Wonders of Post Apocolyptia Chapter 6 - The In-Betweener
Mark lay there, waiting for Daniel to either leave or fall asleep, the latter happening first. He slowly got up and got
dressed. He stood by the window, looking out onto the city, hoping to be able to find something to distract him from his world, even for a few hours. He put on his new clothes and new jacket for a blanket of snow was beginning to form on the ground. The sky was a steely grey, and there was no chance of it letting up anytime soon. He left his room and saw Derrick in the kitchen. Mark didn't feel like talking to him so he quickly made his way to the lift and pressed the button. Derrick heard the "ding" the button made when pressed and turned around to see Mark waiting impatiently by the lift door. "Hey, did you get the pancakes Daniel brought in?" Derrick asked, wondering why Daniel was still in Mark's room. "Yeah, thanks." Mark said quietly, pressing the button repeatedly until the doors opened. He hopped in and thumbed the button for the ground floor. "Hey!" Derrick yelled "Where are yo-" The doors had closed and the lift was descending rapidly. He checked his pockets - Nothing. He was tempted to go back up but that would lead to an awkward situation with Derrick that he really didn't want to get in to. When he finally exited the building, he made a mental note of which building and where the complex was. Mark took a look around to see if James or any of his "staff" were following him. Reasonably satisfied, he made his way into town. There wasn't much life on the streets, presumably from the thickening snow. He glanced through the shop windows as he passed them, not taking much interest in anything he was seeing but was enjoying the mindlessness of it all. The closer he got towards the center of the town, the older the buildings got. More and more shops and houses were closed or delapidated, and the roads and paths weren't gritted so it took more thought than usual to keep upright. Eventually, the constant string of faded red-bricked buildings gave way to a large metal fence. Mark kept walking along the fence until he came to an open gate. He stood there and looked at the monumental building before him. Infront of him was a cathedral of near biblical proportions. The grounds took up as much space as about 5 football pitches. There were trees with plaques infront of them dotted around, as well as a few benches. The cathedral itself was built in the gothic style, which made it very ominous to look at from close up. The stained glass windows mostly showed saints and scenes from the bible. Looking around, this was obviously the most interesting building in the area. Feeling the cold starting to creep deep into his pads, Mark jogged towards the large wooden doors of the old cathedral.
Inside the air was warm and stuffy. The building was bathed in an orangey glow, accentuating the heat of the place. There were rows upon rows of benches from the back to the front, completely empty. The altar was made of white marble, and seemed to be the only thing that wasn't made orange by the lights. There were pillars coming down both sides of the church, about three rows apart. There was a bowl of water built into the closest pillar to the door. Mark stepped over and examined it, thinking that there was something he was supposed to do whenever he entered churches. He dipped his right paw into the water and lifted it out, watching the water drip back into the bowl. The water felt somehow smooth and soft around it. He dipped his left paw into the bowl, but as soon as one fingerpad hit the surface, he felt a burning in his paw which shot up in bursts up his arm. He sharply drew his arm back and smacked his paw repeatedly off his jacket trying to get this burning liquid off his paw. As soon as the pain died down, he examined his fingers. There were no visible burn marks but the flesh was very sensative. He decided to put his paw into his jacket pocket to protect it from any more harm. It was obvious that this was not a safe place for a freak like him. Still, however, Mark slowly made his way up towards the altar. Looking around the benches, he found no one in sight. There was a faded black line around the altar which Mark didn't cross, instead he sat down on one of the benches on the second row and waited. Above the altar was a massive stone crucifix with a reptilian figure on it. On the wall to his right was a bronze plaque with a list of priests, past and present. It wasn't long until Mark felt a very strong presence somewhere near him. He looked around and noticed a slim-built tiger wearing almost all black, but he was also wearing a fairly silly looking white collar thing. Mark stood up, smiled and held out his paw. The tigers expression quickly turned to surprise and then anger. Marks face fell and he took a step back and held his paws up. The tiger grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and held him at arms length. A pair of white, shining wings appeared on the tigers back and eyes began to glow. "What are you doing here demon?"
Mark shook his head "What do you mean demon?" He said, worried that this creature might hurt him. "Don't play dumb, I can see it in you. Show me what you are or I'll send you back down below where you belong." Mark was confused. What you are? He thought of the wings he had when Than was around and tried to make them reappear. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his back and the feeling of the wings growing. Soon enough, he felt something on his back and sure enough when he opened his eyes he could see his wings surrounding himself and the priest. His wings were much larger than the priests and this time, unlike when talking with Than, one wing was black and the other was white. The tiger dropped him and stood back, staring at Mark. He took out a knife and slashed Marks arm. Mark yelped and growled at the tiger, ignoring the pain that was rapidly going away. Within half a minute, there was almost no trace of the cut yet. The tiger nodded and put the knife away. "When did you get here, and why?" The tiger demanded, but Mark wasn't taking any more "Who the hell are you?". "I am Father Raphael, I own this cathedral. But surely you must know who I am, all angels and demons do." Mark shook his head and looked the tiger in the eye. "I don't know who I am anymore, or at all, so if you don't mind explaining..." The tiger frowned in confusion and stood closer. He examined Marks eyes "I see... So you actually can't remember anything?" Mark chuckled "You saw everything about me in my eyes?" The tiger sighed "The eyes are a window into the soul, and yours is filled with nothing except sadness and darkness. It's a wonder you haven't completely turned demon." "I just want to leave and forget everything that's happened, that's why I came here." The tiger nodded "You came to visit God?" Mark looked at the Raphael "If there is a God, and there probably isn't, he has no power over me or anything." Mark made his way to the cathedral door. The tiger yelled after him "Don't you want to know whether you're an angel or demon?" Mark shouted back "I guess I'm both... or neither. Both options suit me just grand." "Where will I be able to reach you?" Mark, just before reaching the door, turned around and said "I don't give a damn." Mark left the building, then the grounds, the started to make his way back to the flat. On the way, a wolf started walking beside him. Mark noticed his wings were completely white again. He glanced to the black wolf beside him "Hello Than."
Mark and Than walked together side by side down the snow-covered path. Than was keeping pace with Mark and was visibly aggitated. "Why did you go into that place?" Than said shakily "And that priest... Stay away from him. He's bad news for both of us." Mark smiled and shook his head "I suppose you were the darkness he mentioned? The black wing?" Than stood infront of Mark and had a look of seriousness about him. "I could only see from a distance. I can't go into that place, or any other holy place for that matter." Mark walked through Than, literaly "So what, you looked in through a window? Anyways, that tiger seemed as dangerous as you." Than caught up with Mark again "I saw what you saw, nothing more and that tiger. Well, that tiger will probably kill us. He felt you as demon, you acted as angel and you revealed yourself as a Hybrid. A "Half-Breed". Both Angel and Demon with no obligations to either good nor evil." Mark turned a street corner, the appartment complex coming into view. "So you're the demon part?" Than shook his head "No. That darkness is your own, I can just manipulate it." Mark began to relax around Than. In his current state, he seemed like an ordinary person. Granted, he could well be a figment of Marks imagination. A creation of his own sick, warped mind. Now however, Than seemed vulnerable for the first time. "So what am I? An "equaliser" of sorts? A liaison?" Than chuckled "Of sorts. Strictly we aren't "Angels" or "Demons", but these words are a handy generalisation. It's the equivalent of just using the word "cat" or "dog". No specification at all." Mark nodded "So what are you?". "I am Death. Some would say I'm not necessarily evil but... you know... it does kinda kick ass being evil. Not so many rules. But you, since you're not tied to anything or anyone, don't have any rules." Mark slowed to a stop "So why did you choose me? Liked the darkness, sadness...?" Than stopped too "It's no coincidence the nukes happened to land where they did. I... "Influenced" the co-ordinates. I just wanted to see death on a scale not seen in decades, but guess who survived? A Half Breed, with no family, no friends, no memories and soon given the power only heard of in legends. Despite how easy it was to enter you superficially, you're nearly impenitrable when it comes to your mind and soul." An old glass bottle appeared in Thans hand, filled with a thick black fluid. He tossed it to Mark, but when Mark caught it it was a few times heavier than lead. Mark could only handle it for a few seconds before his left paw locked and Mark fell to his knees. He'd felt the pain beforem at it wasn't too hard to suppress it. The bottle landed on a patch of ice and rolled like an empty bottle would towards Thans feet. He bent over and picked it up easily. "This is what you're feeling, or well, what you should have felt. As you can clearly see, only you can feel the weight of everything that has happened. Eventually this WILL kill you, and as I said I would like to keep you alive, but the events over the past week or so have shown me that you have no problem surviving even under the most inhospitable conditions." Than offered his paw to Mark. Mark looked up and took it, Than pulled Mark up and ran his paw over Marks left arm, dulling the pain. "Don't think of me as an enemy, but as a friend." Mark was confused "Why take an interest in me, all I did was not get myself killed." Than laughed "That's exactly why! You're the one who got away! Anyways, there's plenty of work for me to do, I've spent a bit too long here. I'm still keeping my eye on you." He grew his black wings and faded away. Mark sighed and continued on his journey. As he drew closer to the appartment, he stopped off in a chemist. He pocketed some painkillers and left, happy that he'd evaded the staff and cameras that littered the place. He swallowed some of the tablets dry and finished the journey back to the flat through the empty, snow covered streets.
It didn't take long for Mark to get back to the flat, just about as long as it took for the painkillers to rid his arm of the pain completely. The lift dinged as the doors opened into Daniels and Derricks place. It's hard to sneak back into a place when the front door dings loudly as it opens. Mark walked in to see Derrick cleaning away some dishes with Daniel standing beside him. It seemed like they were deep in conversation when Mark arrived. Daniel smiled and turned to Mark "Oh you're back. We were just talking about you. Where'd you go anyways?" Mark took off his jacket and tossed it on the couch. "Out" He replied quietly. Seeing Daniel again brought up a few questions. Did he actually deal with everything or did he just deal with a drop, and if that was a drop then what will happen when the entire bottle is opened? Will he be able to deal with it or will it consume him? He walked over to Daniel and hugged him. He appreciated the fact Daniel wanted to help but he knew that he couldn't get him mixed up in all the bull that was going on. Derrick stared at Mark as he hugged Daniel, and Mark knew it. Mark stepped back and nodded at Derrick "Ok then. Aren't you supposed to be working Daniel?" Daniel laughed "It's a Saturday, I don't work weekends." Mark nodded "Do you work Derrick?" Derrick shook his head "I don't need to." Mark tilted his head "Why? Rich family?" Derrick shook his head again "Nah, nice big inheritance. Including this appartment. I still have loads left. Where did you go earlier on, anyways?" Daniel stepped beside Derrick and faced Mark "Yeah actually, when I woke up on your bed you were gone." Derrick frowned and looked at Daniel "What-What? When you woke up on his bed?" Daniels face fell and his tail drooped "It was nothing! I brought him some breakfast and-" "And nothing happened." Mark interrupted "He was feeling sleepy so he slept on my bed. I got up and left" Derrick looked at both of them suspiciously "Ok... Whatever, anyways where did you go?" Mark scratched his head "I went for some fresh air." Daniel nodded and frowned, focusing on Marks arm where the tiger cut him "Are you hurt again?" Daniel checked Marks arm to find nothing but dried blood. Mark sighed and stood back "I'm fine" Daniel looked worried again, and Mark didn't want him to start crying again incase he brought on Derricks wrath. Derrick stepped forward, looked at Daniel then at Mark. Derrick grabbed Marks right arm and pulled him closer with a ferocity that Mark hadn't felt before. He just wanted to get away and hide or something. He wished he had his wings like in the church or when Than is around. After a few seconds, Derrick dropped Mark and took a few steps back. Daniel gasped and stood behind Derrick. Mark fell to his knees. There were two lumps growing on Marks back, quite painfully. Instead of the wings just morphing out Marks back, the bones started to tear out through his flesh and grow into the shape of wings. Muscles started to snake along the bones and knit together. It took about thirty seconds for the muscles to finish growing, then the skin, fur and feathers started to form. It was about a minute and a half of pure agony for Mark. He held his head in his paws, his head felt like it was going to explode and his left arm was burning. Mark tried to stand up and stumble over to his jacket. He fell just before reaching, but managed to grab the packet of painkillers. He downed the remainder of the pills and started digging his claws into the back of his head until the pills kicked in. The pills dulled the pain enough for Mark to calm himself down. He tore off his new shirt, it was putting pressure on the base of the wings. He looked up at Daniel. Daniel hesitated the walked over to Mark. He looked at Marks eyes and they were entirely black. So was Marks left wing and left paw and arm, up just past the shoulder. Blood was running from his back and his paw from when he first met Daniel. Mark was scared, and Daniel saw it in his face. Marks vision started to blur. He wasn't so afraid of that, it had happened before. The last thing he could remember before black out was falling forward and the raised voices of both Daniel and Derrick.