Crossroads

by Mary Ting

  “I am sorry” meant that she didn’t have a fighting chance of recovery, and hearing those words from her doctor made it that much more difficult to bear. “Thank you, doctor,” was all I could say.

  “Excuse me,” he said. He shone a light in her eyes and nose, and shook her for response. I was upset by the sight of him shaking her like that. I wanted to yell at him to stop, but I knew he was doing his job. I couldn’t bear to watch, so I turned around. Then he headed for the door.

  “I’ll be with other patients, but if you have any questions or concerns, just have any one of the nurses page me.”

  “Thank you,” I said solemnly.

  Focusing on Gamma, I started speaking to her again. “Please, wake up,” I said, as if she could hear me. I had read an article about a patient being able to hear their loved ones while in a coma. Whether this was true or not, I had to try.

  I sat there for who knows how long. Mom had texted me back to let me know she had been here earlier, but had to leave because of an emergency at work. They needed additional nurses, but she said she would meet me as soon as she could. It didn’t bother me; in fact, I was happy to have this time alone with Gamma. I wasn’t sure how long she had. I embraced her with my arms gently around her shoulders, trying not to disturb the tubes that were keeping her alive, and rested my head lightly on her chest. As I told her that I loved her, I didn’t even fight the tears; instead, I welcomed them.

  “Come on, fight!” I said out loud to her. “You still have much to live for. You can’t leave me, especially now!” I wanted to tell her about Michael, and about speaking to the angels. I knew she would be fascinated by my stories. Suddenly, I felt movement and then a light grip on my shoulders; I looked up to see Gamma’s eyes, opened wide and alert. The tube in her mouth was out. She must’ve pulled it out just before she grabbed me.

  “Gamma!” I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was ecstatic. Either the doctor had misdiagnosed her, or this was truly a miracle. “Do you know where you are?” I stared, waiting for her to respond.

  Without warning, she pulled me closer. “Claudia, listen carefully. I’ve been waiting for you. I can’t wait any longer. Please listen carefully as it may come as a shock. I’ve been protecting you.”

  Protecting me? Was she hallucinating? What was she talking about? I listened intently, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

  She continued after a pause. “I knew your mother. I promised your mother…would look after you…keep you safe.”

  “My mother? Of course you know her,” I said, reassuring her that she did, thinking she was out of her mind.

  “What I’m about to say…difficult to believe…listen carefully. You need to know. The mother you live with, Ava Emerson…not your real mother. Adopted.”

  My eyes widened with shock at first. Then I thought something must have happened to the part of her brain that held her memory. I just sat there, listening to humor her, and didn’t say a word.

  “You were sent from the clouds, Ava would say. She named you Claudia.”

  “Yes, Gamma, I know the story. Mom told me she thought she couldn’t have children and that I was a blessing from above,” I said, caressing her hands, trying to play along with her made-up story that I was adopted.

  She shook her head. “I’m not making this up. Your real mother, Sophia, was my dear friend. She had a short relationship with a man, but he was not an ordinary man. Your father was one of God’s first angels. And because only God’s first angels or their offspring have the soul of the Holy Spirit, I had to protect your soul.”

  “My father was one of God’s first angels,” I mumbled. I was trying to make sense of all this while I was in complete disbelief. I had to decide whether she was telling me the truth or losing her mind. But God’s first angels and having a soul of the Holy Spirit was something she couldn’t just conjure up in her mind. If she was telling me the truth, why hadn’t she told me sooner? Not that this kind of news was easy to explain. I already had background knowledge of what the Holy Spirit’s soul was, so I could understand the severity of what she was telling me.

  Every fiber in my body was fighting back the shock, confusion, and anger brewing inside me; but Gamma was sick, so I had to watch my tone. “What do you mean by protecting my soul?” I asked calmly, although I was fuming. I was nearly having a heart attack. It was too much to bear.

  She didn’t answer my question. Instead she started talking again. “This may come as a surprise to you. I don’t have time to explain. I’m an earth angel.”

  “Earth angel?” My eyes widened with disbelief. I remembered Phillip telling me about them, but it was unfathomable that Gamma was one.

  Gamma continued, “You were in danger. I knew others would be looking for you,” she said.

  Aden popped into my mind. My mind was being pulled into all different directions, wanting to know more, not knowing what questions to ask. Gamma snapped me out of my thoughts when she continued to speak again.

  “Sophia, your birth mother, told me that a fallen angel was after your soul. You were just a baby when your birth mother was murdered by him. I’m sorry that I couldn’t save her. I promised her that I would watch over you and find a nice family for you so that you could have a normal life.”

  I placed my head down on the bed to soak all this in. Immediately Gamma placed her hand on my head. She was trying to comfort me, and for the first time, she couldn’t. I needed to be strong and get more answers, so I refocused. I looked up. Gamma had her eyes closed.

  “Gamma…Ava Emerson, my mom, does she know any of this?” It was strange to ask this question. I had known her all my life as my mom.

  “No.”

  “So, she thinks I’m her biological daughter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is Ava Emerson human?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sophia, my real mom, was she human?”

  “Yes,” Gamma said quickly, and gasped for air.

  I was trying to find a way to help her through this, but all I could do was watch. She took a deep breath.

  “Are you all right?” I asked compassionately.

  She nodded.

  “My father is one of God’s first angels?” I asked nervously and swallowed hard.

  “Yes.”

  I paused, looking at her with narrowed eyes, wondering if I had heard what she had just said. I had no words. She kept nodding her head, trying to reassure me that what she was saying was true. I looked away. I didn’t want to believe her. I didn’t want it to be true. How could this be?

  She continued. “I know you’ve been to the Crossroads.”

  I blinked my eyes at her in alarm. “What?” I whispered. How did she know?

  “When you were a child, you would dream about the Crossroads, and you would travel there through your dreams. Somehow, subconsciously, you knew such a place existed. But I stopped you. I pulled you back. The last time you went there was about a year ago. You stopped going there, so I didn’t monitor you any longer, but I should have continued. You found your way there again, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. At that moment, I remembered Michael telling me that I would disappear without a warning. It was Gamma who had pulled me away. “How did you know?”

  “It is difficult to explain, but I knew when a fallen angel named Aden tracked me down. I thought you were safe. This is my fault. I could have prevented this if only I hadn’t stopped monitoring you. My poor judgment has caused this.”

  “But why? Why did you pull me away? Why must I stay away from the Crossroads?” I asked.

  “Going to the Crossroads is not the problem. Sometimes, human souls wander there when they have near death experiences. It’s when you crossed over to Halo City; I was trying to protect you from crossing over, but I was too late,” she answered.

  “Why must I not cross over?”

  “When you cross over to Halo City, your aura becomes different. And having the soul of the Holy Spirit complicates things. You
hold the key to our survival.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. Then, I remembered Phillip telling me that the fallen may be after me because crossing over to Halo City will cause my aura to stand out. “No, no, no!” I shook my head vigorously. “It’s not me. It can’t be me. Why me? I’m not special. I have no powers.”

  “It’s you,” she said.

  I didn’t want it to be true. “Make it stop. I don’t want this,” I said, not realizing my grip had tightened on her blanket.

  “You have your father’s soul. You can’t stop, or fight, destiny. Don’t fight what you cannot control. Fight for what you can. It’s too late. It has begun. The fallen are multiplying by the hands of one angel. He is creating his army now that he knows you exist. We have to stop them, or humanity will be lost forever.”

  “Soul of the Holy Spirit” now registered loud and clear. Feeling dizzy again from information overload, I felt the room closing in. Covering my face with the palms of my hands, I saw my whole life flash before me, realizing that my life was a lie.

  Now I knew why Aden was after me. Inside me was the soul of the Holy Spirit. He needed my soul not only to open the gates to the Crossroads, but to regain his powers. There was nothing I could do about it. But there was one thing I could control; I had to give my soul to Aden willingly, and I was not about to give him that. He could hunt me down for the rest of my life. I would never give him my soul.

  She turned away from me. “Claudia, my time has come,” she said sorrowfully. “I must leave you now.”

  “No, Gamma, please! Don’t leave me! I need you!” I begged, wrapping my arms around her, even though I knew it was useless.

  “I’m too old. I can’t help you anymore. I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to protect you, but I asked someone to watch over you so I can leave you in peace.” She spoke so softly, it was hard to hear her words. “You are a miracle. I’m so proud to have watched you grow into a fine young woman. You have a big responsibility ahead of you. You must have faith in yourself, faith in others who want to help you, and especially faith in the one you cannot see. Find my letter, and everything will be clear.”

  Before I had a chance to ask her who she had asked to watch over me and where I was to find her letter, her eyes widened and her face elongated with terror. “Run, Claudia! They’re coming!”

  “Who’s coming?” I asked anxiously.

  Beep! Beep! Beep! The heart monitor beeped out of control, alerting the nurses.

  As the nurses rushed through the doors, I stepped out of the way. They were trying to revive her when I heard the heart monitor sound go flat. It was a while before one of the nurses turned to me.

  “I’m so sorry. I’ll give you some time alone.”

  I knew what “I’m sorry” meant. I just couldn’t believe it. What made everything worse was that I had many questions, and Gamma was the only one who could answer them. As the nurses left, I reached for Gamma again. Knowing she would go to a peaceful place gave me a sense of peace.

  “Good-bye, Gamma. I love you,” I said quietly and kissed her on the cheek. As I gave her a last hug, I closed my eyes tightly to stop the tears from falling. Unbelievably, I had none to shed. I rested my head on her chest, but could hear no sound. All the monitors that kept her alive were turned off, and the room was still and quiet. I thought my ears were playing tricks on me when I suddenly heard Gamma’s voice again. “Run, Claudia!”

  Surprised to hear her voice, I looked at her, but she was lifeless. Was I hallucinating? Just like in my dream, she was telling me to run, but there was no sign of evidence she was alive. Unexpectedly, a low beam of light glowed from her body. My eyes widened both with astonishment and fear, and I backed away. Her spirit was being lifted right out of her body. Her radiating soul rose higher and higher. Her body was in perfect form, burning like a star. “Run, Claudia. Now! They are coming!” she said once more.

  Frightened by Gamma’s warning, I ran to the door. I looked to the left, then to the right, but I didn’t see anyone, not even the nurse that was stationed at her desk. Then the lights in the hospital went off, and the only lights visible were the emergency lights, situated dimly on the floor. It was dark, but there was just enough glow for me to get around. Strong warning signals were shooting through my veins. The crystal on my neck vibrated and turned black. I knew what that meant—the fallen was near.

  “Go right!” Gamma was directing me.

  I didn’t listen. Curiously, I looked left and what I saw paralyzed me with fear. It was Aden, with at least twenty others. They stood at a distance making it difficult to recognize their faces, but I knew who they were. I turned once more to face Gamma, and that’s when her spirit vanished, her body remaining still. I was petrified by what had happened. Her spirit was gone, and I was left alone. There would be no more guiding words from her, and fear overtook me.

  I turned right just as Gamma had instructed, and I ran for my life. Afterward, I didn’t know which way to go. Gamma’s only instruction was to turn right. Do I turn left or right again? Then I realized the sounds of their footsteps stopped. It was silent, and the only sound was the beating from my own heart. I could imagine them gliding after me. Periodically I turned my head, only to see them closing in on me. As I turned again, all of the fallen were gone except—for Aden.

  Chapter 18

  Frantically looking for a place to hide, I turned the corner and saw the elevator. I pushed the up button many times in panic. To my surprise, it opened immediately. There were twelve floors. Unsure of which floor to exit on, I pressed the twelvth floor. The twelvth floor was just as dark. Did I make the right choice? Should I have gotten off at another floor? It was too late.

  Closing the gap between the wall and me, I ran faster down the hallway, looking for a place to hide. As I tried to enter a room, the door was locked. Then I tried another one, it was locked too. This floor seemed different; there were no patients on this floor. When I finally found a room that was unlocked, I realized I had entered a storage room. It was filled with various medications, shots, monitors, IVs, and things whose purpose was a mystery to me. Regardless, I thought I could use them if I needed to defend myself. At this point, I didn’t care where I hid as long as they couldn’t find me. I knelt down behind a storage container in an effort to be invisible. Where are you, Michael?

  All was quiet and still. I was sitting here like a target duck. My heart could no longer take the anxiety attack I was having. I couldn’t breathe. The room was spinning, and I couldn’t focus. Then I heard footsteps, and I froze in absolute silence.

  “I know you’re in here, my little angel.” His voice was strong and sharp.

  He made me shiver with just the sound of his voice. Uncontrollably my body trembled from fear and my hands felt clammy. I contemplated my next move, knowing this was now a life-or-death moment. But I was unable to move. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared out of my mind.

  “Don’t be scared. I sent my friends away so you and I could have some alone time together. We need to get better acquainted. This room isn’t big enough for you to hide in forever.” He laughed slyly.

  A large dimmed emergency light hung overhead, and I could see his shadow cast on the walls around me, getting larger and closer by the second.

  “Your friends have some surprise visitors. I’m afraid you are on your own. Well, not quite alone, you have me. So why don’t you come out and end this cat-and-mouse game.” He paused and waited for me to show myself. “I’m running out of patience. If you don’t come out now, I’m going to have to hurt you, and that is not my intention.” He was getting irritated, and his voice was getting louder. “Come out now, Claudia!”

  He sounded so forceful that I wanted to dig myself further into the ground. Suddenly all the tables and containers were lifted, and I was exposed. Stunned by the power that I had witnessed, I curled myself into a ball. He stood, smiling through narrowed eyes, focusing solely on me. “There you are.”

  The items, still hoverin
g, were tossed to one side of the room, leaving me wide open and vulnerable. I cringed and covered my ears to block out the noise.

  “It doesn’t have to be this way. I didn’t want to scare you. Come to me,” he said gently.

  “Michael,” I whispered. Not knowing what else to do, I stood slowly, sliding up against the wall to balance myself, as my legs were still shaking. Even though I knew he would win, I had to fight with everything I had.

  “Come, Claudia.”

  My mind begged me not to move, but slowly my body, against my will, led the way as I struggled to resist every step. I was fighting inside my head, but he was too strong. I surrendered, unable to fight any longer. I was certain all hope was lost, and then he called my name.

  “Stop, Claudia!”

  Hearing Michael’s voice triggered a sense of hope. I snapped out of the trance, but remained motionless. Aden’s hold grew stronger and more intense. Unable to turn even my head, I fought against his power. It felt like I was dreaming with my eyes open. No matter what I did, I could not wake up.

  “Michael!” Aden yelled, sounding appalled. Aden spread his brilliant alabaster wings, lifting him just above the ground. He was the worst form of evil; a dark, soulless creature, undeserving of such beauty.

  In an instant, Aden released his hold on me. I swiftly ran toward Michael. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Davin, Vivian, and Caleb. Although terrified, I was overwhelmed with relief to see them all again.

  “Too bad your puppets were cut from your strings. We enjoyed sending your friends back to hell,” Davin said, as he crept closer to Aden.

  Davin’s remarks infuriated Aden, triggering a strange phenomenon. His hair and wings that were so beautifully pure in their color turned jet-black. I was astonished to witness such a quick transformation. How was such a thing possible? It was surreal. He began elevating himself higher off the ground. You could almost feel his temples pulsating as the blood rushed through his veins, full of hatred and rage. He looked like he was about to explode out of his body.