Between Earth and Sky

   Thunder echoed over the vast expanse of desert. The dead earth was shrouded in complete darkness as the heavy clouds rolled over the moon. Lightning momentarily lit up the sky, revealing the lifeless shell of dusty buildings in a fallen city. As the clouds split in the rushing wind, the dazzling halo of light materialized, shedding a radiant glow over the desolate terrain. A figure atop a broken structure stood, perched silently between the earth and the sky, undeniably human in structure while soundly inhuman in spirit.

    A single drop fell from the sweeping heavens, the essence of a tear filled with despair. Then a second, and then a third. The tears kept cascading onto the dusty sod. Drops of similar nature streamed down the figure's cheeks as raised his head to the sky, allowing the downpour to wash away the blood that stained his hands.

    The clouds continued to divide, revealing the remains of the figure's fallen brethren scattered across the silt, blemishing the dark brown dust with red. Their wings were broken and shattered, their eyes still wide with fear.

    The figure stood helplessly atop the broken structure, between the earth and the sky, and the part of him that was once human no longer was. His dark wings spread open, completely ashen and spotted with scarlet. He had once been undeniably human in spirit, but now he was broken.

     An avalanche of debris fell from the fragile building.  A resounding echo of metal and rock bounced between collapsed constructs. The figure stood lifeless atop the structure, slowly leaning forward before he followed, plunging toward the damp soil. Pale feathers floated down effortlessly, joining the rain in its journey toward the barren earth.

Author's Note

First post on here. I wrote this about two years ago and it is a prologue for a story I was writing with some friends. The story fell a bit flat, but I still consider this prologue one of my better literary moments. I hope you like it. I will be adding more recent works soon. Feel free to give me criticism or feedback, though, especially if there are spelling mistakes or anything that doesn't make sense.