Fallen Angels

Chapter 6- Miracle

~~~Start~~~

Felix was made to stay in the hospital for weeks after his accident, he didn't dare suggest to the many doctors monitoring him that he wanted to go back to school, he would have just received a lecture from them about how he needed rest after the multiple operations he'd been through after the fall. Being trapped within the same four walls with nothing but his own thoughts for company for weeks at a time was taking its' toll on Felix, he found himself in a constant state of boredom and he had developed a short temper that always seemed to explode whenever visitors arrived with "Get-Well-Soon" cards, or white flowers, or any other tokens of sympathy.

Visitors came regularly in the form of Mr and Mrs Dawson, who came to visit their son as often as they were permitted. Mr Dawson would sit by his sons' bed, telling grand stories of life outside the hospital: going out to work in the morning, eating fast-food in the evenings for no reason other than convenience, having the freedom to do as he pleased with no fear of disturbing the other patients, it sounded exotic to Felix. His Mother, on the other hand, would be better off not visiting at all. She would stand contemplatively by the window never uttering a word. Fear of saying something that would curse her final child to slip away from her bound her to silence, while Guilt from leaving her son to face his trauma slowly alone ate at her from the inside for the entirety or her long wordless visits.

But the most treasured of all visits, were those rare occasions Felix would look up to see his only true friend. Jesse didn't visit often, his newly gifted job had not been as glamorous as his father had made out, with long unpredictable hours, it was hard for Jesse to find the time to visit more than once or twice a week. These visits would last far too few hours which would be filled with trivial conversations that made Felix feel like they were schoolboys once again, catching up with each other's lives after being apart for the weekend.

"When are you going to be let out?" Jesse asked. He had been waiting impatiently for the day where Felix would bring the greatly-needed news that he was back to normal.

"Soon, I think. They say they've done all the operations and all my latest tests have come back clear. My leg still feels a little funny sometimes, but other than that I feel fine."

"When I first heard what had happened, I was so scared I was going to lose you"

"For a while I thought I was going to lose me too" Both boys laughed awkwardly, unsure of what else to fill the uncomfortable silence with. Felix's mind drifted back to the day of his fall, before everything with Bradley and his gang, when he sat content on the roof texting Jesse.

"What were you going to say?" Felix asked.

"What was I going to say, when?"

"The day I fell, you sent a text saying you needed to tell me something, but you had to say it in person." Jesse broke eye-contact and thought for a moment.

"Oh yeah, that... It doesn't matter, it wasn't important"

"You made it sound important" Felix countered, desperate not to let the only interesting conversation he'd had in weeks die out.

"It really wasn't, just forget about it."

Many weeks passed before Jesse's next visit, and when Felix finally saw his best friend again their conversations became much more trivial than they had been. He found himself discussing Jesse's new job and how much he hated he co-workers more than anything else. Interesting topics for conversation became a thing from Felix's past as his and Jesse's talks became comparable to those with his father. With nothing left to look forward to anymore, Felix found himself reflecting on his new situation: all the time he was spending in the hospital was almost certainly causing his grades to fall, his absence was causing people at school to almost forget about him completely, he was losing what few close friends he had; even Jesse was beginning to grow distant. Everything good from Felix's life was being torn away from him, and he was expected to think that it was a miracle he was still alive to see it happen.

***

Hariel paced in his cold stone cell like a caged animal, his twenty-eight days were over, and he was now anxiously waiting for someone to collect him for his trial. This wouldn't have been the first time that Hariel had been put on trial for severe rule-breaking, only a few years prior he would have lost his job had one of the archangels not taken an interest in him. But what he had done this time was far worse than things from the past, before he could just claim that he made a mistake or didn't read ahead properly and forgot things but that was not the case now. The facts couldn't be denied, in a rush of emotion he had gone against the Script, against Heavens rules, against everything he had been brought up to believe was right.

The Angel's thoughts were abruptly cut short by the sound of footsteps approaching his cell. This was surely the guards coming to give him the date of his trial. The footsteps got closer, and Hariel began to picture his trial. Sentries would stand either side of him, making sure that he didn't try to escape while the three Archangels would stare down at him and read his sentence (which would certainly be death). There would be a crowd, one of its members would undoubtedly be Azrael, smirking smugly as he watched his most despised employee finally face what he called justice for eras of rebelliousness and disrespect.

But it wasn't a guard, or even Azrael coming to mock him, it was Evangelina, offering Hariel some much needed kind words of comfort.

"Michael is delaying your trail. I am afraid you will have to stay in the cells for a little longer." She said in her usual calm and soothing voice.

"Why is he delaying?" Hariel asked.

"Gabriel cannot be located and Michael refuses to start the trial with him not in attendance."

"I am thankful, but I would have thought not having Gabriel would put me at a higher risk of prosecution. Would Michael not want to have the highest possible chances of getting me punished?"

"That is exactly what Azrael wants. You are lucky that Michael is more impartial than him and wants to confirm his decision with all of his brothers."

"All?"

"With an obvious exception."

"How long will Michael be delaying?"

"It is hard to say. Azrael is being a bit pushy, I cannot see the search continuing for more than a week before he gives in and starts without Gabriel."

"At least I have a little bit more time." Hariel confessed, he sat down with his back pressed up against the cold wall of his cell and rested his head against the bars to the side of him. Evangelina crouched down beside him and mirrored his position.

"I am sorry I could not bring better news."

"You are not to blame, I got myself into this mess, the consequences are mine to deal with. You have saved me far too many times in the past."

"You needed saving. You still do."

"You think so?"

"Thereis one thing in all of creation that has always been and will always be thesame: Hariel, you will always need saving. Make sure there is always someonethere to save you."

~~~End~~~