Death of a Fallen

CHAPTER 1-2

Jonathan at once turned on his heels and gave Riley a hard shove to the chest, which launched him ten feet backward, landing him in the bushes next to the property’s driveway. He stared up at Jonathan in shock. Jonathan immediately ran over to him.

“Riley, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I’m so sorry,” he said, offering him a hand up.

Riley paused a moment, then accepted Jonathan’s hand. After being helped to his feet and a little angry, Riley almost told Jonathan: “I now know why you refer to yourself as a fallen angel. Guardian angels must have a better understanding of the rules they should follow when it comes to protecting their human.” Except to have voiced this would have been hateful and untruthful. Immediately, Riley pushed the thought away, hoping that Jonathan hadn’t already heard it. Jonathan was going through changes that he didn’t appear to have any control over. Much like teenagers who act out after tasting their first bite of freedom. Riley only wished he could pinpoint the problem so that he could try and help Jonathan.

“Tell you what. Let’s push this property off until tomorrow. No sense in working on a national holiday. I think we both could use a break. We’ve been working nonstop and are due for some downtime.”

Not arguing, Jonathan apologized once more, retrieved the broken pieces of the weed eater, and tossed them into a box in the back of the truck. After everything was loaded up, Jonathan limped to the passenger side of the truck and got in. Riley hopped behind the wheel and started the engine. He attached his phone to the output and put on the song “If You Say Go.” He was introduced to the song at a youth camp he had attended every summer when he was in high school. It remained one of his favorites. He thought it might help Jonathan’s spirits. Instead, Jonathan asked Riley if they could ride in silence. Reluctantly, Riley turned the music off as they made the trip around the lake back to the house in deafening silence.

Arriving home, Riley parked the trailer in the expanded steel building that served as the “hole.” The building had been Riley’s idea. Together they had created a personal gym that rivaled what any Olympic team might use. Riley had made it large enough to store his truck and trailer and landscaping equipment. He had invested all his savings into it.

Riley now followed Jonathan to the house. Once inside, Jonathan walked down the hallway that led to his room, then softly closed the door behind him without saying a word. Although it wasn’t even noon, Riley grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and went to the back patio that overlooked the lake. Collapsing into one of patio chairs, he kicked off his shoes and toasted in the hot sun. Looking out across the lake, he watched as several boats raced across the blue water. I guess this could be called some kind of paradise, he thought. He drank a few swallows of his ice-cold beer. It wasn’t long before he felt his head becoming heavy. He pulled his cap down low and settled into his chair. His head began to nod until, eventually, sleep overtook him.

He awakened a couple of hours later, his skin itching. He knew this was the first sign of a nasty sunburn. He stood up and stretched, lifting his arms as far as he could above his head and letting out a loud yawn. Then he trudged back inside, feeling the heat rising from his skin.

There was no sign of Jonathan. Riley decided to make a sandwich and watch some TV. After a while, he glanced at the clock. It was already late afternoon. He shut off the TV. A knock came at the door, breaking the dullness. Perfect timing, Riley thought. He walked over to the front door and opened it to see Josh. “Happy Fourth of July!”

“And the same to you,” Josh said. His smile was from ear to ear. He was in his seventies with balding hair and a stomach that had seen one too many barbecue picnics. “Always a pleasure to see you,” he said. He closed the door behind him and followed Riley into the kitchen. “Where is Jonathan?”

Riley had previously talked to Josh of the moodiness that Jonathan was starting to exhibit and how the lashing out had seemed to have gotten worse.

“Well, he’s having a hard day, so we knocked off early and have just been relaxing.” Riley said.

“Looks like you have gotten a little sun,” Josh said, pointing to Riley’s arm.

“I fell asleep on the back patio. And, of course, I was a little envious of everyone else’s celebrations.”

“Well, make sure you put some aloe vera on so you don’t blister. It will help ease the pain and take some of the heat away.”

“Always the doctor,” he said. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a couple of beers, and handed one to Josh. “Still up for grilling?”

“Sounds perfect,” Josh said, setting his beer on the table. “But first, I think I’d like to check in on Jonathan. Why don’t you go ahead and fire up the grill, and I’ll be back in a jiff.” With that, Josh turned and made his way to Jonathan’s bedroom.

Riley bit his lip knowing that regardless of what he said, Josh would handle the situation as best as he saw fit. He pulled out the steaks from the refrigerator that had been marinating since that morning. Picking up his phone, Riley opened the grill app and set the temperature gauge on the outside grill, still amazed by what technology was capable of.

About an hour later, Riley had grilled the veggie packs and the steaks. Everything was just about ready. Neither Josh nor Jonathan had emerged yet. Should he go in and check on them or yell out that dinner was ready? He decided to wait a bit longer. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed himself another beer. As he closed the door, he turned to see Jonathan enter the kitchen with Josh behind him. Both men were smiling, which gave Riley hope that things were okay.

“Smells good,” Jonathan said.

“Everything’s ready. Go ahead and dig in,” Riley replied.

They all sat down and filled their plates. They made easy conversation and joked as they enjoyed their meal. The frustration and tension from earlier in the day seemed far behind them now. Afterward, they cleaned up and made their way to the two-story dock. They each grabbed a chair and settled in just as the fireworks show got underway. They continued to chat, drink their beers, and enjoy the evening, especially the cool breeze that started to make its way across the lake. As the night was winding down, Josh stood up, stretched, and announced he was heading home. He hugged each of them, whispering something to Jonathan before leaving.

Not wanting to pry, but curious just the same, Riley wondered how Josh had gotten Jonathan out of his slump. What could he have done differently? After a while, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Okay, what can Josh say or do that I can’t?” he said, trying to keep frustration out of his voice.

Jonathan chuckled. “Well, for one, he is a doctor.”

“Yeah, well, the man is retired . . .” Riley trailed off, realizing that sounded a little foolish. “I mean, he’s not a psychiatrist. He gives vaccines and treats broken bones.” He felt himself getting flustered.

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you what he told me,” Jonathan replied. “He’s been doing medicine for over forty years and feels like he’s seen just about everything. And no, he’s not a therapist, but he does have a way of pulling things out of you and getting you to open up whether you want to or not.”

“Well, that’s just great!” Riley said with an edge to his voice. “I can’t get you to talk to me even though we live, work, and spend every damn waking moment together!”

Jonathan sighed. “You’re right. I should be able to talk to you about anything. It’s just that—I don’t know.” He paused as if trying to find the right way to explain the logic behind his thinking.

As badly as Riley wanted Jonathan to talk to him, he thought maybe he should just drop it for now.

Jonathan sat quietly for a moment. “This injury to my leg,” he started, “it’s doing something to me. It’s changing me. I can’t really explain it, Riley.” He paused again, and Riley watched as Jonathan massaged at his right leg as if it bothered him. “It, it takes hold of me and alters my mood and takes hold of my thoughts. I can’t control the feelings it brings up. The moment it happened, I could feel the solidness of the blade against my bone, and then it somehow dissolved into me, and—it became a part of me.” He stopped and shook his head. “And now I’m realizing that I’m no longer in control of my own powers.” He stared directly into Riley’s eyes. The once brilliant blue color of Jonathan’s eyes now seemed faded to gray.

For the first time, Riley realized that he had not been honest with himself. Something was wrong with his friend. Jonathan was sick. How could he not have seen it?

“I try to keep my distance after I have an anger episode because honestly,” Jonathan said, “I feel one day I could hurt you or—worse.”

Riley was taken aback at this and had to look away. Despite all the questions that now overtook his thoughts, he couldn’t believe their journey could be coming to an end. Staring off across the lake, he asked Jonathan one question.

“Do you really think that could happen?”

Jonathan looked up at the stars and gave the only answer he could. “I honestly don’t know.”