Children of the Archangels

CHAPTER 44: THE GUARDIANS OF THE GARDEN

Luke wished he was rolling down the hill with Nellie. He could imagine himself hugging her as they descended down the hill locked in each other's arms, her hair covering him in a red silk veil that obscured the light but allowed just enough to illuminate their faces. Their bodies would be caressed by the earth, but they would also be colliding into each other repeatedly in an endless embrace.

That's how he wanted to spend his afterlife.

Sadly, his arms clutched onto no one, and as he touched-down at the bottom, Nellie's ocean-moon eyes weren't there to look back at him.

Just Victor's blue eyes who looked like he was ready to burst a gasket since they had changed from hazelnut brown.

"I swear," Victor pointed a finger at Luke's forehead menacingly. "When this mission is over, I'm going to end you for good."

Luke thought back to Victor's similar comment in the arena. Although he coated it with a euphemism, it was the same. Victor was the same. He still wanted Luke out of the picture.

"Well this time, let's make sure no one gets in between us," Luke smirked. He knew he could take on Victor. However, he wouldn't be going with the intent to kill him like he did his first time. He has gotten ahold of himself enough to just want to rough him up enough to let him know who's boss, because clearly Victor had memory loss and forgot who won the first fight.

When Victor turned away to head towards the Garden in frustration, Luke noticed a scar on Victor's neck, where a bit of makeup was smudged. Beneath the brown coating was a river-like scar that ran along his neck on pale skin.

Luke felt like he saw the same scar before, in a dream once. But just as he was trying to make a connection that seemed impossible, Alpha screamed as if a giant hairy spider had leapt on top of him...

Because a giant hairy spider had leapt on top of him.

His body turned transparent and the spider passed through him. He crawled back into the Garden past two statues that towered about as tall and as majestic looking as two Statues of Liberty. Both were identical. They were angels holding swords of fire. They stood on guard in stone, and their eyes seemed to track Luke and the others wherever they went.

Victor kept his eyes on the statues the whole way through, as if waiting for them to spring up and attack. He marched ahead into the Garden, saying nothing to the group.

"Why's he so angry?" Sirius asked.

Luke looked up at the statues and noticed another set of heads, no wait four heads facing in all directions—just as he remembered. Behind the set of heads were two pairs of wings. "I might have pushed him down the hill just a bit."

Sirius shook his head. "You know he's gonna wanna kill you right?"

"Oh, he's already made it clear," Luke chuckled. "But come, let's get inside this place before anymore spiders start leaping at the rest of us."

"I hate giant spiders," Alpha said. "So many legs, so many eyes, so many hairs!" Alpha stuck closer to Luke and Sirius and was not so willing to run ahead now that spiders were on the loose.

They all entered beneath an archway that was made of vines sprouting flowers that were being pollinated by bees. They emerged into a dense forest with the sounds of frogs, monkeys, birds, and millions of insects serenading the air.

"It seems smaller animals live inside the Garden proper," Sirius noted.

"That spider was humongous!" Alpha's voice cracked. "It should be with the dinosaurs."

Luke couldn't understand how this kid did not fear being eaten by a T-Rex but cowered over a spider an 8th of his size. But as they marched deeper into the Garden, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals covering every inch of the forest. Everywhere they stepped they either sent an army of ants scattering, a mouse running, or a bird flying. Monkeys and lemurs leaped overhead in the trees.

Alpha managed to give a high five to an orangutan and even petted a maned wolf. He started mimicking the climbing motion of a sloth on a nearby tree, even down to the slow-motion head turning, but then leapt off the tree branch when a spider crawled onto his hand.

"Why do they keep coming for me?" Alpha whined.

"Because they like you. Look," Sirius said picking up a tarantula from the floor. "Give it a kiss."

Alpha ducked behind Luke. "Luke make him stop."

Sirius chuckled and Luke rolled his eyes. Luke didn't necessarily fear spiders, but he wasn't going to join the spider-lovers fan-club anytime soon either. He was of the mentality that they stick to their space and he'll stick to his.

Sirius rested the spider on a tree branch and went to shake Alpha's hand who suddenly became a germaphobe and refused to touch Sirius's hands because, "spider-hairs are contagious."

"Well, they are toxic to breathe in," Luke added as they marched onward, passing a pristine lake with freshwater fish swimming inside from sturgeon and eels to turtles and even a couple of crabs.

"See!" Alpha pointed at Luke like he was proof spiders were evil creatures that God made a mistake in creating. "They're toxic! That means they stink like poo and we shouldn't like things that stink like poo."

"Close enough," Luke smirked trying to contain laughing at Alpha. He couldn't help finding his seriousness of the matter cute and amusing.

"River up ahead," Sirius changed the subject as he pointed to a massive river that Luke was barely able to see the other side of. The current was strong too—Luke could hear the river rushing like a flat waterfall, even though the river itself looked placid and calm.

Sirius picked up a branch and poked it into the water. "We won't be able to wade across," Sirius picked up the branch that had been chewed apart by something with jagged teeth—piranhas maybe?

"Do you have the boat canister in your bag?" Luke asked. "Mine is still at the cove."

"Let me check," Sirius said rummaging through his bag. He spotted nothing. "Alright, no boat, but I think I can form a workable bridge."

Sirius shoved his hands into the mud banks and earth piled onto each other like school kids rushing to be the first in line at lunch. They formed a bridge about a quarter of the way across before Sirius started sweating a lot and straining as if he was trying to deadlift a house. The bridge made it halfway and then collapsed into the river with a splash.

"No can do," Sirius panted. "The river is too wide."

"Um, can't we just fly like airplanes?" Alpha added.

"I don't think I can fly yet," Sirius said like a customer service rep. "Although I'm working on it and will get back to you as soon as I can."

"Yeah, I probably won't be able to fly—like ever," Luke said. He wasn't so much afraid of heights as he was afraid of being out in the open air while high. Planes he can do, but stuff like skydiving, paragliding, or tight roping was a big fat no. Humans were meant to be on the ground is the way he saw it.

"Nil, can you fly?" Alpha asked.

Nil gave his classic response, which was nothing but silence.

"Okay, maybe I can fly you across, but Luke first because he doesn't shove stinky spiders in my face."

"Wait a minute," Sirius said. "You can fly?"

With both of their eyes on Alpha like he was crazy, Alpha seemed a bit shy. "Well, I thought everyone could."

"No, not at all," Sirius said.

"Show us," Luke said.

"Okay, but I don't want you to make fun of my wings."

"Wings?" Luke and Sirius said in unison.

That's when appearing from his shoulders like holographs were a pair of angel's wings that would put Cupid to shame. The feathers were copper brown to match his skin but had the sheen of finished ivory.

Luke was drawn to it and felt its texture. It even felt like hallowed ivory. Alpha put one of Luke's arms over his shoulder and said, "Fasten your seatbelts. The plane is about to take off. Vroom!"

And off they went.