Gabriel's Armada

“Osteology of the upper limb!” Gabriel Sinator sighed and ran his fingers through his slicked back hair as he wondered why his Gross Anatomy lecturer always had to scream as though he was deaf. For all the man's screaming, no one was listening to him, Gabriel most of all. He was super bored by the lectures he received everyday in college. The only reason he was in medical school was because of the clause his great grandmother put in her will that every Sinator must have a college degree before they will be allocated their share of the family fortune. “Can someone tell me the articulations of the clavicle?” The lecturer asked. Gabriel paid him no mind. Instead, he turned and caught the eye of one of his on-off girlfriends and whispered to her, “Wanna come over to my apartment, later tonight?” The girl, Misha twirled a lock of her luxuriously permed hair and fluttered her lashes at him, “Oh, I don't know. I already have plans for the night.” “Cancel them,” Gabriel said, not deterred in the least by her answer. He knew Misha wanted to spend the night over at his place. She was only playing hard to get for the benefit of the other members of the class. “Mr. Sinator, could you tell us one of the articulations of the clavicle?” The lecturer asked, clapping his pudgy hands. Gabriel sighed again. Why did the man have to disturb him, couldn't he see he was in the middle of something important? It was imperative he got laid that night. Gabriel stood and straightening his silk shirt, said the first thing that came to his mind, “The clavicle articulates with the ulna at the ulna-clavicular joint.” His course mates laughed and the lecturer, Dr. Rufus' face reddened with anger. “No such joint exists, Mr. Sinator!” Dr. Rufus shouted. An unruffled Gabriel replied, “You sure? You just might not be aware of it.” The whole class laughed at Gabriel's sarcastic comment. “Now look here, Mr. Sinator, I don't care who you are but you have no right to turn my class into a stand up comedy show!” “No? I thought laughter was the best medicine!” Gabriel smirked. Dr. Rufus took off his tortoiseshell glasses and squinted his bulgy eyes at Gabriel. The look was meant to intimidate, but little did he know it made him look like he was incapable of seeing more than a few meters before him. “I have put up with your nonsense long enough! Who do you think you are?” Dr. Rufus thundered, earning cheers and hoots from the students, who were happy to have taken a break from learning. “The reason this college has two new blocks, three new libraries and numerous laboratories!” Gabriel touted, challenging Dr. Rufus to counter his claims. Dr. Rufus took a deep breath before he replied, “Mr. Sinator, we all know the reason you're still in this college is because of your family's wealth. Mark my words, one day, you'll find yourself in a situation where your wealth won't be of any help to you.” Gabriel opened his mouth to tell the old fart to go f**k himself when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He grabbed his shirt and groaned aloud. The class laughed, thinking it was just a ruse to annoy the lecturer. Dr. Rufus exhaled, “Will you stop it?” Gabriel was incapable of speaking, so sharp was the pain. He fell to his knees as he ran out of breath, wheezing loudly. Some of his course mates began to give him concerned looks. Although he couldn't hear any of them, he could make out some of his friends asking him if he was okay. He tried to shake his head but failed futilely. Still clutching his chest, he gave up the fight to stay conscious and fell face first to the floor. A wave of pandemonium swept through the lecture room as the students nearest to him carried his unconscious body out of the room. * * * Empyrean, the last stronghold of the Angels. Dina snarled as she cut a demon in half with her sword, grimacing as gore from her incision splattered unto her face and her armor. Looking back, she said to her brother, Ariel, “Brother, come. We must leave.” Ariel, who was a blond haired blue-eyed man who looked to be in his twenties when he was actually half a millennium old shook his head, “No, we can't leave now. We have to make sure the prophecy is fulfilled.” Dina twirled around and plunged her sword into the abdomen of another attacking demon as she shouted, “The prophecy? Who cares about the prophecy? We're not even sure it's real.” Ariel decapitated a demon and cast his younger sister a reproachful look, “Don't blaspheme, Dina.” “But look around, Ariel. We have lost all our strongholds to the Beelzebub and his demons. The fulfillment of the prophecy is long overdue, yet, he hasn't come.” Dina complained. For years, Beelzebub and his never-ending army of demons had attacked the heavens, slowly but surely taking over city by city. Now, the demons had come to Empyrean, which was home to Ariel and Dina, destroying every angel they came across. Ariel and Dina were among the last surviving angels and even though they had taken down thousands of demons, there seemed to be no end of them in sight. “Brother, let's go.” Dina pleaded once more, “It's nothing but suicide to remain here.” “No,” Ariel disagreed, wiping sweat away from his forehead, “If I die, it's an honorable death. I would like nothing more than to die defending the heavens from these evil creatures.” At that moment, a swarm of demons descended into the room, screeching as they went on the offense, attacking the siblings. Ariel cut the legs off a demon and stabbed another in quick succession. Turning to Dina, he said, “I must stay and fight, but you must leave.” “No, Ariel. I'll never leave your side. We run together or we stay together.” Dina refused firmly, impaling a demon with her sword. “No. I must stay and fight. You have to escape and prepare him for what he has to do.” Ariel reiterated. “What? We don't even know if he exists.” Dina shouted, exasperated at her brother's bullheaded belief in a prophecy. “Do not question the heavenly prophecies. Of course he exists. He will need a guardian, a teacher. That person is you. Leave now.” Ariel ordered. “I don't want to,” Dina said, crying out when a demon's sword grazed her arm, giving her a cut. “That's an order, soldier.” Ariel replied, hardening his features. Dina gave a bellow of rage. She hated it when her brother pulled rank on her. She knew she had no other choice but to obey. She withdrew from the fight, noting with a broken heart that Ariel was distracting the demons from engaging her, giving her an opportunity to flee. Dina spread her immaculate white wings and flew away, waving at Ariel with tears in her eyes. From afar, she watched helplessly as a demon plunged his sword into Ariel's abdomen and twisted, effectively bringing the angel to his knees. Soon other demons converged on him, cutting him off from her line of sight. She could only imagine what they were doing to him. She knew there was no way he would escape them. Her eyes blurred with tears as she pondered on the fact that her brother had died because of his belief in some prophecy. “You better come to pass,” She warned the prophecy before concentrating on a search for succor.