The sound of someone walking was all that could be heard in this sea of death. Ariel and Devine walked ahead of Celestial, overseeing the bodies lying on the ground. “It appears we are too late,” Ariel said as she turned over one of the empty shells of a young man. Ariel tried to hide the mangled body from Celestial to see.
“We should find her body,” Devine pointed out. She walked ahead a bit, scouting over the bodies which laid lifeless.
Celestial looked to her two guardians, “Oh, why is that?”
“She deserves a proper burial,” they both said under their breaths. They scanned the remnants of the bodies that the infiltrators had torn apart. They were hoping to find clues as to where Alex's remains were. The two of them gave each a look of fear as if there was no hope of finding any sign of her.
They continued to walk around the empty bodies that once encased the lives of these young influential people. Celestial was becoming overburdened with grief as she came across each of the pointless deaths of the young humans. She saw the body of a young man who could not have been more than sixteen years of age. She knelt next to him and grabbed his hand. The young boy was shivering, scared. Celestial grabbed a jacket and folded it so the boy’s head was resting on it. The boy looked at Celestial with his quivering lip.
“It’s cold,” the boy admitted as his body shook. He had been torn open by infiltrators.
“Shhh,” Celestial said softly as she looked over the wounds of the boy. She put her hand on his forehead.
“I’m so scared,” he started crying. “I don’t want to die.”
Celestial held back her tears. “All He asks of you is to believe,” she told him in a soft voice.
“I don’t deserve forgiveness,” the boy pleaded. Tears rolled down his face, “It hurts so much.”
Celestial gave him a caring smile and put her hand on the boy’s chest. “What does your heart tell you?” A light came underneath her hand as the boy grasped his last breath. Celestial put her hand on the young boy’s forehead and recited a small forgiveness prayer. She took a moment before she stood up to see Ariel and Devine standing still, staring down at a body. Celestial slowly approached the two angels.
“Ariel, Devine,” Celestial softly said in a calming but worried voice as she came up behind the two of them. Devine was leaning on her bow staff as support and Ariel looked away up to the sky. Celestial put her hand on Devine’s shoulders as she pulled herself in between them. Celestial looked down at the lifeless body of Alexandria who was lying in mud that was made up of dirt and blood. Komptin was next to her, lying still in his gargoyle state in a protective position. “It seems he kept his promise to Osiah; to protect her until his last breath.” Celestial bent down to pull the hair from Alex’s face.
“She was so strong,” Devine said.
“She deserves to be a star of Heaven,” Ariel pointed out.
Celestial looked up to her guardians as she could see the both of them were showing signs of sorrow. Celestial had known the two of them since first light and could never remember them shaking up over a human’s death before. The faint sounds of sirens were heard coming in the distance. “We should get Komptin out of here before he is seen in his gargoyle state.”
Ariel and Devine bent over to pick up Komptin, “Man, he is heavy,” they said. It took the two of them to carry the body of Komptin towards the door. They made it a couple of feet before Devine stopped and looked down at Komptin. She had to make sure as she held the massive head of Alex’s protector. “Mistress,” Devine called for her.
Ariel followed up, “Ah, Madam,”
Celestial got up and came up to them. Celestial looked down at the faint glow of blue light emanating from Komptin’s eyes. There was not much there but hopefully enough. “Komptin,” Celestial said. “Stay, do not go,” she kissed him, placing her hand on his forehead. He started to shake and then broke free from the Guardian’s grasp. He crashed to the ground and howled in pain.
He crawled to Alex’s body using only his front legs. He refused to leave her side. “Komptin,” Celestial said. All she saw was the refusal to leave Alex behind.
“If we take her body, her family and friends will live their lives on this planet in constant grief; they will receive no closure,” Celestial pointed. “Would you want to do that to Kale and Anne?” Komptin nudged Alex with his massive head, hoping for some sign of life in her. He gave a painful howl of sadness when the three angels put their caring hands on his torn body. He hesitantly tried to walk on all fours, blue blood from his chest was spilling onto the ground. Ariel and Devine did not hesitate to help him.
Komptin refused their help. “There is nothing wrong with receiving help,” Devine told him.
“Even the strongest warrior needs someone to lean on from time to time,” Ariel pointed out. Komptin morphed into his dog state in agonizing pain. Ariel ripped a piece of her clothes and placed it on his chest. Ariel held it with her hand as she picked up Komptin and headed towards the door.
“She does not deserve to be found alone,” Devine stated.
“The people’s authorities will be here soon,” Ariel commented.
Celestial looked around, “Clean her up the best you can before their police and rescue personnel arrive.”
Devine nodded in agreement as she bent over to move the body. A small wince from Alex’s face caught her attention. “ALEX!” Devine yelled. Celestial went running to the body which Devine was holding.
“Alexandria, my dear,” Celestial said. “If you are still with us, do not go.” She stroked her hand back into her hair. “I promise you, if you do not give up, you will find what you are looking for.”
Alex slowly moved her head. Devine quickly ran over to place her down on the ground. She ripped off the sash she had around her waist and covered Alex with it. “Komptin,” Alex tried to speak. The sound of a growl caught Celestial and Devine’s attention.
“We do not have time for this,” Devine formed her bow staff. She instantly turned to pierce the head of an infiltrator as it howled in pain as it diminished. “There may be more,” Devine told Celestial.
“I will help Ariel with Komptin. Alexandria needs to get to a hospital, get her there. Protect her.” Celestial asked as she got up.
“As if she was you,” Devine promised.
Celestial joined Ariel who was close to the door. The two of them vanished into night darkness.
Devine could see the lights coming in the darkness. The flashing red and blue combined with the sound of the sirens meant the human medics and authorities were on their way. Devine took one more look around. She did not hesitate to think of the repercussions as she expanded her misty wings. She quickly but gently grabbed Alex in her arms and took to the sky, carrying her to the hospital.
Once arrived, she quickly diminished her wings and halo. Her body armor disappeared as human outfit emerged. She found the best time to come out of the shadows to carry Alex to the hospital.
“Help!” Devine’s voice echoed in the hospital. A group of medical staff rushed over to her.
“What happened to her?” one of the female medics asked.
“I found her lying on the ground like this,” Devine said. She gently placed her on the table with wheels as they rolled her off. Devine put her hands on Alex’s forehead in a caring fashion before she was carted off.
“I’ve never seen wounds like this, it looks like burns but the cut was with a knife,” the medic said. “Bring her straight to OR.” The medic turned around to ask Devine more questions, but she disappeared to join Ariel and Celestial.
***
“She almost died,” Father Tom told the Cardinal as they stood outside Alex’s hospital room. He shook his head in disbelief. “How’d she do it?”
The Cardinal replied in a calming voice, “She survived because she kept her faith, Father.” He was trying to keep quiet as he escorted Father Tom to the waiting area so Alex wouldn’t hear. “Our little girl over there is one tough cookie.” The Cardinal closed his eyes before reaching the window, looking out over the town's lights. “This organization, it scares me. Man is losing its belief in God. We are in trying times, Father.”
Father Tom joined him by his side. “Her friend, Anne has potential to become one of our top historians, but she still isn’t a priest or even Catholic.”
“Those are just titles,” the Cardinal told him. “It matters what is in a person’s heart and faith.” He turned to look down the hospital hallway. “Father, the Council wants Alexandria to be relocated to D.C. at our church. Create a position in the church for her, something that won’t raise too much suspicion.”
Father Tom nodded, “And what of Ms. McClure?” he asked as he started writing in his notes.
“Open up a position for her at our church as well,” the Cardinal stated. “She can do it from there.”
“Yes Cardinal,” Father Tom commented.
“The Dark will no doubt start their offense in D.C. They will try to influence community leaders,” the Cardinal told him. “She will be in many interactions with her hunts.”
“She will spill a lot of blood,” Father Tom reminded him.
“Yes,” The Cardinal said. “So young,” he shook his head. “Her worries should not be fighting the evil of the Dark. We ask so much of her.”
“The wounds she will endure will be plenty, she has no one to look after her,” Father Tom told him. “What do you suggest we do?”
The Cardinal answered, “We can convert the bottom floor office into a bedroom for her in the rectory. There is a janitor closet next to that office. See if they can connect that to that room to create a private bathroom for her.” The Cardinal stared back at the window, “We can be her support; we can be her family.”
“I’ll get it done,” Father Tom stated.
***
Warcourt sat in the F.O.R.’s main meeting place. He knew things did not go as planned but he knew that Vandor and Gron had an alternate plan. They briefed him on what he needed to do. He sat there waiting. He viewed the scratches on his arm from the massive creature and the bruise on his chest from the Lite Sentry. He found a magazine of celebrity gossip that he caught himself reading as a group of the F.O.R. started trickling in.
“What are you doing here?” one of them asked. “What the hell was all of that?”
“Yeah, who was that girl and that thing that interrupted our goal of absolute power?” another had asked.
Warcourt put down his magazine. “So, you are telling me you still accept absolute power?”
“If you could survive the attack from that girl and creature; then yes, that is the type of power we want,” the girl pulled out in front said.
“How many are there?”
“Sixteen,” the girl answered.
Warcourt got up and looked at the crowd. “Do you still accept my offer of absolute power?”
All of them dropped to their knees as they extended their arms. The group of infiltrators came in behind them and sniffed at their perspective hosts.
“I only need sixteen,” Warcourt told the infiltrators with a grin on his face.
***
Alex was in the hospital room, staring out the window in a cold dead stare. The Cardinal and Father Tom had just left. They informed her of the plan to move her to D.C. She was cold, alone, and the fact they would take her in was a sense of security to her. She had the window open for a bit of fresh air when she caught a sense in the air. She overlooked the horizon, as she knew it was a strong sense of Infiltration that had just taken place. She closed the window to see the reflection in the glass and showed her the wound on her face. She lightly touched it when she heard the nurse coming into the room.
“Feeling better?” the nice nurse asked. “You shouldn’t be out of bed so soon.”
All Alex could do was force a small smile. “I’m not a big fan of beds.”
“Well, you have to get some sleep,” the nurse said as she refilled the water bottle.
Alex laughed, “Sleep, that’s cute.”
“Are you okay, dear?” the nurse asked while coming over to her. She saw Alex start to cry. The nurse gently hugged Alex, trying to make sure not to hurt her wounds.
Alex wiped a tear from her face as she returned the hug. “It will sound silly.”
“Try me,” she said, letting go of Alex.
“I miss my dog,” Alex cried. “I lost my best friend.”
“Oh, honey, you can get a new dog,” the nurse told her, giving her a loving smile.
Alex gazed at the stars trying to figure out which one Komptin was, “Not like that one.”
The nurse fixed up the bed for her to get into. “It’s getting late, why don’t you get into bed.”
“In a bit,” Alex said. She just stared out the window. Flashbacks of her getting stabbed by Sanah were replaced with a vision of Roger piercing his fist through the chest of Sanah kept on racing through her mind. His hand out asking to join him with the Dark or die in the mud also kept on coming back to her. She put her hand on the window to regain her balance as her phone rang. She answered it, “Hello?”
“Alex? Are you okay,” Anne said. “Kale just told me what had happened, he said that you got mugged?”
“That is what I told him,” Alex replied.
“I’m going to try to get home as soon as I can,” Anne said. “Kale said that he was getting on a flight first thing in the morning.”
That made Alex smile hearing that her two friends would drop everything for her. “Anne, I need you to stay there. I need you to learn all that you can if we are going to be in this fight. I have a feeling something big is coming.”
“Just as long as you promise to do what the doctors say,” Anne said. “Take care of yourself. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Alex said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”
Alex hung up the phone and checked her messages. For some reason she was hoping to hear from the Council.
“You are not as alone as you think you are.”
Alex turned around to see Celestial in the doorway. Alex limped over to her as fast as she could and gave her a big hug. “Oh, God, how I wanted to see you.”
Celestial returned the hug. “I am glad you are feeling better.”
“I…I…I thought I was dead,” Alex said.
Celestial looked to the stars, “The thought crossed our minds as well.” Celestial walked Alex to her bed. “Come now, child, you need to rest.”
“The last thing I remembered was something about finding something,” Alex told her as she was getting situated into her bed.
Celestial smiled, “You need to rest.”
“I’m actually a little hungry,” Alex told her.
Ariel and Devine walked into the room. “Deep fried Oreo?” Ariel asked her as she handed her a bag.
Alex laughed, but winced in pain as she did. “What really sounds good is…”
“Apollo?” Devine held out her hand.
“Thank you,” Alex said to the two of them.
Ariel and Devine were on both sides of the bed, “We are going to drop our wings,” Devine said.
“If you bring this up again, we will make you pay,” Ariel said.
“Bring what up?” Alex asked them.
The two of them at the same time hugged Alex tightly. Ariel was the first to speak, “Fear is something we do not experience often…”
“…and we do not like it,” Devine continued.
They stood up and looked down to her, “Do not scare us like that again.” They turned around and stood by the window, looking outwards as if they were on the lookout for danger. Alex watched them as they both wiped tears from their face.
“Are they…”
“I would not point that out,” Celestial started to tuck Alex into bed.
“Can I ask you something?” Alex asked Celestial as she was getting comfortable.
“Anything,” Celestial made sure Alex was snug in bed.
“Can you…can you show me the star where Komptin is?” Alex could feel her stomach turn into knots over the pain of missing her friend. “It would really make me feel better.”
“Of course, my child. Close your eyes,” Celestial asked her. Alex closed her eyes and felt Celestial touch her forehead. She was whispering something that Alex couldn’t make out. “Open your eyes.”
Alex opened her eyes to see a big German Shepherd looking at her at the foot of the bed, “Komptin!” She screamed. Komptin’s eyes flashed neon blue as he jumped onto the bed and licked her.
“What is that dog doing on her bed?” the nurse came in.
“What dog?” Celestial asked the nurse.
“I thought I saw a dog, weird,” the nurse said. “Visiting hours are ending in thirty minutes, please start to say your good-byes.”
Alex said, “I’d hate to see you go,”
“We will be around,” Celestial said. Komptin got off the bed. “Komptin will be waiting for you to hunt again.” Celestial smiled at Alex.
Alex studied Celestial as she smiled at Alex. “Are you going to tell me what I’m looking for?”
Celestial folded Alex’s hands on top of her chest, “Honey, you look tired.”
Alex felt something she hadn’t felt in over four years. She yawned, “Maybe just a couple of minutes.” Her eyelids shut and she drifted off to sleep.
***
Celestial along with Ariel and Devine met on the roof of the hospital. Komptin joined them. The four of them overlooked the town. There were rumblings in the distance.
“The Dark is growing,” Devine stated.
“The balance is shifting,” Ariel pointed out as they heard a gunshot and a scream.
“Mankind has a lot to learn,” Celestial said. “He knows this.”
Ariel made the comment, “Mankind does not deserve the sacrifice she offers.”
“She needs to be happy as well,” Devine added. She continued to look forward but moving her eyes to see Celestial’s reaction.
Celestial snickered at them, “Nice try, but I am not going to tell you either.”
“What?” they both tried playing it off.
Celestial winked at them. “Let us go home.”
They nodded.
Celestial bent over to say good-bye to Komptin. “See you around,” she kissed him on the forehead before leaving for the doorway.
“Protect her,” Devine said. Komptin’s eyes flashed blue.
Ariel looked at the purple star, “She is a good kid. You did a good job.” She winked at the purple star as she petted Komptin good-bye.
Komptin stayed behind and patrolled the rooftop of the hospital, ensuring Alex’s recovery was not disturbed.
END OF PART 2