Sadier stared at a portrait of an old man. He felt like he had seen it somewhere before. He thought it very odd that the school would decorate the hallway in this manner.
“It sure is warm outside for October,” he said to Abigail as he sat down at a blue lunch table.
“Yes, it is,” she replied as she sat down next him.
“I just came from Mr. Bradley's office,” he said. “I had a good conversation with him.”
“Good, Sadier, that's good,” she replied. Her eyes were unusually shifty. “Do you know where you are?” she replied. “You went to bed already, remember? We're in the upperworld. They sensed you had lost awareness. The guy in the corner over there is here to kill you.”
Sadier looked up and saw an assassin demon not twenty feet away leaning in the corner.
“We'll get you out of here,” Abigail reassured. “I brought Onnie to help clear a path for us.”
Sadier spotted Onnie, the warrior angel, eating a tuna sandwich at an adjacent table wearing glasses and a white collared shirt.
That's when the assassin speed at Sadier extending a weapon. But Onnie reached out and broke the assassin's arm.
Abgail jumped up and lead Sadier down the hall.
“There's no exit this way,” Sadier said.
“We're not at the school,” Abigail replied. Onnie caught up with them and ran ahead to make sure there wasn't an ambush waiting. More portraits of old faces flew by as they ran down the hall. Onnie yelled a warning and directed them up a flight of stairs which lead to the roof. Sadier heard Onnie wrestling with a creature as they ran away. Abigail and Sadier fled across the roof and jumped into a tree. They hastily proceeded to scale down the branches of the tree worrying that an enemy might run to the base before they could escape. But as they climbed down it dawned on them that the branches didn't reach all the way to the ground, and it was too high to jump.
“I'm so sorry, Abigail,” Sadier said thinking they were stranded.
“Hold on tight,” she replied putting her hands on the trunk of the tree. She repeated a phrase over and over until the tree started snapping and creaking. Sadier clung to his branch as the huge tree collapsed. They maneuvered out of the entanglement of wood and leaves and ran deep into the forest. There were yellow birds flying around harmonizing with each other. Funny chipmunk creatures with orange eyes watched them speed by. “Did Onnie make it out of there?” Sadier asked.
“Yeah, he did, fortunately,” Abgail replied. “He just sent me a message. Don't let it get to you. It happens to the best of us. They set up an excellent trap. I'm just glad we didn't lose you.”
“You know, not all of us have been around since the 3rd grade, show off,” a voice called.
“Cutting roots is not such a great feat with a little faith, muscle boy,” Abigail replied. Adrian and Saymi ran into sight.
“We almost got into trouble back there,” Adrian said.
“So did we,” Abigail added. “You know what that means.”
“A little early this year,” Adrian nodded.
“This is day 1?” Sadier guessed.
“This is your debut, my friend,” Adrian replied squeezing Sadier's shoulder so hard he squirmed away a little.
Sadier was nervous. He could tell Saymi was too. Abigail and Adrian had taken care of the first few attacks by themselves. Most of the demons had still been far away closer to their castle, but now there were more reaching the students and launching reactions on them which were more powerful at night. This was the seed planting. All hands were needed including those of the green recruits. This could be their first chance at steering a subconscious victim.
“Half a mile north,” Adrian read. “Alexander Hemsey, 5th grade, let's go.”
Sadier thought Adrian and Abigail were obnoxiously laid back considering what he felt was at stake. They accelerated into the forest.
A blonde haired girl intercepted the pack, and said, “They're drawing in memories now. Looks like a Gamma plant. We'll have to approach from the side.”
Adrian directed the team to the left. It didn't surprise Sadier that he recognized the newcomer. She was in his class. She always wore a white head band in her long straight blonde hair. What was her name? He couldn't remember.
Suddenly Adrian motioned with his hand to lay down. The team dropped to the twigs and leaves and crawled forward.
“Remember I told you we had one more joining our team?” Adrian said. “She's a scout. It's taken a while for Mr. Bradley and his staff to figure out what what team to put her on.”
“Why?” Sadier asked.
“Well, there was some drama last year,” Adrian replied.
They crawled forward until they came upon a boy who was sitting on a fallen tree in a clearing in the woods. Abigail exchanged words with the warrior angel who was in charge. Reactions had been launched from both camps and were dancing toward the boy who was 11 years old.
Abigail turned to Sadier and Saymi and said, “Be ready if I signal you.” Then she took a deep breath and strode into the clearing towards the boy. It was like a movie set Sadier thought.
The boy was sitting on a thick fallen tree. He had his chin in his hand, and with the other hand he drew in the dirt with a stick. Abigail took a wide angle so that she could approach the boy from the direction he was facing so as not to startle him.
“That was textbook. Did you see that?” Sadier said out-loud.
Abigail sat next to the boy. He said gibberish to her. Or was it really gibberish. Sadier had started to wonder. Regardless the boy was unconscious and his speech and actions were mostly nonsensical. Then Adrian stepped into the clearing. Sadier knew their act. Abigail would have joined him and they would have started to steer the victim away from the demon's reaction and into the angel's reaction, but suddenly a well hidden figure shot up from the other side of the fallen tree. It was a senior of the Darma named Kendra. At her suddenly appearance the boy yelled and started running.
Chaos ensued as Angels and Demons thundered into the clearing and began battling. The boy was battled over like a fumbled football. Sadier ran into the clearing, but made sure to stay well on his side as he had been instructed. Abigail managed to out-duel Kendra and steer the boy onto the Angel's side, and to Sadier's surprise the boy ended up right in front of him. Sadier froze as the boy looked at him. All of Sadier's practice and education left him.
“Follow me,” was all Sadier could think to say. Sadier ran in the direction of the Angel's reaction fashioner who they called Quiver. And surprisingly the boy understood his words and followed Sadier all the way to Quiver who quickly blanketed the boy in an Alpha reaction. The boy couldn't see the reaction or the angels or the demons, but suddenly as a result of the reaction a wave of revelation came across his face and Sadier saw a curious look in the boy's eyes.
Then suddenly the boy vanished. Abigail ran to Sadier's side. The scrum in the clearing started to subside. Adrian slowly picked himself up off the ground clutching his ribs.“The boy, where did he go?” Sadier asked.
“His mom woke him up,” Abigail replied. “Because he was screaming.”
Abigail walked over to their new teammate, the blonde girl. She had taken quite a blow to the mouth, and was spitting blood between her teeth. Sadier remembered her name.
“You shouldn't have been able to steer that boy so easily,” Adrian said walking up. “You may have just found your specialty. We'll get you hooked up with Valerie as soon as we can to see if you have the skills to be a guide. You know Joseph was a guide, Sadier.”
Sadier smiled. It was unusual for a recruit to find their specialty this early in the year. And if he was a guide, Sadier would be following in the path of the Alma's most famous member, Joseph, who had turned the tide of the war back in year 2, 3, and 4.
“Adrian, it'd be good if we could reach to the summit before morning,” Abigail said. “We need to get a look at what's out there.”
“I can do that,” Adrian replied. “I'll let you know what I see. But I want to take Sadier with me.”
Abigail nodded.
“Look, Sadier!” Saymi pointed. She had spotted a huge fleet of Angel's running through the trees about 200 feet away. At their lead was a radiant figure. Sadier could only see his feet.
“Who was he in front?” Sadier asked Adrian as they started climbing to the summit.
“That was Selah,” Adrian replied. “He's the Angel captain at Waterfall Academy. He's our leader.”
As they hiked up the steep slope of the mountain the temperature became colder and traces of snow were apparent on the ground.
“Her name's Madeline, right? Our new teammate?” Sadier asked as he forced his tired body up the rocky slope.
“Yeah,” Adrian replied. “Isn't it funny that you looked at the roster and didn't even notice someone in your own class.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know how it works,” Sadier replied. “What did you mean when you said there was drama last year,” Sadier asked.
“Yes, it is necessary for you to know,” Adrian replied. “Madeline is a very talented player, but she lost her brother last year in the game. You have to understand that when someone loses someone that close to them historically they are extremely unstable in the upperworld.”
“How did it happen?” Sadier asked.
“Well, last year Madeline and her brother were our most promising recruits. Mr. Bradley put them on our A team with our student captain, Simeon. Madeline and her brother lived up to the hype and showed tremendous promise, but they got cocky, and Madeline's brother made a huge mistake. It would have cost us victory last year, but Madeline's brother came to his wits and executed a sacrificial maneuver that ensured our victory but he was captured.
And the crazy thing is he never showed up in heaven, and he wouldn't have gone to hell. Many of us suspect that the demons didn't kill him because they didn't want to free him. Perhaps they keep him locked up in their castle. Therefore, many of us, and especially Madeline, are eager to reach the demon's castle at the end of the year on the chance that we might find him still alive.”
“Wow, so why did Mr. Bradley put Madeline with us?” Sadier asked.
“Well, you have to realize that right now she is at high risk of suicide,” Adrian replied. “One wrong reaction and we could lose her. Mr. Bradley considered not including Madeline in the Alma this year, but he knew that she would be safer working with us. He wants her to heal, and I guess he sees us as the best team.”
“But why?” Sadier kept pushing.
“I think largely because of Abigail,” Adrian replied.
“What do you mean?” Sadier asked.
Adrian paused, “Because Abigail's past is rough as Madeline's.”
“I may need to know this too,” Sadier said.
“No,” Adrian replied. “If you want to know that story, you're going to have to ask Abigail herself.”
They reached the summit and looked out over the treetops for miles in every direction. Sadier was speechless as he gazed at the landscape of rainforests, prairies, deserts, rivers, mountains. It was the threshold of heaven itself. Sadier saw something especially mysterious way out in the distance almost concealed by the fog. It was a frightening place darker than night, covered by ginormous terrifying clouds, where bolts of lightning flashed red and silver.
“What is that?” Sadier pointed.
“That is where we're going,” Adrian replied. “Our journey's end. Can you see the spirit in the clouds? Look closely. It's Alkador, the captain of the demons. Legend says that Alkador was the one who found the powerful moonstones and would have ended the lives of countless children, but Selah came to the rescue. This is the meeting place of two of the most well-known characters in all the upperworlds. Our school is the battle ground of Selah, the powerful angel and Alkador, the ruthless demon.”
Vibrant colors began to appear in the sky as the sun set. The air grew cold and Adrian and an angel made a fire.
“I'm worried about your sister,” Adrian said suddenly.
“What do you mean?” Sadier asked.
“There are some bad signs,” Adrian replied. “Do you remember that really short girl with the black hair that was in the class ahead of you last year,” Adrian asked.
“Yeah, Hailey, you mean?” Sadier replied.
“Do you know why she disappeared in the middle of the semester last year.” Adrian asked. “It's because she killed herself, Sadier.”
“Really?” Sadier said.
“The final phrase of the long note that she left said, 'It's bullying that killed me.' And this is not rare,” Adrian said. “There have been several suicides every year since the birth of the school. Bullying is the main cause for suicide. Some joke about their classmates saying they're short, or stupid, or weird, or they have a funny nose, and they don't mean much by it. But those casual remarks take root, and the hearer starts to believe it, so that every time they look in the mirror they hate themselves. It's in our teenage years that we are trying to figure out who we are and we're all insecure and vulnerable.
Well, let me tell you the truth about Hailey and every one of them. It might sound clique, but its true, she was beautiful, perfect just the way she was. And more than anything else in this entire world I hate that they doubt that to the point that they are hopeless enough to take their own lives. Since I started realizing this I gave up joking about my friends even if its just for fun.
Sadier, your sister is showing bad signs. She is far along. She has contemplated suicide many times by now. There are several students who tease her everyday about not being about not being able to walk. She is in tremendous danger. I've seen it play out so many times. We will do everything we can, but ultimately I suspect it will have to be you that pulls her our of the grave and out of hell. For that is our business here in the angel's camp, isn't it Sadier, pulling souls out of hell.”
The next night before Sadier joined up with his team he found himself in a strange place. He had been here before. From his training Sadier recognized was has happening to him as a recursion, or by its more common title, a recurring dream. He had been here half a dozen times now, and it was always the same. Looming trees, black iron fence, misty rain, and rows of stones.
The first time he found himself here was the time that he had met Abigail and Saymi had been there too. But since then Sadier was always here alone. Sadier would walk through the graveyard, and read the names that were carved on the stones. Then he would walk out the gate and start locating his teammates. This was when he started seriously fearing for his sister's life because after he woke up in the scene a few times he started to realize that there was a pattern in the stones. Recently, he found an Alma database that contained a complete listing of all the students who had died in the school's history. Many of the names in the listing looked familiar because of the names he had read at the graveyard. Sadier hadn't cross checked all the names yet, but he was sure that the graveyard was a perfect memorial of all the students who had died at the school. But some of the gravestones had names of people who were still living. He knew scenes like this could be very prophetic. And that is why Sadier started fearing for Saymi's life. Because in the fourth row nine stones down was a stone that had the name Saymi Davidson.
