Kara forced her eyes open. She stared at a gray marble floor. Half of her face was squished against the cool ground. She felt her knees folded under her and her butt in the air. Walls with wood panels surrounded her. She pushed herself up and sat on her heels.
An enormous primate sat in the operator’s chair. Although he was sitting, his frame reached the top of the elevator’s ceiling, his bald head grazing the top. His long hairy arms brushed the floor and his fat behind drooped on both sides of a wooden chair. Bright orange fur toppled over his red slacks and covered every inch of him…a jumbo-sized orangutan.
Kara scrambled to her feet and checked herself out. She studied the orangutan for moment and cleared her throat. “Hey there,” she said and gave a little wave. “You’re not chimp 5M51.”
The orangutan rotated its head in Kara’s direction. It blinked, and then whirled around in the chair to face her. A small pair of round spectacles rested crookedly on the bridge of his flattened nose.
“What floor, Miss?” It lowered its head to be at eye level with Kara and pushed the spectacles up with an exceptionally long finger. “Hmm?”
Kara raised her eyebrows. “Right …um …” She glanced down at the crumpled file still clutched against her chest. “Uh…I think I’m supposed to go to Level Four?” She looked behind her half expecting David to suddenly appear. She wished he was here with her.
The primate watched her. His watery eyes darted to the file she held near her middle. In one slow movement, it lifted its arm and pressed the number four brass button on the control panel. Long strands of orange hair swayed below his arm. “Level Four!” He said loudly, his peach colored eyes bewitching her.
“Thank you,” she managed to say staring at the floor. “So …you work with chimp 5M51?”
“Chimp!” interrupted the primate furiously. “I am no chimp. Do not mistake me for one of that dreadful lot. My species is superior. I am an orangutan. Orangutan 7PT9, if you please,” he said as he puffed out his chest. He straightened his spectacles and wrinkled his face in contempt.
“Okay then, orangutan 7T-something-something…?”
Kara sighed as she waited in a long and uncomfortable silence. The elevator ascended to a higher level. She noticed the orangutan staring at her. “Why do you keep staring at my head?” she said after she couldn’t bear it anymore. “Is my head on the menu or something? What is it?”
The orangutan dropped his eyes and stared at the floor. “Hmm…no reason. I wasn’t staring at your head.”
“Yes, you were.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“You just did it again. I saw you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 7PT9 lifted his chin and faced the control panel. His left eye stared at Kara.
Kara bit her lip. “Whatever.” She hid her head behind the file. Her hands shook. “Stay calm. Level Four can’t be as bad as Level Three,” she said to herself.
Her mind flashed back to what had happened to Mrs. Wilkins moments ago. Images of shadow demons flashed before her eyes. A tiny ball of light hovered above Mrs. Wilkins’s dead body. Kara frowned and lowered the file. She wasn’t sure she was guardian angel material. She wrapped her arms around her chest. What happens to guardian angels who’ve lost a soul? Kara leaned against the panel. Her body trembled. She waited.
Suddenly the back of Kara’s head bounced and hit the panel as the elevator jolted to a stop.
“Level Four: Hall of Souls,” yelled the orangutan.
“Okay, here goes nothing. Wish me luck!” Kara clasped the file against her chest and stepped up to the elevator doors, only to feel a sudden tug on her head.
“Ouch!” Kara rubbed her injured scalp. “Are you crazy! What? Is my head a dandruff buffet to you? What is wrong with you monkeys!” she yelled.
The orangutan lifted his chin in the air. “Ah, correction…not monkey, Miss, but orangutan.” He turned and faced the control panel. “Level Four,” he called again as he sucked his fingers.
Kara glared at the orangutan. “Cannibal,” she hissed under her breath.
“Tasty,” replied the primate.
The doors swished open. Kara stepped forward. “Wow…”
She stumbled out of the elevator with legs made of jelly. She stood in a never-ending ebony sky. The Hall of Souls sparkled like a great field of fireflies. It reminded her of the sky above the farmer’s fields behind her grandma’s house at night, of watching the lightening bugs as they lit up the black skies like twinkling stars. The corners of her mouth curled up.
Kara trod forward on black marble floors. As she ventured deeper into Level Four she came to realize that her fireflies were, in fact, millions of dazzling spheres hovering in the air. Soon she found herself surrounded by light. Brilliant globes floated all around her, as though Christmas lights draped down from the sky. She peeked through the glowing spheres and caught a glimpse of something huge and white. It flickered in the midst of the great hall. The white shape glistened and grew brighter, like an enormous flame. A humid breeze caressed her cheeks. Soft humming filled her ears. She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Whoa!” cried Kara as someone crashed into her. She tripped and fell to the ground, then rolled over onto her elbows. Her aggressor walked away in the opposite direction and disappeared behind a wall of light. “Excuse me,” growled Kara. She struggled to her feet. “What am I…invisible?” She marched on, then stopped dead in her tracks.
Hundreds of golden-haired children scurried around the majestic space. They made their way through thousands of floating globes and carried what looked like large glass jars. Their Forget-me-not-blue robes swished behind them. Kara stared at their identical faces.
Three-wheeled vehicles sped erratically across the floors, driven by the same golden-haired kids. The back seats of the little cars were overloaded with more glass jars. They clinked together as the vehicles dashed through the walls of light and out of sight.
Kara was surrounded by a Cirque du Soleil extravaganza. She peered over the kids’ heads. A sparkle caught her eye. She walked towards it. After a moment, she stepped into a clearing. A desk chiseled from a large block of glass stood on a raised platform. Catching the light from the globes, it sparkled like a giant diamond. A great man sat behind it.
Kara’s feet vibrated below her and the mass of glowing globes hummed in unison, as though millions of fireflies took flight at the same moment.
But where was David? Had something happened to him? He was supposed to be right behind her. She shook her head, trying to purge the images of David being ripped apart by demons.
“Uh …excuse me?” said Kara to a flock of kids. She forced a smile reminiscent of David’s. “Hi …can you help me? I’m not sure what to do with this?” She held up the file.
They ignored her and walked away, as though she was invisible.
“Thanks for nothing,” yelled Kara. Tapping sounds caught her attention. She turned around. “David? Ah…not David.”
A pair of guardian angels with golden stars on their foreheads emerged from a wall of shining spheres. They marched past her, looking somber, and headed towards the glass desk. Kara decided to follow them.
They walked in single file towards the desk. It glimmered like a crystal in the sunlight. A rainbow of colors spilled onto the black floor. The desk was covered with books, with a large flat-screen computer monitor sandwiched between them. A massive man with a furrowed brow sat amongst the clutter of books and papers. He was dressed in a white robe, open in the front with a high gold-trimmed collar, his long sleeves folded on the desk. Gold cloth trimmed the wide cuffs. His face was handsome and serious. A golden glow emanated from his pale skin. And as Kara tiptoed closer, she noticed his forehead was marked with a golden shield, crisscrossed with two silver swords. He terrified her.
The two guardian angels dragged themselves up to the desk and spoke with their heads bowed. Kara stayed a few feet behind them. She fumbled with her file. The thought of ad
dressing this man made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Perhaps no one would notice if she ran away. After a moment, the man looked up and gave them a malicious and calculating look. One of the angels held out a file. The man grabbed it and flipped it open. In a quick movement, he beckoned to the driver of one of the three-wheeled contraptions. The vehicle swerved around, sprinted towards the dais, and jolted to a halt. The guardian angels climbed into the back seat. With their heads bent awkwardly, they squeezed themselves into the tiny space. They raced out into the fields of glowing spheres. Kara stared after them.
“Where’s David?” whispered Kara. Her body tickled unpleasantly. Her mind was working hard. She bit her lower lip. Her hands shook and she teetered back and forth on her heels like a seesaw. After a moment, she edged forward. Her eyes were glued to the large man’s hands. She halted with the file clasped tightly to her middle. She waited. He didn’t seem to notice her at first. He studied the pages of a thick, leather-bound book. Kara recalled images of her once-upon-a-time-happy life back on Earth—alive—where angels and demons existed only in her paintings, and where she was enjoying a juicy piece of pepperoni pizza, with grease dripping down the corners of her mouth…
The giant man lifted his perfect head and examined her. “Name, class order, and rank,” demanded a booming voice.
Kara forced the words out of her mouth. “Uh …I-I’m, Ka-Kara …” she stammered, crumpling her file with trembling fingers. “Um, I don’t know my class order, but I know I’m a rookie?” She pushed herself up.
His flaring blue eyes searched her for a moment. He held out his hand in front of her. “Give me the file,” he commanded.
Kara obeyed and handed him the file. Her hands shook, and she clenched them into fists.
The man sat back and flipped through the file. His head snapped up. “You are the rookie, Kara Nightingale. Your class order is # 4321. You’re back from your first assignment…where is your Petty Officer?” He lifted his brows and looked behind her.
“Um …I’m not sure. He was supposed to be right behind me…” Kara said nervously. She turned her head around, searching behind her. “He…he told me to come here to Level Four. That’s all I know.” She clasped her hands behind her back and fumbled with her fingers.
The man eyed her in silence for a moment. He looked back down at the file. “Tell me, what is the name of your Petty Officer?”
Kara blinked. “David McGowan.”
With eyebrows raised, the man pursed his lips and looked up at her. “I see,” he said flatly. “You’re with David.”
“Ah…do you know him? Are we in trouble or something?” She let her arms fall at her sides. “Do you know where he is?”
“I will have to report this.” At that moment his hands moved over a keyboard. His brows dropped slowly and shot up every few seconds as he typed. After what seemed to Kara to be a very long five minutes of staring at someone’s fingers there was a loud tap, tap, and Kara turned to see David jogging up to her.
“Ah…there you are, Kara,” said David, smiling widely. His hair was a bit messy, Kara noticed. But other than that he appeared fine. He turned to the giant man, “Hello, Ramiel. You miss me? Oh, Mighty One?”
Kara glared at him. “What took you so long?” she whispered. “I’m dying here.”
David dropped his duffel bag on the ground. “I was delayed. You know…demons.”
Ramiel glared at David. His blue eyes blazed. “Well, David McGowan, I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor,” he said coldly. His face twisted in discontent. Kara stole a quick look at David, just long enough to catch him winking at her. She turned around.
“I see you have abandoned your rookie on her very first assignment? I’m sure Lieutenant Archangel Gabriel would be interested in this information,” said Ramiel. “Never playing by the rules…are we, David? Believe you are above the rules? You’re not setting a very good example for your rookie. Putting her life in danger isn’t good for your record.” He waved a large finger annoyingly at Kara, and then his eyes moved to David. He gave him a reproachful stare.
David smiled, studying Ramiel’s face. “You’re always so kind to me, Your Lordship. But don’t worry, she was never in any danger. I took care of it.”
Ramiel cocked an eyebrow. “We hope you will guide Kara and help her embrace her duties as a guardian angel…without the loss of her soul or rule breaking.”
David flashed his perfect teeth and put on an innocent look. “Me? Rule breaking? Never, Your Blessedness! I am a true believer in playing by the rules…you just remember that,” he beamed.
Ramiel’s expression darkened. His beautiful face creased in contempt. With a loud screech he pushed back his chair and stood up. He towered over Kara and David easily. “As I understand it, you’re on very thin ice already as it is, David. Unfortunately for you, the Legion is tired of your mess. You lack discipline. I better not hear of any foolish business like jumping out of airplanes or going after seven higher demons by yourself! What kind of example are you setting for the rookies?!” he roared.
Kara wondered how many other rookies David had trained before her. He couldn’t be that bad, could he?
David lifted his right hand, palm facing Ramiel. “Cross my heart and hope to do die—oh, wait a minute. I’m already dead,” he laughed.
Ramiel’s scowl was frightening. Kara had a feeling that, if he wanted, he could probably squish her and David into jelly. Instead he threw the file at David, who caught it easily. “There is a soul to be burned.” He sat back down and immediately returned his attention to his keyboard.
David opened the file and scanned through it. He closed it and turned to face Kara. His beaming face transformed quickly to a gloomy one. “Um…this burning soul business isn’t the most pleasant, you know. But, hey…better get it out of the way. Let’s go.” David turned around and grabbed Kara by the arm. He pulled her along with him.
“What?” Kara blurted out, as she wiggled out of his grip. “Wait, uh…David, can you tell me what’s going on? What am I supposed to do here? What did Ramiel mean by, ‘there’s a soul to be burned?’” Kara had a terrible feeling her soul was the one to be barbecued.
“Huh? Oh, right. Don’t worry about Ramiel. Archangels think they own the place, just because they report to The Chief in person. Think that makes them special. Just a bunch of swollen-headed morons, if you ask me,” he sneered and turned on his heel. He set off towards the fields of brilliant globes.
Kara chased after him. “So…soul burning…what’s that? The thought of burning anything makes me nervous.”
“You’ve lost Mrs. Wilkins’ soul…so we have to go burn it. We have to throw the dead souls into the white fires of Atma. They can never be reborn.”
“Souls can be reborn?” said Kara in awe. She couldn’t picture it.
“Of course… when a mortal body dies, the soul is reborn into another mortal body when a new child is born. And the process just keeps going, over and over again, unless the soul gets killed…like Mrs. Wilkins’. Then it’s finished—finito—they’re goners.”
Kara felt as though she had just been punched in the gut. Her legs stiffened. “I…I killed her. I killed her soul—this is all my fault.” She imagined Mrs. Wilkins reborn as a cute little baby. Her throat tightened. “She’ll never be reborn because of me. I…I killed her.”
“It’s not your fault. Don’t torture yourself. Listen…these things happen, it’s part of the job.”
Kara dropped her shoulders. “Well…this part really sucks.”
David shoved his fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly. A three-wheeled car jerked to a stop. Kara followed David to the waiting car and squeezed herself into the back seat after him. He opened the file and showed it to the driver, who nodded and then stepped on the accelerator. The engine roared loudly. Kara and David flew against the back seats, their cramped bodies squished together in an extremely uncomfortable body tangle. As the driver zigzagged his way around the
great hall, Kara suddenly wished she had a stomach full of partially digested food, so that she could throw it up all over the driver.
Tall white flames wavered and danced up ahead, like a giant candle. The flames grew in size as they drove past them. The car raced on. It flew down invisible roads and paths in an endless blackness. Finally, it stopped. Thousands of globes sparkled all around them.
Kara looked around. A tall white fire burned in a majestic stone fireplace behind them. To Kara, it looked like a fire that belonged in a fairy tale. She wondered if she could touch the flame.
David yanked himself out of the vehicle and walked towards a wall of glowing spheres. He paid particular attention to a blackened globe which hung inches from the ground. Unlike the other sparkling spheres, no illumination came from it.
Kara pulled herself out of the car. The driver remained seated and stared in the opposite direction. A salty smell filled her nose, and her mind flashed with images of the ocean. She walked over and stood next to David. “What’s the matter with you? You look like someone just died.”
David leaned over the dark sphere. He sighed and was silent.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone so frantic out about this black ball?” She looked at it suspiciously. “What’s so special about it?”
Kara moved closer towards the dark globe. Immediately, she felt a wave of desolation pass through her, as though someone close to her had just died. She was overcome with sadness, which frightened her. She took a step back. “What…what is that?” She shook her head and tried to shake the feelings away. “David…what’s happening? Why do I feel like this?”
He knelt down and carefully grasped the sphere in his hands. “You’re feeling the loss of a life. This soul belonged to Mrs. Wilkins. When the soul is killed on Earth, it also dies in Horizon. The life lights have gone out. All that’s left is this blackened shell. Here…take it,” said David as he pushed himself up and stretched out his hands.
Astounded, Kara took another step back. “You want me to hold it? I don't want to.”
“You have to. You were the guardian angel of that soul. You’re responsible for it.” David grabbed Kara’s right hand and pressed the globe into it.
As the cold sphere touched her skin, Kara was hit with an alarming number of different emotions, as though a collection of feelings from thousands of years had exploded into her all at once. She staggered and nearly dropped it.
“Careful now, don’t drop it,” said David, as he grabbed Kara by the arm and steadied her.
“This feels so weird. What am I supposed to do with it?” Kara trembled as the emotions ran through her body.
“Throw it in the fire. Dead souls need to be burned in the white fires of Atma,” answered David, and gestured behind them towards the huge stone fireplace. It towered fifteen feet above them. Tall white flames flickered hundreds of feet in the air.
“It’s better if you make it quick, trust me.” David walked towards the impressive fireplace. He dragged Kara by the elbow with him. “This part of the job really sucks. What you do is…you need to throw it in the fire.”
They reached the fire and stopped. Kara blinked several times. The brightness of the flames hurt her eyes, like when she used to stare at the sun without blinking.
David studied Kara’s face. “And better do it fast.”
Kara raised her eyebrows. “Wait. Why do you look so tense? What’s going to happen once I throw it in?” She had the horrible feeling that things were about to get a lot worse.
“Um, I can’t really describe it…just do it,” said David as he sensed her reluctance and pushed her forward with his hands against her back.
Wide-eyed, Kara took a step forward. She grasped the dead soul in her shaking palms. Kara approached the white fire. She was surprised to feel no heat. It was white hot, but she felt nothing…no burning sensation against her skin. She lifted her hands before her and threw the dead soul into the white fires.
The ground shook.
Millions of screaming voices exploded inside her head, as though all the existing souls cried out in excruciating pain the moment she dropped the globe into the white flames. Kara’s body burned from the inside. The screams tormented her. They pulled at her soul. Images flashed before her eyes: a dark woman working in a field, a young blond girl riding her bike in a manicured suburb, an old woman bargaining for fish in a loud market. A sudden passion rose inside her as she saw images of a beautiful red headed woman kissing her lover. More images of different women flashed inside her brain. They screamed as their souls slowly pulled away from her, dying. She swayed on the spot, as the thunderous emotions ransacked her being. And then the feelings and images disappeared. She fell onto the hard floor.
Kara opened her eyes a moment later, only to see David’s concerned face inches from her own. “It gets easier, I promise. I passed out, too, the first time. You don’t look as bad though. Okay, let’s get you up.” He yanked her back on her own two feet.
“That was…” she said in a harsh voice as she tried to regain control, “…very interesting. When do I stop shaking?”
“It’ll pass in a few minutes. I know how painful it feels…” David reached out and pressed his hand against her back, rubbing gently in a circular motion. “It’s really the worst part of the job.”
Kara lifted up her head. Their eyes met and locked. Her skin prickled as she felt warmth spilling throughout her being. Tiny electric shocks zapped all the way from her head to the tip of her toes. She pulled her eyes away. There was a long and uncomfortable silence. She didn’t dare look into his eyes again. So instead, she spoke to his boots. “When do we leave? I don’t think I can stand another minute here.”
David removed his hand from her back and stepped away. He stretched. “Right now.”
“Good.” Kara felt sick, if that was even possible in her guardian angel body. “Where are we going now?”
David clasped his hands together and rubbed them. He beamed. “Now comes the fun part.” He danced on the spot. “You and I are going to Operations.”
Chapter 6
Operations