The Last Book Keeper

At a pub somewhere in the United Kingdom. "There are plenty of uncertainties in this word. But I'm not talking about uncertainties aren't I? I'm talking about certainties. Day, Night, Lightness, Darkness, Life, Death, Angels, Demons, Satan, God. Yes.. All real, and.. and inevitable I must say. What says you, if I told you I am an angel, Give me 3 more shots of whiskey bobby boy" the old man lifting his three crooked and old fingers. Bob, the bartender looked at the old patron and shook his head. "You've had enough pops, talking about these supernatural things again". "You may be wondering why an all-powerful angel is here in the pub with you, hoarding drinks? It's because I'm a mediator" To whom are you mediating to?" "Shhhh... quiet. My job is of none of your concern, you're just a sack of meat that will perish". "Alright, relax pops, or you'll get a heart attack". "Nah, Nah, My job is to look for descendants, and aid them to make amends for their blood lineage's mistakes. I'm a professional, listen carefully," said the drunken old man. "Gadreel, Chief of the angels of the Book of life had one simple job. This cool angel had it all and was tasked to scribble down all the good people that would enter God's heaven. But, what did he do? He let Lucifer, or Satan as you know him to mess with his brittle mind". "Isn't Gadeel one of the Watchers?" "Who cares? the only thing that matters is that he failed. He's one of the fallen ones. I'll give it to Luci, being the most favourite and expected highers form of an angel, and would still manage to f**k it up! Excuse my language, this frail body is pretty hard to control, and all the vices that go with it. Ah yes, Where did we stop? Gadreel was tempted by Luci using a beautiful woman. The poor angel had no chance to decline such beauty. And with Luci's persisting role Gadreel was doomed. Fast forward, God found out, banished Gadreel from his role, along with the other hundreds of thousands of other angels that Luci duped. So, here I am, assigned by God to give these messed up eagles one more chance for redemption. Every once a billion years we mediators will be sent here on Earth to fix this tangled mixed up, these fallen ones created". "Cool story pops, What name do you go by then? Your angel name?". "Call me Mr Barnes" The bell rang signals the last call for drinks. "Mr Barnes, last call. It's 5 am. Go home you old bugger" teased the bartender impressed with the endurance of the old man. "Just keep 'em coming, you big baby!" said the old man. "I am part of a very elite group of angels, chosen by God himself, to redeem his lost angels". Mr Barnes paused and released an old man wheezing cough. The people next to him at the bar gave a disgusted look, their body moving away from their location. "What? You never heard an old man's cough before?". Mr Barnes pulled out a piece of a long paper, receipts that were taped together to form a long scroll. It had names on them. "The first day of the job commenced today, a billion years have passed. I need to go through the names, Let's start on top of the list then. Mr Barnes took out his eyeglasses, rubbed his handkerchief on the lenses and put it on smugly in his old face. Uno Juez. A troubled youth. Grew up with his grandparents in Girona. Both parents are criminals. Typical. Both are in jail. Isn't that a wonderful surprise! School, not the habitat for this type of creature, not the average kid. Of Course, he isn't. He's a descendent of the fallen angels. A hustler. He got himself into a world of trouble, landing him to juvenile prison. Mr Barnes takes out pieces of crumpled paper from his pockets and opens them up. Pieces of drawings of cartoon characters, but well-drawn and real lifelike. The kid has talent. Yeah, his talent will cost him his stupidity and ignorance. Closing time! The old man walks out of the pub, streets damp and wet. "Ugly weather, always" he scoffs. "Where are you headed to pops?" asked one of the men in the pub, the drinking buddy. "Las Ramblas" he answered drunk. "Alright, you took care, pops," said the man laughing at the old drunk. When he looked back to where Mr. Barnes was standing. The old man disappeared into thin air. Las Ramblas, Barcelona. 6am Shops and diners were opening. A group of people, locals and tourists alike were drawn to the ambience of this beautiful spot. Mr Barnes was sitting comfortably on the park's metal bench, waiting for Uno Juez and his gang of pickpockets to perform their daily routine. Victimizing tourists around the world, stealing any valuables they can get hold on to. Mr Barnes took another piece of paper out from his pocket, it read. Weakness: Money, Vices, Women "Typical," he thought as he slipped the crumpled paper back into his coat's pocket. The old man lifted his index finger and with a wave of his hand, by the corner came out the most beautiful woman. Men nearby began to take notice and gave a second look, admiring her curvaceous body in a very revealing tight gym suit, showing off her large bosom. "Cup size D would suffice for these wankers," Mr. Barnes thought. The old man then eyes his target walking out in his sight. "Here he comes" he thought. Uno Juez was standing next to a metal lamp post. The con man waiting for his gang of pickpockets to bring him snatched valuables from poor victims. They would discreetly hand him wallets, watches, pieces of jewelry, cash and all sorts of stolen goods. The old man reviews the long receipt mumbling the details silently. Uno, who came from the direct lineage of Gadreel , have built himself a reputation of conning people, with the forte of hustling people with his smooth talks, swindling people of their money. Uno who learned the craft have also created a small group of thieves in which he supervises, ordering them to roam the streets for unsuspecting victims. Uno signals to one of his pickpockets, Erene, a once homeless girl turned to be one of his skilled thief to approach the oncoming super attractive jogger. Uno had taught Erene the craft of pickpocket he learned on his own growing up in the streets. He signals with a short nod for her to get the beautiful joggers wallet in which Erene nod back to confirm. She easily slips her tiny hands into the pocket and takes out her wallet as the beautiful jogger passes by. "She smells good, just your type". She hands the leader the wallet, smiling to his face. Uno grabs the wallet and shoos her away to get more wallets. Looking over the stolen wallet, he pulls out her identification and reads the address immediately. Uno being an attractive man as he is, also has a way with the ladies, a known lady's man. This trait goes as second nature to his con-man personality. Mr Barnes watches nearby and perceives that Uno will pay a visit to his apparition of the beautiful lady, a smirk on his face indicates his thriumpant plan. "Worm bait for the stupid big fish" he said. The old man stood up from the bench and walked away unnoticed from the swarm of people. It was almost evening and the sun was about to set, Uno ordered his gang to meet him back to their abandoned warehouse apartment. They even protested that they would do some "Overtime" since there were still a lot of tourist around the area, to get more money. But Uno said he wouldn't advice for them today as he saw more civilian police surveying the area. After a few sessions of pickpocketing, the leader of the small group of thieves knew they had enough and raked in quite a profit. They arrived at the abandoned warehouse, a central place they usually gather to distribute their "profits". A large wooden table stood in the middle of the room, it was empty at first but they knew that eventually it will overflow with stolen goods. The twins Daniel and Denver entered the empty warehouse first, pouring in their contributions, three purses and four wallets. Uno nodded in confirmation. "Next". Erene threw four wallets and four phones on the table. "Five wallets total actually, you already have the one". It was Uno who looked at the final person to lay out his catch, the young man took out seven gold necklaces, five silver bracelets, and a diamond earring. "Jared!" the group wailed with excitement. "Well done" Uno grabbed a bundle of cash and threw them their payments. "one thousand seven hundred Euros". They caught them and looked at the bundle that was all in hundreds. "See you tomorrow" Uno ordered, as the group left, not entirely satisfied with the profit for that day. "Don't be greedy, tomorrow is a big day. More tourists are coming" the leader said. The gang left, leaving Uno alone in the warehouse. A warehouse that he turned to his own home for the last years or so. "Five pm, need to freshen up" he thought, climbing up the metal spiral staircase leading to his room. He took a quick bath and after finishing cleaning himself, he prepared to pick out his best suit, "This should set the mood" he thought. Uno looked at his phone and searched the address written on the identification card. 'Ms. Serenity Grant, well will you look at that, you're practically a neighbor". Uno didn't take the car as the address was a few minutes away from his place. He finally reached a dark and damped street and the exact building. "4A" he pressed on the buzzer doorbell. A voice from the intercom was heard. "¿Quién es?" said the voice with the non-Spanish accent. "Hi, Is this Ms. Serenity Grant?". "Yes, this is she. How may I help you?" asked the voice. "I'm Max, I found your wallet near Ciutadella Park. Did you happen to visit the park earlier this morning?" he asked, lying. "Oh my, Yes, I didn't go to the park though, but I jogged through Las Ramblas. Glad you've found it! I'll be right down. Thank you so much!" said the voice. Within a few seconds, the feminine voice bore a beautiful face that was opening the door. She opened it and approached Uno with a welcoming smile. Uno approached the attractive woman wearing a smile on his face as well when he noticed an old man in the back staring awkwardly at him. He appeared out of nowhere. Uno saw the old man shook his head and entered the building through the door, he was holding a long piece of paper, some sort of receipts that were taped together to form a very long scroll. "¡Que extraño," thought Uno. The old man scoffs at him, and Uno swore that the diss was directly for him. "Bring him up" shouted the old man, with his croaky husky voice. Uno looked at the attractive woman in the eyes and she was smiling bearing her white teeth through her plump pink lips. Uno began to get confused, realizing that the order was for the woman to ask him up. "Is that your grandpapa?" he asked finally. The attractive woman answered instantly, "No, Come on up" she said. Uno handed her the wallet silently and she simply took it and thanked him. He followed her going up the stairs going to her room. "This is weird and interesting at the same time," he thought. The woman led him into the room where he saw the old man sitting on the couch with his back to the door and facing the television, watching a game show, Pasapalabra. "Close the door on your way in". Uno heard the old man who seemed to have a foreign accent "Maybe Russian" he thought. "Excuse me, I was here to give the wallet that I found in the park to Ms. Grant, I think I'll be on my way" disappointed with his plans spoilt by the old man. "Quit the Bullshit!, We all know what you needed" said the old man while still watching television. "Take a f*****g seat" ordered the old man. "Listen, you old fool, Do you want to get beaten up in your own home? I suggest you get to know who you're talking to first". "Yes, I do know. I'm speaking to a f*****g t**t, Max "Uno" Juez" replied the old man. Uno was dumbfounded for a second but realized Serenity would have told him his name. "Born on the 7th of July, 1984, from Veronika and Jorge Juez. Your abuelos took care of you, raised you, but you ended up like your parents somehow. Well, almost because you're not locked up yet. You don't have tattoos because you're afraid of needles, but you love to draw, pretending your drawings are tattoos. You've been a thief since the age of 6 and gradually excelled yourself, blossoming into a full-blown con-man, sparing no crime". Uno paused and examined the old man. "Bien, but even little kids in the streets know who I am". The old man grabbed the remote controller of the television to turn it off. He then took out crumpled pieces of papers from his pockets. He proceeded to uncrumple them on the wooden table, flattening them out. Uno leaned over the table to a look at the content of the wrinkled papers when the old man signaled for Uno to stop. The old man took out a cigarette, lit it and puffed, blowing smoke in the air, filling up the room. "Now, you can look". Uno gave a scornful look and looked at the papers. He saw his old drawings. Characters he had created during his time in juvenile prison, about 10 years ago. "I made maybe hundred of thousands of these. Are you a collector of drawings?" joked Uno, mocking the old man. "I know, the other department had to fight hard to contain these abominations you've created. No thanks to you," said the old man still puffing his Salem. Uno distraught and deeply confused, gave the old man a frustrated look. "What the hell are you talking about?". The old man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I hate explaining these things," he sighed. "Explain what," Uno thought. The old man took another piece of paper and a pencil from his pocket. He handed them to Uno who was still clogged with questions. The old man placed the paper and pencil on the table, "See this cigarette? Draw something and make this cigarette a living creature". Uno looked at him like he was a crazy person. "What?" "Draw and write, like what you did with your drawings, make this cigarette a living creature". Uno looked at his drawings laying across the wooden short table. It was a very long time ever since he drew something. He remembers the characters he created in his prison cell, every time he felt lonely, angry, frustrated, he would create characters on pieces of paper. Three years in juvenile gave him all the time to draw everything he thought of. He proceeded to create the cigarette into a living creature as per the old man's instructions. "This is stupid," he thought. He began to sketch a cartoon-like image of the cigarette. Uno placed the pencil down, stating that he had finished the drawing. The old man lifted the paper to his face and looked at the cigarette placed on the ashtray. Uno followed his gaze. To his shock, Uno saw the cigarette turning, morphing exactly like his drawing on the piece of paper. The cigarette stick began to blow flames from its mouth, like a dragon breathing out flames. Uno terrified tried to stomp out the cigarette, but it gritted out its sharp teeth, exactly like the drawing. It was about to attack Uno when suddenly the old man immediately burnt the paper drawing of the cigarette. The cigarette then burnt instantly, disappearing into ashes. Uno was mortified of what he saw. The cigarette came to life and tried to attack him. "You made the cigarette a monster, and a monster it became". Uno was still in a state of disbelief, he sat down on the sofa with a loud thump... The old man took out another piece of paper and began to read, his old croaky voice uninterested. "You are the descendent of Gadreel, the watchers of the book of life but were tricked by the Evil one". "God has given your lineage a chance per a billion years to redeem yourself" "You have this power to create things because your ancestor Gadreel was given the task to write on the book of life itself". "All the previous descendants have failed, and it's now your turn. If you redeem your lineage, God will draw out your ancestral lineage to His council. I don't do the whole process of explanations, that's a different department. I'm just a mediator" the old man irritated, like he has been doing this all the time. He slipped the piece of paper back into his pocket. "I made that script so that I wouldn't need to memorize it" the old man said. Uno was still at daze and was still trying to contemplate what had happened in front of him. "Was he going crazy? Possessed by a demon?". When suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his left cheek. It was a slap from the old man. "Wake up! This is real. Gather yourself, I don't have the exact numbers of creations you've made but you need to stop them before they destroy everything". Uno got up from the sofa and ran outside horrified. His mind was racing and he couldn't think straight. When suddenly he felt a buzz on his phone. A message. "Uno, the Second and Third lineages descendants have found out you exist now, the same I found out. They are out to get you. At this moment you are not safe. Find a place to hide, or better yet, wait for Mr. Barnes. He will find you. You'll know it's him because he's a handful of a character. You might say he's a bit of a codger, but he's there to help us. I will get in contact with you as soon as I can. I'm sorry I only found you now. ~ Five".