Perkins couldn't believe what had happened.
That angel threatened him with a sword? He wondered if he should call the police, but would they really care? It was an angel after all... But no. It couldn't really be. Why would she recite such bile and hatred unto God? Not only to Him, but also himself. To be treated so condescendingly, with no respect as a devoted follower. To be spoken to with disdain and contempt... sheer mockery and cheek. why? For what purpose? Why would she provoke them like this? Why would she mock the form that God decided he was to be in? He objected a bit to being a turtle, but to be made fun of it by an angel?
The turtle transformed man was quite angry about it all. He felt shaken at the angel's words. He brought out his phone, to call his brother...
... but it was out of batteries. It looked like he had left the Bluetooth on, and that always drained it.
He felt he 'should' warn somebody before that angel killed anyone... but for the moment, it didn't look like he could and nobody would believe him anyway. Besides, she was a chosen of God.. right? She was allowed to kill and make any mortal face God's judgement. Including him.
Glancing around, he decided it would be best not to stick around here, if things got ugly. At least he could say their side, didn't need to bring any weapons...
Suddenly Perkins saw her. The devil woman, wearing the robes of a priestess. "You!"
Robert looked up startled. "Y-Yes?"
Perkins swallowed. This was the creature that God had already condemned... why should he even speak to it, and damn himself for it? How dare she wore the robes of a priest! Still that angel had shaken him, and he felt vindicated to spill his hatred to her. "You and your kind will bring Hell itself to Earth. You have already corrupted many! Even so far as to have your own army taken from God Himself!"
Robert looked stunned at the turtle's ramblings. "Look- I don't know what you're talking about-"
"I refer to the angel with the sword!" He said. "I don't know what you've done to corrupt them, but you are going to pay for it."
The devil priestess glanced up with some alarm. "Sir... I didn't corrupt anyone. I don't want any violence..."
"But you said the sun would sort the good from the evil!" The turtle spat. "The evil is to be destroyed!"
Robert winced. She did say that. "I... was wrong," she said quietly.
"And it seems you are prepared to fight, even though we said it would be a peaceful protest." He continued.
Robert bit her lip. What could she say? What could she do to dissolve this situation? "The girl with a sword... was she young? A youth?"
"Yes," said Perkins.
"Then... consider it the foolishness of the youth... and I will speak to her of it. Please... I beg you, don't make this something it must not be... I know you. You are part of this community too. I was a foolish man before the sun... the devil-changed are not evil... "
Perkins growled angrily, a very strange sound for a turtle creature to make. Though the priestess did strike a chord... he recalled being quite foolish in his youth too. And... was her sword any different to the claws various transformed people have? That harpy-girl in the store opposite, had vicious looking feet... when she stepped over the counter, he couldn't help but notice it.
Robert saw the doubt on the turtle man, and approached him closer. "What's your name?"
"Perkins," He said.
"Perkins... I remember you. You run a shoe-shop... right?"
"Business is slow. half the population go without shoes now I think." he muttered. Why were they even having this conversation? Was she getting inside his soul? Was she working some kind of demonic force into him? He didn't know... but for some reason, right now, he felt a lot of his anger subsiding. Maybe it was the fact that someone actually remembered him.
"And your wife?"
"She went shopping... and never came back. The store security pushed her into the sunlight, after she... got scared of some slug." Now perkins started to cry. He had come to the church as always hoping to see her... but... they didn't even see what had became of her. They didn't care... they just didn't care.
"Then you know the effect of fear..." she said softly. "Please Perkins... be brave now, for her. You have a better chance of finding her in a calm community, then in one paralysed with fear and bigotry."
Perkins swallowed. Why... was she making so much sense? Even if she was a devil creature...
"I have learned Perkins, that there are more places to search for now... and I will search those places for you... okay?"
Perkins nodded. "Okay..." Suddenly, the turtle didn't know what to think.. or what side to be on.
Haru was glad school was almost over. She was still troubled by what she saw on the television. One... One everywhere. What did one mean? Maybe she should write down these strange visions. That it could work over the television was very frightening.
Haru was wearing a very nice green dress. She couldn't help but think her mother was actually... excited now about having a daughter. But what worried Haru the most, was that she liked making her mother happy... and part of her, even in some small part, was starting to enjoy the various styles of clothing.
She was actually thinking about how things matched for goodness sake! She had never done that before. She just threw clothes on herself... so why was she spending a little longer each day getting dressed? Was that really... normal?
Ken sat beside her, still writing some report.
Haru used her vision to look around the class room... She wasn't sure what she saw. For a moment, she thought she saw a shadow around the various computer systems, but just as suddenly it had vanished. Did that mean anything?
But it happened so quickly, she wasn't even sure she had seen it... just a trick of the light maybe? "So... how was the Gym," she asked Ken.
The fox boy looked up from the desk. "Closed... someone broke the equipment. they are recalibrating them now, to cope with different... species," he said. He really hoped they fixed it soon. He was really hoping to work for some abdominal muscles. Being a fox-boy didn't exactly give him muscle... though he was also still quite youg.
"You want to get in some more band practice?" The oriental girl asked with a shy smile.
"Sure," he smiled. Ken looked at her pretty young face, and found himself blushing. There was just something about the way Haru looked at him that made him feel.. nice. Her strange eyes were beautiful, even if there were 'three' of them. "Have you seen any other weird things?" He asked.
"Just... one. That girl, Tiffany.." She said softly.
"What did you see?"
"A light, that shines brighter, and brighter..." Haru said thinking. "I also saw... strange patterns all over her," She had to blush at that. She wasn't sure it was right to actually tell anyone about it.. but she had no secrets from Ken. "It looked a bit like a tree?"
Ken tried to picture it but failed. "Didn't she used to be a... a... thing?" he asked. He didn't like saying that... but... there was honestly no word to describe what she was before.
"I don't know what she was now.. or is. Her transformations are different... I don't know why."
"Maybe she's special?" Wondered Ken. As if that were really possible... why would the sunlight single any one person out? But if there was something special about Tiffany, Haru might be able to work it out if she kept looking. He knew though, the strange three eyed girl didn't understand the visions she had at times...
Ken wondered, what she saw in him...
