Chapter Nine
And the angel answered and said unto me, “These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.”
Zechariah 6:5, KJV
Cody paced in his office, glancing at the clock ticking away the seconds. The meeting had been nothing less than a disaster, like a prank gone wrong, incredibly wrong. The media he’d compiled failed to open on any computer. The hard copies were smudged and blurry. But he trudged through to the end—well almost the end, those pages looked like pictures of putrid chunks of meat. After staring at the atrocity for a few seconds, his ending statements disappeared from his mind. Was it possible for the day to get any worse? He wondered when a single wrap on the door alerted him he was no longer alone in the room.
Turning with surprise, he tried to take the shocked look from his face, but his gaze found her. He didn’t even notice his boss standing in the doorway. He watched the woman he had seen in the coffee shop the day before as she made her way down the hall, then turn the corner.
“Cody?” Mr. Swanson said. “What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Dammit, Cody!”
Cody blinked, then he saw his boss standing less than a foot from him. He jumped and felt his cheeks catch fire. “Mr. Swanson, sorry, I thought I saw someone—”
“I don’t care!” his boss said, stepping closer to him. “I don’t think I need to say this. I think you already know. You screwed the pooch today.” Cody tried to take a step backward, away from Mr. Swanson’s scotch breath, but he felt a chair at the back of his legs and was stuck. “We were counting on you, and you pull a screw off routine. Did you even have anything prepared?”
“I did. I don’t know what happened,” Cody replied, leaning backward over the chair.
“If you needed more time, all you had to do was say tell me, and I would have had someone else do it.”
“But I did—”
“I don’t even know why I’m wasting my time,” Mr. Swanson said, giving Cody relief by stepping toward the door. “This is your last chance. You have until tomorrow morning. Don’t screw it up again!”
“Yes, sir,” Cody said quietly as Mr. Swanson stomped down the hall. Cody stepped into the hallway, hoping to catch a glimpse of the red-haired woman. He turned back into his office. On the floor lay a folded piece of pink paper. He snatched it up, glancing over his shoulder before unfolding it. The sweet aroma of roses tantalized his nostrils, followed by the delightful smell of spring rain.
Again, he glanced over his shoulder, then up at the ceiling wondering who had sprayed scents through the vents. He unfolded the paper. The words written on the fragrant surface flew toward him. ‘Cody, Get out. Do nothing else but leave.’ A sudden chill, as though it came from Antarctica, attacked his body. Erector pili muscles contracted to the cold caress. A short gasp of cold air filled his lungs. His attention focused on the door. The glass partition grew a landscape of frost, and he shuddered. He looked back at the note, which was now blank. Surprised, he dropped it. He backed to the frost covered door, and bumped into Nancy, Mr. Swanson’s assistant.
“Cody!” she snapped. “Watch out!”
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, as the frigid air was replaced with extreme heat. His eyes bulged, looking at Nancy. She wasn’t affected by either element. Her brows furrowed as she examined his demeanor. Heat emitted from him, and she backed away from his contact lest fire took her. She remembered reading about spontaneous combustion, and this was a symptom.
“Mr. Swanson…” Her voice was shrill, and she paused at the doorway, wanting to run from Cody, but held the doorframe. She continued, “Mr. Swanson wants to see you in his office.”
“I can’t,” Cody gasped. “I have to get out of here.”
Mr. Swanson stormed from his office suite, looking at them. Steam radiated from Cody. “Get your ass in my office, right now!” He shouted, but Cody backed away from the office to Nancy’s relief—she had no desire of witnessing him catch fire from within.
“Get your ass back here!” Swanson glowered, but Cody ignored him and pressed the down button for the elevator. “If you get on the elevator, don’t bother coming back.” The door slid open, and Cody wobbled inside. “I mean it!” The door shut. “What the hell has gotten into him today?”
By the time the elevator reached the main floor, Cody felt normal. No more did he feel extreme temperatures. He walked across the parking garage, anxiety pushing him to his car. He scoured the shadows, looking for the red-haired woman. He wasn’t sure why he thought to look for her, but there she was disappearing behind a concrete pillar, and up the ramp.
“Hey!” he shouted and began to chase after her.
She hurried around the pillar at the top of the ramp, continuing up the next one. Cody’s chest heaved and ached as he ran up the ramp. His heels clicked on the concrete floor as he followed to the top of the parking garage. Squinting in the bright sunshine, he scanned the empty floor. No cars were parked in the spots, no pigeons strutted, looking for something to devour, the level was empty. The woman had vanished.
“What the fuck? Now I’m hallucinating. Just great.” He stomped to the low wall and looked down at the jammed street below. “I think I just got fired. Just fucking great.” Bracing himself with his hands on the wall, he screamed.
Over the last few months, he’d felt less and less rested, though he had slept—if tossing and turning between unremembered nightmares classified as sleep. He laid down, and yes, he was asleep, but what happened in his dream state was strenuous, though his mind refused to share any detail of the sequences his subconscious played. Some mornings he had awoken with bruises or scratches on his back and the backs of his legs, which he didn’t know how they came to be. He hadn’t injured himself while exercising. No one had hit him. It made no sense. Maybe, he’d become somnambulistic.
Then there were the sounds in his apartment—thumps, shattering glass, scratching—shadows coming from nowhere, and intense smells of rotting flesh, sometimes happening in other places, too. Then there was the laughter, the haunting sounds tattooed in his ears which he tried to push off as the neighbor’s brood. However, when he heard it at work, he was forced to stop giving them the credit. Maybe, he’d begun a psychotic break.
“Neither,” her soft voice broke his thoughts. “They’re trying to trap you.” Slowly, he stood from his hunched over position but didn’t turn to face her. He wanted to drink in the beauty of her voice. Its melody soothed his pounding head. “I keep telling you to be careful, but you don’t listen very well.”
Turning from the view of the city, he wasn’t surprised to see the chubby red-haired woman. He scanned the top of the garage. Two things occurred to him. Today wasn’t the first time he’d seen her—flashes of her from the last several months came; the grocery store, the gym, and in line at the bank.
“How…where were you hiding?” he said, stepping back. “What do you want?”
She laughed. “To keep you safe,” she said, her emerald-green eyes glowed. “Wait.” Her voice lowered. “What do you mean where was I hiding?”
Instinct made his feet move back, seeing the light come from her, and his legs found the concrete ledge as he answered, “I chased you up here.”
The pink of her face faded to white as the green beam flashed from side to side. She rushed toward him with a shrill note coming from her mouth. Covering his face with his hands, he stepped back before she made contact with him, and wondered how the day had become so bad. The roar of traffic below them silenced. There wasn’t even the sound of the breeze whispering through the garage to find his ears.
After allowing his heart to slow its agitated beat, he glanced around. The sun shone into the open-air garage, through the windshield of his car. He gasped, looking to the passenger seat, then to the left, out the open driver’s side window of his car into the parking garage. Mr. Swanson walked toward him up the ramp, his smile gleaming unnaturally. Cody gulped.
“The geeks f
ixed the problem with the projector,” Swanson leaned down to look Cody in the face. “You should be able to do your presentation tomorrow.” Uncertainty covered his face. “I know, kid, I’m surprised they figured it out, too. All right, see ya tomorrow.”
In the rearview mirror, Cody watched his boss walk behind the car. “What the fuck?” he whispered.
“You’re welcome.” Her voice soothed the insecurities in him slightly. “I don’t think you should go home tonight.”
“Sorry?” He glared at her, and with sarcasm, said, “You’re not my type.”
She laughed, and in seconds he joined, knowing if he didn’t his heart would break. Memories of childhood materialized in his mind; running across the fifty-yard line with a kite in tow, laughing with his brother as it took off into the wind, traveling higher and higher until the string secured to the spindle twanged softly.
Butterflies fluttered around him. His brother stood with his back to his as they watched in awe at the multitude of the magnificent orange and black monarchs swirling around them, sometimes caressing their cheeks with delicate wings, or tangling barbed feet in their hair for a moment, then launching again into the flow of the breeze.
Thunder crashed around them, rattling the dishes in the sink. Rain pelted the windows. They clamored under the table, pulling the chairs in to protect them from the rumbling from the sky and spectacle of light. A chair moved away, he tried to hold it but wasn’t strong enough to keep it in place. Mom’s loving face found them, and then she joined them in the snug safety.
“You could call him, you know.” He sat up. The cyan numbers read 6:06 on the digital clock. “I know you’re still mad at each other, blah, blah, blah.” His head flicked toward her with his mouth agape. “But you need to get over it. You need each other. I hate to sound cliché.” She stopped, tapping her chin. “Actually, I don’t.” She chuckled. “Now more than ever.”
She turned from the window to face him. Green light traced to him. He shuffled back on the bed. A surprised sigh escaped his mouth.
“I’ve lost it!”
“You wish,” she replied without moving from her spot in front of the window. Her smile radiated happiness he hadn’t felt in many years, relaxing him.
The air conditioner turned on, blowing cold air into the room. His skin puckered at its touch, and for the first time realized he was naked. He grabbed at the sheets, pulling them up to cover his chiseled chest. She giggled.
“Don’t be so modest,” she said. “You never have been before.”
“Did we—”
She laughed heartily, leaning on the table to keep from falling to the floor. He stared at her in disbelief. Her laughter subsided, and she said, “Oh, please. I assure you, my virtue is completely intact. Yours had nothing to do with me.” She sat in the chair near the laminate covered table.
“Who are you?”
“Hector.”
He shook his head. I was committed, and they have me medicated, he thought.
“Nope,” she said.
“Your name isn’t Hector?”
“Oh, no, it is. You weren’t committed.”
“I didn’t say anything.” She smirked but didn’t respond to his statement. “Where are we?” he asked, scanning the motel room.
“I wasn’t paying attention to the where you drove us. But, don’t worry, it was perfectly safe. I was with you after all.” She beamed. “I guess it must be like a night of binge drinking for you, can’t remember a thing the next day.” He continued staring at her. “I know what you must be thinking—“
“You drugged me, abducted me, and, now, you’re holding me hostage in some God knows where mo—“
“Yup, he does.”
“Who does what?”
“God knows where we are.”
He put his face into his hands and shook his head. Unbelievable. He thought. The sheets fell from around him as he stood from bed without worrying about her seeing him naked—she’d seen it all before so what did it matter if she saw it again—and went into the bathroom. He didn’t bother closing the door, having the feeling she wasn’t the type to be offended by the sound of urine splashing into a toilet. Grabbing the robe from the back of the door, he put it on, only because the room was chilly, and returned to sit on the bed.
After contemplating the events of the day, he stared at his reflection in the blank TV screen, saying, “Will you please explain what is going on, Hector? Otherwise, I’m going to think I’m in the middle of a nervous breakdown.”
“Oh where to start,” she said with a laugh.
“How about with whom you are.”
“Hector,” she said. “I already told you.”
“How about what then?” he asked, seeing her answers were going to be literal.
“I thought it was obvious,” she replied, raising her voice a little as though he had insulted her.
“Nope, remember I thought you were a hallucination.”
She stared at him without blinking. “I’m Heavenly,” she said, putting her hands near her shoulders, opening and closing them.
“An Angel?” he said, wrinkling his nose and half closing his right eye. “Like a Cherub? But you don’t have wings.” He shook his head. “I think you’re crazier than me.”
“If I were Cherubim, I wouldn’t be down here. They never come down here.” She giggled, saying, “Well one did.” She grimaced, saying, “Oops!”
“Oh sorry,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It was just a guess based on…” He stared at her body.
She laughed. “You’re funny, and thinking of putti, which I’m not, either.”
“Not what?”
“Putti.”
“What the hell are putti?”
“What you’re confusing me with.” Her face brightened with glee at his confused expression. “You know, the chubby babies with wings who aren’t Angels at all or real.”
He took a deep breath. “OK, so you aren’t Cherubim or Cherub?”
“Nope.”
“And you’re not putti.”
She shook her head.
“You’re an Angel without wings, making you a Fallen Angel.”
“Hey! Don’t be mean.” Her expression became serious, the green from her intensified. “I side with God. Always! How can you say otherwise?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You’re forgiven.” Joy returned to her face.
“Why don’t you have wings?”
“I have wings.”
“I don’t see any,” he said, cocking his eyebrow.
She laughed, harder than she had the night before. “Oh, sorry,” she said through the laughter. “I heard about the Q&A but never thought it was true.” Calming herself with a deep breath, she continued, “If you saw my wings, you would lose your mind. My true form is too much for you to see. Trust me.”
“Oh, you’re wearing a disguise.”
“Exactly, so I can blend in when I take human form.” She rubbed her arm.
“Oh! Oh! I understand now. You’re my Guardian Angel. Now it makes sense.” He stared intently, seeing where her psychosis was going to take him.
“Yes! You’re right! Now we can get to the meat of the matter.” She said gleefully. He shook his head in doubt. “I know this is a lot for you to wrap your head around. I’m visible to you now because the situation is getting to be too much trouble. We rarely go to these measures, but I was told to have more involvement, and intervene if need be.” She beamed with pride. “Me, just a lowly Watcher getting to intervene, really? No one has been asked since…I don’t know how long. I’m honored. It’s so exciting.”
Cody dropped his head and moaned. “I should’ve known I was heading for a snap,” he mumbled. “What was with the noises, and laughter, and strange people, and weirdness?” He jumped up. “Shit! Work!”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “All taken care of.”
“What you called in sick for me? No! No! No! I have a presentation.” He scr
ambled around the room, looking for his clothes. “I have to go.”
“I went for you,” she said.
“Shit! What? Seriously? You went for me?” He stared at her with his mouth agape.
“Yes, Mr. Swanson was extremely impressed. He gave you the rest of the week off.”
“But how?”
“Don’t worry about the details. All you need to know is humans tend to see what they want to see.” He wrinkled his brow and began to speak, but she continued without allowing him to interject. “It’s true. We’ve been with you since everyone was thrown out of Eden, and it’s not changed. When we present ourselves to you, you don’t see us. You see a rabbit’s foot or a goat or anything, but never us. It’s because your minds can’t translate what we are.
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