Children of the Archangels

CHAPTER 30: GARDEN RUN

Although, some considered the procedure to rescue a severely mentally impaired child anything but saving. Some argue it's better to let the child be suspended in his state of innocence until he died. At least he'll be guaranteed a place amongst God and His angels.

But there was a war that needed to be fought, and that war needed soldiers. And these children who were staring at the light of God, suspended like a specimen in a fluid jar, were the soldiers of tomorrow that SGA took pride in producing.

The Dean called a special meeting one week before the Spring Equinox. He gathered everyone in the church after a mandatory mass on a Friday. He took to the podium to deliver the news that everyone knew was going to come ever since Nil had shown up—everyone except Luke.

"As all of you may know, the Spring Equinox is upon us and with a new student joining our community, we must organize a Garden Run."

Whispers began to float towards the massive ceiling of the domed Cathedral. The central dome rose up like a tower and branched off into a cross that stood out across campus. The rest of the church was adorned with a marble altar and red stone pillars where famous saints and figures from Christianity were etched in—from Moses to Mother Theresa. Stained glass windows towered like bay windows diffusing the snowy white light that danced through colorful pieces of glass. Each window depicted famous scenes from the Bible from Jesus's birth to his resurrection. Along the sides of the church were minor chapels and altars, statues, and candles.

Two larger bubbles bloated as auxiliary parts of the Church where staunch Muslims and Jews could practice their own faiths in peace. In the end, whether they were fighting for Jesus or a future version of him, they were all fighting on God's side against the tyranny of evil.

"You all know the drill; one Tempest student is selected at random from a batch to accompany two other students from any of the years below." The Dean motioned to two large fish bowls with hundreds of tiny slips of paper—the size of those inside fortune cookies. One bowl was filled with a rainbow of colored paper, while the other was filled with black slips.

The Dean walked over to the bowl of rainbow slips. He covered his eyes with one hand and plunged his other into the bowl, fishing for a single name that would be announced to join the expedition known as the Garden Run.

Out of all the many-colored slips, from red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and brown, the Dean selected a white slip of paper.

He uncovered his eyes and unfolded the slip of paper. Everyone knew the color coordinated with the year that the student was in—and white meant that a first-year student was going.

"Sirius Tenebrif."

Sirius stood up next to Luke. He worked his way out of the pew and walked up to the altar without looking back. He showed no fear or nervousness, just a sense of duty. The Dean clamped his hand on Sirius's shoulder. Out of all the doves to be chosen, the Dean looked relieved that Sirius was the one selected. Had it been any other noob, that might put a lot more pressure on the Tempest student leading the mission to step up his game.

"Sirius will now do the honors of selecting his companion at random."

Sirius nodded and covered his eyes with one hand, just as the Dean had done. He rummaged through the bowl for a slip and pulled out a red paper. The Dean seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as his chest deflated. Red was the color of Dawn, year six students. They were only two levels below Tempest.

Sirius unfolded the name and announced, "Pepe Rodo."

The Dean's chest seemed to inflate again with pressure. He took the slip and red the name. He didn't look pleased, as if someone had played a cruel joke. The crowd started to mumble.