by Raquel Dove
Her guide turned down yet another hallway and things began to change once more. There were people still milling about in the hallways, though they grew fewer and fewer. There were a few people she noticed that were dressed in either all white, or all black and those that were dressed in colors were dressed much fancier than their previous hallway counterparts. They didn’t gawk so much at her guide, but they did still look at her with intense curiosity.
“Is it much further?” Gabrielle asked through light pants of breath.
“No ma’am,” he said, not stopping in his stride, or slowing down. “It’s just up this way, in the ranked quarters.”
“The ranked quarters?” Gabrielle asked, trying to catch up a bit with him.
“Yes ma’am,” he said, giving her an odd look. “You work directly under a General. You're a ranked assistant. Your quarters will reflect that fact.”
Finally, the Joken turned a corner and came to a short stop. For just a moment, Gabrielle was hopeful that they had arrived, but then her eyes landed on an incredibly long staircase and her hopes were dashed.
By the time Gabrielle finally made it up the staircase, her legs were numb. She was panting heavily and holding herself up against the wall. Joken was waiting for her, looking on with an odd mix of confusion and fascination in his eyes.
“Your quarters are just ahead, ma’am,” he said, before turning and beginning to walk again. He had waited for her at the top of the stairs, probably what seemed like forever to him. Gabrielle just did not care at this point. She didn’t understand how he could walk so quickly and so far and be seemingly unaffected by the physical exertion.
Thankfully, he wasn’t kidding when he said her quarters were just ahead. In fact, hers was the first door that they came to, though it was still rather far from the top of the staircase. She read the numbers on the plaque of her door. 386. She wondered what that number meant. For a moment, she thought to ask Joken, but he spoke up before she could.
“I will leave you to get acquainted, ma’am,” he said, giving her a short nod. “Mr. Black will expect you at work before the first bell.”
He started to leave, but Gabrielle stopped him. His last words just left her with one too many questions.
“When is the first bell?” she asked. “And do I have to go all that way, everyday?”
She pointed in the direction that they had come. There was simply no way she would be able to make that trek to and from work everyday. It must have been a good four or five mile walk.
“No ma’am,” Joken said with a small amused smile. “In fact, if you follow this hallway in that direction,” he pointed down the opposite end of the hall, “you will come to the offices of the Dark Generals rather shortly. Mr. Black’s office is the first one in the block.”
He didn’t give her any further explanation before he turned abruptly on his heels and left her standing outside her doorway. She was rather surprised to find that the door was unlocked. In fact, there wasn’t a lock on the door. The inside was nice, with several rooms all furnished comfortably. One bedroom, a room that appeared to be a study, a living room with comfortable looking couches and a kitchen that was small but still spacious and clean. The pantry was well stocked and the kitchen had all the pots, pans, and dishes she would need. She found her way into the bathroom, which was as well appointed as the rest of the place. After washing up, she plopped down into her new bed. Her eyes slid shut and she sank deep into the fluffy soft pillow top mattress. She wanted so badly to let sleep take her away, to let her wake up to find this was all some bizarre dream. But too many questions rolled around in her head. Was this really the afterlife? Why had she been brought here and why was she suddenly so important that she would get all this for apparently no reason? What exactly was her new job? What if she couldn’t do what was expected of her?
It was all just too much for her to think about right now. Just adjusting to the mere fact that she was dead was difficult enough. Now she had to worry about a job with a boss that everyone seemed terrified of. She didn’t even know if she had ever had a job. Just as she was able to push aside all her worries and questions, just as she got into a spot that she didn’t want to move from, she heard a voice that snapped her back to reality.
“Hello? Gabrielle?” she heard a woman’s voice calling her. She wanted to hide under the covers and never come out. What could they possibly want with her now? She heard the bedroom door open and she opened her eyes to find a young looking brown haired girl looking back at her with a soft smile. She had striking gray eyes that were too familiar to her.
“Hi, I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said, taking a step into the room. Gabrielle shook her head and sat up on the bed, waiting for the girl to explain what she was doing here.
“Do I…do I need to be somewhere right now? Did I do something wrong?” she asked, when the woman didn’t say anything else.
“No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “Sorry, I’m Aracella Black. My brother asked me to come and help you.”
“Brother?” Gabrielle asked, already guessing who he was before she had even answered.
“Sebastian Black,” Aracella said his name with an odd reverence. “I’m actually a bit surprised. He’s never hired anyone with so….”
Her words trailed off and Gabrielle could see was struggling to find her words, as if she didn’t want to offend her.
“So, what?” Gabrielle asked. “It’s ok, you can tell me.”
“Well, so…inexperienced,” she said. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, studying her face intently as if she would be able to read her history in it. “Did you really just get here today?”
“Yeah,” Gabrielle said, rubbing uncomfortably at the back of her hand. “It’s all a bit overwhelming, maybe you can help answer some of the questions I have?”
“Yeah, well…I can try,” Aracella said. “I’m not a crossover, I’m a natural, so there’s that…but I can maybe give you some understanding.”
“A crossover? Natural?” Gabrielle said, shaking her head. “You’ve already lost me.”
“Right,” Aracella said with a little smile as she began to explain. “A natural is someone who is born into the Death Angel Society. Their parents are either naturals, or crossovers. My brother is the head of our family. We have been naturals for as far back as our written history goes. Crossovers are people who were once beings in the world of the living, such as you. The bulk of the people here are crossovers. It becomes harder and harder for naturals to reproduce, the further along the line you go. It’s somewhat of a miracle that our parents had two children.”
“What exactly is it that we do here?” Gabrielle asked. Things weren’t any clearer and Aracella’s explanation had only brought more questions. “I mean, why are we here at all? Is this heaven or hell—“
Aracella’s short burst of laughter cut her words off.
“The short answer is neither,” Aracella said. “We are more of the…behind the scenes…of the afterlife. We escort souls to the places they belong, or we guide them into new lives, depending on the individual’s circumstances. That kind of work takes a lot of people to make happen. That’s basically what most people here do. But we, you, me and everyone else under the command of the Generals, fight and control the Darklings.”
Gabrielle thought about the explanation for a moment. It certainly brought some things more into focus. It sounded like some interesting rewarding work. But there were still some questions rolling in her mind.
“Why me? Why did I get sent here,” Gabrielle asked.
“Unfortunately, that’s something that none of us know,” Aracella said, shrugging her shoulders. “They just appear here. We do an assessment and almost always find a place for them.”
“Almost?” Gabrielle asked. The word sounded a bit too foreboding for her to let go without questioning.
“Unfortunately, not everyone can find a place to work here,” she said, her eyes turning a bit sympathetic as she explained. “
Those that can’t are sent to the lower sector and have to basically fend for themselves.”
“That sounds horrible,” Gabrielle said, understanding now the looks that she had gotten when they passed through that sector on the way to her quarters.
“It’s really not as bad as it seems,” she said, “Some people suffer, sure. But most of them find a comfortable enough existence. Sometimes, we have openings that they can move up into. Not often though.”
The casualty with which she talked about those that seemed so much less fortunate than herself made her a little uncomfortable. She supposed that with time, she too would become used to the facts of this place.
“Are we…immortal now?” Gabrielle asked, the question suddenly popping into her head and taking precedence before the other questions she had.
“Not exactly,” Aracella said. “It is possible to live for quite a long time, though not everyone does. Some die of the Sickness, but most die in battle.”
“Battle?” Gabrielle asked, her eyebrows raised in surprised. “There are battles?”
“I heard you encountered a Darkling earlier,” Aracella said. “Those are the creatures we fight. Well, the Dark Generals and their subordinates fight. The Light Generals are more of the…research and development divisions.”
“My head is spinning,” Gabrielle said, shaking off the amount of information she was being bombarded with.
“I know,” Aracella said reaching over and patting her on the hand, “it’s kinda a lot to take in. Usually, you’d have a few years of adjustment with people that are feeling the same things you are while you’re assessed. But, I guess you’re lucky in a way. Serving directly under my brother is a very high position. I’ve never seen him do such a thing before.”
Gabrielle was about to ask another question, but a rapid beeping sound caught both of their attention. Aracella took out a small electronic device that resembled a phone from the pocket of her black suit pants and looked at it.
“I better go,” she said, a frown coming over her face. She glanced back up at Gabrielle. “But I’ll be back. Just try to get some rest and I’ll be back later to check on you.”
###
“Care to explain yourself?” the Head General asked, his bushy white brows raised as he looked from the paper in his hand to Sebastian Black who sat on the other side of his desk.
“Not particularly,” Sebastian said, ignoring the glare of his boss, the one person in the Central Bureau that had the power to punish him.
“This isn’t like you, Sebastian,” the Head General said, his milky eyes staring at him with heavy disapproval. Sebastian knew it wasn’t like him, and he knew that people would question him when he did it, but he didn’t care. He had his reasons.
“Are you saying that you are overruling my decision?” Sebastian asked, still not willing to explain himself. The Head General narrowed his eyes at him.
“No,” he said after a short pause. “I only want an explanation.”
“I have none to give,” Sebastian said, holding his ground even when the Head General clearly displayed his displeasure. His boss leaned back against his chair with his arms still resting on the desk.
“It isn’t like you to want someone so inexperienced,” the Head General said, still prying for information and understanding.
“I believe her inexperience could be useful to me,” Sebastian said. He had made the excuse up even as he was speaking it, but he was rather pleased with himself. Maybe he could spin it well enough for the Head General to even halfway believe him.
“Useful inexperience?” the Head General said, his narrowed eyes telling Sebastian that he wasn’t buying it for a moment.
“The situation which I voiced concern for earlier,” Sebastian said, continuing his recently made up explanation. “Perhaps a fresh, unbiased, pair of eyes can shed some light on the subject.”
“Even if I were to believe that explanation,” the Head General said, cocking his head to the side, “why would a Dark General care to do such a thing. That is more in the realm of a Light General’s job description.”
“While the Light Generals are busy reading and carrying out experiments, safe in their office block, my men are dying in record numbers,” Sebastian said. The calmness in his voice belied the weight that statement held. “And that is not due to inability. It is my responsibility to ensure they are protected, whatever that may entail.”
“Do you take me for a fool, Sebastian?” the Head General asked as he leaned further back in his chair, crossing his fingers together over his stomach as he considered him.
“Is that a serious question, sir?” Sebastian asked, knowing full well that it wasn’t the kind of response the Head General was looking for. For any other General, his current behavior would be seen as direct disobedience and call for punishment, possibly in the form of the Eternal Death. But Sebastian wasn’t just any General and everyone knew that. Though he had never broken the rules before, or even walked the line like he was now, he knew that he could get away with it. If only for the fact that his family’s status was so prominent in the organization. His father was the previous Head General and his mother had been a member of the Central Bureaucracy. His pedigree was beyond reproach and everyone knew he was being groomed for the future position of Head General.
“Do you expect me to believe that ridiculous explanation?” the Head General asked, rephrasing his question.
“I do,” Sebastian replied coolly, knowing that it was still not the response the old man was wanting. He didn’t care. Finding out the truth was too important to him and he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to that girl until he did. If she went to the assessment with the other new arrivals, he may never find her again. She could end up with the Sickness, or lost to some other menial job around here. He simply wouldn’t risk such a thing happening.
“Very well,” the Head General said, “I can’t say that I like it, and I hope you know what you’re doing. I won't push you further to reveal your true reason for this peculiar decision. But if this causes any problems, it will be on your head. And if one of the other Generals asks for an assessment…”
The Head General let his words trail off, but he raised his brows at Sebastian, expecting him to understand. He did. All souls that passed into this place were given an assessment. The worst thing of all this was that Sebastian had surpassed that system. It wouldn’t matter so much if none of the other Generals found out and insisted on one, not that there was any reason for any of them to do such a thing.
“I understand,” Sebastian said. He stood from his seat, buttoned his black blazer and left the Head General’s office. He had a lot of work to get done, and he had a special request that he needed to see to. It would take him calling in all the favors he had gained over his many years as a Dark General, but if the results were as he expected, it would be well worth it. Until that time, he would simply stick by his story that his decision was purely work related.
Chapter Five
Gabrielle woke to a bell ringing, the sound of it coming from everywhere around her. Her initial reaction was to try and hit the snooze button, but she quickly realized that it wasn’t her alarm going off. Then she realized that she was supposed to be at her new job before that bell went off.
She flew out of the bed, her heart pounding as her mind began to race. She rushed around her new home, trying to get dressed as fast as she could. As she pulled open the closet door, a wardrobe full of black greeted her. She wasn’t surprised, but she couldn’t say she was terribly happy about it either. There were no memories from her life before, but she knew what her favorite colors were and black certainly wasn’t one of them. She sighed. There wasn’t any time to do anything about it now. She pulled down a top and a pair of suit pants and was dressed, heading out the door a few short moments later. She finger combed her hair as she rushed down the hallway towards what she hoped was the right direction. There were no people around, which only made her more anxious. She would feel better if
she could ask someone if she was going the right way. She assumed she could trust the directions from her guide the day before. There wasn’t exactly anywhere else she could go in this place. It seemed to be nothing but straight hallways with doors leading off them. She hadn’t come across a door that wasn’t numbered and she assumed that meant there was a person living behind each one. This place was beyond strange to her, but the strangest thing by far, the hardest thing she was finding was the fact that she couldn’t remember anything past the day before. What made it so much stranger was the way she still knew things about herself. She knew that she could type, and very well. She knew that she had never had a drink of alcohol. She had never been on a date, and she had never kissed a boy. She couldn’t remember her age, though when she looked in the mirror, she knew she had to be young. She looked young. She wondered what could have happened to her in her life that she died at the age she looked to be. She had to know what had happened to her.
The night was hard for her to get through. She had tossed and turned in her bed, trying to force her mind to adjust to the facts at hand. She had already made her mind up that she was going to petition the Central Bureau for information about her previous life. She didn’t even know what that really meant, or what it entailed. But she remembered that Ms. Blankenship had briefly mentioned it. It didn’t matter to her that she also said they never approved those requests. She would still make the petition. She had to. She reckoned that if they allowed petitions to be made, then there was someway, somehow that information could be found out. Someone, somewhere in this organization knew about her life. They knew who she was, they knew how she died, and they knew why. It might seem like a small issue to some, and apparently people in this organization didn’t care much, but to her it was a big deal. It was a very big deal. It wasn’t until she promised herself that she would find out about her life that she was finally able to fall asleep. Maybe she was just exhausted from the night of mental tossing and turning, or maybe the thought that she might find some answers to the questions that burned in her mind. Whatever the reason, she was finally able to calm her mind and fall into sleep. The thought that she might need an alarm to get to work on time hadn’t even occurred to her. There wasn’t even an alarm in her new home as far as she knew. Even if there were, she wouldn’t have known what time to set it for. She didn’t even know if time was the same here as it was during her life. She reasoned that it had to be seeing as that was one of the things she could remember.