Avenging Angels (The Seraphim Chronicles Book 1)

by Adams, Nicholas

  SIXTY-ONE

  Kevin’s fingers danced on the holographic key pad as he entered the eight-digit code to release the inner airlock door. Kevin did not bother concealing the code from Evangeline, and a weak gasp escaped her lips as she saw the sequence of digits he entered. She recognized it as the same code from the inner laboratory off world.

  “Who gave you that code?” she asked, pulling Kevin around to look at her. “I know those numbers!”

  The magnetic lock clunked out of position and the door hissed open, revealing a bright, open laboratory. The similarity of the layout to the one she had discovered during her off-world mission made the hairs on her arms stand at attention. Kevin ignored her outburst and took a step into the lab, but Evangeline stepped in front of him with her back to the lab, blocking his path.

  “Where did you get that code, B.B.?” she demanded. She took a defensive stance, bracing herself to spring into action if Kevin decided to use his physical superiority to get past her. She was not going to let him off the hook so easily.

  He saw the rigid determination on her face and held up his hands in a defensive gesture again, straightening up to his full height. His head came within an inch of the airlock’s lintel. The corners of his mouth pulled down - he was growing weary of her frequent outbursts during their subterranean expedition.

  “I don’t know who came up with the code,” he said with as much patience as he could muster. “As far as I know, it was chosen completely at random. Why? What does it mean to you?”

  Evangeline just stared him down, her eyes betraying the weight of the cosmic conspiracy that would forever haunt her with memories tied to her abandonment.

  Jack could guess what had set her off again. He knew her parents were always a sensitive subject, and even the smallest thing could throw her into an emotional spiral, sending her reeling back to a scared twelve-year-old girl all over again.

  Jack broke the heavy silence.

  “Wait,” he said, stepping around Kevin to look into the face his wife. “The code, the code from your off-world mission. You recognized that code, too. You were able to open the abandoned lab because you remembered the digits your father had taught you.”

  Evangeline’s face crumpled, all her courage vanishing like vapor, exposing the vulnerable and lonely little girl within that she tried so hard to keep hidden.

  Kevin whipped his head around at Jack’s words, shock in his eyes. He stared at Jack for a moment, and then turned back to Evangeline. He face was full of tender sorrow.

  “I’m. So. Sorry,” he said, articulating each word with regret. “I had no idea you were part of the team that discovered the moon lab.” He put his big, warm hands on both of Evangeline’s shoulders so she had to look him straight in the eye. “I had no idea that code carried any significance for you. I had no reason to believe it was anything but random. I’m sorry.”

  Evangeline’s emotions could not take much more of the roller coaster ride she had been on for the past couple of days. It seemed like everything set her off either into a rage or a panic. She was so exhausted; her body ached as if she had not slept in weeks. Not since the attack of the black figures in the arena, and only two days had passed since then.

  She took a deep breath and nodded her acceptance of Kevin’s apology. As Kevin dropped his hands from her shoulders, Jack walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms about her. She rested her helmet against his own as she let his embrace swallow her whole. Hugging in the suits was awkward for them both, but Jack’s closeness was what she needed most right then.

  “Can’t she have a rest?” Jack asked Kevin defensively. “She’s been through so much - this is taking a toll on her.”

  Kevin just stood there, shaking his head.

  “You guys have come too far to stop right now. I promise there’s something rewarding in store for her, she just has to hold on a little longer.”

  “It’s okay, Jack” she said, pulling out of his arms. “I trust B.B. Besides, I’ve been trained to handle worse than this.” She turned her weary eyes on her old friend and trainer before she crossed the airlock threshold into the lab. Kevin let Jack follow next, then followed them inside and closed the door behind him.

  Inside the lab stood several workbenches, each with the kinds of laboratory and research equipment resembling what she had found in the off-world lab. In the center of the room two large cylinders lay, both about six feet long and three feet in diameter. They were metal, silver and shiny, and each one was attached to multiple consoles on either end through a tangle of hoses and wires. Each cylinder had a panel on the top that looked like it could slide away in order for someone to inspect the contents within.

  Evangeline quickly spotted Felicia in the middle of the lab near the cylinders, talking to a pair of Angels, one male and one female. They were wearing white body-fitted suits that covered them from their necks to their wrists and ankles. Over the body suits, they wore basic white lab coats with various lab instruments sticking out of the pockets. They were standing in a tight circle, whispering together and unaware that more visitors were in the room. With the sound of the airlock door sealing shut, the group stopped talking and lifted their heads in the direction of Jack and Evangeline.

  The female Angel burst into a giant smile and locked her gaze on Evangeline with glistening eyes. The male Angel also smiled at her, though showing more restraint.

  Jack furrowed his eyebrows. Something was not right. He had never witness Angels behave like this before. Evangeline was gripping his arm; she too was caught off-guard by the Angels’ behavior, but for a different reason.

  “Their eyes, Jack,” she spoke in a hush above a whisper. “Do you see their eyes? It’s like they recognize me.” Her entire body was stiff and rigid, a well-ingrained reflex to protect herself in unusual circumstances.

  She had never seen those Angels before. At least she did not think she knew them, but for them to gaze upon her with such radiating warmth and love went beyond what she had ever experienced with any other Angel. She took a step closer to Jack, still holding his arm in her tense grip.

  The female sprang on the balls of her bare feet toward Evangeline with open arms, as if compelled by something that was beyond her ability to control. Evangeline reacted by taking a step backward, pulling Jack with her. Her hand on his arm was trembling.

  The male Angel reached out with a swift hand and pulled the eager female back to his side. “Not just yet,” he said with gentle admonition, “she’s going to need more time.”

  Jack stood mesmerized by the scene unfolding before him. Kevin had stepped away from the door, joining Felicia across the room next to one of the workbenches, witnessing the introductions in silence.

  Evangeline released Jack and stilled her hands. With a measured breath, she took a half step toward the Angels, compulsive and cautious all at the same time.

  “Who are you?” she asked with a wary look in her eyes. “Do I know you?” Reaching back, she found Jack’s hand again and pulled him forward to join at her side. She did not know what she was facing, but she knew she could handle it with him next to her.

  The male Angel took a half step toward Evangeline, matching her slow movements, and gave her a smile.

  “We know you very well, Evangeline. We’ve known you your entire life, although you’ve not known us for yours.” His cryptic answer caused her brows to furrow. She gripped Jack’s hand tighter.

  “Have you been spying on me, or something?” she asked with an edge to her voice.

  The Angel chuckled, while the female Angel brushed a tear from her eyes and wrapped her arms around her waist. It reminded Evangeline of the way her mother used to fidget when she was worried or anxious. She turned her attention back to the male when he spoke again.

  “In a manner of speaking, Little Star!” he said with a lump in his throat, a tear escaping down his cheek. Infinite kindness shone in his eyes, and genuine warmth radiated in his smile.

  Evangeline lost the strength in
her legs and buckled under her own weight. She collapsed to the floor on her knees, staring up into his dark blue eyes.

  As Evangeline fell, the female lunged forward and cried out.

  “Evy!”

  The male held his hand out and gestured for her to stay where she was and wait. Jack had dropped to his knees at Evangeline’s side, trying to help her get back up, but she continued to stare dumbfounded into the Angel’s eyes.

  “It’s not possible,” she whispered, shaking her head as she kept her eyes locked on his.

  The Angel took slow steps forward while Evangeline watched in utter disbelief. He got down on one knee in front of her and offered her his hand. Without understanding why, she took it and pulled herself back up to her feet. Their eyes locked on each other’s again.

  Jack was motionless, still kneeling on the floor, watching in amazement as his wife placed absolute trust in an Angel who was a complete stranger to her.

  The male Angel placed a hand on either side of Evangeline’s helmet and tears began to stream down his face. “You have no idea how hard it was for us to leave you, Evy,” he said, fighting to keep his voice from cracking. Evangeline looked over his shoulder and watched the female Angel smiling and weeping at the same time.

  “Mom?” she whispered, her voice full of disbelief. The female ran forward and wrapped her arms around Evangeline’s body. Evangeline was amazed at the comfort and peace that filled her from the embrace. Her heart and mind fought for control over her eyes. She did not want to believe it was possible, but she could not help herself from plunging into the hope that this was not experiencing a new nightmare. It seemed to take days for her eyes to travel back to those of the male Angel.

  “Daddy?” she asked in hoarse whisper, reaching a hand towards him. “Is it really you?”

  He pulled her into his own embrace and the two Angels erupted into uncontrolled sobs. Jack stood up from the floor, still awestruck at the scene.

  Over at the workbench, Felicia shed a few tears under the faceplate of her environmental suit, as Kevin admired the scene with great affection.

  “Welcome home, newbie,” he said under his breath.

  SIXTY-TWO

  Jack remained motionless as he watched Evangeline enfolded in the arms of two Angels claiming to be her parents. He was not sure what to do. Kevin and Felicia were watching from the other side of the room, talking in whispers between themselves.

  Without warning, Evangeline broke away from the tight embrace, shoving herself away from the Angels.

  “No!” she cried. “I don’t believe you! My parents left me all alone and then they died. You can’t be my parents! You’re Angels!”

  She was scratching her fingers across the surface of her helmet as if the ludicrous thought could escape from her head if she could create an opening.

  “I need to get out of here,” she said under her breath, pacing back and forth in a disjointed pattern. She resembled a cornered animal searching for any means of escape.

  Her eyes landed on Jack and she rushed to him, wrapping her arm around his waist, and clinging onto him for dear life. She felt like her sanity had escaped out an airlock into space and he was the only thing tethering her to what was real.

  Jack pulled her close to him, as he stared around the room, searching for answers. Kevin, Felicia, and the Angels were all showing great sympathy at Evangeline’s sudden outburst.

  “What is going on around here?” Jack managed to get out. He, too, was bewildered, but the focus of his attention was Evangeline in her moment of crisis. Jack bit his lip as he restrained himself from saying more. A thousand questions ran through his mind, but he did not understand the circumstances enough to know how to verbalize them.

  The female Angel reached out toward Evangeline, wanting comfort her as any mother would, but again the male Angel held her back. He seemed to understand that if Evangeline did not trust them, physical comfort would have done more harm to her fragile state. He released his hold on his companion and took a slow step toward Jack and Evangeline.

  Gesturing to some stools nearby, he said, “Perhaps you should sit down. We have a lot to explain.”

  Jack watched the face of the male Angel, looking for any sign of deception or danger to his wife or himself. Evangeline murmured something into his chest. He could understand her refusal to accept what she had just learned to be true. He, on the other hand, had always been more prone to listen to a different point of view before making up his mind. Jack was concerned about Evangeline, and how much she had endured in such a short amount of time, but he resisted the urge to lash out at everyone in the room. He was unsure who was to blame for the traumatic events that she had been dragged through.

  He looked down at his wife. Her face shield pressed against his chest, her eyes shut tight. She was whispering to herself. “Wake up. It’s just a dream. It’s not real. Wake up. It’s not real.”

  Jack placed a gentle hand on the side of her head and pulled her face up to look into her eyes. She kept telling herself to wake up until she felt his eyes staring down at her. Tears erupted as her vision focused on the calm reassurance she saw in his eyes.

  “I think we should give them a chance to explain,” he coaxed in a tender voice.

  He looked over at Kevin and Felicia. They had remained off to the side of the room, watching with eager eyes and pondering how they had reacted the very first time each of them had stepped into the lab and discovered the truth about the Chapels. Jack then shot a quick glance at the male Angel before he returned his attention back to his wife.

  “I won’t pretend to understand what’s going on, but it can’t hurt to listen and ask questions.”

  Evangeline gazed into his eyes, hoping to absorb a degree of his quiet strength. She took in a deep breath and nodded, releasing her hold around his waist and allowed him to direct her to the stool. There was a slight shaking in her hands as she sat down, still shocked by the idea that her parents could be alive, and had been transformed somehow.

  She took another deep breath and tried to rub the trembling out of her hands against her leg before she reached up and took Jack by the hand. She needed him beside her until she was able to make sense of it all. He looked at her and grinned.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

  The tension in the room dissipated once Evangeline took a few more deep breaths and her shoulders relaxed. The male Angel grabbed another nearby stool and set it down a few feet in front of Evangeline. He led the female to the stool with a gentle nudge to the small of her back, holding her hand as she sat down. She smiled at him and gave him a muffled, “Thank you, Sweetie.”

  The male Angel then retrieved another stool from the workbench next to Kevin and Felicia, along with a tablet, and sat down next to the female Angel.

  The interchange reminded Evangeline of the way her father always pulled out the chair for her mother at the dining room table. The situation was nothing but bizarre. Evangeline could not shake how the Angels mannerisms were similar to those of her parents’ she remembered from her childhood; even the longing in their eyes when they saw her walk through the door.

  The ever-patient smile on the male’s face had never once faltered from the moment Jack and Evangeline had entered the room. He never expressed frustration or irritation by her reaction to his claims. Evangeline evaded his eyes for several minutes, pretending to take assessment of the room’s contents.

  She had told herself it was her training to examine her surroundings for signs of danger, potential weapons, and means of egress, but the truth was that she was not sure she could bring herself to accept the remote possibility that the two Angels seated in front of her were her parents. Despite the familiarities, something within her did not want to believe.

  Memories of rage-filled nightmares, fierce workout sessions, and sleepless, teary nights came crashing into her consciousness like a landslide. It was an inescapable avalanche of emotions. She thought it was too much to bare all at once and she felt h
er emotional defenses deploy. She did not fool herself into believing that she was going to be unbiased. She squeezed Jack’s hand and tried to convey an unspoken message that she would rely on his objectivity for a while.

  The male Angel continued to sit in silence and waited for cues that Evangeline was ready to listen. The female Angel hugged herself on the stool. She longed to cross the chasm between herself and her daughter and embrace her child to make the pain disappear, but she knew that Evangeline needed time to accept their story in order for her to forgive them.

  After several deep breaths, Evangeline looked over into the deep, blue eyes of the Angel who had not taken his eyes off her since he sat down.

  “I’m sure you will have many questions,” he began, “but, if you’ll listen for a few minutes, there are some things we should tell you first. Would that be alright?”

  The cadence and tone of his speech struck a chord in Evangeline, the uncanny way it mimicked the memories of her father. She examined his face, searching for a reason to distrust him and use it as an excuse to leave, but she only saw tenderness, love, and pain behind his eyes.

  She sat a little straighter on her stool and cleared her throat. “Yes,” she said, her voice low, “I’m ready to hear you out.”

  He heaved a sigh of relief.

  “First, and foremost,” he continued, his eyes glistening, “we are eternally sorry for leaving you as we did.”

  He reached over and took the female Angel’s hand. She squeezed it back and wiped the tears that had resumed running down her face.

  He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he reopened their story from the day of his last daddy-daughter conversation with Evangeline.

  SIXTY-THREE