The Vapor

by Nathan Parks

  The girls made their way quickly toward the ladies’ room as Chad made his way toward one of the small square tables. He quickly chose one next to a few older men in trucker caps and overalls.

  He sat . . . or actually plopped . . . down and let out a long sigh. “What are we doing here?” he pondered. “I know Gideon has to be wondering about us by now, and just wait until Leah catches wind of this.”

  “So is that your boyfriend?” Tori asked as she pushed open the off-white, worn restroom door that displayed the traditional silhouette of a thick woman in a dress and a perfectly round head.

  Serenity laughed out loud as she followed the teen and looked at herself in the mirror that met them straight on. “No, we work together.”

  She turned to Victoria and held out her hand. “By the way, I am Serenity, and that guy out there,” nodding her head back toward the diner, “his name is Chad. I know we already told you, but I wanted it to be less like an interrogation.”

  Tori took her hand and shook it, but the smile turned quickly to tears. “What is going on with me, Serenity? I actually do have a lot of memories from last night, but I am not sure if they are real or more of a nightmare. I mean, you would think that the biggest worry that I have is that I am with two complete strangers in a really whacked-out, ‘horror-film-style’ diner, but I . . . I am so scared.”

  “We are going to find that out, Tori. But first we need you to finish telling us what you remember. Also, what about any family that may be worried about you?”

  Tori turned on the water faucet and splashed water in her face as she let out something that sounded like a blend of a laugh and a cough. “Good luck when it comes to family. My mom left us; and shortly after, she passed away. My dad never knows where I am and couldn’t care less. He should have been jailed a long time ago, but the system only protects those that it wishes to. To them, I am just another statistic.” She began doing her best to straighten any tangles in her hair by running her fingers through it. “I have been pretty much on my own since I was ten.”

  Serenity put a hand upon her back as she began to see more of the soul of this young lady come forward. “Well, you are not alone, anymore. Chad and I are a part of something a lot bigger and safer than that ‘club’ you were in last night, and we specialize in those who are alone.” She almost said that last part with a grin, thinking, “. . . more than you will ever know.”

  The teen girl looked at herself in the mirror one last time and then back at Serenity. “You know, I can feel it. I can’t explain it, but I can feel it in both of you.”

  “That’s good . . . now, let’s get something to eat!”

  “Lead the way!” The young girl smiled as she motioned toward the door. They both headed back into the main diner area and toward food. “By the way . . .”

  “Yes?” Serenity replied.

  “I think Chad likes you.”

  Serenity just smiled.

  Chapter Ten

  “You ever miss being away from here?”

  “You mean, do I miss humanity’s existence?”

  Gabriel smiled at Metatron’s minimalist description of what she was asking.

  The two members of the Arch Council were sitting together in a secluded area just outside the Hall of Heroes. They both gleaned needed strength from each other.

  “I know you were speaking more rhetorically, My Friend, but that is a hard question to answer,” Metatron stated as he looked over at her.

  “Really? Why do you think so?”

  “Since my ascension, my mind has been opened; and I have seen a clearer and larger picture about existence itself. If a mortal man holds a small mouse inside a cage from the time the mouse is born until its later years and then the mouse is let go into a field, does the mouse miss the cage?”

  “I guess that's why I am asking you, Metatron. I don’t know. I was formed into the world where you sit. It is a world that cannot comprehend the matter of time that was designed after our kind was made. Jah created time after the War of the Serpents, once it was realized that when one has everything they could desire within an infinite space, what should be valued is not. Scintillantes and this existence are what I know.”

  Gabriel looked around her at the vibrant landscape and architecture that could only be dreamed of outside the scope and hindrance of a human mind. “Ages had to come and go—even time within the world of mortality—in order for me to consciously learn to appreciate and value what I am given. At times, I feel as the mouse you described; but I am a mouse who has been allowed to roam free. I have spent my existence fighting predators. At times, I believed I was the pinnacle of beings. But then, watching humanity, I ponder what it would be like to know there is an end and then to appreciate what I have before that end vanishes me into nothingness.”

  Metatron contemplated on what Gabriel had just said. He could hear the pureness in her statement, and he could understand some of the emotion tied to her words. The truth is that he had stood on both sides of eternity. He had been the mouse within the cage and the mouse in the field. He had felt like steam rolling inside a pot but then felt as though the lid had been taken off. He understood the feeling of vapor rolling free; but once outside of what appeared to be captivity, that steam became a part of a larger atmosphere and vanished into nothing of its previous form. It became part of a larger picture by changing its structure and, ultimately, vanishing.

  “I remember what it is like to be mortal, as well as immortal, Gabriel. What I know is that our existence, here or there, is about more than existence itself. If we can truly appreciate that we are all a part of the one before us and the one after us, we will go further, live happier, and discover that your original question would not matter.”

  “Why is it hard to understand? Here, I have known only an existence not limited by time; yet, mortals are bound by it. Both find it hard to just simply ‘be.’ Why is it hard for us to just live in existence as you state?”

  Metatron laughed. “Gabriel, it boils down to the truth that the intoxicating hunger for power and control are deeply embedded in the evolution of matter. Humanity feels the burden of time weighing down on their every move. Is this going to be the last ride I take, the last individual I fall in love with, the last experience I am going to have? If it is, then how long will I be remembered? Will I regret how I lived it . . . or, in essence, how I controlled it? Those who were designed and came into existence before the constraint of time still feel the need to rise up. Instead of taking that hunger and using it for what it was intended . . .”

  “And what is that? Why do we all have this insatiable desire for control and power?” Gabriel asked as she looked at Metatron, not even sure if he would be able to really answer her question.

  He cocked his lips to one side and thought for a moment before answering. “I believe it is misunderstood and has become twisted. It is intended to grow within us and have us build each other up. It was meant for you to not be satisfied with where you are but to remember from where you have come. You then begin to see others who are where you used to be, and you begin to invest in them with your understanding and knowledge. The more one does this, the more empowered they feel, for the pure form of that need is the need to power others forward. If each person would do that, we all would become unified in conscience under a sense of joint empowerment.”

  She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “You just lost me.”

  “Let me think . . .” How could he explain it more clearly and in a way that would not water down the point? “Simply, every aspect of existence is about balance. When darkness begins to be tapped into, it will then become unbalanced over light. What was supposed to be then becomes misunderstood, and soon what is misunderstood becomes what generations think to be fact. This is the poison of existence itself. This, then, can only be overcome by a deliberate focus on oneself to understand their true role. If they can discover that, then they can re-establish the balance and purpose. Power then does not become something wielded
out of control but, instead, something administered out of pure desire to see the better in others.”

  Gabriel wasn’t sure if she was really understanding his point, but she also knew that he would probably not become any clearer. She decided to drop the conversation and just spend time later dwelling on what he had shared with her.

  “So, any thoughts on the council meeting today?” she asked as she stretched her legs out and leaned her head back.

  “I think we all know what is happening.”

  “Sometimes, I do; and sometimes, I wonder if we are not just paranoid. We know that Michael is passionate about the Alliance members, their mission, principles, et cetera.”

  “Do we?”

  She leaned her head forward and looked to see if he had any sign of joking; he did not. “What do you mean?”

  “Do we know that? What is our role? Why are we supposed to have five council members?”

  “Guess it goes back to balance and what you were saying earlier. Our role is to maintain balance within our existence and Scintillantes and to act on behalf of mortals before Jah. We have five members to ensure that we maintain the balance of free will and existence. Five is the number that indicates no fixed foundation. We are to maintain a free-flowing existence.”

  “Do we do that? A better question may be ‘Does Michael allow us any of that?’ Hasn’t he kept us from filling the empty seat on the council?”

  “I know that you and Michael don’t see eye-to-eye on many things. I know that he, at times, can act aloof due to your former existence as a mortal, but what you are suggesting . . . I really can’t see. He has tried to fill the seat, but we haven't found someone who is able to fulfill the duties of the Council.”

  “What is it that you believe I am suggesting?” Metatron laughed.

  “That Michael has lost focus, that he is trying to run his own show, that he does things contrary to our original reason for being formed into the Arch Council.”

  “Now, you see, you just suggested all of that . . . not me.”

  Gabriel slapped Metatron hard across his chest. “You know I hate when you do that!”

  “But you did! I didn’t say any of that.”

  “So, you believe that he has it out for Leah, and he shouldn’t? You believe that he is purposely setting her up for failure in order to replace her?”

  “Again, you said that.”

  “Seriously, Metatron!”

  He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his thighs and shaking his head. “I don’t know. I know that something doesn’t feel right. Each member knows that Michael has had it out for Leah. Why? That is what we don’t know, but we know he does. Up to this point, we have been able to really keep her protected from his desire to take her from her team, but I fear that we may have run out of protection. My question is ‘for what end goal?’”

  “You mean what is his purpose for his going after her like a watchdog?”

  “Yes. It makes no sense. Usually, if no sense can be made from it, then there is something that is missing; and I fear what that something may be. There is a sense that this is bigger than Leah and even bigger than us as an Arch Council. I don’t know how but just a gut feeling.”

  “Let’s hope you are not correct. I don’t know what it is you are thinking this may be a part of, but I, for one, am ready for things to be smoother and not so complicated.”

  He looked at her with a “did-you-really-go-there” look and then stood up. “Speaking of meeting, I would imagine that our focus of that meeting should be here by now.”

  They both began to walk down the path toward the Great Council Hall. Gabriel knew she felt similar to what he had shared, but he also hoped they were both wrong.

  ◆◆◆

  Water rushed over her body and traveled its course from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, splashing off every curve and point that it could find and wrapping her in a sheet of purity and serenity. This was something she could understand from mortals for even she could appreciate the tranquility and celestial aptitude of just letting go and letting the shower take control. Steam rose up around her and encompassed the small space in which she stood, and she could feel the tile of the walls change from cool to warm as everything succumbed to the water.

  Leah closed her eyes and inhaled, allowing her chest to rise and then fall. Was she strong enough for this? Could she face the Arch Council without her team really knowing the reason for which she was going before them? Would they forgive her? Was this really it? Could she do this, or would they actually do something this time and she could stand proud to be a part of all of this?

  “That would truly be a day when Hell froze over,” she spoke softly to herself. She leaned back and allowed her wet hair to fall around her head. She wiped the water from her face. “Please forgive me for this,” she whispered, wishing she could tell each of her team members to their face. She couldn’t do that. If she did, they would try to stop her or join her; and this had to be solely her.

  She opened the door to the shower and grabbed a white towel that was lying just in arm’s reach and allowed it to unfold as she buried herself in it. She felt it whisk away the moisture from her skin; and she just stood there, breathing. Her body felt as if it was held down with heavy weights.

  There were soft chants being piped into her room through hidden speakers, much like those within Patmos; but it did little to soothe her this morning. “Girl, are you sure you know what you are doing? You understand there is no turning back from this,” she silently spoke to herself. “I know that. I know that more than anything, but this has gone on too long. Someone has to stand up for those who can’t; and if my position here holds me from doing that because of the gains or losses of those in power, then I have to do something.”

  She went to her closet and pulled out the white hoodie that had become her “Arch Council Uniform.” She laid it on her bed and walked just a few steps to a dresser where she pulled out a black tank top and allowed it to embrace her body. She followed it with a white pair of pants and then completed the ensemble with the hoodie. Once she was dressed, she took one more deep breath before leaving her quarters.

  ◆◆◆

  The inner workings of the Sanctum were operating smoothly; Alliance members, both mortal and immortal, were coming and going. To most, it was just another very early morning. She needed them to feel this way: to concentrate on the different tasks at hand. They would still be here, and their missions and reasons for being here would all continue. The less they knew, the better for all . . . especially for her and her command team.

  They had made so many improvements over the years to this place, it truly was the envy of many smaller Alliance groups. None of this mattered, though, if it were not for the people. They were the heartbeat of holding back the Fallen and ensuring the well-being of mortals.

  “Mankind will never fully know what we do for them. How blind is mortality to truly believe they are the beginning and the end? It is as if they are a child really believing the sheets of their bed will hold back the evil in the closet.”

  She moved toward the conference room that had been the cerebrum of her leadership pinnacle here at Sanctum. She walked in as she slowly drew in a deep breath, smiling at the two old friends that sat there waiting for her. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought she was trembling just slightly.

  “Good Morning, Guys.” She spoke in a warm tone. “I hope that you both slept better than I did last night.”

  Ki and Troy, with stoic strength etched on their face, bluffed that they did, even though all knew that none of this trio had slept even a wink.

  Troy stood up and walked toward his leader and buried her in a hug. His prior military background always kept him at arm's length from his leader out of respect, but this morning she was a friend first . . . and a close one.

  Leah accepted it. There was no need right now for rank. They were friends; they all had actually become even deeper than that: they had become family.
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  “I see that your implant is working,” she expressed with some joy. “What exactly does it do?”

  Troy, who had been blinded in combat by an IED, had been left with his life and the ability to only see the spiritual world and nothing of the physical. He had been working with Ki to create a computer implant that would move past the destroyed nerves and into the portion of the brain that would register images.

  “It is working enough, but Ki thinks he can get it better. Right now, I struggle with three dimensional, and a lot of times it makes things appear as if I have a bad connection . . . kinda fuzzy. You won’t hear me complain, though,” he chuckled.

  “So, what’s the word, Boss?” Ki asked inquisitively. “Any possible chance you already know the outcome of this hearing?”

  Leah’s thoughts rushed in on her quicker than she expected as she began to think about how much this team had done together and how she never could have imagined that she would be facing the Arch Council to deal with a possible demotion. She shook her head and made her way to the head of the long conference table. This table had been gathered around by so many: Trinita, Alfonso, Isaiah, Gideon, Ki, Troy . . . even Eve had once sat here.