Beyond (42 page)

Father Shepherd
was also an Earth angel; however, h e was also known as an E
xecutor . They assign ed Earth angels their mission s . When one mission was accomplished, they report ed back to their E
xecutor and move d on to the next.

Being that it was a weekday, in the middle of the
afternoon , the church was pretty empty . There were a few parishioners sitting i n the front pew praying , and two were standing in line for the ir confession .
The candles on the donation table were fully lit, which was a good sign. It meant that people had c o me to the morning mass. Church of Guadalupe of Mary had been his home. He could practically walk blind folded and kn e w where everything was.

Ready as
he ’d eve r be, he walked down the aisle and then turn ed left. The door on the left was for the priest and the one on the right was for whoever needed to confess or needed a one on on e talk. Victor sheepishly stood behind the line. There was now only one man in front of him. The man hung his head low a s if he was embarrassed to be t here.
H
e lightly tapped his f oo t , seeming impatient.

Victor had never been inside the confession room before .
P
eople always walked out looking happy, but he was extremely nervous. He hadn ’
t seen Father Shepherd in a while. He couldn ’
t remember how long it ha d bee n, only that he ’d never finished his last assignment , and for that he felt horrible. He only hoped that the human in need was safe or got what she needed.

Shifting his weight to the right, his heart hammered erratically. He knew Father Shepherd would understand and forgive him, but that was not what bothered him the most.
He had disappointed Father Shepherd.
Victor was a role model. Father Shepherd would tell the other Earth angel s what he had done and used examples of his accomplishment s to motivate the others.
Now, he would be looked at differently.

When the man in front stepped in, he thought about leaving , t hen he remembered Avalon ’
s words. He didn ’
t die that day for a good reason. He had a purpose in life, to do something good. He just had to embrace it.
When the man came out of the confessional , he had a look of peace. His shoulder s w ere pulled back and his dem eanor was different compare d to when he ’d walked in.
He must feel as if a ton of bricks was lifted , Victor thought.

When the man held the door, Victor
t ook in a deep breath, nod ded to thank him , and enter ed . The space was small, like the space of a Potter Potty . But then again, it wasn ’
t a place to do anything else besides confess. After kneeling down, Victor clasp ed his hands together and sa id , “
Forgive me , for I have sinned.
”

“
Victor, ”
Father Shepherd mutter ed excitedly at first , then he open ed the little window and calm ed his tone. He couldn ’
t let his personal emotion s get in the way. He was most overjoyed to see his protege , and had been extremely worried when he hadn ’
t heard from him.
“
It ’
s good to hear from you. I was worried something might have happened to you. Your last mission was not accomplished so I had to send another. Had I—”

“
I ’
m so sorry.
”
Victor blurted. His lips trembled , fighting back his tears. His head hung low, feeling ashamed.
“
I went astray. I almost did something bad, but I didn ’
t.
”
Envisioning how he almost got killed , he shook the thought away.
“
I ’
ve come to ask for forgiveness , and I would like to continue the missions. I promise I ’
ve learn ed my lesson.
”

“
Being an Earth angel is not an easy task. You live among human s, and the temptation s of wanting to live like them are very tempting. I underst an d . Even I struggle. But we must remember who we are and focus on God ’
s beloveds. We mustn ’
t let them destroy themselves , or the re will be no Earth to call home.
”

Father Shepherd had no clue what Victor had been through lately , nor did he gather he was one of the Ang el us P
ugnator .
“
I understand, Father Shepherd, but you see, my sins go beyond that. I was part of Angelus P
ugnator .
”

Father Shepherd let
out a short gasp in shock , then quickly recovered .
“
I see.
”
His tone was calm and neutral.

Sensing Father Shepherd
’s disapproval, Victor jumped in.
“
Please…I have not killed or hurt our kind. I ’
ve only thought about it and almost tried.
”
Victor told almost the whole truth.
“
I know my purpose in life. If you give me a chance, I promise I will prove worthy.
”

Father Shepherd gathered his thoughts and let out a worried sigh. Through Victor ’
s words and tone, he could tell how sorry he was. Mostly, he felt it in his heart and soul. Executors had a special gift ; b eing ab le to tell if one was telling the truth was one of them.
“
I feel your pain and know how much you have suffered. You are forgiven , my child. I welcome you back home. Do understand , though, that should you abandon your mission again, you will not be welcomed back. It saddens me to say this to you, but I need to know I can count on you to carry out your duty. Do you understand ?”
he said firmly.

“
Yes, I do.
”
With that, Victor felt a peace run through him. He ’d never felt so sure about anything as he felt it now.
“
I do, Father Shepherd, ”
he said solemnly with all h is heart.

“
Then , for your penance, you must say the prayer, Our Father, five times.
”

“
Excuse me?
”
Victor was surprised. After the confession, the priest tells the confessor to say a certain number of prayers, but he wasn ’
t a human.

Father Shepherd cleared his throat in discontent.

Victor knew the meaning behind the sound.
“
I mean , y es , of course. Five times.
”

“
Good. Search your heart and soul , and really think hard about what you did and what you will do to become the Earth angel you were meant to be.
”

“
Yes, thank you.
”

“
Before you leave, I need to give you your assignment.
”

Victor
gave a huge smile , and if his smile could have li t up, everyone in the church would have seen the light coming out of the confession room, glowing like the sun.

“
You need to go to General Hospital , room 711. There is a patient name d Gary Noble. He has kidney cancer. He must not lose hope !
He must turn over a new leaf and believe in the power of mirac les . If he does, he will live a few more years. He can spend that time with his family , and help ing others like himself. If he doesn ’
t, he will die shortly after your visit. This will be like a rippl e effect. If he dies too soon, he will miss the chance of touching the lives of those who need his guidance and support.
It is very imperative that you succeed. Do whatever it takes to make him believe in the power of good.
”

It was too much to take all at once. He had never had to do such a mission , where he had to make someone believe. But at this point, he had no choice.

“
You can do it, Victor. I believe in you, it’s the reason I chose you. Go in peace, my child , and let your heart and soul guide you.
”

Not wanting to fail and disappoint Father Shepherd, he told himself he could do such an important mission. Many human lives were at stake.
Once a mission was given, it could not be taken back. There was no punishment if one failed , because the feeling of guilt was bad enough. With that in mind, he turned the knob and walked out the door, only to face a woman waiting in line. She looked irritated and in a hurry. She practically pushed him out of the way , making a comment.
“
That many , huh?
”

Victor laughed inwardly.
“
Humans, ”
he mumbled and walk ed toward the alt a r.

The Beta team
, led b y Elissa , headed to a small town near Rave called Springfield. She was proud to be the leader of the Beta team. Though she was sad to have left the Alpha team , it was better than being left behind. Being left behind on the first run was very disappointing, but being a leader was amazing .

First, they checked out the Rave, only to find it empty, which was very odd this time of day.
H
alf-f glasses and eaten chips on the table indicated that customers had been t here not too long ago. When they did not spot any unusual activit y , they moved inward to the heart of the town.

It was nearing dusk. The sky was stricken with pink and violet hues and the clouds weaved in and out. The ten of them held their bows tightly as they swiftly paced along the unpaved road. As the distant sun slowly des cend ed to end the day, t heir shadows were getting smaller and thicker , and would disappear within minutes.

A ‘
Welcome to Springfield ’
sign swung back and forth from the force of the wind, making a sound that c a me from metal rubbing against metal . Since there were no cars moving along the road, the venators strode cautiously down the center, looking and listening for any sign of human life.

“
It looks so…empty, ”
o ne said as he examined the stores aligned to the left and right. Hardware, grocery, barbershop and other store doors were shut. There was no indication if they were closed or open. As the night crept in, darkness engulfed them . T
he only light th at shone was the dim street lamps and their bows.

The venators
felt evil lurking, giving them chills down their spine s , but they had to be brave and move on.
“
Do you hear that?
”
Elissa halted, looking toward the left. It was a huge hardware store, a lot bigger than the one they ’d s een several blocks back .