Alice's Insurrection (Alice Clark Series)

by Andrea DiGiglio

  “Apparently your forehead wrinkles when you’re thinking hard also,” Cole said, brushing his hand gently across her forehead. Alice smiled slightly in response but this new information was taunting her, though she wasn’t sure why.

  “Let’s enjoy the night, there’s no need to talk about this now,” Sariel said with a warm smile that eased Alice’s worry. Alice sipped her wine, letting the earthy flavor rest on her tongue. Sariel’s smile quickly drained from his face and the glass slipped through Alice’s hand as she could feel the anxiety from all of her Fallen family, now that they were so connected.

  “You feel that, brother?” Kokabiel asked.

  “I do,” Paul answered. The Fallen quickly leapt from the table and rushed outside, panicked.

  “What is it?” Cole asked. As he did, lightning struck wildly in the sky and as he feared, he knew the Angels were coming down for a visit. They were all sure it wasn’t a friendly one. They stood their ground, circled protectively around Alice and Cole, awaiting their opposition. With a loud crash and a bright flash of light, Rogziel stood strongly on the burnt dead grass below his feet. He smiled a crooked grin and glared at Alice with malice.

  “What the fuck are you staring at?” Alice spat.

  “Always so feisty,” Rogziel hissed.

  “What have you come to threaten us with now, Rogziel?” Briathos spoke through gritted teeth.

  “I see you’ve made yourself comfortable with them.” They could all feel the hatred in his words. Four more angels landed near their self-appointed leader. Alice felt the tension rise inside of her, partly her own anxiety but mostly from her Fallen family. They stared at one another for several minutes. It felt like forever to her. Rogziel’s hand struck up into the air as a command, waiting for the lightning bolt to shift into his sword and land in his possession. “I have a message. The End of Days is approaching.”

  “Is that your message?” Briathos asked.

  “No. That is your warning. I didn’t take into account that when I banished you, that would stop the seals from being broken. I’m here to fix that.” In his white flowing pants and button down, with glorious wings behind him, he looked like an angel designed by Hollywood, but his face was filled with hate and cruelty, the same look that Purah had given Alice before he forced the spikes into her flesh. “This is your message,” as the words left his cruel mouth, the lightning bolt surged, landing in his palm. He turned, effortlessly whipping it across the lawn, passing through his fellow Angels and flying straight toward Alice’s very human heart. Alice tried to suck the air into her lungs to stop the horror from playing out, but as she tried, hands pushed her harshly, knocking the air from her lungs.

  “No!” She panicked knowing the worst was yet to come. Sariel finished pushing her from the incoming sword, only placing himself directly in its way.

  “Sariel!” his Fallen brothers cried. It was no use, Sariel’s body crumbled to the ground . They felt torn between instinctively protecting Alice and coming to Sariel’s side. Protect her! Leave me! Sariel’s voice echoed in their minds. Alice scrambled from the ground and ran toward her grandfather. Jake and Paul pounced on her, stopping her dead in her tracks. She fought them with tears pouring down her face. Rogziel approached, driving the sword further into his torso. The pain forced Sariel’s wings to snap out from his back. Sariel fought to stay conscious as long as he was able.

  “Grandpa! No!” Alice begged, fighting Jake and Kokabiel who were holding her back, safe from harm. From the new connections they bared, she could feel every ounce of pain he was enduring, making her fall to the ground in agony. Cole raced to her and held her to comfort her and keep her from Rogziel’s grasp.

  Listen to me, my beautiful granddaughter. I love you, and I will miss you dearly, but do not risk your life here today. Sariel spoke to Alice’s mind while blood poured from his lips.

  “I’ll see you in Hell, Rogziel!” Sariel smiled at her before turning his head and spitting blood into Rogziel’s face. Rogziel thrust the sword deeply through Sariel, making the point sever his wings as they pierced through him. Once severed, he removed the electric sword, letting his body crumbled to the ground.

  “No!” Alice screamed, clawing her way over her Fallen family in a rage trying to reach Rogziel. She knew the only reason she no longer felt the pain was because her grandfather was dead.

  “That was the message, abomination. See you in the End of Days.” His eyes were wild from hate as he spoke inches from her face. With that, he flew into the night sky, leaving the Fallen and Angels to hover over the Fallen’s body. Alice turned to see the image of her painting play out and as her knees hit the dirt, she cried. She cried as she lifted her grandfather’s head into her lap. As she kissed his forehead, his body turned into ash, with a single beam of light hovering. That single beam of light burst until nothing was left. They all cried as they had lost someone dear to them and the threat made to Alice was severe and earth shattering. Alice looked around at the other Angels before they took off into the night, realizing her prophetic drawing had just come true. As always, there was no stopping it. Her walls came crashing down around her and suddenly the Fallen fell to their knees, crippled by the emotional and physical pain Alice was overwhelmed by, as it surged through her and into them.

  “Alice!” Cole begged, as he felt it the most of all due to their so-called gift. He clutched his sides in agony.

  “I’m trying…,” she stuttered through the shock.

  Kokabiel grabbed a hold of Alice’s shoulders and stared into her glossy eyes. “Listen to my voice, Alice, you have to shut it off. You’re crippling all of us.”

  “I’m trying!” she screamed through her tears.

  “Try harder!” he yelled back.

  Alice took a deep cleansing breath and removed her arms from clutching at the air where her grandfather’s body had just been and returned them to her side. The Fallen and Cole began to rise as the pain slowly lifted. Alice ran at Cole and flung herself into his arms. He held her, for hours. He would hold her forever if that were what she needed.

  “What are we going to do?” She whispered with her face buried in Cole’s neck.

  “I don’t know, Love. I don’t know.” He patted her hair soothingly and kissed her forehead. His eyes caught Jake’s, a Fallen who rarely looked worried, yet worry was plastered across his perfect jawline. Without words, they swore to protect her always even at the expense of their own lives. For now they had to soothe her soul and heart, which they all could feel was breaking.

  COLE

  COLE SAT ON THE PORCH nursing a beer in the silent company of Jake. Alice had finally passed out in his arms several hours earlier. He had put her in bed and snuck downstairs for no reason in particular except to give Alice space and more so, to give himself space from her. He knew how she dealt with traumatic events and it was never good at first. Chaos was a constant friend to her even if she hated it, though he was surprised she didn’t pull out a bottle of vodka and lock herself in the bathroom, but it was early in the grieving process.

  “I don’t even know why we are working so hard to go home. I hate everything He stands for,” Jake spat before downing half his beer.

  “We’re fighting for our right to exist, not your right to go home to Daddy,” Cole retorted.

  “You’re lucky we’re friends,” Jake said trying not to laugh. “Nice come back, though.” They laughed for a short moment before finishing their beers and opening another. Cole could see his breath and he wondered how near the End of Days actually were. He could tell Jake was thinking the same thing and the worry they felt was thick in the air.

  “You should probably get some rest,” Jake suggested.

  “I know. My mind is in overdrive, but I don’t think I could if I tried,” Cole frowned.

  “I know what you mean. Tomorrow we’ll sort this all out and come up with a plan. Most importantly, we have to get Alice back on her feet.”

  “She’s lost so much already. I don’t know how
much more her heart can take.” They had all lost so much, it was breaking them all down and they knew that was Rogziel’s plan or at least part of it. Cole sipped his beer while staring up at their bedroom window. He wasn’t sure how but he knew it was up to him to soothe Alice’s pain. Though he had wrapped his numbing shield around her, he knew that wasn’t nearly enough. Not even close.

  COLE SAT AT THE KITCHEN table with a cup of coffee looking slightly dazed. His five o’clock shadow was fierce across his chiseled jawline. He ran his hand through his hair trying to soothe his head, which was thumping from one too many beers with Jake. Alice walked slowly downstairs, attempting to crack a smile in Cole’s direction. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table next to him. “You look exhausted,” she said.

  “Yeah, I didn’t get any sleep last night.”

  “Did you come to bed?”

  “No, Jake and I stayed up and had a few beers. Well, more than a few.” He rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the light in the kitchen that Alice just turned on. “He just left twenty minutes ago,” Cole yawned. Finally I feel tired, he thought.

  “Go get some sleep; I’m okay,” Alice said.

  Cole arched an eyebrow at her as she kissed his forehead. “Put that thing away,” she teased pointing at his eyebrow. “I’m not happy, but I’m working really hard at not letting this consume me. I don’t want to give that monster the satisfaction after all he’s taken from me.”

  “Alright. I guess I could use a little sleep but if you need me…”

  “I won’t,” she interjected.

  “But if you do…”

  “I’ll come get you right away,” she said with a warm smile. Not the sort that beamed happiness but a reassuring, honest smile that said, I’m hurting but I’ll be okay. It was enough for him to leave her if only for a short while so he, too, could recover, if only a fraction.

  ALICE

  ALICE SIGHED AUDIBLY AT THE mountain of dishes in the sink. She began washing them; taking sips of coffee in between. She wondered where her grandfather was. The abyss they are all threatened with, the field of the damned. Whichever place he was, she hoped he wouldn’t be there long. As hard as it was to imagine before, even more so now did she need her supposed destiny to save them all, to be real. She wondered if her new ability to heal the Fallen, forgive them; was given to her by God to help her prove that all kinds, Angels, human’s and Nephilim deserved to exist. Or worse, if it was to shower her with all the reasons they don’t deserve saving. She also wondered why Rogziel was so vengeful against her kind. If it was a personal vendetta or if he was in fact only following orders. Then the worst thought trickled down her brain stem, the End of Days was near. Not only for her kind and her kin’s kind, but all of mankind, all because God had declared her kind abominations and wanted to punish all the Fallen angels that defied him. She recalled having a discussion in her early religion class ages ago about how no one could wrap their heads around the so-called temper tantrum that had ensued from the behavior of his children. We are all God’s children whether He likes it or not. Her inner voice was full of rage. How could she convince God to forgive and save them all when she was still so angry with Him? She was trying not to think of her grandfather but something Rogziel said about the seals forced her to. Maybe he intended that one of the Fallen would sacrifice themselves for her. In a sense, evil doing a good dead. If that was the case then maybe there was hope for them all. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she was grateful.

  “Dad?” She was more than surprised to see her father especially in the disheveled form he arrived in. “Come on in.”

  “I know you like to grieve alone,” he began.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Dad.”

  He continued, “But I love you and I don’t ever want to see you go through what you did the last time you lost someone you loved. Wait, what?”

  “I don’t want to either. I think I’m still in shock and I can’t guarantee I won’t lose it here and there, but I am trying to process this without my usual methods.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. I know we all expect a lot from you. I’m here as your father and that is all.”

  “Thank you; that means a lot to me. As much as I don’t want to talk about it, we’re going to have to deal with this threat.” Alice jumped up on the counter with her mug and signaled her dad to sit down. “For right now, let’s just exist together.”

  “That sounds perfect.” He stood up and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a hug. “I love you so very much and I will do everything I can to protect you.”

  “I know, Dad.” A tear betrayed her as it rose from her eye and slid down her cheek. She wiped it on his sleeve and breathed in slowly. Growing up, she would have done anything to have a moment like this with her father. Even though so much was wrong in her life and the world, she was thankful that she was able to share this moment with him, as they had both worked incredibly hard for it.

  “Oh dear, are those the dishes from last night?” He cringed.

  “Yeah, we all had other stuff going on.” Her eyes glossed up, but she fought it and won, much to her relief.

  “You wash, I’ll dry,” he offered. She chuckled and nodded. How ordinary of them, how human. A half-breed and a Fallen washing dishes in the wake of yet another disaster.

  FALLEN AND THEIR NEPHILIM CHILDREN began flocking to her property, setting up tents and gathering around a blazing fire. It felt all too familiar to her. She felt bad since it was near freezing outside but they had all taken precautions to keep warm. They felt more comfortable being near her, though she felt it was more dangerous. She wondered if she had time to search for their light and prepare them to forgive themselves. Alice walked across the lawn toward the, fire holding a canvas. They all watched her, studying their savior’s movements. She approached the fire, hesitant. She had never destroyed her work before but she knew she could never move on with it lurking nearby. She chucked the canvas into the fire with force and watched the flames eat at it aggressively.

  “What was that?” a Fallen asked.

  “The past,” she answered. She stayed and watched it burn for several minutes before returning to the house. She wished that burning her drawing was the equivalent to letting the past go, but the pain she felt was melting into a molten rage, and she was afraid of who would end up on the other side of her anger. Breathe. She warned herself. She had to remind herself that they had all lost someone dear to them, not only her. She wasn’t sure what was gnawing at her more, the hole that had been dug out from the loss of her grandfather or the fear that this was only the beginning.

  COLE

  COLE AND JAKE LEANED AGAINST a pair of trees near the fire. They stared at it silently, somber in the absence of Alice. Cole knew she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, but neither was he. That wasn’t at all what they were doing.

  “What plan are you brewing in that thick skull of yours?” Jake asked, poking Cole in the head with his index finger.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Really? You’re playing dumb. If you have a plan, I want in.”

  “Jake, if I had a plan you’d be the first to know. I honestly don’t have a clue how this is going to go.”

  “Damn,” Jake took a swig of his beer.

  “What?”

  “I really thought you might have come up with an idea. I was hoping, anyway.”

  “Sorry, man. Today I’m just drinking this beer and hoping things work out.” He was hopeful but he wasn’t betting his money on hope. He knew that the Angels meant business. He felt stronger than he ever had in his life but his strength was useless in this case. At one point he had put faith in God that He would choose to save them, that Alice would convince Him to. His faith was wearing thin and it hurt to know He didn’t even care. “Together till the end?” He raised his beer to Jake.

  “Here, here,” Jake and the others near him said. Cole looked around at the familiar sight of Fallen and Nephilim. He
was thankful they had all chosen to stand up and fight the Angels with them against all the odds stacked against them. He stared up at the bedroom window longingly, knowing she needed time to process all that had happened and all that was coming their way. He didn’t want to push her away by trying to be near her and he knew how she was when she was in mourning. She was fighting with all her strength not to allow her own feelings and the feelings of those around her to break her down like last time. He was so proud of her, of her ability to stand strong in the face of chaos and torment.

  “I’m going to head in,” Cole said.

  “Night, brother,” Jake nodded. Cole chucked his beer at the fire before heading toward the house. He was anxious to determine what sort of mood Alice would be in. Lately it had ranged between hysterics and wanting jumping his bones. Clearly he was partial to one over the other. He entered the house to find Alice sitting at the table with a beer.

  “Alice?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you alright?” he asked sitting down across from her.

  “I suppose I am. I’m angry. At myself, mostly.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Shouldn’t I be distraught? Shouldn’t I be miserable in mourning?”

  “Maybe you’re just dealing with it differently this time,” Cole offered, resting his hand on her own hand.

  “Maybe I’m not dealing with it at all.”

  “I doubt that. You don’t have to slip into a chaotic depression to prove you loved him and that you miss him.”

  “Don’t I?” Her eyes began to water. She looked to him for answers he wished he could give her. He cupped her face in his hands and knelt down next to her.

  “You have been through so much in your lifetime that your mind is trying every which way to deal with the shitty hands you’ve been dealt. You are the strongest soul I have ever known and when you feel weak, lean on me. I’m here for you always.” He kissed her lips gently and she fell into his arms with her arms wrapped around his neck. He wrapped his numbing shield around her to soothe her aching. “I love you.”