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"Good evening, child," Said the pastor. His eyes glistened in the holy light of the catholic altar. His robes were well kept, rather than ratty and full of holes. All of our clothes were ratty and full of holes.

"Good evening, father," I greeted him. My complexion of a young 13 year old was still nice and clean, though my face was still quite childish. Dimples struck me as I gave a hoping smile toward my pastor. My pastor was a good one, not like the ones who touched little boys. The pastor was the only one who I actually didn't hate in this world. But that's for later on. I stepped into the pew and felt the dirty tile floor beneath my hole-ridden shoes.

The father started his standard, cut-and-paste Tuesday sermon on morality and forgiveness. Through my years at living in this place, I learned that the pastor had recycled a few of his sermons. Kept them in a filing cabinet. When they got too old (about 2 or 3 years), he would slightly re-write his words and then say them back to us. This sermon was told to us almost every month, however. It was a nice sermon, meant to give me and the other residents hope for the future.

I looked around, seeing only 3 other people joined me for the sermon. Timmy, who was a snot-nosed brat who would throw the biggest fits you'd ever see. Jenny, an uptight prudish girl who always managed to be in a bad mood. Mother Jerry says that Jenny was a mistake of humanity, but god would never make mistakes like her. And then there was Jeffy, who was actually okay as far as the children went. He was mature, and he was respectful. The year or so he spent in the hole probably made him that way.

I turned back around and listenened to the pastor's sermon. It was the same as last time, only a few sentences were switched around. It provided me a false hope in god, and an even more false hope in redemption. I always looked at myself and thought myself worse than the other god-forsaken children.

A couple of hours passed, and though the children had went away, I stayed. Father's glinty eyes were looking towards me when he uttered the last words of his sermon, "And, we should all know, A rightous wind is coming." With that, we said a final prayer and the father took to the back area of the church. I stiffly got out of the pews and followed Mother Janet back to one of the bunks that I was now going to be crammed into. Thankfully my 13th birthday was just yesterday, and I was now able to sleep with the "big kids", leaving all the little ones in my dust.

+++

I sat down on one of the bunks. What I hadn't known about being a "big kid" ... the one thing that I actually hoped wouldn't be true, had been true. The little mongrels across the hall actually had the bulk of the donation funds. Sure, we didn't exactly have a whole lot. A couple of mildew and mold-infested toys, a couple of rotting train sets, a few rubber balls and lumpy old beds... standard kid junk for children of our class. But being a teenager brought me nothing. There was a bed and a stack of games with missing pieces.

"Mother Janet, why is it that we teenagers have nothing, when most of us are actually decent people?" I asked Mother Janet, the teenager's maid and nun.

She sighed and turned back to me, "God's little angels deserve the best, of course."

I was not as earnest as before, and spoke up, "But they spend most of their days mistreating others and misbehaving!"

"That'll be enough!" Mother scolded, her bony finger raised to my face. "You were once one of them, weren't you?" she asked me, her tone still firm. Mother hadn't been in the children's area much, and when she was, she was normally there on business. She never really saw me when I was just a small one. I and the Father seemed to have been the only ones who knew that these "God's little angels" were terrible things. And I was sick of it.

I quieted down, taking Mother's question as a rhetorical one. I felt the bunk bed underneath my back. The bed was terrible. Lumpier than most. There was even a spring sticking out on one side. It had no sheets, but instead 1 comforter that smelled like mildew. I looked at the window, with it's bars glistening in the moonlight. Each night I lay in my bed, I look out at this window and wonder- are the bars keeping me in, or are they keeping others out?

+++

It has been another month since I was transferred to the teenager's area, and I have been slightly happier with it. The others no longer mistreat me, but they instead shun me. All the better, with their attitudes and moralities, I would prefer to be alone than with them. I continue to look at the small window at night, wondering what's on the other side. After all, I have never been outside these cold, cracked concrete walls.

I knew that I'd never get out of here, either. No one would take someone from here after they were 13. It was just one of those rules of thumb here. If you were 13, you were going to be stuck here, doing chores and housework, for the rest of your life. I do not want to accept this. I know that I could be- no, no I am- better than the hateful people that walk these halls. I knew that tonight, I was going to escape from this hell. With the 20 dollars I earned from the nuns doing extra work, I would be able to buy some food and a cheap backpack from whatever type of market they have in the outside world.

But there is only one thing I know in this world. The only thing that is true, and not obsolete- the only thing that truly exists in this world- is hate.

+++

The escape was an easy and undaring one. It was as simple as going out the front door when no one was looking. Normally, it was locked when it was night-time, or when the children weren't permitted to go anywhere else. Sometimes I wonder if the people in here would allow it to be locked when there was a fire. "Lack of foresight should be a sin," I would tell myself at night.

But, with a simple screwdriver and bobby pin, I was able to make my escape. I had the foresight to leave mid-day, and the sun felt forgiving, and amazing on my skin. I took a deep breath of fresh air, it's warm embrace filling my nostrils and mouth. The air tasted a bit like grass and dirt.

I looked around me, and it had occurred to me exactly why I had never been outside the cold halls of my previous home. It was surrounded by a sea of grass- it didn't even have a paved road out in the front! I wondered where our residents had come from. I wondered where our Mothers and Fathers had come from. It wasn't until later in my life that I would learn.

On the unpaved road that went on farther than I could see, I began to walk. The road had to have gone somewhere. The Father would sometimes sing me a song he learned as an adult in the city when I was feeling down. One of his songs struck me, and I had something to walk to. The tune started to hum in my head until I ended up singing. "Just a lonely girl, livin' in a lonely wooorld~ She took a midnight train goin' anywhere~ Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit~ He took a midnight train goin' anywhere~" I sang.

+++

I looked out upon the horizon once more. My last home was barely visible. I continued to scan my surroundings, and I saw something in the distance! It was exactly what I wanted. It was the city! Almost a fabled thing in my previous home, the children would be taken away by couples, and never be heard from again. "The city is a place of redemption, child," the Father had told me whenever the couples would come, "Hopefully, you shall feel the city's embrace as well!"

The only thing that had deterred me from going to the city was the fact that it was to the west, which would make me go off the unpaved road. Taking a risk, I stepped into the high grass. My calloused feet could hardly feel the grass and dirt beneath them. Feeling no presence of danger, I trudged forward toward the city.

+++

It had been 15 minutes before something strange happened to the world around me. It all seemed quiet, as if the world had simply stopped. The wind swept the grass and the quietness of the field got even quieter. It was so quiet, I could hear a rumbling in my ears. I thought that it was the presence of god himself. I looked upward, toward the sky. A golden speck was to be seen in the blue sky. The speck was sweeping ever closer in my direction. It was coming down fast, and hard. I knew it was too far away to hurt me, but I still felt scared.

It crashed into the earth with a thunderous boom, sending rocks and shreds of grass everywhere. It was about 100 feet away from me, and the rubble of it's crash still hit me. The earth seemed to have shook below me, making me fall onto my hands and knees. I got up as soon as the shaking stopped. Smelling burning grass, I rushed towards the object that had fallen from the heavens.

I was able to see the case before I was able to see the object within. The case was beautiful. The art built around it was of Heavenly magnitudes. It appeared to have been made of some kind of stone- it looked tan, and dry. Much like the dried up clay that Mother Janet would let us play with when I was a kid. The stone had carvings in it- runic type lines and circles were found all around the casing. From these crevices came a soft orange glow.

It began to open, the crevices sliding in and out of each other, collapsing into one small cube. The case held what appeared to be a gun. It was an odd gun though, it had no stock, and no muzzle or clip. It had a trigger, and a two-pronged tip. I had no idea how it could be used, but I certainly wanted to try it. My mind was racing- I remembered the hate I endured from the children at my previous home, and I remembered how the Mothers had treated me. I remembered what Father had told me each night I felt it unfair for me to be mistreated, when I was obviously a kind soul. He had always told me, "Child, there is a righto us wind coming. You will be one of the few who can control it."

It was at this time that I realized I'd use this object for good, by smiting the evil. I held the device in my hands, and looked up towards the heavens, "This is surely a gift by god! A gift meant to be used for the good of the world! I shall do what you see best, lord!" I bent down on one knee, and held the device above my head in open hands. After a moment of prayer, I took the weapon in my hands. I had no idea what it could do. It glowed lightly as I aimed towards a patch of grass. I lightly pulled the trigger, aiming it carefully.

A whirr of sound struck my ears as a hot source of energy came from the two prongs. It turned into a rumble, and a sphere of orange heat formed between the prongs. I let go of the trigger, and a hot blast of orange light hit the area I had aimed towards. The light struck the earth, and a crash of fire and rock was blasted into the air! God had given me a powerful device to use. I smiled in cheer with all the good I could do with this device. Why, I could be god's hand, and smite those who dare oppose him! I held the rifle-like object at my hips, and smiled at the power god had given me. It wouldn't be long until the other angels would come to greet me.

I had found a small pond in the field of grass. I set the device to the side, and drank the sweet water of the pond. The water was still and cool. It felt refreshing, and chilly on my warm skin. My eyes felt like shutting. I looked up towards the sky, and saw that it was nearly sunset. The sky was red with the sun's warm light. I smiled, and wondered what god would have me do in the morning. I thought of the excellent adventures and sights I would see in my new life of the city. But most of all, I thought about the gun I had acquired, and I thought about what great things I could do with it.

+++

The next morning, I awoke with the device up to my chest. I had been cuddling with it at night-time, feeling it's warm metallic exterior. I woke to see the prongs up towards my face. "What great things can I do today?" I asked myself, bending down and drinking from the pond.

"You're not going to do much of anything until you hand it over," a voice told me. I heard the voice and looked around. Upon turning around, I saw a woman pointing a similar-looking device at my head. It was smaller, almost handheld. It had the same segmented, crevice-lined exterior my own device had. It had three prongs and a single light as a muzzle, though it had no clips. The slenderness of it made me think it was flimsy.

My hand drifted towards my own device, "Who are you?" I asked her.

She responded with a grim laugh, and pointed her own device closer to my forehead, "I don't think you're in the position to be asking questions, kid." It was obvious that she had me exactly where she wanted me. I had no way to get out of it. Even if I managed to grab my device and aim it at her, she'd be able to hold and release the trigger, making me turn into dust.

"Why would you point your-" I had to think of a good name for the device, "- uh, gun at me?"

She laughed, she had even formed a tear from the laughing, "You think it's a gun? What are you? Stupid? Are you from here or something?"

I looked at her blankly, "I'm not exactly from anywhere."

She seemed to have warmed up to me in a near instant, realizing that I was naive, and unknowing, "Then are you ignorant? Only a select few people can use these."

My face was unmoving, "Use these weapons?"

She looked surprised, and offered a hand to pick me up, "Well you don't look like one of them.. since you don't know I'm guessing I should be able to tell you," her face looked confused, she didn't know what to do next. "Listen to me kid, I'm going to explain a lot of things that would be pretty complicated in and of themselves. I'll try and simplify things as best I can for you."

She handed me my device and began talking. She started with an introduction, "I am Xena (Zee-nuh), I am here on a mission from my master, Xolund. He is a powerful being, and it is rumored that he had made worlds, much like this one-"

"-God?!" I called, my face bright and full of cheer. "God created this world a long time ago. He gave me this device to do good things!" I told her. I came to another brief assumption, "And I'm sure you're one of his angles, here to guide me on my path of Righteousness!"

Xena sighed, a smirk forming on her face, "You're a silly thing, aren't you?" She sighed and continued to talk, going with my own explanation for things, "Yes. I am an angel here from ... uh, god. He sent me here to guide you to the rest of those devices. He needs them back, but they're only good to him if they're all intact and working." My stomach growled, and I couldn't quite think straight.

"I'm sorry miss angel, but I need food. You wouldn't happen to have any on you?" I asked her, trying my hardest to look cute. It was almost always the only way to get anything in my previous home. She sighed and looked up at the sky. Considering the position of the sun, it was early morning, about 7 or 8 AM. Eating time for the both of them.

"Fine. But make sure to listen after we eat, mortal," she told me. As she took off her backpack, I took the time to browse over her with my eyes, taking in all of her details. Her face, her appearance- I made sure to keep it memorized.

The angel had dirty-blonde hair, as if it was made of hay. Hey eyes were a ruby red, and her face was cute, almost childish. Her skin color was a dark tan, one similar to a soft piece of leather. Her appearance and bone structure had defied any race. Either she was a whole different background, or she had been such a wide mix and variety. Her body was well toned, but not particularly muscular. She was thin and tall, about 6 feet in height. I had always been a tall child, and had reached a height of about 5'11" at my current age of 13. Her face was clear of any form of imperfection. She certainly had the beauty of an angel. She had long, healthy legs. She wore a surprisingly revealing outfit for an angel. It consisted of a top that covered only her chest, it was red. The material looked rough, but not to a point where it would be uncomfortable. Her pants were also small, leaving her belly button clearly visible, as well as her legs. The pants were short legged, and a large runic belt kept them on her waist. She had perfect posture. Her hair As an angel, she had exceeded my expectations in the aspect of beauty.

The backpack she carried seemed old and raggedy, as if it had been cast into a trashcan years ago. She pulled some type of dry meat out of the backpack, and handed it to me, "This should subside your hunger for a while." I took a bite from it, letting my taste buds inspect each bit that I chewed off. It tasted magnificent! It almost tasted like beef, but much more sweet. I felt the rumbling and hunger of my stomach go away. It was the best tasting meat I've ever had, considering most of the food from my previous home consisted of beans and carrots.

Xena sat down, and brought me down as well. "Alright kid, I'm going to explain this device you're carrying around," she took a breathe, and looked out towards the horizon, "You have a piece of Xolu-" she stopped herself, "I mean, God's gauntlet. He called this gauntlet "God's Fist". It was meant to smite the evils of the universe. The piece that you have is a piece of his Seven Fingers. He wants the pieces to his fingers back, so that he may recreate his gauntlet. In doing this, you will face many challenges, and above all else-" Xena tried to remember the lore of this new place, "-make sure to keep it away from the fallen ones. They are our enemies," Xena pointed towards herself, "Whatever they tell you is a lie, and whatever they try to get from you, God wants. You can spot them by their eyes," Xena pointed towards her own eyes, "The holy ones are Red eyed. The fallen have purple eyes. Do not, do not ever trust them." She told me. She was firm in her voice.

"You will face many decisions in your quest for these pieces. Take special note of this. You said that God chose you for this himself. I'm going to have to take your word on it," Xena looked straight into my eyes. "I can tell from your eyes that you aren't one of them. You're different from the other mortals on this plain," Xena smiled. "I'll have to follow you for a time- make sure that you don't associate with one of them. But until the time comes for me to leave you, remember this," she pointed at my device, "the pieces need to feed on dead things. To redeem them. When you pull the trigger, hold it to make the power of god's fist greater. When you let go, god's fist will do the rest of the work. Any dead thing will do."

She got up, and walked towards the city, "I'll be watching you, so make sure not to screw up." She crouched and ran. Within 10 minutes, I couldn't even see her. I looked at t he piece of "God's Fist", and I felt him watching down on me. He had given me a holy mission, and I intended to fulfill it. I stood up, my dirty blonde hair flowing in the wind. I walked onward towards the city, feeling the dirt under my calloused feet. It was a new day, and a Righteous Wind was coming.


WARNING- this is not a sufficient hook. Certainly isn't a Prologue, moreso an introduction for the character. The idea came froma dream I literally had last night, so excuse me if some of the ideas (if not all) are more or less scrambled. I'll be posting concept art of the devices and characters later.