Gabriel's Army

I lay face first on the cold concrete while searing pain began rippling down my spine. Waves of light emanating from around me. I knew I had died. I wondered to myself if this was hell. I laid there in the fetal position thinking of all the wrong and horrible things I had done in my lifetime. I may have let my anger get the best of my imagination, but I don’t remember doing anything horribly bad. Sure I may have pulled a girls hair in high school. Maybe squashed a insect that was doing nothing other than being within inches of me. I guess I am not an overly religious person. I was married in the church, and attended during the important holidays and still paid my dues. For a second, I managed to forget about the waves of pain that seemed to start in the center of my chest and now circulated throughout my body. I tried to push my face down closer to the concrete floor. It gave me a little bit of coldness against the burning sensation of the pain. As it began to slowly recede I felt a soft blanket of fabric surround me. Did I die in a burning house? No. This wasn’t right. I moved the arm covering the left side of my face and brought it down to my chest. No bullet holes. I opened up my eyes and all I saw was blinding white all around me. I looked down at what would have been my favorite pink ruffled tank top, and noticed I was wearing a soft silky off-white gown. Was it a hospital gown? There was an odd blanket of a pristine white color the filled the small space with light. When I came to the conclusion that I was in fact in one piece, I started to push myself up away from the concrete. Almost instantly the sheet of fabric seemed to fall down around me. The brightness of my surroundings made me avert my eyes back down to the gray concrete flooring. Marble. The floor was not made up of concrete but it was white marble. I noticed the fabric had not fallen to the ground but disappeared. I found a c***k in the marble and followed it up to a step. Knowing that my eyes had adjusted to the brightness I lifted them to see three thrones side by side. The largest in the middle, with smaller a one on either side. The middle throne was enormous, as big as the statue of Abraham Lincoln in D.C., and the two on either side seem to be the size of a Smart Car. Only the smaller throne to the right had an occupant in it, a man with pearlescent skin and a tan colored cape draped down his back. His dark chestnut hair stood out and emphasized his green eyes that seemed to penetrate right to my soul. He sat forward in the chair, leaning on his right knee. Hands clasped together looking relaxed and patient, but obviously waiting for something. I stood there transfixed by his features. He must have grown impatient as he rose from the throne and started walking towards me. Something propelled me to move closer, but when I reached the first of seven steps up to the platform I was not able to move any more. The air around the man that walked forward took my breath away. I found myself kneeling before him instinctually. I felt that same soft blanket fall over my shoulders. Was I also wearing a cape? I glanced down and saw feathers that sent sparkles into the air. I reached out with my hand and ran my fingers over them. They were soft, and reminded me of a the white down comforter from my bed… as I ran my hands through the feathers they shimmered every color I grew to love growing up. They took on an iridescent glow that hinted at every color of the rainbow. in the white glow of the room, it first shown a pale pink color that changed red which morphed with blue to make purple. From purple it changed to emerald on to a indigo blue. Finally, to a black so dark that it gave you pause, all the while shimmering and translucent, transfixing my gaze. The chill down my back gave me pause. These wings were apart of me. Every feeling of joy and hope, pride and fear i ever felt, i could feel as my fingers ran along the wings. memories flooded to me. those of my mother smiling. of my father laughing. I suddenly grew fearful of these memories. what had happened. would i be missed? would anyone care that i was gone? As suddenly as these thoughts popped into my head there was a hand on my shoulder. How long had not noticed the man standing there; waiting for my internal struggle to conclude? His touch sent my wings to spread out in a defensive measure. He removed his hand from my shoulder and took a step back. He looked surprised, and for the first time he wasn’t looking at me but at my wings. I felt different at that point. I looked over my shoulder at the enormity of the pair of wings that were now attached to me. This must have been what the pain was all about. I felt a whoosh of air against my face. When I turned back I saw the man in front of me on the landing [with the 3 chairs? yes] with his own wings outstretched. He looked to have a 6 foot wingspan that was light tan in color. “You’ll learn how to change the color of the feathers soon. Do you have any questions? Are you recovered from the transformation? I need to take you to Michael if you are recovered.” Katelyn looked stunned. “I have wings?” Sounding slightly irritated Jehoel replied, “yes. and they are blinding so do you mind putting them down?” “How do I do that?” A surge of uncertainty and freight passed through Katelyn that made her wings extend even farther. Jehoel noticed the slight dilation of her pupils and walked back towards her. His wings shook slightly and then folded nicely along the curvature of his back with a sound that reminded her of a breeze through the trees in the park where she last saw her sister. Kara. “Oh my god, Kara, she was probably the one who found me” her panic began to fill her again. Jehoel put his hands on her shoulders carefully, and looked in her eyes. “You need to be calm. They react to your emotions initially. After you have been trained they will respond with your thought process. They must view me as a threat, but I am not here to hurt you. I am only trying to guide you.” Katelyn took a deep breath and pushed all of the thoughts and emotions to the back of her head. She’ll have to dwell on them later. There was another whoosh of air not as subtle as this man...angel? she would figure that out later. Hers made a sound of rushing tidal waves. She looked at him slightly embarrassed at the sound, and her wings folded back down to envelope her back. The second they were put away Jehoel started walking away. She looked at him briefly and noticed he didn’t walk, but floated above the ground. Katelyn had to run to keep up with him. “Is the fact that you’re floating on air going to be something that I learn later?” Jehoel did not respond but instead snickered, and seemed to drop the couple of inches to the ground that Katelyn was walking on. “So whats your name?” she asked as she trailed the man escorting her to Michael..the “Michael” she thought. “Jehoel.” he motioned for her to move faster. “Jehoel as in the Archangel Michael’s right hand man?!” She laughed to herself. “Yup… I am definitely dead, or losing my mind.” They walked the rest of the way in silence. Katelyn found herself looking for anything that would break up the white brightness of everything. The walls and flooring were made up of pure white marble. She found a light gray veining in the wall as they walked and ran her finger over it. She focused on the gray veining and watching it swirl underneath her fingertips. Katelyn absorbed herself in the fluid veining to the point of almost walking directly into Jehoel. He was watching her while he was leaning against a steel door admiring the hardened curiosity in her eyes. “Are you ready to meet Metatron and your Archangels?” Katelyn could not gather her voice to answer. She knew at that point that she was crazy. How else can she explain the sparkly wings, handsome angel in front of her, and a steel door that once it opened, she would find herself in the presence of Archangels that have fought against the Devil himself. The door opened with a loud metallic clang. Jehoel held out his hand to help guide Katelyn. She eyed it suspiciously as if it wasn’t real, but after looking through the doorway and eyeing the couple steps to the bottom she decided to take it. He led her down a narrow set of stairs to what looked to be a garden. She dropped his hand as soon as her foot set on solid ground. Jehoel took the lead and led her down a narrow path lined with yellow roses to the center of the Garden. They entered a clearing in the middle and there stood two men poised facing eachother with crystallized wings that hung lazily on their backs. Both of them staring at each other but neither one talking. Jehoel stopped her near the outer edge and waited patiently. In front of her stood two stockily built males that dwarfed Jehoel in both height and girth. Both stood at 7 feet tall with wings sweeping the ground trailing behind them. Jehoel leaned into Katelyn and whispered. “You are in luck, it looks like just Michael and Gabriel are here at the moment.” Katelyn let go the breath of air she was holding in her lungs. If she had to guess their wingspan would be at minimum 9 feet across at full extension. On the right was a blonde haired man with fair skin, but obvious battle scars that contrasted to his darkened skin. The other with black hair and brown eyes that must have felt Katelyn’s eyes appraise him. Although, it was the blonde man that spoke. “Thank you Jehoel for watching over her until she was ready.” Jehoel nodded and stepped back outside the circle. “Please Katelyn, join Gabriel and myself.” He motioned for her to step forward. “You must have many questions. Although I am sure we do not have time for all of them we maybe able to address the more important ones. Please, let us talk.” Michael guided her to a backless bench made of stone. The two sat down while Gabriel chose to stand and complete their small circle. Gabriel seemed to tower over the them in a protective manner. “I think i'm going crazy” she said. the fight or flight response becoming overwhelming in the pit of her stomach again. "You do know that insanity is relative? It depends on who has who locked in what cage" Gabriel smiled at her like he was so proud at how philosophical his statement was. “That was very insightful. You know, Ray Bradbury must be very proud that an angel quoted him” “busted” Jehoel’s voice carried over from the background. Katelyn had almost forgotten that he was still standing near the walkway. “Well its true” Gabriel just shrugged “It’s hard to be insightful all the time when you're as old as the universe.” “That gives ‘older than dirt’ a whole new meaning” Katelyn said laughing. her overwhelming desire of running away in panic almost gone. What was it with these men she thought to herself. They all seem to have a calming effect on her that was slightly unsettling. “Is this Heaven?” “No” “Does God sit in the big chair?” “No” “Is it his chair?” She nods towards Gabriel who chuckled. “No” “Am I still human?” “No” “So is this normal? Does everyone who dies become an angel?” “No” Michael said in a very stern and matter of fact way. “Does everyone who becomes an angel get this one on one treatment? I’m guessing no.” Katelyn asked the question even though she answered it. She knew that this situation was different. “No” again. “Then why am I getting it?” beginning to feel annoyed, her wings began to turn green “I am not going to ask any more questions until I start getting more than a one syllable answer.” “There is something wrong about how you died, in fact. We were curious, and was hoping to talk with you.” said Michael in a very bored tone of voice. “What do you mean about how I died?” “As in you weren't suppose to.” Gabriel interrupted. He noticed her wings that were changing color and rising from her shoulders with the ire she felt for Michael being very...unresponsive or elaborative regarding her questions. He could almost feel the frustration rolling off of her. Katelyn gave her full attention to Michael now, feeling nothing but anger toward the angel. She did not care that he was a warrior. “What do you mean I wasn't supposed to die? You mean this is all a mistake?” she motioned towards herself and her wings. Gabriel could sense the growing frustration between the two and stepped between her and Michael. Surprisingly he had a calming effect on Katelyn and he watched her wings settled back to her shoulders. The threatening feeling leaving her body, though the feathers still vibrated through a color scheme of green. Gabriel gave a warning looking to Michael. “Well, the thing is. You were supposed to live a bit longer...to 85 to be exact.” Michael said sheepishly “What? Is my life predestined? Is everyones?” Her wings were now shimmering between a deep midnight blue to a stunning dark purple. “The man you chased (who killed you?), we are led to believe that it was a fallen, hunting innocence.” Katelyn's eyes went out of focus. Chelsee.