“Yes,” Jeremy said, seeing by her reaction that he could weasel his way out of having to face her accusation. “We can’t touch the living. Only solid, inanimate objects. Albert has a theory about it. It involves multiple universes and the fact that we actually never touch anything, even in real life, when we’re alive on Earth. We’re made up of atoms, which in turn are comprised of a nucleus and electrons that gravitate around the nucleus, and about 99.99% of the entire space is empty. These atoms generate a magnetic field that prevent, for example, the atoms of a baseball from passing through the atoms of the bat when it strikes it. Just like on Earth, there’s a sort of magnetic field around objects that is thicker and more inflexible, which makes it impossible for us to touch or move them. But on the other hand, the magnetic field doesn’t exist for living beings in our world, which is why we can walk right through them. That’s why the medics just walked right through you.”
Jeremy was about to continue his scholarly discourse when he realized that Allison was having trouble following.
“Albert?” she whispered, completely lost.
“Einstein. Yeah, he’s here too. As are many of the most famous scientists in the world. In fact they’re having a conference right now. He’s a really interesting man, I must admit.”
The longer he could dodge the question of “Were you peeping at me in the shower?” the better off he would be.
But Allison squinted her eyes menacingly at him. “Enough of your crap!” she snapped. “Now tell me what you were doing in my apartment … looking at me!”
Oops. The jig was up.
“At the cemetery,” he began slowly, “I overheard you say that I was killed because of you. I’ve been investigating my own murder. So I decided to follow you—OK, yes, you could say that I was spying, but not because I wanted to interfere with your life. I wanted to try to warn you that you were in danger as well. The killer bugged your apartment. I tried to rile up your dog, who was able to perceive me from time to time. I also brought a Poltergeist in to bang on your pipes, and I yelled in your ears for hours, but you didn’t hear me.”
The thought of it made him happy and sad at the same time.
“No, you didn’t hear me,” he repeated. “I tried. I did everything I could. But it was no use.”
Allison suddenly grew pale.
“You were there all the time? You … you mean we can see everything, but nobody can see us? Just watch whomever we want? But how? I—”
“C’mon,” Jeremy said. “Come along with me.”
Before she even knew what was happening, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her through one of the walls of the apartment.
Allison cried out in fright but had no choice but to follow him. They ended up in the hallway. Jeremy was quite pleased with himself, while Allison, whose face was beet red and hair all tousled, was still holding her breath.
“Actually, it’s not like when you dive in the water,” Jeremy said softly. “You don’t have to hold your breath.”
She gave him a dirty look, and Jeremy shrugged. She yanked her hand free of his.
“Yeah, well, the next time you plan on doing … doing something like that, why don’t you warn me so I don’t look like an idiot!”
Jeremy only nodded in response. For a Newcomer, she was adapting incredibly well. Strange, he hadn’t realized she had such a temper when she was alive.
He went down the stairs and waited inside the front entrance to the building. It was propped open to let the emergency teams come through. Allison followed him down. It wasn’t as if she had much of a choice.
Once she had caught up with him, she crossed her arms and asked sharply: “And what about the stretcher?”
“What about it?”
“You said that we could walk through people but that objects remained solid, since we walk on the ground just like … like the others do. But the stretcher went right through me too—and not just the medics!”
“And so do cars and anything else when it’s moving. It’s true. The magnetic field between the two worlds doesn’t always repel us: You really have to concentrate to travel on a moving vehicle or stay inside a bus, for example. Yet another mystery. Part of it is solid, and part of it isn’t. The boundaries aren’t the same here.”
Before she had the chance to ask any more questions that he couldn’t answer, he pushed her out the door. She was about to yell at him again but stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded by the dreamlike beauty of the city, its incredible luminosity. And also by the celestial ballet in the air; the Angels flew by beneath the glorious rays of the rising sun.
She was so overcome that it took her a few minutes to speak. When she finally found her words, she was filled with awe.
“But … they’re flying! It’s … absolutely magnificent. How do they do it?”
“They figured out how to modify the density of their bodies. Probably has something to do with the force fields and atoms and all that.”
Two magnificent blue Angels flew past, lightly beating their iridescent wings. Both were completely naked and Allison stared at them wide-eyed. Jeremy tried to play if off like he was used to such things.
“Oh yes, there are also those who remain attached to the old traditions. You know, winged angels and all that kind of stuff.”
Allison seemed to have forgotten her combative mood back at her apartment.
“Are we … are we going to meet … God?”
She swallowed hard before adding in a low voice: “And the other one? The D … the Devil?”
Jeremy made a face.
“I have no idea. For the time being, he hasn’t shown himself—at least, not in a way that was visible to me. Neither of them have. Albert would probably have more to say on that score. He’s been here a lot longer than I have, and—”
Allison looked back at him, still dazzled by the spectacle.
“It’s better that way—I mean, not for God, but for the other one. And what about us?”
“Excuse me?”
She stamped her foot in irritation.
“Fly! Can we?”
Jeremy pulled a long face.
“It’s the same as for the clothes. As far as I can tell, we can’t do it yet.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Her shoulders slumped. “At least it would have been a consolation. Because it really sucks what happened to me—er, what happened to us, I mean,” she quickly added, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “And I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“For having gotten you mixed up in this whole mess. I’m sorry. I never thought that one day I would be able to apologize to you face-to-face, but here we are. I’m really, really sorry.”
Jeremy only shrugged. He was used to his new life now. He certainly wasn’t going to hold it against Allison—but he couldn’t say the same for that bastard who had killed him. He could see the same anger brewing in the young woman’s eyes.
“We’re not going to let him get away with it, are we?” she whispered, with a determined look on her face. “We’ll find a way to make him pay for what he did. I know we can’t touch him or hurt him, but he has to put that product on the market. With every passing day thousands of people die of that horrible illness, and that lunatic is holding back the drug just so he can make more money. He’s a monster, Mr. Galveaux, a horrible monster. He’s the one who should be here, and not us!”
“Call me Jeremy,” he said without thinking. “But I don’t know what we can do. After all, I couldn’t even find a way to save you, and I honestly don’t see how we’ll be able to get revenge on our murderer and also force Ventousi to put his product on the market!”
Allison clenched her teeth. Jeremy could tell she was still frightened. It was as if he had a sixth sense, and he could also tell her anger was just as much fear as anything else. Angels didn’t produce any Mist—at least, not any that Jeremy was capable of detecting. But if he could, Jeremy would have bet anything that Allison’s was red and black at that
moment.
Jeremy looked at her affectionately. Allison was brave, that was for sure, and also stubborn and headstrong. He would have liked to kiss her right there on the spot, because it was both incredibly wonderful and scary to be able to touch her now, after all those hours he’d spent contemplating her.
“What is it?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that? Listen, I know that this is all probably a bit too much for you, and that all of this is my fault and you’d probably like to kill me for what I’ve done—I mean, in a matter of speaking. But I really need you. For the time being anyway. I need you to explain to me how this new world works, and how we can go to Ventousi’s house.”
She walked up to him and grabbed hold of his hand.
“You have to help me!” she pleaded desperately.
Jeremy realized that if he didn’t agree she would become hysterical. Albert had warned him about Angels who lose their minds. Like his father. He squeezed her hand so tightly that it made her wince, to help her regain her composure.
“First of all, you’ve only been dead for a couple hours at the most,” he said calmly. “It’s a bit premature to want to launch a crusade right now.”
She tried to speak but he immediately cut her off.
“Listen to me! You and I have both found ourselves in a strange new world, dictated by laws we don’t always understand—as far as I’m concerned anyway. I know just as well as you do that with each passing minute, a man or woman dies from cancer. And that this Ventousi guy has found a cure for it. But let me say this: First of all, dying isn’t such a bad thing after all, and in this world, at least the dead can find some peace. A kind of peace. Second, in order to get the information we need, we’ll have to find other Angels to help us who have been here much longer than we have. Who know how to break the laws that govern this universe. Who will give us their help, provided that our worries don’t become an obsession. They don’t like that here. Obsessions almost always end up making you sick in this world.”
Jeremy paused.
“Actually, they can drive you mad.”
He insisted on this final point, as she stared intently at him with her gleaming, blue eyes.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Allison? This is not a game, or some sort of quest. I’m talking about your survival. If I see that you’re becoming obsessed with your quest for vengeance I won’t help you. Is that clear?”
After having gone through the whole “avenging angel” business himself just a few days earlier, Jeremy knew perfectly well what he was asking of Allison, who had only just died. She hesitated for a moment.
“Please,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I don’t want to lose you. Not again.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but his words, the emotion in his voice, left her dumbstruck. Almost more than everything else that had just happened to her. She looked at him. He was good looking, with dark-brown hair and steel-gray eyes, and an open, forthright expression on his face. He also had a nice body. He wasn’t as handsome as Clark, but not many men were. For the first time in her two lives, she realized that she had a real man before her. Someone solid, someone whom she could count on. Someone who’d help. A shoulder to lean on. Without letting go of his hand, she moved up close to him and looked him right in the eyes.
“I won’t become obsessed,” she whispered, nearly hypnotized by his long brown eyelashes. “I promise.”
Then she released his hand and moved back. He felt a pang when he released her hand. The two of them had just met, and he would have to give her some time—even if he did already know her most intimate secrets.
“C’mon,” he said. “There’s a place I want to show you.”
“What about my body?”
“You don’t need it any more. Trust me.”
She looked back worriedly, not sure what to do, but then decided to follow him.
“Where are we going?”
Jeremy grinned happily as they crossed the street, which was still nearly empty except for a few early birds on their way to work, and the Angels who flew above them to get some breakfast.
“It’s time you met Albert!”
As he led Allison to Rose’s & Blues, he realized with hindsight what a clumsy oaf Albert must have thought he was when they had gone on their expedition to New Jersey. He was now capable (or fairly capable) of passing from one car to another without too much difficulty. But Allison was afraid. Whenever a car touched her or passed right through her, it broke her concentration and she would jump back, trip, fall, or drag Jeremy down to the ground with her. After about a half hour, he finally gave up.
“I think it’s a little bit too early for all these acrobatics,” he said. “You only died a little while ago, and you still have to get used to all this. Let’s just take the subway.”
They quickly made their way to the club, but even in the subway Allison would jump whenever an arm, hand, or body passed through her.
“It’s … it’s really unpleasant,” she said with a quavering voice when they had finally reached the exit near the club.
“Yeah, I know. It took me a long time to get used to it too.”
Suddenly Allison came to a stop in the middle of the platform, oblivious to all the rush-hour commuters passing through her body.
“Oh no! Frankenstein! I forgot all about Frankenstein!”
Jeremy spread wide his hands in resignation. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “I was really growing fond of your clever little dog as well. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do for him now. The dead can’t take care of him, because he’s still alive. Maybe Clark can take him?”
She was about to burst into tears but then stopped with a start.
“You know Clark?! How stupid of me, of course you know Clark. You …” she swallowed hard. “You were there when—”
Ouch. He quickly came up with a lie.
“… when he came to your apartment with the two police officers, yes. What a stupid idea that was! I’m sure that was why the killer panicked and came to kill you.”
“But for now, my poor little Frankenstein is an orphan.” She shivered. “I hope you’re right and Clark takes him in. But with the crazy life he leads, I don’t think he’ll want the responsibility.”
Neither one spoke the rest of the way. Jeremy noticed the tears streaming down Allison’s cheeks, but didn’t say anything. It looked as if she were crying just as much for her own lot as for her dog’s. He respected her grief, only taking hold of her hand for a moment and squeezing it tightly. She squeezed his hand back to show her gratitude but then quickly released it. He ripped a piece of Mist off of his loincloth to make a handkerchief for her, and she took it from him gratefully. After the third one, she finally laughed nervously.
“At this rate, you’re going to end up completely naked!”
Jeremy smiled at her.
“If it can be any help to you, that’s all that matters.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye before adding: “You’re already lucky enough to behold my impressive abs and powerful thighs, so I’m not surprised you want to see a little bit more!”
At first Allison was unsure how to react to his ironic comment, but then she laughed.
“Oh my God,” she said. “You’re even more pretentious than Clark! I didn’t think it was possible.”
Well, he had managed to make her laugh anyway. Good. And she had also stopped crying. Even better.
“Speaking of nudity,” he said. “I forgot to warn you that your clothes are going to disappear.”
She immediately began to scrunch herself up into a ball, but Jeremy started waving his hands.
“No, no, not right now!” he quickly added. “In a few hours. I’m a young Angel; I still haven’t mastered the techniques. My clothes and yours will evaporate. But I’ll make us some new ones, don’t worry.”
Huh, he probably shouldn’t have said that so casually, because now she was looking at him suspiciously.
; “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, unfortunately. Not at all.”
“And … do our clothes warn us before they disappear?”
He couldn’t resist the temptation.
“No. Unfortunately, they can’t talk or send us any warning notice, and no celestial horns ring out in the heavens.”
“Very funny. What I meant was, do they start to fade away or anything?”
After having once found himself stark naked in the middle of a group of elderly blue female Angels, he could state without a doubt that there were no warning signs. He told her how amused the Angels had been and how horrified he had been, managing to make her laugh a second time. There was no way he could make her forget her death. That was impossible. However, he thought he was more than capable of helping her make a smooth transition.
Although she still looked nervously at her clothes from time to time, Allison seemed more relaxed when they arrived at Rose’s & Blues.
But now there was the problem of the doors. At that morning hour, it was either too early or too late, depending on how you looked at it, and the club had already closed. But in some weird way, Jeremy realized that he could “feel” the Angels that were inside, probably still partying away, even if there were no more living patrons. How could they get inside if the doors were closed? It had been easy enough to pull Allison through the wall of her apartment by catching her off guard, but this time it might not be so easy. Well, they’d just have to give it a shot. Jeremy took her hand and started walking toward the door. She tried to follow him, doing her best to dematerialize just like him, but bounced violently back onto the sidewalk.
Jeremy quickly spun around in a panic and found Allison stretched out on the ground, rubbing her head groggily.
“Owww!” she groaned. “Ow, that hurt!”
She began rubbing her chest and forehead, still a bit cross-eyed.
“What kind of paradise is this, where people can still feel pain?” she complained.
“Um, actually, I’m not really sure we’re in paradise,” Jeremy replied. “And yes, you can feel pain here. I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you. But our new bodies can heal very quickly. If you have a broken arm or a dislocated jaw, all you have to do is snap it back in place, and in a few seconds you don’t feel any pain—or very little pain, I should say.”
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