Fallen (52 page)

“But it makes no sense. He was a highly esteemed
professor,” The Warden refuted.

“Yes, well
.
” Ms. Olsonite cleared her throat uneasily. “
T
he police have learned that the documents he provided were all
fabricated
.”

There was a few second
s of silence before The Warden asked
, drowning
in disbelief,
“He was a fraud?”

“It seems so,” said Ms. Olsonite, gently, trying to console The Warden while still delivering the undeniable truth.

“The students all seem to be doing well,” Ms. Olsonite added, cheer
fully
, obviously trying to change the mood of the conversation.

The Warden replied meekly, “That…
that
is good news.”

Finally, something The Warden and I agreed on. The fact that no students had been seriously injured gave me a sense of relief
,
which I didn’t think would be possible for a very long time. It was the kind of news I had hoped to hear
and i
t left me with some sense of optimism.

I realized that their conversation
appeared to be
coming to an end and returned to the files. A few more tabs and I found Gershom’s.

Pulling it from cabinet and not bothering to close
the drawer
, I ducked around the desk, heading for the door.

The last thing I heard before I slipped through
,
into
the hallway
,
was The Warden falling back
into
his leather office chair, humbled and distraught.

I
knew I
should have been elated that the facts were proving
Elam
to have been the culprit
and
that my name would be cleared
,
but there wasn’t
even
a
remote
part of me that cared.
I would be gone
,
permanently
,
from this school in a few minutes
.

I went around the corner and found a quiet nook where I opened the file.

Many of the fields traditionally filled out on school documents were blank on Gershom’s. Not even his birth date was listed, which seemed odd to me. That was a standard detail and easily recorded, or so I thought. So
it
wasn’t surprising
when I found the lines where his home address was
supposed to
be
and saw th
a
t
over it
,
written
in all
red, capital
letters
,
was the word “
NONEXISTENT
.”

I stood there, realizing
how disappointed I was
to
not
be able
to say goodbye to Gershom. Of anyone, he
could
tell me
what to expect from
my enemies
on my next encounter – one that
I knew
was not going to be far off
. But also, he was the only true friend
– Fallen One or not – that
I’d made in any school I’d ever attended
.
I
desperately wanted
to say goodbye to him.

The first class bell
rang
and I was
left standing
alone in the hallway
. I could hear
a teacher’s
muted voice through the doorway next to me, lecturing on some indistinct topic. I exhaled slowly and then willed myself to move.

The time had come to leave.

This was when
I heard my name whispered.

“Maggie…”

I turned
then
to find Gershom
racing down the hall
toward
me
.
As
I stood there, stunned, wondering if I was seeing clearly
,
he
soared down the hallway
. Yes, it was Gershom.
S
till, s
omething about him didn’t look
quite
right and it took me a moment to figure out what it was.
Something was flapping just behind him. Grey wings twenty feet across and thick with feathers were carrying him
…
and fast. Before I could even tense up, he’d swooped by me, picking me up and carrying me through the double doors leading to the front quad.

I twisted to look
over my shoulder
and saw the wings enter
ing
and disappear
ing
from my view
as they flapped
. With each motion, they made a
high-pitched
whizzing sound that reminded me of wind blowing through the crack in a window.

Only a few seconds passed and we had
already
turned right, gone around the back of the building, and cut across the lawn in front of the cafeteria.

In the woods, he came to a halt, his head swiveling back and forth looking for anyone wh
o might be nearby. There was no one.

“Are you okay?” he asked,
setting me on the ground
.

“Yeah…
” I replied,
though I was still
stunned.
“I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Yes, well…” he replied bashfully
,
as his gaze fell
.

I cocked my head to the side and asked,
“Where have yo
u been
,
Gershom? It’s been weeks…and you left no note, nothing.
”

He
looked at me, perplexed
.
“I just
picked
you
up
off your feet and carried you across school grounds in seconds and that’s the first question that comes to mind?”

I thought about this f
or a moment and
replied
,
“
Yes
.”

He
laughed through his nose in amusement
and then lowered himself so that his feet touched the layer of fall leaves carpeting the woodland floor.
His wings folded together and slipped down to the center of his body, disappearing altogether in just a few seconds.

“Nice wings
, by the way
.”

He gave me a cocked grin and said, “Nothing fazes you, does it?”

“
No,” I
replied
flatly. “So
are you going to answer me?
Where have you been?
” I demanded, suddenly far more upset
with his absence
than
I had
realized
.

“Yes,
I will answer you. B
ut first
,
I have to tell you something just as important. It’ll help you understand…” he
paused, seeming
to struggle with his words
.
“
It’ll help you
understand where I’ve been.”

“Okay…” I folded my arms and waited
, watching him closely
.

“Maggie, I’m not sure ho
w you’re going to take this but…“ H
e drew in a deep breath. “I wish there was some place for you to sit down. I don’t want you fainting.”
He glanced around us and
,
finding nothing
,
turned his concentration back to me.

I
was sure my expression was sour
.
“Please…give me more credit than that
, Gershom.
”

“Okay, sorry. It’s just that I’ve never actually admitted this to anyone before. And to admit it to you of all people…well that just makes it
…far
more difficult.”

“Then the best th
ing to do is just spit it out.
Why
enter the water slowly and freeze, right?
”

Gershom nodded. He
flashed an insecure smile
at me and
said in a
rapid
rush of words,
“
I’m a fallen soul
.” Immediately after the words were
spoken
he released a sigh and clapped his hands loudly once. “I can’t believe how good that felt! Like a dirty little secret di
sclosed!” He chuckled, tilting
his head back and let
ting
out a whoop before refocus
ing on me again. “
You’re smiling. Why are you smiling
?”

I shrugged. “Thank you for admitting it.”

He took a stumbling step back, shocked.
“You
-
you
knew?”

“All along.”

“How?” He was astounded.

“I have
built-in
radar.
At least that’s the best way I can describe it,
” I
explained, still
pleased
with
his confession and the way it made him feel
.

“Right…
” h
e whispered, thoughtfully.

“
As a messenger
,
I
come prepared…
A
nd
should I
assum
e
you knew I was the messenger
all along?
”