Chapter Eleven
Gabriel
When I popped back in on Graham minutes later and been met with him diving halfway across his kitchen in fear of me, I realized that what had only been a few minutes for me had instead been much longer for him.
After having the surprisingly good conversation with Father, I am more than ready to move forward where he is concerned. I just had to make sure that in any future instances, I prepared the host for my arrival. Damaging the vessel before entry was not going to work.
“Jesus man! You sure know how to scare a guy!” he exclaims as he begins to compose himself.
“It's quite common to use the word Jesus in cases such as these, but for the record, if you knew my father, you would realize it is quite offensive, so please refrain in the future.”
“You're kidding right?”
“No, I assure you I am not. I do not joke about matters such as name calling. Taking the Lords name in vain is a serious offense.”
“You haven't spent much time around people have you?”
“That is not of import.”
“I'd say it is. I mean, if you think me saying Jesus is bad, then you need to hear some other people. It's a pretty common thing down here, especially with the people I work with.”
While the topic of conversation had really been of no interest to me, he had come up with something I knew needed to be addressed. His work situation. If this is going to work and he was going to my vessel it meant his entire life would change. Graham would have to leave his sick mother and the job he had taken to support her, not to mention giving up the classes at the community college he'd taken, in order to follow me back to where Serenity resides.
“I feel that I need to make you aware of things before this goes any further. This job you speak of, the college experience you are now engaged in, it will have to come to an end.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yeah, I mean what do you think I've been doing for the last three hours since you vanished into thin air?”
“I have no idea, I was not tracking you during that time.”
“Geez. Now I see why you need my help. You're way too formal for your own good, man. You need to relax. Not to mention you need to think more like a human and less like an angel. It's weird and if you're gonna be me, you gotta knock it off.”
“I do not think you are in a position to tell me, the more powerful of the two of us, what I should be doing.”
“In this case, I am, so get used to it. You're gonna make me sound like a robot. She's gonna be able to see right through it.”
With the mention of Serenity I stopped. I was of the belief that Graham had been trying to fight against what is going to happen, but in fact he was thinking about her, something I had not done. Maybe I needed to do as he said after all. Even ignoring the obvious meant that I was still more angel then human and he was right, it was going to be painfully obvious.
“When you left up out of here earlier, I put the pieces together. Everything that wasn't making sense to me. Hell, I even went on the internet and looked you up.”
“The internet?”
“Yeah, you know, the place most people hang out when they sit down at a computer. Anyway, I went looking for information. As it turns out, you're a pretty big deal in terms of angels, heaven and all that nonsense.”
“You must show me this internet you speak of. I am really on it?”
“Yeah man, you are, but that’s not the point. I’m trying to say that I figured if you wanted me to help Serenity the way you say, then I’m going to have to uproot my life. So I asked for some time off with work and I went out and grabbed transfer paperwork for school. It's all filled out and ready to go, but I thought with you being an angel and all, you might be able to make it go a little faster.”
“You will appear there in two days, which should give me more than enough time to become acclimated to the human condition. I can make this paperwork you speak of move quickly. I've got a schedule of her classes and I can let you know when and where she works. It will all be fairly simple.”
“Damn, you've really planned this out huh?”
“Yes. It is of the utmost importance that I do.”
“How does it work? Being a vessel?”
“It is quite easy. I will become a part of you, but I will only make myself apparent when you are not needed. I want this to be as authentic as possible. You care for Serenity. You have always been her protector, even before I used you as a child. She will feel safe with you. When the time comes for me to reach out to her, I will do so through you. Nothing more, nothing less. I am not looking to deceive either of you.”
He seems confused by what I have said, which makes me question what is about to happen.
“You seem confused.”
“Well honestly, I am a bit.” he answered, running his hands through his hair, now free of the winter hat that adorned it only a few hours before. “I thought being a vessel meant not having any control. Being totally taken over by you.”
“In normal cases that is what takes place. So it seems your reading has paid off in that regard. I am just not your average angel, nor are you the most average of humans, despite your belief to the contrary.”
“So you're leaving me in control of what happens?”
“That is the plan. You care deeply, you are tender hearted, yet strong when the mood calls for it. You would be in a much better position to help me if I left you to do it instead of controlling it all through you. As I said, I want this to be authentic.”
Taking his silence as a sign, giving him some time to go over everything I had laid on him up until this point, I again went over the conversation with Father.
He knew how important Serenity is to me and is more than okay with me continuing on even though it is a risk to the undertaking. Not only that, but he was going to have Michael run point from Heaven to guard from the darkness that seems to be making itself apparent. The same darkness I felt when Serenity had been in contact with the McGregor boy at school. Could it be the boy himself that held the answers to what the darkness is, or was he just a meaningless distraction?
More than that, can I really trust Graham to handle it all when the time came? Would I have to control him in order to defeat it? Should I warn him before we became one? I felt as though I owed him that much, yet at the same time didn't want to worry him and risk him backing out.
It all came down to doing the right thing for Serenity. Proving to her that I was real and not just something she imagined and I am better than the people that hurt her before. Bringing Graham back into her life, knowing what he means to her, would definitely put me in her good graces. There has been a void in her life and I know that Graham will be the one to fill it.
“Earth to Gabriel! You there man?”
Realizing that in waiting for him to come to terms with everything we were about to do, I had gotten lost in my own vantage point, I looked up, again focusing on the human before me.
“Yes I assure you I am here. Why do you ask?”
“Because I asked you a question and you were too busy staring a hole in my kitchen cupboard to give me an answer.”
“What is it you asked?”
“Well, I said I’m okay with all of it and when can we start.”
Sensing his eagerness, knowing it had everything to do with seeing Serenity again, I smiled at him. It is further proof that I have chosen wisely. There could be no one better suited for this task then Graham Hudson. Before we could get on with it though, there is still one thing I needed to do.
“All in due time. There is something I must do first, but once that is complete, we can begin. In the meantime, make sure all your affairs are in order. I am unable to tell when you will be back here again so you must prepare as much as possible now.”