All His Angels Are Starving

What the hell does Human (stage ii) mean?

Growth presents in stages. Thus far you have experienced embryo, infancy, child, and adolescent. These are known as natural stages.

Insect inhabitants of your world undergo metamorphosis. Reptiles shed their skin. Plant life change drastically from seed to sapling to flowering tree.

Jenny saw a caterpillar construct a chrysalis. Day and night blurred by as the leaf it clung to trembled in the wind. Then it emerged, tearing apart its old life and spreading glistening wings. She saw tadpoles hatch and squirm away before growing legs and leaping out of a pond. She saw snakes wriggling out of their skins, growing larger and changing their colors.

Seeds sprouted in the darkness. Little green plants pushed to the surface then grew into towering trees reaching for the sun.

She saw herself as a baby, nursing from her mother. They'd lived in a fancy house, Jenny's grandparent’s estate. Then they moved into a shoddy apartment with one room. Her childhood flashed by. Crying out of hunger. Getting slapped. Screamed at. Hiding under the bed to avoid her mother. Grades. Anxiety. Extra homework. Praying desperately to God for happiness.

Middle school and high school blurred into a terrible frenzy: getting bullied; guys hitting on her and making racist jokes; Becky Smith punching her in the face for not handing over her lunch money. She saw the blood she’d found between her legs one morning. How she didn’t scream; she’d just done the laundry and found out later that an angel hadn’t impregnated her while she slept.

She saw her first kiss, the first time she touched herself, and the first time she hugged Susan and was struck by a dizzying wave of want. She shuddered as Eve continued:

The angels evolve as well. You have seen that first hand.

Yeah, she thought. Don't need visuals for that. Am I going to get weird scaley skin? She pictured herself covered in an exoskeleton from head to toe. Then she remembered that female Imperfect Angels had no frontal coverage and got grossed out. She didn't want to think about their mating habits, though Dr. Lee would probably find it fascinating.

The Guidance System allows for growth beyond the natural stages. Preternatural stages present uniquely for each individual, evolving from some combination of your subconscious, imagination, and what the system deems fit.

A Human (stage ii)’s body begins to transform. As your mental and physical prowess advance, you now have access to your first awakened Skill.

My first skill? She held her breath, studying her hatchet. When this thing became Tier 2, she was able to recall it at will. Would it be a skill like that? What would hers even be?

Your love of history proves helpful.

Before Jenny could ask what Eve meant, her mind flooded with more imagery: She saw broad-shouldered muscular warriors towering over armies. One of them grabbed a bolt of lightning from the sky and hurled it with a thunderous roar. She saw a woman, draped in a beautiful shimmering gown, leaping from cloud to cloud and pulling a tidal wave behind her. She saw another figure completely enshrouded in flames so that all she could see was a shadow of a silhouette. The flames rose up suddenly, blocking out the entire vision and leaving Jenny breathless and clutching her chest.

The gods? The people of stories and legends? Eve? They're all real?

Yes.

Excitement rushed through her. Her heart continued to pound and she paced back and forth. Questions surfaced faster than she could even properly word them, papers she'd written, all the books on mythology from around the world she’d devoured, but she shoved her overflowing thoughts down.

Not yet. But I’m going to ask you a billion things when this is all over, okay? She stopped pacing and, clutching her injured hand, she focused on Skills the way she’d focused on Stats.

Skill: Ignite (Tier 1) Exhale a flame generated within. Draws on Stamina and requires sufficient oxygen.

Holy... Jenny kept that thought in focus, reading it over and over again. Eve? I can breathe fire?

Evidently.

However, I do not recommend activating the Skill at this present location.

Smoke rose from between her teeth as she willed herself to stop. Feeling sheepish, she grinned and wiped her mouth. Heat singed the back of her throat; it felt like inhaling too strongly from a vape pen. She coughed once, trying to clear it, but that only led to a fit of coughing, and she needed a break to catch her breath. She blinked away tears, making a mental note to be more careful with the Skill.

The warmth in her chest faded, but she was too excited to stand still. She paced faster and faster, back and forth in front of the able. I can breathe fucking fire! Like a dragon. What the actual fuck.

At Level 30, you will breach the next threshold and unlock more Skills. They will be a surprise to you as they are to me.

Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Eve being surprised. Eve was just a voice in her head, the same way the system presented itself, but she couldn’t help but picture the three-headed entity she’d met.

She glanced down at her ruined fingers. I can breathe fire because of my temper, right? That's what the system sees in me? Trying to use Ignite brought about that same furious feeling she’d had before. The unrelenting rage, the blinding desire to kill every single one of these angels. After all, that was why she had the Bloodlust Ecstasy Bonus.

It seems fire is your attribute, Jenny Huang. Fire is not solely anger and fury. Fire is also warmth. Safety. Life.

But she wasn’t convinced. Why did you even choose me? Why do I have to 'birth' you into my world? Can't you do it yourself? Jenny pictured her belly swollen and purple and veiny, screaming as she pushed out a three headed baby. She'd seen enough child-birthing videos to know she never wanted to do that in her life.

All living beings have the potential for greatness. But not all beings can reach that potential.

But I'm not... she started, but then she remembered what Eve said before. ‘All beings are special.’

You forced the guidance system to your will. You halved the potion of healing when Susan Brown was injured and you lacked sufficient Energy.

You halved a construct beyond your understanding. You bent reality where others would have faltered. Where many have failed. You are more powerful than you allow yourself to accept.

The capacity for greatness is inherent to all beings. For great benignity or great malevolence. Yet, countless billions choose not to act. It is difficult, and increasingly so, for one to express their will and push the boundaries of comfort. Quick gratification has disfigured the paths of accomplishment.

What you do is what you are. And what you are is what you seek.

Choice was my gift to all livingkind.

Jenny covered her face with her good hand. For some reason, she wanted to cry. She wanted to sob and wretch and scream her lungs out. All her life, she’d done what she was told, what was expected of her. Never once had anyone pushed her to be herself. So, I can actually become anything? Like those old Gods? Is that why you showed them to me? Were those gods a part of this?

All that you imagine can be brought to existence.

The ones you know as gods and legends were former victors of the Survival Challenge.

Jenny’s thoughts swam with everything Eve had explained. Her rational brain screamed that none of this could be real. It was more like something she’d fantasize about while trying to fall asleep, giving herself powers and ravaging the world and flying. Wait. Can one of these skills let me fly?

That remains to be seen.

Jenny rubbed her throat wishing she could test Ignite out already. She heard footsteps approaching.

“You look different.” Susan limped towards her. She'd taken off her helmet and held it by the straps, her cattle prod in her other hand. She set both things down on the table, briefly touched Jenny's hatchet, then turned.

"What do you mean?" asked Jenny.

Already out of breath, Susan pulled herself onto the table and sat with her feet dangling. Her sneakers were stained dark brown with blood. Her tights were torn in several places, especially so around the chunk of missing flesh where her calf should've been. She eyed Jenny up and down. "I've never seen you stand so straight. You're usually more like this." She pulled her shoulders forward and arched her back slightly, sticking out her bottom lip.

Jenny couldn't suppress the chuckle. She shook her head. She'd always been teased before about slouching and poor posture. By her mom, by her teachers, and even by Susan. It was something she did out of habit, and now she wondered if it was because she'd always tried to make herself smaller. To hide. To not be noticed.

"But also, your face," said Susan. She stared intently at Jenny. "Your cheeks, your eyes... I don't know. You look like more intense. Like you've seen some shit."

"I think we've both seen enough shit," said Jenny, stepping closer to Susan. Susan looked ragged. Her blue hair had come slightly loose and poked out every which way. The usual glow of her skin was now lifeless and pasty. Even her lips looked less plump, though Jenny still wanted to kiss her for all she was worth.

"You look bigger too. Not like... you know what I mean." Susan touched Jenny's arm. "Like you have more muscle." Susan’s touch might as well have been the shock of her cattle prod.

In the midst of all this hell, Susan’s touch felt like... Jenny didn’t know how to explain it. It was warm and safe and the only thing she wanted.

“I got a bunch of Stat points,” said Jenny. She explained everything she'd learned about Human (stage ii). She explained evolving and how she'd used her stat points, but left out that Eve was inside her head, showing her things, wanting to be birthed.

Susan listened, wide-eyed. Her fingers slid down Jenny's arm, over the armor, until she found Jenny's hand and held it.

After explaining, Jenny fell quiet. She licked her lips, happy to be holding Susan's hand like this, to be so close to her, listening to her breathing.

The first words out of Susan's mouth were, "So you can breathe fire now?"

"Yeah," said Jenny with a half-smile. Discussing this out loud was surreal, not at all like talking to Eve.

The excitement faded quickly from Susan’s face. “You’re planning on going alone, aren’t you?” She let go of Jenny’s hand, a hurt look on her face.

For a second, Jenny thought Susan would cry, and her heart dropped. How do you tell your best friend you have to leave them behind? She knew they were both thinking about Susan’s injured leg. That it would slow them down. It would get them killed. But she’d be safe here with the others and the lights.

Susan grabbed her knees, her knuckles whitening as she squeezed, her entire body trembling. She struggled to say something, but all she managed was a sob. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out.

“No,” whispered Jenny. There were so many things she wanted to say, but her heart tightened, and the flurry of emotion threatened to buckle her. She wrapped her arms tight around Susan, so tight that Susan’s armor dug into Jenny’s chest, and if it weren’t for her increased Durability, it would've hurt. She wished it hurt.

Susan squeezed her back, with her legs and her arms. They held each other, Jenny stroking Susan’s hair as she sobbed.

“It’s going to be alright,” whispered Jenny. She blinked away tears and pressed her cheek to Susan’s blue hair. “We’re going to figure this shit out. It’s just another game we’re gonna get so good at that nobody’s gonna wanna queue up against us.”

That made Susan laugh, but it was that weak sort of laugh someone did when they were falling apart. After that, they didn’t say anything for a while. Jenny focused on the heat of Susan’s body. The faint scent of strawberries in her hair. She thought about prom again. About her dumb crush and how far away and childish all that seemed. With the Energy Core, she promised herself she’d gather enough for a Minor Potion of Reconstruction for Susan’s leg.

“You’ll need new armor,” said Susan, finally. She wiped her eyes then touched the bits of ruined armor stuck to Jenny’s ribs. “And what about your hand?”

“I’ve got some ideas,” said Jenny. She shut her eyes. She’d need something more substantial than light armor this time. While it worked against that first Imperfect Angel by the boy’s bathroom, the other two they’d fought near the lobby made short work of it.

Energy remaining: 338

Then again, she now had enough Energy to create that assault rifle she first thought of.

An Assault Rifle will cost 300 Energy to craft. Additional energy will be required for ammunition.

Sufficient Energy.

She almost went through with it, picturing herself gunning angels down and clearing out the halls. But she hesitated. Her armor was falling apart, and she wouldn’t have enough Energy for both a gun and new armor. On top of that, bullets would cost even more Energy.

Though she supposed with the rifle, she might not need armor. And wouldn't she be able to kill angels fast enough to replenish her Energy?

Jenny inhaled deeply through her nose as Susan gently grabbed her injured hand. She removed the makeshift bandages.

Which led to another thought. Jenny wasn’t sure if she could use the gun one-handed. She might be able to prop it on that arm, but what if she were overrun by angels? What if the Imperfect Angels rushed her before she could even fire a shot? What if there were stronger things out there?

The more she thought about it, the less tempting a gun seemed. Her hatchet had served her well. Plus, its Tier 2 ability let her use it like a ranged weapon. What would happen at Tier 3?

Besides, she could breathe fire. Just thinking about that shot a jolt of curious excitement up her spine. She concluded that armor was the way to go for now. The Energy Core she’d received would help her get more Energy soon enough. But what kind of armor should she make?

Allow me.

She heard Susan gasp, and she opened her eyes as golden light enveloped her. It shone brightly, strands twisting in a vortex around her torso and her arms. Her old armor crumbled away. For a moment, she stood between Susan's legs in her underwear, and she felt heat rise to her face as she glanced to the side.

Then the golden strands settled over her skin in repeated layers. The light took shape, coiling around her arms, her chest, and even her neck. Red scales blossomed up and down her armor, forming a second layer of protection. Each scale reminded her of a flower petal, and she knew without touching them that they were harder than the ones that covered her Light Armor.

Medium Armor.

She shuddered as the light faded. The new armor felt snug, the scales over her legs a darker shade than the bright red that covered her torso and arms.

Energy remaining: 168

"That," said Susan, reaching out to stroke Jenny’s chest where the armor protruded slightly with a thicker layer of scales. "That looks kinda sick."

Before Jenny could check herself out fully, golden light shone again. This time, it coagulated around her left wrist, her injured hand. The light stretched and formed a bracelet that hugged the red scales of her armor. From the bracelet, the light seemed to unfurl into a large disc.

Shield (Tier 1)

It was a round metal circle, dark red to match her armor and roughly the length of her arm. The shield could cover her upper body completely.

Jenny moved her arm around, holding it over her and Susan’s heads like an umbrella. Did it feel so light because she’d increased her power stat?

More importantly, did she now have to lug this thing around?

As if in response to her question, it shimmered. In the blink of an eye, the metal turned into golden strands of light then vanished into the bracelet. It shone brightly for a moment before fading away. She looked at the stumps of her fingers and realized the shield was perfect.