"All right." "All right." "It's all right." "We'll be all right." "It'll be okay." "Shh." "Mommy, I'm scared." "So am I." "Are we all gonna die?" "_" "Again." "They haven't moved since I left Vega." "No words, no symbols." "Nothing." "They stopped communicating." "My father had a name for me, one you couldn't comprehend." "I think the closest example would be the Latin equus." "It meant his calm one." "And of my brothers and sisters, it was true." "I was the reasonable one, the patient one." "Michael, we all know about him, don't we?" "Tempest in a bottle." "Uriel, well, truthfully, she's crazy." "But these last few months with you, Alex, have tested that patience because I know you're lying." "And how many times do I have to tell you?" "These markings are mine." "A message from my father." "With those, I'll bring him back." "As long as you honor our deal, I'm here." "Maybe the deal was premature." "Maybe sparing Claire, Vega, your unborn baby was too much to offer." "If you ever threaten them again, you can find someone else to help you with your daddy issues." "Finally, some life in the boy yet." "Alex, don't tell him." "Find Uriel." "She should see this." "Maybe it means your dad is happy right where he is." "I can't read them." "But if you so much as look at Vega, you'll never get a thing from me." "Well, that's a shame." "Pin her wings." "No!" "Let go of me!" "Hey, come on!" "Noma!" "I'm done waiting, Alex." "You did it, Claire." "25 years ago, God disappeared." "The archangel Gabriel decided he must destroy mankind to bring God back." "But the archangel Michael stood against his brother and fought on the side of humanity." "The war continues." "Some higher angels supported Michael, but the entire lower rank of angels joined Gabriel." "And they couldn't visit Earth without a body, so they stole ours." "Because of their black eyes we call them eight-balls." "Then came whispers of a chosen child." " I'm no savior." " You are." "It's up to you to decipher the tattoos." "They will lay out the path through which mankind can be redeemed and Gabriel and his legions pushed back." "The survivors built strongholds, each with their own new social order." "We created the V-system so that everyone had a job to do." "But they have no way out." "Come with me, Alex." "Together, we'll bring Father back." "I am now the Lady of the City." "Alex, the Chosen One, has disappeared." "And our archangel protector, Michael, turned against mankind and abandoned Vega." "You bombed Gabriel's aerie." "Yes." "Morning, David." " It was my call." " And?" "We're waiting on a visual confirmation from Arika's plane, but we believe it was a direct hit." "As Consul, I should have been notified." "With Michael gone, we're a city without an archangel." "That leaves us vulnerable to attack." "So when the intel said that Gabriel was in the aerie," "I took the shot." "It's that simple." "It's never that simple." "Something your father understood." "Let me explain." "If, for any reason," "Gabriel was not killed, you just hit the hornet's nest, honey." "We'll all pay for it." "Let me explain something to you." "My father isn't here." "I am." "So back to running commerce, David." "It's what you're good at when you're not interfering with my plans for the city." "Oh, like your plans to give away three floors of the Wynn to the V-1s?" "Genius." "We need to take care of all the people within this city." "Not just the upper Vs like you and your cronies." "Your father hated me too, but he knew I was a necessary evil." "He had the military." "I run the city." "Two halves of a whole." "You need me too, Claire." "You just don't know it yet." "Yeah?" "Enlighten me." "Well, if you'd enlightened me about the bombing," "I would have told you I had men watching the aerie." "I would have told you that Alex Lannon was in there with Gabriel." "When you bombed Gabriel, you killed Alex." "Sorry to be the one to tell you, Claire." "I know." "You said it yourself, David." "I have the military." "All intel comes to me." "I'm the daughter of General Riesen." "The army is still loyal to me." "Not you." "I do this to give you what I never had." "A normal life." "A family." "Happiness." "Things in short supply." "I love you more than you'll ever know." "Nomes, you're going to be all right." "Just lie still." "Alex, no!" "No!" " No!" " We gotta go!" "That bomb changes everything." "We should head straight for Vega." "No, I'm not leading Gabriel back to Claire." "New Delphi's half the distance." "We'll go there." "New Delphi?" "Michael told me to stay away." "That's why we're going." "If Michael's nervous about New Delphi, there's a reason." " They have an army." " Uh-huh." "One I can help join Vega against Gabriel." "Oh, you're just gonna march in there and demand an army?" "Who's going to listen to you?" "Oh, I'll make them listen." "There she is." "This is a bad plan." "Michael..." "I don't give a damn about Michael." "Alex, he watched over you your whole life." "Why are you acting like this?" "I'll use my wings to call him." "We need him." "Don't." "Hey, don't." "Look, I don't know why these markings were given to me or what they mean." "But I can't wait for them to reveal a master plan because, by then, everyone I care about will be dead." "But Gabriel made me realize I have something everybody wants." "Maybe the people in New Delphi want it too." "You can't find the keys, can you?" "Yeah, I can find them." "I hide them." "But I can use that." "I can use the fact that I'm the Chosen One to get an army." "Claire and Vega need my help, and I'm going to get it for them." "Listen, Michael warned you about New Delphi." "I don't know what that means, so I can't ask you to do this with me." "Not a chance in hell I'm not going with you, so don't even start." "Mm." "I bet it won't start." "Give me some." "Michael." "Michael." "Michael, what have you done?" "_" "_" "_" "It's the damn radiator." "I can rig it." "We just need to find some tape in that school." "_" "Let's get what we came here for and get out of here." "Come get it, get it!" "Got it, got it." "Come on!" "No!" "Stranger!" "Mommy, it's a stranger!" "Hey, come on." "Grab your weapon." "Go on." "It's okay." "Stay back." "What is this place?" "We'll talk." "Your weapons." "I had no idea Claire was pregnant." "How could you?" "I don't know." "Must have been hard to leave them." "This will do." "Let's get out of here." "Vega Control, this is Helena One." "We have a visual." "It's confirmed." "Target has been destroyed." "Well..." "I'm impressed, Claire." "What can I say?" "Hold." "Movement on the ground." "Did you see that?" "What?" "Vega Control, we are under attack!" "Get out!" "Go fix the truck." " I'm not leaving you." " Alex, no." "I got this." "Alex!" "Come on, come on." "Get in." "You okay?" "Yeah, yeah, let's go." "_" "Why else do you dig a hole in a mountain and hide?" "Because it makes you hard to kill." "Of course angels got out." "Yes, but did Gabriel?" "Oh, you mean the archangel Gabriel?" "My money's on yes." "You don't know that, David." "Shut it!" "We are here because of your psychosis." "And you will be held responsible." "I accept that." "You silly little girl." "You have absolutely no idea what you've done, do you?" "If we ever survive whatever hell you've unleashed," "I will make damn sure we never suffer any more of your mistakes." "Put the wall on alert and make sure we're watching the desert for any signs of attack." "Yes, Lady Riesen." "What's your name?" "Michael." "Where are you from?" "Up north." "Well, Michael, you're making the men with guns nervous." "Please, sit." "How does this town exist?" "What do you mean?" "There are no defenses, untrained sentries exposed at either end of town, a meager security force." "Even with your weapons, the fact that you've survived out here alone all these years is impossible." "Hey." "We're asking the questions." "Our Father protects us." "As long as the fire burns, He keeps us safe." "The rest of the world may believe He's gone, but in Mallory, Alabama, God's very much alive." "Everyone take it easy." "I haven't seen a church like that in a very long time." "We don't know anything about him." "Remember your duty." "We don't have time for this." "But he's from the outside world." "Something we know so little about." "What if he's a sign that we should know more?" "He's an omen and a bad one." "He's a man without weapons in God's house." "What harm is there in that?" "Ugh." "We're gonna have to hike the rest of the way." "_" "Alex, get out of the way." "Alex!" "Sanctify this vessel." "_" "_" "Sanctify this vessel." "What the hell you just do?" "I don't know." "It was an eviction, but that felt different." "An eviction?" "This marking... felt like it made the eviction stronger." "Okay, how... how... how did you learn to do evictions?" " Yeah." "Okay." " Sorry." "From the Book of Apocrypha." "I didn't think it was possible." "Well, it isn't." "At least it doesn't always work." "Best case, I can drive the angel possession out, but the human body always dies." "He's dead, all right." "In a world of eight-balls, you just became the most dangerous man alive." "You don't hear our Father's voice, do you?" "No." "Mallory was founded by people of many religious beliefs." "All spiritual refugees who felt their flawed faith had driven our Father away." "So it was decided we needed a new faith, a new way to communicate with Him." "And ours was created:" "one of singing, service, and sacrifice." "That's when He first spoke to us." "These serve as reminders of what was." "What do you know about that statue?" "That?" "That's the Chosen One." "Story goes that before he disappeared, our Father planted a single seed of hope, a baby in a world ravaged by war." "A world where angels would attempt to exterminate man." "That baby was the last pure heart." "He would grow into a man and be tested." "If he could overcome those tests, he would become the healer of angels and mankind." "And if he couldn't, he would become their destroyer." "As he is judged, so shall all others." "I've never heard it told quite like that before." "You've heard the story?" "Oh, yeah." "Where did you learn about it?" "Our Father." "You say He left." "How is He still here?" "One of the great mysteries." "How far are we willing to go to survive?" "I just killed Alex to save a city of strangers." "A city that protects most of what's left of the human race." "You made the right call." "None of us will ever be safe until all the angels are dead." "Emotions can be dangerous, Claire." "So can David Whele." "Don't underestimate him." "David's a snake, but he likes his own comfort too much." "He's not going to do anything to jeopardize that." "The Lady of the City decides to give a few floors of the Wynn to the V-1s." "Then what?" "MGM?" "Circus Circus?" "Bally's?" "Everything we have worked for is going to go away if that little bitch and her harpy from Helena have their way." "We'll all end up hanging by our entrails from the Stratosphere or certainly under Gabriel's heel because of their incompetence." "She must be removed." "But first things first." "Are we all in agreement that information is our most important resource?" "Hmm?" "Agreed?" "Good." "Colonel Drewson shared intelligence about Gabriel's aerie with Claire before he shared it with me." "There's word out there that Gabriel's aerie was bombed." "Is that true?" "Rumor, nothing more." "Now I would like you to make sure that, uh, those floors of the Wynn are uninhabitable." "Consider it done." "Great." "Have a good evening." "Oh, Father." "One example takes the place of a thousand truths." "Colonel Drewson was loyal to you." "Not loyal enough." "Claire is stronger than I thought, and bombing Gabriel will make her stronger still if the archangel died in the blast." "The time is now." "She must be discredited." "Once the military have turned against her," "I will be the clear successor." "Careful what you wish for, Daddy." "It might bite you in the ass." " What the hell?" " Hey." "People." "Yeah." " Hey, get down!" " Hey, get down!" "Get down!" " Okay, okay." " Turn around." "Okay, okay." "Oh, ow." "Let me see your eyes." "He's alive." "Of course I'm alive." "That's never happened before." "He could still change back." "Change back?" "What are you talking about, lady?" "Hey, hey, listen." "Listen." "25 years ago, there was a war." "Angels possessed humans, turned them into monsters that we call eight-balls." "Up until a couple of hours ago, you were one of them." "Eight-balls?" "Kid, what's your name?" "Uh, Pete." "Pete." " Where are you from?" " Missouri." "Pete, what's the last thing you remember?" "I w..." "I was having a burger after a hell of a day at work on the batteries." "My... my boss was being a dick." "What are you talking about?" "After a burger, you were possessed." "No, no, God, no." "I just..." "I woke up on the road, and I saw you guys." "You don't recall him evicting the angel from you?" "I'm human, like you." "If we leave now, we can make Delphi by sunset, but we have to go now." "You can't leave me out here alone." "If what you say is true, this is your fault." " My fault?" " Yeah." "An hour ago, at least I was an eight-ball or whatever you call it." "If you leave me out here unarmed, no supplies," "I won't make it." "You said it yourself." "It's a game changer." "It's the first time this has happened." "We have to learn more." "What, I'm an experiment now?" "No." "You're lucky." "And you're important." "Come on." "How bad?" "Bad." "Many of our brothers and sisters were killed." "Our force is down 30%." "My sister?" "Can't find Uriel's body." "The archangel was last seen in the lower tunnels." "And Alex?" "He escaped with Noma." "Go to Vega." "Assess it for weaknesses." "The time has come to burn this city to the ground." "What about Alex?" "Alex can't read the markings." "He's proven himself worthless to me." "All I need is his skin." "Where'd you get these?" "They were a gift." "From who?" "My brother." "Well, you ought to take better care of them." "They got blood on them." "What'd you kill?" "Everything." "There is something off about you." "Your weird clothes." "Your manner." "Ah." "Your eyes." "Cold." "I don't like it, and I don't like you." "And what the hell are you doing wandering around out there without any guns, just... just these swords?" "You're either stupid, or you're psychotic." "And either one is not good for us." "There is a storm coming, and I want you to leave now." "You should be careful with those." "There's a big storm coming." "Get to the shelter." "Got to keep the fire going." "Come on, let's go!" "Come on." "Come on, let's go." "The fire is going out!" "Let's get to the shelter." "Come on." "Get the kids and get to the shelter." "_" "There's a fire at the Wynn." "Over a dozen people have been hurt, and two kids are critical." "The floors I gave to the V-1s have been burned." "I don't think that's a coincidence." "Of course it's not a coincidence." "It never is." "My father worked with David Whele for years, and in just three months, I am being suffocated by him." "How am I supposed to change this city when he undermines or destroys everything I try and do?" "Claire, I've spent enough time with you to know that I don't need to answer that question for you." "No, you're right." "You don't." "How would you do it?" "There might be a way, but it's a risk." "It could ruin you both." "We'll need one of the possessed." "Come on, guys." "The rain's putting the fire out." "More wood!" "_" "_" "_" "Come on." "The possessed are coming!" "_" "The fire is out, and the possessed are coming." "Either stand with us or get out of the way." "Mommy, I'm scared." "It's okay." "God's gonna protect us." "Father." "Are you here?" "Keep your eyes open." "We're getting close to New Delphi." "That's a higher angel, Alex." "We're hard to kill." "Run!" "I guess "uninhabitable" means "burn them alive"" "in Whele world." "Another bad decision." "Acceptable losses." ""Weak men wait for opportunities." "Strong men make them."" "You know who said that?" "Weak men leave their son in the desert, lacking the guts to pull the trigger themselves." "Please don't ruin my evening, William." "Oh, I'm sorry, Father." "Did I upset you?" "Let me try again." "Thank you, Father, for leaving me with six bullets and two days worth of food in the middle of nowhere." "Why don't you shut your goddamn mouth and toast with me?" "You're right." "A toast." "To cowards whom we all know die many times before their actual death." "You know, it's unfortunate that even now you still fail to see why I am uncompromising in my pursuit of Vega." "Today was a good day, William, whether you like it or not." "So cheers."