Avoidables 3

by Rachel Medhurst

  ‘That was close!’ Hope whispered as we crouched low again.

  The talking had come from two guards. They went to walk past the entrance to the alleyway, but stopped midway across.

  ‘That one with one arm was actually quite nice. If she had another arm, I’d do her,’ one hulking guard said loudly.

  ‘Yeah, the dragon’s not bad either,’ the other one said as they walked off, laughing.

  ‘You both pulled,’ I said, trying not to laugh when Purple punched me gently. I wasn’t expecting it and although it wasn’t hard, it caught me off guard and I stumbled. I heard the echo of my shout before I even realised I’d opened my mouth.

  ‘Crap!’ I exclaimed as the sound of running footsteps approached.

  ‘They’re coming back,’ Hope said, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the other end of the alley. Purple was behind us. The shout of the guards made me jump, they’d seen us.

  ‘Can we fly now?’ Hope panted beside me as we rounded the corner and came onto another dark street. Ahead I could see a couple more angels making their way to the meeting.

  ‘We need to distract the guards from the angels,’ I said. ‘Hey!’ I called to the angels ahead. They spun and looked at each other before spreading their wings and disappearing upwards. I really hoped the guards would...

  I had no worries, they flapped their wings once, a bright light enveloped them and they were gone. I blinked to try and clear the light spots.

  ‘What…?’ Hope said next to me.

  ‘We’re really going to be in trouble if they catch us,’ I said. I looked behind again and saw that the guards were just rounding the building, coming out into the street.

  ‘Go!’ I called to the others. I then started to slow my run.

  ‘Wait, Jason,’ Hope called, but Purple released his wings and grabbed her. They flew up and away. I stopped running and spun towards the guards. They started to slow when they saw that I was surrendering, but then they stopped suddenly and looked to the sky above my head. I glanced up and had to blink a few times. A brilliant white light was glowing. It lowered slowly towards me. Something grabbed my outstretched arms and lifted me slowly. I felt a surge of energy shoot through me on contact and tried not to fall.

  ‘What the…?’ the guard below me said. They stood with their mouths hanging open as I rose higher and higher. I saw the ground get further away and hoped that the thing holding me wouldn’t let me go.

  ‘Don’t worry, Jason.’ I heard above me. It was William’s voice coming from the light. When I leant my head back, I saw a distinctive shape of a male with wings.

  ‘I thought we weren’t supposed to be flying on the Upper Side,’ I said, laughing as we left the guards behind.

  ‘I need you at this bloody meeting,’ he replied.

  We flew over the city and I realised that I’d never been north of the city. This high, I could see that it had more greenery than the south. It looked almost jungle like.

  We landed on the ground in a clearing of the green trees. William’s light disappeared and I realised that he was naked. I saw Hope in the clearing standing next to Purple. Her gaze was transfixed on William. His broad chest and muscular arms were still twinkling with remnants of his light.

  ‘Wow, what was that?’ she said, coming over to us.

  We averted our gaze as William took the clothes offered by another angel and started to dress.

  ‘That was our full self,’ he said, smiling at Hope. ‘You and Jason have your own light, but because you’ve split, you won’t truly shine until you’ve harmonised.’

  ‘What’s that?’ I asked, wanting to take my lover’s hand.

  ‘You’ll know when it happens,’ he said, turning away from us and holding out his arms. ‘Welcome all! It’s been a while since we’ve held a secret meeting like this.’

  The other angels laughed or nodded.

  ‘That was fun,’ one of them called.

  ‘Can we do that again?’ another said.

  ‘Unfortunately not. Today, we need to talk about the trial and what we can do to help the Avoidables and Perfects to unite. It will not be an overnight success. This is going to take years, but there are plans in place to speed things up.’

  We were all standing around, except for Hope and Purple. I watched as they went up to different trees and ran their hands over them. The look on their faces told of an upbringing that did not involve nature.

  ‘See,’ William said softly, pointing to them. ‘Avoidables don’t even have the luxury of being brought up surrounded by countryside like the Perfects do. That’s why Hope had to be an Avoidable. We needed her to live life their way so that she can help them to reunite. There are no separate races, or different people, they’re all the same.’

  Hope had turned at the mention of her name. She was nodding with wide eyes as she came back to the group. Purple was grunting as he ran his hands over the soft earth beneath our feet. He was on his hands and knees.

  ‘Why is he doing that?’ one angel asked me.

  ‘Because he’s not ever seen a place like this in his life time,’ I replied. Purple realised that the attention was on him and came back to the group. His cheeks were coloured with red as he coughed.

  ‘It’s good to see you enjoying the forest,’ William said to him.

  ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’ Purple looked up through the branches of the trees. The moon was big tonight and it shone through the leaves.

  ‘Okay, so we need to charge this trial with some good energy. Hope and Purple will be asked to stand as witnesses tomorrow. The Perfects need to relate to Avoidables. I can’t tell you what to say,’ William said, looking at the two Avoidables, ‘but we can help you.’

  William nodded to the waiting angels and they all started to strip out of their clothes. They formed a circle around Hope and Purple. As their skin was bared, a bright light started to emulate from them. William gestured at me to strip. Surely he didn’t want me to do it to? I’d never done anything like this. I wasn’t like them. I was born on the earth, into a true physical body. They’d changed their shape to look like a human.

  ‘You can still do this,’ William said, reading my thoughts.

  ‘But…’

  ‘Trust me,’ he said, pulling his trousers off. I looked away but then realised that I couldn’t see anything anyway. The light of the circle was glowing so bright that I had to squint. I quickly undressed, feeling a cool breeze caress my skin.

  ‘Just close your eyes and feel it, Jason,’ I heard William say.

  I joined the circle and did as he said. I felt a humming vibration start where my feet touched the earth. It travelled up my body and caused my skin to warm as if the sun was on it. When I opened my eyes, my gaze clashed with Hope’s. She was staring at me, her mouth slightly open. I glanced down and saw that I was glowing just like the others. I looked back at Hope and she came over to me. She reached out and laid her hand on my chest.

  ‘Hold hands, angels,’ William called. I reached out to either side of me and felt the others take them gently. I couldn’t pull my gaze away from Hope as she stood looking up at me.

  ‘Even your eyes are glowing,’ she whispered.

  Her own eyes started to show light and I smiled. I saw her then. Not Hope the Avoidable, but Hope the angel. I saw right into her soul. I knew she could see the same in me because it was like we were connected. The angels and Purple disappeared and it was only us.

  ‘You are so beautiful,’ I whispered. We were surrounded by light. All I could see was her.

  ‘So are you. It feels like forever since I’ve seen you like this.’ She took my hands and opened my arms. Stepping forward, she allowed me to wrap them around her. A blast of emotion shot through me as our light merged and she rested her head on my chest. Tears were running down my cheeks. When she looked up at me, an urgent need to protect her overwhelmed me.

  ‘This is…’ There were no words.

  Human form could not even accommodate such an a
mazing sense of oneness. This woman. This feminine part of my soul fitted so closely to me that I was now vibrating with pleasure. It was like I was making love with her on a different level.

  ‘I don’t want to go back,’ she whispered into my ear.

  I placed my hands on either side of her head and made her look at me. Her eyes were wet and my heart swelled even more. I froze when I saw pictures in her eyes. It looked like us, acting something out, but we were different. I realised that the scenes playing in her eyes were previous lifetimes. We were together, then arguing, then happy, then sad.

  ‘We’ve been round a few times. I knew that intellectually, but to see who we were before, that’s…’

  ‘Fascinating,’ she finished for me.

  I realised that she could see the same scenes in my eyes.

  ‘We can do it this time. We can…’

  ‘I remember,’ she gasped. She went to step back but I held on to her.

  ‘What do you remember?’ I searched her eyes, but the scenes had gone.

  ‘To save the planet, we need to heal ourselves first, get together in true love and then have a baby. The first Avoidable, Perfect, angel breed.’

  Chapter Six

  When the light disappeared, I blinked. The circle was broken and the angels were fully clothed. Purple was looking at us with a smirk. I was standing naked with Hope in front of me. She still had her hands on my chest. I noticed her wings were out and her eyes were closed.

  ‘Did we break the circle?’ I asked, bending down to kiss her lips very briefly before turning to put my clothes back on.

  ‘No, we did, when it was time,’ William said, coming over and placing a hand on my shoulder. He was smiling and I felt a weird tingling in my chest. I was trying to remember where we’d just been, but it was fast slipping from my mind. The feeling of being united with Hope was there though and I kept glancing over at her. She was talking to Purple, although it didn’t look like she was saying much. Every time she glanced my way, we both grinned.

  ‘Do you remember?’ William said quietly.

  ‘Remember what?’ I asked, not looking away from my woman. No matter what happened now, I could not marry Gina. Hope was my soulmate and I wasn’t ever letting her go. When William didn’t reply, I looked at him. He had his big hand on his smooth jaw. He was watching me closely.

  ‘What just happened? Was anything said?’ he asked, glancing over at Hope.

  ‘Yes, I saw…’ my mind went blank as I tried to remember the scenes that had been playing out in Hope’s eyes. All I felt was the emotion. A lump came to my throat and I ducked my head as I pulled my t-shirt over it.

  ‘It’s gone, hasn’t it?’ William muttered.

  I nodded and felt my forehead lower as I avoided his gaze. It was important, that much I knew.

  ‘Hope, do you remember?’ William called.

  She came over and glanced at me.

  ‘Remember what?’

  ‘What just happened between the two of you?’ William was fidgeting now. He was hopping from one foot to the other. I’d never seen him like this.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she smiled at me.

  I smiled back but felt like I could lose this feeling of bliss when it was revealed that I’d already forgotten what was said between us.

  ‘Good,’ William stopped moving and turned to the rest of the group. They were standing around, waiting for instructions.

  ‘Do you…’ Hope started to ask me. A faraway look played in her eyes and I knew that it was reflected in mine.

  ‘Okay, everyone, it’s time to talk about the trial. Human beings, no matter who they are, what they look like, or how they feel, have one goal. To feel loved and safe.’ William interrupted Hope by talking in a loud voice. I was grateful. I couldn’t bear the idea of upsetting her now.

  ‘We’re going to show the Perfects how the Avoidables can actually achieve this better than they can.’

  ‘How will you do that? I’m not sure it’s true,’ Purple said. He didn’t look phased by what he’d just witnessed. He was the perfect person for Hope’s best friend and I was glad that he’d been there for her when she’d needed him.

  ‘Yes it is. Jason told me how you all live at the rebel camps. I say we take an excursion,’ William held up his hand as the angels around him exploded with sound.

  ‘You must be mad…’

  ‘Won’t they kill us?’

  ‘He’s right!’ Hope called over the racket. ‘I decided not to leave the rebel camp because it was the first place I’d ever felt at home. They look after and protect each other, instead of killing and hurting.’

  Hope was still holding my hand and I realised that I couldn’t let go. I really didn’t want to risk her life.

  ‘But if we go there, they’ll shoot at us thinking that we’re there to harm them,’ I said.

  ‘Not if we let them know what’s going on. Only a very select few and a television crew will go,’ William looked me in the eyes and I knew there was no point in arguing. It would be Hope, Purple and some of the guards and jury members that went.

  ‘I would say that you can go, but then Catherine would know,’ William shrugged and I gritted my teeth.

  ‘Why would it matter that Catherine knew?’ Hope asked me.

  ‘Because she’s Jason’s mother,’ Purple said, coming up to us as the angels started talking amongst themselves. Hope dropped my hand and stepped back.

  ‘Don’t be like that, Hope,’ I said, reaching for her. She stepped back again and bumped into Purple. He took hold of the top of her arms and stopped her from moving.

  ‘I have a feeling that what just happened between you both was important. Don’t let his ancestry ruin it, Hope,’ Purple said, nodding at me when I glanced at him. There was no need to say thank you, I knew he could see my gratitude. Hope looked at the ground. I could see emotions playing across her face. I felt them reflected on my own and pulled my muscles to relax. This was not how I’d imagined we’d fall out again. It was fair enough that she was angry at me about Gina, but I couldn’t help that my mother was one of the cruellest Perfects in the government.

  ‘I’m not like her. You know that,’ I said, reaching for her again. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.

  ‘I’m sorry, it just took me back for a moment, that’s all. No more secrets between us, Jason, it’s driving me insane.’

  ‘Okay,’ I whispered, ‘I promise.’

  Now was not the time to mention that I’d already forgotten the most important thing. How we were going to unite the Avoidables and Perfects.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘I’d like to call Hope to the stand,’ Catherine said.

  Hope stood from the wooden seat she sat on and made her way over to the dock.

  ‘Hope, you’ve been living with Sandor for a while now, haven’t you? Did you ever see any Perfects leave her bedroom?’

  Hope looked cool and calm. I was waiting for the flare up. It wasn’t that I always expected her to lose her cool, but she was glaring at my mother already.

  ‘Yes, I did. They looked a bit worse for wear, but were still alive,’ she said.

  ‘So why would Sandor claim that they never left her bedroom?’ Catherine asked, glancing directly into the camera that was following her. She was the vainest woman in the room and I had to clench my teeth. I would love to tell her exactly how I felt about her, but I knew it wasn’t her fault, not really. She’d been brought up the old fashioned way.

  ‘Because when they left the bedroom, they were no longer perfect.’ Hope laughed when the room gasped in unison. ‘Sandor was just showing them that they were not perfect. I’m sorry, but no one is.’

  The television presenter could be heard repeating the words at the camera. Her long blonde hair was styled and her nails were manicured. Her face masked the shock that everyone was feeling. I glanced up at the balcony and saw the young lad from the previous day. He waved at me and I nodded back. Gina was there again and I felt her gaze on me.
I had to talk to her soon, but I wanted to tell William that I was going to break my engagement first.

  ‘So Sandor used her powers to mar the Perfects?’ Catherine sneered. I noticed that Sandor was glancing around her at the good-looking people. The people that had tortured her. I wondered if she would use that in any way. At least it would help them see why she did what she did.

  ‘No, I don’t think so. Sandor has very high senses, that’s all. I don’t class that as much of a power. Sorry, Sandor,’ Hope said, smiling at her flatmate. Sandor nodded once.

  ‘You claim they came out of the room less the perfect, how so?’

  ‘I’m not quite sure. I didn’t take time to look to be honest. It was none of my business, but there was always something in their eyes. You know?’

  Catherine rolled her eyes and I clenched my hands into fists. Purple did the same next to me.

  ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. So they didn’t have any marks or disfigurements on them?’

  Hope started to laugh. She tried to disguise it with coughing at first, but then it grew. I found myself grinning as my woman laughed at my mother. Purple was smiling too. We were the only ones. William was looking slightly concerned as he sat with the panel. The Chancellor’s face had grown bright red. My mother was standing totally still as she stared at Hope.

  ‘Can you tell me what’s so funny?’ she said as Hope wiped her eyes.

  ‘You all think that because you look good you’re perfect, but actually, because you believe that, all it does is make you more Avoidable than us. We hate you because you’re all so vain and that’s exactly what makes you less than perfect. No, the Perfects did not come out of Sandor’s bedroom with physical mars. They came out of the bedroom with mental scars. What she showed them didn’t mess them up physically. It showed them how life really was.’