On Black Wings (28 page)

I keep my head down, black hood around it, barely aware of the sounds of take off and flight. I’m thinking about Brad and the family I lost, and my body lying somewhere in a hospital in a world I saved but one I will probably never return to. I miss my family, it’s my mind and consciousness that saved the world, but I feel so distant from them now it hurts my heart.

Brad. I think about how hurt he was, how he lashed out at me after he lost it all, and how there were things I never knew about the man I loved. I wish I would have got to know him better, to open myself up to him and share those things with him. He had troubles I never knew, he had feelings I never understood, and he harbored some doubts in his heart about how good of a mother I was to our family.

Of everything that happened to me, I think losing Brad’s trust and love hurts the worst. I never knew.

Adam, you stupid angel. I wonder if he’s still alive, and my friends at the diner, Vijay, Velma, and Jeff. Friends I made in the worst moments of this disaster, and now that the world is saved and the space-rock is destroyed, I wonder if they will even remember me in the world-as-always that must have happened after none of this happened. They probably went to the diner for breakfast that day, ate their meals, never met each other or said hello, paid their tabs and walked out of the place without realizing their role in saving the world.

Funny, the things that could happen to us that could bring us together. Too bad it shall never be, but that is my sacrifice.

Another future, another time lost to the sands of history.

Jo-Jo, Buddy, and Tanner, the three children I saved and left at the church. I hope the three of you are good kids, treat your mother well, and have long, happy lives. I was glad to have met all of you and saved your lives, and I am going to miss you all. It hurts me to think we shall never cross paths again, but I gave them the greatest gift at all, to know life and to be able to live it.

King Tanas. Heinrich. Death.

Liars all.

Three of the four horsemen who in each their own way tried to manipulate me, to fool me, to get me to go along with their maniacal plans. When it came down to it, they tried to stop me from launching the missile. Do I really know? Heinrich’s horse was there, and a monster Azrael said was summoned by Death itself. War came when he knew that his scion was going to be destroyed, and here we are.

Regardless, I don’t trust any of them, their lies, their deceit, their keeping things from me, and what they did to Azrael. All of them, decrepit and full of lies, each horseman the worst of what humanity has to offer the world.

Why can’t we live in a world
without
them?

The tires screech and I feel the plane land. I don’t care, just get me close to Harris and Azrael and we’re gone, away from here, and off to a place that’s peaceful and we can escape to. Where that is I don’t know, because the world I came from probably doesn’t exist anymore.

In a way, I can go anywhere I imagine, but I can’t imagine anywhere I would want to go right now.

“Out!” The soldiers around me pull me to my feet, my body in chains, my wings bound to me by plastic bands. “Get out of the plane, come. Move, move now.”

They walk us down a back cargo ramp, and out into the heat. It’s somewhere in the desert, I know from the smell and the dryness. I try to bump into people, wondering if I can get close to Harris or Azrael, but my captors pull me along, keeping me from moving too far away from the guards around me.

The whine of jet engines surrounds us, and we walk for what seems like an eternity. It’s hot, and I feel the heat reflecting off the tarmac. I smell jet fuel. Men talk on radios in code words. The march of boots and the scuff of shoes surround us. I am taken into shade, and they stop me.

Are they going to shoot us? I pray they don’t, but I do not know. I will break free if it comes to that, and I will-

“Stay still.” They say.

They pull my hood off, and my eyes adjust to the light. We’re in a hangar, in some airbase in the middle of a desert valley. Large hangars with jet black bombers and fighter aircraft whine and are pulled around the tarmac by tiny trucks. Soldiers run around the base, and jeeps with machine gunners stand guard over the hangar.

Security men in black suits and armored vests surround us, and a marine helicopter sits outside the hangar.

Three stretchers are wheeled into the hangar. Colonel Becks and two of our team. I know it’s them. A large metal casket is wheeled towards a truck outside, and I feel the hatred from here as I know War lies inside.

They pull Harris’ hood off, and he looks over at me with a pained smile. “Not a bad job. Anderson was cheering for you as you led that thing off.”

I nod at him, struggling against my chains. “Thank you.”

“We were jumped by a group of private security men,” Harris says, “not from the base, I don’t know who they were. They shot their way in, it was a mess. They took down Anderson and the others before we launched and base security toasted them. Azrael came just in time to save us, but too late for the Colonel.”

I lower my head. “I bet I know who they work for.”

A group of men approach us, wearing suits and sunglasses, and carrying submachineguns. They inspect me, checking my chains, pulling on my wings, and making sure I’m restrained.

They pull Azrael’s hood off and he’s smiling, sucking in the air. “It is good to be alive and here, is it not, Seraph Jessica?”

I shake my head. “I don’t see how you could be happy at a time like this.”

“We are alive, and we have stopped villainy. This I would say is always a good day. I am sorry for not being able to rescue the Colonel, it is a sad loss.”

“Thank you.”

I begin to focus, it’s the three of us, time to go away. We will worry about the chains later. I calm myself, and think about a place far away-

One of the security men speaks into his microphone. “They are clear and alert, bring him in.”

They walk the President in from across the hangar. He’s surrounded by security men, and the group of security people around us take up positions.

The President smiles when he sees my face. “Jessica?” He walks towards me, pushes his security people out of the way, and hugs me.

“I don’t understand?” I say, blinking again and again.

“God came to me,” the President says, “and he told me what I needed to do.” He looks me in the eyes. “I remember. All those terrible times, the plane, the ashes, that terrible day, sending you here, I remember.”

“When, when did you get here?” I’m stammering. “I still don’t understand.”

“He told me what needed to happen.” He hugs me again. “That we needed to be patient. To wait. To let the forces of darkness show themselves, and for you to decide our fates. He said this would be a difficult day for us all, but to believe. He told me it was an act of
faith
, in you.”

I’m crying.

“But w-why? H-how?”

“God told me to pass along a message, mission accomplished.” The President smiles. “Untie her and these two, they are our friends.”

In moments we are freed, and I bury my face in his jacket, crying. He pats my back, and wraps his arm around my head, hugging me back. He sighs. “It’s over, it’s over.”

I walk over to the stretchers holding Becks and the two others on our team, pulling the President’s hand behind me. I lower my head, and send the souls of the other two men home as well. Tears are running down my cheeks.

“Anderson was a good man.” The President sighs. “As were the others. I would like you to know that the three of these men were found dead today, apparently a body can only have one soul, no matter what time it shares, no matter how many of them there are in the world.”

“I kinda understand that,” I say, my head still down, “this me is dead, however. How am I, here, did you check?”

“The older you?” he says, “recovering from a nasty fall in a hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery. I have no idea how this works, but you will be fine.”

So Tanas kept his word. I shake my head, there are still things unresolved here. I can’t pretend to know their motivations, but I do know their deceit and treachery runs deep. Still, if I’m dead,
both
of me should be, and I’m wondering if there isn’t some dealing with Death keeping my older self alive. Though by Heinrich’s words, I was dead already when this started, so maybe she will live on for a while longer. I pray.

I look over at the President. “So you know?”

He nods. “Only
me
though. This is going to be hard to keep quiet, and the group here is a select team I can trust. No one outside a dozen men and myself know what is going on here. People would think I am crazy if I told them what I know, what I saw, and what we lived through. Getting you here, with those wings, and what you did was proof enough for my inner circle to believe me, and faith is something I think we all need right now.”

He pauses. “I can’t believe we lived two lives. All the horrors we averted, all the people that were lost in the other world. We have a second chance now, to stop this.”

I look over at the metal casket containing War. “What about him?”

The President sighs. “He is going to a place where we store some very nasty stuff, we have a decommissioned waste site under a mountain near here that should be able to hold him.”

“I can’t believe this country can contain War,” I say, “forgive me, but I have my doubts.”

“We are a country that believes in peace,” he says.

“But we have our moments,” I say, “can we truly hold that which even we succumb to the cries of?”

“I like to believe we never act without provocation and just cause-”

My flat look makes him stop.

“I understand, Jessica,” he says, “then all I can promise is that we will try to do better in the future. What can we do? Does our past damn us? Do we need to live by that legacy, or can we forge a new future of peace?”

“Admit it, we are all children of that beast,” I say, “the world sucks, and there are still three other Horsemen out there unaccounted for. Maybe. If God stopped me from opening the book, then I guess that metal box is going to be empty. But I guess it isn’t, because I still have these wings, and they are the ones who gave them to me. I have a feeling we are not done with the apocalypse yet.”

I look over at the casket. “Keep him under lock and key, forever. Promise me that.”

“Jessica.” He nods, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure.” I look at him.

“You are the only link I have between a time I want to forget, and the truth of what’s happening here. There are men, as you say, who are still out there, and we need to be wary of their mis-dealings and treachery. There may come a time where I need you again, and there may not-”

“Just call me.” I nod. “I’ll be there.”

He smiles and gives me a hug.

“Jessica!” Azrael walks up behind me and gives me a bear hug, crushing my wings against me. “Jessica, it is so good to be free.” He drops me and walks beside the covered stretchers. “Anderson and his men were good souls, they shall be missed, but they are in a better place.”

I nod. “I know, I sent them home.”

Harris drinks a bottle of water and walks over, kneeling by each of the stretchers and saying a prayer. I leave him be, and walk away with Azrael and the President. I look out at the airbase and run my hands through my hair. “How are you ever going to explain this?”

“Like this airbase,” the President says, “it never happened and it doesn’t exist. A test fire of an anti-missile system and a fuel explosion. With all the destruction it won’t be hard to keep it silent. We only have to keep a couple dozen quiet, so it’s not really a big problem. We’ve covered up bigger.”

It never changes. Something makes me happy to have my old world back, despite all of its flaws and stupidity.

“I don’t belong here, do I?” I say, looking out at the beautiful and barren desert.

“You tell me,” the President says, “I am perfectly happy putting you up in a secure location. Martha’s Vineyard? A ranch in Texas?”

“No thank you,” I laugh, wiping my eyes, “I probably have some things to sort out upstairs first. I doubt I’ll be back here to see you ever again. At least I hope nobody has to live through this again.”

“Well,” he says, a pause and his voice choking up slightly, “it’s been an honor Jessica White, you’ve done a great service for your country. You’ve done things to save the world, but your tale shall never be told. Don’t think that we are ungrateful though, I personally owe you my thanks, and I pass along the thanks of the billions that live today because of your actions, even though they may not know the world starts with its second chance today. Thank you.”

I look over at him and smile. “Thank you for believing in me.”

“Seraph!” Azrael says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Jessica, it is time to go.”

I look back at him and smile. Harris walks over, tussling his hair and shaking the President’s hand. Harris looks over at us, “I guess this is where we part ways, Blackbird. I hope you find peace and happiness.”

I hug him, and then give him a salute. “I’ll try. Thank you.”

Azrael takes my hand, and we walk out onto the tarmac together.

I sigh. “Think they can keep War at bay?”

“It would be irresponsible if we were not to give them the chance,” he says, “they must prove themselves. It is the one lesson of the Domain of Heaven you must understand, we must never direct, only inspire. The greatest gift we can give to those who believe is responsibility itself, taking that away shows that we do not believe in them in return.”

We stop together, enjoying the warm desert wind. It blows through my black feathers, and it takes my hair.

“And the others?”

“They shall show themselves,” he nods, “and in turn they shall be sent to where they belong. Remember, your prayers
have
been heard, but only through an act of faith and resolve were they granted. A prayer alone is just a wish, it takes an act of faith to create a miracle. Like times before, I am certain the projections of their hatred shall fade and return to the book.”