Years, but now it was more like an episode of The Shield. Cage flicked on the radio and the Cheeky Girls blared out, "Piss on that, I'm going to Hell eventually, don't mean I have to be there now," he said. He picked up a CD and placed it into the player. Programming it to play tracks three, two, five then eight, and pressed play. The unforgettable intro of Drowning Pool's Tear Away filled the room as he got washed and dressed. In the shower, Cage looked down at his chest and the massive scar placed there by Shivron, a constant reminder of how his life had changed beyond comprehension. The water dripped off his body as he let the shower metaphorically cleanse his soul, washing away the angelic remorse he felt for having to slay an innocent, the woman he loved, the woman he found out was carrying his child. He killed two innocents, one unknown, to save the planet. Didn't stop it hurting though. getting dressed, Draven decided to wear his black jeans, black boots, black t-shirt with the fallen angel on the front, crying tears of blood and his black leather jacket. He could feel evil had arrived in town, and only he could stop it, wether he wanted it that way or not. Tear Away finished and the song Bodies began to play, the faster beat giving Draven a sense of urgency as he got his guns ready. "Let the bodies hit the floooooooooor," sang Cage as he prepared his breakfast. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, "It's open, " said Draven, gripping his gun under the table. The door opened and Draven sighed, "How many times hun, you don't have to knock," then smiled and got up to hug his guests. The guests were two girls he had saved from death about eight months prior, and who had swore to help him in his neverending war. The first was a sprightly blonde, Sarah who was 24 and the other was a fiesty little brunette called Kiwi who was 27. They both hugged Draven back and looked at the breakfast he had prepared. "You can't have that, that wouldn't fill my cat up," said Sarah, "Sit down and we'll make you a real breakfast." And with that both girls went into the kitchen to make something more appetising than a Mars bar and a can of beer. "Change the music while your at it hun," said Kiwi, "I like this, you know that, but it's too early." Draven just nodded and gestured over to the CD collection. Kiwi went over and flicked throught he discs, stopping on the soundtrack to Empire Records. The gentler sounds calmed the mood and all three sat down to a hearty breakfast of sausage, eggs, toast and bacon. "Something's here, "said Draven, wasting no time, "And I don't like it." "Finish breakfast hun," said Sarah, "We'll talk about it later, but let's not spoil this." He agreed and they started discussing mundane stuff to keep themselves from thinking of the impending battle they knew was coming.




August 16th 2008


The bar had only been open about ten minutes when Angelo walked through the doors and sat in the same booth he had talked to Victor Bain the day before. "Victor called, said if you showed up, he'll be in around one," said the bartender, "Can I get you anything while you wait?" Angelo walked over to him, looked him in the eye and said, "As a matter of fact you can give me something, your soul." The bartender looked puzzled, until he felt a tightness in his chest, he couldn't breathe. Angelo was taking possession of his soul and there was nothing he could do about it. The bartender dropped dead to the floor, Angelo simply tidied himself up, poured a coffee and waited for Victor to show. And show he did, exactly on one o'clock. "Here's everything you need to know about her," he said as he threw down a brown envelope stuffed with pics and details about Laura Walker. "Thank you Victor, and as promised, I will spare you the fate I showed you yesterday." Victor sighed and smiled. It was the last thing he ever did. Angelo stood up, grabbed him by the throat and ripped his neck apart, killing him instantly and spraying the walls with blood. The body of Victor fell to the floor, the blood trailing away from it, like a river snaking through a forest. Angelo looked at the picture. Laura Walker was a stunning 28yo redhead, who, for some reason, was intrical to Angelo's plan. "Soon my dear we will re-unite and then it shall begin," he said as he walked out of the bar and into the bleak city outside, searching for his prize.

"We've been searching for almost twent-four hours straight DC, and we haven't found anything, let's call it a day and get some rest, huh, "said Kiwi, gesturing for Sarah to mention something too. "yeah, we've done our best today, let's get some food, some rest and try later," added Sarah. Draven looked at them both, realising that they had been working hard trying to find out who or what had invaded the city, "You're right let's go back to mine, I'll cook some spaghetti bolognese and we'll chill for a bit." and with that they left the murky alley they were in and headed to Draven's apartment. Five hours later, after a trip to the store for supplies, all three arrived at the apartment and went inside. It wasn't much to write home about, but it did it's purpose. the hallway was littered with books on the occult, religion and anything else he could get his hands on to help in his quest to get to Hell. The living room wasn't much better, newspaper clippings of various 'unusual' killings and events, discarded take-away boxes, empty cans. "Jeez, DC, clean much?" Draven looked at Kiwi and laughed, "Not too much no". Kiwi turned on the tv as Sarah and Draven went into the kitchen to prepare the food. Kiwi joined them in the kitchen and the talk turned to the trivial things everyone talks about when they have nothing important to say. The mundaneness was broken when a news broadcast somehow penetrated through the banter. The newscaster reported, ".........found two dead bodies, one of which was mutilated to badly to describe on this network. The scene at Murphy's bar is one of compl.......". Draven was out of the kitchen like a shot, putting on his jacket he said, "We gotta get down there, that's what we've been waiting for." Sarah and Kiwi both looked at each other and sighed. "What about lunch, "said Sarah. "I'll buy something for us on the way, come on, we gotta go." With that, Kiwi and Sarah followed him out the door, and down to Murphy's bar.

When they arrived at Murphy's bar the reporters had gone and the crime scene had been taped up. "Perfect, we can go in, have a look around and find out what happened here," said Draven. "Remember though honey, you're not a cop anymore, so we will get in nuts if we're caught being here," added Sarah. Draven stopped in his tracks, the images of what happened flashing in his mind, the powere of perception, handed to him by God, allowed him to percieve events as they happened. The killing of the bartender and Victor, the scene alternate fate Victor would've recieved, all of it imprinted on Draven, all of it driving home his reason for being. "This is bad," he finally said. The girls looked at him, then Kiwi said, "What, Shivron bad?" Draven simply nodded, causing the girls to look to the heavens, perhaps for guidance. "Who is it, why is it here," asked Sarah, "And can we stop him?". "I hope so," was all Draven could say.

Back at DC's apartment the PC was working overtime to find out who or what was at the centre of this. Finally after a few hours something caught his eye. "Here we go, his name is Angelo Diavolo, it means Angel Devil in Italian, and he is here to reclaim his lost bride. He is over 500 years old, and possesses the ability to tear souls from the body and the strength to rip bodies apart. Not only that, he enjoys torturing people, mentally and physically," he read from the screen. "Do we know who has the soul of his lost bride," asked Kiwi, "and why does he want it?". Sarah scanned the screen, "Oh what a surprise, he wants the soul so he can claim the power of heaven and hell," she said sarcastically, "Does no-one do originality anymore?". "Jimmy at the store was telling me about this wierd european guy who came in asking about this girl......Laura something......Laura....Laura.....Walker, that's it, Laura Walker......I'll bet that's her," said Kiwi. All three started checking for Laura Walkers in the phone book, online, anywhere they could. "There are 15 Laura Walkers in the area, we're screwed," said Kiwi. "Only thing we can do is go round them all, Kiwi, you take the east side, Sarah, you take the west side," said Draven. "What about you?" asked Sarah. Draven replied, "I'll take the rest of the city." And with that, they left the dingy apartment, once again wondering if this would be the last time they would all be together.

Angelo was also scouring the city, but he had a head start on the others, he had the info Victor acquired for him. He had been to her place of work, all her haunts, but no sign of her. Finally he decided to wait at her home, knowing she would always come back there eventually. his patience paid off when Laura Walker appeared from around the corner of the street. Angelo looked at her and was mesmerised by her beauty, "At last my angel, it is time." He then watched as she entered the humble bungalow, locking the door behind her and getting ready for a quiet night in front of the tv. Angelo watched through the window as she showered, thinking back to the days when Laura, or at least the soul she has, was by his side and how he longed for that day again. Finally, as she was getting her night-clothes on, he made his move and entered her home.

On the other side of the city, Sarah was on her mobile talking to Draven, "No, none of them were who we were looking for, what about you?" Draven simply said the same. It wasn't until Kiwi called and said that a strange european had been asking questions near the casino that any breaks had been found. Draven called both and made plans to meet at the casino, then they would all go round to Laura's home together, praying it wasn't too late to stop whatever was going to happen.

Kiwi was waiting at the casino as Draven arrived, followed shortly by Sarah. "Ok, let's get to her place and see what is going on," said Sarah. The others simply nodded and headed over to the house.

Ten minutes later they arrived to find the house in darkness. "Ok, this doesn't look too bad, nice and quiet," said Draven. They approached the front door and saw that it had been burst open. "I was wrong, he's been here," Draven added to his earlier quip. Music was playing in the house as they made their way through the hallway, it was familiar music that Sarah finally recognised. "That's Chop Suey by System Of A Down," she said. The song blasted out from a room in the house,

"......Father (Father)Father (Father), Father (Father), Father (Father) Father
into your hands, I commend my spirit,
Father, into your hands,
Why have you forsaken me
In your eyes, forsaken me,
In your thoughts, forsaken me,
In your heart, forsaken me, oh,

Trust in my self-righteous suicide,
I cry when angels deserve to die,
In my self-righteous suicide,
Why cry when angels deserve to die?"

The words of the song seeming prophetic to Draven and the girls. Then as they entered the room, they saw the fruition of Angelo's plan, they saw the end of the world in Laura's blue eyes. There in front of them was Laura Walker, strung up by her wrists to the wall with silk, naked, covered in her own blood, slit from her neck to her groin, a river of blood pouring from her wounds. Draven sunk to his knees as two pillars of fire emerged behind them, Sarah and Kiwi followed suit as Angelo appeared in front of them. "Ahhhh, the great saviour, the man who stopped Shivron, bowed before me, too late to save yet another beautiful woman," he taunted, "And look at this, accompanied by two more beautiful women. Do you never learn child?"

The sky darkened over as the heavens collapsed, Angelo feeling the power surging through him, making him smile. "I have great plans for you," he said with great menace. He took Laura down from the wall and simply discarded her body to the side of the room, having no more need for her, she was simply worthless to him. He took Kiwi and Sarah and tied them both to the wall with the silk, and instructed Draven, "Choose Mr Cage, and choose wisely." "Choose what," Draven spat with venom. "Choose who will suffer and who will die quickly Mr Cage," replied Angelo, "You see I like torture and I like suffering, and what better way than to mentally torture you and to physically torture one of them." Draven's heart sank as the enormity of the decision sunk in. It was Rebekah Jayne Burton all over again. Killing an innocent to save her torment, but now with the added bonus of condemning another to a lifetime of pain and suffering. "CHOOSE NOW MR CAGE," demanded Angelo.

Draven took out his gun as the world became Hell around him, and pointed at both of the girls, one then the other. Both of them were crying as they realised the awfulness of the situation. Draven chose who to have mercy upon, closed his eyes, said a silent prayer and took a deep breath. Angelo's eyes widened at the thought of the internal torment Draven was enduring. Draven kept his eyes closed, took one more breath, "Forgive me," he said as he fired He then dropped to his knees sobbing.

Somewhere in heaven the angels wept tears of blood.