Chapter One: Nathaniel I

Chapter One:

Nathaniel I

He waited for this time of day, almost every day for eight years now, he yearned for the moment the clock struck four. His emerald green eyes watch the arms of the clock as the minutes ticked by, it was three fifty-nine, he had a few seconds left and he would be free, it would be the weekend and tomorrow would be his birthday. Finally, the clock hit four as the bell rang throughout the school, a smile formed on Nate's face as he wiped his brown hair out of his eyes and stood up, he would grab his bag as he exited the classroom with multiple kids following after him.

"Now, I just need to get home." He said quietly as he pulled his hood on over his head, he would make his way through the halls of his school as he exited and walked outside, he soon inhaled the cold New York air, as he saw multiple people walking through the streets and walking home. "Please don't let anything go wrong today." He said quietly as he looked up for a moment, he wasn't religious, he didn't really believe in a God, but he had to take a chance and hope that his prayers get answered. Nate would soon walk towards the side of the school as he made his way towards the back, he would slowly come to a stop at the corner of the wall as he heard two voices.

"Matthews!! It's been a while!" One of the kid said as Nate turned around to see the two school bullies, they were both fairly muscular and a lot taller when compared to him.

"Crap." He muttered quietly as they started to walk towards him, Nate would quickly turn as he ran as fast as he could, he would look back to see the two men chasing after him.

"GET OVER HERE!!!" One of them yelled out, Nate running faster as he ran through the streets, he would run in between two cars that were parked as he turned, the two bullies not seeming to slow down as Nate turned the corner and dashed into an alleyway, he would run through it before taking a turn and dashing deeper into the alley.

"D-Dang it," Nate said quietly as he caught his breath, he would back up and towards the end of the alleyway, as he slowly sat down, he hoped he had lost them, and it seemed that he had. "You lost them." He heard a voice say, he felt his heart start to race as his eyes opened and he turned to his right to see an old man with a long white beard, one eye, and long white hair sitting down beside a dumpster, he wasn't sure how he had never noticed the man before, but he had to have always been there since he never heard anyone approach.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. After all, there's not much a one-eyed old man can do right?" The man asked giving a small smile as Nate slowly stood up.

"W-Who are you?" Nate asked stepping back as he saw the man look up and at him, his one eye seeming to stare into one of his.

"You have no idea how many times I've been asked that, but it doesn't matter. What is your name?" The man asked, letting out a small smile as Nate stepped forward, his mom always warned him about talking to strangers but this man seemed trustworthy enough for some strange reason.

"Nate." He replied as the older man slowly nodded for a moment.

"How old are you Nate?" He asked as Nate looked down at him and gulped slightly at the question.

"Twelve sir, I turn thirteen tomorrow." He said quietly as he saw the old man smile again, this time giving a slightly more sincere smile.

"Thirteen, yes. I should have known. I hope you have a happy birthday, you should be getting home." The man said as Nate slowly nodded and began to walk off, he would get to the corner of the alley before turning back to look towards where the man had been to see no one there, his eyes widening slightly before he turned around and made his way home before anything else, or anything strange could happen.

Nathaniel slowly entered his mom's apartment, he would stare at a small paper on the door as he pulled it off and crumbled it up. "Out by next month." He said as he clenched his fist, squeezing the paper tightly before he slowly grabbed the door handle as he opened the door and stepped into the apartment, he would soon toss the notice into the trash can as he approached a door inside the apartment and slowly opened it to step inside. "You're home late."

Nate would nod as he stepped into the room, he would give a small smile as he looked towards his mother who lay in her bed, a trashcan right next to it and a table with multiple bottles of medicine next to her. "Yeah, sorry." He said quietly as he approached her and slowly sat down in a chair right next to her bed, he would slowly hold her hand as she turned and looked at him with a soft and weak smile.

"In trouble again?" She asked as Nate slowly shook his head, he would raise his free hand up as he wiped away the tears that were forming on his eyes.

"No, everything is fine." He lied, his mother looking into his eyes for a moment as she gripped his hand tightly and softly squeezed.

"You'll be okay, without me." She said softly, he knew she could see the tears on his face and he could see the tears on hers.

"W-what if I won't be?" He asked as he looked at her and she slowly sat up.

"You will be, I'll come through." She said quietly, he looked away from her for a moment and towards a photo on the nightstand of him when he was younger and his mother, she had long brown hair and strong blue eyes, now her hair was gone and her eyes were much weaker. He would slowly look back at her once more as she held his hand tighter. "There's food in the fridge if you're hungry." She said quietly as she smiled at him once more and he slowly stood up.

"Do you need anything?" He slowly asked as she shook her head.

"No, I'll be fine." She said quietly as he slowly stood up and began to make his way towards the door. "Do your homework before you sleep please." She said quietly as he slowly nodded and looked at her. "I will." He replied as he grabbed the door handle before she spoke again. "I love you." She said quietly as Nate felt the tears go down his cheeks again.

"I love you too." He said quietly as she smiled and he slowly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Nate would make his way into his bedroom as he shut the door behind him, the room was fairly small it had his bed, a small desk, and a stool to sit on, then a small square TV on a stand at the foot of his bed. "She will be alright." He said quietly to himself as he wiped what tears were left from his eyes before he turned to flip the light switch as no light came on, and the only light in the room was still the light from outside. "Great." He muttered quietly as he made his way to his bed, he would remove his shoes, and hoodie as he tossed them both onto the floor beside his table.

Nate would slowly lay in his bed, he would close his eyes as he placed his hands on his stomach. "Please, please, please let her be alright." He begged, more tears forming in his eyes once again as they slid down his cheeks. "I don't want to lose her." He said quietly as he opened his eyes to look up towards the ceiling before he slowly turned over and began to drift off to sleep.

Nate awoke as the loud sound of thunder filled the night sky, and a large bolt of lightning flashed outside as he slowly stood up and approached the window, he would pull the curtains back as he looked out and into the night sky, he could see the rain and lightning, as he slowly looked towards the moon before he looked towards a nearby rooftop, before he heard a sound that sounded much like a voice.

"Is it time?" He could hear the voice whisper, it was faint and the voice was soft. "No, not yet." He could hear someone else reply as he turned around and slowly approached his bedroom door as he silently opened it and stepped inside and into the hall, the voices sounded like they were coming from his mother's room next door.

"Hello?!?" He soon called out, he wanted whoever the two people were to know that someone else was in the house, he would slowly grab an umbrella that was kept in the kitchen as he made his way towards his mom's door, his eyes would glance towards the clock which showed that the time was eleven fifty-nine. "I-I'm coming in!" He said a bit loudly, he would slowly grab the door handle as he turned it and stepped inside.

He would enter the room right as the clock struck twelve, the room was empty and no one was in it except for his mother who lay on the bed not moving or anything. "M-mom are you okay?" He slowly asked as he approached her bed, she didn't respond or move when he asked which worried him, he felt a chill move down his spine and the rapid beating of his heart increase as he continued forward towards his mother's bed. "Mom?" He slowly asked again, his hands going limp as the umbrella slipped from his grasp and he moved forward as he grabbed his mom's hands which were starting to turn cold. "M-m-mom?" He asked again, his voice croaking some as he felt the tears form in his eyes as he didn't feel any pulse from her, he would slowly move forward to listen for a heartbeat as he heard nothing and released his mother's hand and slowly stumbled back some as he fell onto the ground and closed his eyes as tears formed once again and made their way down his cheeks.

The red and blue blinding lights flashed across his face as he sat outside on the steps of his apartment building, the cold air and freezing wet rain hitting his pale skin as he looked down at the ground. "She's in a better place now." A voice said as Nate slowly looked up to see his uncle in his blue police uniform as he slowly sat down next to him and put his arm around Nate's shoulders as he pulled him into a hug. "There was nothing we could have done to save her." Nate heard him say, he knew that his uncle was right but it didn't make it any better.

"S-She seemed fine earlier." He said quietly as he began to cry again, he tried to stay strong but he couldn't handle it, she was gone, and there was nothing he could do to bring her back, and if there was some all mighty all powerful being in the sky then why did his prayers not get answered? He asked and begged and she still died anyway.

"We knew this would happen eventually, it sucks but she wanted you to move in with me. I'll take you to my place, we will get all your stuff in the morning." His uncle told him as Nate continued to cry before his uncle slowly helped him up.

"S-She shouldn't have died. It's not fair Luke." He said quietly as his uncle looked at him for a moment.

"It's not, but there is not much we can do for her now. I'll protect you and watch you, and keep you safe." His uncle said as he walked Nate towards the police cruiser, Nate didn't want to tell him about the two figures, he didn't want to tell him about the one-eyed old man, he didn't want to talk about anything really, at least not yet.

His uncle would drive him towards his apartment as they arrived and his uncle lead him inside. "You still got your usual room." His uncle told him as Nate looked towards his usual room.

"A-are you going to be staying here?" Nate asked as he saw Luke turn to look at him.

"I gotta go back to the station real quick, but I'll be back as soon as possible I promise." He replied as his uncle soon hugged him before turning and heading out as Nate slowly entered his room and fell down and onto the bed, his face in his pillow.

He had laid there for what felt like days, but only minutes had passed as he cried into his pillow, soon he heard a noise in the darkroom as he felt cold air hit his body as he turned to see his window open as he slowly stood up. "That wasn't like that." He said quietly as he slowly approached the window and looked out as he closed it before turning around to see two men standing in his room.

"I apologize for our intrusion, but the time is upon us." One of the men said, the other turning on the light in the room which caused Nate's eyes to widen as he saw them. One of the men, the one that had spoken had long flowing black hair which went to his back, he wore a yellowish orange robe and had a staff in his hand, but that wasn't the strangest part. The strangest part was the two white wings which came off his back and were visible for anyone to see.

"W-who and what are you two?" Nate asked as he stepped back, he would look towards the other man as he began talking.

"My winged friend here is Raphael, I am Tyr." The other man said, his voice was deep and showed seriousness where the other mans was much softer, Nate's eyes would scan Tyr as he saw that the man had a large black bushy beard and slightly long black hair that stopped at his shoulders, his hair seeming to be slightly graying, and the man seemed to be wearing some kind of leather armor and was missing his right hand.

"We have come to get you and train you, my friend and I are celestial beings. He is the archangel Raphael, and I am the Norse God Tyr." The man said as Nate felt like his whole world was changing even more than it already had.