The bright sun beating down is beginning to annoy me. Why is it so hot here? I take refuge in the shade of the forest. The farther I walk away from the town the denser the foliage becomes. Vines twist up and around the tree trunks and I have to take special care not to let the thick knee-deep shrubbery trip me up. There aren’t any animals out here, at least none that I’ve seen. The quiet sits heavy on my ears.
All at once, I see Michael’s mansion through the trees. It’s black and eerie as it hides away from everything. I decide to spy, and if I’m caught? Improvise on the spot. That usually works when Mom corners me about something like school or a speeding ticket.
I allow myself to think about Mom for only a second. She’s one of the few people I really miss. I hate myself for getting in that fight with her the day Katie died. With all that was happening at the time we never did patch that up. I never did apologize…
I shove the memory away. I can’t think about that right now.
I peak around the trees until I can see the front door. Do I walk in and hope no one is in that room? Maybe I should look through the windows?
Creeping closer, I watch the door but be sure not to step on any sticks or crunchy looking leaves because that always happens in the movies and that person is always caught minutes later.
When I’m a few feet from a window beside the door, I glance around one more time but then I’m suddenly plowed into by someone. My back slams into the ground and that someone is straddled on top of me holding a knife to my throat.
Once the black spots clear from my vision and my eyes adjust to the sunlight, I see a girl’s face looking down at me with teeth bared. But then her expression changes to disappointment and something else. Annoyance?
“You’re not an angel. You’re just another one of the zombies.” She stands up and closes her pocketknife. I sit up and rub my aching shoulders.
“Zombies?” As I look at my attacker the first thing that I notice is that she’s short. Even looming over me now I know she’s short. I’m not a giant or anything but if I stood up, she might be up to my shoulders. She’s a year or two younger than me and has very tan skin. Her curly dark brown hair is tied back in a low ponytail. For as little as she is, she sure knocked me down good.
“Yeah, a brainwashed zombie ‘cause you don’t remember anything.” She looks around still annoyed. “Look, I was hiding and now I’m not so I think you should run along and forget this happened before I get noticed.” She starts to walk away but I clamber to my feet and grab her arm.
“Wait, I’m not brainwashed. I remember everything.” Excitement flutters in my chest. I’m not alone!
She looks at me then at the mansion and again back to me. She scowls and pushes me forward into the cover of the trees. “Fine. If you remember everything then tell me how you died.” It isn’t a question. It’s a demand. She’s testing me.
“I wrecked my truck.”
“Why?”
“I was angry at myself because I was at my… girlfriend’s funeral and it was my fault she…died.” Those words are harder to say than I imagined.
“Okay, so suicide isn’t a shocker but that’s some dark stuff and if you can remember that you’re definitely not brainwashed.” She doesn’t show sympathy to the story itself just nods in approval.
“I told you.”
“Okay well if you remember everything then why are you going to Michael? That’s like suicide, no pun intended.” She glares at me skeptically. She’s small but she makes me feel uneasy.
“I was going to spy on him to try and figure out why my girlfriend doesn’t know me, but then you tackled me and now he probably knows we’re both here.”
“Doubt it. He and his cohorts are so absorbed in what they’re doing it’s made them unobservant. I’ve been here for days. And if that was you spying then I’m sorry but you’re the worst spy ever. Why did your girlfriend kill herself?”
I flinch at the casualty the girl has in mentioning Katie’s death. “That’s none of your business. And I’m new at this spying stuff. What makes you the expert? And where did you get a pocketknife? We aren’t able to order weapons here.” I know because I tried after coming back from Katie’s. It’s my turn to interrogate her but she doesn’t seem intimidated.
“Whatever you were buried with is with you when you wake up here.” She answers coolly and shrugs as if it’s obvious.
“You had a knife buried with you?” I stare at her in bewilderment.
“You’re not the hunting type, are you?” she asks but I shake my head and continue to stare at her wide-eyed. She sighs. “Yes, I had a knife buried with me. Now shut up so I can hear if anything is moving.” She closes her eyes and her brow scrunches in concentration. We stand in complete silence for a long time. Then suddenly her eyes fly open and she pushes me down behind a bush.
The front door of the mansion swings open and two angels walk out. They don’t look around suspiciously. They just stroll by chattering about how there’s no female angels. I glance back at the girl beside me and she mouths, “Told you.”
We sit quietly for a few minutes until we’re sure the angels aren’t in earshot. Finally, she stands up from her crouch and crosses her arms, “If I didn’t have to babysit you, I would have had them.”
“So that’s your plan? Attack any angel you see? That’s real smart. Don’t you think they’ll notice when their own are disappearing? I mean, can they even die?”
“Do you have a better plan, Lover Boy?”
I cringe at the nickname. “My name is Scott. And no, but your plan seems like it’s going to get us…”
“Get us what? Killed? I have news for you, we’re already dead. And who said we were working together?”
“Well, I thought since we both have our memories and we both want answers two people are better than one.”
“Not when you’re the second person.” Her attitude is really getting to me.
“Hey! Stop insulting me! If you don’t want my help, I’ll do this on my own, but if I happen to see Michael I’ll be sure to tell him I saw you sneaking around here.” I am completely bluffing but I need to know what she knows if I am going to have any chance at snapping Katie out of her trance, and so far this girl is the only other person who remembers other than me and I’m tired of feeling alone.
She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re lying.”
I return her glare. “Try me.”
For a few tense moments it’s a standoff but finally she breaks eye contact and begins walking back toward town. “Fine. We’ll talk back at my house.”
I blink a few times stunned. I can’t believe that worked! I jog after her to catch up. “So, what’s your name?”
“Amanda. And if you call me Mandy, I will not hesitate to cut your tongue out.”
I clamp my mouth shut. I don’t know if I believe her or not, but I know I don’t want to find out.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Amanda’s house is a mountain man’s paradise. All her furniture and curtains are made with camouflage fabric and her end tables sit on actual tree stumps. The carpet is designed to crunch under your feet as if you were in the woods.
“And you’re comfortable living like this?” I sit down on the couch while she takes the recliner next to a massive stone fireplace ablaze with orange flames.
“Surprisingly these angels know a thing or two about interior decorating. I couldn’t have designed this better myself.” She runs her hand over the chair arm.
“Okay, so getting to business, tell me what you know about these angels and this place.” I lean forward resting my elbows on my knees.
“Why should I tell you anything?” she asks nonchalantly.
“Because we’re working together. That’s how this works. We need to share what we know to come up with the best plan of action.” Does this girl have trust issues or is it just me she doesn’t like?
“Well, all I know is that stupid angel Michael pushed me through the gate to nowhere when I refused to d
o it myself. Then my first day here, I was really fuzzy and then BOOM, the next day I wake up remembering everything again.”
“Yeah, that happened with me this morning, but I went to visit Katie and she was still clueless. Why do we remember when no one else does?”
“I have a theory about that. Tell me exactly how you entered this place.”
“Michael said some things that made me angry, so I refused to enter and then he pushed me through the gate, and I was brainwashed for a day.” I recite the events, marveling at the similarities between our stories.
“Then that’s it!” Amanda bolts from her chair to stand in her eureka moment.
I stare at her confused. “What’s it?”
“I’ve been watching Michael as people enter the Kingdom. They always enter willingly.” She lifts her chin triumphantly.
“I don’t understand. So what?”
She plops back down in her chair. “Ugh. Don’t you see the pattern? You and I didn’t enter willingly, and we regained our memories. Everyone else entered willingly and they’re still happy-go-lucky zombies.”
“You really think that’s the answer? Willpower?”
“What else could explain it?”
“I guess so. What else do you know?”
“I don’t know anything else.’ She looks away from me and I know she’s lying.
“Yes, you do. When we were back at Michael’s mansion you said it wasn’t a shocker that I committed suicide and you knew that Katie did too. You’re hiding something.” I’m not stupid.
She gives me a hard look. “Clever. I guess you’re not completely empty headed after all. I’ve been real busy ever since I woke up two weeks ago. In addition to watching Michael welcome people and staking out his house, I’ve also been questioning people in town. It takes a lot of pushing but everyone that I’ve asked doesn’t remember why, but they know they committed suicide. Every one of them.” She lets that sink in as I sit quietly.
“So, you killed yourself too?”
“Yeah.” She looks away not offering any elaboration.
“Why?”
“That’s not the point. Don’t you think it’s odd that everyone here died the same way? And don’t you think it’s odd you don’t know anyone except Katie? I mean I tried finding someone that I know who died.” She points to her large map. “But according to that, he doesn’t exist here.”
I never thought about looking for someone I knew like my grandfather who died a few years ago. I had been focused on Katie. “So, we’re… selected?”
“Looks like it. And almost everyone here is our age, except for a few, like that pudgy baker.” She rolls her eyes at the mention of the overly cheery man.
I had noticed that this morning. “Is this the only town in the Kingdom?”
“As far as I can tell. There’s nothing else on the map and no signs in town pointing to another town, just the meadow. And that’s another thing, have you noticed everything is written out for us? All the signs and notes on how to get to places and how to use things. If you ask me those angels want us to stay content and not bother them with questions.”
My decision to team up with Amanda is proving to be a very good one. She has been questioning the details that I have brushed off and now I’m seeing everything so differently. “This is bigger than I thought.”
“Oh yeah, Lover Boy, you’re in deep. You going to get cold feet on me?”
“Not a chance. I’d do anything to have my Katie back.”
“Bleh… I don’t know if I can handle being in this love story you’re setting up.” Amanda wrinkles her nose and sticks out her tongue.
“I just need her to remember me.” Remember me so I can apologize and so we can be happy together like before.
“Well, maybe since you two knew each other before it won’t be that hard. I’ve drilled different people in town with questions to try to make them really think but no one has cracked. But I don’t know any of them personally like you know Katie. Since you share some of the same memories that might be the key to unlocking hers.”
“That’s probably the sweetest thing you’ve said all afternoon.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“I’ve already tried reminding her of things. I told her how we met and what we did for our recent third year anniversary. She didn’t remember or believe me.”
“Did you try showing her some physical proof?”
“Like what?” I rack my brain for something at the house I could show her, but none of it is connected to our Earthly lives.
“Something you gave her, or she gave you? Maybe actually seeing something will jog her memory.”
I try to think of something. I twist the ring on my left ring finger absentmindedly until it hits me. “Our promise rings!” I jump up off the couch and take long strides to the door. “I have to go see her right now!” Before Amanda has a chance to reply, I am out the door.
My legs can’t carry me fast enough to Katie’s. The excitement plants a smile on my face so big that to everyone else I must look like an idiot, or maybe I look normal in this strange place, but I don’t care. I am ecstatic.
I’m going to have Katie back.
And when I do then maybe we can sit down and figure out what is happening here. Or maybe I could be content with not knowing and live out this luxurious afterlife. As long as I have her, I could be happy anywhere.
Well, death did put a damper on my plans back on Earth. I was determined to be the best artist this century has ever seen. I was going to make a name for myself and be big. Bigger than Picasso or De Vinci.
But there’s no chance of that now.
My steps have less bounce in them but with the promise of Katie soon remembering me, my spirits aren’t down.
Once I reach her house, I bound up her steps and knock on the bright pink door anxiously. The door opens slowly, and it takes all I can do to resist pushing it open farther and scooping the beautiful girl in front of me into my arms.
When she sees that it’s me, she stays mostly hidden behind the door. I can see her face and a sliver of her dress. “Um, hi, Scott. Did you forget something here this morning?”
“No, but I have something I want to show you.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. I think you just need to go home and please stop coming here.” She begins to shut the door. There’s no way she’s getting away that easy.
I throw my hand out. “Katie, wait!”
“Scott, I want you to -” before she can finish, the two German shepherds that were playing this morning push through the crack in the door at full speed. They push the door out of Katie’s hand, and she loses her balance. She takes a step to try to regain it, but I see that she is going to fall so I reach out to catch her.
She falls forward into my arms. She looks around, a little disoriented from the commotion, and then she looks at me.
Her warm brown eyes threaten to swallow me whole. I’ve always told her I get lost staring into them. She’s so open and accepting that I swear they lead directly to her soul.
I can’t help myself, “Katie…” I lean in ready to kiss her for the first time in what seems like centuries.
But the moment that I’m feeling, she isn’t. “Scott, stop please.” Her voice is almost begging. My heart breaks at the sound of it.
“Katie, I’m sorry. Here, look.” I let loose of her and she backs away quickly. I hold out my hand to show her my ring. “See? I have the same ring as you. They’re our promise rings. We got them for each other on our second anniversary.” She looks down at the ring on her left hand then back at mine. I can’t read her expression. “Do you remember now?”
Her hands tighten into fists and her face twists into a look that is trying to be angry but is really on the verge of crying. “You probably just ordered that after seeing mine this morning. Leave me alone Scott! I mean it! Don’t come here anymore!” The tears she is trying so hard to hold back slip down her cheeks. She turns and runs into th
e house slamming the door.
I stand there unbelieving. It didn’t work. She doesn’t remember me. She never wants to see me again.
And she’s crying. I made her cry. Again.
I rush to the door and knock feverishly. “Katie, please, open up please. I’m sorry. Katie, let me in. I was just trying to help you remember. I didn’t mean to try to kiss you. Please, Katie!”
With my pounding and hysteric pleading, I fail to notice Amanda standing behind me. She tries to cup her hand over my mouth and pull me back, but I am too tall and too irrational to comply.
Then, I feel my feet being swept out from under me and my back hits the hard wood of the small porch. For the second time today, I look up at Amanda’s angry face as she sits on top of me.
She grabs my face with one of her small hands. “Now listen here you big baby.” She points away from the house down the road from where I came. “Two angels are standing only three houses down. You are harassing that girl even if you’re not meaning to and that’s not something they’ll tolerate here. Plus, if you keep shouting ‘remember me I remember you’ stuff that won’t be pretty either. So shut the hell up and pull yourself together. We’ll think of something else when we get back to my place. Now, come on.” She gets off me and extends her hand down.
I look at Katie’s front door, then back at Amanda. I take her hand and pull myself to my feet. She starts walking and I follow, trudging heavily.
In the most idolized hopeful place, I feel hopeless.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The next day at Amanda’s, I sit slumped at her kitchen table It’s made of a tree stump with the middle carved out so a chair and legs can still fit under. I’ve been brooding since we left Katie’s yesterday. Katie hates me. She’ll never remember me or what we had.
Sacrificial Lamb (The Other Angels Book 1) Page 10