I feared the day would come when I looked in the mirror and I didn't recognize the person staring back at me. Today was not that day. At least not for me.

It was the first day of the Tenth year and I was going through my morning routine of washing my face and brushing my teeth in the girls' bathroom when my best friend Zoe walked in obviously sporting a hangover from last night's drinking games. The drinking wasn't really that bad, not for me at least. I had started tasting alcohol since I was fourteen and after five years of consuming it in small and sometimes larger doses, I had built up a stomach for it. Now, at just nineteen, there was no other girl or guy my age who could challenge me on a drinking game. Zoe on the other had never tried the damned thing, and was now suffering from the sudden overdose.

"Morning," I mumbled the word with my toothbrush still in my mouth.

A low grunt was all the answer I got. Zoe took a few unstable steps ahead, rubbing her eyes to shake the sleep away. She dragged her feet to one of the toilet stalls, and closed the door behind her.

I turned back to face my own reflection, glad to see that my eyes were still green. Every day for the last nine years it was the first thing I did each morning. My dad used to say that maybe not everyone would turn, maybe the angels were wrong. He was one of the few people who turned in the first week.

Five days after the Curse, my dad walked inside my bedroom, tears in his eyes. The same eyes we used to share, as bright as fresh grass in spring, had changed. They were completely white. I knew what that meant. He would change into one of them. He would become one of the white angels and join their forces.

A couple of days later a bright white angel showed up in our front yard. I knew his face from TV. He was the representative of the white angels, their spokesman of sorts, and he was there to take my dad away. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't. Even though I was only ten, I attacked the white angel with all my ferocity. Thinking back, I believe the angel was too surprised to register what I was doing, that's probably the only reason why I managed to nick his pretty face with my nails. However, that didn't make any difference. My mother stopped me before attacking again and the white angel took my father away from me forever. For a whole day I stood there, in the middle of our front yard staring up the sky, at the spot where my dad disappeared. When it finally started raining I decided it was time to let go.

The next few months were the worst ones of my life. After my dad turned, my mother lost any connection she had to reality. She started reading the Bible over and over again. Every night she would come into my room and read to me, telling me that this was God's plan for humanity all along. To help his white angels in their war against the evil black ones, the Fallen ones as people started calling them. She told me that my father was one of the privileged ones to join forces with them sooner than the rest of us, and that we would follow him in the next years. Join the white angels and destroy all evil, that was her new goal. Truthfully, what she said didn't sound so crazy. More and more people began thinking the same way, but for both sides. Even before their eyes changed, some humans decided to join forces with either side of the angels, for their own reasons. My mother wanted us both to become white angels, but I couldn't get the face of the angel that took my dad away out of my mind. I hated him.

As life would have it, not everything we wish for comes true. Five months after my dad was taken away, my mother's eyes changed color too. And even though she was looking forward for that day, the irony was that when her time came to join the angels, the side that the Curse placed her at was not the one she was hoping for. Her eyes turned black. That same day, an angel with black wings showed up at our front yard. I knew him, too. He was the representative of the dark side.

My mother was on her knees, crying and begging him to let her be. After all she was on the white angels' side; she would never fight for them. That's what she said but I knew she had no choice. I heard on TV that after the eyes changed, the mind and body started changing as well, making humans into the perfect angel soldiers. That was back when we even had TV to inform us about those things.

My mother's pleas didn't even faze the Fallen angel. "Time to change sides, sweetheart," he said and grabbed her arm to lift her up.

I didn't know if it was because of his words, or because he sounded so bored, or even because of the whole irony of the situation but I started laughing. It was like all the laughs I'd kept inside after my dad left had found their way to the surface. I couldn't stop myself. I just laughed my heart out.

Both my mother and the angel stared at me in shock. I started breathing hard until my lungs hurt, but I didn't stop. Not when I caught a glimpse of my mother's face staring back at me with tears in her eyes, or when I saw a wicked smile on the angel's lips, not even when both of them took flight and disappeared in the night sky. I stood there laughing for hours.

A gagging sound from the toilet stall where Zoe was, brought me back from my trip down memory lane. "Are you alive in there?" I asked after I washed my mouth with some cold water.

More gagging.

I couldn't help the smile that founds its way on my face. "Do you need any help?" I picked up my things and placed them on top of my towel.

"Nope," I could barely here the answer in between spitting and puking.

"Alright. I'll be down at the dining hall. Come find me when you are done here." I picked up my towel with all my stuff on top of it and made my way out the bathroom. Walking down the long corridor with the steel walls, I couldn't help but wonder what the weather was like in the outside world.

After I lost both my parents I realized that I was completely alone. So, when Zoe's mom, my next door neighbor, offered to take me in, I decided to join their two member family. After the end of the First year, rumors about a human army building up to find a cure against the Curse reached us. Having watched both my parents being taken away from me and Zoe's mom fear for her own family was enough to make us look for this army.

A month after we picked up and left our suburban homes behind, we found a few of the army's members who led us to the headquarters. But, once again, the Curse proved to be truly unpredictable. One day after we reached the headquarters, a steel underground haven that we called our new home, Zoe's mom's eyes changed to black. As the rules would have it in the headquarters, when someone's eyes changed they would be driven a few miles away to an open field and wait there for the angels to pick them up. That was mostly in order to protect the location of the headquarters but also to keep the drama inside our underground home to a minimum. One person could follow their loved us and wait with them for the angels to arrive. It could take from a few hours to even a few days, but once the person, whose eyes had changed, settled in one place the angels would always find them.

I was the one to go with Zoe's mom. She didn't want her daughter to have to go through with it. As she explained to me, having Zoe there would be really hard for both of them. So, they told their goodbyes in the headquarters and we left for the field. A young soldier drove us there and waited with us. It took the angel thirteen days to do show up. All that time, Zoe's mom kept telling me to look out for her daughter. Take care of Zoe. Those words were burned into my mind during those thirteen days.

When the angel arrived I wasn't surprise to see the same Fallen one that had come for my mother. The soldier and I left Zoe's mom alone and walked back to the truck while the angel landed in front of her. I didn't want to look back. I had kept a tough front all those days, never shedding a tear, but I couldn't leave without seeing the face of Zoe's mom one last time, the face of the woman who saved me.

I stopped walking away and turned to face the angel and the woman he was about to take away. Before I could stop it, a tear trailed down my face. The Fallen caught sight of me and he let go of Zoe's mom's hand as he made his way toward me. The soldier that had accompanied us put himself in front of me in order to protect me, but with a twist of his black wings, the angel pushed him against the truck hard. The poor soldier was left unconscious and I had no one to stand between me and the monster coming closer to me.

The black angel raised his hand and I closed my eyes terrified of what was about to happen to me. But instead of pain, I felt a warm finger brush against my cheek, where the trace of my tear was. I opened my eyes in shock and found the angel smiling down at me. The same wicked smile he had given me months ago.

"Don't cry," he said as he brushed his thumb against his lips, tasting my tear with the tip of his tongue. His smile grew bigger and his eyes shone with an unearthly insanity that made my heart heavy. "You are the girl that laughed."

His words shook me, like an electric current running through my body. I felt the need to defend myself, but I didn't know what to say. Instead I stood there losing myself, for a brief moment, in the depths of his black eyes. At that moment, I let myself smile.

"That's a good girl," he said as he turned to walk away. He neared Zoe's mom and took her hand once again. He flipped his wings hard and both of them hovered a few feet from the ground.

"I hate you!" I couldn't stop the words coming out of my mouth. I didn't think before I yelled them out, otherwise I might have been too afraid to do so. But standing there, watching the woman who saved me fly away to become a monster, I felt like I had nothing more to lose. For the first time ever since the Curse, I felt strong.

A smile reached the tips of his lips. "Good!" he yelled back as he took flight, never to be seen again.

I heard the drops of my blood hitting the steel floor before I felt the sharp pain in my palm. Just thinking about that day filled me with rage. I opened my clenched fist and saw the bright red blood tracks on my skin, created by my fingernails. I let go of a heavy breath and raised my head in determination. Walking down the headquarters' corridor that was part my new home, I knew that there was still hope. As long as there were people to fight for our purpose, we still had hope. Humanity could still survive this. The people I thought of as my new family could still survive this.

I could survive.

A scream echoed on the steel walls and I felt the blood on my veins freeze. Zoe. I drop my things and started running back to the girls' bathroom. It took me only a few seconds to reach it, but there were already people blocking my way to the door.

"Move!" I screamed as I struggled to make my way through their bodies.  "Zoe!" I screamed her name but there was no answer. Finally, I managed to reach the door and saw my best friend sitting on the furthest wall, her arms tightly wrapped around her body and her knees close to her chest. She had her head down and I could hear the sound of her sobs as they made their way out her lips.

I carefully walked closer and kneeled in front of her. "What's wrong, sweetie?" I asked as her mother's words echoed in my mind. Take care of Zoe. I pushed her thick brown curls away from her face and lifted her head to face me. She had her eyes shut and I knew that could only mean one thing.

"I am so sorry," she said between sobs.

I shook my head, biting my lower lip to keep the tears away. "You have nothing to be sorry about." I grabbed her shoulders gently. "You hear me? This is not your fault." I, somehow, managed to keep my voice steady, but I could hear a screaming pain roaring in my brain.

I heard the people behind me lining up to see what was about to unfold. Even though they've seen it so many times, people were always eager to witness the Change, as we called it.

"Look at me," I told Zoe. She shook her head without opening her eyes.

"I bet she is a Fallen one," I heard a girl whisper from behind me. 

"No way, she is the queen of purity, if you know what I mean," another girl commented. That brought a few giggles and snorts to the rest of them. I was about to yell back at them. How dared they be so insensible at a time like this, but someone else beat me to it.

"Shut up, you morons!" Silence followed. I would recognize that strong voice anywhere and I was glad that he was here at a time like this.

I brought my attention back to Zoe. "Sweetie, open your eyes." She refused to. "Please." I could hear my voice breaking, the emotion too much to hold inside. "Zoe, please. Just open your eyes."

When she finally did, I wasn't surprised to stare at unfamiliar eyes. Even though I was terrified, I forced my shelf to smile for her sake. She needed me to be strong. "White," I declared with a clear voice for everyone to hear.

I didn't move before the noises behind me started fading away. People lost their interest as fast as it was piqued. Pathetic. At times like this, I couldn't help but wonder if humanity was worth saving after all. But looking down at the pained expression on Zoe's face, I knew the answer. I might have hated those people from time to time for their actions, but I hated the angels more. Shit! I even hated God for what he brought upon us.

I helped Zoe get back on her feet. I noticed how she made sure to keep from staring at the mirror. Probably she couldn't bear to see her own reflection. I held her hands inside mine and kept my smile intact to give her strength with what was about to follow.

"I will sign her up with tonight's team."

I turned and faced the guy standing behind me. Many years had gone by, but he still looked exactly the same. Six feet and six inches tall with broad shoulders, very short, light brown hair and serious blue eyes, that were now staring thoughtfully at me. The soldier that had once stepped in front of me to protect me from a Fallen angel, was now waiting to see how I would react to this new twist in my life.

I simply nodded.

He turned to leave but my words made him pause. "Stefan," I said his name. "Thanks for making those guys shut up." He didn't turn but I was sure he was smiling, even from just watching his back.

"No problem," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand over his shoulder as he walked away to report my newly changed friend.

I stared back at Zoe's white eyes. "Reegan, I am scared," she said and I could feel her hands shaking inside mine.

"It's going to be okay," I lied even though I knew that there was only one path for her to follow and it wasn't pretty. My smile didn't quiver as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and walked her toward our shared room. "Let's get you ready for tonight." It was only morning but I couldn't think of anything else.

A truck filled with people that had gone through the Change this morning would be out of headquarters at sunset, driving them away, to drop them on the field. The same field where I watched Zoe's mom been taken away. Where I promised her that I would take care of her daughter.

 I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do to help Zoe now, it was her time and soon it would be everyone's time. This was humanity's last year unless we found a way to beat the angels.

This was the Tenth year.