Eden Complex, Nevada Desert- 3:16 PM
The storm had been raging for seven days and seven nights, with such a ferocity that it seemed the heavens themselves were weeping. Dr. Elijah Marlow stood at the edge of the observation deck, her breath fogging the reinforced glass as she stared out into the deluge. The facility, buried deep within the Nevada desert, was a fortress of steel and concrete, designed to withstand the worst of nature's fury. But this storm felt different. It felt alive.
Behind her, the hum of machinery filled the sterile air. Monitors beeped, data streams scrolled endlessly, and the faint buzz of fluorescent lights mingled with the low murmur of scientists at the base. They were close. So close. The subject Alpha had been their greatest discovery, a being of unknown origin, her wings broken and her light dimmed, but still radiating an otherworldly power. She had been found in the ruins of Iraq a week ago, her body half-buried in the sand, her presence defying all known laws of physics and biology.
Eliyah turned away from the storm and walked to the containment chamber. The room was bathed in a cold, blue light, the air thick with the scent of ozone and something else—something metallic, like the taste of blood in the air. Alpha lay on the examination table, her form restrained by thick, fiber bindings. Her wings, once majestic and radiant, were now shattered and gray, their feathers scattered across the floor like ash. Her eyes, though closed, glowed faintly, a reminder of the divinity that still burned within her.
"Vitals?" Eijah asked, her voice steady despite the knot of unease in her chest.
Dr. Kieran Voss, the lead biologist, glanced up from his tablet. "Not stable at all . Her energy output is increasing, though we've managed to slow it down with the electric field. For now."
Eliyah nodded, her gaze lingering on Alpha's face. She had been beautiful once, in a way that transcended human understanding. Elijah had spent countless hours studying her, probing her, trying to understand what she was. Her blood was unlike anything on Earth, a luminous fluid that seemed to contain galaxies within its droplets. Her DNA was a labyrinth of impossible sequences, defying every known law of biology. And her voice... when she spoke, it was not with sound but with something deeper, something that resonated in the bones of those who heard it.
But at what cost?
"We're ready for the next phase," Kieran said, breaking the silence. His voice was tinged with excitement, but Eliyah could hear the undercurrent of fear. They were treading on sacred ground, and they all knew it.
Miriam Kane, her colleague and closest confidante, approached the chamber. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her lab coat bore the faint stains of coffee and exhaustion. "Elijah, we've pushed her to the brink. If we go any further, we risk—"
Elijah hesitated, her hand hovering over the control panel. The storm outside seemed to grow louder, the wind howling like a chorus of voices. She shook her head, pushing aside her doubts. They had come too far to turn back now.
"Proceed," she said, her voice firm.
Miriam's jaw tightened, but she said nothing. She turned and began issuing orders to the team of technicians who monitored the chamber. The room erupted into a flurry of activity. Technicians adjusted the electric field, while others prepared the instruments for the next round of tests. Alpha's body tensed as the machines whirred to life, her wings twitching involuntarily. Elijah watched as the monitors spiked, the numbers climbing higher and higher.
The angel's eyes fluttered open.
"You are the children playing with what you do not comprehend."
Elijah felt a chill run down her spine as her gaze locked onto the specimen in the chamber. There was no anger in her eyes, no fear—only a profound sadness that seemed to stretch across eons.
Then it happened.
A blinding light filled the room, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. Alpha let out a cry, that sounded like a song, ancient and haunting filled the air. Her wings spreading wide as the electric field flickered, then failed entirely. The monitors exploded in a shower of sparks, and the room was plunged into darkness.
When the light faded, Alpha was gone. The bindings hangs empty, the containment chamber scorched and smoking. The scientists stared in stunned silence, their instruments useless, their minds reeling.
Elijah was the first to speak. "What… what just happened?"
Before anyone could answer, the alarms blared. The storm outside had intensified, the wind now a deafening roar. The facility shook, the walls groaning under the strain. And then, through the chaos, a voice—deep, resonant, and filled with an anger that made the very air tremble.
*"You have defiled what is sacred."*
Elijah's blood ran cold. She turned to the observation deck, her heart pounding in her chest. There, silhouetted against the lightning-streaked sky, was another figure. Taller, more radiant, his wings ablaze with a light that burned like the sun. His eyes, filled with fury, locked onto hers.
The second angel had come.