The 40th group are summoned to Colonel Obadiah's office chambers. The group had just finished their extermination.
The office is located in the giant administrative building. The group are lead to the lavishly decorated corridors and halls where offices of the upper-brass are located along with their residences. The group then stand in front of the counter of the secretary to Colonel Obadiah, still in their extermination suites and Archie with blood all over his face.
"any word?" Captain Will asks the secretary.
The secretary promptly picks up the office line telephone and speaks.
"Alright yes sir" he keeps the phone down and looks at Captain Will "Captain William only you are to meet the Colonel since he also has something private to talk to you" the secretary says.
The group look at Captain Will as he exchanges glances with them too.
"go on Cap' we'll be right here" Rodney says.
Captain Williams enters through the door and in front of him is Colonel Obadiah. His office has two massive windows on either side, green carpeted floor, mahogany wood lining the walls and ceiling and in the center, his desk along with some sofas to the side. Behind him is a large emblem of the USAEC and the American and USAEC flags on either side. He seems to be writing something before looking above to Captain Will. He closes the folder he was writing on and stands up.
"I understand that you have been successful in what was asked of you. Though it would be better if you give us some report about his power." said the Colonel.
Captain Will had his head down, with an expression of guilt, and then raised his head and with an expression of pure hatred while looking straight into the eyes of colonel he said in a heavy course voice
"no sir"
"why? wasn't your other subordinate with him too?" Colonel asked
"He was knocked out before he could see anything by the Azazel" Captain Will said.
"he is a type-6" Colonel said.
"the Azazel was a category-5" Captain Will replied.
A short pause with the exchange of stares between the 2 men.
"I could just ask him Captain William" Colonel taunts.
"if your willing to kill another kid? Sure go ahead, tell me if he gives you something" Captain Will replies.
"who said anything about killing?" the Colonel asked.
"my dead subordinate says so" Captain replies smartly.
Colonel Obadiah has a smug face on him as he sits on his chair resuming his work as Captain Will stands there looking at him.
"I want to bury private Zane Raphael's remains Colonel" Captain Will requests.
"I can't give you that permission you can take it to the division commander" Colonel Obadiah says.
"Why? That kid died fighting it's the leas-"
"This isn't in my hands it's a command from division commander, captain, his body is sent for advanced autopsy. Now if your done then you are dismissed, return to your barracks with your group" said the Colonel, not even looking at the Captain in the eyes.
Captain Will understood what the Colonel meant by advanced autopsy. This bureaucracy had killed many of the young recruits just on the basis that one of them might be the addition to the infamous five supers. A slang among exterminator institutions and branches of militaries around the world referring to 5 exterminators that are special among regular exterminators. These were the only compound exterminators in the world. These exterminators were far away from having designated a power rating like normal exterminators. They had immense power output, able to release full or controlled amount of release and that they are so strong they could single-handedly destroy a category 7 or 8 alone. All five of them together have more power than half the entire world's exterminator forces. Except they are rarely made to fight, rather they stay in lavish residences, get vast sums of money from the governments as a form of pension and have paramount political power in their respective nations. For some countries the public rejoiced as these supers bought good change in their countries, while some turned it into a dystopia in the path to fulfill their selfish desires and the US was adamant to quickly find if they had a compound, in the hopes to contain them and not take over the country. A futile program and a product of bureaucracy.
##
A boy opens his eyes, dark black eyes. He looks around to see utter darkness around, the floor, the ceiling and everything in front of him is black. He gets up, his skinny body with pale white skin and dried up wounds all over his body. He touches his chest to see a hole and puts his hand inside the hole in his chest and feels his beating heart. Below it he feels something metallic with various chords attached to it.
He looks around and walks but he can't find anything or anyone. A somber place, he yells into the darkness hoping he can find someone. Then in the darkness he notices, a bright white someone, sitting on the ground, wounded, it is holding up itself with something. The boy walks towards it and immediately a ring of thick, blazing hot fire emerges around the white object. He tries to get as close as he can without being burnt and sees, a man, with golden hair that is brazen with blood, torn white robes with blood stains and large white wings that have been burnt from below and missing most of its feathers. A wounded angel is what the boy was looking at.
The angel held himself up with a large white spear with a long sliver blade on its top. A sort of a halberd.
The fires ranged on around the angel as it looked behind to look at the boy. The boy saw a faint blue of the eyes. Then the angel spoke.
"I will die and you are dead. You who has sacrificed alone and have been shown your way here in this palace of justice. You must prove your reason, your worth, for the flames of the dark and hell befalls the innocent not far in time. I will die and this power of mine will be useless, until you shall take it and you will remember that what you have forgotten."
What was this man saying? The boy couldn't understand and he didn't know why he was here but for some reason his heart was beating very fast.
"What do you want me to do? And why?" the boy asked.
"Your mind forgets but your heart will never. Step through the flames and hold my spear and you shall have my powers, your memories and the answers to your questions" the Angel said.
"why should I get your power?" the boy asked.
"what have I done to prove myself?" he went on asking.
"the sea of questions will not to pour from your mind unless you follow your heart, boy, but if it pleases you I shall answer. Your fate lies in the protection of innocents from the dark, I know for I have seen you and that shall grant you this test to prove yourself.....for a another chance. If not, you will walk the halls of this dark palace of justice for eternity. So hurry boy, your fate awaits lest i be consumed by this fire." the angel said.
The fires looked terrifying. It was so hot it burned the boy's skin even when he was not standing near it, but to the boy's feelings this stranger said things that sounded true to him, a familiar feeling, the feeling of wanting the second chance.
The boy gripped his hands, close his eyes and took a deep breath and plunged into the fire. The fire burned the body of the boy, as he screamed with pain, his skin blistered and melted and his flesh fell out, but he kept walking. He walked on, each step giving him pain that would render a person asking for mercy but he kept going, nearing the angel. He soon emerged from the fire, his feet revealing his bones and his skin turned black. He fell but pushed himself with his hands. Every inch he took to move felt like eternity, with immeasurable pain. But he persevered and then gripped the base of the spear with his burned frail hand.
The angel smiled. The boy's eyes widened and he grunted while holding his head in pain with his hand.
"you prove yourself worthy, Zane Raphael. I shall bestow my power for I know you will protect the innocent from the dark that is to come soon. Rise as I grant you these wings" the angel spoke.
The burns from his body vanished, his flesh growing back. Zane stood up and then saw his dried-up wounds fading and healing, then the hole in his chest, where his heart was, healed and the skin grew and shut the hole in his chest. He felt anew.
The angel's glow grew weak then his wings turned gray and then all the remaining feathers fell on the ground. Soon the angels body also grew weak and frail and finally all that was left was his blue eyes.
"you will face the flames of tragedies young one, but always rise up until you have slayed evil. Goodbye."
The angel fell on the ground lifeless. Zane still held his spear, and then looks above as a bright white light shown on him from above. Zane looks behind to see a pair of large wings attached to him and he opens them to reveal their great spans. Zane looks from below at the light and jumps, as his wings flap gloriously and he flies, with the angel's spear with him and flies into the light.
Zane wakes up with a ghast as he springs up to see himself naked, with a white cloth covering him. He is on an embalming table. He looks around to see the green tiled walls and trolleys of injections, scalpels and all kinds of medical weapons. The room is quiet and the door seems locked. He then looks at his chest and its brand new as if nothing happened. He realizes he has come back to life.