As our laughter settled down, Christik began to raise her hand towards the center of the large wooden table. We watched intently as her hands began to glow with her ice white shimmering power, and there in the center of us all, an image of a town appeared. It was so strange to see the town without lots of traffic. Instead, we could see the hustle and bustle of humans and angels working together.
Most of the people were working on a large white building which may have been a library or a civic building once. They were turning it into a replica of a holding structure, and they were doing a fantastic job.
“As you can all see, our human friends and our angels have been working hard,” Christik said. “We are close to finishing all the fake holding structures, and we have nearly all ammunition in place surrounding them.”
As she finished her sentence, the image changed to a room inside one of the nearby buildings. Inside the room were stacks of wooden ammunition boxes. There were guns, bullets, grenades and other armaments that I didn’t recognize.
“How many people know how to use all these weapons?” Akhenaten asked with concern on his strong features.
“We have many who are trained, Akhenaten,” Christik assured him. “Everyone who has been willing to learn has had training from those who have military training. The surviving humans are extremely dedicated to fighting the Marilians for the sake of their planet.”
“Hell, yeah we are!” Tracey declared.
Everyone else around the table agreed with nods of their heads, and as Akhenaten looked around the room; he could clearly see everyone’s determination.
“Ann, the body painter, and the other artists have been busy practicing as well,” Christik added as the image changed again.
We could see Ann and the others standing in the middle of a street, all staring at a row of deserted shops. It was strange because none of us could see anything unusual to stare at.
“What on earth are they doing?” Holly asked to no one in particular.
“You will see,” Christik said with a smile.
I tried to look even harder at the image before us, but all I could see were the shop fronts with their dirty windows and grimy sills, with small piles of rubbish in the entrances that had been forced there by the wind. Then I saw a slight movement at one of the storefronts, and as I tried to figure out what I’d seen, a body peeled itself away from the brickwork of the building.
“Woah, that’s freaking amazing!” Tracey declared loudly, making us laugh.
As we continued to watch, eight more angels stepped away from the buildings. This time, there was a lot more “Woahs” from everyone in the room.
“It is amazing, Tracey,” Christik answered. “As you can all see, Ann and her artist friends are able to camouflage our angels extremely well. This will give us a large advantage when we fight the Marilians.
“But how will Ann and the others be able to paint them in time when the Marilians arrive?” Anthony asked.
“Apparently, Ann has a setting spray, that will keep the paint on our angels’ bodies, Anthony,” Christik explained. “We do not secrete body oils like humans, so it will stay on, and our angels are able to stay in one position for days at a time,” she added.
Christik then turned her attention to Tracey, whose husband was still looking very solemn.
“Tracey has been invaluable with her help,” Christik said warmly.
“I was able to locate plenty of buildings for our needs,” Tracey stated with pride. “We now have buildings for our weapons as well as for our ambushes.”
The image in front of us changed again to the buildings surrounding another fake holding structure. Instead of windows in the building, there were metal boards with long slits.
“We’ve used metal boards instead of wood because as you all know, the Marilians use fire as a weapon. The metal will get hot, but it will protect our fighters more efficiently,” Tracey explained. “The Marilians don’t know what our buildings should look like, so that will get us another advantage.”
The image began to disappear as Christik’s glowing hand started to dim, and as she took her seat, Derek sat forward.
“We’ve managed to acquire plenty of body armor for our fighters too,” Derek said also with pride. “With the angels’ help, we visited many armed forces bases and stocked up on everything we could find. We’ve got full combat gear, including tactical vests, boots and mag pouches. You are all going to look like total badasses,” he said humorously.
As I sat there listening to Derek talk, I could help but notice that Akhenaten was still staring at Tracey, and he was slightly glowing more than he was before. Tracey could obviously feel him staring as her eyes were flitting between Derek and Akhenaten. There was definitely something in the air, but with so many people in the room all feeling something different, it was hard to tell who was feeling what.
“It seems that everything is going to plan, my one,” Lindaz told Christik with confidence in her voice. “Do you have any idea how long we have before the Marilians arrive?” She asked.
“No, my one, we do not have any idea,” Christik told her mother honestly. “That is why we are trying to get everything ready so quickly. We cannot afford to be unprepared.”
“Now the animals are safe, at least we can concentrate on finishing our preparations,” James told everyone, “My kids and I are planning to get some shooting practice in today if anyone else wants to come with us. Luiza and Shawn are already at the range your angels made,” he added.
Christine and Nalik decided to go with James, the kids and a few others. As we all began to leave the large meeting room, Tracey came up to me while John quietly left the room.
“Do you mind if I hang out with you for a while,” Tracey asked with a serious note to her voice.
“Sure, of course,” I replied, picking up on her conflicted emotions.
I could feel us being watched, and when I turned around to see who it was, Akhenaten was steadily watching Tracey’s every movement. When he realized I was looking at him, his eyes connected with mine, and I could feel his confusion and conflicted emotions too. I dipped my head to the golden angel and said my goodbyes to everyone before leaving.
The huge control center was as busy as ever, with angels working at their curve’s consoles. As Tracey and I walked through, we both looked through the massive shimmering glass window and admired the scene. The white rig crafts were still cleaning the ocean water. However, there was now a big difference between the dirty water that was being sucked in and the clean water being pumped out. This time, the two water flows looked more alike in color.
“We’re making real progress, aren’t we!” I said.
“Yes, we are. I just hope the Marilians don’t get the chance to muck it all up,” Tracey replied bluntly.
“You certainly have a way with words Tracey,” I told her with a chuckle.
“After what I’ve been through, with cancer and losing my babies, Mel, life is too short to mess around with pleasantries,” she replied with a grin.
There was nothing that I could say to her comment. I didn’t have the first clue of how tough it had been for her, and I would never judge her.
Chapter 11
Tracey was very quiet and thoughtful as we walked back to my room. I could almost hear her mind ticking over whatever it was that was bothering her. I still felt very intrigued with Akhenaten’s reaction to her as well, and as we’d left the meeting room, I was pretty sure he was glowing a little more brightly than when the meeting had started. ‘This is going to be very interesting,’ I thought to myself as we approached my room’s entrance.
“After you,” I told Tracey, letting her enter first.
I followed behind her, and she walked straight over to the seating area next to the circular window. The warm sunshine was filtering through the glass and hitting the seats of the chairs. I could feel the comforting warmth as my body made contact with the soft chairs.
As soon as I sat down; I touched my com and reached out t
o Hulaz. I suddenly had a feeling that Tracey might need an angel to talk with too. ‘Hulaz, are you free to have a coffee with Tracey and I?’ I asked, hoping she was available. ‘I can be with you very soon, Mel,’ I heard her say clearly in my mind. Relief flowed through me as I took in the mixed emotion in Tracey’s lovely face.
“What’s going on, Tracey?” I asked her softly, “You have so many emotions swirling inside of you that you’re making me dizzy,” I added with a warm smile.
Tracey’s face instantly looked so strained; I had to resist the urge to lean forward and give her a huge hug. ‘She’ll be a sobbing wreck if I do that now,’ I thought. Tracey looked at me with sadness in her brown eyes.
“I honestly don’t know where to freaking start!” She declared; her voice trembling as she spoke.
“Before the end of our planet began, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and it was already incurable,” Tracey explained as she lowered her gaze. “I was one of those women who always put off having the mammograms done. By the time I found my lump in my right breast and went for the mammogram, it was too late.”
Tracey took a slow breath to steady her emotions.
“John didn’t know how to cope with the news, so he just got angry with me for not going sooner,” she said as her voice shook. “When he got angry, I withdrew from him, Mel. I had to come to terms with dying as well as explaining to our twins what was going on, and John didn’t help at all!” She stated, her anger at John clearly evident. “That idiot man was in denial, and I had to do everything. I consoled our kids, broke the news to family and friends, and on top of that; I had to organize my own freaking funeral,” she said in an emotional rush of words.
A massive sob escaped her as she finished her sentence. My instincts took over, and before I knew what I was doing, I was reaching for her and taking her into my arms. Tracey’s whole body shook as she let out her tears of frustration, anger and heartbreak.
I held her and stroked her hair as she let it all go. I understood her emotions, and I also knew that most people would feel the same way if they were in her shoes. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend what it had been like for her. She was an amazingly strong woman, and I admired her immensely. When her sobs began to subside, she pulled herself away, using both hands to wipe away her tears.
“When the world started to die, all I kept thinking about was saving Ashley and Martin. Tracey said vehemently, “I didn’t care about myself or the cancer anymore because it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that our twins survived.
I could feel how hard it was for Tracey to be reliving what had happened, but I also understood that she desperately needed to pour her heart out, so she could begin to heal emotionally. I reached forward, and I took her hand in mine, hoping that she would find comfort in my small gesture and the strength to carry on. Her wet and tear-stained face looked up at mine once again.
“Ashley and Martin got sick when the water in our area turned bad,” she said quietly. “Fair play to John, he looked and searched everywhere for clean water, but it was all gone. We tried to filter and clean what we found, but it still made the kids really sick.”
Tracey took another deep breath, pursing her lips, she let it out as slowly as she could.
“I supposed they got sick so quickly because they were so young,” she said. “John and I held them in our arms as they died.”
A huge sob wracked her body as she said the words. I could see her facial expression changing from hurt to anger before my eyes as her mind replayed the events of what had happened.
“John just got really angry again,” she said with her own anger shining through, “He didn’t help me grieve our babies, he just got angry. Angry at me and the world. I felt so alone and to be honest Mel, I was looking forward to the sickness or the cancer taking me, so I could be with my babies again.”
I stroked her hand with mine, and I looked deeply into her shining, tear rimmed eyes.
“I would have felt exactly the same way, Tracey,” I assured her quietly.
“I don’t remember anything else until I woke up in the birthing room, and then I felt the loss of my babies all over again,” Tracey told me as her anger turned back to sadness. “I was so upset that the cancer had gone because that was my way of being back with my babies. John really doesn’t understand.”
“Do you think John grieved the loss of Ashley and Martin while you were sleeping?” I asked gently.
“Yes, I think he did,” she said as she lowered her head.
Another tear escaped her eyelashes, trickling slowly down her damp face and landing on the blue silky dress she was wearing. Tracey didn’t even notice.
“John has already gone through the grieving process, but I haven’t, and he doesn’t understand,” Tracey explained. “To be honest with you Mel, I’m still angry at the git for not being there for me when I was diagnosed, and for not being there for me now while I’m grieving,” she added.
“Have you tried to explain that to him, Tracey?” I asked.
Tracey took another deep breath, and her shoulders lifted and fell as she lifted her head to look up to the ceiling of my white room. When she looked at me again, it was defeat that I felt from her and saw in her brown eyes.
“I’ve tried, Mel, but there is no talking with him,” she said with resignation. “I blame his mother,” she added with a weak smile, “she was one of those women who believed that boys should man up and not talk about their emotions. She was an emotional fortress, and I always felt sorry for John’s dad, being married to someone so cold.”
Do you think you and John can get past this?” I asked, but in my heart, I already knew the answer.
“No, I don’t think we can, Mel,” she replied in defeat. “It’s gone way past that. He’s made me feel so alone for so long that I actually don’t want to be with him anymore. I have tried though, Mel. I just can’t pretend any longer,” she said sadly.
There was a tap at the entrance to my room, grabbing our attention.
“Come in,” I said as I slipped my hand from Tracey and walked towards the entryway. Hulaz glided into the room with a stone tray of coffee, juice and fruits between her glistening slender hands. The moment she saw Tracey and I, she dipped her head and gave us both a lovely smile. Behind her was Mimi, and I was pleased. I felt that Tracey needed all the friends she could get to help her through such a terrible time.
“I hope you don’t mind me crashing the pity party,” Mimi said with her infectious smile, “I saw Hulaz arriving outside and thought you might like one more.”
“Abso freaking lutely,” Tracey told her with a returning small smile.
Hulaz placed the tray on the small table in front of Tracey, and as we all sat down on the soft chairs, Tracey poured the drinks. The angels hadn’t yet acquired the taste of coffee, so Tracey automatically offered Hulaz some juice. The coffee was just what I needed, and as I watched Tracey hugging her coffee in between sips, it was clear she was in need of a hot drink too.
“So, what's new, what’s going on, ladies?” Mimi asked with her usual exuberance.
“I think John and I are done,” Tracey said bluntly with a weak smile.
“Holy shit, really?” Mimi asked with a surprised face.
“Yep!” Tracey stated, “I’ve been explaining everything to Mel, and while I was telling her all about it; I realized how true it is. We’re over. We haven’t loved each other like a married couple are supposed to for a long time. I think he knows it too,” she added.
Mimi’s eyes were wide with surprise, and she was clearly stumped for words.
“Woah, so what are you going to do now?” Mimi asked with concern in her voice.
“I’m going to take a room here on the main craft. If that’s ok, Hulaz?” She asked as she turned her gaze to the blue-haired angel.
Hulaz dipped her head to Tracey and gave her a smile.
“Of course, Tracey, you are welcome to stay here as long as you need to,” Hulaz told her graciously.<
br />
“What are you going to say to John?” I asked, feeling worried for her.
“He already knows that I’m moving out, and to be honest, I think we’re both secretly relieved,” Tracey admitted.
Mimi slid her butt forward on her seat, and she suddenly had the look of a naughty schoolgirl with a big secret.
“I don’t want to throw an iron in the works, but did anyone else notice that Akhenaten kept staring at Tracey and was glowing?” She asked quietly.
I bit down on my lips, trying not to giggle at the comical look on Mimi’s face. Her eyes were abruptly wide with excitement and mischief.
“Mimi, you are so bad!” I admonished with a giggle, no longer able to keep my humor contained.
“No freaking way, you’re pulling my leg!” Tracey told her in shock.
I looked at Hulaz, then Mimi and back to Tracey, who was now staring at me as if to say, ‘Well?’
“It’s true,” I admitted while trying to keep a straight face. “He was staring at you a lot, even though I think he was trying not to. I did notice he was glowing a little when the meeting started as well,” I added.
“Akhenaten was glowing brighter towards the end of the meeting, that’s for sure,” Mimi said excitedly with raised eyebrows.
“He may be trying to not to fall for you as you are already married,” Hulaz interjected, “He is older than many of us, so he has more control over his power and emotions.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Tracey admitted while still hugging her coffee to her chest.
“You do not have to say anything, Tracey,” Hulaz told her kindly. “You need to concentrate on yourself at the moment. You do not need to concern yourself with Akhenaten and how he is feeling.”
“By the way, what’s this I hear about angels being able to change the size of their bits to suit their sexual partner?” Mimi asked Hulaz with a ridiculous grin and one raised eyebrow.
“What, seriously?” Tracey asked while also looking at Hulaz.
I couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped me. I knew the girls were going to react this way, and it was cracking me up. As I laughed, I could feel my baby girl moving around as my hand rested on my bump. Hulaz was obviously amused as well.
The Marilians Page 12