The Afterlife Gambit - Chapter 1 - Soul Harvest

Ok so this is a very fictional story about my own rendition of the war between heaven and hell. I will be posting it up a chapter at a time. Feel free to post and comment as you wish. There is sure to be more on the way. Its purely for fun and anyone who takes anything in these stories to litterally, well just dont bother posting. Remember it is purely for entertainment purposes only. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it.

Here we go

Chapter 1 – Soul Harvest

College life for many is a fun filled and happy era of their life, one of the greatest chapters of ones own personal history. It is an amazing experience for kid’s right out of High School. Many of them for the first time in their lives are free from what their parent’s dictate, able to make their own decisions and choose their own paths. It is a subtle freedom all at once, a sudden shift that overwhelms many and leads to irresponsible behaviors. There is often partying, late nights, put off assignments. All of these acts made in the name of having a good time and living life to the max while you can still enjoy your youth. Many lose their virginity in this time. For some drugs become part of the mixture. For others alcoholism takes it roots through various drinking games such as beer pong and flip cup.

Still there are always those who have their heads on straight, and don’t take for granted the opportunity they have been given. They buckle down and study hard. These are the kids that realize the meaning of hard work and dedication and realize that if they fail, the only thing they are hurting are their future and their parents pocket books. For them the late nights are spent studying and looking over well thought out and written papers. For them it is a tireless endless journey to seek greater knowledge and start their life on the right foot.

There is a third group in this, which are very different from the other two. Ironically so, they can belong to either of the two above, or neither, being in their own. For them college is a living hell. In any social grouping of people, especially at the age of the average college student, there is always at least one outcast who is separate from everyone else. This is often referred to as the black sheep. They get broken down every day with taunts and the like, and they develop a warped sense of mentality and what is real. Sometimes they are ignored completely. Any act towards them becomes an act that makes them feel inferior. Even an act of kindness, randomly placed, can be seen as a planned pity party, a downgrading insult to someone who would really just rather be left alone.

James Henson was one of these tortured souls. He was a junior at Lake Forest, a fine arts school located in a town of the same name. The town itself was rather bland. It had the normal necessities of a place that held the title of a town. It had its few shops and stores, even a little privately owned Italian restraint located on Main Street a few blocks down from the Walgreen’s on the corner. Between these two places was the fountain which was surrounded by several other lesser known shops.

Lake Forest was home to many wealthy folks, being a favored retirement community just outside of Chicago, about a twenty minute drive. The houses were all of a fair size and anyone coming from a farming community or another place of the like would feel sorely out of place. The primary source of its functionality was the lake around which it was built. It was one of the five great lakes of the United States, Lake Michigan.

James had grown up here as a child, attending one of the private schools located in Chicago itself, funded by his wealthy parents. He had been a talented artist from an early age, his favorite thing to draw being the sunsets upon the lake. He had sketchbook upon sketchbook filled with nothing but images of the daily breathtaking event created with colored pencils and a steady hand. He was always introverted, always thinking, but hardly ever talking. He had a mind that raced a mile a minute, much to fast to put those words into coherent sentences to effectively communicate with another person. When he tried to speak with out reading from something, he would always stumble over his words, trying to say three different thoughts all at the same time. It was for this reason that when he finally did make it through High School and into the local university, that he found himself in the outcast group of college students.

He lived on campus in the dorms. His parents wanted him out of the house so he could be independent and learn to be an adult but still be close in case trouble ever came to call. They had already prepaid his entire way through school, so he had no choice but to do his best. Though he rarely talked to his parents, he truly did love them with all his heart. How could he not, they had cared for him all these years and given him a life that most kids could only dream of. They had bought him all of his art supplies through out his life, they had supported him academically, and even the year he decided to try soccer, they had shown up to every single game. There was just something always missing from the relationship though, and it was the fact that James couldn’t open up to anyone, not even his own mother. What was lacking was communication.

He got off lucky. Unlike some of the kids who were the target of ridicule from select members of the first type of college kid, he was more or less left to be. No one could have told you he really existed, he was unnoticed, but at least he was left to himself. That was all he wanted. When people interacted with him, his thoughts would race even more, becoming more cramped then usual, and he couldn’t process his own thinking. When he was left alone to his thoughts, they would organize themselves, and then at least he could understand what went on in his head, even if no one else could.

It was an October Wednesday at a quarter past four that a chain reaction of simple events began to transpire that would lead to the inevitable fate at the end. Her name was Kailey. Professor Gordon stood at the front of the Modern Arts classroom next to the young woman, facing the seventeen students sitting in their desks, all of them wondering the same question. Who was she? The two of them standing next to each other made them both look terribly out of place as they contrasted so heavily. The professor was in his early sixties with a balding head, a moustache, and an other wise clean shaven face. He was wearing a buttoned white shirt meant for formal occasions, and black khakis with matching shoes and tie. His belly was slightly rounded in what most would call a beer gut and he had glasses upon his face. He was also very much a white man, most certainly European in heritage.

Kailey was about the exact opposite. Her head only came to about his shoulder, putting her at about five foot three inches. Her skin was dark and creamy, showing off her Mexican heritage. Her hair and eyes were also dark, black and brown respectively. She looked to be young and lively, ready for a good time. She was wearing a black halter top with red shorts that were just barely standard for the dress code, complete with sandals upon her feet.

The professor reached up and placed his right hand on her left shoulder as he introduced her to the class.

“This is Kailey Durne. She is transferring here from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. Please welcome her as part of the class.” He paused for a moment and scanned the room, deciding on where to put her. His eyes landed on a head lying on the desk upon crossed arms. The kid was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up so neither the hair or face could be seen. Even though he couldn’t make a visual confirmation, he knew who it was and pointed to the empty desk to the student’s right. He had a smile on his face, the kind of smile that someone put on when they had a plan of some kind. “Mrs. Durne if you could please take your seat we will begin class.”

The transfer student thanked the professor and made her way to her seat, going down the aisle towards the back. As she walked by a few of the guys gave her a grin, which she responded with a silent grin of her own. She was used to it, she knew she was attractive.

She took her seat next to the sleeping kid, or rather the kid pretending to be asleep. Kailey could tell right away he was just lying his head down and wasn’t actually lost somewhere in a dream. Glancing up she saw the teacher had already begun his lecture and was making obvious references to their text book. Her hand reached out and tapped her neighbor on the shoulder. At first she didn’t get a response so she placed her whole hand on his arm and shook it softly. Her voice cooed out sweetly, trying to be polite.

“Sorry to bother you, but could you tell me….”

“One eighty-six.”

The response came faster then shed been able to finish her sentence. At first Kailey was taken back by the blunt and uninterested tone the kid showed. Instead of saying anything, she simply opened her book to the page number the boy had given her and found the spot the teacher was referring to, about three paragraphs down the page, putting off the kid’s unfriendly tone to the fact that he was just tired. Late nights were not uncommon on a college campus after all.

James couldn’t get that voice out of his head or the feel of a hand on his shoulder. He was confused, one of these kids had actually just acknowledged him, and it was in fact a woman. He already had it figured out. His teacher seemed to have taken a liking to him and knew he had trouble interacting with people in any way, regardless of who they were. It was pretty clear why the girl had been put right next to him.

He fully intended to just ignore her, just like he did with everyone else, and for the most part everyone did with him as well. However, he couldn’t get that voice out of his head. It was so nice, the way she had spoken to him. Her hand had felt warm and soft on his shoulder too.

With out even really meaning to, his face turned in his arms so that his face was halfway exposed, one eye looking at the girl who had asked him for the page number. He wasn’t expecting to see someone quite that good looking. She was down right beautiful even. Without a conscious thought to do so, his mouth opened and he muttered a quiet, “Oh.” It was barely audible, but Kailey heard it, and she turned to see what he wanted. The first thing she noticed when she looked at him was that he was actually kind of cute. His black hair fell softly across his boyish face, though he was a bit skinny. She couldn’t get too much of a good view though as his arm and bangs did a good job of covering up the majority of his facial features.

As soon as her eyes locked with his, James put his face all the way back inside the confines of his arms, hiding it away again. She laughed in her head, obviously a guy that wasn’t good with women. She rested her head on her hand which was braced against the desk by her elbow.

“What,” She said with a quizzical tone in her voice, still soft and playful. The response she got was definitely not what she was looking for.

“It’s nothing.” James’s voice was gruff when he spoke this time, stand offish even. Kailey merely rolled her eyes and looked away, giving up on trying to have a conversation with him because he obviously wasn’t interested in any sort of interaction with her.

That very brief exchange of words was the most the two ever verbally interacted from that point on. Despite the fact that he sat right next to her every day, Kailey managed to forget that Jame’s even existed, just like the vast majority of every other student at Lake Forest. He, however, couldn’t get her out of his head. He tried several times over the course of the next three months to engage a conversation with her, but he could never think of something suitable to say. He always backed out at the last second. James didn’t know why, but she was all he could think about on most days, even though they no longer shared a class. Fall quarter had ended in December, starting up the winter one. With a new quarter came new schedules and new classes.

His sketchbooks were no longer filled with pictures of sunsets upon the lake. Now they quickly filled with pictures of a cute young Latina woman on the beach with a boy who looked a lot like James. In every sketch the two were a couple, holding hands, leaning on each other, even locking lips in some. It would have been clear to anyone else looking at the situation that he was slowly becoming dangerously obsessed.

The nineteenth of March beckoned the end of winter quarter for the students of Lake Forest. With the end of each quarter came finals, the last grade for the class, and more often then not, the determination of whether the student would pass or fail. James was confident he had just passed his Art History final and was prepared to treat himself to something in exchange for his efforts for the past weeks of intense dedication to the class. He now had a week of Spring break to look forward to, and what better way to kick it off then with a large plate of spaghetti, by far his favorite dish.

Instead of making his way back to his dorm room to pack, James went the opposite direction and headed towards the town, a fifteen minute walk at the most. As he went, his thoughts drifted to what he had to look forward to when he got home, and was toying with the idea of just staying in the dorms for the week. He held no ill will for his mother or father, but their constant nagging and attempts to get him to open up drove him crazy. To him, it was the exact opposite of help.

Pausing at the bridge just before the intersection that would require a left turn in his course to get to the Italian restaurant, he stared at his own reflection in the water of the crick about thirty feet below. Even from this distance he could tell he needed a shave. James leaned upon the banister and rested his head upon his bare forearms.

His thoughts drifted to Kailey, and his mind began to paint her in the water standing next to him, smiling. The James in the water turned to kiss her on her cheek as she reached up to his neck and ran her tan fingers through his black hair. When it rested on the top of his head, she leaned her head on his shoulder, resting and staring up out of the waters. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of uttering words, a frog appeared between her lips and flew through the air, landing on a nearby rock not a foot away.

James snapped his head back as his daydream ended, a scowl on his face. Quickly he glanced over both shoulders to make sure no one had been watching him, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had let one of his fantasy’s creep into his mind in a public place, even though no one was around. It was childish, but he reached over and grabbed a small pebble off the edge of the concrete barrier and chucked it down in the amphibian’s general direction. The rock missed its mark entirely and disturbed the water about three inches to its left. The frog just sat there staring up at him. In James’s mind, the creature was mocking him. Extremely annoyed by the pesky creature, James turned on his heel and continued on his way towards town.

Ten minutes later he found himself opposed with a speeding train blocking off his path. It was the preferred method of transportation when you had to go out of town but stay in the general Chicago area. It took longer sometimes, but it was cheaper then wasting the gas and it circumvented the frustration of dealing with traffic. The problem it presented for James was that the tracks in Lake Forest were right in between one of the main housing sections and the place with all the shops and restraints. The college was on the other side of the housing section which he had just come from.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as the train finally passed and he walked over the tracks to the other side, only a street crossing and a few more blocks separating him and his meal. He was actually wearing a smile on his face, which was usually rare. Typically he was concentrating on several things at once. When James concentrated, his face usually pulled tight in a look that made him look ruffled about something. This coupled with his aversion to conversation had led to the misconception that he was an angry kid. Now, he was focused only on that delicious spaghetti and the steps he needed to take to get there.

The street wasn’t that busy at the time he approached the curb. Still he looked both ways, just to be sure before crossing. It was clear. James took a step out onto the asphalt and made his way across the street. He stopped suddenly in the middle of the road as his eyes caught the view of a small group moving in the direction of his desired restaurant.

He wasn’t bothered by the fact that there was a group of people moving towards the same place that he had his sights on. His problem was who was in the group. He only recognized one of them by name, one by title, and the others by seeing them around the campus.

It was Kailey. With her were three boys and one other girl. One of the guys was her unofficial boy friend. The two weren’t technically together, but it was pretty evident the two had a relationship. James stared at his arm around her thin, firm waist and the way she laughed as he spoke to her. The whole group was an air of happiness and James lost all memory of what he had come all the way to town for as jealousy rose with in him. His rare and relaxed expression shifted suddenly into an angry scowl. In his head he knew that he should have been the one holding her in his arms, not who ever the random guy was. It never crossed his mind that it was his own mannerisms that had crossed out such possibilities early on in the game.

A horn blasted through the air, snapping James out of his thoughts once again. That was twice he had drifted off in a fairly short time frame, each time expressing a different emotion of sorts. The driver leaned out of there open window and shouted something about stupid people. James let his head droop before turning around once again, and heading back towards the campus with an empty stomach. There was another way he could celebrate tonight that would get his thoughts well away from anything to do with Kailey.

*******************************************************

The campus was filled with police cruisers. Everywhere one would look, they would see nothing but flashing reds and blues. Students also filled the hilly lawns. For the few that had remained on campus for the spring break, most of them had been awoken by the commotion that had ensued. It was 3 o’ clock in the morning, but various gun blasts is enough to wake most sleepers.

Amongst all the white, one black car slid up along side of the curb, lights flashing as well, the only feature that made it uniform in any way with the other cruisers. This was the sheriff, Randal Tirth. He had been awoken by an angry wife shaking him awake to answer the phone not twenty minutes ago. It had been all he could do to pull on his uniform, start up his car, and make his way to the address of the scene that had been given to him. Apparently this was a bad one, one that was bound to shake things up in the other wise quiet town for a couple of days.

Randal stepped out of the car, only just now realizing he had forgotten his hat, it had seemed rather unimportant at the time. He began to make his way up the quarter mile long side walk to the dorms. There was a parking lot behind the building that was much closer, but he had decided to park out by the road instead. He needed to prepare himself for what he was going to have to see. What little he knew about the case currently was that it was a death scene, a total of five dead. It didn’t matter how many days he went on the job, seeing the death of a kid, in his head a college aged man was still young enough in the mind to be called a kid, was the hardest part of his job.

As he came with in view of the rest of the students and police force already at the dorms, a deputy quickly ran up to his side. It was not hard to recognize the sheriff. Randal’s face and name were well known by all the citizens of Lake Forest, his home town since he was just a boy, still living there for forty some odd years.

The two men nodded at each other in silent respect for the situation. Randal had known Wyatt for a little more then three years now, and as far as he could tell, he was the best deputy they had. He was smart and had great instincts. It was well with in reason to deliver him a promotion in the near future. He was always glad to see Wyatt on scene because he was the most level headed and calm. When Randal needed to know what was going on in a condensed manner and still detailed, there was no one better then his favored man.

“What’s the situation Wyatt?” Randal cut right to the chase. There would be time for less formal greetings later on. They had a job to do. The young deputy jumped right into explaining the situation to his senior officer and respected colleague.

“We have five deceased, four males, one female, all of them between the ages of 21 and 23. From what we have gathered so far the killer, James Henson, entered the room at 2:27 with the intent to kill. He was carrying a .44 Smith and Wesson revolver. The woman was sleeping over with the student named Berry Arp. He took aim at the couple first. One of the other dorm room members had just gotten out of the shower, he was still wet and wearing a towel around his waist. When he exited the shower he saw the situation and got between the sleeping couple and the killer. He was the first to go. Then he put a bullet each in the awoken couple after a brief struggle between Berry and James. A third student in the back half of the dorm room since entered the front half, and was shot as well. After all this, James took his own life.”

Randal’s head was reeling. It sounded a lot like a love triangle gone wrong. He shook his head softly and sighed. He was glad Wyatt had left out the name of the girl. There was a solid reason for doing so. Dealing with a murdered kid was bad enough, women were worse, and a mix of the two was down right unbearable. Not knowing the name made it jus a bit easier to handle. It wasn’t much, but anything to alleviate the burden of the job was always welcome. Wyatt wasn’t done speaking though.

“It won’t be confirmed until the autopsy is performed, but it’s believed that drugs were involved. We found a bag of refer with a freshly used bong. There were also a couple of store bought medicines that kids abuse for recreational use that were about half empty.”

Randal nodded this time, his game face was on now, and he was ready to deal with the situation as he was expected to. There was only two questions he needed answered at this very moment in time.

“These dorms each hold four people don’t they? We should have six victims.”

“Yes sir, but today was the last day before the spring break, the last exams were today. He had already left to go back home in Wisconsin for the week.”

Then the final and probably the more important one.

“I’m going to assume that the one who found the scene was the one who made the call, who was it.”

Wyatt didn’t miss a beat with the interrogation. He had all the answers. In his short time with the force, he had quickly learned the kinds of questions the Sheriff might ask. Even though Randal didn’t ask all of them at every scene, Wyatt would typically gather the answers to all of them and more before he showed up. This made every thing much easier on everyone and was why he was so well looked upon by the other wise gruff man.

“One of the staff members, George Yanton, heard the shots and went running to the source of the sound. By the time he got there, it was already over. It happened on the top floor and he resides on the bottom floor. It took him about two and half minutes or so, give or take, to get there.”

Randal ran everything through his head. There was a chance that this staff member was the real culprit, but he was sure there was some kind of evidence that pointed away from that or Wyatt would have already mentioned it rather then naming this James kid as the sure killer.

“Besides the drugs and the gun in his hand, what other evidence is there that supports the theory of this kid as the killer?”

Wyatt had been waiting for that one too.
“Well sir, we also found in his desk drawer a series of sketches. All of them held two people, a boy and a girl. The male looks a lot like the man who drew them and the female takes a striking resemblance to the one who is now dead. Also after talking to a few of the students we confirmed that Berry and the young woman had a relationship of sorts and that the boy, James, showed some sort of interest in her, though it was other wise ignored until tonight.”

By now the two were at the door to the dorm area, and Randal was satisfied thus far with the information he had been given. He had completely zoned everything out. It would be no use opening his eyes and heart to the crying students around him. It would only make the matter harder to handle. He pushed open the door and the two made their way up the staircase to the top floor.

As the two went up they passed another officer making his way down. He had a thin wet streak on his face, and he refused to make eye contact of any kind. When he was out of sight, Randal paused on the stair way and turned towards Wyatt. He didn’t even have to ask for Wyatt to speak up and answer the obvious question.

“Terry Henson sir….”

Randal put two and two together before the sentence had been finished.

“….The supposed killers father, I see.”

The officers continued the rest of the way to the dorm room in silence. After that neither one of them really knew what to say. There wasn’t much that could be said. One of their own currently had to deal with accusations made upon his son of murder and suicide. That was something no father should have to go through.

Wyatt and Terry were very good friends. They had joined the force together at around the same time. They had been through a lot over the years. Randal didn’t know that, but he could tell that he was shaken by the sight they had just seen, a bit more then someone with out a personal connection would have. When they arrived outside the door to the scene which was closed and Wyatt moved to open it, the elder officer held out his arm and stopped him.

“Go make sure your friend is OK, I can handle things from here.”

Wyatt nodded in response and turned around to go back down the stairs and aid his fellow officer. Randal now had to do this on his own. He was here to make sure that nothing had been missed. They had to make sure every scene was thoroughly checked, and his sweep and call was always the last to be made on the night of the event anyway. From what he had heard, this one was pretty much open and shut with no hidden monkey wrenches. Still, this was his job, and he had to do it either way.

With out a second thought he opened the door. When you thought about it to much, it was almost impossible to do it. He knew about what lay on the other side of that door. That alone was enough to threaten him from doing his job. Instead, he just put it out of his mind for a brief moment, and that was all he needed to be able to step through the barrier of a normal world and into something that should never, ever be.

He saw it all instantly and it hit him hard. One of the beds and both desks had been removed apparently. He had been here before so he knew how these rooms were set up. The dorms were split into two sections. The front part had two beds and two desks. There was also a spot for hanging jackets upon. Then at the back was a doorway with out a door which led to a very short hallway. On the one side of the hallway was a very much open walk in closet of sorts with four dressers and shelves above those dressers for clothes and belongings. On the other side was a bathroom complete with bath and shower, toiler, and a sink with a mirror. At the back of the hallway, which was really more of a walkway, was a room just like the one in the front complete with two beds and two desks.

All he needed though was right here in front of him, in the front room. Instead of being filled with the things every college attendee needed, there were just five body bags and a bed against the far wall. The room was very dimly lit. The light fixture in this room was plainly busted, so the only light Randal had came from the walkway connecting all the portions of the room into one and a very dim light coming from outside through the large window. That just made it seem more eerie and uninviting.

Taking a few steps forward, he knelt next to the first body bag. He held the tag on it upwards so that he could read it. James Henson. Male. 21. He let the tag drop and unzipped it down to only the neck so he could stare into the eyes of the deceased kid, study his face. It told him what he expected it to, absolutely nothing what-so ever.

Randal let out a sigh and zipped the bag back up. There was nothing for him to do here. Everything had been cleared out. He would have to go back downstairs to search through the evidence. This was all just protocol of course. He ran his hand through his hair as he slowly walked back to the door to make his exit.

He had one foot out the door when hit with a realization. He hadn’t really noticed it before because he was so tired, but there was definitely something about this crime scene, just the feeling of it, that was very much different from any other crime scene he had crossed. Even with a tragedy such as this, he had never felt the sinking cold feeling in his chest that he felt now. He snapped his head back over his shoulder to glance in the room once more. He could not place it at all. He closed his eyes and yet again shook his head. This whole thing was a mess. He needed to just let it go. He took his final step out of the room and shut the door behind him with out any plans of going back inside.

Back in the room a dark figure could be seen sitting on the bed. It was hard to see him at all because of the very dim light in the room. In fact his whole face was hidden from view by the shadows cast by the wall. This however, was definitely not the reason why he had not been seen. It wasn’t the distraction either. No, this figure had been sitting on the bed, back against the wall, legs stretched out across the bare mattress, shortly after the first police officers had arrived. The reason he could not be seen was for a different reason entirely.

Like the sheriff who had just exited the room. He was here because he had work to do. Work that someone higher up and with more power then himself had forced him to do. Now concerning the man in question, this was saying quite a deal. There were not many who would be every have said they would have liked to have met this man, but he was nothing compared to the being to which he catered.

This man, lying upon the bed, clad in a dark suit and dark hands, was the very reason for the heavy, dark essence that filled the entire room and then some. It was part of his existence, and it followed him around, where ever he would go. He could already feel it starting to fade slightly though. There was another of his basic kind about to enter the room, though he would not be able to tell who it was till they arrived. What he did know, was that it was someone whom he could not consider a friend or even an ally in any way shape or form.

As his essence slowly began to weaken more and more, his mind wandered as to who it could be. There were very few who could lessen the heavy atmosphere to even this small extent with out being in the room. The longer it took for them to arrive, the more worrisome the person would be, because it would only increase in its own, kind aura as time went by. It was an aura that contradicted the shroud cast by the man on the bed.

As more minutes ticked by and the heaviness in the room lifted even more, he came to a conclusion. There were only eight at this point who could be arriving, for he knew it was just one of them. This was based on the intensity they showed at the distance he calculated they still had to come. Out of those eight, only four of them would be allowed to come on a task such as this, which was more or less the same as the man who already lay with in the room.

“One of the four favored coming to call, how quaint.”

His voice was very low and calm. It was one of those voices that had absolutely no threatening manner in its tone, yet there was a certain malice hidden with in the vocal patterns that would send a shiver down any soul’s spine.

The very center of the wall opposite the man began to pulsate with a soft white light, signifying the one coming was soon to arrive. The area slowly spread to the size of about a doorway and shone even brighter. As it spread, so did the beam of light it cast across the room, illuminating part of the man’s physique to a greater extent, but still not showing his face.

A foot appeared from the wall followed by a leg and then a torso, a body, a head, and finally the other half of the body. This too, was clearly a man, though of completely different natures. As he stepped from the wall, the light flickered, slowly faded, and with in moments, died completely.

He stood slightly taller then the average male would be. His skin was white, but not pale in any respects. He was a strong, healthy being. He wore a silk white shirt with full sleeves and adorned with golden patterns. His legs were clothed with similar material and he wore no shoes. His face was as calm as an undisturbed pool of spring water and quite handsome. His hair was a dirty blonde that fell neatly to his shoulders. In a final set off form the man on the other side of the room, he was completely visible. This feature was due to the soft yellow light that shone from his very body, but did not illuminate the room.

This was the presence of one of the four favored angels. Beyond that, this was the most upheld of them all. This was none other then…

“Gabriel, out of all of you, you were the last I suspected. In truth I had thought it to be Uriel who was on his way.”

The cold voice entered the air once again, only this time someone had heard it. This was someone who was the mortal enemy of the one who spoke. The two were angel and demon, destined to stand on opposite sides till the ends of time. Where as Gabriel was one of the highest beings in all of heaven. The man, who was in fact no longer a man, but instead a cold demon of the cruelest kind, was of the highest of statures from hell.

“The antichrist himself, this is shocking. When’s the last time you were sent on a soul harvest?” Even the voices of the two were very much contradictory. Gabriel’s, though very much that of a warrior of the finest kind, was very soft, warm, and over all, inviting.

The demon smirked. He knew that what hew as about to tell the angel, even of his highest honors, would be shaken to the core by what he was going to say next.

“Nearly 2000 years ago. Not since I had to retrieve the one they now call Legion have I been sent to Earth.”

The face of the angel fell as he heard the news. This was deathly serious. As it was, the soul harvest was traditionally not a very serious matter, and only the lesser beings of heaven and hell would be sent to retrieve them, which ever direction they may go. Every so often a higher one would have to be sent to retrieve the soul. This was because some souls were heavier, or at least that was the term for it. That meant that the soul held more energy inside it, making it a higher being from the start. Neither angels nor demons could carry a soul over into the after life that was more powerful then itself. It wasn’t just against conduct, it just was not possible.

Every single being in the afterlife knew of Legion. It was one of the only recorded incidents that the antichrist had been sent on a soul harvest. No one really knew how it happened, but there was no denying it now. Legion was currently the only demon in existence who could challenge the antichrist.

Gabriel recovered a moment quickly. Showing fear in front of the antichrist was a very bad idea indeed. He straightened back up and looked back towards his most hated enemy. There was nothing left to say here, but he did, out of tradition in these matters, allow a small bit of wording to pass his lips.

“I see.”

The demon only scoffed and chuckled as he heard him speak. It was always amusing to see the angels trying to keep their level head around him. He knew the truth, that every single one of them held a certain amount of fear for him, no matter how small.

“I am going to be on my way, I just wanted to see who it was that heaven had sent this time. At least I wasn’t disappointed.”

The antichrist pivoted on his rear and slid off of the bed. As he did, a small creature came from under the wooden piece of furniture. It resembled a millipede quite well, but was about a four feet in length. This was one of the lesser demons. The two moved forward toward the body bags. Gabriel waited for them both to step into the light. He was curious to see the face of the second most hated being in hell. All he had heard were rumors, and now he was going to get the chance to clarify.

What he saw struck anger to the very core of him. It was one of the most hated men to have lived, ever. One of the biggest oppressors of the one race of people allowed to enter the gates of heaven ever. To say his name would have caused Gabriel to spit in disgust.

He took two bounding steps and was behind the heathen in a heartbeat. In his hand now lay a bright red sword which answered only to him. He had not brought it with him, but it was of no matter to force it to his side in any given moment. Gabriel held the blade with a taught angry grip, placing the blade along the neck of his targeted prey.

“Now, now Gabriel, we both know you can’t do that. It’s against the code. The war is not to be fought here at any time for any reason. Earth is a ground for us only to commence the soul harvest. Id put that away. Even if it was possible for you try anything, we both no you are sorely out of your league here.”

With out saying anything more, the dark skinned demon bent down and placed his hands on not one, but two of the black bags before him. As he brought them back up, it was shown that he held two black orbs of smoke in his palms. The millipede did the same with its head. When it reared back, its whole front body was off the ground, using its legs to support the weight of the soul.

Now having what they had come here for, both soldiers of hell began to shimmer out of sight, simply disappearing like a slow to disperse illusion. Before they were fully gone, the antichrist left one last haunting tone, to set the favored angel’s mind at ease.

“You don’t need to worry too much. I only grabbed two because the small fry is too insignificant to carry it himself. We use as little resources we need to get the job done right.”

Gabriel only stood there, not knowing what to make of what had just happened. This was down right disturbing. He still held his sword up in the air against a neck that was no longer there. He blinked his eyes, brining his mentality back to the job at hand. With no motion and only the will of his soul for it to happen, the sword disappeared much in the same manner as the two demons that had just made their leave. Granted, the swords destination, as well as Gabriel’s in a few moments, was Heaven, not Hell.

Wasting no more time in worrying about what had just happened. He performed the soul harvest on the remaining two souls in the room. The act made him feel better. Despite what the antichrist had revealed to him, this more then made up for it. As he followed suit, transpiring back into the realm of the afterlife, he allowed a singular thought to cross his lips into words that no one could hear.

“To bad for you, the horsemen are at long last complete.”

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