by Alexie Aaron
“Save me, Michael,” she pleaded.
He rushed forward with his shield before him. He hit her hard, knocking her away from the lights. She tumbled away in space, her wings useless to her now unconscious form. With a twitch of his feathers, he was there to catch her. He held her tightly to his chest and brought her back to his estate. He watched as her wings moved back inside of her, and she became the fragile but brave human Altair spoke about. He laid her in his own bed, covered her, and left the room.
In the great room, he removed the ash of her demon self, all the while pondering how much this would change the woman she had become. How much the loss of the demon gene would affect her and the way she saw the world. Had his insistence on this self-exorcism destroyed Mia?
Chapter Twenty-six
“Well, looky what we have here, gals,” the large brunette called as Murphy approached. “He’s got a bit of a manly stubble, not like those fancy boys in grains.”
Murphy stopped his advance. The women, who lounged against what was left of the cereal making equipment, wore crisp uniforms and had most of their hair tucked up into matching gray and white caps. The only jewelry the women wore were the crosses of their faith. Their ages ranged from the late teens to fifty. Hard work had sculpted their arms and swollen their ankles.
A pair of redheads walked over to him.
“Excuse me for my intrusion. I’m Stephen Murphy, and I represent the Paranormal Entity Exposure Partners. We are here to help you.”
“Well, you can start by opening up that shirt, gorgeous,” one of the redheads requested.
Murphy moved his axe in front of him, protecting his chest from the woman’s roaming hands. “Are you aware that you’re dead?” he asked.
“We have ourselves a comedian, gals!” the other redhead called. “Of course we’re dead. But so are you. How about giving Marjorie a little kiss…”
Murphy stepped back. He wished Mia was there. It wasn’t that he was feeling overwhelmed by the attention of the women, but he wanted Mia to see what she had passed up on.
Burt and Mike arrived. Burt watched through the camera lens as Murphy tried to extricate himself from the mob of women who seemed to be taking advantage of the gentlemanly farmer.
“We better get in there before they suck up all his power,” Burt said.
“That’s not what I’d call it, but here goes… Ladies, ladies, ladies,” Mike called to the misty shapes. “Step away from the farmer. I’m Mike Dupree, and this is Burt Hicks. We’re from PEEPs. We’ve been requested to aid you in your quest for the afterlife.”
Three weaker ghosts moved quickly to Mike. They tried to touch him and failed. They moved back to Murphy who they caressed wantonly.
Burt touched his earcom. “Ted, any news on Father Santos?”
“We woke him up. He’s gathering his stuff. His assistant Father Simon will drive him over.”
“We have a situation building. Make sure Cid’s got some energon cubes on hand. Murphy is barely holding on here.”
“I can see that,” Ted said with amusement. “May I suggest a partial circle of salt? Create a distraction, put Murphy in it, and close the ring.”
“Gotcha. Over.” Burt called out to Mike, “Time to put into action protocol ‘Save the Stud.’”
“What?”
“Put Murphy in a circle of salt. Those dames are going to drain him faster than Mia eats pizza,” Burt explained.
Mike grabbed the box of Epsom salts. He saw a large circle had already been drawn. He smudged a Murphy-sized break in the salt line and whistled to get Murphy’s attention. “Here!” he called.
Murphy pushed upwards abruptly, just managing to free himself from the bevy of sex-starved dames. He moved quickly to the circle, and Mike salted him in.
The women hit the wall of protection hard. This made them angry. They advanced on Mike. He tossed a handful of salt at the mob. It kept them temporarily at bay.
“Ted, we’re going to have to pull back. Have Cid and Audrey…”
“Burt, I didn’t hear that last transmission. Over,” Ted said. Burt’s camera was now sideways and moving erratically as if swinging on the strap. He looked over at the feed from the camera on the tripod and saw Burt being manhandled by a brute of a female ghost. She was shoving and throwing unladylike punches. Fortunately, as per Mia’s suggestion, Burt was wearing his vest. The blows didn’t connect, but the power off of them did move Burt. Mike was now being targeted by another, stronger ghost.
Murphy watched in horror as the crowd of women became ugly. They drew from hidden reserves of power that Murphy had not picked up on. They ripped at Mike’s clothes while Burt was battered back and forth between two aggressive ghosts. He looked frantically for Cid. He needed the energon cube, but he also feared the ghosts would look upon the handsome male as fresh meat.
A shrill whistle pierced the air.
Murphy looked over to see Cid standing at the entrance to the sugar room. He made eye contact and prepared to receive the cube that Cid tossed him. He caught the activated cube and quickly set it on the ground. He placed his axe head in the slot and took on all the power. He, however, could not leave the salt ring. What had acted as his protection was now his prison.
Cid, armed with Mia’s rock-salt-loaded, sawed-off shotgun, moved quickly and pulled Burt out of the fray. The large ghost took a swipe at Cid. He dodged the blow. He shouted, “SALT!” to warn Mike and Burt and took aim at the largest of the ghosts. He pulled the trigger and was surprised by the recoil of the weapon. How had Mia, as small as she was, used this gun repeatedly?
The salt slowed the large woman, but she managed to recharge quickly.
“Ted, there must be a power source under this room. Over,” Cid reported.
Burt stumbled over and released Murphy from his salt prison. Together, they headed out of the room.
“Where do you think you're going, farm boy?” asked the brunette who seemed to be the leader of the women.
Murphy turned and took a swipe at the ghost to show her that he meant business. She laughed and grabbed the axe out of his hands.
“Audrey, see if you can talk some sense into them? Over,” Ted asked.
Audrey arrived and looked the situation over. Inside, Mike was nearly naked. Burt was backed into the wall, and Cid was once again facing off with the largest of the ghosts. Murphy was being dragged off, and the redheads were feeding off of his energy while plying him with kisses.
“What the hell is going on here!” she shouted. Audrey boldly walked up and dragged Mike out of the arms and legs of the five wispy woman who had been abusing him. “This is my husband, hussies,” she barked. She moved quickly, knowing that it was only their surprise that had allowed Audrey to move amongst them unmolested. She put Mike in the salt circle and reinforced the ring. “Ted, if you have an ace up your sleeve, now is the time to play it. Over.”
Curly rolled into the room pulling a salt-spreader. He was guided in a grid pattern, Jake had quickly set up. The spreading salt stung the weakened ghosts enough to make their contact with Cid and Burt ineffectual. The strong ghosts didn’t seem to be affected at all.
Murphy was down and fading. Cid faced off with the large brunette. Burt managed to spray holy water on the three approaching ghosts, and this caused them to scream and fade away.
“Margaret Mary!” a deep, accented voice echoed off the walls. “Your mother is rolling in her grave!”
Audrey watched as a fully-costumed Father Santos walked boldly into the room, followed by a young black priest in full vestments.
Two women knelt before the approaching priest. He touched their foreheads, and they disappeared. He turned around and pointed to the large brunette. “You, what is your name?”
“Christa Brown,” she said defiantly.
“You bear the name of Christ, yet you behave this way!” he scolded. “You have shamed your family!”
“We meant no harm, Father,” one of the older women said.
“What’s
your name?” he asked.
“Lucille Bennington.”
“Lucy, you have to set an example. They are young and frustrated. You have to stand up to them and tell them how to behave,” Father Santos lectured.
“Yes, Father,” the ghost’s eyes were now trained at her feet.
“Father Simon.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Prepare the Holy Communion. I will hear the believers’ confessions and then send them to you. They cannot cross without their sins being accounted for.”
“What about the rest of us, priest? Don’t we get to go to heaven?” one of the other’s asked.
“Not with your present behavior. Get on your knees, and beg forgiveness of the men you have wronged.”
“Ah, we was just having fun,” one of the redheads claimed.
“Look at that man over there. You’ve traumatized him. You’re going to spend some time in purgatory, you and your sister,” Father Santos said, stomping his foot.
There was a rumble, and beneath the feet of the two unrepentant ghosts, the ground opened up and swallowed them. “Roumain will have his hands full with them, but so be it.”
The other ghosts fell to their knees. Audrey watched as the two priests worked. Christa was also sent to purgatory, but the rest lined up with their heads bowed after receiving the Eucharist and waited.
“You have repented and will be taken into the light. Go in peace,” Father Santos said.
The PEEPs watched as a section of the roof seemed to blur, and a distortion of light and darkness took its place. The misty forms moved steadily up towards the displacement.
Father Santos watched as the last of the hard-working women walked into the light to their reward. It always seemed to nourish his soul to witness the transformation from lost soul into a being of the light.
Ted watched the priest and marveled at the confidence he displayed. “Rock star,” he said, pointing him out to Cid, who had joined him in the command post. “I never get tired of watching him do that.”
“It’s pretty impressive in person. Mia’s crossings are more informal.”
“I think that’s because she believes there is more out there for the lost souls than what is typically thought of as heaven.” Ted said.
“Mia fears the light, doesn’t she?” Cid said.
“Yes, but she doesn’t know why. It seems that part of her fears what’s in there for her,” Ted explained.
“Are you worried that she’s been gone awhile?”
“Yes. But I have to have faith in her and in the bozo she bonded herself to.”
“Don’t let Father Santos hear you say that. Saint Michael is his favorite of the archangels.”
There was a strange sound above them. Ted ran over and jumped out of the back of the truck. Above him, the roof opened up, and there before him were swirling stars and two approaching winged entities. He hoped one was his wife, but he was disappointed to see Sariel and another archangel whom he did not know. They dropped down and reverted to their human forms.
Sariel walked directly to Ted. “I need you to come with me.”
“Mia! Has something happened to Mia?” he asked, his stomach clenching.
“Yes. Ted, this is Altair. I believe you met some other form of him.”
“Yes, I have,” Ted said, instinctively knowing the being in front of him was formally Wyatt.
“Ted, we need you to retrieve your child, and let us take both of you to your wife,” Sariel told him.
“Is she hurt?”
“She is changed. Michael thinks seeing you and Brian will bring her around.”
Ted looked over at Cid.
Cid said, “I’ve got this. You go.”
Cid watched as Sariel grew into the mighty angel Mia and Murphy spoke about. He gathered Ted in his wings and vanished. Altair nodded to Cid and followed.
Father Santos stood there with his mouth agape.
“Don’t worry, Father. They came in peace,” Cid said before turning around and walking back to the console.
~
Little fingers pried Mia’s eye open. “Doctor Brian is back. Where is your handsome assistant?” she asked fondly.
“Da Dee is beer.”
“He’s drinking beer?” Mia asked.
“Here,” Brian corrected. “Mom ee Angwells.”
“Ang gels,” Mia said.
“Angels,” he repeated.
“That’s the Brian Martin I know,” she said.
“Hello, pumpkin,” Ted said. He was standing alongside the massive bed, watching Brian so he didn’t take a tumble off the edge.
“Where am I?” Mia asked. She turned over, struggling against the long, soft white nightgown she wore.
“Well, you’re in another guy’s bed. I suspect your boss’s. Are you going to make a habit of this type of behavior?” he asked, teasing.
“I’m not really sure how I got here. I had this wicked dream that Saint Michael killed half of me and then knocked me out of the light.”
“From what I hear, you, on his prompting, exorcised a demon out of yourself.”
“I was possessed?”
“You were born possessed,” Altair said from the other side of the bed.
Mia turned and looked warmly at the man, not quite used to his angelic form.
“The dragon heart nourished the demon to the point of taking you over whenever the sunlight hit your wings. Sariel was worried and brought it to Michael’s attention.”
“So Michael did kill part of me?” Mia asked.
“Yes, and then he rescued you from the light of the sun and the light of eternity. Both wanted you,” Altair told her.
“Yikes. That will keep me from tanning,” Mia said.
“He was concerned about what and who you would be when you awakened. He asked Sariel and me to retrieve your family. He saw that when you fought the demon, it was the love you have for them that strengthened you and turned the tables on the fight.”
Mia looked at Ted who had just caught Brian from sliding off the bed. “They are my reason for being,” Mia said. “Altair, now that the demon is gone, who do I have to talk to about getting this sterility lifted?”
Altair hunched his shoulders. “I’ll ask around. Why?”
“I want more children.”
“But what if there’s a battle?”
“Altair, have you ever seen a pregnant woman when she is determined?” Ted asked.
“No.”
“There is no one more strongminded and scary,” Ted said, looking at Mia. “No offense, pumpkin.”
“No offense taken,” Mia said.
“I will further your request. Michael would like the three of you to enjoy his home until we are sure Mia is flight capable, and then you will be taken home.”
“I take it, Michael has relocated?” Mia said.
“Yes, he finds humans too distracting,” Altair said, smiling.
~
Father Santos shook his head as if he’d just come out of a trance. He walked over to Burt and Mike. “I’ve just received information that Ted and Mia won’t be coming back for a while.”
“Damn, excuse me, Father, but they’ve gotten out of cleanup again,” Mike said. He had changed his clothes and taken a few of Burt’s painkillers.
Burt shook his head. “I think, under the circumstances…”
“No, I’ve had it. Just because she can fly, she shouldn’t get special treatment.”
“Do you hear yourself, dude?” Cid said in his earcom. “Heads up, the three losers are acting up in whole grains. Over.”
Burt looked at his rag-tag team. “We are two people down, Peeps. We can postpone this until next week when we are rested,” he suggested.
“I’d like to stick around,” Father Santos said. “My associate, Simon, could use the training.”
Mike, who was going to throw in the towel and go home and curl up into a ball before checking out the local He-Man Women-Haters Club, nodded. “If he’s in, I’m in,” he said.
“I’m just getting started,” Audrey said. “I’ve got information on these guys that we should talk over first.”
“I’ve got the com, but I could let Jake handle it if you need an extra body, Burt,” Cid offered.
“Murphy?” Burt asked.
“I’d like to redeem myself,” Murphy stated clearly for all to hear. He had more than enough energy from the extra energon cubes Cid had insisted he draw power from. “I’m sorry, I was out of my depth in there.”
“If it wasn’t for Audrey saving my virtue, I was in a likewise state,” Mike admitted.
Audrey looked kindly at Mike a moment before speaking, “I have a question before we begin. Father Santos, how did you know that there was a Margaret and a Mary in the crowd of ghosts?”
“I saw the crucifix crosses the women wore and knew that there were Catholics in the bunch. There was always a Margaret Mary in any group of Catholic girls in that time period. Or a Mary, or a Margaret, or a Mary Margaret.”
Audrey touched her temple. “You are a smart man.”
Father Santos uncharacteristically blushed at the compliment.
“Well, let’s have a short meeting and then tackle the whole-grain losers as Lobo and his crew labeled them.”
“Who is Lobo?” Father Santos asked.
“Ask Mia when you next see her,” Mike said quickly to shut down Burt and Cid. “Mia and you have a lot to talk about, privately,” he stressed.
Father Santos looked at the presumed womanizer, tried unsuccessfully to read his thoughts, and nodded. “I will.”
Audrey stood up and glanced briefly at her notes. “I’m almost positive that the three men whose skeletons were found in the old silos in 1942 are the three missing members of Christopher Hurst’s bachelor party. Around the time of prohibition -1920 -1933 - groups like these ventured into the speakeasies and mob hangouts, like John Barleycorn’s and Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, for their evening entertainment. Hurst’s party was no exception. The group split up. Leo Geiger, Todd and Guy Berner decided to hit up another place before retiring. They were never found again.”