For a moment, I thought that my heart had stopped beating. The brilliantly shining being, feathered wings appearing motionless, swooped down from the sky while the corpses of Apex smoked on the concrete, boardwalk, and sandy beach. In a less than literal sense, I heard the angel choir singing around us; I pictured the Cloud splitting down the middle to reveal the soft white glow of heaven, followed by the light greens of grasses and grayer greens of olive trees. I wanted heaven to reveal itself to us and swallow the Earth, bringing us the peace we all desperately needed.
That didn't happen. Instead, the winged being's light flickered out, and my jaw dropped in a silent shout as its body plummeted into the black ocean, no brighter than the morning sky.
With that, the pressure on my body vanished. I could stand up with Leo and Nadine at my sides, somewhat dizzy and quite confused.
