\u201cOk, but I\u2019m not religious.\u201d I said, out of breath from trying to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The train platform was quiet at 6AM on a Sunday. It was too early for Church people, so only those commuters unlucky enough to work on weekends were standing on the platform. I covered my ears as the train pulled up to the underground platform and it\u2019s breaks screeched like a dying mechanical beast before coming to a stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat makes you think,\u201d Luke said while hopping on the eastbound train, \u201creligion has anything to do with being an angel?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone\u2019s dropped and spilled coffee cup made a puddle just inside the train\u2019s doors, so I juke a little to the right as I board to avoid getting the sticky drink on my shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke sits down on a bench, and I sit in the bench across from him on the mostly mostly empty car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We\u2019ve been over this,\u201d he continued, \u201cthe energy of the world has been concentrated in you to do this work. No more, no less.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSee, and what\u2019s that supposed to mean, exactly\u201d I retort and laid back against the hard plastic of the seat, \u201cthe energy of the world sounds a lot like religion again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had even over this before, it\u2019s true. One of the very first questions I asked Luke was if there were angels, where was god. He dodged that, the fucker. I\u2019m certainly not what you\u2019d call a \u2019godly\u2019 man, but that doesn\u2019t seem to have disused him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what\u2019s her name?\u201d He asks me and points to a young lady sitting on the other end of the train, wearing giant headphones with her back to us. Most of her figure was covered with a baggy grey rain jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre we Santa now, with a list of who\u2019s naughty or nice?\u201d I mimed checking off an invisible clipboard in my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCut the snark, Damien, and focus for a second.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I look at the back of her head, using the ding ding DING of the trains closing doors to count off seconds in my mind, stopping when she turns to look out the window. \u201cNo idea\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Maria.\u201d As he says in a tone as though he\u2019s reminding me, not informing me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt feels like I could have known that,\u201d I say, then pull a water bottle from my jacket pocket and drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll come, don\u2019t worry, took me close to a month to see the names.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do we know the names, anyways?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTheir souls tell us, it\u2019s transferred along with the energy everyone places out into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, great, more woo woo stuff I\u2019m supposed to remember.\u201d I cap my bottle and shove it down my cargo shorts\u2019 pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce you\u2019re fully attuned to it you\u2019ll know everyone\u2019s names, and some of their emotions as well, as long as they\u2019re emitting energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was a new detail, \u201cthere are people who don\u2019t emit energy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome. Some train to, some are\u2026 well\u2026 not angels but not entirely normal either\u201d his face moves to an automatic frown, and he turns to look out of the train window, watching the droplets of rain streak the windows as the track exits the tunnel and appears back above ground once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re sure I can be an angel?\u201d I stare at my own hands for a second. \u201cI don\u2019t know if you do background checks, but I\u2019m not what anyone is going to put down as angel material.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know you, and know enough about you to think you\u2019ll do fine, especially with training.\u201d Luke sighs and looks at me blankly. \u201cYou won\u2019t be the first gay angel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I snort, \u201cI\u2019m not going to be a celibate gay or whatever, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reaches to the bridge of his nose and squeezes like he can with sheer force of will stop a headache from forming. I know that look, I saw it a lot from my mother before she kicked me out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel the train jolt as we roll over a switch in the track, the train now clicking over to the more rural line out of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou were chosen for who you are; I don\u2019t want to change that. I just want to give you the training and tools you need to be able to to do the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe job from god?\u201d I ask, we\u2019ve been down this road before, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom the universe,\u201d he looks out the window and smiles, \u201cfrom the stars, from nature, from the combination of all living things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo we don\u2019t work for anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, no, not at all,\u201d he smiles at me like he\u2019s sharing some big secret, \u201cwe work for everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t that sort of the same as working for no one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a manner, I suppose.\u201d He reached out and picked up a coffee mug that appeared from thin air and took a sip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at it, then at him, \u201cMost of what you do just looks like magic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh this is more like a little pocket universe I can store things in and pull them back out when I need them. I like more own coffee more than than Drippin\u2019s.\u201d He blew a little of the steam off the top, \u201cI make 3 cups every morning, and stash two for later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeems like a pretty powerful ability to waste on coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t offend my coffee like that.\u201d He seems to sit the coffee down in mid-air where it vanishes, \u201cHold on tight now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been around this guy enough (2 days now, which feels like an eternity) to grip the handholds on the train and brace myself. Sure enough, about two seconds later the entire train lurches and then makes a terrible squeal following the roar of tearing metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our car jumps the tracks and starts to tilt at a wild angle, sliding me against the window, I look back at the woman and she\u2019s on the floor between the seats, handing on to one of the seats, her headphones fallen off and hanging by their cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke stands the moment the train stops moving and I jump up as well, walking back to help her back to her feet, \u201cyou OK?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, just a bit shaken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke has kicked open on of the doors, and looks back to both of us, \u201clet\u2019s go, the forward cars are smoking and we don\u2019t want to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She grabs her bag that was still looped over the back of the seat and dashes for the exit. Luke helps he down to the ground and I jump down beside him. We\u2019re only a few dozen feet away from a level crossing, and when I look down the tracks I see large chunks of metal, some smoldering, along the embankment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo to the road, can call a taxi,\u201d he tells her, then looks to me. \u201cLet\u2019s go make sure everyone up front is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I see her pause, debate if she should help, then decide to follow his advice; I turn on my feet and follow Luke to the front of wreck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo you knew that was going to happen?\u201d I ask, picking my steps carefully as we made our way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKnew as in the crash?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, of course the crash!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, no; didn\u2019t know what would happen, just knew something would happen that I\u2019d be needed for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou do get that that\u2019s a frustrating answer, right?\u201d I watch him approach the next car, flipped fully on its side, passengers banging against the now skyward facing door trying to get it open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrustrating or no, it\u2019s the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He walks to the midpoint of the train car, a roof exist there being held shut by a section of the metal train rail that\u2019s detached from the spikes holding it to the ground. He reaches into his magic closet and pulls out a large crow bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBack in the day,\u201d he says shoving the crow bar between the exit and the rail, applying leverage to push the rail a few inches back down so the door can open, \u201crailway track was in sections about 20\u2019 long a stretch, and this sort of thing wouldn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He grunted and pulled more, and I grabbed the bar to help apply more pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d he pulled his weight along with mine and the metal track started to slide down. \u201cThese new tracks are all one continuous piece of welded steel. No natural break points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a repositioning of the crow bar, and another yank, the rail moved down far enough for the exit to be opened a little, and then the press of passengers inside the car applied the final leverage to allow the exit to open fully, a small stream of passengers running out and down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A small crowd was forming now, as people along the road had parked their cars then ran over to stand with those who\u2019d already left the cars. A high pitched, screaming whistle came from the next car up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEveryone back!\u201d A transit worker yelled wearing his yellow company vest, thick with his city accent. \u201cGet back as far as you can. That squeal is the battery cells releasing pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I look around, Luke isn\u2019t there anymore, I search along the side of the embankment to find him and then feel a hand on my shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he says, suddenly there again and looking at me like I\u2019m the crazy one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d you go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t go anywhere, I just went invisible, and now you are too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not breaking the magician allegations.\u201d I follow behind as he walks toward the front of the train, \u201cAre you not concerned about dying when the batteries explode?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, and you shouldn\u2019t be either, angels can\u2019t get hurt that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes that include angels with no idea what they\u2019re doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He walks to the forward most car and then, well fuck me, he just walks through the wall inside in. I see if I can follow behind him, but just hit against the side of the car. Then his arm comes back through the metal and pulls me inside along with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCase in point,\u201d I say, \u201cI don\u2019t have my ghost powers yet!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looks at me with all the disappointment of a parent watching their baby squish their birthday cake through their little hands. \u201cIf I figured it out you\u2019ll figure it out, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s moving again, looking between the seats, the ceiling is already starting to fill with a thick white spoke.
\u201cHere we go,\u201d he reaches down and picks up a young boy, looking no older than twelve, with a big ugly gash on his forehead. \u201cCrash must have knocked him out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pulls him up and looks toward the open exit near the front, fire now lapping around the edges of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s run,\u201d he says, and we do. The ground beneath my feet barely registers as I plants both feet down hard as I leap from the door and keep running up the hill of the embankment. Luke is aiming straight for a fire rescue track that\u2019s pulled off on the side of the road, and behind me I hear a large crack, then my back feels hot, then I\u2019m face down in the grass on the side of the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I look up and feel warmth down my face, and taste blood from my nose running over my lips. Luke has laid the boy down on a stretcher and one of the fire rescue EMTs is looking him over. I see Luke turn his head toward me and we lock eyes. He smiles and walks back down the embankment toward me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot bad for a first day,\u201d he offers a hand and lifts me to my feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happened to the bit about angels not getting hurt? I ask and cradle my nose.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI guess angels who don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing can be after all. Thankfully, we can fix that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cOk, but I\u2019m not religious.\u201d I said, out of breath from trying to keep up. The train platform was quiet at 6AM on a Sunday. It was too early for Church people, so only those commuters unlucky enough to work on weekends were standing on the platform. I covered my ears as the train pulled up to the underground platform and it\u2019s breaks screeched\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[3],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[4,5],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-17","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","fcn_genre-supernatural","fcn_character-damien","fcn_character-luke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffcn_genre&post=17"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffcn_fandom&post=17"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffcn_character&post=17"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pawandpen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffcn_content_warning&post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}