It had all happened so fast. Plans exchanged through looks, and nods and cryptic mumbled responses, rushing out into the night. And now we were here. My instructions were clear: don’t be seen, a task made easier by the new moon and overcast sky. True to plan, there were dozens of pigeons patrolling the property, their crimson eyes glowing ever-so-faintly in the cool October night. We were crouched in the bushes behind my house, shielded from prying eyes by a dense tangle of branches.

Vespa buzzed incessantly in my nonexistent ears. I shooed her away, so she landed on my shoulder instead. “What is it?” I asked.

“Sarah and Angelina are in position.”

That was news not for me, but for my chaperone. “Heidi. Heidi!” I nudged her. “Sarah and Angelina are here.”

“Is that so?” If the information concerned her, she certainly didn’t sound like it. She’d been grumpy this whole time, clearly apprehensive about this whole thing. I sort of understood why; something had happened between her and this Demon in the past, I took it. Oh, and Demons were supposedly very dangerous. But having not yet seen how Demons fought, any fear of mine had been drowned out by morbid anticipation for what awaited us inside. “We’re not fighting. Remember that.”

“Right, right.” Heidi seemed to read my mind. Was my excitement showing so clearly? I turned to look at her... alternative form. Her Imago was dark and pitted, giving the appearance of a body covered in rusted iron plates. The head was masked with a hooked beak peeking out like a plague doctor. By contrast, she still wore that same oversized white hoodie on top. “And please, don’t stare.”

“Sorry.”

She looked at my body from head to toe. “Don’t worry too much about it. You have a lovely Imago, but not all of us are... this body isn’t exactly pretty. Don’t even try to be nice. It’s not like this body is for looks anyways.”

“Right. It’s for.. Angel things.”

She chuckled. “Angel things. Ah, I was so naive back then.”

“Naive?”

“When I became an Angel. It was so hard to say no. But I understood the great peril that we faced, the threat lurking just behind those sparkling veils of false humanity, and that only we, the daughters of Earth, could fight them. That only we were safe from their machinations.”

“Right. Their evil plans.” Like what they’d done to me, turning my life upside down like it was nothing. But besides that... “What do they even do in the world, though? I don’t think I’ve ever noticed anything unusual.”

“You don’t want to know.” Her voice became hoarse. “If they ever claim that they aren’t hurting anyone, that they only fight the Angels, that they are merely trying to live their lives, don’t believe them for a second. They are not bound by any moral code. They will say anything, everything that it takes to get what they want. And though they may twist their forms, pretend to be vulnerable, fragile human beings, one moment of hesitation is all it takes for them to tear everything away from—Sorry, I’m rambling. We need to focus.” She stood up, still veiled in the shadows as she looked around.

Obsidian crystal shattered at our feet. Sarah and Angelina were beginning their distraction. Through the branches, it was hard to make out their forms, but their shadows sped through the air, leaving half-broken Echoes in their wake. Soon, the flutter of wings was audible, the pigeons swarming around them and leaving the property unattended.

“It’s time to move.” Heidi walked out of the bushes, marching straight across the yard towards the picture window in the back of my house. A hammer materialized in her left hand, which she promptly swung to shatter the glass without hesitation. She motioned for me to follow her, stepping carefully over the broken pieces, though I doubted they’d be able to as much as scratch her carapace. “Come on!”

I followed her in. This was my home, still. It seemed the demons hadn’t made the effort to change anything, from the arrangement of the furniture to that hideous portrait that dad always liked, still hanging in the hall. It was dark and quiet, save for Heidi’s melodic humming of what sounded like a lullaby. “It hasn’t changed at all,” I whispered. “Why?”

“This place is essentially invisible to humans. They cannot notice it unless someone brings attention to it. And so the Demons need not make any real changes. Not yet, at least.”

“So my house has vanished from the human world as well?”

Heidi nodded. “You should thank them for that. It’s the reason we might be able to salvage some part of your old life at all.”

Footsteps were rushing across the floor upstairs. We reached the closet, as planned, and hid inside. It was a bit cramped, with shoes between our feet and jackets brushing against our faces. But neither of us dared to move and make more noise. Through a sliver of the opened door, I saw glimpses of a figure in black rushing down the stairs, pacing in the hallway—putting on shoes?—and then investigating the shattered picture window.

His footsteps disappeared into the backyard. “Now,” said Heidi, her voice quivering. She eased the closet door open, wincing as it creaked. Thankfully, it seemed that the Demon was nowhere to be seen. We made our way up the stairs, hugging the wall to avoid making any noise as we climbed.

“Why don’t we just fly up?” I whispered to Vespa.

“Right. Because flying is quiet and will not draw attention to you at all, right?”

Right. Focus, Quinn. The upstairs hallway was also dark. My room was the second door down, its door slightly ajar. At the end of the hallway, the door to my dad’s office—or what used to be his office—was shut, but light leaked through the cracks. The sound of quiet conversation emanated from behind it.

“Which is your room?” asked Heidi.

I pointed the way. Footsteps were already approaching from the bottom of the stairs, so we hurried into my room. I breathed a sigh of relief, taking the time to scan my room. And it was indeed still my room. I wanted to just jump into my bed and hide under the covers, to sleep, to enjoy my own space. But now was not the time for that. This would be our only opportunity to take things. After this incident, any surveillance around here would be too much to circumvent. At least, too much just to get some personal belongings. So what did I want?

I started with my knapsack, still lying at the foot of my bed. My laptop and chargers were top priority, for sure. Thankfully, they were all still here. But after that, what next? My eyes were drawn to the manga on my shelf, but Heidi quickly shut down the idea. “Really?”

“Sorry. Right.” I rifled through my desk with all four hands, finding a handful of souvenirs and old family photos, putting them into my backpack. “Only irreplaceable things.” I opened the closet and said farewell to my old clothes.

Heidi nodded. “You want to go to your parents’ room as well, right?”

“Good idea.” I could probably get some important documents there. “You really thought this through.”

“You could say that.”

The hallway lights flickered on and we froze in the darkness. Footsteps rushed up the stairs. Then, he passed us in the brightly-lit hallway, slowing before the doorway. He was tall, wearing only a ruffled dress shirt and pants. He looked into the room, squinting as if trying to make out our shapes in the dark. I’d have held my breath, if I had lungs. After what seemed like an eternity, he seemed satisfied, and made his way to the end of the hall, slamming the door behind him.

“That was close,” I muttered.

We crossed the hallway into my parent’s room, which had thankfully also been left largely untouched. Their bed was immaculate, the dressers still closed, curtains drawn over the large window overlooking the backyard. Thankfully, I knew where dad kept our passports and health cards, opening the drawers and carefully slipping them into my bag. I stared at their pictures, tracing their faces with my fingers—fingers now covered in glossy carapaces. So much had changed in so little time.

“You okay?” Heidi put a hand on my shoulder. Though cold and covered by an exoskeleton, her warmth still came through. “I understand how it feels. But we can’t linger here. We have to go.” Wind rustled through the open window. Open?

Red eyes stared back through it.

The lights in the room turned on, blindingly bright. We froze. Pigeons were perched on the windowsills, blocking every exit, flapping their wings in anticipation. But he was standing in the doorway. His body stretched to fill the space, smile just a bit too wide for comfort, tapping a finger idly on his cheek. “Well, well. What do we have here?”