The Fallen Angel

"Some believe him to be the last Antichrist who will trigger the rapture. Others call him a reluctant messenger. While others say he's just a freak of nature with wings, mutated by global warming. Whether he is any of these, or something else entirely; we know one thing's for sure: a winged person is now walking among us."

"He was once a normal teenager living a pretty much average life. That all ended when he discovered two white, feathery wings had sprouted on his back. He said it was no big deal to him; 'it was the other people, especially Christians, who made all the fuss about it.' Now, he gets constant text messages, instant messages, emails, and some even approach him asking for advice, miracles, or any paraphernalia touched by him. Someone even created a fan page for him, which gets a thousand hits per day. Everyone seems to be somewhat associated with the 'angel.' Luckily, we were able to get an exclusive interview from him. For the full details of the interview, turn to page -----"

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?!" cried a student as he massages the part on his back where the bottle had hit. "Dude, everyone would be able to read this article in a few days. This magazine would be in circulation in three days; no point in postponing the inevitable. So just let me read your interview in front of the whole class while you do whatever it is you're doing."

"I hate spoilers; they start rumors. Next thing you know, some idiot in the washroom would either exaggerate it or add some ridiculous detail to it." As the guy finished talking, he adjusted his feet, which was on the armrest of the chair beside him. Then as he yawned, he noticed the bottle he threw earlier. "Dude, throw that bottle out, will you."

"It was yours in the first place jerk; and I haven't received any apologies from you. I think that throw gave me a bruise," replied the student.

"How about this one?" said the guy as he flipped the student. "The last human contact the bottle had was with you. Ergo, the bottle is your property."

"What kind of twisted logic is that?" the student replied as he gave the guy an up-yours-sign. "It's your bottle, you throw it away."

"Rock, paper, scissors?" he asked in a very bored voice as he made a fist with his hand. Seeing the student just gave him a what-the-fuck-look, he stood up and said, "Fine, I'll do it. You owe me bastard. Next time, you carry my stuff for the whole day." Then he proceeded to throw out the empty bottle.

On the way to the trashcan, he felt all eyes turned to him. He was used to all the staring by now. But today, for some unknown reason, he was extremely irritable. As he approached the trashcan, he stopped suddenly then looked back. He noticed all students turned their heads away from him then hastily made up a fake conversation. He was sure they would stare at him again as soon as he turns his back on them. He sighed then approached the trashcan. The trashcan was overflowing with all kinds of junk so he had to squeeze the empty bottle for it to fit. He looked up and muttered, "sorry Mother Earth."

When he got back inside the classroom, he saw his friend reading the interview article to a huge crowd. He crept quietly toward them then snatched the magazine from the student who was so engrossed in his reading that he even made voices for the interviewer and the guy. "Sorry guys," he announced to the crowd, "that was just a preview. You'll see the main attraction in three days." He noticed the crowd slowly dispersed. Some of them looked very annoyed, some muttered "asshole", while some looked like they were ready to beat him up.

"Man, what is your problem? You're acting like a complete asshole. If you don't want anyone to know the contents of that interview, why did you agree to get interviewed in the first place?" asked the student, all humor gone from his face.

"Nothing;" replied the guy, "I just didn't get much sleep because of these fucking wings. I feel like a pregnant woman; except the nuisance is on my back and not on my belly."

"Have you considered having them cut?" asked the student, all look of annoyance miraculously disappeared.

"When I first got them" then as he finished saying the last word, he spread out his wings, "but the thought immediately left my mind as soon as I considered the possibility that I could fly."

"Can you?" whispered the student. Then he went closer to the guy, not able to hide the excitement of knowing a big secret.

"Of course not," he sneered. "Why do you think these wings annoy the fuck out of me? Then add those fanatics who wouldn't stop bugging me. Having a wings is a blast" he said sarcastically as he folded his wings. "Plus," he continued, "I don't know which shampoo to use; do I use bird shampoo or Clear, so my wings could scream out metro sexuality."

"I'm pretty sure god had a reason for giving you those wings" said the student as he sat down and got some gum from his bag. "Want some gum?" he offered.

The guy's eyes suddenly pierced the student. He was sick of hearing that one word, that word that killed a lot of people; in the past and even today. He didn't believe even before he got his wings, and there's no way in hell he would start believing now. He can't believe in some douchebag who's supposed to be benevolent but just sits and enjoys watching everyone kill each other for his sake. Then in the end, he would judge everyone; separating the faithful from the unfaithful. What kind of egocentric bastard would do that? The guy was about to open his mouth to start an argument when he suddenly realized. "If that asshole is truly up there, why should I give the bastard the satisfaction of an argument for his sake. He'd just be there enjoying every moment while two idiots are arguing about him." So the guy just picked up his bag and turned to the door.

"You were about to say something. And where the hell do you think you're going?" asked the student. "Our theology prof could pop in any moment now; he's usually late for only ten minutes - max. And it's only..." he continued as he checked the time, "eight minutes past the second bell. So that means our prof would be here in about two minutes."

"I don't think I'm in bullshit mode for today. I'm sick of Mr. bible-humper asking me if I found the light. Then he would go on with his never-ending monologue about how god is everywhere. I'm going home" said the guy as he walked towards the door. "Later dude" then he waved his hand.

Due to some weird angle and lighting, the wings of the guy looked jet black for a split second. Everyone in the room who where looking at him when he left noticed that. One of them, a very religious student, after seeing that immediately crossed himself. "He really is the Antichrist" he thought. While the student just thought, "That idiot should just have his wings dyed black. That way, his wings matches his philosophy in life."

As the guy was walking on the sidewalk, approaching the overpass, he saw from afar a car moving very fast; swerving left and right, trying to overtake all cars in front of it. Then as the guy was walking in the middle of the overpass, he heard a very loud crash; the sound of metal being crumpled. When he looked down, he saw the reckless car had collided with a mini van. The scene before his eyes was a complete wreck; he could even see some blood dripping from the car. "That fucking driver," the guy thought, "I hope he loses all his legs and eyes so he wouldn't be able to drive again." Then as he was about to resume his walk towards the jeepney terminal, he heard a little girl crying, asking for her mother. The girl was covered in blood and seemed disoriented. She was swaying as she walked; arms outstretched, hoping to find protection from her mother.

While some of the bystanders were now ogling at the crash site, some of the drivers behind the site were now starting to get flustered because of the building traffic. There was enough space for only one car to pass through. Then the guy saw one car tried to pass through the site; moving at a high speed, hoping no one would notice. But as the car was about to pass through, the little girl suddenly went towards the direction of the moving car. Her hands still outstretched, still crying out her mothers name. The guy, without thinking, immediately jumped from the overpass and went towards the little girl. Some of the spectators gasped as they saw him flying. But he didn't notice any of that, his only thought was to save the girl. Then, as the bumper of the moving car was about to hit the little girl, white feathery wings blocked the view of the moving car for a split second. Then came the sound of a very loud thud; and feathers began to rain on the site. The little girl was saved, but the guy died. The guy with wings was able to fly; even just for a couple of seconds. But it had cost him his life.