Chapter Two
My legs had never run so fast. I glanced behind me as the whistle from the guards sounded. They had caught me. I had only wanted to have a quick look at what the compound was like. Sneaking in had been easy. Staying hidden, hadn’t.
‘Stop there!’
The guard came to a skid in front of me. I darted to the right of him but he reached out and snagged my tatty shirt.
‘I said, stop!’ he barked.
The flight was over. There was no point in trying to resist the inevitable. I had been caught.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered.
He was shorter than me but twice as broad. He wore a guard’s hat and a blue uniform. ‘What are you doing?’
I had only been human for twenty-four hours. So far, I had slept rough and not eaten a thing. Although, I had managed to find some fresh water. However, I hadn’t banked on getting caught so quickly when I had decided to investigate the compound.
‘I’m hungry. I was looking for food.’ The lie on my tongue felt wrong. I had seen humans lie to each other for centuries. Now I knew why they did it.
‘Are you an Avoidable?’ he asked, marching me towards one of the buildings.
I let him drag me. Maybe being captured would actually help me in the long run.
‘No. I’m a Perfect. I’ve fallen on hard times, that’s all.’
The guard opened a door with a card key and shuffled me inside. He led me into a clean and tidy office. The desk held paperwork that was stacked in neat piles.
‘What’s your name?’
Sitting me in a chair in front of his desk, he went around to the other side. He switched on the laptop that sat on top of the wooden desk.
‘William Davis,’ I replied, looking him directly in the eye.
I needed the man to trust me. He clicked a few things on the mouse and typed in, what I assumed, was my name.
‘Okay. You’re in our Perfect database. Your record is clean. How did you find yourself in trouble?’
A small spark ignited in my chest. The guard was being friendly. I had heard and seen such awful things from above, I had expected them to be evil all of the time.
‘Marriage breakup.’
He bent forward and scrutinised the screen again.
‘I’m sorry to hear that. Your wife, Suzie, looks very…’
I frowned. He had a picture of my fake wife? Were the powers above helping me with my deception?
‘She’s gorgeous but you know how it is…’
He nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. I could see why he was a Perfect. His eyes were wrinkled at the sides but he was ruggedly handsome.
‘I’m John. I would say that you could stay here but I’m not sure you would be allowed.’ John rubbed the back of his neck.
‘It’s okay. I’ll find somewhere,’ I replied, going to stand up.
‘Wait. I’ll get killed for this but you’re welcome to come and stay with my family for a while. Until you get back on your feet. I can’t let a Perfect become homeless. Your record is clean. You seem like a decent person.’
I sat back down, frozen to my seat. The Perfect had offered kindness unlike any I had seen before I came to Earth.
‘That’s incredibly kind of you. I would like to take you up on the offer. Maybe I could even get a job here.’
He shook his head as he rose to a stand. ‘Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, William,’ he replied, coming around the desk and offering his hand.
I took it, shaking it in a firm grip. I had seen the tradition of shaking hands many times when I had watched the humans.
‘Let’s get you home,’ he said, patting my back as he led me out of the government compound.
‘John! Who’s that?’ someone called as we walked to the guard’s car.
We both turned to face a tall woman with short blonde hair. Her trouser suit told me that she was important.
‘This is William. He’s down on his luck so he’s coming to stay with us,’ John replied.
He almost cringed when the woman came to us. She scrutinised me as she looked up at my face. I made eye contact with her, swallowing as I caught the hunger in her gaze. She searched my face, then my body.
‘He’s not an Avoidable?’ she said, turning to the man beside me.
‘No, Catherine, he’s not.’
A flash of disappointment passed over her face before she cleared it. Her back went stiff as she put a hand on John’s arm. The pair were familiar with each other, which baffled me. They were nothing alike. He was a kinder man with morals, she was-
‘Don’t overstay your welcome, will you?’ She turned on her heel and stormed back into the compound.
‘That’s my wife. Ignore her,’ John said, opening the car door and gesturing for me to get in the passenger side.
‘She seems…’ My words trailed off. I didn’t want to offend the man.
‘Like a ballbreaker? She is. She has to be. She’s one of the top government officials. Don’t ask me how she ended up with me.’
He laughed as he started the engine and drove me through the streets of Upper Side.
‘Do you love her?’
The whole concept of human love was pretty foreign in the part of the city we drove through. The Avoidables were more open to love but even they struggled after years of no example. The world was a place where it was hard to find love. I was determined to change that.
‘I must admit, I’ve never seen you. Have you recently moved to the city?’ John asked.
My intuition alarm went off. Was there something more on my record that I didn’t know about? Was John going to interrogate me at his house, instead of offering the hospitality that I was so shocked to receive?
I placed my fingers on the handle of the door. Just in case I needed to make an escape. My trip to the planet had not gone quite as planned so far.
‘No, I’ve been here my whole life.’
I tried to remember what I had been told before I came down to Earth. Be confident was one bit of advice that was given to me by one of the older angels.
‘I have a son,’ John said, veering away from the subject. He frowned, as if he was as surprised in the change of conversation as I was.
‘That’s great. What’s his name?’
I glanced down at my black trousers. They were smart enough but wrinkled where I had slept in them the night before. The ground had been hard and unyielding. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Sleep was a time that I could go back to visit with the other angels but something made me stay in my body. I wanted to have the full human experience.
‘Jason. He’s nineteen. A good boy, even if a little lazy.’ John smiled as he spoke of the young man.
My internal antenna switched on. Jason? The name triggered something deep within me. I tried to pull back the memory but it was fuzzy. The ascent to Earth had made me lose some of my memories.
‘He sounds like a typical teenager,’ I replied as John glanced in the rear-view mirror.
I took the opportunity to study my surroundings. Attractive people walked around the concrete streets of Upper Side. There were office blocks dedicated to the workers of the city. Beauty salons were on every single road. The Perfects took pride in their appearance. It was a shame that the pride didn’t stretch into any other part of their lives.
‘How dare you do that!’ someone screamed at John as he drove past.
I shook my head as I looked in the wing mirror of the car. A woman shook her fist as she ran after us.
‘What’s she doing?’ I asked.
John stopped the car. ‘She’s showing signs of aggression. For no reason. I wonder if she’s sound of mind.’
He climbed out. I stayed in my seat at first but quickly decided that I needed to see what was going to happen. Why would a woman randomly shout at a guard?
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ the woman cried when John got out his gun and aimed it at her.
I hovered by the car, watching the scene unfold in
front of me.
‘You need to calm down,’ John called as he approached her.
The woman ran a hand through her hair. It was messy and unwashed. I hadn’t seen one person as scruffy as her. I glanced down at my own clothes and swallowed. Except me.
‘Get away from me!’ the woman shouted.
I could tell she was a Perfect. She held a branded bag with new clothes in. Her own clothes were messy and stained with everyday dirt.
Other Perfects started to gather. One of them eyed me suspiciously. I stood tall and held my head high. They quickly looked away when they saw that I acted like them.
‘I’m going to need some backup,’ John said into a radio that was attached to his uniform.
The radio crackled an affirmative. The woman’s gaze darted everywhere. Her wide eyes collided with mine. She froze, letting her bag drop to the ground. Our gaze stayed locked as John got closer to her. Her mind whirled behind her eyes. Something wasn’t quite right with her but I didn’t know what it was.
‘I’m a Perfect,’ she whimpered as John edged next to her.
‘Not anymore,’ John said, snapping a pair of handcuffs over her wrist.
She started to struggle. Her arms flung in the air. She opened her mouth and screamed. I stood rooted to the spot. I couldn’t move as John picked her up and threw her to the ground. Her grunt made me cringe as her body came into contact with the hard floor. Why did he have to be so rough? She was only a small woman. There was no way she could do him any harm.
‘I’m afraid we have a mentally unstable Perfect. She’s too far gone for help. I’ve determined that she is now an Avoidable. I will escort her to Lower Side.’
My hand clenched the door of the guard’s car as John hauled the now sobbing woman to her feet and dragged her over.
‘Sorry you had to see that, William. It’s not very often we have someone turn anymore.’
John shoved her into the back of the car, locking the door as soon as it was shut. I hopped in when he got in his side and started the engine.
I glanced back at the woman. She hunched over as tears ran down her pale cheeks.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked.
John put a meaty hand on my arm. ‘You shouldn’t really speak to her. It’s forbidden to socialise with Avoidables.’
I shook him off as she lifted her head.
‘She was a Perfect until a minute ago.’
He nodded once as he spun the car and headed in a different direction.
‘Do I look okay to you?’ the woman squeaked.
Even a Perfect that had been downgraded to an Avoidable hadn’t lost her sharp tongue. I had been spoken to like a piece of dirt by every Perfect I had come across in the last twenty-four hours. Except for John. Which was the only reason I was still in the car.
‘When we get to Lower Side, you will be handed over to the Enforcer. He will help you to get set up down there.’
Her cries grew louder. ‘No. Please let me at least say goodbye to my parents. I…who do you think you are!’ she screamed, reaching forward and trying to wrap her bound arms around John’s throat.
I put my hand on the arm nearest me. She instantly calmed and fell back against the seat. Lifting her legs under her, she curled up into a ball.
‘It’s a good job I have William here, woman. I would’ve probably killed you otherwise.’
John’s words sent a bolt of heat throughout my body. It was the first time I had experienced anger in human form. I clenched my hands into fists and kept them at my side. I couldn’t lose it. I had to keep my cool.
‘Can you not send her to hospital?’ I asked him.
The laugh that bubbled from his chest made me bite the inside of my cheek.
‘And waste valuable resources? We don’t have enough as it is. She’s gone mad. She’s an Avoidable now. At least she had some of her life on this side.’
‘Do you really believe that?’ Questioning him was dangerous. I couldn’t make him suspicious. Especially not so early on.
‘Don’t you?’ His eyes narrowed on me as we approached a bridge.
I glanced at him sideways as I smiled. ‘Of course. I’ve just never experienced it, that’s all.’
He nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. The concrete bridge loomed ahead. A small whimper in the back of the car made me look around. Her big eyes stared straight ahead as we crossed into Lower Side.
‘Here we are,’ John announced, stopping the car at the end of the bridge.
He got out so I followed him. I wanted to get a glimpse of what the Lower Side was like in human form. The dismal scene that met me made my chest pound for the woman that was now being dragged out of the car.
‘Artie is on his way, sir,’ someone said through the radio on John’s buckle.
The buildings on this side of the city were mainly concrete too. They were run down. Holes showed the disrepair. There were many metal buildings in between the concrete jungle. The sun bounced off them, causing a glare to sting my eyes. The roads were dirt tracks. Litter was spread over the ground.
‘What’s going on here, then?’ someone called. A tall muscly man with a long dark blond braid approached.
‘Step back!’ John shouted, holding his gun in the air.
The man stopped in the middle of the entrance to the bridge. His voice had caught my attention. It was deeper than any man’s I had ever heard.
‘A new piece of…fun…’ the man drawled.
The woman shrunk under the scrutiny of the man’s piercing grey blue eyes. He radiated something about him that I hadn’t seen in the Perfects. It fascinated me. My feet started to move of their own accord.
‘William, I wouldn’t…’ John said.
I couldn’t stop. The Avoidable stood his ground. His legs were set apart. He wore a leather black outfit that hugged his huge frame. I had never seen such a hulking man before.
‘What do you want, Perfect?’ his deep voice demanded.
I stilled in my walking. His back became straighter and his head rose higher. I was nowhere near his height but I wouldn’t let him intimidate me. I could see that I actually made him nervous. Not in a fearful way. I intrigued him.
‘Who are you?’ I demanded. If I was going to be a Perfect, I’d better start acting like one.
He released his shoulders, obviously making up his mind that I wasn’t a threat. He looked past me to John and the woman behind.
‘Who is this clown?’ he asked.
I didn’t follow his gaze. I kept staring at him. He stepped forward. I had to bend my neck backwards to make eye contact with him. As soon as I did, I couldn’t look away. His gaze was intense as he stared down at me.
‘Pack it in, Noland,’ someone interrupted from behind him.
The corner of his lip sunk into his cheek and he chuckled without opening his mouth. ‘Saved by Artie, the Enforcer,’ he muttered, taking a step back.
I wasn’t sure what Noland had been doing. I was convinced he had some sort of gift. I hadn’t met a human that was able to demand the sort of attention that he did. When I made eye contact, I hadn’t wanted to stare into his eyes. However, I didn’t have a choice. It was like something compelled me to do it.
‘John, I see you have someone for me,’ someone shouted.
The warrior in front of me turned and went back to the new man. He was much shorter. He had straggly blond hair and a huge scar marred his otherwise flawless face.
‘Brother,’ John greeted, moving forward with the woman.
Brother? I glanced between the two as they met half way. They did look similar. How could the Perfects so carelessly abandon their loved ones? Was it because they no longer had perfect features? Artie would have been a handsome man when he was young. Something must have happened to scar him that he had to move to the Lower Side. A memory tried to push its way to the surface but I couldn’t quite grasp it.
‘Please don’t make me go,’ the woman moaned as she tried to scratch at her head. The handcuffs restricted her
movement but she somehow managed to dig her nails into her scalp. I cringed as John pulled away her hands. She had blood in her fingernails. She needed help, not banishment.
‘Have you given her a chance?’ the man called.
‘I don’t have time for this. Take her now,’ John ordered, thrusting the woman towards his brother.
I resisted the urge to intervene. I absorbed everything about the exchange. It had to stop. The cruel treatment of the woman was disgusting. It actually made me feel sick as Artie took her and pushed her towards Noland.
‘Give me the key to her handcuffs,’ Artie said, holding out his palm.
A siren behind us made me turn. John’s backup had arrived. Not that he really needed it now. The transaction was almost done. It felt like that. A swapping of something.
‘You accept responsibility, then?’ John asked, holding the key out of reach.
Artie glanced at me. His head tilted to the side as he looked me up and down. ‘Is this another one?’
John shook his head quickly. ‘No, this is my friend, William. He had a bit of an accident. I’m taking him home to sort himself out.’
Artie’s eyebrows rose as he watched the guard. John dropped the key into his brother’s hand without waiting for an answer to his question. What was it that made John defend me? Could he feel my angel qualities?
‘I never had you down for the rescue type, brother,’ Artie said, clicking his finger at Noland without turning around.
Noland stepped forward and took the key from Artie. He turned back to the girl and undid her handcuffs. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. Her fingers automatically sought her scalp. Noland took her arms and held them gently. It was the first sign of softness I had seen in any person since being there.
‘What can I say? Maybe I’m learning a thing or two from you.’
The smirk on both brothers’ face was almost identical. ‘Be careful he doesn’t use you to his advantage,’ Artie said to me.
I nodded, took one more glance at the woman we had handed over and headed back to the car. I wanted to stay on the Lower Side to see how the Avoidables lived but I had a job to do. I was going to stay with a Perfect government official. It couldn’t have been more perfectly synchronised. Not that I doubted the way everything fell into place.
‘Sorry about that. Let’s get you back,’ John said as he climbed into the car.
I didn’t reply. How had Artie come to be on the other side of the bridge? The brothers were civil to each other but there was distance that should never have been there.
‘I’m sorry about what happened to your brother,’ I said when we arrived back to Upper Side.
He shook his head as he changed gear. ‘It was a sad event. I told my brother that his woman was no good for him but he wouldn’t listen. She cheated on him with an…’
His words trailed off. He closed his mouth and switched on the indicator before turning into a grand driveway. The house was surrounded by a tall brick wall. The grounds had a small lawn with a few flowers. It was mostly made up of concrete. Considering the Perfects had the means to maintain nature, they seemed to prefer a fake existence. Maybe it made them feel better about themselves.
‘I’m sorry to hear she cheated on him. That’s-’
‘It was an angel, of all things. That’s what we learnt, anyway. As if angels even exist anymore.’
I kept my own mouth shut. It wasn’t wise to try and dig straight away. I would worm my way into John and Catherine’s life. Then I would get inside the Perfect government.
The way John had treated the woman was unacceptable. It was time for change and I would be the one to do it.