Heaven, Hell, and the Space Between - Scene 8
Clean, properly dressed, and equipped with a new credit card, Soleil was ready for anything. Anything except what Araven had proposed.
“You’re being hunted,” the angel had explained. “All-out war is coming and you are the key to defeating the Heavens. Satan knows you’ve fallen, he knows you’re here. You’ve got to leave.”
“Leave and go where?” Soleil had asked.
The angel and the fallen had stared at each other. “I can’t,” Soleil said.
“You have to. There isn’t anyone else to take care of you.”
Soleil was incredulous. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me!” They both knew that was a lie. Soleil couldn’t fight demons in vis human form, ve needed somewhere safe to figure out how to be a human.
Araven chose not to point that out. Ve knew ve couldn’t force Soleil to do anything ve didn’t want. So instead, Araven took ver to the bus station, hugged vis friend goodbye, and put the fallen angel on a bus heading North. Away from the next big battle, towards the wreckage of the last one.
“Keep moving, and be careful,” Araven pleaded.
Soleil smiled. “I will be.”
Araven nodded and turned to go.
Soleil almost called ver back. Almost asked if God was still watching, almost asked if Araven could find out what ve had to do to be welcomed back into Heaven. Almost. A painful lump lodged itself in Soleil’s throat, and ve said nothing at all as Araven disappeared into the crowd. Soleil was, once again, alone.
The bus was almost empty, and Soleil sat in the very back, vis face pressed against the glass of the window, staring unseeingly as the world raced by. Despite refusing to go to Jack for help, Soleil still longed to see him. “I miss you,” Soleil whispered, watching vis breath fog up the glass. Ve wished ve could leap into the sky and fly to see vis lost love. Wished ve could hug him and tell him ve was sorry and that ve loved him. But that couldn’t happen. Absently, Soleil rubbed the scars on vis back and wondered if vis heart was as scarred as vis skin.