Loss of wings- Chapter 3

Chapter 3
I stared at him, sitting at the table, his hair and clothing wet. "What happened?" I ask, advancing on him.
"Ummm... It's raining?" He said, looking at me then the window.
"Oh..." I sit across from him on the other rickety chair. "Xander?" I ask, looking at him, waiting for him to look at me.
"Yes, Haley?"
"Why me?" I wipe the tears running down my checks.
"I don't know. I have to protect you. You are important in this battle. I don't know how or why..." He reaches across the table and takes my hand. "I have to keep you safe. That is my only job."
“None of this makes any sense. I am not a religious person. I don’t choose who is right and who is wrong in which God they believe in. I think that everyone has a right to worship the God they believe in. I believe there is a God of some kind, I’m just not sure it’s a Christian God, or a Buddhist God, or if it runs like Greek myths.”
“That is why you have been chosen. You want everyone to love the way you do, unconditionally, just like God. He only wants for his people to love each other the way he loves them. Which God you believe in doesn’t matter, He is all and the same. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. Every religion stems from the same. He has been what the people have needed through time and distance.”
“No one will believe that I am the one to help save all of this. More people will believe that I am the bringer of the destruction.”
“They will believe, as I believe. There is no doubt in my mind. I went and spoke to God, I prayed right out on the street in the rain, on my knees, asking for guidance. All I heard back was, “You know what to do. Don’t second guess yourself.” He looks over at me. “But when I am near you, I am constantly second guessing myself.” He moves fluidly toward me, and wraps his arms around me. “This is where I feel the closest to God.”
I looked again into his blue orbs and made a vow, both to him and to myself. “I will be by your side, Xander.” I squeezed his hand over the table and stood. “We have work to do. I need to get some different shoes and clothes. I need to be prepared. I also need a jacket and some kind of weapon…” I look at the floor for a moment, and then look into his eyes. “I can feel something coming….”
Xander only nodded, and came around the table toward me. “Yes, a battle is coming. And you will need a weapon… but I have that covered already.” He let go of my hand and quickly moves to a room off to the side of the bathroom that I had never noticed.
He comes out moments later, arms full of different kinds of battle equipment. I see several guns, a sword, throwing blades, and other instruments of war. I wait as he sets the weapons down on the table. He turns and looks at me. “Pick what you will. Choose carefully. You can carry only two weapons. So… what shall it be?” He asks me, as I scan the implements on the tiny table. I see a black bow, with several sights and other extras I am unsure of. I see a leg brace with a total of 10 throwing blades in the sleeves. I quickly grab the blades and wrap it around my thigh. It fits perfectly. I see two different guns, both of which I pass over. Then I see it. I see the most beautiful instrument of war. It is long and curved, with several spikes running the length of it. It is black and thick, moving down; it has nine different thin strips of leather on the ends. I pick it up and whip it into the air. It snaps and flips gently around my shoulder to hold in place there. The cat of nine tails hangs onto my body gently, like it belongs there. It is not a normal Cat, it is very long, where all others I have seen are held in the palm and only go a short distance. This one is at least six feet in length and must have been made for a special purpose. I move my body with the implements attached to me. I make sure that they don’t hinder my movements. I look across the table at Xander, and his blue eyes pierce into me.
“What?” I ask, feeling the blush rise in my cheeks.
“You look like those belong to you. It’s like you were meant to carry those weapons. Like you really will be important in this battle…” He quickly stands. “Now, let us go and get those articles you were saying you needed.” He pulls his jacket on over his arms and holds his hand out for me. I place my finger into his hand and he pulls me out the door. I stop him just outside the door.
“I don’t think it’s safe for me to carry these around like this. Not yet…” I whisper and head back in the door. I carefully pull the whip from my body and the throwing blades from my thigh. I place both on the table and return to Xander.
I place my hand back in his and we exit the building. His hand never leaves mine, as we walk down the busy streets. We quickly make it to our destination. We enter the store and a young girl comes toward us to ask if we need any help. Before I can say anything, Xander is telling the girl what size I wear and what we need. I don’t have any clue as to how he knew what size I wear, but he does. It makes me believe in him that much more. Only someone with a connection to a higher power would be able to make these decisions without me saying a word.
Once the purchases are paid for and bagged, we walk out of the establishment. Once we are back out on the street, I see people who I know from my time with Kenet. Two women, on the other side of the street, see me.
“Oh my God, can you believe that skank? Already with another man, I told Kenet that bitch would fuck him over. She must have been with that Freak before they were even done.” I put my head down and I can feel the heat in my face.
“Don’t you do that, those women are not as they seem.” Xander stops in the middle of the sidewalk and tips my head up. “You have done nothing wrong.” He puts his hand in mine once more and looks at me. “See what I see. See with my eyes.”
I look up at the two women again and where once stood two incredibly beautiful women, now stood two hideous looking creatures. The woman on the left has skin that appears to be crawling, as though millions of bugs were writhing just under her skin, she has sores covering her skin, and those sores ooze black tar. Her hair, that was once thick and blond, is now falling in clumps around her shoulders. She has pits on her face, where it appears that her flesh was melting off. When she opens her mouth to laugh, her teeth fell quickly to the ground. Her laugh sounds like a high pitch growl. The woman on the right has parts of her skull exposed, her skin falling like melting wax to drip black on the ground below her. Her teeth are long and sharp, yellowing near her black gums, but blood red at the tips. She skin is a sickly color of green, at least the skin she has left. Her clothing is tattered, covered in blood.
I take in their appearances in only a few seconds, feeling like I couldn’t look away. I bend down and vomit on the sidewalk. I feel Xander’s hand rubbing soothing circles on my back.