[FFML] [ORIG] Angel Dawn, Chapter Five

[Henry Cobb]

[ORIG] Angel Dawn, Chapter Five
By Henry J. Cobb, all rights reserved.

I think that the characters and situations presented here are original, but
I owe a heavy debt to my influences.  This chapter should be considered to
be PG-13 level for adult situations, in addition to the usual blasphemy.

Chapter Five: "Counter Revelationary Operations"

Thursday afternoon Sadako Tanikuro came by after school and I explained the
problem that had kept me out of school for the past two days.

"This is your first ever?"

"This body was created less than a month ago," I carried the snacks over to
the dining room table.

"Even when I watch you I still don't get how you make these things," She
held up one of the chips.

"Uh, it's magic?"

We both laughed, then talked about feminine issues until Mr. Himoto
returned.

On Friday I returned to school.  My bleeding had mostly subsided and the
condition didn't seem to hamper my activities that much.

I walked to school with Sadako, who hadn't seen the demon, "Isn't there
anyway to spot demons, like a crystal or something to look through?"

"Not that I have with me.  That demon was able to spot me so easily and now
I don't have a clue where he could be."

"That's it!"

I stopped and turned to Sadako, "What?"

"The demon knows who you are, but perhaps he doesn't know that I'm working
with you."

"I guess.  How does that help?"

"I'll step back and watch for people who are watching you.  How long has
the demon been here?"

"I don't know."

"Have they been here for more than a decade?"

"I doubt that."

"Well I've known most of the students for at least that long so I'll be on
the watch out for the ones who treat you differently."

"That assumes that the demon has taken the form of one of the students
instead of one of the teachers.  And he could have messed with your
memories so you'd remember him as always being that way."

"I think I've got an out for the memory thing, but for now walk into school
and I'll watch you and keep an eye for people who have an eye out for you
then after school follow me to my house and we'll double check my
memories."

I left Sadako at the corner just before school and walked in by myself,
trying not to stare at each person I passed.

At lunch I sat at a small table by myself, within clear view of Sadako, who
sat in a corner.

One of the boys from my class put his tray next to mine, "Mind if I sit
here?"

I took a moment to review my memories.  He had never spoken to me before,
"Hello Mr. Takehoso."

"Oh come on Dawn, we're classmates.  Call me Kiyoshi."

"Kiyoshi, don't you usually sit with the other boys?"

"You looked so lonely here by yourself.  I know what you need."

"You do?"  I reached out and put my hand over his, felt that he was human
and withdrew.

He looked down at his hand and then back to my eyes, "You don't have any
school activities after our half day of classes on Saturday do you?"

"No."

"Good, I'll show you what you've been missing tomorrow afternoon then."

He didn't elaborate on the point further and I concluded that if he was
aware of my quest then he would know that in the cafeteria we could be
under observation.

I followed Sadako to her house after classes.

She opened the door for me and closed it after me, "What was that with
Takehoso at lunch?"

"He seems to have a lead and will show me tomorrow after classes."

"Well Dawn, he's - is he the demon?"

"No, he's human."

"Just be careful with him."

"I'm always careful with humans.  You're all so fragile."

"Heh.  I guess you're not a helpless little girl.  Come on and let's test
my memory."

We went to her room and she had me quiz her about our classmates.  Most of
them she remembered from many years back and was able to pull out
photographs or other evidence that I could verify the age of.

Finally she went over the list on a notebook while lying on her bed,
"There's only four students in our one class that I remember having moved
here in the last two years or so and the rest check out.  Ours was the only
class that was there when the demon acted?"

"Yes," I sat at her desk and looked again at the photos and yearbooks we
had gone over.

"So let's check out those four.  Any idea why a demon would want to move to
our small town?"

"How many towns are there of this size on Earth?"

"There's got to be thousands."

"Hakumei's ghost."

"Yeah, ghosts aren't that common are they?"

"Most human spirits don't stay on Earth anywhere near that long."

"Oh, what happens to them?"

"Demons or angels take them away to their final destinations."

"Then why didn't the demon just take her away?"

"I don't know."

That evening when I slept I found myself in a dream sitting on a hillside.

"What's that?" Tokujiro was sitting next to me and pointed at my head.

I reached up and took off the crown of roses I had weaved in Ana's dream.
As I touched it I read it as an Artifact of Flora, "A gift from my aunt," I
put it back on my head, "Speaking of which," I concentrated for a moment
and pulled out a blanket and a basket.  I spread out the blanket and put
the basket on it, "Care for lunch?"

"Why are you being so nice after what I did?"

"Will you attack other humans?"

"No way!"

"Then it's a celebration for my getting part of my job right,"  I took out
various items from the basket and put the dishes on the blanket.

"Is that all this is for you, a job?  What are you, some sort of parole
officer?"

Parole?  Another strange term I'd need to look up, "I take my
responsibilities seriously, but I do care for you,"  I placed my left hand
on his right.

He turned his hand over and pulled back on my hand to draw me to him.

Just before our faces met I held up an item to his open mouth.

He opened his eyes as he chewed on the item, "What is it?"

"I don't know."

The next morning we had our usual Saturday half day of classes then instead
of going home, I waited for Kiyoshi to pull up.

I noticed that Sadako was watching from a distance, but I didn't do more
than glance in her direction before walking to Kiyoshi's car.

He watched me buckle up then pulled away, "How about lunch first?"

"That's up to you."

"Sure, I'm paying today."

We went to a restaurant I hadn't been to before.  A man came to our table
to take our order and I deferred to Kiyoshi's choices for what to eat as I
didn't recognize any of the options.  Were they in yet another human
language?

Then we went to see a movie and I studied it carefully, but failed to find
any clues.  I risked a glance around the theater after the movie ended, but
didn't spot anybody else from the school or the restaurant.

"Now for someplace really special," Kiyoshi extended a hand in a gesture I
had seen of helping somebody to their feet.  I didn't need the assistance,
especially as I was far stronger than my human form would suggest, but I
accepted the gesture.

We drove for a while and I finally decided that Kiyoshi's plan must be to
assure that we had not been followed before revealing his suspicions.

Kiyoshi stopped the car.  I looked around.  It was the same wooded spot
Tokujiro had first dreamed of taking me too.

Kiyoshi put his left arm around my shoulders, "So Dawn, what do you think
of the view?"

I felt it, a soul in mortal peril, but not nearby.  I needed to leave my
body in a safe place so I could go search for it, "I have to go home right
now!"

"Now?"

"Yes now," I didn't know how long the search would take and I couldn't ask
Kiyoshi to look after my body for an extended period.

"Okay, be that way," He keep his eyes on the road all the way back to
Mr. Himoto's house then broke his silence as we pulled to a stop, "There."

I unfastened my seatbelt then stopped.  What if the demon had arranged to
threaten one of the souls I was looking after so that he could isolate
Kiyoshi?  There was no time to delay.  I leaned over, grabbed his head in
both hands and pressed my lips to his.  I forced my tongue in to feel at
his and tasted deeply of his soul.  He slumped down into his seat as I
released him and got out of his car.

I watched him drive unsteadily off then turned to follow the call I heard.

Mr. Himoto was waiting by the door, but I walked past him then said over my
shoulder, "I'm in a rush.  I'll explain in the morning."

I stripped off my shoes and clothes then lay down in my bed in only my
underwear.  I closed my physical eyes and opened my spiritual eyes onto the
field of dreams.  As usual I was much nearer the black tower than the white
one.  I looked around for the soul that had drawn me, but I was nowhere
near it.

Then I felt it, a death.  I was too late.  Nothing to be done now but
collect the soul.  I followed the feeling towards the soul and found her
near the white tower.  It was the little sick girl I had met at church
almost a week ago.

"So soon?"  I reached for her hand.

"I'm sorry Miss Dawn, I tried to hang on for as long as I could."

"Did you say your goodbyes?"

"Yes,"  She looked at two nearby dream bubbles.

"You waited for your parents to fall asleep?"

She nodded.

"Then please don't haunt their dreams.  It's not healthy.  Let's go," I
picked up her soul in my arms then extended my wings of fire and flew the
short distance to the white tower.  "Go on in, they're waiting for you,"  I
put her down in front of the door.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"No, I have a job to do on Earth.  I'll see you soon in Heaven."

The door opened at her slightest touch and I waited until she was safely
inside before turning away.

The next morning the parents of the soul I had escorted the previous night
walked slowly into the church.

I ran up and hugged them both, "Congratulations!"

"What?"  The man looked at me with deeply rimmed eyes.

"Your daughter was accepted.  I took her to the gates myself."

"Oh,"  He shrugged out of my grip and put an arm out to steady his wife,
who was crying so hard that she couldn't see her way.

I watched as they shuffled over to their seats then sat down next to
Mr. Himoto, "Why aren't they happy?"

"I think this is all a bit sudden for them."

A much larger crowd entered the church than the previous week and there
weren't enough seats for all of them.  Even Mr. Himoto gave up his seat to
an old woman and he stood with the crowd in the back.

"You're the one,"  She asked me, "Aren't you dearie?"

I was about to answer, but then the priest stepped up to the podium.

"It's clear that you're not here to listen to me," He beckoned to me, "So
Dawn, if you could?"

I walked up to the podium and saw that this time there was a short stool I
could stand on so I could see over it, "Hello everybody."

"Good morning Dawn."

"I really don't know what to say.  I'm not much of a public speaker."

A boy held up his hand then spoke as I pointed to him, "Are you really an
angel?"

"I'd appreciate it if that didn't get out.  I'm not here to be an example
for Humanity.  I have a small task to do and I'll leave the rest to
Father," I pointed at a young girl who had raised her hand, "Yes?"

"Do dogs go to heaven?"

"All living things have souls, but most don't cross the threshold.  Even
human souls aren't complex enough to survive the loss of their bodies until
somewhere around birth.  As for the rest, they mostly just fade back into
the background and get recycled.  I didn't see any dogs in Heaven, but I
met a few modern apes there and even one creature that had lived before
mankind had evolved away from the apes.  There could be some dogs in
Heaven, but I didn't look everywhere.  It's a really big place," I pointed
to another girl.

"Do babies who go to Heaven stay babies forever?"

"No, we raise them there.  They have a different perspective because all
they've known is Heaven, but they welcome the rest of their families as
they join them and morn those who don't.  The saddest souls in Heaven are
those babies whose mothers have killed themselves or otherwise been lost to
Hell,"  I pointed to another girl of around my age.

"Why is suicide always, why does it take you to Hell?"

"As it says here," I flipped through the bible that was placed there,
translating between the Portuguese version I had read and this Japanese one
to find the right spot, "Thou shall not kill.  That doesn't apply
everywhere, for example for souls below the threshold.  Don't feel bad
about eating vegetables or most animals.  But you have to have a really
pressing reason to cut Father's Judgment short on a human, ape, dolphin or
whale.  There's almost always another way.  Yes?"

"Whales?"

"Yes.  Wonderful creatures.  There's so many in Heaven and I've visited
their dreams in the seas.  Some of them say that they've been deliberately
hunted by humans, but they know of Father's plans and so turn the other
flank.  I'm proud to say that we've lost very few of them to Hell."

A dozen people rose from their seats or turned from the standing crowd and
left the church.

I pondered what I had said wrong and waited for the crowd to readjust then
pointed to a woman a few years older than myself, "Yes?"

"Is it a sin to have an abortion?"

"What's that?"

"It's when a woman has a baby taken from her body before it can survive on
its own."

"Why would she do that?"

"When she can't take care of a baby by herself!"  She stood with fists
clenched.

"Human bodies start as single cells and their souls start out about that
complex.  For the first two thirds of their development they are clearly
well short of the threshold.  Beyond that be very careful with them and
please ask for help."

"Thank you,"  She sat back down.

"If you can be a good parent, if you can devote the time, resources and
love then by all means have children and raise them well.  While there are
plenty of orphans who have made it to Heaven, not having two devoted
parents is the first step on many souls' road to Hell.  Yes?"

"Where's God?"  A young boy asked.

"That's a very good question.  I came prepared for it," I pulled a balloon
and a felt tip marker out of my purse.  I blew up the balloon a little ways
and drew some dots evenly around its outside, "This is your galaxy," I
pointed to one of the dots and then blew some more air into the balloon and
turned it around by the stem to show the dots, "As you know, the Universe
is expanding so all of the galaxies are moving away from each other, but
none of them are at the center of the Universe.  Actually the Universe is a
three dimensional surface, four counting time, instead of two.  So where is
God?  Father is the stuff inside the balloon."

Another boy asked, "If God is so big then where's Heaven?"

"God is Heaven.  He's everywhere there and closer here than the next atom
over."

"Where's Hell?"  The same boy continued.

"Hell is outside the balloon."

"What's outside Hell?"

"Darkness is infinite.  She continues forever in all directions."

"She?  Isn't Satan Hell?"

"No, Satan is just one of many demons, though he's the most powerful one.
He resides inside Hell, but his power is nothing compared to Hers."

"What if something happens to God?"

I released the balloon and he watched as it randomly jetted around the room
before fluttering  down spent in his lap.  Then he looked back up at me.

"I never asked that question,"  I stepped down and returned to my seat.

That evening as I was preparing dinner, Mr. Himoto walked into the kitchen.

He reached into the boiling water, picked up an egg, shelled it and
swallowed it whole, "Kind of runny."

"That's because it's not done yet Spark,"  I returned to chopping the
vegetables.

"How did you spot me?"

"The senior angels would know that Mr. Himoto is not normally immune to
heat and nobody else in my class would go out of their way to talk to me.
So what brings you to Earth?"

"Scouting for a CRO."

"A Counter Revelationary Operation?"

"Yeah, somebody's been spreading classified details of our operations
around so we've got to cleanse the local area.  The senior members of the
squad are all talking about how easy it was in the old days when they could
just bury a town under a volcanic eruption and how hard it is these days
gently wiping peoples' minds."

"Uh, I think it's my fault."

"What?"

"I've been telling people about how Heaven works."

"Sweet Jesus.  How many?"

"Hundreds."

"Show me."

I turned off the heat then took Mr. Himoto's hand and lead Spark to the
couch.  Holding on to both of his borrowed hands I slipped away from Earth
to the veil of dreams and he followed.  We floated in a gray fog in my
dream bubble.  Spark assumed his usual form as a ball of fire while I
assumed the mental image of the body Father had given me.  Not too long ago
I would have seen myself, in my innermost heart, as but another blazing
angel of fire.  When had that all changed?

Never mind, this form would suit my current purpose well.  I shaped the
bubble to show all the encounters I remembered where I had spoken of God's
plans.  I acted the part of myself while I created puppets of dreamstuff to
act the parts of the humans.  I moved at the speed of dreams, acting out
many hours in mere minutes.  At this speed a human would awaken with only
vague recollections of what I displayed, but there was no such danger with a
fellow angel.

At the end I relaxed my control and the dream faded back to the gray fog.

Spark's flame turned to me, "I've got to go report this."

"I know.  May God speed your way."

He rose and passed out of my dream.

I watched him go then willed myself awake.  I was lying on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Mr. Himoto stood over me.

"Yes.  I'm fine,"  I sat up.

"I was working in my study and then suddenly we were sitting on the couch
and you had passed out."

"You've been visited by an angel."

"Other than you?"

"A friend of mine.  Don't worry, he means you no harm."

"I see."

"I'll have dinner ready in 20 minutes," I rose and walked back to the kitchen.

"Thanks,"  He shook his head then walked back to his study.

We ate in silence.  He clearly had questions, but could see that I had no
answers to offer.

That night I completed my homework then decided not to leave any notes.
They would not reach the people I sent them to and would only be a bother
for the cleanup crew.

I changed to my borrowed nightgown and lay my granted body down in the dead
girl's bed for what I trusted would be the last time.  All would be made
right in the world and I would never have been here at all.  For the
slightest moment I considered running, either physically or spiritually,
then I closed my eyes and slipped back to the valley of dreams, to face
Father's Judgment and my destruction.

Next: "Dawn of the New World."