“Okay, look,” said Alex. “I know it’s not easy to watch this, but they’re already feeding – we can’t save these people. The best we can do is wait for a clear shot.”

“But we gotta shoot now!” Sam’s voice rose. Trish glanced at him worriedly. “We can’t just let them—”

“Lower your voice,” said Alex, his own voice a knife that cut Sam’s protestations short. “Look at how they’re standing; their halos are too close to those people’s heads. We could blow someone’s brains out.”

“Yeah, well maybe that’s not such a bad thing! They’ve got angel burn now; what good is—”

Alex swore as one of the angels looked up. For a brief, burning second its eyes met his – and he knew that it knew. He tore his gaze away and reached for his gun. “Well, you’ve got your wish now; they’ve seen us. Nice going, hotshot. Stay in position, both of you – shoot when you can, and don’t look into their eyes—”

There was no time for further instructions; the angels were jetting towards them in a frenzy of light. One banked and soared high, ready to dive; Alex ignored it for now and went for the angel in front. The sun dazzled off its halo, momentarily blinding him, then it flashed back into view and he fired. As the creature exploded into fragments, he felt the familiar rush of energy from angel fallout howl past.

Panicked shooting was going on beside him; a hasty scrambling in the grass. “Whoa!” shouted Sam, flipping onto his side as one of the creatures dove – its female face fierce and beautiful, long fingers straining towards Sam’s life force. Alex rolled onto his back and sat up in a single motion, tracking the angel as it wheeled on one wing, ready to return.

Beside him he heard Trish’s gun go off, saw a bright explosion out of the corner of his eye. Yes! Good one! he thought as he fired. The female angel darted sideways, its wings cutting against the sky. Alex fired once more and got it this time – and as he twisted to track the fourth and last angel, Sam’s gun went off again.

Silence. Light, falling towards the ground.

“We...we did it,” said Trish, sounding stunned. “We really did it!”

Alex turned to Sam, giving him a long, level look. The Texan’s gaze faltered; his face turned red as he put his gun away. “Don’t you ever do that again,” said Alex in a low voice. “If any of us had died, it would have been because you’d drawn their attention to us.”

Sam swallowed. “Yeah, but—”