The Architect

by J. D. Lander

  “About what? You don’t come around anymore,” Connor replied as he came to a stop.

  “I’ve been busy…There is something important I need to tell you. It’s about Jacob.”

  Connor’s ears perked up as Jacob’s name was mentioned. Adam now had his full attention.

  “What about Jacob? How do you know about him? Have you been spying on me?!”

  Adam leaned against the streetlight. His eyes stared down at the pavement, as if searching for answer in its darkness. Connor sensed bad news was coming, as Adam never seemed to bring any good.

  “He’s not who you think he is. You see, I made him to protect you.” Adam kept staring at the ground, embarrassed that he had lied.

  “You tricked me?! You can’t play with peoples lives!” Connor was enraged as he thought about how perfect Jacob was and how he was always there when he wanted to find him. In his heart, he knew Adam was not lying, but he wished the opposite was true.

  Adam stepped forward. “Connor! You needed protection. Remember what happened to Alice!” Adam grabbed Connor’s hand, but Connor pulled away.

  “Alice? Don’t bring her into this! You get to see her while I stay here alone!” Connor’s eyes dampened.

  “You aren’t alone. I gave you Jacob.”

  “You don’t give a person to someone, Adam!” Connors eyes teared as he tried to keep his composure. He had just started feeling happy again. He had created new, wonderful memories with Jacob and started looking forward to the days they spent together. Now he was hearing that it had all been planned for his protection. Their friendship was all a lie. Adam broke the silence to prevent Connor from spiraling down a dark path in his mind.

  “There’s more. I want you to listen closely before you say anything. I didn’t want to tell you, but I owe it to you. I owe you the truth.”

  Connor didn’t want to hear it. He knew whatever Adam said would inevitably be the end of their relationship, like a wave ready to break.

  “The Architect called to me. I went to him and, you see, I broke a rule. I’m not allowed to create life in his world, but I did. I created an angel. I created Jacob. I didn’t make him follow all of the Architect’s rules. I made him so he could bend them like I do to help protect you.”

  Up until tonight, Connor had believed Jacob was just a normal guy. Exactly what Connor craved, normalcy. Now he had to hear that Jacob was anything but normal. What was real between them, if anything? Connor decided he couldn’t stay silent. He needed answers. “Why couldn’t I see his light?”

  “He can cloak it from you. I knew you wouldn’t befriend him if you knew.”

  “What does this mean? He can go back with you and Alice?”

  “No…”

  “Then he can stay? With me?” Connor pleaded.

  “No…”

  Connor didn’t want to believe his horrible thoughts. Adam couldn’t mean that Jacob would be killed, could he? Everything suddenly seemed broken, and Connor’s mind couldn’t put the pieces together fast enough. Adam spoke.

  “I have to destroy him…”

  “Destroy?! Destroy, Adam?! Jacob is a person! Call it what it is, murder!” Connor yelled in the street.

  Connor felt a fear inside of him that he had never felt. He had come face to face with the Devil, but his concern for Jacob seemed somehow greater than his own.

  “Does he know?!”

  “No. I’m going to tell him tonight.” Adam stated as he stared Connor directly in the eyes and felt his hate looking back. Adam felt guilty and sad as he attempted to come to terms with his duties as an architect while also grasping for his humanity.

  Jacob was sitting quietly, reading a book in the corner of Starbucks, when he suddenly sensed an urgency to get to Connor. All of this time, he knew that they were connected. He could feel Connor and knew that if Connor ever came into danger, he would feel it, but until this moment he had never felt it. He leapt out of his chair, leaving his book on the small circular table. Once outside, he ran around to the back of the store where no one could see him and, with all the strength in his legs, leapt into the air. His green and blue glowing wings supported him as he flew over the Starbucks, invisible to the world.

  Connor stared at Adam, waiting for something to happen. When he was about to speak, Connor felt a breeze from above. He looked up into the gap between the trees lining the road, and descending upon them was Jacob. Jacob was surrounded by a blue and green glow that he had never seen. The glow seemed to be burning, like it was angry, no longer cloaked by any means. Behind him followed blue and green wings made of nothing but light. Jacob looked majestic and powerful, like the angel he was. The sight was the most beautiful that Connor had ever witnessed. When Jacob landed, his feet gently touched the ground without a detectable sound. His light dimmed and his wings disappeared as he looked around. He spoke. “Adam? What are you doing here? I thought Connor was in danger.”

  “I’m not in danger, Jacob. You have to get out of here!” Connor screamed out, but no one moved. His eyes moved back to Adam as if he expected him to be holding a gun, ready to fire.

  “What does he mean?” Jacob looked to Adam.

  “The Architect said that you can’t exist,” Adam stated as if it were any other fact.

  “I’ve never thought of my death before…what will happen to me? Will I get to go to heaven? Did I earn that?” For the first time Jacob seemed confused and purposeless.

  “You can’t go to heaven because you’re made from me, and heaven was not built for us.”

  “Then I’ll go to your world.” Jacob believed he had reached the conclusion.

  “I have to do what the Architect says, or he will cut me off from this world. I need to protect what I’ve created and not break any more rules. Your death is my punishment.”

  Connor didn’t believe Adam for some reason. He had created Jacob like parents create a child, from themselves. How was Adam not showing more remorse? In his time away he seemed to have lost some of his humanity.

  “I’m sorry…” Adam stated as he raised his hand toward Jacob. Jacob’s eyes became enlarged with fear. Connor saw a soul inside Jacob. How could Adam snuff out this amazing light that existed? Jacob leapt into the air quickly, and Adam lowered his arm. Adam had expected Jacob to obey him. He didn’t anticipate he would flee. Adam looked over to Connor and saw the terror on his face. Before either could speak, dozens of silver angels descended around them, enclosing them in a circle. As each one landed, Connor felt the ground tremble under his feat. These angels were much different than Jacob. They dressed like Greek soldiers and had expressionless faces. Everything from their clothes to their skin was silver, even their eyes. Connor looked into their eyes and didn’t see humanity like he saw in Jacob’s. An older angel stepped forward, and behind him two angels held Jacob by the arms. Jacob had not escaped.

  “He has changed his mind. Jacob will come with us,” The soldier stated in a monotone voice.

  “If that is what he wishes,” Adam replied with a nod of his head. Jacob lifted his head up and his eyes met Connor’s. Jacob struggled for a moment. Before Connor knew it, the angels were gone, with only a breeze as evidence they were just there. Adam and Connor remained under the streetlight, stiff and dazed, not knowing how to proceed.

  “I’m sorry, Connor. This isn’t what I had planned.”

  “It is what it is. I don’t ever want to see you again. I’m done living in fear. I’m done wondering who my real friends are, and I’m sickened by the way you have ruined my life. Ever since you entered my life, I’ve lost everyone I care about.” Connor walked away, not looking back. Adam faded, returning to his world.

  As Connor walked home, he looked down at his hands and still saw his light was unchanged. Even his hate for Adam would not rid him of his blue light. Connor was forever changed. He could not help but think of what was happening to Jacob. Would God destroy him on his own? Was this all a test for Adam? Would Jacob come back tomorrow as if nothing had changed?

&
nbsp; When Connor arrived home, he immediately went to bed. As he laid in bed, he trembled, scared of what would happen to him and Jacob both. He did not sense love from the angels earlier. There existence terrified him. God never seemed scary to him, but knowing he created such creatures changed thoughts.

  PART II

  CHAPTER 14

  Life Moves On

  Weeks passed with no word from Jacob or Adam. Connor visited Starbucks daily, got an iced chai latte, and sat at the table where Jacob usually read. Instead of reading, Connor just gazed out the window, hoping to see Jacob. They had not said a proper goodbye. He missed the brightness that Jacob brought into his life. Then one day, a girl approached him and changed his trajectory. Her hair was dark brown, like the very coffee she held in her hand. She was skinny and short, with a round face. Her hair flowed down past her shoulders. The books in her hand were on various nursing topics.

  “Do you mind if I sit with you?” she asked, struggling to keep everything under control within her arms.

  “No. I’m not really using the table,” Connor muttered back as she placed everything onto the table. She pulled out an assortment of colored highlighters from her bag and lined them up on the table.

  “My name is Janice. I’m taking summer classes at the community college, trying to save some money. What about you?”

  “Connor. I just graduated but haven’t decided if college is right for me. Didn’t really apply or anything.” Connor realized he felt embarrassed for some reason. His parents didn’t go to college, and he knew there was nothing wrong with not attending. For some reason, he felt like she would judge him, her being a college student.

  “I actually took a year off before starting. I worked in a doctor’s office for a year as a medical assistant. I really liked it but felt limited, so I decided to go to school for nursing.”

  “I’m not even sure what I would do for a job. There’s not much around here.”

  “You’ll figure it out. The community college is still enrolling classes for the fall. You should look into it. Just take a bunch of classes and see what you like. You never know until you try.”

  “Thanks, I will.”

  “No problem.” She took a pair of white ear buds from her bag and started listening to music. In between highlighting what seemed to be most of each page in a rainbow of colors, she took sips of coffee.

  That week, Connor applied to the local community college and decided he would participate in society. He realized he wanted a future, and staying in the past, repeatedly thinking about a good time that once existed, would only hurt him. The support and pride his parents gave him for enrolling made him happy. They never seemed to tell him before when they were proud, but somehow his college attendance had made them feel successful as parents. Maybe they had wished the opportunity had been there for them. They gave him money for new clothes, and picking them out made Connor feel good. He remembered Alice taking him to the mall for a new outfit before Lydia’s party. Instead of being saddened by the memory, it made him smile. Alice would want him to move on. With no uncertainty, he knew she was in Adam’s world, making everyone smile and being sure that everything Adam made was beautiful. She was a blessing to Adam’s world like she had been to his life.

  CHAPTER 15

  Different

  Jacob had learned from the older angel, John, that the Architect created angels in a much different way than Adam. Angels are not visible to humans, and they were not created with human souls; they were soldiers. They were responsible for ridding the world of evil spirits that the Devil constantly created. When the Devil possesses or influences a person to a certain point, their soul becomes his, infected with the red light. When the human host becomes unwaveringly corrupted, the infected soul leaves the body and the original soul, now infected itself, remains. The infected soul then wanders until it finds another host to possess. The soul it previously infected remains in its original body until the person dies. Then it becomes free itself to roam and overtake. These infected souls were mere foggy, gray images of what the person once was, except their eyes glowed red.

  The angels flew in a large flock and didn’t speak unless spoken to. To Jacob, they all appeared to function as one mind with no need for talking. There were about twelve in total that looked as unique as humans. Jacob had until this time thought of himself as human for some reason, as he had lived among them. The angels were cold to him and didn’t tell him more than he needed to know, as if he were a child. Jacob felt lonely and longed for the days when him and Connor sat and talked about everything and nothing at all. The angels did not eat at all or rest for long between hunting for the red souls. While the other angels slept, Jacob would often sneak into the nearest town and grab a bite to eat. He would always make himself visible so he could feel a part of the world, if only temporarily.

  Jacob had been given a long silver sword and fought alongside the angels, although it did not bring him joy. The sword was generic but sharp and surprisingly light. The spirits were really no match for the angels. Their swords sliced through the infected souls, and the red light fell to the ground and dissipated. Before Jacob would assist in freeing the world of the infected, wandering red souls, he asked John what happened to the souls. John simply stated that it was not for them to know or decide. Like with his own fate, Jacob was not in control. With each red spirit he struck down, he imagined the soul reappearing somewhere for judgment.

  The one rule was never to let the spirits touch you. Jacob obeyed this rule and never thought to ask why, fearful that the answer would paralyze him. Then one day that began as monotonous as any other, he discovered the truth.

  The flock of angels had landed in New York City on a busy street. The sun was hot, illuminating everything as it reflected off the buildings. Buses, taxis, and cars filled the road, slowly moving forward with aggression. The sidewalks were crowded as people shoved passed each other. The angels all landed between people on the sidewalk, almost in a single file. Jacob landed last and almost directly on a person. At the last second he veered to the left and ended up rolling onto the back of a parked car. The situation would have been embarrassing, but the angels lacked humor and no one else could see him.

  As he entered the sidewalk, everyone seemed to be walking directly at him. At first he bobbed and weaved the best he could, until a direct collision occurred with a human. Instead of either of them falling backward, as the laws of kinetics would have predicted, the human walked directly through him. Not only was he invisible but seemingly immaterial. The feeling of someone passing through him was not like a breeze or a cold chill; he felt nothing at all.

  The spirits were attracted to cities like New York City, where a lot of people are concentrated and constantly passing by each other, on the move. The spirits wait until someone vulnerable walks by, which doesn’t take long there compared to the countryside. They overtake the person and feed on all their sinful thoughts.

  The spirits were easy to find in the crowd by their red glow. The sidewalk was full of chaos as the angels fought the spirits, moving through people as if they were ghosts. As the spirits fled up the road, the angels leapt over cars to catch them. There was so much going on; Jacob didn’t know where to look or what direction to head. A short angel in his periphery up ahead was chasing a couple of spirits toward an alley. Jacob followed as quickly as possible with his sword out.

  When he turned down the alley, he saw that more infected souls were already there. The angel moved his sword through them like he was writing with it in the air. His legs seemed to move as if dancing along the dirty cement. While fighting in front of him, he did not notice that a couple had snuck by his sides and were now behind him. Jacob yelled, “Watch out behind you!” as he ran toward the fight.

  He was too late. A spirit reached out its long, wispy finger and touched the angel’s shoulder. The angel immediately turned from silver to a dark gray that did not reflect the light, as if he had turned to stone. He fell to the ground as his sword sl
ipped through his fingertips. The sword rattled as it hit the concrete. His entire body twitched. The spirit that had touched him was no longer adjacent to him, as if he had disappeared. The angel’s eyes glowed red as the seizing stopped, and he slowly stood up to collect his sword, surrounded by red light.

  Jacob froze in his steps as he watched, and the spirits advanced toward him. He did not run because he needed to know this angel’s fate. Was there a way he could help him? Before the spirits reached him, three angels jumped over his head and sliced their way through the pack of seven spirits. The infected angel stood with his sword in hand ready to fight.

  The angels did not hesitate. The sound of clashing metal could be heard as Jacob struggled to see the infected angel, blocked by the other angels’ bodies. If these spirits possessed an angel, they must be able to fight back. The infected angel finally came into view as a sword sliced into his side, then another through his chest. He collapsed onto the ground as he choked on the blood pouring from his mouth. The scene was not as simple as when a spirit was alone. Jacob wondered if the angel felt the pain or was already completely gone. If these angels were truly soulless, taking over an angels body must be empowering to the spirits who gained the vessel. Instead of a red light littering the ground, the infected angel burst into flames, which burned just long enough to scar Jacob’s memory. The other angels acted as if nothing had happened and moved in search of more spirits. Jacob stayed on the outskirts the rest of the hunt, too stunned to have the will to fight. Later that week, after Jacob had returned to participating in the hunts, John told him he was ready to find out what his new role would be. What more could there be?

  “Take a seat,” John stated firmly. Jacob sat on a nearby fallen tree as John neared him. They had stopped in the woods, awaiting their next mission. No one was capable of seeing them, but John often chose the woods, as the presence of humans seemed to distract the angels. “You have seen our hunts, but they do not fit you as well as they do us. You think about things in slow ways, in deep ways, that we do not. Your hesitation will get you killed eventually, but there is an even bigger issue with you working with us on the hunts. We do not know what would happen if one of the spirits possessed you. Your abilities are far beyond that of what an angel should be capable of. If you did get possessed and we couldn’t stop you, the balance we so carefully fight to maintain would be disturbed.”