Everything is Wonderful Now

Chapter Five

Jon's vision was hazy as he wandered from the indoor/outdoor patio. A half-empty twelve-pack of beer lay torn by the lawn chair he often reclined in, and an open horror novel was left unattended on the pool table. He'd meant to spend a relaxing afternoon smoking and getting familiar with Stephen King's newest book, but with a foggy mind and no direction that was clear, he was compelled to enter the house and settle into the bothersome thoughts buzzing through his mind. They'd landed him in pastor Don's office a few days previous.

The voice that had spoken to him again last night, however, hadn't condemned him. The angel Umabel, as the divine being introduced himself, gave the man faith that he would be guided on the path that was necessary, although Jon didn't know what the end goal was. He feared it, but he knew his faith would guide him in the right direction. The altered states he reached while uninhibited seemed to invite the angel back in much easier, and although Don had called for help to heal him from his addiction, Umabel had other plans.

The angel confirmed that as he followed the man through the house. The late afternoon sun painted the walls orange as they passed through the front room, and everything was silent save for the angry tones of Marilyn Manson that drifted down the hall from behind a closed door. Jon had half a mind to chastise his daughter for listening to such offensive music, as he considered it to be, but as he twisted the brass knob to her bedroom, the sight that greeted him caused him to pause. The door was merely cracked so Sera hadn't seen.

"Look at her," Umabel said. He set a hand on Jon's shoulder. The other gripped the man's jaw to hold it in place. The girl was in a trainer bra with a kitten's face on the front and she was dancing to music. "Remember what the prophet told you? Her purpose is to tempt you. That's exactly what she's doing right now. She must be punished."

Jon watched on through his haze, a strange feeling rushing up inside him. "She's so..."

"Blasphemous!" Umabel finished. "Eve's spitting image of defiance." The angel released his grip on Jon's body and backed away. "She must be punished for her sins."

Jon's brow furrowed. "Why's she listening to that Satanic bullshit?"

"Because," Umabel pressed to the drunken man he was slowly losing patience with. "She is on that side. You must strike the wickedness from her. It's the only way."

The angel fell silent as he waited for the man to make a move, but he found something much darker in Jon's thoughts. The man couldn't take his eyes off the girl dancing, and when she turned to see him at last, she screamed.

"Get out!" Sera covered herself as she tried to hide her body.

"Do it! Discipline her!" Umabel commanded. The angel moved to take matters into his own hands before a familiar aura entered the girl's room, and he jumped back. "Damn it!" He hadn't the time to expand his wings before he warped out of existence, leaving Jon to back away awkwardly and close the door at last.

Byleth wandered over to the door once it was shut and scowled at the wood. "How long was he standing there?"

Sera had thrown on a Spice Girls t-shirt to regain her decency and chewed on her thumb nail. "I'm not sure. I was listening to music and then he was just there staring at me."

"Sick bastard." Byleth backed away from the door and turned to his companion. There had been a faint presence around the man he'd noticed the night they drove home from the hospital, and it was the same one that lingered in the air just then as the man left. Byleth knew it couldn't be a demon because demons had better things to do than possess a broken human, and it was so faint that whatever was present didn't want to be detected.

He froze.

No, it couldn't be. Would an angel really be capable of something like that under God's watchful eye?