"Shit," Elizabeth says as she stands in front of a window overlooking the destroyed wasteland that was once Los Angeles. She had uttered the curse last night, too, when she was first met with the dismal sight.

That angel, the one Remial called Barbiel, had thrown her into this room without a word and locked the door. It was a simple, if high end, hotel room that had a king sized bed and working TV, although there was not much to watch these days. Ironically enough, this hotel did not seem to be one of the ones that would leave a Bible in the desk drawer; not that it would have made any difference to her.

Upon throwing the curtains open, she was met with the sight of a city that had become a shell of what it had once was. With most of the population dead or evacuated, the city was still ripe for looting, even more so because of the increased danger from the presence of angels. This meant lucrative business for anyone brave enough to enter the city. Elizabeth had been one of those people, though she never came close to the only hotel left standing in the city; the hotel with the neon sign on its roof declaring it as ‘Revelation’.

After checking that the window could not be opened or smashed, she decided to get some rest. Before bed, she decided to see if the shower worked and, surprisingly, it did. She spent almost forty-five minutes enjoying the steamy, high-pressured goodness. The soap was hard, and the shampoo had a slight cardboard smell to it, but at least she was clean.

Leaving her sweat stained clothes on the floor, she found a robe and wrapped herself in it before laying down in the bed. She turned on the TV, not with the hope of watching anything, but to have some white noise to fall asleep to, even if it was static. A few minutes later, her eyes closed and she was out.

Now, here she stands, looking out of the window and pondering why she is here. She knew Remial’s story was bullshit; it had to be. Angels lie, that’s what they do. There has to be another explanation, and she can only think that it cannot be good. And another question that plagues her is who these ’others’ are that Remial mentioned.

As Elizabeth contemplates her situation, the door to the room opens. Two angels enter, one female and one male. The male is a large, lumbering brute with massive muscles and fists the size of Elizabeth’s head. The female, on the other hand, is short and slender but with a nimble grace about her. Though their physiques could not be more opposite of each other, their faces are almost identical and the tattoos adorning their bodies are perfect mirrors of the others.

The female has a set of clothes in her hands. She crosses the room to Elizabeth and holds out the clothes to her.

Elizabeth takes them and sarcastically says, "Thanks." She walks to the bathroom door but the male blocks her way. "I’m not changing out here in front of you."

The female nods to her male counterpart. He eyes Elizabeth before stepping to the side.

Entering the bathroom, Elizabeth closes and locks the door. She disrobes and changes into what are simple gym clothes.

"We are late," the female angel says as Elizabeth exits the bathroom.

Elizabeth shrugs. "And that’s my problem how?"

The male grabs her arm, opens the door and shoves her out into the hallway.

Elizabeth turns and steps to within inches of him. "Lay your hands on me again,” she says, “and I will beat the shit out of you."

He grins and points down the hall.

"He likes your spirit," the female says.

"Whoopty shit." Elizabeth turns and begins walking down the hall.

It is long and lined with doors identical to the one they just left. Bland hotel art hangs from the walls in evenly spaced intervals and a few small tables with vases of fake flowers sit in between some of the doors. Cheap, boringly patterned, carpet runs the length of the hall down to a door marked ‘EXIT’. In the middle of the hall is an alcove where a set of elevators are located.

The male angel pushes passed Elizabeth into the alcove. He pushes the button to call an elevator.

"What, no angel teleportation?" Elizabeth says, to no response. "You guys seriously need to stop talking so much."

When the elevator arrives, the three of them step on. The female angel presses the button for the third floor and the elevator descends. It begins to slow after a few moments and eventually comes to a stop. The doors slide open and the male angel gestures for Elizabeth to step off.

She is met with another hall, almost identical to the other one. However, there are only six doors on this floor. The two exit doors at each end, and four other doors that are about twenty-five feet apart, on the wall opposite the elevator alcove. Standing in front of each of the doors is an angel. The female angel takes the lead and walks to the nearest door with Elizabeth and the male angel following.

"You are late," the guard at the door says.

The female angel glares at him and he steps out of her way. She opens the door and enters.

"Touch me and see what happens," Elizabeth says, sensing the impending shove from the male angel behind her. Turning, she sees him smirking. She steps forward and through the door.

She is met with a wide open room that is about a hundred and twenty feet square. Judging by the four doors, and the slots in the high ceiling, the room is made up of four smaller rooms that had dividers in between them at one point. The room is filled with an assortment of training equipment. A boxing ring takes up the center of the room, while a rubber track runs along the wall.

Twelve humans of varying age, ethnicity, and gender stand in front of the boxing ring. They are staring up at Remial, who is standing in the middle of the ring talking.

"There you three are," Remial says upon seeing Elizabeth and her escorts enter. "I have just been telling the rest of the trainees about you, Elizabeth."

The humans turn around to look at the newcomers.

"Just remember," Elizabeth says to them, "that it’s a good bet that whatever he tells you is complete and utter bullshit."

Remial smiles slightly. "Always the defiant one," he says. "If you would take your place with the group, then we can get on with the day’s training."

Elizabeth shrugs and starts forward but freezes in mid-stride. She struggles before glaring up at Remial. "Don’t be an asshole.”

"You must be taught this lesson," he says.

He flicks his finger and Elizabeth flies up to slam into the ceiling. Pain lances out across her entire body. Another flick of his finger sends her crashing back to the ground. Remial’s wings unfurl to about six feet on either side of him and he flies into the air. He soars over to her prone position and lands.

You see," he says, "I hold the power here and I will not stand insubordination."

Elizabeth pushes the pain out of her mind and starts to struggle to her feet. As she begins to stand, Remial snaps his fingers. Collapsing back onto the ground, Elizabeth clutches her stomach and writhes in pain.

Remial stares down at her. "You will obey me fully."

Elizabeth continues to fight through the ripping and tearing of her insides. She looks up at Remial with pure hatred and she spits a mouthful of blood at his feet. She slowly holds up a middle finger as she glares at him.

"Cute," Remial says with a smirk.

He flicks his finger once more and one her finger snaps backward. Her anguished scream echoes throughout the room. She lets her gaze drift away from Remial and looks to the humans. They look on with a mix of worry and empathy, but none of them make a move to put a stop to what is happening.

Give him what he wants.

Elizabeth looks around for where the voice came from.

He will only continue if you keep fighting.

Her eyes are drawn to a girl who cannot be older than eighteen or nineteen. She is short, only about five feet tall, and her hair reaches down almost to her waist. Looking closely, Elizabeth notices that her eyes are two different colors; one is a dark green and the other is a blue so light that it is almost white.

I can feel your hatred towards him, but you have to ignore it.

Though her lips do not move, Elizabeth is certain that the voice belongs to the girl.

"Will you do as the others have done and submit to me?" Remial says.

Elizabeth takes her eyes off the girl and looks back to Remial. "Fuck you." she begins pushing herself up once more.

Remial sighs and flicks his wrist to the side. This sends Elizabeth soaring across the room. She crashes hard into a set of weights and other workout equipment.

His day will come, but it is not today. You are not strong enough. Yet.

Elizabeth focuses on her burning hatred as she lifts the weights off of her body and manages to rise to her feet despite every part of her body screaming in agony. Every movement brings a new pain but she fights to ignore it. With every step a battle, she begins hobbling back to the group.

"Submit, Elizabeth," Remial says.

Elizabeth shakes her head and spits blood once more. "Go to Hell," she says through gritted teeth.

Remial lifts his hand and she rises a few feet off the ground. He closes his fist and she begins choking and gasping for air. With a pull of his arm, she flies forward to hover in front of him.

"Submit now, girl," he says. There is ice in his voice now. He clenches his fist tighter and her air flow is cut off completely.

Please, Elizabeth. We need your help. Submit today to fight tomorrow.

As Elizabeth’s vision begins fading, she sees the look on Remial’s face. The look of being in complete control and wielding immense power. That look stokes the already intense fire that resides in her; a fire that is directed at the angel. She wants to wipe that look off of his face, but the voice in her head is right. She is not ready. With no choice, she nods her head in resignation.

"Smart girl," Remial says with a look of smug satisfaction.

He opens his fist and Elizabeth gasps for breath. She slowly lowers to the floor and collapses. Remial waves his hand over her and, suddenly, her pain vanishes. Her insides no longer feel as if they are being ripped to shreds. Holding up her hand she sees that her finger is completely healed, as if nothing had happened. Cautiously, she rises to her feet, expecting another attack.

"Now," Remial says, "the day’s training can begin. For today, Elizabeth, you will simply observe. Learn from the others and get to know them. You will be working with them for some time to come. The rest of you know what is required." He turns and exits the room with Elizabeth’s escorts following him out.

After Remial leaves, the others disperse throughout the room. The girl with the different colored eyes approaches Elizabeth along with two men. One of the men is older than Elizabeth by a couple of years. He has a look of concern on his face. If it is for her wellbeing or for some other reason, Elizabeth cannot say. The other man is about her age and has a sprinter’s build. He carries a bag of chips that he is busy munching on.

The girl flashes Elizabeth a warm smile. "Hi," she says in a chipper voice. "I’m Anna. This is Joseph and Mike."

"That was you in my head,” Elizabeth says.

"She does that," Mike, the man with the chips, says. "She has a whole Professor X thing going on. Minus the wheelchair and the baldness, of course."

Anna shakes her head in annoyance at Mike’s comment. "I don’t normally enter someone else’s mind like that," she says to Elizabeth, "but it seemed necessary. Sorry."

Elizabeth shakes her head. "It wasn’t you who was torturing me. No need to apologize."

"He pulled that shit on my first day, too," Joseph says. "He does it to remind us that he is in charge."

"And you all just accept it?"

"We don’t like it," Anna says, "but there’s not a whole lot we can do."

"Yet," Mike adds.

Joseph groans. "Let’s not start this again, Mike."

"The angels think that she’s more powerful than all of us combined," Mike says through a mouthful of chips. "Anna told us as much."

Elizabeth eyes Anna.

Anna shrugs. "My policy of not invading the minds of others doesn’t extend to the angels," she says. "From what I have gathered, they seem to think that you have the potential to be tremendously powerful."

"That, or they know you were listening," Joseph says. "They could be trying to trap us."

"Come on, man," Mike says, "We’ve been here for months with no other hope of escaping. She could be our only shot."

"What do they-" Elizabeth begins.

"He’s right, Joseph," Anna says. "The angels have been stepping up our training which means they expect to send us out to fight soon. We need to get out of here before that happens."

Joseph shakes his head. "Even if she is as powerful as you say, the angels are the ones that unlock our power. It has taken us months to get as far as we have gotten. She just got here."

Elizabeth tries again. "I can-”

"They might unlock her power faster if they want to get us ready for something soon," Mike says.

Joseph scoffs. "You want to make an escape plan based on what the angels might do?" he says. "Even if they did unlock her power faster, she still needs the training."

Elizabeth steps in between the two men. "Train me, then."

Joseph meets her eye. "It’s not that easy."

"If it means escaping," Elizabeth says, "then I’ll do what I have to. If whatever power I have can help, and I need to be taught to use it, then teach me."

After a moment, and a shared look with the other two, Joseph says, "If we are doing this, there can be no training wheels. No adjustment period."

"Did you see what Remial just did to her?" Mike says. "And she just kept getting up. I’d say she can handle it."

"He’s right." Anna turns to Elizabeth. "You would have kept fighting had I not talked you out of it."

Elizabeth shrugs. "I don’t take authority well."

"Okay, then," Joseph says. "Today, you watch us and learn everything you can, like Remial wants. But tomorrow, we go full speed ahead, no holding back."

"I can handle it," Elizabeth says.

"That’s the spirit,” Mike says. “Can’t wait to see what you can do.” He holds the bag of chips out to Elizabeth. "Chip?"