by Tara Benham
“It’s one of the perks of growing up around here, lots of places to camp. I don’t know why we never came here though. It’s perfect.” Hannah stated.
“I agree. There’s so much exploring I want to do.” Everett replied as he finished putting up his tent with the help of Sadie.
I wasn’t too sure about Sadie still, but at least she was willing to put in some work. Alissa, on the other hand, was sitting in the chair she had brought while Declan did all the work. She seemed bored with the whole thing. She was surprisingly sans make up for the trip. I’m not sure if she did this on her own accord or if Declan had played some part in it. Declan asked her for a hand, but she just waved her hands to show she was painting her nails. Hannah coughed to cover the laugh that had bubbled up.
“Here, you tell me what I need to do, and I’ll help.” I offered, walking over to where Declan was setting up.
“Thanks.”
“How’d you get the tent up before when you were camping at the other location?”
“It was a different tent. I brought this one hoping it wouldn’t be easily identifiable to Meph.” he whispered.
“That was smart. It’s kind of why I went for a regular colored tent as well. Hopefully, he isn’t planning on pulling any tricks until tomorrow.” My voice wasn’t much louder than his.
“There’s a lot of whispering going on between you two.” Alissa’s snarky voice interrupted Declan before he could answer.
“You could have been whispering with him if you had helped.” My remark slipped out before I could stop it.
“Burn.” Everett shouted out, providing another good laugh for the group.
“I can’t help it that my nails were wet. I take pride in my appearance...unlike some of us.” The last bit was under her breath, but I still heard her.
“Some people have more important things to do.” Hannah chimed in this time.
“This is supposed to be a fun camping trip, guys. Besides, we need to go see if there’s any fish in the creek. We need to get everything prepared for lunch later.” Gray sounded a little like a parent, but I’m glad he said it. I wasn’t one for quipping with others much.
The remaining tents were up in no time, and Gray was showing us how to make fishing poles with the string, sticks and hooks he had packed. We made a trek to the pool that was underneath the falls and separated around the edges, each with a pole...except for Alissa, of course. She plopped down beside Declan, and stretched out like she was tanning. It had to be exhausting to be her. She was in character at all times, it seemed. That was one side of the human teenage girl experience that I was glad I hadn’t adapted.
Fishing with a pole like this was something I could finally do without much assistance, as it was similar to the fishing I had done on previous missions. Sadie was the first one to get a bite. She was able to hook the fish, and was pretty excited about it. Everett ended up catching the second fish fairly soon after Sadie, but those were the only two catches of the day.
“Two should be enough for us, along with the bags of food Hannah and Bayla brought. Everett, take Declan and Sadie and collect some wood for the fire, please. While Hannah and Bayla get the other food ready, I’ll skin and fillet these.”
Alissa didn’t even bother to act shocked that she wasn’t given a task. Instead, she continued to sunbathe as the rest of us set out to do whatever tasks we needed to do. Lunch was going to be pretty light. We wanted to save some of the other food for this evening. We divided grapes out on the plates we’d brought and gave everyone a bag of chips and I got out the bottles of water. Just as we were finishing setting out blankets for us to sit on around the fire, Declan and the others were returning. They’d gathered what looked to be enough wood to last through the night. Gray was putting the fish on the grill that I had brought. It didn’t take long for the aroma of the fish to get everyone’s stomach rumbling. Even Alissa made a comment about how good it smelled.
Lunch was spent telling different stories from childhood. I shared some that were true for the most part, and from the way Declan’s sounded, his were based on some sort of reality as well. After lunch, everyone agreed that napping in the sun was a good idea before going out and exploring the valley. I was quick to sleep. The sound of the birds and winds in the leaves helped lull me into a dreamless slumber. I was awakened by voices discussing something rather heatedly, even if it was in whispered tones. Turning my head in the direction of the voices, I could barely make out Declan and Sadie by the tree line. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they would be arguing. I was debating on joining them when they both looked in my direction. Sadie looked completely stricken. Declan waved me over when he noticed I was awake.
“Tell her what you just told me.” He was gripping her arm so she wouldn’t escape.
“I thought it was Meph.” Sadie saying his name took me aback some.
“That who was Meph?” I said between my teeth.
“Hadraniel.” She broke down in sobs. “I didn’t mean to shoot him, I thought it was Meph. He had been following me around town. I was trying to get rid of him.”
I was seething. I wanted to kill her right there. I didn’t even know why she knew who Meph was or how to kill one of us. Rage was building in me as she continued to sob. She had no right to cry. “Why?” I could barely contain myself as I awaited her answer.
“I’m a Fallen. My real name is Lailah. I was a delivery Angel. I left for reasons that don’t even matter anymore. I wasn’t on Declan’s radar because technically I’m not rogue. I came here when the Watcher was living with Gray. I wanted to seek out redemption. Even if I was going to have to stay a Fallen, I could still do something good. Meph found me. He was the leader of the Rogues. He gave them the ideas for the things they were doing. He approached me to help him with this mission. I agreed, but not for the reasons he thought. I knew that if he thought I was on his side, he wouldn’t go looking for another Rogue, one who might actually try to hurt Gray. I was doing everything I could to help keep him safe until you got here. The Watcher told me about you.”
“Who’s this Watcher?” I interrupted.
“Nathaniel. He was posing as Oliver.” She looked confused that I didn’t know all of this.
I glanced to Declan who shook his head. He wasn’t aware of any of this until now either. “Continue.” I was still mad, but I needed to hear this.
“The Watcher did what he needed to do to get Gray back on the right path. After that, I did enough ‘evil’ to keep Meph away. However, when you all showed up for your mission, he started getting antsy. Especially when he found out that you had Hadraniel with you. He was pushing me to kill Gray. I was here in the valley when you and Had were here, but I didn’t know it was you all. I saw him from the back. He looks a lot like Meph from the back. I swear I thought it was Meph. I saw my chance, I started throwing my voice to sound like you in danger. I knew Meph wouldn’t resist the chance of getting you early if he could. When he got into my range, I shot him. I didn’t stay around to see it wasn’t him.” She dropped her face into her hands. Her shoulders were shaking with what seemed like overwhelming remorse.
“What did you shoot him with?” It was important to know. If I knew, I would know if he had been erased or not.
“I don’t know. Something I found at your cottage, in Had’s room.”
I froze. I knew what she was talking about. It was one of his Blue’s weapons meant to erase demons. If that hit his heart there was no chance of him surviving. I dropped to the ground. There weren’t even tears. I was numb. Had was dead, he had to be.
“I’m sorry Bayla. I was trying to help you. I didn’t know it was Haddy. I would…”
“Get her away from me. Now!” My tone was harsh, and I was louder than I should have been.
I watched as Declan pulled her back towards the group. Most had woken up but weren’t paying much attention to us thankfully. I sat there for a long time, trying to work out in my mind how Hadraniel could maybe have survived a wou
nd from that weapon. I couldn’t come up with a way. That’s probably why Father Paul couldn’t discuss him. They didn’t want me distracted. Well, that would have been a good plan, if not for Sadie, or Lailah, or whomever. I wasn’t familiar with a Watcher, or an Angel named Nathaniel. Father Paul didn’t mention him either. I took some deep breaths, closed my eyes and visualized the last meeting with him. I listened to his words again. After one more deep breath, I stood. I couldn’t focus on the why right now. Declan was heading towards me, I raised my hand. I didn’t need him to come over here. I didn’t want to talk about it right now.
“Keep her away from me.” I said in passing.
He nodded solemnly.
“Bayla! Just the person we were waiting for. We want to explore. You in?” Everett said, almost bouncing with excitement.
I quickly placed a smile on my face, “I’m game. Lead the way.”
“I’m just going to hang here, maybe read or something.” Alissa said to no one really in particular.
“I’ll stay with you.” Sadie volunteered. She was smart enough not to try to talk to me or make eye contact.
We gathered our packs and headed in the opposite direction of where we came into the valley. I knew we would find the second falls eventually if we kept going in that direction. It might be fun to go swimming if the pool was deep enough. Hannah came up beside me and locked our arms as we walked through the woods. Declan, being the nerd that he was, lectured the others about the surrounding trees and wildlife. Gray was up front with him, enjoying the little tidbits. Everett was between them and us, just observing the happenings. Hannah slowed us down some so that we were out of earshot of the others.
“What was going on earlier?” Hannah asked.
“Please. I can’t. Not right now.” My throat felt like sandpaper. I was barely containing the emotions right now. If I said the words out loud, I would lose the tenuous hold I had on them at the moment.
Hannah stopped walking, pulled me back, and gave me a comforting hug. I returned it quickly, but had to pull away. The last thread was vibrating, close to breaking. “Thank you. We better hurry so we can catch up with the boys.” I appreciated the hug.
Not one to dwell too long, she quickly changed topics. “Have you been in this direction of the valley?”
“I have. I think you might like what we’re going to find when we exit these woods.”
Declan and Gray were in the clearing before us, and I could hear when Everett saw the falls too. He was as excited as I had expected. These falls completely dwarfed the ones close to our campsite. I picked up our pace, wanting Hannah to see them too. Declan had the same idea I had and was already in the process of removing his shirt and jeans to go swimming. Gray and Everett didn’t need any convincing to join him. The hollering from the boys after they emerged from underwater let me and Hannah know that the water was going to be freezing. I needed the shock. I was quick to take off my tank and shorts. Thankfully Hannah had suggested wearing our swimsuits underneath, just in case. I waited at the edge for her, grabbed her hand, and when she counted to three, we both jumped in. It was beyond freezing. I came up quickly gasping for air. Hannah was doing the same.
“Holy Grace!” I sputtered, gasping from the cold.
“No kidding. Maybe if we stay under for the most part, we will adjust. Let’s swim over to the falls. There might be a cave behind it as well.”
She didn’t wait for me to answer but just headed over with me in tow. She was right about the water getting warmer or at least feeling warmer, as long as we stayed submerged. The guys must have noticed that we were heading towards the falls and followed us. Taking a deep breath, I dove under. I wanted the burning of my lungs. Physical pain at the moment was like a gift. I stayed under until I couldn’t take it anymore. I came up, and noticed Declan had come up beside me. He didn’t say anything. The look he gave me let me know he knew what I feeling.
Hannah was treading water near the falls waiting for us to catch up. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get out of the water to check if there was a cave or not as I had just gotten warm. I indicated I was going to go under the falls to see what was on the other side. I took a deep breath and dove. After swimming several feet, I could feel the falls over me, and after a few more feet, there was stillness of the water. I surfaced and looked around. As I’d suspected, on the other side of the falls was a cave. We could just swim the length of the cave from what I could tell. The others quickly made appearances on my side of the falls.
“Wow, this is awesome!” Everett was the first to come through. “We should see if we can swim back a ways.”
“We should wait for the others first. We don’t want to take of chance of getting separated.”
Hannah, Gray and Declan were quick to follow Everett, and soon we were on our way. I couldn’t use my wings as light this time, but thankfully Gray had brought a waterproof flashlight that fit on his head. He swam up to the front and guided us for about a hundred yards. There the water seemed to get more swallow, and we were able to stand and walk. The cave led back another fifty feet or so before it became too narrow and short to pass through. This was not an ideal place for hiding them, but it was better than no option. I peeked at Hannah and noticed she was doing the same as she had in the other cave. She was making sure to feel along the walls, paying attention to the turns we made. We turned back, letting Hannah lead us out.
Back outside of the falls, I climbed up on the banks and laid out, letting the sun dry me. Hannah and the boys joined me. We were all pretty content. It was a great way to spend an afternoon. What made it even better was that Sadie wasn’t in my line of sight. I couldn’t believe she didn’t even bother to stay around to make sure it was Meph. I didn’t remember a delivery Angel by the name of Lailah, but she could have chosen to become a Fallen before I was of age to know many other Angels. If her story was true, then what could make her want to be a Fallen, only want to do good once she was here? I knew I would need to talk to her again and ask her about Meph’s plans. I was running out of time, and it had to be today or never.
Rumble. We all looked around to see whose stomach was the culprit for the loud noise.
“Seriously, who released the Kraken?” Everett said, making the group laugh.
“I think I might be hungry.” Hannah giggled.
“You think? I’m pretty sure people in other countries are now aware of your hunger,” Gray teased.
“Let’s head to camp. We can have some junk food before our dinner. We’ll be total rebels.”
“I like the way you think, Bay.” Everett was already up and partially dressed at the mention of food.
We were all more intent on getting back to camp than observing the trees and wildlife this time. Swimming was a great way to make someone hungry. I was dreaming about the marshmallows and cookies. Hannah and I started discussing our favorite desserts, and the boys joined in. The talk of food seemed to urge us on enough to make it back before we starved. I wasn’t really sure what happened on a camping trip, but if we went on another adventure again later, I was going to pack a granola bar or something.
Sadie and Alissa were each engrossed in their own books. While the others were getting food, I decided to use this time to talk with Sadie some more.
I tapped her on her shoulder. “Follow me, please.” She didn’t respond, but closed her book and followed.
“I need more answers.”
“What kind of answers?” she asked, looking hesitant.
“Why didn’t the Watcher stay until I was here? What do you know about Meph and his plan?”
“The Watcher had to leave when his mission was completed, or at least that’s what he told me. Nathaniel was one that followed the rules to the tee. Meph never shared his plans with me for this part. He wanted me to kill Gray and collect his soul for Hell before any of these events happened. He didn’t say why he was so important, or why he didn’t want to wait to battle it out with you. He was the one who told Lucifer to send Declan, or so h
e told me. He wanted it to be on the down low, fighting dirty. He had been hunting for me in the valley just a few hours earlier that day and that’s why I thought Had was him. He was upset that I hadn’t followed his command and was planning on erasing me.”
“If you chose to fall, then why are you trying to help me or my side?”
“Who said I chose to fall?” She paused for a minute. Sighing, she spoke again. “Besides, it’s a long story, Bayla. One that happened long before you were the Collector. Just know that I will help you however I can tomorrow.”
“I’m not sure I need your help. I cannot forgive you right now for Haddy either. I just can’t.” Her statement of not choosing really threw me, but I didn’t have the time or energy to even think about that part right now.
“I understand.” Her shoulders drooped.
“Let’s get back before they get suspicious.”
Back at camp, Hannah had gotten us both apples and a water, so much for cookies. I knew the apple was better for me especially having just spent the entire afternoon exploring, but I wanted sweets. We plopped down on the blankets. Since I knew dinner would be soon, I didn’t pout too much about the apple. Hannah was telling me about making sure she mentally mapped the cave at the other falls while we ate. Everett and Declan were telling Sadie and Alissa about what we had done while we were gone. Neither looked overly upset that they had missed out. Apparently Alissa didn’t know what she had missed, not seeing Declan in swim trunks. With the exception of Sadie’s revelation, my first camping trip had several great highlights.
Soul meets soul on lovers' lips. ~Percy Bysshe Shelley
Dinner was fun. We made hot dogs over the fire, then we enjoyed roasted marshmallows. I’d never had campfire food quite like this, and I was hooked. We were all messy and having fun getting the sticky pieces off the stick. The view of the stars was unobstructed out here in the valley. I wanted to lay out by the fire and watch as time passed, but Alissa suggested telling ghost stories. I didn’t really have any that weren’t based on something true and figured they might be too scary. I listened as the others each took a turn telling a story they had heard growing up. It was fun to watch as the group jumped at whatever part of the story that was supposed to get them. I zoned out by the time Everett got around to telling his story. I was visualizing how tomorrow could go. The more I was prepared, the better I could react.
