The men opened the bunker hatch and found the angel waiting for them, hovering just above the ground.
They fell to their knees in their frayed suits, heedless of the radiation. It had all been worth it: The planning, the campaigning, the war. Now the Kingdom of Heaven would arise.
The angel looked down, lip curling in disgust as they gathered the souls of the innocent dead from the bombed-out city. This took a long time.
“This is the message,” the angel said. “We are leaving.”
They rose into the sky and left the men in the world they’d created.

“Lonely Angel” by bogenfreund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2026 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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