God's Gone AWOL

[3] This is NOT Home (Part 2)

"We're outside, there aren't any doors here," Leslie very wisely observed, "And besides, we fell from the sky. Shouldn't we be looking up there?"

There were no doors in the sky. Atticus already checked. It was all just blue pre-sunrise atmosphere without any sort of magical, hovering, golden door in sight.

"Last time, the door was in a painting," He said, "We need to consider all methods of disguise. Bentley, you know Pomegranate Hill better than I do--"

She was staring at her siblings again.

"Am I going to have to slap you awake?" Atticus asked, his eyes flashing gold.

"Sorry. You'd be distracted too if one of your deceased loved ones was standing right in front of you," She said.

Atticus let out another sigh.

In the end, the three decided to split up and take a look around the general area surrounding Pomegranate Hill. Well, that is to say that Bentley and Atticus split up, while Leslie just followed Atticus everywhere he went like a puppy at his heels. They went back up the hill to the place they had originally landed in, while Bentley stayed by the bank. Truthfully, Atticus didn't want to leave her there so close to the illusion of her family in case something went wrong, but it seemed that the shock effect had started to wear off, and she was behaving like herself again.

Up on the hill, amidst the sweet scent of flowers, Atticus and Leslie circled the pomegranate tree a couple times, scanning the bark, branches, and roots for any hint of a way out of the illusion. No such luck.

"So what exactly should I be looking for?" Leslie asked, "A door, yeah?"

"Look for anything golden. It could be a door or it could be something better disguised, such as a flower,"

"Right. Okay. On it!" Said Leslie.

The two of them looked down. There were flowers everywhere. Hundreds of them, growing in patches on the ground, in tangled bushes, sprouting on some of the trees down in the forest below. There were a couple of flowers in yellow varieties, but none appeared to be that same glittering gold color. However, this didn't stop Leslie from immediately bending down and examining every single petal of every single plant he could find.

Having been unsuccessful in his search so far, Atticus absent mindedly turned his attention back to Bentley. The sun was finally rising. Like a blessing of Heaven, it's sudden glow bathed the entire hill in a warm light. It was a sudden, dazzling moment of glory, when ribbons of sunshine streaked down through the the trees and misty air, connecting the earth with the sky. Even though the sunlight was a fabricated part of the enchantment, it was breathtakingly beautiful. As if illuminated by the light of Heaven itself, the entire hillside was cast in a golden, glowing shimmer.

Atticus couldn't help but but stare at the light reflected off Bentley's red hair and marble skin. This was the first time he had seen her standing so freely in the light since she had reappeared in his life. The glow of her body reminded him of a halo, and for just a moment, he felt as though he had been transported back, thousands of years in the past...

When there was a young, reckless, chaotic angel by his side. --An angel who teased him relentlessly and whispered silly hopes of freedom into his ear, disregarding her superiors and frolicking unchecked in the Earthly Realm as though it was her own personal playground. An angel that had taken Atticus by the hand and pulled him into the sacred river. Who fed him figs, and in doing so, introduced him to the sweet taste of yearning. An angel with whom he had wished never to part.

But in the end, she turned her back on him and threw herself from Heaven. Bentley hadn't been that angel for a very long time. She had changed. And so had he.

Now she was staring into the water with determination. Sensing that someone was watching her, Bentley's eyes snapped up to meet Atticus'. Then for a second she glanced back down at the creek, frowning. Then she looked back up at Atticus again. It was like she was trying to decide on something.

"Halo Head!" She called, "Get down here. I think it's in the water,"

Abandoning Leslie on the hillside to do his flower picking, Atticus appeared at Bentley's side. The water she was looking at was almost fully illuminated by the glow of the rising sun. As though it were a creek made out of liquid gold, it rushed past them and continued down through the trees to an unknown and possibly nonexistent destination. It looked beautiful, but it was no visible door anywhere beneath the current.

"What do you mean?" Atticus asked.

She cupped her hand and lowered it into the water. Atticus had been expecting it to become transparent, reflecting only her white skin. But much to his surprise, when she scooped the water back up into the air, its ethereal gold shimmer was still visible even without the touch of sunlight. Atticus sucked in a breath and both leaned in to examine the little luminous beads rolling down her wrist.

It was a clever trick. The person behind the enchantment had disguised the door as water reflecting sunlight. However, a creek was very different from a door in terms of shape and form. An endless rushing flow of water had no knob to turn or handle to pull. How were they supposed to open it? Should they just dunk their heads in and hope for the best?

"I'll go in first," Bentley said.

Atticus tilted his head.

"You were so hesitant to even look away earlier," He said, "Are you sure you're ready to leave?"

"And you were so ready to leave earlier, why are you hesitant to let me go?"

Atticus didn't have time to answer.

"Hang on!" Having witnessed their conversation, Leslie came skipping down the hill to join them. "Wasn't this whole magic dream created for her specifically? If she leaves, won't everything disappear? What if we get erased with it?"

For once, Leslie was actually being sensible. Nobody knew quite how this particular illusion worked. Since it was feeding off of Bentley's memories of Pomegranate Hill, the whole thing might collapse once she left.

"Oh, that's actually a good point," She said, "Okay, then. Leslie, you can have the honors of going first."

"But-- but I don't know where I'll end up next! Don't send me alone!"

"I'll go with you," Said Atticus, "Bentley will follow immediately afterwards, right Bentley?"

Right?

"Cross my heart and hope to die," She said. Then she added, "Again..."

"If I don't see you on the other side, I will break down every golden door I see until I find you. Do you understand?" He threatened.

"You're so dramatic," Said Bentley.

And so, without any clue as to where they would end up next, Atticus dusted himself off and prepared to jump into the shimmering water. Leslie, on the other hand, still seemed rather hesitant.

"Ugh these aren't even my shoes, they belong to my work. Can I take them off?" He asked.

"You may do whatever," Atticus said wearily.

He stepped into the water. After a moment of internal conflict, Leslie went full-send into the water wearing his precious work shoes. Leaving Bentley on the bank, the two waded to the center of the creek until they were both about waist-deep in in the molten gold water. Atticus was expecting some sort of magical portal to open, but nothing happened. They both just stood there in the water for quite some time without any sign of change.

Atticus and Bentley looked at each other with equal looks of puzzlement.

"Okay? What now?" Asked Leslie.

Barely a second after he spoke, he suddenly vanished. Falling straight down into the water as though something had grabbed his legs and sucked him below, leaving only a stream of bubbles behind.

"Leslie??"

Atticus tried to wade over to where the man had been. But before he could reach him, he felt a tugging sensation. There was a splash, and then everything went dark.

Bentley remained on the shore, staring at where the two had just disappeared.

"Alright, I guess that's the door, then," She said to herself.

She took a step forward, preparing to follow after Atticus. But she suddenly hesitated, her foot hovering over the water. Xander and Lilith had moved to the hillside where they were snacking on pomegranate seeds, laughing together and speaking unheard words. Both looked so blissful, surrounded by by the sunshine, the flowers and the dew. Both were ignorant of the horrors that had befallen their perfect family. Both were so... so beautiful.

Bentley suddenly wanted to stay forever.

...