by Stacy Eaton
I nodded, “Okay.”
Montgomery took my arm gently at the crook of my elbow and turned me. A feeling of happiness and contentment passed through me at his touch.
“We have been waiting for you for a while, young lady. You are going to love it here.” He winked.
I glanced over my shoulder one last time. The man that had run past me earlier was now bent down next to the other man, his lips were moving and I thought he said, “No, you didn’t Mitch, they did.” His heated look rose to where we all stood.
Who was at fault for my death? Should I be angry for being dead? I felt only peace and some minor confusion. The man’s glare met mine, and I wondered if he could see me. No one else seemed to be able to, but as our view seemed to lock together, his jaw tightened before he moved his attention to Brock. Brock stepped closer to my side, and the three of us turned and walked away.
Not four steps were taken when the scene disappeared, and I found myself in a room. It was neither hot nor cold, nor too bright or dark. The soft sky blue of the walls pulled at me and reminded me of something, yet I could not figure out what.
The room had floor-to-ceiling glass windows along one wall, beyond it a vast yard. Water could be seen way off in the distance. Was it a lake or an ocean?
Around the large room were small sitting areas. Plush couches and chairs in soft fabrics and muted colors filled each area, and the scent of flowers reached my senses, although I didn’t see any in the room.
“Where are we?”
Montgomery sat down on the nearest couch. “You are home, my dear,” he said with an easy smile. “Come sit, let us talk.”
Part of me was hyper, and I didn’t want to sit, but the place was so peaceful that maybe I would calm down if I did. I walked to the chair beside him, the cushion hugged my body as I leaned back, and I sighed at the comfort.
“They are nice, aren’t they?” Montgomery chuckled.
I glanced around the huge room again. “This can’t just be my home. How many people live here?”
“There are many. I believe each hall holds over two hundred. There are three hundred halls, although we are a bit low in numbers these days. The temptations of life have driven our numbers down.”
“Numbers for what?”
“Gardaí,” the voice of Brock came from behind me. I had forgotten he was with us. He stepped around the chair and sat on the couch opposite Montgomery.
His glower kept hold of mine as he moved. He reminded me of a tiger stalking its prey with his smooth lithe movements.
“Gardaí?” I looked away from Brock, he won the staring contest.
“We are called Garda Síochána, or Guard of the Peace translated into English. You will be trained to be a Garda, or a guard as you might think of it.”
While Brock continued to be a man of few words, Montgomery seemed more than willing to answer my questions. I directed the next one to him.
“What language is that?”
“It is Irish, have you ever heard of the Irish Police?”
“Yes. We’re like police?” I asked hesitantly.
Both of them chuckled, and I glanced at Brock, the small grin on his face and the way the skin crinkled around his eyes were familiar and way too attractive. I frowned at the thought.
“No, we are not police, although it is our job to protect the living.” Montgomery crossed his left leg over his right and waited for my attention to come back to him. Brock’s smile had disappeared, and he had resumed the stare down.
“Were one of you my Garda?” My question encompassed them both with a glance.
Montgomery turned his head slowly towards Brock. I noticed Brock tense.
“You are my charge.” The husky tone of Brock’s voice implied more than that.
“Well, if I’m dead, you must not have done a good job.” I’m not sure why I wanted to piss him off, but the fact that he hadn’t taken his glare off me the whole time irritated me, attractive or not.
His eyelids lowered just the tiniest amount, but I saw them. Montgomery threw his head back and laughed.
“This was your time,” Brock said, sounding angry, and Montgomery stopped laughing and considered him with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, we will have to discuss that later,” Montgomery replied.
As interesting as that sounded, I needed to figure a few things out before I started digging around. “So why me, how did I get picked to be one of these Garda people?”
“Because you are strong, you have the heart of an angel, and you are a fierce warrior fighting for what is right. You also believe.”
“Believe? What, like in God?” I could see Brock staring at me from the corner of my eye, and I met his gaze head on for a moment before Montgomery responded. I wanted to tell Brock to stop. He was making me nervous, even in the peaceful setting.
“Yes, you believe in God, heaven and hell, in the good and bad, and you lived most of your life that way.”
“What do you mean most of my life? Did I do something wrong?” I watched the two men as they exchanged a glance.
“No,” Brock’s answer was short. He clenched his teeth tightly, and I saw a muscle tick in the side of his jaw.
“How come I can’t remember my life?” I returned my attention to Montgomery.
“You don’t remember anything?” He studied me while I thought about it. Other than the scene I stood in at my death, I didn’t remember anything or anyone from my life. A chill passed over me as I thought about the man on his knees. Did I know him?
“No,” I shook my head with my answer, “I don’t.” Should I be distressed that I could not remember my life? I wondered.
“You will, be patient. It can be very confusing for people when they pass over. Most go straight to what you would call the gates of heaven. You are in the in-between, so it is a bit different. It takes a little while for the memories of life to come back to us here.”
“So I’m not really in heaven?” The thought that I had died and not gone to heaven bothered me, and I sat up straight in the chair.
“You’re in heaven, don’t worry, my dear. You are just in a place that we call the Realm. Those of us here can travel up to heaven or down to Earth.” He sat up and put his elbows on his knees, watching me carefully.
“Only the strongest of people can be in the Realm. Only the strongest and most valuable souls can be a Garda,” Brock’s voice was soft as he spoke, and our gazes locked.
Once again he stared me down, making me feel almost naked in front of him, like he was examining me, straight into my heart and being.
The sound of footsteps moving closer broke the connection, and I turned to the newcomer in the room.
“She’s here already?” the tall blond man asked as he entered.
I saw Brock shake his head back and forth slightly, and Montgomery tried to stifle a laugh.
“Yes, she is.” The tone of Brock’s voice implied there would be no further discussion. “Coralenna, this is David. David will help you get acclimated to your surroundings here.”
David glanced between Brock and Montgomery, his eyebrows rose at the tone of Brock’s voice, before he turned his attention to me.
“Hello, sweet Coralenna. It is wonderful to have you here with us. We have been waiting some time, although I thought it might be a bit longer.” He smiled at me as he spoke and turned to glance at Brock as he finished.
“A pleasure to meet you, David.” I reached out my hand to shake his.
“No formalities here. Come on, let’s get you away from these guys and get you settled in.” He ignored the hand that I held out and waved me to follow him. I dropped my hand uncomfortably to my side.
“Don’t worry, Coralenna, you’ll be fine. Get settled and then we will talk again.” Montgomery smiled and stood.
I nodded and let my view fall on Brock. The light shade of his eyes sucked me in for a moment, but I shook myself and walked away without saying a word.
David stood at the threshold to the room waiting for me to
step up beside him. “Let’s show you your quarters first, then I’ll show you around the grounds.”
David stood about a foot taller than I did; his shoulders were wide, but nowhere as wide as Brock’s. His hazel irises sparkled with friendship.
“Sounds good,” I replied as we turned together and moved down the long hallway. On the left were doors and archways to other rooms, and to the right, another wall of windows that overlooked a beautiful garden.
“Wow!” amazement glazed my exclamation as I took in the view of flowers and stone paths outside the glass.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? You won’t find anything here that isn’t beautiful.” The grin he gave me seemed to have another message in it, but I turned away from him and took in the gloss of the hardwood oak floors.
He pushed a button on the wall that revealed the entrance to a glass elevator. We stepped in, and I moved right to the glass, resting my hands on the gold-plated railing. The sight before me took my breath away.
As far as I could see, there was only raw beauty. Gardens full of bright flowers and a stream running through the center were off to my right. To my left, I could see the large body of water again. Sand along the shore sparkled white next to the glorious blue waves lapping gently.
“Wow,” was all that came to my mind as I took in the sight before me.
“Told you,” David laughed. The elevator rose, and I continued to stare. “You have one of the best rooms here. It’s on the top floor, and your balcony wraps the building so you can see both sides.”
I glanced up at him with a huge smile on my face. “How did I get so lucky?”
His face grew serious for a moment, then he replied, “Because you are special, Coralenna, very special.”
I shook my head, “I’m not special.” A nervous laugh escaped me.
“But you are. Trust me on that.” He winked just as the door slid open behind me, and we both exited.
The hallway was just as luxurious as the one downstairs with polished oak floors and elegant side tables set along the length of it. The hallway went on for what seemed like forever.
“What floor are we on? I didn’t even notice,” I asked as we walked to the far end of the hallway past more doors than I could count. There were no numbers on any of them; the only difference was the knocker in the center of each. I saw a sailboat on one, a flower on another, and one had a lightning bolt. Quite a few had animals: dogs, cats, tigers, and even an elephant.
“We are on the fortieth floor. Your room is at the end.”
“Why does everyone have a different knocker on their door?” I asked as we passed by a door with a brass eagle.
“The markers mean something to the people who live inside the rooms. The eagle we just passed, that was my room.”
“You’re up here, too? Does that mean you’re special?”
He laughed, and I couldn’t help but grin at the sound of it—so jovial and fun as it bounced off the walls.
“Yeah, I’m special.” He stopped in front of a dark oak-stained door. The knocker on it was silver with a yin-yang symbol in the center.
“This is your room.”
I stared at the symbol, drawn to it, but not sure why. “Should that have meaning to me?” I pointed at the knocker.
“Yes, and it will again very soon.” He reached for the doorknob, and I realized there were no door locks on the doors.
“No locks?” I asked as he turned the knob.
“There are no thieves here in heaven, Coralenna. We have everything we could ever want, so no one takes from others.” He pushed the door in, and we stepped through the threshold.
My breath got caught in my throat as I stared around the elegant room, not elegant in the formal sense, but elegant in the simplicity of it.
The living area was simple, with black and white furnishings, black leather couches and white throw pillows. Soft white carpet under my feet covered the entire room from the door to the glass wall of the balcony.
I walked straight to the balcony and opened the door. A soft breeze blew the scent of the flowers from below up to me. The sounds of the waves gently striking the shore rose to meet my ears. An eagle flew overhead, and my heart filled with happiness to see it all.
“This is absolutely amazing,” I whispered from the railing.
“Yes, it is. You have the view of both, I only have the view of the gardens.” David stood beside me and leaned down onto the railing with his elbows.
We were both quiet for a long time as we embraced the beauty in front of us. He spoke the words I was thinking.
“I could stand here forever and just behold the tranquility.”
“I was just thinking the same thing, and yet I feel slightly agitated, like I should be doing something.”
He turned to meet my dark blue gaze with his hazel ones, and I watched them sparkle brightly. “I know exactly what you need. Come on.”
~ Mitchell ~
“Mitch, come on man. You gotta pull it together,” Joe said quietly beside me. “Come on, let’s get up.”
I leaned back on the heels of my boots. With my body shaking heavily, I allowed Joe to help me to my feet. While I could feel my body quaking, I could not feel anything else.
Joe led me to a patrol car and opened the door, holding it open while I climbed inside. I fixed my sight on the windshield, yet I saw nothing other than a looped video showing the incident.
The rush of adrenaline during the chase, the bright red of the taillights in front of me, the sight of black boots flying through the air and rolling over the hard macadam—over and over again, the loop played.
Corey was dead. How the hell did this happen?
“I don’t know, Mitch, just the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess. It’s not your fault.” My face snapped to the left, I didn’t realize I had spoken out loud until Joe answered me.
“It is my fault! If I hadn’t seen that car and chased it, she would be alive!” I practically shouted at him as he drove away from the scene.
“Dude, you gotta get a grip on yourself! Man! I understand you’re upset and you feel like this was your fault, but trust me, this was not your fault.” I watched him shake his head with more anger in his voice than I expected.
“How can you say that? If I wasn’t chasing that damn car, she wouldn’t have gotten hit!” I slammed my hand down onto the dashboard.
“Mitch, look dude, there are higher powers at work than you know.” He shook his head again.
“What, like God? What the hell kind of God would take a person like Corey away from her life! She was so good! She helped everyone, went above and beyond what she had to do. She was a walking angel, dammit! She shouldn’t have died!”
I stopped my tirade when I realized that Joe had growled quietly. “Did you just growl?” I asked him.
His jaw ticked then locked down, and I watched him grind his teeth. He didn’t answer me, and I let it go, too upset by what had happened and knowing that the world was no longer as wonderful as it had been when Corey had been in it. I turned to watch the landscape pass as we made our way back to the station, my gaze flicking over the buildings, cars, and people but not really seeing any of it.
At the station, I stepped out of the car and stared at the large brick building. People were coming and going, some smiling, some appearing stern. None of these people were affected by what I had just done. None of them cared.
I watched the ground as I moved to the station door. Joe stepped beside me as we walked and held the door open for me as we entered. I went straight to the locker room, ignoring the glances from the other officers in the station. I didn’t want to see the accusation on their faces. Every one of them had liked Corey.
I sank down onto the wooden bench, listening to the soft whoosh of the hinged door closing to separate me from the squad room. I hung my head, now so heavy I could barely hold it up.
Tears prickled behind the lids as I thought about the first time I had seen her beautiful face. Flashes passed throu
gh my mind of our first kiss, the sight of her laughing with her head thrown back, her tough stance when she was dealing with a suspect. They moved quickly like a movie on fast forward, never stopping long enough for me to savor.
I heard the door open slowly and tried to sit up. I couldn’t move. I was frozen in grief. Just yesterday I had realized that she was everything I wanted, everything I needed, and today I had lost her, forever.
“Hey, Mitch, you okay?” Joe shuffled over to me, taking a seat next to me on the bench.
I shook my head, clasping my fingers together in front of me, squeezing my hands tightly to hold myself together. My heart felt like it was about to rip apart.
“Hey, I know how it feels to lose someone you care about.” His voice was soft next to me. “You’ll get over it.”
I turned to him. “Get over it? Jesus, Joe! She just died and you’re telling me to get over it! Insensitive much?”
A smile crossed his lips quickly before his face changed to solemn again. “No, I’m just saying, I know it hurts now, but it will get better.”
“I don’t want it to get better. I deserve to feel like this,” I muttered to the ground, noticing that my boots needed a cleaning. Strange thing to think about at this moment, but mundane thoughts helped stress. Muted words filtered to my ears. “What did you just say?” I turned to him.
He stood up, moving away, “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
Funny, I could have sworn he’d just said, “F-ing Brock.” I let it go since I had no idea why he would say that name, and at that moment, I didn’t really care.
“Look,” he turned back to me at the door, “the chief wants to talk to you.”
My shoulders slumped as I sighed deeply yet one more time. I knew I was going to get called into his office, but not quite so quickly.
“Did you love her?” Joe asked from beside the closed door.
I didn’t want to answer him so I kept my head down.
“Did she love you?” I turned my head to him as he reached for the door handle. We stared at each other for a moment, and I knew the answer to that question showed on my face.
“Sorry, man, that sucks.” His comment shocked me by the amount of insincerity it carried. I watched him shrug and walk out of the room. What the hell was his problem?