At the mention of the lab, I stopped short.
“Oh no! What’s going to happen to Luke? And the others?” I asked worriedly, ashamed I had forgotten about him.
“Luke and Angelica encountered some trouble when they stepped into the stone archways. We are currently determining the location of Levi Boz, who should have been transported to the military training center after a memory wipe. We were unsure about you from early on, which was why we let you continue into the lab.”
“Where is Luke now?”
“I can’t answer that at this time. But please do not worry. Again, everything will be explained at the ARC.”
My mind raced wondering what could have happened to Luke. We approached the end of the alleyway. It was blocked by tall trees and shrubs. The greenery did not seem to fit the dinginess of the alley. The sirens began to shrill in my ears.
“It’s blocked.” I said. “Where can we go?”
“Looks can be deceiving.” grinned Sacra. She unsheathed her sword and thrust it into a narrow slit in between two different-looking bushes. All of the shrubbery creating the wall began to twist and tousle their branches. The two different bushes shed all of their leaves. Their branches began to roll back into themselves, soon revealing a human-sized opening. Looking through, I could see the meadow Luke and I had discovered.
“It’s the meadow.” I said. “I’ve been here with Luke.”
“Yes. This is where the Glinda awaits us.”
We stepped through the opening and into the lush landscape. The bushes closed behind us and to the left on a flat, grassy plateau sat a jet plane, engine roaring several yards away. I could no longer here the sirens blaring in the city. Sacra’s wings opened fully and she took flight toward the plane, landing outside its door.
“Hold tight,” said Rider as he put his right arm around my waist.
“What are you…,” I sputtered just as his wings opened and we lifted off of the ground, heading toward the plane. I looked around momentarily before I closed my eyes and took in the feeling of the wind rushing us, blowing through my hair. Each downbeat of his wings provided us with increased height and acceleration. We were only about twenty feet off of the ground, yet we flew quickly and it was the most exhilarating experience I had ever had. He landed us softly at the top of the staircase leading to the passenger entryway. Sacra stepped aside for us to walk in then latched the plane door securely in place. She knocked on the cockpit door twice, and went in, leaving me and Rider alone in the cabin.
It was a small plane, with enough room to seat fifty passengers. Yet it was a clearly luxurious aircraft. The seats were tan leather, with extra cushions and a footrest for each seat. The center aisle split the two rows, yet had ample walking space. In between every pair of seats was a box with a touch screen on top. Rider took one of the aisle seats up front and after pressing several buttons on the touch screen, a tray descended from the ceiling. It held a plate with pastries I had never seen before and a thick white beverage in two glasses.
“Have a seat, Sol,” he said with a compassionate smile.
I took the window seat next to him. The ache in my shoulder blades was becoming extremely uncomfortable. I fidgeted around my seat until I found a position that hurt the least. The plane then began to taxi around the meadow. A woman’s voice came on from the plane’s announcement system.
“Welcome aboard the ARC Airbus. I am your pilot, Glinda. I would like to give a special welcome to Miss Soleil Arch. You will be flying soon, Sol. Pun intended.” With that I heard a soft giggle and the microphone clicked off.
“Glinda has a flair for the dramatic,” smiled Rider. “In fact, her name isn’t truly Glinda. She took on the name after reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
“What is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?” I asked, confused.
“Ahhhh. That was well before your time,” he replied, with a touch of sadness. “Anyway, I believe it’s time I begin explaining a few things.”
“I agree. Why don’t we start with why I can see your wings all of a sudden and why you can fly?”
“Yes. I will answer those questions. But we must first begin with you, my dear Espial.”
“There! There’s that word again! First the lab technicians called me that, then you.”
“It’s not just a word. It’s part of who you are.” As he said this, I began to tilt back as the plane revved up into the air for takeoff. I felt my brain and stomach push further into my body as we climbed altitudes. My shoulders tensed in an attempt to brace for the pain. I inhaled deeply, praying that the ascent would end soon. Once the plane leveled off, Glinda’s voice came on the system again.
“Lady and Sir Rider. We are now at cruising altitude. Our trip will last approximately ten minutes. Sacra will be passing through shortly with some goodies. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.”
“Alright.” I said. “Why is that word ‘who I am’?”
“An Espial is not a descriptive term. An Espial is someone who is born with the ability to see things as they truly are. The lenses you once wore never would have corrected your eyesight. You were born with the ability to see all beings in this world. At least that’s what we initially thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“Espials are humans who possess the incredible gift of true sight; seeing humans, angels, demons and beasts of all forms. And since you were born, we were sure that you would be an Espial. But now we see that you are not an Espial. However, we did not consider that you would be one of us.”
“And exactly who or what are you?” I asked, hesitantly.
“I am an angel.”
I silently took in his statement for a moment. I reached up and slowly removed the sunglasses Sacra had placed on my face. Once they were off entirely, I studied his features. Truly analyzing him, I saw that he had a very smooth, blemish-free face. His eyes were a sparkling amber, which matched the color of the aura he emitted. His wings were tucked behind him in his seat, but I could see the tops of them above his shoulders. They were a striking gold, reflecting the sunlight and causing flecks of yellow to bounce off of the touch screen surface of the box in between us. Sacra came in and placed two glasses filled with an aqua-colored liquid on the tray. She smiled sweetly at me and went back into the cockpit.
“So you are an angel?” I asked suspiciously.
“Yes.”
“And you are saying that I am an angel as well?”
“Yes. And no.”
“How can you mean yes and no?”
“Because of your ancestry. We believe that you are not simply an angel. You are possibly an arch angel.”
Again I sat quietly for a moment. I began to shake my head. “But I’m just…no one. I’m Sol. That’s all. ” I replied, unable to process all of this information. “What you’re saying cannot be possible.” I felt a sudden twinge in my shoulder blades.
“It is very possible. Your last name is shortened from arch angel. It began with your great-grandfather, Solomon Arch. I knew him well as we both accepted our roles as warrior angels around the same time, although he was older than I. He ranked higher than me and I served him as a lower ranked cadet for many millennia, fighting for the good of mankind.”
“Let’s say that I believe what you are telling me. If my great-grandfather was so important, why did you think I wouldn’t be an arch angel? Why did you think I would be an Espial?”
“Because your mother is an Espial and your father was an arch angel. Children born unto such a combination have never been arch angels. Yet they are always Espials.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. “My mother is an Espial?!” I cried.
“Yes,” replied Rider, as he reached down and pressed a button on the touch screen.
“But wait. The lab technicians wanted to terminate me because they thought I was an Espial. How did my mother manage to escape termination if she was one too?”
“Because your father saved her. That was how he was killed. They were both f
ifteen and attending their Oculation procedure. He and your mother had been dating at the time and planned to marry immediately after the procedure. His father, the son of Solomon, had told him from a young age what he truly was. So your father faked his Oculation exams in order to pass and go undetected. While headed to meet his life mentor, he overheard the call go in for Ruth’s extermination when she failed the procedure due to being an Espial. He ran into her laboratory in an attempt to protect her, yet was killed by the very technicians you faced today.” Another tray descended from the ceiling on which rested a platter of mixed grains and nuts. He reached in and pulled out a handful, popping them into his mouth one nut at a time.
I closed my eyes as I tried to picture what Rider was telling me. I didn’t want to believe him, yet it made sense and felt truthful.
“As your father lay dying, your mother told the technicians that she was pregnant. They released her after forcing her to vow to never mention the truth of what happened to anyone. They knew that they could not exterminate a pregnant Espial without severe consequence from us. The security footage of what occurred was permanently deleted and the technicians never told Warren Sato the truth of what happened. They informed him that your father had violently interrupted his own Oculation procedure and had to be exterminated.”
“Wait. Were you watching the security footage when this happened?” I asked distrustfully.
“No. I was outside of Terredome, fighting with the rebels when this tragedy occurred. I wish I was there because I would have done everything in my power to help your father. It would have been the least I could do as a debt to your great-grandfather.”
“So my father was an arch angel and knew it his entire life? And he dated my mother, an Espial, who conceived me?”
“Yes.”
“What’s going to happen to her now?”
“We have systems in place. We’ve been keeping tabs on your mother since the day she met your father. And on you since you were born. Prior to your Oculation ceremony, we met with her secretly to update her on the safety measures in place. We all knew you would encounter some level of difficulty, yet not to this extent. Unfortunately, we did not have time to shut down or erase the security footage of what took place today. So you are now most definitely being hunted.”
“Will they be hunting my mother?!” I asked, frightened and standing up quickly.
“Yes, but she is safe. Please sit. She is waiting at the ARC.” He patted the seat, gesturing for me to sit back down. I slowly sat next to him.
“Why do the technicians hate Espials enough to exterminate them?” I asked.
“It’s not just them. They work for Warren Sato. And if it hadn’t occurred to you already, then you should know that he is, in fact, a demon. And not just any demon. He is single-handedly responsible for starting the Great World War.”
“How is that possible?”
“He was originally asked to be an angel, yet declined in order to pursue his dream of ruling the world. Millennia after millennia, we angels have fought him and his minions in order to maintain peace and order on earth. Otherwise, his control would enslave all of mankind to do his biddings. His numbers grew so that he was known as the War Senator. Every city he inhabited, the female and children citizens would be enslaved and all men were forced to join his army as he moved to the next town or village.”
“This is too much. This is just too much,” I said, slowly coming to terms with everything he was saying.
“It is certainly a lot to process. It will be ok. We will be arriving at the ARC shortly and we can speak in more detail then. There is a lot you must learn about Sato. But you must also be prepared to face what is ahead.” With that he pressed a button on the screen and the food trays retracted back into the ceiling. Glinda’s voice came on the sound system for a final time.
“We will be arriving at the ARC in about two minutes,” she announced. “Thank you for riding Air Glinda.” Again, she giggled and clicked off the microphone. My stomach did a small flip as the plane began its descent. I squirmed in my seat.
“One last question,” I said to Rider.
“Yes?”
“What on earth is happening to my back?”
“Your wings are beginning to unsheathe,” he replied with a half smile. “Every angel is fully unsheathed by the tenth day after their fifteenth birthday.
CHAPTER 7
As we approached the plane’s entryway, the cockpit door flew open.
“Oh dear it is her!” shouted a woman dressed in pink, with a coral aura and baby pink wings. Her long, jet black hair had streaks of hot pink throughout, along with her eyebrows. She pulled me into a tight hug, swaying me side to side. “It’s been far too long. My have you grown to be such a lovely young lady!”
“Umm…hi,” I groaned, hardly able to breathe and wincing at the pain she was causing my shoulder blades.
“Let her go she can’t breathe, Glinda,” said Sacra, eyebrows raised at Glinda.
“I know, I know. She’s just so perfect!” exclaimed Glinda, finally releasing me. “My name is Glinda, dear. You probably don’t remember me, but I was there the day you were born. We all were and we are so happy that you’ve turned out well! Better than well, actually, since you are one of us!”
“Um…yes. Nice to meet you. Thanks,” I muttered, unsure of why she was so excited to see me.
“Oh and look! Your wings are augmenting!” she shouted to Rider.
“Yes, right on schedule,” smiled Rider. “But we cannot linger. Let’s chat in the ARC and get everyone caught up.” He again put his right arm around my waist and flew us out of the Airbus and onto a cobblestone pathway.
Once we landed, I looked up and saw that we were outside of an abandoned church. Sacra and Glinda landed by us and began walking around the side of the building. Dead weeds, thorny branches and rusted iron poles obstructed our path, yet Rider, Sacra and Glinda navigated the mess with ease and familiarity. We reached the wooden doors of an underground shed connected to the building. Sacra pointed her sword at the door handles, and the doors swung open on their accord. She hopped down, followed by Glinda.
“After you,” smiled Rider.
I peeked over the edge of the door frame, and could see a stone landing far below. “But we’re very high. That’s a good thirty feet drop,” I said, concerned that Rider was joking about jumping down.
“Just jump,” he whispered, nodding toward the drop. “Here, I’ll count to three.”
“Alright,” I replied as I turned to face the drop.
“1, 2,” and on the count of 2, Rider pushed me from behind and I fell into the hole.
I screamed all the way down. As I approached the ground, I closed my eyes and bent my legs slightly to brace for impact. When I landed, my eyes opened and I realized that I had landed straight up, no harm done. Rider floated down next to me.
“I made it.” I spoke breathily, shocked that I had made the landing without injury.
“You have more in you than you realize,” he suggested, patting my head.
Behind him, light bounced off of stone walls. The air had an unfamiliar smell and a few droplets of water fell onto my head. I looked up to see water dripping from the stone ceiling. A drop landed on my lips and when I tasted it, it was salty. We were in a rocky cavern of some sort. I turned to my right and was immediately struck by what I saw. Crystal clear blue water greeted my eyes in a pool about one hundred yards in diameter. The short beach between me and the pool was rocky, yet the pebbled surface glistened like diamonds. I walked over to where the water lapped up onto the beach and tried to see the bottom of the pool. It was so deep that it appeared to have no end. Across from us on the opposite beach were several passageways, one of which was lit with torches.
“Where are we?” I asked in awe.
“The ARC Grotto,” replied Sacra. “The church above us used to be near a body of water known as the Hudson River. During the Great World War, buildings and earth formations were destroyed.
And when the nuclear reactor detonated, the entire river dried. Over the years, this grotto naturally formed and has housed the ARC’s home base.”
I looked closer on the ground and noticed there were familiar-looking shells lying between the pebbles and rocks, reflecting rainbows. I bent down and reached out for one. It magically flew into the palm of my hand. Rubbing it in between my fingers, I tried to place where I had seen those shells before.
“Your blouse,” said Glinda, smiling down at me.
Still crouched, I held the shell up to my blouse and realized that it matched the buttons on the shirt my mother had given to me earlier that day. Was it still the same day that all of this had happened?
“My mother’s been here before?” I asked, searching Rider’s face for answers.
“Yes. When we spoke to her prior to your Oculation, she met us here. She’s been here a few times before as well. Simply to update us on your livelihood.”
I nodded and stood, pocketing the seashell that rested in my hand.
“Let’s keep moving,” said Rider, offering his arm.
Sacra and Glinda lifted up and flew across the pool, landing on the opposite beach in the grotto. Rider again lifted me into his arm and transported us across as well. Upon landing, he took the lead in showing us down the torch-lit passageway.
CHAPTER 8
We arrived in front of a large metal door with the acronym A.R.C. engraved in large, cursive letters across the middle.
“What does A.R.C. stand for?” I asked.
“Angels Resource Center,” answered Sacra. “It holds our technological databases, weaponry and combat center, and our security camera feeds from across Terredome and other locales.”
“And it has my favorite amenity,” said Glinda excitedly, eyelashes blinking rapidly.
“What’s that?” I asked her.
“The ATS. Angel Transport System. Some places around the world are a little too far to fly to, so we have pods that transport us instantaneously from one location to another.”
“Oh I see.” I lied, unable to imagine how such a device could possibly exist.
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