Not Like an Angel

8/7/2019 Not Like an Angel

1/27

Not Like An Angel

Paul Lang

721 14th Ave

Prospect Park, PA

Aprox 1300 Words

[email protected]

Not Like An Angel

I will surely not let you go until you bless me.

The native carrion bird sang its shrieking song.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/27

Not Like An Angel

I looked into the dragon-red plate and tried to find a

pair of eyes I could meet. There were no eyes. The red

steel was cut carefully, welded over by a master smith or a

highly advanced mechanism; it had to be with the kind of

craftsmanship it was displaying. It looked like a big

antique. Just one of these things could probably sell for

hundreds of thousands down on Earth. Thick, black curves

like outlines rode along each of the shape's edges. A

yellow design, a sun with six rays culminated in the center

just below where the visor was open. It was like some kind

of medieval football helmet. There was no face for me to

look at, but something was looking at me.

Don't stare at them. They consider it to be

impolite, Old Dr. Fields explained from behind me.

The red plate creaked and then twisted to the left as

though to look away from me.

They have eyes. We just can't see them.

Well...sorry, was all I could say, and I tried to

look somewhere else. My eyes left the Gurhan knight in

front of me and jumped to the one at my left hand. They

were all around me-- how was I supposed to keep from


3/27

Not Like An Angel

looking at them? Why was Ibeing polite to them? I was the

one who'd just crawled out of a blazing wreck.

You don't want to offend them before you've even had

a chance to talk. Just stick close and listen to me. I've

learned worlds about them in the past three months...well,

Earth months, years for them. Technically I've been their

prisoner, but I have been treated well.

Oh, okay. I took a step backwards and tried to look

at Mr. Fields instead of any one of the five colorful

metallic Gurhan aliens that stood around me Wait--why were

you a prisoner?

I was living with the Tarquillo before, their

enemies.

Enemies?

I think we have a lot to catch up on.

Will these...people mind?

No, they are very patient. Fields chuckled. Very

patient indeed. Now...where shall I begin...you see, the

Tarquillo-


4/27

Not Like An Angel

Beautiful, really beautiful. I heard the ding of

clanging metal followed by the din of Dr. Hansen's voice. I

turned my head and saw her stumbling down the hall behind

us, half tripping over an amber plated knight that was

standing sentry in the corner. Are you seeing this Warren?

Are you seeing this? Walking armor, walking weapons! I've

never seen anything like it! It's beautiful! She stumbled

over the butt of a spear handle and just barely caught her

balance again. Her eyes lit up brightly as they followed

the butt to the point. It comes with a javelin! This is

better than that military history museum in California!

The aqua colored Gurhan that stood at my back put its

gauntlet to its sword handle and marched toward my dazzled

assistant. Her face blushed with an almost romantic love

when the monster drew the polished silver, double bladed

scimitar with the black cloth handle and the slick, curved

edge. I think the warrior had hoped to ward her off, but

this display of shiny metal only wet her appetite for more.

Warren! Do you see this sword? Warren! What kind of metal

is this? Is it the same thing the armor's made of? It's

beautiful! Really beautiful!

I turned my eyes away and prayed a halfhearted prayer

that she wouldn't get herself killed. Lovely, dark haired


5/27

Not Like An Angel

assistants with a religious obsession were hard to come by.

I had to block her out now. She could go on like this for

over an hour.

Um...what were you saying Mr. Fields?

Oh, yes. As you've no doubt learned by now you've

landed in Netz, a territory under the rule of the spear

totting Gurhan race.

The floor we were standing on was soft like a

mattress; that seemed uncharacteristic.

The Gurhan are the smaller of the two reigning powers

on Fezzilh, the greater are the Tarquillo.

The walls looked like they were carved from some kind

of apricot colored stone. No, it looked more like

styrophoam.

As far as I can tell, the Gurhan and the Tarquillo

have been at war for at least fifty years--fifty earth

years I mean. I learned about it when I was under the guard

of the Tarquillo Magoat Scholars in Alpaj.

Could you cut down on the extras please? I cut in,

I'm a weapons dealer, not a linguist.


6/27

Not Like An Angel

My apologies.

A sound like the beat of a drum came from the next

hall and our group started to move. So the Gurhan weren't

all that patient after all. I had to make sure to get all

of the necessary info I could out of Fields before I met

their king, which I could tell might be hard. The old coot

seemed to love showing off what he'd learned in

kindergarten. Otherwise I could end up at the wrong end of

one of those 'beautiful' spears. It happened to unescorted

dealers like me all of the time: they'd run into some set

of aliens that wanted to bash each other's brains out and

have their goods stolen. Sometimes the dealers made it back

to tell the tale; most times they didn't. This was why I'd

wanted N.A.P.A.L.M to hire more guards. The two or three

mounted cannons they had super-glued to the side of my ship

weren't much use now that I was stranded in a pre-historic

dump.

Looks like you might have to go and speed it up. I

urged in a less than urgent voice.

Yes, yes. As far as I can decipher, the Gurhan served

the Tarquillo for many years.

Served? I feigned interest.


7/27

Not Like An Angel

I may be mistaken, but it's possible that the

Tarquillo createdthe Gurhan...like...machines with wills

of their own.

That's always a good idea.

Our little chain gang procession marched through a

room full of artsy furniture I could only assume was used

for torture. I sighed in relief when we didn't stop.

Eventually, some violation of the Nar-O caused a

group of frustrated Gurhan to break off and burn the city

of Gabbia. This forced the Tarquillo to crack the whip even

harder than before, and the Gurhan in response, under the

command of General Moatose Green-Hammer, sacked and

pillaged the three farming villages of Pecoran, Pollo and

Cahpra...and-

Nar-O?

I think it's some kind of set of rules, a kind of

honor code. I cannot stress to you how important it is to

the Gurhan; it's almost like a religion.

Okay, so we're dealing with crazy zealots made of

metal.


8/27

Not Like An Angel

Don't be so narrow minded. The Gurhan, like the

Tarquillo have a beautiful culture, though the Gurhan are

much more...rough around the edges.

How so?

You'll have to remember, they were created to be

warriors. They are combative, practical and hard. The

Tarquillo on the other hand have spent most of their

existence feeding off of the peaceful life afforded to them

by this servitude and the servitude of other smaller races.

They are soft, learned and somewhat...feminine. The kingdom

of the Tarquillo is a kingdom of wisdom and scholarly

learning, while the rule of the Gurhan is harsh and

militaristic.

I gazed over at a particularly scary looking steel

beast with an iron morningstar If that's the case then why

haven't the metal guys won yet?

Now now, the Tarquillo are not to be underestimated

either. Not only do they have greater territory and more

numerous allies, but they fight with a strange kind of

martial arts, something called Fi-Uccello. It's a very

advanced form of warfare that involves moving air

particles...that's what I've come to understand anyway.


9/27

Not Like An Angel

Our procession stopped when we came to a ten foot

tall, arch shaped door that looked like it was either made

of bronze or some other alloy that had been rusted over.

The toy soldiers halted.

Alright, this is the main hall. Fields was now in a

rush. He ran his left hand through the end of his white

beard Remember to be respectful. I'm afraid you're going

to have to bend over backwards.

Yeah, I was kinda guessing that by now.

No, I mean literally. The proper greeting from a

visitor to the 'High-Footman' involves the visitor sitting

on his knees and bending backwards...its easier for them

than it is for us.

Hey, I'm not a contortionist. How exactly does that

make sense? They make the visitors from another world do

something that's easy for them but hard for everyone else?

Wait-

But you still must try.... Miss Hansen. Can I count

on you?

Huh? Dr. Hansen raised herself up from her position

on the dusty ground where she had been flicking the amber


10/27

Not Like An Angel

knight's metal foot and listening to the plinging sound it

made Oh, yeah.

Just let me do the talking, got it? I ordered her.

You're the boss, she saluted me, and the bronze

double door slowly creaked open (As far as I could tell it

opened on its own, without any help).

Fields stepped out in front of me. A slightly ominous

look entered his face And one more thing. I think it would

be wise for you two to remember that right now, you aren't

just representatives of N.A.P.A.L.M, but the fragile

carriers of your own lives.

The old man's menacing words shook me up, and they

shook up Dr. Hansen too, so much so that when we were

finally introduced to the 'High-Footman' we were so

terrified that we forgot.

The Footman was a black and silver Gurhan that stood a

full half size taller than all of the others. He had a red

tassel on his head and a red carpet of a cape on his back.

To imagine the effect this colossus had on our weak human

minds try imagining that the statue of liberty suddenly


11/27

Not Like An Angel

tore itself loose from its platform and started dancing the

Can-Can.

The whole chamber of knights waited for what seemed

like hours, probably in hopes that we would eventually

succumb to their ridiculous tradition, but we weren't that

smart. Finally, they gave up and the High-Footman gave us

the ending half of the honorable greeting by spinning his

helmet-head 360 degrees in a circle (I hoped that that was

what it meant, and that it wasn't just something he did out

of frustration).

After all that was done, he sat down on his hard knees

and beckoned for us to do the same. This tradition I

followed, since by now my legs had already all but turned

to jelly. The knight disconnected his megaton-heavy shield

from his left arm and placed it upside down on the stone

floor. Next he began to pound on the shield with his fist.

The sound it made was the worst sound I'd ever heard.

The honorable High-Footman Norgal would like to

welcome you Earth people to his Fiefdom. Fields said,

taking his place next to the King and in front of a small

metal shield of his own He hopes that you and he can be

friends.


12/27

Not Like An Angel

I didn't answer, but just kept staring over into the

nonexistent face of the gigantic, animated piece of

hardware.

He wishes to express his deepest sympathies for your

current condition. Fields translated the ringing sounds of

the gauntlets and the shield He says that what the

Tarquillo did to your ship is unforgivable, a blasphemous

breach of Nar-O.

The Tarquillo? I muttered to myself.

Tarquillo. Dr. Hansen parroted me.

The Footman gnashed his steel kneecap against the

stone and made me jump. His blood-red cape jumped up behind

him like a red tidal-wave.

The High-Footman is willing to offer you

protection...

Dr. Hansen sighed deeply behind me.

...but in return he wants your help.

I bit my tongue. I thought this might be coming.


13/27

Not Like An Angel

My help? Suddenly I felt my fear and uncertainty

drift away like it always did when my trade was involved.

That Norgal thing paused for a second, then pounded

out a long message. Fields waited until it was complete

before transcribing any of it That the Tarquillo shot down

your ship with their Fire-Bird was indeed a shame. The

High-Footman would never wish that upon you or anyone for

any price. But...

I clenched my fist.

...he also says that the way you fell was not as a

victim, but as a savior. You are like gods, angels. You

alone can save the Gurhan from their honor-less oppressors.

No doubt the Tarquillo shot at you with purpose in their

hearts. The military technology of your Earth is far

greater than even the weapons they possess. Without a

doubt, they were aiming to steal these weapons and use them

to end the war. Your seventy two Scorpions Cannons and your

thirty eight Nautilus Cannons were meant to land in

Govaask, next to the Tarquillo city of Tulipanoe, but

fortune dropped you with their enemies.

How does he know our stock so well? I glared at

Fields and the massive black knight in turn.


14/27

Not Like An Angel

Fields relayed the message via shield-drum and the

Footman responded,Your weapons have been put under the

guard of our captains. They are being kept safe from the

Traquillo. This particular territory is highly subject to

raids.

So you're already taking them? Shouldn't you kill me

before you start pillaging? For all I know it could've been

you guys who shot us down, couldn't it?

Dr. Hansen squealed behind me.

Fields hesitated, then carried my words to the black

knight.

Please forgive me if I am misunderstood. Norgal

turned his head down We have not seized them, but we had

thought you may not be ready to protect. Attempt to

understand me. I ask for your help as a fellow enemy, but

not only as a fellow enemy, as a fellow living thing. What

the Tarquillo have done to my people is disgraceful and

barbaric, and what they have done to you is also

disgraceful and barbaric. In that sense I thought we might

find unity. The enemy opposes all peace treaties, all

concessions, and acts in ways un-befitting living beings.


15/27

Not Like An Angel

They have treated us as weeds are treated, not even as

beasts.

And I'm sure you were all Mother Teresa's messengers,

right? I'm sure you haven't killed any of them, not even

when you started the war yourselves. Tell me, did you guys

cry big chrome tears when you burned Gabbia? Did you rust

yourselves when you chopped up Pecoran? Did you show your

kind and gentle side to the men, women and children of

Cahpra? Last time I checked, 'sack' means something along

the lines of indiscriminant civilian slaughter, but maybe

it means something different in killer robot language.

Fields looked surprised by the terms I remembered.

Once again, when it involved my line of work I was good

with details.

Now you really want me to step in, into a war over

some outdated code of chivalry and let you kill people with

my guns, guns that have an owner who hasn't received them

yet? I think that if you guys are going to fight each other

over something stupid you can keep fighting with slingshots

and clubs, maybe then it'll take you a little longer to

pulverize each other off the face of the planet; maybe

it'll even take so long that you'll realize it isn't worth


16/27

Not Like An Angel

fighting over. Anyway, I'll be keeping my toys, and I won't

be letting you borrow them for a tribal war over which side

of the toast the butter goes on.

Once again Norgal was slow to answer, and I couldn't

blame him Perhaps we should speak again, later, he said

and stood to his feet. You are free to wander the village

outside and sight-see. You and your ship are under the

protection of my soldiers.

Well don't I feel safe? I murmured under my breath.

The Footman spun his head around, and this time, in

response I bowed forward in the normal human way. When I

did it I heard a lot of rattling metal, so I guessed I had

sufficiently offended them.

The village outside the barracks was barely even what

I would could a village. It was more of an outpost. There

were about a score of hut like domes laid out in and

orderly fashion, maybe that qualified as a village. The rim

of the town was lined by five foot tall, jagged metal

pikes. Soldier marched (All of them looked like soldiers,

every last one) back and forth between the domes and into

claustrophobic trenches. In the center there was a hollow

stone structure that looked like an altar or a well. There


17/27

Not Like An Angel

was a translucent, purple vine growing out and clinging to

its edges.

Its warm here, like summer, Dr. Hansen notified me

once we were out by the well It must be uncomfortable

being a Gurhan. That armor has to heat up.

For all we know this could be their winter. These

guys and their planet don't make a lick of sense. I

watched as a full-metal merchant traded what appeared to be

three pieces of straw for a yellow watermelon with spider

legs. Three shorter aliens (I guessed they were children)

ran in circles around a three eyed insect beast of burden.

A faceless, rusted old man sat on a stool in front of his

dome shaped dwelling and stared at a tray of what I could

only assume was food.

How do these things even eat? I looked up at the

green tinted sky and into the two moons. The two were close

to meeting now. I guessed they had two opposite moons that

passed by each other at least once in the lunar cycle. It

was actually fairly common in this part of the galaxy. It

was obviously night, but it felt like the hottest morning.

Seriously Cynthia, what kind of monsters are these?

These things are inhuman, nothing like us. How can we


18/27

Not Like An Angel

possibly hope to understand who could be right and who

could be wrong? I asked rhetorically.

Don't know... Dr. Hansen was always good for

stimulating conversation.

Why do big world events always hinge on little people

with little minds? Do these things really think that we're

going to join in and help with their stupid war? Do these

Spartan morons think we care how many dumb Athenians they

kill? I don't think I'm a saint or anything like that, but

I'm not devil enough to give a bully a popgun either,

right?

Behind me, she didn't answer. She probably wasn't even

listening.

These warmongering tin-men think they can get the

best of me by stroking my ego, calling me an angel. Well

their flattery tactics are a bit outdated. I'm already more

powerful than an angel, I'm a CEO, right? I joked, but she

didn't laugh. What was with her today? Knowing her she was

probably off asking one of them if she could take its kid

home with her to study in the laboratory or something like

that. This place was better than a toy store to Dr. Hansen.


19/27

Not Like An Angel

The sooner we can get out of here, the better. I'm

not going to dirty my hands with any of this, and that's

final.

I turned around to look her in the eye, but she wasn't

there. Instead, there were five or six knight suits

standing and pointing toward the blue hill over at the edge

of town Hey...what are you guys...? suddenly I got the

message. Without hesitation I ran off after her. If she got

herself lost on this dump of a planet it would only be

trouble for me and the company. I had to find her now

before this became an incident, and she was a friend of

mine too. I climbed over the blue hill and waded through

its tall, cotton-soft grass. The earth was spongy and sunk

in under my heavy footsteps. White dust, probably some kind

of spore from some plant blew up into my eyes and I had to

stumble blindly for a half of a minute. I kept heading

forward until I found a familiar piece of equipment: Dr.

Hansen's cell phone. What had happened to her?

I heard a female scream in the distance. It had to be

her. She was the only human female here (unless Fields

screamed like that, which was a possibility that I wasn't

ready to rule out yet).


20/27

Not Like An Angel

I ran now as fast as my legs could carry me. I reached

into the bag on my back and drew out the storage cube that

held my secret self defense tool. I squeezed the cube and

my Goliath-355 handgun emerged, fully loaded and ready to

fire. Whatever it was that took Dr. Hansen was going to

taste the vengeance of N.A.P.A.L.M, and hell hath no fury

like a weapons dealer scorned.

I slid down another of this planets many lumps and

landed in what seemed to be a small valley. Suddenly I

found myself surrounded. About a dozen strange creatures

popped up like Jack out of his box on the hills around me.

Clever devils. Each of them was about the size and shape of

a small human. It was hard to get a clear picture of them,

because they had what seemed to be some kind of blue gas

zooming around them in fast currents, so to my vision they

were just blue gas monsters, like the ones on Leelip Three.

Each one also hovered about three inches off the ground.

The Tarquillo, I guessed. I turned my head and saw

Dr. Hansen sitting in a relaxed looking position between

the two devils farthest from me. What was she doing?

I shouted, Cynthia, run! The blue gas around the two

creatures next to her snapped and crackled.


21/27

Not Like An Angel

I can't move, she said with a look of terror in her

eyes. What were they doing to her? She was myassistant.

Mine!

Without batting an eye I fired my Goliath at the

tallest enemy standing in line with my left shoulder. A

pointed arrow of pure, neon energy zoomed out and gunned

toward the monster.

The creature planted its feet and swung its hands to

the left like an orchestra conductor with a sort of

slapping motion, and the missile's course was redirected.

It fired up and burst harmlessly in the air above the

creatures' heads

Okay, so these things can use 'The Force'.

In no time I was snapped down on my face, pushed over

by what felt like something between a punch to the gut and

a sea storm's wind.

Once I was down I couldn't move. A strong pressure

around me kept me still. Only my head was left free. They

wanted to let me breathe, which meant that they wanted me

alive. This was good news and bad news.


22/27

Not Like An Angel

The blue mist around the tall Tarquillo dissolved and

its true shape was revealed. It was much more like a human

than a Gurhan, but still not something you'd see walking

down the streets of Queens. It was blue, a pale blue, and

it had feathers on its knees, elbows and shoulders. Its

triangular face had three eyes and its head had a pair of

horns sticking neatly out of its sharply trimmed hair. It

had a slender build, and all in all I couldn't tell if it

was male or female.

The blue thing reached down its boney arm and picked

up the Goliath-355 I had dropped. It fixed its three eyes

on it and ran its hand across the gauge. When I saw it hold

the gun I was resolved. It's a female, I muttered. (All

women held big guns in the same, awkward way, like they

were holding a baby; all women except Dr. Hansen, but she

was special).

I bit my tongue. The Tarquillo had what they wanted.

Now, whether I liked it or not it'd be used against the

Gurhan.

Butt-Heads! was the best insult I could come up with

at the moment, but I was ignored.


23/27

Not Like An Angel

The lanky beast descended from its three inch air-

stool and seated itself cross legged on the spongy ground.

It spent the next ten minutes (seconds, hours, I don't

know) studying the gun. Its eyes looked stupid and

barbaric, which I hadn't expected, but as time went on it

began to hold the gun in more of a masculine fashion. The

skeleton began to understand what it was looking at.

Something over the horizon chirped. Mist rose up from

valleys in the lofty hills that sat at the edge of the

horizon. The green sky darkened.

Then I heard a creaking of metal. Was that what I

thought it was? A twig snapped. The Tarquillo kept still.

Did they have ears?

Hinges and joints roared and scraped. A silver point

glinted up through the gaps in a purple shrub's leaves.

The lead Tarquillo twitched.

Two more silver points stabbed their way into vision.

The third got taller. The tip of a red tassel shook like a

hand of hyperactive fingers in the soft breeze.

The Tarquillo shot up to its feet. A long, silver

shaft penetrated its solar plexus. It had noticed too late.


24/27

Not Like An Angel

It had been too slow. It made a whistling sound with its

nose and died.

The other eleven turned and faced the approaching

enemy. Over the edge of the hill I saw a piece of sapphire

colored metal. The light of the two moons glinted off the

armor and before my sight was clear again another two

Tarquillo had fallen.

My heart rose with excitement. The home team had

arrived! We were being rescued. I looked over at Dr. Hansen

and she clapped her hands and cheered.

Two blue knights and two amber knights came up over

the hill and planted their steel feet in the ground. From

behind them came a giant sized knight in black armor. That

Norgal-- he had come himself?

My guts laughed. If the Gurhan were a football team,

then the Tarquillo were nothing but ugly cheerleaders, and

they were dead.

As if in reaction to the intensity of the struggle,

the mist in the mountains sped up its progression and

blanketed the scene for dramatic affect, making the cold,

cruel, Gurhan ghostly and terrible.


25/27

Not Like An Angel

Three of the remaining Tarquillo lined up and put

their hands together in front of their chests. The two

amber knights rushed forward and planted their beautiful

swords in the ground. They came against the enemy's

invisible fire but were unmoved.

Something clanged behind Dr. Hansen and both she and I

turned our heads simultaneously to see what it was. A

second group of knights, two emerald green and two diamond

white dashed up the flank hill and drew their own spears.

Now the Tarquillo were thrown into disorder. They

moved about erratically and fired ineffectual shots left

and right. One of them aimed and fired at Dr. Hansen, but,

suddenly realizing that I was freed from the dark side of

the force I took the hit to my own gut. Something popped

and blood and water mixed in my mouth.

All eight of the Gurhan knights drew their spears and

aimed. The Footman himself revealed a tremendous slab of

metal covered in shining gold. Dr. Hansen looked like she

wanted to marry it.

The Tarquillo shook. The shafts were released. *Slice*

And all of the remaining enemies fell dead. They dropped to

the ground like sacks of feathers.


26/27

Not Like An Angel

The battle was over. No, the slaughter was over.

I chuckled.

Fields came up slowly behind the High-Footman. The

expression on his face when he saw the remains of what had

transpired was one of disgust.

I looked up at the warriors who had rescued us. I

looked down at the bodies of the despicable monsters who

had kidnapped us. I gazed down at the bit of blood I'd shed

to save the one who was precious to me. Then I looked up at

her, the once terrified, now immensely pleased Dr. Cynthia

Hansen.

Praise be to Nar-O. I whispered to myself. Then I

stood up and approached the High-Footman.

I dropped to my knees and leaned as far as I could

backwards (I think I snapped something actually), then I

faced Fields.

Tell this guy that if it's war the Tarquillo want,

that's what we'll give them. I clenched my fist until I

could see the blue veins. I bit my tongue until it bled

rose red blood.


27/27

Not Like An Angel

The native carrion bird watched from its high perch.

Tonight there would be a feast.

And he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with

him. Woe to the earth and sea, woe to the earth and sea,

because he is full of fury.

Documents

Not Like an Angel