by Katie May
A loud bang sounds, startling me, then the doors swing open, almost knocking me off my feet.
“Got ‘em,” Karston exclaims. “Come on. We’ve wasted enough time already.”
Holding my scythe in front of me, I mutter, “Luminesce,” and the blade begins to emit a blue glow. I hold the weapon aloft and glance around. The room beyond is a factory. Various ramps, which are intricately entwined, lead to feeder machines and others whose functions I can’t even begin to imagine.
It’s fucking creepy in here. The looming metal, rising stories above my head, is coated in dust from years of no use. I’ve never liked machines; something about them freaks me out. Don’t even get me started on robots.
Shudder.
A loud clank sounds behind me, and I almost jump out of my fucking skin, my scythe coming precariously close to crashing into the ground.
“Whoops,” Karston says, picking up a rusted hammer. “Thought this might come in handy.”
“I have my scythe, you twat,” I scold, holding it up for him to see.
“Well, that doesn’t leave me much protection, now does it?” he argues, crossing his arms.
“You’re a fucking Ghost! What could possibly get you?”
“The Darkness,” he mumbles.
I pause. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I found more bodies,” he replies, walking away from me to search the room.
“More bodies?” I exclaim, running after him. “You mean you found some before?”
He stops as I reach him, nodding. “They’re being kept in a hidden room in the Academy. Took Brax to see the first one.”
“When were you going to tell the rest of us, Karston?” I shout, running my fingers through my hair.
“I was going to tell you on the bridge when Hadley showed up, but then she never did and then things got… well… you know.”
“Yeah,” I concede, sighing. “I do. How many bodies are there?” I ask, unsure if I actually want to know the answer.
“Five, Pres. And they’re not just DDs either. There were Angel and Demon third-year students, and a Ghost professor. Seems the Darkness doesn’t discriminate between which of us is tastiest.”
“That’s comforting,” I gripe, walking towards the back wall.
“Then two more in cryo drawers, the ones found hanging in the trees.”
My footsteps stutter. Seven dead? Urgency surges through me. We need to find Hadley and we need to find her now. “Let’s search back there,” I suggest, pointing to the back wall.
I hold up my scythe and head around a massive machine that looks like it could instantly crush me into a can of Spam.
Averting my eyes before I can think more about that, I search along the back wall. Nothing appears out of the ordinary, but I do see another door, this one marked with a “DANGER”’ sign above it.
The floors look undisturbed, with dust blanketing the old tile floor like the grass when Cottonwood trees let their seeds loose.
“I don’t think she’s here, Karston. This place has been deserted for years by the looks of it. Not a footprint or a handprint that isn’t ours lies anywhere. Plus, the doors were rusted shut. If someone had been here with Hadley, there would be some evidence. Something out of place.”
“I still think we should check back there,” he points to the open door, “just to be sure.”
“Okay. You go first.” I gesture to the door, but try to act cool, like I’m not as nervous as I really am. He frowns but walks ahead of me.
“Hold your scythe up higher, I can’t see.”
“If I hold it up any higher, then it’s gonna bump into the ceiling.”
Karston huffs but heads down a rickety flight of stairs, and into the bowels of the factory. The light from my scythe illuminates the room below.
A huge water wheel sits idly in a pool of thick, murky water against the left wall. Its buckets are empty; the water once inside them having evaporated a long time ago.
Slabs of quartz rest on tables in various states of finish. Some have rough, jagged edges. Others are smooth and polished, the light from my weapon reflecting off their dust covered surfaces.
The wheel looms in my peripheral vision. It has to be at least four stories tall. The fucker belongs in a carnival as a Ferris wheel. The sheer size is totally freaking me out.
Karston ignores the wheel and floats around the space while I stay on the stairs, lighting the space for him.
“She’s not here,” he calls back, his worried voice echoing off the walls. “Nothing human—or inhuman, for that matter—has been down here in years.”
“Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.” I turn around and head back up the stairs as a deep groan bellows through the factory, and the giant wheel sloshes a bit in the water.
“Fuck this!” I yell, before booking it back upstairs. When I reach the last stair, my shoe clips the edge, launching me through the air. I catch myself before crashing into the ground, my hands gripping the grate on a large machine. A click sounds, and a second later, a huge metal block falls down the chute. I scream and pull my hands out just in time, the block slamming down onto the grate where my fingers just were.
I don’t wait for Karston. Hell, I don’t even look around for his Ghostly ass, I just tuck my tail and run. Bursting through the doors, I feel the cool night breeze hit my face as my foot slips down the embankment of the quarry canyon.
“Karston!” I shout as I feel myself falling over the edge. I close my eyes and pray to God that it will be over quickly when I feel something snag my shirt collar.
“Gotcha!”
I’ve never been so relieved to be yanked by my neck in my life—or my Afterlife. I flop onto my back and search the stars, breathing heavily.
“You okay, bro?” Karston asks, staring down at me.
“I-I will be,” I respond between pants. “Thank you.”
“Bah. You don’t need to thank me. You would've done the same for me.”
“Yeah, but still…”
The weight of the world sits firmly on my shoulders as our failure to find Hadley hits me. Not that I thought we’d actually find her on Earth. But I’d hoped.
“I don’t think she’s on the mortal plane,” Karston muses, mimicking my own thoughts.
“Me either,” I agree, rubbing my eyes. “There’s nothing left here for people in the Afterlife. Only pain and heartache.”
“Agreed. So I guess that means we should join the others.”
“Probably. I mean, Braxton and Auston can’t be trusted to be on their own,” I say with a laugh. “I’ll find Brax, and you find Auston.”
“Sounds good.”
We’re silent for a moment, lost in our thoughts, thinking of places to look for our girl.
Our girl?
Is that really how I’m viewing her now?
“Pres?” Karston’s voice sounds so small and insecure, so very much unlike him.
“Yeah?”
“What-What if we can’t find her?”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, resolve settling deep within me. “Then we die again looking.”
“Well, that sounds fun. What are we waiting for?” Karston stands up and offers me a hand, tugging me to my feet.
“Regardless if we find her or not, meet back at the bridge after you search Heaven with Auston. We can figure out what to do from there.”
“Agreed. And Pres? Be safe,” Karston calls before he vanishes from sight.
“You too, bro,” I whisper to myself, summoning a portal to take me back to the Academy. I’ll have to jump in one of the Demon portals there to go to Hell. Let’s just hope we find her before the monsters lurking down there do.
Chapter 30
Auston
I’m frantic.
Some horrible being has Hadley, the girl I was sworn to protect in life, the girl I would do anything for even in her death. I can still taste her chapstick on my lips, feel her mouth moving against mine.
How could I have let this happen? I let my guard down for one fucking minute, and she’s gone. Taken. While we all fucking waited on that dumbass bridge. I hate feeling helpless. And right now? That’s exactly how I’m feeling.
I saw the vision in my head of where she is. Though unclear, I’m almost certain she’s not in Heaven. A being of Heaven wouldn’t take an innocent girl prisoner…
My gut tells me it’s a Demon, a creature of the dark. Or a Ghost, since they’re known to be sneaky, hiding in plain sight.
But who?
I close my eyes and recall the vision. White stone table, damp, musty smell, sounds of rushing water.
And Hadley.
Strapped to a fucking table like a sacrificial lamb. My mind runs wild, imagining all the horrible things her captor could be doing to her.
With her.
Using her for his own sick fucking pleasure. I’ll fucking kill him if he touches my Hadley. I’ll rip every fucking limb off his body one by one, then I’ll beat his bloodied carcass with them.
I take a deep, calming breath in a futile attempt to slow my racing heart. I can’t enter Heaven with thoughts of murder on my mind. I’ll never make it in.
“Slow and steady. Slow and steady,” I chant my calming mantra and clear my thoughts before summoning my halo to bring me to Heaven. Once I feel the heat radiating above my head, I wish to be brought to Heaven and am quickly whisked away. The feeling of entering Heaven is so vastly different from leaving. It’s pleasant, like being engulfed by a soft, cozy blanket in the middle of winter.
It’s comforting, soothing, peaceful.
And all the things I’m not feeling at this particular moment. For once, I wish I wasn’t a Guardian, but maybe a Demon instead. Then I could release my wrath on the creatures of Hell, slicing my way through monsters instead of letting the anger fester inside me like a colony of skittering insects.
Bursting through the clouds, I stretch out my wings and soar overhead. The stark white buildings of Serenity reaches high into the bright blue sky along the horizon. Serenity is the first place I thought of when my vision hit me. It’s the only place in Heaven that is made completely of white stone.
My wings beat fiercely as I move through the air like a fucking missile on a flight path for my destination. Because that’s exactly how I feel, like I might explode at any minute.
I tuck my head down and keep my eyes open, my senses on high alert. I refuse to let anyone’s piqued interest, anyone’s nosiness, distract me from my mission.
I have to find Hadley.
Luckily, the airways are clear with only a few Guardians flying about, so ignoring the Angels is quite easy. As the peaked turrets of the Serenity Cathedral come into view, I know that’s the first place I’m going to check. All churches have a stone table upon their altars. Though I don’t think my missing girl is inside this particular one, I still hold on to a string of hope that she might be.
I veer to my right, aiming for the bell tower. If I enter through there, then I can bypass the main entrance, and the fawning Angels flanking it. One would think being in Heaven, we’d all be created equal. But being a Guardian is like being a celebrity, everyone wants a piece. As a hot commodity, even among Angels, we are stalked to some degree. Everyone wants to touch us, feel our feathers, watch as we summon our halos, or our golden bow and arrows.
As if we were fucking cupid or something, bespelling them with a quick arrow through the heart. More like I want to shove one up their asses. I just need everyone to leave me the hell alone. I can’t help that my position is coveted, but sometimes I wish I was like Kars and could just become invisible to the rest of them.
Stretching out my wings behind me, I slow my speed and flutter them a few times before landing in an archway of the bell tower. The platinum bell hangs ominously in front of me. I scurry around the monster and hurry down the white stone steps, before this fucker goes off, giving me what I’m sure would be permanent hearing loss.
The bottom landing comes quickly, and I wonder for a moment if I perhaps flew down the stairs in my haste. I stride over to the door that leads to a corridor off the main part of the church. Gripping the handle, I push and the door opens soundlessly. I narrow my eyes and scan the area, ensuring my solitude before proceeding.
After verifying I’m alone, I tuck my wings in tight against my back and sneak through, shutting the door quietly behind me. The corridor to the main building is beautiful, the covered bridge stretching out before me. The floors and ceiling are made of white stone, and the walls are a series of open arches, allowing the wind to blow through my long hair as I pass. I pull my hair up into a bun on top of my head and continue to the end.
“There’s Auston!” I hear someone shout.
“Hurry, get inside and we might catch him,” another voice chimes in.
Fuck.
I scurry through the opposing door and rush across the main building. Pews line the floor, rows and rows of them. There is enough seating in here to hold several thousand Angels at a single moment. I look around frantically, trying to find a place to hide where they won’t look. My eyes land on the rafters above the altar.
Bingo.
Flying quickly, I perch myself in a corner just as the doors burst open, and a flock of Angels rushes inside. They search frantically, looking behind every statue, and every decorative flower basket. They even have the audacity to search behind the stone crucifix standing proudly on the back of the altar.
“Where did he go?” an overly shrill voice asks.
“He can’t have gone far,” another says, hope clear in her voice.
“Look for feathers.”
Fuck, my feathers.
I search the floor and spot one laying smack on top of the altar’s table. I just hope it blends into the stone, and they won’t think to search the ceiling. Barely breathing, I will them to leave, pray for them to forget what they came in here for.
“Boo,” a voice whispers in my ear, and I almost fall off my perch.
“Karston? What the fu—heck are you doing here?”
My brother smirks. “Helping you, of course. Pres and I had no luck on Earth. We checked the only place we could think of with white stone that Hadley would be familiar with but... not a trace of Hadley there.”
“I don’t think we’ll find her here either, but I had to try, you know?”
“Yeah, I do,” he agrees. “But, umm... Why are you hiding?”
I point below us. “From them. They think I’m a buffet, and they all want a bite.”
“Oh. Well, we can’t let them touch my precious angelic brother. We have a mission to complete. Allow me.”
“Wait,” I whisper-shout, but he disappears before my eyes.
Moments later, I see him reappear outside the cathedral doors. He’s slicked back his hair, his blond locks light enough that he could be mistaken for an Angel if you weren’t looking closely.
“Looking for me, ladies?” Karston lowers his voice, mimicking my own, and I have to stifle a laugh. Do I really sound like an arrogant ass?
Probably.
“Auston!” a younger Angel shouts, her light hair flowing behind her as she chases after fake me.
“Come and find me, ladies! First one to catch me gets me all to themselves for the night.”
A series of high-pitched squeals reverberate off the walls, rocking my brain around in my head. Karston ducks outside as soon as the first girl breaches the doorframe. A few seconds later, he materializes right next to me.
“Problem solved,” he says, wiping his hands. “Any ideas where to search in here?”
“Well, considering this is the only building in Heaven I could think of that’s made of white stone and has a stone table, I thought she could possibly be here, but there’s not a trace of her. Not that I actually thought there would be. Someone as evil as the fu—person that kidnapped her would not be welcomed in Heaven.”
“Agreed. Let’s get out of here and see if Brax found anything in Hell.”
“You know… I somehow doubt Hell has any white tables,” I comment. Karston belly laughs at this.
“I think you might be right, but regardless, I’ll be on pins and needles to see if they found anything.”
“Me too, bro. Take my hand and let—”
My vision darkens, and the world around me ceases to exist as a premonition crashes through my mind.
The view is murky at first, but like an old polaroid picture, it slowly comes into focus. I’m hovering over Hadley. Details I had not seen in my other vision unveil themselves. Hadley lies on a white stone altar, not a table. A mask covers her eyes, leaving her unseeing. Her arms are strapped down above her head, hiking her sweatshirt up over her abdomen. Her legs are also secured at the ankles, and the tiny sleeping shorts she’s wearing leaves almost nothing to the imagination.
Her stomach is quivering as if she’s crying, and her lips are pulled back in a grimace. Sounds start to filter through the vision, muffled at first, then clearing as rapidly as they came.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” Hadley shouts. “I would never be with someone like you! You can rot in fucking hell!”
“We will rot together, for eternity.” I swivel my head and see the cloaked figure hunched on a throne beyond the altar, carved out of the same, bright white stone. “With me by your side, there will be nothing to stop us.”
“I’ll fucking kill you when I get out of this. My guys—mentors—will fucking kill you.” Hadley’s screams echo off the wall.
“They’ll never find us.” He trails a finger up her leg and she tugs at the restraints, trying to get away from his touch. “I’ve taken you somewhere hidden at the Academy, somewhere I saw in a premonition.” His hand slides between her legs and up to her belly button, which he circles with a finger. “A place only few know about and even less can reach.”
“Stop fucking touching me!” Hadley shrieks, throwing all her weight around on the table, her knuckles turning white from how hard she’s squeezing.
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