Zeharah felt something was odd,
She couldn't sense her other brothers at all.
Their telepathy seemed to not work,
And no one dared answer her calls.
She sighed and looked at Joseph,
Who was also worried as well.
He showed sadness as he fears the worst,
And Zeharah showed even deeper concern.
He looked up the sky and wondered,
"Do you think they're already captured?"
Zeharah quickly turned to her brother,
But stopped her mouth, as even she, do not know what to answer.
She sadly looks at the stars,
And hoped that even though far,
Her brothers and sisters are safe,
Even though they failed to communicate.
She then hoped her brother was wrong,
That nothing bad happened to them at all.
And with the growing anxiety forming in her chest,
Guilt bit down Joseph.
They soon saw two playful orbs seemingly taunting them to follow,
And Zeharah, who believed it was good, urged her brother to go.
Joseph quickly followed behind her and asked her what it was,
But Zeharah herself, isn't sure of what.
His sister remained quiet the rest of the journey,
And Joseph, felt extremely worried.
Her eyes were too serious, and her breathing tensed,
Even her hands are stretched in a way that covers him up.
It was truly hard to watch.
She looks paranoid.
She looks worned.
She looks pale.
She looks depressed.
All of those, worsening by every step.
As she wonder what's waiting for them ahead.
Hoping it doesn't involve looking at the dead,
Praying that she won't fail again.
He wondered why she was almost thinking he was incapable.
Or was it because of what he told her earlier?
Was she that scared that he's the only one left?
The only angel she could ever protect?
He hated himself for bringing his thoughts up,
As if the stress of keeping him safe wasn't enough.
He then quickly buried his head on his sister's back,
Apologizing for making her sad.
Zeharah smiles and tells him to walk properly,
But Joseph remained clingy.
They soon saw a nearby tower,
And realized, it was where the light was from.
The bell continued to ring loudly,
But for some reason, Zeharah felt uncalm.
"Should we investigate?"
"We should."
Zeharah then trimmed the bushes,
As she readied herself to follow the path leading to it.
The wind blew to their faces,
It was cold, and somehow tickles.
She joked to her brother about the wind being too harsh,
But somehow, she couldn't feel relaxed.
Her heart was jumping wildly in her chest,
As if warning her of what could come next.
Her brother noticed her expression,
And quickly tried to joke.
Zeharah's eyes only widened however,
After she swore, she heard a noise.
She told Joseph to stand properly,
And Joseph, who was oblivious to the sound,
asked why it was told suddenly.
Zeharah then opened her barrier,
And after three seconds,
they were charged by monsters.
The monsters came from the same direction,
As that of the unusual tower.
Zeharah then recognized the monsters' clothes,
And realized they were slaves turned ghouls.
She felt shocked by the discovery,
That she remained still for a while,
Until her brother snapped her back to reality.
"Joseph, listen. They're the slaves Martha had escorted."
"I realize that. And because of it, then they're all victims.
What should we do about them?"
"This is hard. But first, we need to know what's inside the tower.
The tower may contain the antidote,
or you know? Whatever's supposed?"
"Argh... This is too much for two angels to handle.
Who knows how many they are there?"
"I know we're both exhausted,
But we can't just kill them.
No matter what, saving lives is our priority,
Even if it's far from being easy."
Joseph then nods his head as he follows her steps.
But as they near, a new thought came ahead.
"MARTHA! GOODNESS! I FORGOT-
DID...DID YOU SEE HER ON THE MONSTER-IZED CROWD?"
"C-calm down."
"How? If Ken finds out we lost her,
Oh goodness, the seer might lose control."
"Hey, calm down. Calm down.
Ken won't betray us like that.
He'd know better than most humans.
That death cannot be avoided at times.
And besides, I still haven't seen Martha among them,
Maybe she escaped?"
Zeharah nodded as she reach the tower's stairs,
Ignoring the monsters, clawing their barriers for a taste.
Joseph then observed whether Martha was there,
And felt a bit relieved, not seeing her dress.
The moment they reached the room however,
They were truly surprised, to see Martha crying on the corner.
Zeharah quickly closed the room and had Joseph enter,
While she, promised to ward off the monsters.
The monsters, now free from the bell's pestering sound,
Charged at Zeharah, as she forces them down.
She knew she couldn't kill them,
but can't let them inside either.
For she quickly recognized the markings on the room's wall,
And instantly knew what it was made for.
"The sun tower that connects to the moon tower,
The very thing that is protecting humanity from fall.
This is more important than my life.
If they breach it,
then they'd all die."
...
Joseph then comforted Martha, who was still crying and pained.
She was shaking, and visibly scared.
She hissed, when Joseph mentioned to see her hands,
And the sight, was not too pleasant to look at.
Her fingers were already red and bleeding,
As her arms, were already too weak.
Joseph almost had himself cry,
Seeing how much she had to endure it all this time.
"The bell was too heavy for me to keep banging, you know?
It's not that I'm complaining but..
why am I alone?
I was scared when one of them got to enter,
I was forced to kick her out the window.
She died of course,
And...I hope it wasn't my fault.
I didn't mean to...I really didn't.
But I was left with no choice but to do it.
It...it managed to bite my leg too.
It still stings,
But I couldn't wrap it up in cloth.
Since stopping from my given work,
Would kill me instantly the moment they pass through the door.
And..."
But she suddenly felt dizzy from the blood loss,
And continued to mix up her words.
She then looked at Joseph with pleading eyes,
Hoping she could stop and rest awhile.
"I...I want to rest.
I don't want to ring the bell for now.
Can I rest?
Can you give me a bit of time to calm down?"
Joseph nodded as he then sound the bell-
Using his mouth, though it looks hard to manage.
He persevered, and quickly quicken his pace.
Making the monsters, slightly back off as well.
The sound deafen his hearing for the meantime,
As Martha, tried her best to get some sleep.
Joseph had fully dressed her wounds earlier,
And she hoped that it was enough to make her recover.
"Just...a bit of rest...and I'll feel better,"
Martha told herself,
and fell to a deep slumber.
...
She dreamt.
She was walking on a road filled with corpses,
Where there was no cloud on the sky.
The smell was awful, and the air was hot,
Worsened by flies, who enjoyed the rot.
Martha soon found comfort upon finding a tower.
She quickly went above it, and closed the door.
But the moment she turned, she saw a disfigured woman on the window,
Salivating, hoping to eat her up.
She felt chills run down her spine as it growled way too realistically,
And she could have sworn, it was also happening in reality.
She soon jerked awake,
As she saw the same monster peering at the window.
It had just recently climbed up,
And was looking at her,
like a hungry child would to a snack.
She quickly warned Joseph,
Who was unaware then.
He stopped the bell to hear her,
But the lack of sound encouraged the monster to enter.
Joseph was quick to catch the panic,
And casted a barrier, protecting the lady.
The monster became deeply enraged,
And it quickly tore its own belly open.
Several tiny monsters emerged from inside,
As Joseph quickly covered the sacred book first,
and joined Martha's side.
Joseph felt his heart almost punch his lung,
As he watched the monsters move about.
Now devoid of the bell's sacred sound,
They are free to do anything they allow.
Joseph then felt his sister's distress,
And knew soon, he should braven up and help.
He then looked at Martha, who was visibly scared,
And calmed her down first, before deciding to leave her for the bell.
Martha was left with the open book,
With its cover, slightly torn.
Joseph had tried to hold it with his hands turned sword,
And Martha felt embarrassed,
with how much he had worked.
She looked at her palms almost peeled off from her labor,
And wondered, if somehow her sacrifices were enough to be useful.
She then firmly held the open book and promised,
That she wouldn't be another burden.
But her body said otherwise,
As it hurts her to even rise.
She cried, and hoped she wouldn't be another reason for Joseph and Zeharah's loss,
As both of them, had already sacrificed most.
She then prayed and closed her eyes,
Hoping that none of her companions die.
Her tears soon lit up the ink,
And Joseph, soon healed his hands and wings.
He felt surprised at the sudden rise of his strength,
And quickly smiled, as he loudly rings the bell.
Martha on the other hand, had opened her eyes from the increasing glow,
Which came no other than from the book.
A voice then came booming, praising her kindness,
And tells her that she had always been a help.
With it, the light pierced her chest,
Making her hands heal from the injuries,
she sustained back then.