Jimmy watched, dumfounded. The golden light that had protected them from the dragon’s descent faded when the threat had flown away. Then Jimmy realized where the beast was headed and he broke from his trace and handed James to his mother.
“We have to go now,” he said.
Mark and Scout ran up the hill with full water bottles. “It’s going towards home,” Mark said. He ran to the stagecoach and climbed up to the seat.
Samuel dropped from the tree and Michael landed with his wings shooting out the back of his white t-shirt. Jimmy heard a gasp and looked back to see if the dragon was returning. Instead, he found Bobbie Sue staring wild-eyed at the Archangel.
Michael said, “I’ll fly ahead and try to stop the creature before it reaches the town.”
Jimmy said, “Can you stop it?”
“I can try. I’m not sure if that duty is supposed to fall to me or not. Our Father’s plans are not clear to me.” Michael turned to include Catherine in the conversation.
She said, “Don’t look at me. I’ve got Death to think about. He’s out to get me and Margaret, and probably you, too, since you’re an angel and all.”
“What?” Jimmy asked, and then he saw Raven trying to settle Bobbie Sue down. Molly was also assisting in the efforts, with Hunter by her side, but then his brother walked over and joined them.
“If the dragon didn’t freak her out, Samuel going angel-style sure did,” Hunter said. “What’s the plan?” He looked at Catherine.
“Don’t look at me, I’m just a messenger.”
“Why is Death coming after all the saints?” Jimmy asked her.
“Wait, what?” Hunter said, and then immediately walked over, grabbed Molly’s hand and brought her back to the group. “Why the hell didn’t I realize what he was doing before?”
“Who’s doing what?” Molly asked, alarm in her voice from being dragged away.
“I didn’t want to put everyone on high alert,” Catherine said to Jimmy.
“The dragon’s flying farther away,” Michael said. “What should I do?”
“Everybody stop,” Molly said. “Take a deep breath.”
Catherine took a deep breath and held it mostly in her cheeks instead of her lungs.
“Jimmy, tell me what’s going on,” Molly said.
“Catherine says that Patrick is coming after all the saints, and Michael.”
Molly looked at Catherine, who was turning purple. “Is that true?”
Catherine blew like she was making a wish in front of a birthday cake. “I can only assume since he took Barbie and Joan’s soul that we’re up on the list. I’m trying not to get too excited about it. It’s just Death. I’ve been dead lots of times. It does worry me, though, that he’s keeping the souls. That’s not part of the deal. He’s also not allowed to actually kill anybody, so I don’t know what’s up with that.”
Molly leaned against Hunter, fear-filled eyes opening and closing like she might pass out if not for Hunter holding her up.
“What about me?” Jimmy asked. “I’m a saint now, or so you’ve told me.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Catherine said.
Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, that will happen.”
“What do you want me to do?” Michael asked.
Jimmy found it strange that this angelic being, who was as old as time itself, kept asking Jimmy for leadership. He looked back to the horizon where the dragon had flown, now a red dot in the sky.
The angel could fly and possibly beat the dragon, or at least beat him to town and warn the others to safety. Would whoever’s on lookout see the dragon before it reached town? They had a system of alarms in place and hopefully they’d use the tornado signal so everyone would hide in the basements.
What made him pause was that if Death was coming after the saints, then who would be left to fight off the Devil and his Horsemen? Jimmy assessed the group and reached a decision.
“Michael, I want you to ride in the carriage with Molly and Catherine. We’ll drive home as fast as we can. Your safety is more important right now if we’re going to have any chance in defeating this chaos.”
“I can take care of Molly,” Hunter said.
Mark yelled from the seat of the stagecoach. “What the hell is going on? We have to go now! Vanessa and David aren’t going to be able to hide from that thing.”
“I’m sorry, Mark,” Jimmy said. “One second and I promise we’ll be out of here.”
“I can protect Molly,” Hunter said again.
“I know you can, but I need you and Scout to ride ahead as fast as you can and see what you can do when you get there.”
Hunter looked like he was about to argue, then he gave Jimmy a curt nod and turned for his bike, with Scout running ahead. Molly followed after him. Words were shared, along with a hug and kiss.
“I’m going with Scout,” Raven said, and ran off after him before Jimmy could say yes.
Molly returned as the motorcycles revved up and Hunter spun his rear wheel, popped the clutch, and kicked into high gear with Raven and Scout pressing hard to keep up. Molly watched him leave alongside Jimmy. He took her hand and Ginger’s and led them to the coach.
Jimmy held the door open for the somber group as Dylan climbed up top with Mark. Catherine bypassed the door and climbed up after Dylan.
“I want you inside with us,” Jimmy said.
Catherine said, “Don’t be silly, silly. It’s easier for me to steer if I can see what we’re heading into. Plus, it’s overcrowded. I don’t like confined spaces.”
“What if Death comes?”
“It’s always coming. You have to accept that and try to enjoy the ride.”
Jimmy refused to argue with her further, because Mark looked like he was about to explode. He climbed inside and took a seat next to Ginger, with James not overly-thrilled by the prospect of sitting still in her lap. He reached for the window and squealed.
“I hope he’s not going to do that the whole trip,” Samuel said, back in his natural form. He held a coil of rope in his hands that had been braided with different colored strands. “I was going to take a nap.”
“You keep your eyes open,” Jimmy told him. “And have Michael ready in case.”
“Do not worry thyself. I shall be vigilant,” Michael said, but Samuel smiled big at Jimmy, so he didn’t really know who had spoken.
Bobbie Sue sat to one side of Samuel, not as close as before, now that she had seen him change into the Archangel. Samuel offered her a big smile that she ignored, looking out the window, which did nothing for his ever-dwindling self-esteem.
Jimmy thought it was like Samuel didn’t even understand that they were driving off towards the fight of their lives.
Molly sat on the other side of Samuel, chewing her nails off and looking out the other window as the carriage bucked and then they rolled off.
“I forgot to say goodbye,” Catherine said from up top.
Jimmy heard Mark mumble something.
“Well, you don’t have to be rude about it,” Catherine said. “Bye tree, I love you! I promise to bring Molly and Hunter back for a visit real soon after all of this is over! Don’t let your roots get dry!”
The coach picked up speed, a lot of it in a hurry, and soon everyone including James quieted down and watched the Nebraska prairie stream by like a green and brown ocean. The smooth ride mesmerized Jimmy. The coach sped over the land without a bump or bustle.
“Are we floating above the ground?” he asked Samuel.
“You got me. I have to say we might need to take a trip to Disneyland in this thing if we can talk Catherine into it. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that difficult. She might be able to turn on the power for some of the rides. I rode the Matterhorn when I was a kid. That shit was fun.”
Jimmy stared at him until Samuel covered his mouth with an apology.
“I don’t think her miracles work like that,” Jimmy said. “Besides, do you really want to ride a roller-coaster that hasn’t been in operation for over eight years?”
“Good point,” Samuel said. “I bet the tea cups would be safe.” Samuel banged on the roof. “Hey Catherine, you want to ride the tea cups at Disneyland when this is all over?”
“It’s a date,” Catherine’s voice came back through the roof.
Molly snapped. “Could everyone keep silent and think about what we’re riding into? I mean, really, some of us aren’t handling this so well.”
“I agree,” Ginger said. “James?”
Jimmy stared at Samuel, who stared back with a serious look that would make Jimmy laugh if he didn’t break eye contact and soon.
Ginger stabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “James?”
“Oh,” Jimmy said. “I thought you we’re talking to him.” He looked at their son, who was looking at his father with a similar expression like the one Ginger wore, which was not pleased.
They rode in silence for the next hour. Jimmy refrained from looking at Samuel because that would get the both of them into trouble that neither could afford. He thought about what he would do once they reached Independents, but that led to worries that he couldn’t deal with until they arrived. Either they would find the town destroyed and everyone dead, or they would find the town destroyed and the kids living there under his protection would have found safety from the coming onslaught. Either way, Jimmy tried to push those thoughts from his mind and do the hardest thing in his life: wait.
He gave Ginger a break with a turn holding James in his lap, entertaining the baby with a game of peekaboo that didn’t seem to bother the others. Molly finally smiled again for the first time since finding out that Death was probably stalking her and parting with Hunter.
“There’s a Horseman right behind us,” Dylan yelled down through the window.
Molly’s smile vanished instantly.
Samuel leapt from his seat without a word, uncoiling his rope and jumped out the door, wings sprouting from his back the second he was clear, and then he was up in the air and out of sight.
The smell of sulfur filled the small space of the carriage, and when the smoke blew from the windows, Patrick sat between Bobbie Sue and Molly with his arms draped over their shoulders.
“Look at you with all the hot babes, Jimmy.” Death smiled. He looked at Molly. “I promise to make this quick because we have history.”
Jimmy sheltered his son away as Ginger shot across the seat and into Patrick who was there and gone before she hit the empty spot.
Molly fell forward and collapsed on the floor.