CHAPTER 1
Two years later.
“Who is he Michael, and why does he look so sad?” Asked the angel curiously.
The archangel waved his hand and the image vanished instantly replying, “He is your first case.”
The smaller angel stepped back, shocked. How could the Father have given her a case on Earth? Why she knew so little of it, and the others were always talking about the evil that lurked down there! What could she have done to displease the Father so much that he should send her to such an awful place?
Having seen the various expressions of fear and concern flit across his young charge’s face, he was quick to step forward and reassure the child. Putting a strong hand on the smaller angel’s tiny shoulder, he wondered to himself what the Father had planned for her. Surely she was too young to experience all that she would encounter on Earth. Many older and wiser angels had been lost to the temptations set forth by the devil on Earth, and this one was so young and vulnerable. Immediately clearing his thoughts and concerns for her welfare so she wouldn’t tune into them, Michael smiled. She was very intuitive and sensitive to others’ feelings for her age and upbringing and he didn’t need her anymore upset that she already was. Michael then cleared his throat, more to catch his charge’s attention than anything.
“Lia, you needn’t worry, the Father only sends those to Earth that have earned the right. So you must feel honored. He never intended for this to be a punishment for you. Instead he feels that since you have done such a wonderful job caring for those that are chosen to come here from Earth to adjust, that you deserve a change. He thinks that you’ll be better able to empathize with those who pass on to this world from the last if you have actually experienced the former. Now this is what your case entails…”
"Ben! Phone!” Ben’s mother called from the bottom of the stairs. Ben took one last glance at his English paper that had been plaguing him for the past week, gave a sigh, and rushed down the stairs to answer the phone.
“Who is it, Mom?” Ben asked as he came down the stairs to take the receiver from his impatient mother.
“It’s Jim, I think.” At Ben’s nod she gave up the receiver and with one last look that Ben couldn’t quite discern she took her leave to the kitchen and back to a waiting casserole.
“Yeah?” Ben said into the receiver.
“Hey Ben! What are you don’ tonight?” asked Jim anxiously.
“I don’t know why?” Replied Ben, hesitant to give a definite answer.
“Well, I’m going to the club tonight, and I wondered if you wanted to join me for a couple of beers.”
“Sure, why not?” Ben replied without enthusiasm. He really didn’t want to go out, but it beat staying home all night, and seeing his mother look at him with that haunting look all night.
“Great, I’ll pick ya up in a half hour!” The phone clicked in Ben’s ear, and as he hung up the phone he wondered just exactly what he was in for tonight. It had been a long time since he’d done the clubs.
As he walked up the stairs to his room he grew to dread the evening ahead. As he was getting dressed, Ben happened to look over at a picture that had been haunting his dreams day and night for the past year. The picture was of a laughing couple holding onto each other. The girl was looking directly into the camera with a bright smile and eyes full of life and mischief, completely unaware of the look of complete love and adoration given to her by her boyfriend. It was the last picture Ben had of Cayla. Looking at it now he was again transported back to that day at the county fair. They had been dating three months at the time neither having a clue what was to take place nine months later. She was so full of life and playfulness that Ben couldn’t help but smile at the memory. She had lost all of her money trying to win a giant yellow stuffed bear for her collections, and had asked Ben if he’d try and win it for her. He knew he’d never forget her glee as he handed her the giant bear that she’d been trying to win all day. Shaking his head, trying to clear it and the emotions that each memory brought back. What’s the use remembering, he asked himself, she’s dead and she’s never coming back and it’s all my fault. At that instant a car horn blared from Ben’s driveway, slinging him back to reality from his melancholy thoughts. As Ben walked down the stairs to meet Jim he yelled to his mother, “I’m going out for awhile. I don’t know when I’ll be back. It depends on Jim.”
“Okay hon. Have fun and enjoy yourself, and one other thing,” Ben’s mother Katherine said as she walked into the hallway from the kitchen, halting Ben in his tracks. At Ben’s look of confusion she gave him a look of motherly love and support and replied, “Please be careful.” At Ben’s nod she choked back tears as she watched her only son take his leave out the front door. She shook her head sadly, praying that her once happy and vibrant son would find his way back to his friends and family. Like any parent she hated seeing her child in pain ad knowing that there was nothing that she could do, made it all that more difficult to watch.
“So Ben, what’s up?” asked Jim enthusiastically as he pulled out of the drive and onto the main drag towards the clubs.
“Not much. What’s the game plan for tonight?” Ben asked.
“Well, I though we’d drink a couple of beers and dance with everyone else once we get drunk enough. Sound good?”
Nodding, Ben noted that in Jim’s terms, this meant that Jim would have a few drinks to get up the nerve to dance, while Ben sat on the sidelines, sober, because someone had to make sure they’d get home in one piece. Unfortunately, that was something Jim was slow to understand. Once there, Jim immediately took off to find them a place to chill, before getting into the partying mode. The place was packed with people and it seemed to take Jim forever to find a place to sit. Twenty minutes later Jim came loping up with a lopsided grin.
“Come on! I’ve found a place,” yelled Jim over the loud music in order to be heard by his friend. As it turned out, Jim had found a booth occupied by two girls in the shortest skirts Ben had ever seen. Their shirts were so tight that they looked like they were going to bust at the seams. In all, their dress didn’t leave anything to the imagination. The platinum blonde directly in front of him leaned over the table to introduce herself, but instead Ben was introduced to a massive amount of cleavage. Ben totally turned off, with the whole scene, gave a sigh of utter hopelessness, smiled wanly, and nodded. Blessedly ten minutes later he was left in peace as Jim and the two girls left to the dance floor to join the mass of people already out there. Just as he was beginning to really relax and enjoy himself someone came up and tapped his shoulder.
“Hey Ben is that you? Hey man I haven’t seen you in ages! Why don’t you join us out there just like old times aye?” the six foot four-inch jock that Ben vaguely remembered playing football with. Before Ben could utter a word to the energetic guy he was being dragged out onto the dance floor. His first impression was that he’d forgotten how crowded and smoke filled it was. Just as he was trying to fight his way through the mass of people towards his table he noticed a very attractive girl who had just walked through the door. He wasn’t the only one to notice the new arrival, however, about half the guys in the place stopped to admire the beautiful creature that had just entered the club. And as their eyes roved over her body in total male appreciation the girl was shaken. Although, no one would have noticed by the way that she carried herself, on the inside she was a mass of nerves.
Lia wondered why she even came in here, and all the attention that she attracted made her wonder if Michael couldn’t have been wrong and that they knew who and what she was. Maybe her transformation into human form wasn’t complete enough, and her wings were visible to everyone, or maybe she was missing her hair. Reaching her hand to her head she was reassured to find that indeed, her hair was still there, and a glance in the mirror next to her resolved her fear about her wings. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was but a bird among a pack of hungry wolves. Even Michael’s assurance that she still had possession of her powers did little to make her feel any less vulnerable in the situation she was in. Why she knew nothing of this place! And what was that horrible wailing sound that sounded like nothing short of an angel falling from God’s grace. “It’s called music,” a voice inside her head answered her unspoken concern. Then she felt Michael’s presence in her mind, and felt instantly better. So with renewed confidence she raised her head and continued on with her search for Ben. Unfortunately, that proved more easily said than done, and from the looks of the guys swaggering over to her, she knew trouble was brewing.
“Hey baby, wanna dance?” asked a guy with unkempt, greasy hair that just grazed his ears, and a goatee that showed remnants of that day’s dinner.
“N-no thank you. I’m looking for someone,” Lia stammered, backing away looking very much like that bird she was comparing herself to earlier.
The guy grabbed her arm and dragged her to him, like she was merely a sack of potatoes and said, "Sure you do, baby." Lia was to stunned to do much of anything.
“Hey look at what we’ve got ourselves here Bob, she looks like she’d be good for a night of food fun, aye?” the guy asked his cronies who were now starting to mill around him.
“She looks like she’d be a real treat,” replied the one called Bob as he grabbed her backside.
Watchingthesituation unfoldfrom his vantage point on the dance floor, Ben hurried over to the girl’s aid. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt this unexpected feeling of protectiveness towards the girl. Didn’t she know enough to stay away from guys like that when they’re drunk? He asked himself as he walked up to the man who was obviously enjoying his prize.
“Let her go,” Ben demanded directly.
“Back off boy!” Growled the older guy as he swept sweat off of his brow with one hand, and trying to keep a hold of a now struggling Lia in the other, “If she’d yours you should have kept a better hold on her. As it is, she’s mine and I intend to enjoy her for as long as she lasts.”
Ben glanced over at the girl and saw her confused, but obviously frightened expression. She reminded him of a cornered rabbit who didn’t know what to do. In that instant Ben knew that he had to do something in order to prevent her from being hurt.
“I said to let her go!” Ben replied in a much more aggressive tone than before. Before Ben could think to react the guy turned and punched him in the jaw, sending a lightening bold of pain shooting through Ben’s head. Luckily, he saw the second shot coming and was able to block the blow, while at the same time delivering a right hook straight into the other guy’s nose. There was a loud crack and the guy bent over holding his now broken and bleeding nose, while Ben took the guy’s situation to his advantage and brought the beer bottle that he had grabbed from a nearby table onto the guy’s skull. The man slumped to the floor, and his buddies backed off, as Ben took the girl’s hand and ushered her to the door. On the way out Ben looked for one of the bouncers that were usually around, and finally spotted one halfway to them from across the dance flow. The man waved them on in the direction of the door, before focusing his attention on the slumped figure on the ground and his buddies.
“Th-thank you, for saving me,” replied Lia thankfully. She knew the instant that he came to her rescue that his was the guy that she was sent to find, and knew that she couldn’t let on that she knew who he was.
“You should have know better than to go into a place like that unescorted you know,” scolded Ben confused by his anger that she had allowed herself to get into that kind of situation in the first place.
“I didn’t know that something that terrible was going to happen,” Lia replied, ashamed of herself for not fully comprehending what Michael said she might encounter.
“Well perhaps next time you should be more careful,” suggested Ben. By this time they were walking down Main Street, and as she stopped and turned in the light of the lamppost Ben saw the full extent of her beauty for the first time. Her hair was the color of wheat and was in little ringlets all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were the most unique color of sea green. They were neither blue nor green but both together and they sparkled with an innocence and playfulness that Ben hadn’t seen in the longest time. Her lips had a small pout to them, and she had the softest most angelic face he had ever seen. But that was where her innocent look faded, because she had the type of body that could be found on girls in beer commercials, and that any guy would love to touch. She had the longest legs, and a well toned healthy look to her. And from her accent he guessed that she wasn’t from around her.
“By the way, I didn’t catch your name,” Ben said putting his hands in his pockets, feeling like he was fourteen again asking a girl to a dance.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my name’s Lia. What’s yours?”
“Ben. Do you mind if I walk you home?” asked Ben instantly turning the subject away from himself. He didn’t know why, but when he looked into her big, innocent blue-green eyes, he felt the urge to tell her everything about himself. But why would a girl as good looking as she is want anything to do with a guy like him? Once she found out about his past, she wouldn’t want to hang around. Most girls never did. But a little voice in the back of his head questioned, is that because your past bothers them or because you push everyone away that tries to get close to you especially those of the opposite sex?Ben shook his head trying to clear it of the dangerous thoughts that were running through it. Seeing Ben shake is head alarmed Lia that his head was more injured than she thought originally. So walking up to him, she placed her hand to the side of his face and asked, “Does it hurt bad?”
Startled, Ben looked down, “I’m sorry? Oh, I’m fine, it just hurts a little,” Ben replied as another bolt of pain shot through his skull as he squinted down at Lia in the darkness.
“I’m sorry, I wish that there was something that I could do to help,” Lia answered, instantly realizing that there was indeed something that she could do, but she’d have to be careful. So with that in mind she said, “I really don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t showed up when you did,” said Lia softly, moving her hand up to the side of his cheek to his temple as she talked, making sure that her accent came through.
“You have such a beautiful accent Lia, do you mind if I ask where you’re from?” asked Ben, savoring the feel of her soft, smooth fingertips lightly skimming the side of his face. Lia closed her eyes, concentrating on flowing her powers of healing move from her to him as she replied, “I’m from a little village in Ireland, my family just moved here last week, and I wanted to see how the college students in America spend their evenings. That’s why I was at the club tonight.” For some reason Lia had trouble getting the last out. For she was feeling the oddest fluttering in her belly when she touched Ben. It was unlike anything that she had ever felt before.
“Mmm,” was Ben’s only reply at first. For some reason her touch, as innocent though it was aroused feelings in him that he couldn’t even begin to explain, let alone comprehend. All too soon, though, her touch vanished, and Ben was left with nothing but a cool breeze to caress his face. What are these strange new feelings? Lia wondered to herself. "There’s time enough to worry about that later. Right now you have a job to do", whispered an all too familiar voice in her head. Killjoy. Lia thought to herself, hoping that Michael hadn’t heard her. "Yes, I did. Somebody has to be around here so that you keep your halo on straight."
Sorry Michael, Lia thought knowing that she’d inadvertently hurt the archangel’s feelings.
"You’d better be", Micheal replied at last.
“Well I guess I’d better be going,” replied Lia, hesitant to leave him, but knowing that she must take her leave before the moment was ruined.
“How are you getting home?” Ben asked, knowing that he didn’t want her to leave.
“Oh I’m going to ride the bus,” Lia answered over her shoulder as she walked a few feet towards the bench next to the bus stop.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“Yes I’ll be fine, thank you. I always take the bus home,” Lia said as she sat down putting her chin on her hand.
Feeling kind of awkward, Ben replied, “Well at least let me wait here with you so that I know you get on the bus okay.” Lia looked up at him from her spot on the bench, smiled and scooted over so that he could sit down. The sight of her big bright green-blue eyes looking at him from underneath those long, golden eyelashes caused the breath to get caught in Ben’s throat. Then suddenly it dawned on him!
“Lia I hate to tell you this but the bus-“ Ben stopped mid-sentence as the bus horn honked and the vision of the green bus thundering down the street like some dragon from a story book stunned him. A few moments later the bus pulled up and Lia looked at a dumbfounded Ben and asked, “What were you saying?”Ben could onlylook at herstunned silenceand shake his head, as he watchedher ascend the bus’s steps and disappear inside, leaving him looking at a very plump and cheerful old man in the driver’s seat who just smiled and said as if in answer to Ben’s unspoken question, “I always swing by here when my shift’s over, just to make sure that no one missed me the last time around, and needed a ride home. It’s not as safe as it used to be on the streets nowadays.” After saying the last, the old man slid the doors shut, and with great protest the old bus roared away from the curb and was once again thundering down the street and into the fog. Ben was still shaking his head in puzzlement five minutes later as he walked back to the bar and to his friend’s car. He could have sworn that the buses only ran until midnight and it was ten after one in the morning! Odder still, was the fact that he could have sworn that the buses were blue and white not green and white. Stopping next to Jim’s parked car Ben debated on whether or not he should drag his friend out of the club and take him home or whether he should leave him there. After debating on the subject for a few minutes,Benfinally decided, that since Jim was nowhere to be found when he got into the bar fight, and thathis friendalso wouldn’t be ready to go home quite yet because he was having a good timeand had met a woman, Ben decided to take the car. He knew Jim’s line all too well. So, he decided that it would teach Jim a good lessonabout what happened when one deserted one’s friends. Once in the car, Ben immediately changed the station to country music and found himself whistling to the lyrics on the way home, and reflecting on the night’s events. Things sure did prove to be interesting, and he wondered if he would ever see Lia again.