The Gathering

XIV: Liars by Omission

Hahasiah had no time for As' awestruck observance, she motioned for him to sit in the lone chair. Raphael unfastened his restraints. "Go." He ordered. As marched himself further into the room and took his seat. He turned to look at Raphael and the other two archangels, but they had already begun their departure. All he saw was the back of Raphael's head leaving through the double doors.

As was left alone in the kaleidoscope of a room... alone with Hahasiah. "What-" before the word could even escape his lips, a cacophony of noise exploded inside his mind. "Argh! Fuck!" He yelled, grabbing his ears. The noise, however, was not physical, but psychic. Hahasiah faced As, writhing in pain in the chair, and it was like the noise took control of his body. 'Sit!' it seemed to say. As obeyed, not having a choice. He sat with perfect posture, hands on the armrests. His mind still exploding with noise and his eyes clenched shut in pain.

After another excruciating moment, the noise ceased just as quickly as it had come. As slowly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by what Hahasiah had been hiding under her hood... She had no face, like an empath. Same smoothed fleshy face. It didn't bother As like it had bothered Jonah, it wasn't that which frightened him, made him so uneasy... it was the single eye. One solitary eye in the middle of her face, where her upper nose would be. It was pulsating, open wide. The sclera was perpetually bloodshot, the iris seemed to flicker in and out, big to small, every color imaginable... As tried to speak, but he realized he was no longer in control. The eye stared deep into his very soul, making his perception hazy. Hahasiah reached out one white cloaked arm, her hands just as bony and lithe as an empaths'. She touched her palm to As' forehead, 'Is she-it going to gather my soul? Am I going to die?' As was panicking, but his body was static. Only his eyes darted around like mad, showing his true emotions.

As' mind went completely blank. He could feel Hahasiah's mental touch invading, probing, molesting his mind... his soul. She was much more adept than the empath who had placed the emotional barrier, much more skilled in the art of manipulating one's soul. A weak female's voice began to speak inside his mind, a vague chatter he could not make out. His forehead began to glow, along with the single, pulsating eye. Before she could extract As' soul, however, she let him go. His head slumped in between his legs the second her hand stopped supporting his forehead. 'What the fuck was that?' He still couldn't speak, but he could think again. His mind was aching, almost inflamed. The next thing he could remember was Barachiel entering the room and escorting him from his chair, he didn't even remember his legs moving to walk.

...

"I don't know where to start." Jonah said, munching on yet another bag of potato chips. "I disobeyed someone... and she got very angry." He was pulling from his time as Metatron's pupil; not by inscribing something, but by carefully crafting lies of omission.

"She?" questioned Margaret, also eating a bag of potato chips, "your girlfriend? Mother?" Jonah shook his head.

"No... nothing like that. She wanted me to do something... or at least sit by and watch something... that I couldn't... I disobeyed her and we got into a fight." Jonah sighed. "I had to run. I left my friend behind but I didn't have a choice."

Margaret evaluated what she had heard. "Did she give you that bruise?" she gestured to Jonah's chin, where a purple welt had emerged. Jonah nodded quietly. "I understand. Look, I'm not going to make you go back outside tonight, why don't you sleep on the sofa in the back room? Just for tonight, until your friend comes tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." Jonah sighed in relief, he didn't want to go back out into the cold either. It was only on his way to the sofa for a much-needed night of sleep that Jonah saw the newspaper rack for the first time. "Deadly hospital fire still under investigation." Read the headline. Jonah's eyes widened as he saw a picture of the same hospital where he had encountered Maria, where his first gathering happened... He picked up the paper and began reading:

Deadly Hospital Fire Still Under Investigation

The cause of the blaze that took the lives of 32 people is still a mystery. Shortly before 10:00 am, fire overtook the building, and by the time emergency services arrived, the structure had begun to collapse. "We can't rule out arson." said police chief Davis. "though no traces of an accelerant have been found yet, the manner and the intensity of the fire are being considered suspicious." Thankfully, the sprinkler systems stopped the fire before it could reach the Intensive Care Unit, in which nobody was seriously injured. A candlelight vigil was held the following Monday in remembrance of the 32 victims:

Below, Jonah encountered thirty-two black and white photos of the innocent people that fell victim to their gathering. He scanned the list:

- Nurse Jessica Forrester (24)

'The Nurse As gathered... he couldn't remember her name...'

- Oscar Antonello (48)

'The man outside the building, Phan called him 'putrid'.'

- Maria Ontiveros (73)

Jonah just stared at her picture, the face staring back at him much happier than she had been that night... 'I'm sorry' was all he could think. 

...

As collapsed onto the floor of his new cell... the same one Jonah had occupied less than a day ago. His mind was completely blank. Whatever Hahasiah did to him, it was effective at making him completely numb. Barachiel stormed off from his son's new dwelling to have a word with Gabriel.

"Did you learn anything from the interrogation?" he asked, stepping into Gabriel's study once more. "I hope so, because I fear my son's mind may have been damaged."

"The Abbess is very capable, I assure you." Gabriel sat at his desk, reviewing the scrolls of As' transcribed memories before him. "His mind is merely stalled. Temporarily."

"Then why have you remanded him to a cell?" Barachiel was losing his temper, although he was unquestionably loyal to Gabriel and his administration, his protectiveness of As occasionally became the bigger priority.

"Because, he knew more than he admitted." Gabriel slid a sheathed scroll towards Barachiel, who bent down and opened it.

"Contrary to what Cadet Asmodel told Sergeant Phanuel, he is in possession of a contraband letter from Senior Cadet Michael (killed in action), the contents of which letter are as follows:

As

I'm going to be away again... this time for a while. When I come back, we'll have to do something together – all three of us – like when we were still in the academy! I know things are tough right now, don't let what your dad says get the better of you. I'll put in a good word for you and Jonah when I'm on this 'counteroffensive'. They'll look out for you guys when the time comes. I can't tell you what I'm about to do, by the time you read this, you'll probably know - if they don't cover it up. If something does happen... don't let them find this. Destroy it. And please don't tell Jonah, not yet. Talk to Metatron. 

Michael

Upon reading this, Cadet Asmodel attempted to contact Scribe Metatron, but he was not present. Cadet Asmodel proceeded to destroy this letter in an oil lamp before being interrupted by Cadet Jonah."

Barachiel stopped reading and glanced back to Gabriel. "It seems your son is a liar by omission, much like the Scribe." Gabriel spoke quietly, admiring his pet rat.

"I will have the empaths erase everything that Metatron has told him!" He slammed his fist on Gabriel's desk. "And then I will personally see to it that Metatron draws his last breath!"

"Calm down, Barachiel..." Gabriel inhaled slowly. "I will investigate Metatron's involvement in... whatever this is."

"But my son!" Barachiel interjected.

"Your son will be released after the empaths have thoroughly examined him." Gabriel could tell Barachiel was still uneasy, "To occupy the time, I have an assignment for you, our empaths have located Cadet Jonah, on Earth... at the ninth hour you and a squad will descend and exfiltrate the rogue cadet."

"Yes sir."