Part One: Chapter One: Where Am I?

Part One: Chapter One: Where Am I?

Water. The last thing he knew was water.

And then his eyes opened again. He still heard water… he could still smell the salt, but he wasn’t wet. He wasn’t sore, he was breathing normally… In fact, he felt more right than he had in a long time. 

There was no weakness in his limbs, his eyes didn’t sting… He was dry, and warm, and he had no trouble sitting up and looking around.

The water spread out in front of him. No smoke, no flame… The beach was clean of debris. No mines, no barbed wire…

Hugh Alman looked down at himself. His uniform was... gone? No, he was still wearing it, but it was different now. He still had his tunic, pants, flight jacket, boots… They were all fresh and crisp; looking brand new. But his rank insignia was gone, so was the flag sewn into his sleeve.

Hugh looked around, noting the sky. It was empty. Just clouds, and birds, and nothing else. The air smelled cleaner and fresher than it ever had.

Hugh suddenly remembered himself, and started running his hands over his body. No injuries that he could see… Not even aches or bruises. That made no sense.

“Hi.”

Hugh spun around. About thirty feet up the beach, he found someone had joined him. A man of about twenty five years; maybe thirty. He was wearing simple clothes, which looked neat, but not expensive. Possibly handmade. His eyes didn't seem to fit in his face. His eyes were of a much older man, but there was no sign of age or blemish on his face. That in itself wasn't unusual. Hugh had been in half a dozen European countries over the last few years, and every school age child had seen more than anyone their age had a right to. His accent made him instantly identifiable. He was a Frenchman.

“Parlez vous anglais?” Hugh said immediately. He hoped the answer was yes. That was all the French he knew.

“In a manner of speaking. My name is Alec Ducard.” Alec nodded. “What’s your name?”

Hugh remembered himself suddenly. “What’s yours?” He answered, looking the man over. No weapons that he could see… “Civilian?”

“I suppose I am a civilian, yes.” Alec seemed amused by the question. “If you’re expecting me to take you prisoner, then you’ll be waiting a while.”

Hugh relaxed imperceptibly. “Well, Monsieur Ducard-

“Alec.”

“Alec, then. If you can get me in contact with… anyone remotely connected to Allied Forces, I’d be grateful. But if you don’t want to get involved, I’ll understand.”

Alec’s head titled. “You’re American?”

“Captain Hugh Alman, 398th Bombardment; US Air Force.” Hugh saluted. “Wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette you could spare, would you?”

Alec seemed amused again. “Afraid not. And you may have some trouble finding anyone else who did.”

“Tell me about it. Worth more than a pilot’s paycheck these days.” Hugh nodded ruefully. He’d had a terrible time getting hold of any of the more civilizing luxuries. “Well, if you could take me to the nearest road, I’ll make my way to whatever town is currently in friendly hands.”

Alec reached into his bag and pulled out an apple. “Hungry?”

“Ah, thanks.” Hugh felt better about his new friend. Nobody who was truly neutral would spare anything as valuable as a fresh apple. The fruit gave a satisfying crunch as he bit into it… and Hugh moaned. It was the sweetest, freshest, juiciest thing he’d ever tasted. “Oh, that’s glorious. I’ve never had an apple this good. Private orchard?”

“I picked it myself. There’s a community orchard of sorts along the main boulevard.” Alec reported. “Listen, do you mind if I walk with you? There are some things that you need to be aware of.”

“Any intel about the area is greatly appreciated.” Hugh said honestly. “Let’s start here: What happened to my uniform?”

Alec chuckled. “You said you were a combat pilot?” He took a breath. “This may be an awkward question, but… which war?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Hugh deadpanned. What’s wrong with this guy? “You’re French, you of all people should know. It was in all the papers.”

“You were shot down.” Alec observed.

Hugh spooked. “Y-Yeah.” He agreed. “I… I-I was trying to bail out, and I must have made it.” He paused. “Actually… Yeah. You’d think I’d remember that, huh?”

Alec gave him that mysterious knowing smile again. “Hm. Well, why not take a walk with me? I can show you the way into town, and you can contact anyone you need to contact. You won’t be able to reach your commanding officers, but if you have family out there...”

“No, no family any more.” Hugh’s expression darkened, remembering his brother.

Alec smiled softly. “Well… In time.” He hoisted his pack. “If you don’t have any family in the area, you can stay with me. There’s a boarding house that’s taking people in while they find a place for themselves. We’ll get you where you need to be, one way or another. And in the meantime, we should talk.”

Hugh walked with him. The air was sweet.

But the more perfect it was, the more unnerved Hugh got. Where is the war? And why can't I remember bailing out? Did I have a parachute on when I woke up?

~~/*\~~

There was a row of orange trees along the road, with ripe fruit. That was stranger still, because it wasn’t the right season. They each took a low-hanging fruit as they walked. Alec took a bite and nearly whimpered. By comparison, every orange he’d ever eaten was dry and bland and pale. This was the real thing. Something far grander and more succulent than anything he’d ever tasted. “This is amazing!” He blurted. “We’ve got to collect some more of these.”

“Oh, don’t worry, my brother; we’ll find plenty. Leave it for other travelers.” Alec promised him. “Mind if I ask an unusual question? What year is it?”

That caught him short. “Um, what?”

“Humor me.”

“1944. Why? Alec…” Hugh couldn’t stand it any longer. “What’s going on?”

“Well, let’s start with the good news. The war is over.” Alec said brightly.

“Over?” Hugh repeated blankly. “What do you mean 'over'?”

“The war ended in 1945. That was over two centuries ago.”

Hugh stopped walking. “You’re mad.” He breathed, reaching automatically for his holster, but it wasn’t there any more.

“I can prove it.”

“Go ahead.”

Alec reached into his jacket, and Hugh tensed. Whatever the guy was going to do, Hugh Alman was a trained soldier, and that made him formidable opponent, even unarmed. Alec’s expression told him to be calm, and the man reached slowly into his pocket, before pulling out something strange. It looked like a flat piece of glass, polished black. “What’s that?”

Alec tapped the glass, and it suddenly lit up.

“What in the world is that?!” Hugh blurted in shock.

“It’s called a Screen. Very useful tool. The early ones were first invented about seventy years after you flew war planes. Of course, there have been some upgrades since then.”

Stunned, Hugh looked closer. He’d been to the cinemas, but he’d never seen anything with such a sharp picture, let alone something you could carry around in your pocket. The image was of a beautiful garden… But as a warm voice narrated, the trees and flowers gave way to a grey sky, and the hills of green grass became filled with tombstones.

“Welcome, our dear brothers and sisters.” A voice came clearly from the device. “You are privileged to be freed of the last, greatest enemy that mankind has ever had. In an expression of his love for us, God has returned the world to the way He had always intended it to be. A paradise. A utopia. A united family of man. For thousands of years, human rulers have made the same promise, and been unable, through inability or personal failings to live up to it. But now, as He always promised He would; Jehovah God has freed us from the clutches of suffering and death.”

Hugh flicked his eyes to Alec. His ears pricked up. “Jehovah.” He groaned. “Oh, you’re one of them, aren’t you?”

Alec paused the video. “One of them?”

“Those Jehovah’s. I heard about you people.”

The video was started again, and Hugh had to admit, it was hard to take his eyes away from the fascinating device. The image on the screen was showing a quick series of animated shots, some of them appearing like an exquisite hand drawing, some of them just fading in and out of view. The narration continued with eager anticipation. “These promises include many wondrous things, such as an end to hunger; an end to hatred, an end to violence. Chief among these promises, was the glorious hope that death itself would no longer trouble humanity. Jesus himself resurrected people who had died, and promised those watching that ‘the hour is coming when all those in memorial tombs would hear His voice and come out’.” The image on screen showed that moment, when Lazarus embraced his sister again for the first time. “If you are watching this video, then you are one of those who have heard His voice.”

Hugh felt a twitch. He hadn’t let himself think too closely about it, but he remembered his plane going down. He remembered the blast ripping into him… At least, he thought he did. Walking around, feeling better than he ever had, it was an oddly… disconnected feeling, like he was watching the memory of someone else.

“You are almost certainly filled with questions, some of which you don’t even have the words for. But rest assured that the God who loves you has also made arrangements for you to come to know Him better.” The image on the screen shifted, the endless tombstones giving way back to the garden, only the colors were richer and brighter. “The world is filled with infinite promise, free from the stresses and constraints of the world you knew before. World Without End and Life Eternal! Amen!”

The video faded into a montage of photographs, dozens of people, hundreds of people all hugging each other. Hugh had been a soldier long enough to recognize reunions between long separated families. It was a very emotional sight.

“Back when I was a kid, all those pictures were artist impressions.” Alec smiled, wiping a tear away without shame. “We were picturing it so much, and now we have photographs of them. This is so much better, trust me.”

Hugh just looked at him. “You really expect me to believe that?” He said darkly. “That I'm... dead?”

“You were. You're no doubt feeling much better now.” Alec said with an easy smile. “This isn't heaven, though enough people in your position think it must be.”

Hugh shook his head. “No.” He said simply. The idea was too ridiculous to contemplate.

“Is it so hard to believe?” Alec asked him, as though it should have been easy. “When the world began in Eden, it was a paradise, and the humans there decided they didn’t want it. Six thousand years later, does anyone think that was a good decision? Is it really such a ridiculous stretch that God would put it all back the way He intended it?”

“More sense than sitting on a cloud playing a harp.” Hugh allowed. “Look, no offense, but take my word for it: People die. I’ve seen enough to know that. They don’t come back. Not ever. That's just a fact of life. It ends. This is the really real world, and there's no coming back.”

“But does it make sense?” Hugh challenged. “When you get hungry, do you rail at the universe, demanding to know why you need to eat?” Alec asked logically. “When you get tired, do you cry out ‘why?!’ to the world, demanding to know why you need to sleep? Or use a bathroom? Or breathe? These are all things that we were designed to do. But when we die, it just seems so massively, completely unfair. It’s because death was never part of what we were meant for. It’s not a logical, natural part of life. It’s just been a mistake we’ve had to live with for so long that we’ve forgotten there was any other way to be.”

Hugh snorted. “Y’know, I hadn’t thought of it like that. But even so, I don’t like people waving their hands at mysteries. I don’t know why there weren’t any mines on the beach. I don’t know what happened to my uniform, and I don’t know where that little glass picture show of yours came from. But I’m not about to believe in magic just because I’ve seen a trick I don’t understand. The rabbit out of the hat is impressive to watch, but nobody with any sense would throw away the rules of existence just like that.”

“Yeah, I had the same opinion once.” Alec smirked. “Y’know, I’ve done this several times now. I’m getting pretty good at noticing the changes. For example, you’ve been squinting a little at the trees we pass. You’re testing your vision, because you can’t understand why everything seems a lot sharper. You turn your head a lot at sounds, and I'm betting it's because you're used to having weaker hearing in one ear, and now you don't. You’ve been flexing your left hand, I’m guessing you hurt it or had arthritis or something, and now it’s back to normal. Any scars? They’re gone too.”

Hugh said nothing for a long moment, before he slid one hand up under his shirt. His appendix had been removed so many years ago that the scar had faded some, but he couldn’t find it now...

“Well, you can check the rest later.” Alec smirked and stretched a little. “But in any event, I was about to head into town and have lunch, and you’re welcome to join me.”

“No, thank you. But I’ll walk with you, if you don’t mind. I seem to have… misplaced my sidearm. Someone walking alone will have a harder time of it.”

Alec just gave him that patient smile again.

“Stop smilin' at me!” Hugh warned him.

~~/*\~~

They walked for about ten minutes before the silence got to him. “Why were you at the beach?” Hugh asked suddenly. “You don’t seem to be working there, and it didn’t look like you were there for a swim.”

Alec held out a piece of blue paper. It had Hugh’s name written on it, as well as a date and time. Hugh blinked. The date was a good three months away from where it should have been. “What is this?”

“The resurrection has been underway for almost a century.” Alec explained. “When someone is due to arrive, someone is assigned to welcome them back. We haven’t quite figured out the pattern, or the timing. It’s not done according to chronology or location. But we know that however they show up… They’ll be in a time and place where they’ll have their best shot.”

“And you’re my… what? Guide? Guardian Angel?”

“More like a welcoming committee.” Alec smiled. “It’s understood that everyone does their part. But someone has to give you the broad points. Once we get back to town, you’ll meet plenty of people who will be only too happy to talk to you.”

Hugh looked back at the page. It was the same one that he’d seen Alec put into his pocket. And it had his name on it. How did anyone know he was going to be… wherever he was?

“I can see you looking at the date.” Alec perceived. “It doesn’t include the year, but trust me, it’s been a while.”

“The scary part is, I’m starting to believe you.” Hugh commented. “Not about God and resurrections and such, but I’m seeing a lot of landmarks that I saw from my plane. I know I’m in the right place, but I’m in the wrong time. The seasons have changed, for one… And even if you’re a crazy person who thinks that the war has ended…”

“You’d think there’d be more fortifications.” Alec nodded.

“A long, straight piece of road like this? There should be checkpoints, wire…” Hugh shivered.

“It’s going to be jarring for you, to go from a world at war, to a world at peace. And not just an absence of fighting, but real peace.” Alec gestured. “Hey, look at that!”

To the far left of the trees, there were a family of rabbits… And Hugh felt his jaw drop open when he saw a Fox sitting with them. The baby rabbits were nuzzling playfully into the fur of his long tail. The adult rabbits were watching the humans expectantly, not concerned with the predators, or with the humans.

“That’s… bizarre.” Hugh said after a moment.

Alec smiled and pulled an apple from his basket, tossing it to the animals, who all came around to munch on it, without pushing or tearing at each other. “You’ll find many of the rules you once thought were set in stone have been turned on their head.” Alec smiled at him. “My advice? Don’t think of it as something ‘going wrong’. Think of it as being ‘set right’.”

“Like the whole ecosystem and the laws of nature?”

“Remember who wrote those laws.” Alec reminded him. “It’s a whole new world.” They started walking again. “Listen, if you won’t believe me, then do me this favor: When we get to town, keep your eyes open. Look for what’s not there.”

“Such as?”

“Well, you mentioned that there are no fortifications. When we get to town, you won’t see any weapons. You won’t see any churches, or religious icons. You won’t see anyone begging for a handout, or trying to pick your pocket. You won’t see anyone coughing or sneezing, or looking unwell. You won’t see anyone… old. All these things have passed away.”

Hugh stared at him while they walked. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“There have been quite a few changes in the last two hundred years.”

“The war is over.” Hugh said numbly. “Did we win?”

“Oh yes, the Allies marched on Berlin a year after you… dropped.” Alec nodded. “But you’ll find that has little to do with it. Fascism is long gone, along with Communism, Monarchies, Capitalism… A person’s politics is no longer an issue.”

“Then who’s in charge?”

Alec pointed a finger up at the sky with a grin.

Hugh shook his head. “Not buying it.”

“I know. It’s not unexpected at this point.” Alec nodded, unconcerned. “My people were waiting for it our whole lives, but you? You’ve been thrown out of everything you know. It’s only natural to expect some… resistance.”

“You mean 'common sense'.” Hugh shot back. “I mean, I went to war against a dictator, but every soldier on the line knew that sooner or later another one will rise somewhere in the world. It’s the way of things. Even if I slept through a century like Rip Van Winkle, or landed in the future like some HG Wells character… You can change your circumstances, but not human nature.”

“What do you mean?”

“I grew up in a world where foxes ate rabbits, and where tyrants claimed power, and armies fought for squares of colored cloth. I grew up in a neighborhood where you chose between joining a gang and being a victim, and where money and power were means unto themselves. The strong dominate the weak, and the weak wait for their chance to get revenge. It’s not a good world, but it’s real. And you’re telling me, that’s just not how it is anymore?”

“That’s right.” Alec said simply.

“And you expect me, a veteran of over a dozen dogfights and seven bombing runs, to believe that in the time it took me to get salt water out of my eyes; God put his foot down and wiped out every reason a person could have to feel sad or pressured by anything at all?”

“That’s right.” Alec said simply.

Hugh just stared at him. “Well… I still don’t believe it.”

~~/*\~~

“You said you’d heard about us.” Alec said after a few minutes of walking. “What have you heard?”

“That you won’t fight.”

“That’s a problem?”

“There’s a war on, and it already cost my brother. When I hear stories about draft dodgers, I wonder if my brother would be alive right now if one of your mob had the nerve to stand up and do your bit like the rest of us.”

“Duty wasn’t the issue.” Alec told him. “We were very mindful of our duty. It’s just that our duty wasn’t to the war effort.”

“I bet the enemy was grateful you felt that way.” Hugh said bitingly.

“Well, that’s actually what I was leading up to.” Alec said with a self-deprecating smile. “The war is over, my friend. Has been for longer than I’ve been alive, and that’s saying something these days. There is no enemy.”

Hugh was about to answer when they came around the bend in the road and Hugh saw a city for the first time since he was knocked out of the sky. “Wow.” He said before he could stop himself.

Alec smiled with pride. “Something, isn’t it? Welcome to New Paris.”

The city shone. It didn’t look real. The buildings were all artistic. Hugh had spent enough time in the older European countries to recognize the architecture, and it didn’t look anything like the city he’d visited once before the war. The buildings were all low, with few apartment buildings, but there were trees and grass in among them, not kept apart from them. It looked like the city was part of the fields of grass and rolling hills.

In the distance, he could see towers that reached into the sky, with curved lines and sweeping plazas at their base. They weren’t made of steel and chrome like back in New York. These towers were made of something that looked like shining ivory and glass. Every level of the towers seemed to be open to the sun. He could see living things in neat gardens along every tower.

It was as though the city, and the people in it had sprung forth from the natural world. Everything was green and growing and healthy. The wind shifted and he could catch the sounds of people talking, but none of the traffic that he was used to. The air from the city seemed clean and healthy and natural.

He could see rivers running between the blocks of people, with cute little bridges over them. The streets were lined with smooth cobblestones instead of concrete and there were windmills turning all over the place. The township was designed around people being outdoors, with each other, and the buildings being apart of the landscape.

In the distance, he could see few landmarks. But the air was clear and fresh and he could see further than he’d ever seen before.

Alec gestured for him to follow, and he did so automatically. Alec wasn't leading him into the middle of town, but to a smaller collection of buildings and streets at the base of the hill they had come around. Hugh looked, and could see more of those new buildings, mid-construction, and streets made of paved stones being laid. This place was still being built.

Where am I?

~~/*\~~

The workforce was being called in for lunch when Hugh and Alec arrived. Everyone nodded a welcome to them, and Alec made introductions. Hugh watched their reactions with a detached interest. His mind was on something else entirely, but he noticed every single stranger looking at him, then the blue page in Alec's hand, and then back to him with a big, warm smile.

Without pushing or shoving, everyone collected a plate, and a knife and fork, and then made their way to the tables.

The tables were long, like a banquet. The were all piled high with food. Food that made Hugh's mouth water. Army hash was all he'd eaten in years. It was enough to convince him that the war was indeed over. A feast like this would have been raided by hungry people the second it hit table.

Everyone collected food for their plates, but didn't eat until someone said grace. Hugh barely heard it, still lost in his own thoughts, but he knew the prayer was something he hadn't heard before. When he noticed Alec pick up his fork, he shook it off quickly and mumbled an Amen, just to be polite. A meal like this was nothing to be ungrateful over. He piled his plate high, and suddenly noticed something. “No meat?”

“We don’t really do that any more.” Alec said kindly. “Don’t worry, nobody will go hungry.”

“I’m sure, and it looks like an amazing spread, but it surprises me that having so much food wouldn’t include one meat dish.” (Author's Note: Scripture says to care for the souls of domestic animals. Humanity was given permission to eat meat after the Flood. I could find no scripture to directly address the question of whether or not we’ll return to a wholly vegetarian diet, but I will cover that topic more directly later in the book.)

“I know what you mean. Back when this whole thing began, we ate the leftover supplies of the world, but that lasted about a week. I remember thinking that if we all had to go vegetarian, then what was the point of living forever?”

Hugh laughed at that. It was the first thing Alec had said that he’d agreed with wholeheartedly.

“There’s a group over in the states that are working on making a meat substitute. Something that looks and tastes like the real thing, only without needing livestock to raise and slaughter.” Someone put in from beside them. It was a young woman with distinctive silver hair. She held out a hand. “Rachel.”

Hugh shook her hand automatically. “Ma’am.”

Alec made introductions. “Sister Rachel Bridger here is the head of the Tech Division for the area. The Device I gave you? She headed the team that designed it.”

Hugh couldn’t help the nod. “Impressive toy.” Inwardly, he wondered how a woman came to be the head of any Division, let alone one with such engineering skill.

“Better where that came from.” Bridger told him with a smile, pulling her own from her pocket. “Technology is an interesting question these days.” She sipped her fruit juice. “All the bible stories we’ve been told, they had nothing better than a horse drawn chariot. By the time the system ended; every shiny new toy was obsolete the second it was bought.”

Hugh looked at the device in her hand again. “Really?”

“Really. A lot of people bankrupted themselves trying to keep up with the curve.” Rachel toasted him with a big smile. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. We get to do it right this time. Build something that won’t be obsolete instantly. We’ve got a patient customer base who have time to spare, people who will learn things quick and perfectly, and an industry that isn’t obsessed with ruining lives and exploiting and pillaging resources and workers, all in the name of a little more cash. Now we slow it down, and make a better product at the same time.”

“Yeah, but how?” Hugh asked, and jerked a thumb at Alec. “This one keeps telling me that everyone is coming back. Everyone since the world began. When my grandfather died, I wasn’t born yet. In his day, there wasn’t any such thing as an airplane. I was a combat pilot. How do I tell my grandfather about this thing?” He held up the device. “He worked on a steam trawler.”

“And he will probably have a steam trawler to work on.” Rachel said lightly. “The people who are coming back? We’re learning as much from them as they are from us. I worked R&D on this sort of thing, but none of my people have a clue how to use a slide-rule; because they grew up on calculator apps.”

“What’s a calculator app?” Hugh asked.

“You’ll find out.” Rachel told him. “The Brothers never hesitated to use the latest technology, as long as it was in service of the cause. They reached more people with the internet than they ever could going door to door. People learn more from multimedia visual aids than they do from conversation. There have been actual sociology studies.”

Hugh nodded, as though it made perfect sense. “I don’t have a clue what any of that meant, you understand.”

Rachel smiled. “For the next eight hundred years or so, there's going to be a gap between the few million people who know what's going on in the world, and the many billions of people who are coming back. So do the Information Age people learn how to use slide rules for the benefit of the returned people? Or do the returned people learn how to use modern tech and catch up with all the centuries they missed?”

Alec snorted into his drink. Hugh got the impression that this was an old debate.

“We’ll have technology to help you figure out what’s going on and figure out what to do next; and most of them you’ll be able to use by yourself soon enough.” Rachel explained. “And in return, we’ll need people to teach us how to do things the old fashioned way, because that’s the only way a lot of stuff will get done.”

“There, now that I understood.” Hugh smirked. He heard a commotion and looked over to see two groups of people having an… altercation. “What’s going on over there?”

Alec glanced over and his expression clouded. “Oh.”

Hugh looked closer, trying to be subtle about it. He’d seen more than a few situations like this. There was a fight brewing. About fifteen people, in two groups, were squaring off. A lot of anger was being held just under the surface. “I thought the world was all about peace and love now.”

“It is. But there are plenty of newcomers that haven’t gotten the message yet.” Alec looked at him. “Look at it this way, Hugh. If I had a German accent when we first met, would we have been having such a pleasant conversation?”

“Probably not.” Hugh admitted.

“Sooner or later, two soldiers who met on a battlefield will meet again. The point is not to win the old fights! The point is to unlearn them.” Alec sighed. “It’s a big ask, but it’s a lot easier than it was back in the Old Days.”

Hugh would have said something against that, but looking around the plaza, and the hundreds of people… it was hard to argue with. Except for the brewing fight, there was a sense of total tranquility here. Not laziness, for everyone seemed energetic enough and ready for more, but it was hard to picture anything really going wrong.

He looked back to the two people having an argument... and the dozen people around them, choosing sides. It was getting more and more heated before his eyes. He took a step forward, intending to break it up, but Rachel put a hand on his shoulder. “Wait. Watch for it.”

Someone had finally gotten angry enough to throw the first punch… which stopped dead in midair, inches from impact. The other man jumped back, fists clenched, ready to strike, when suddenly he stopped dead, mid-movement.

Like a magic trick, the air rippled, as though something was parting the thin air, and revealing something else behind it. Hugh felt his heart stop, as two men suddenly appeared out nowhere. It took him a moment to realize that they weren’t exactly men. Their faces shone with golden light, and their bodies with radiant white.

And they had wings.

The men who were fighting had instantly forgotten each other. Half the men brewing for a fight had dropped to their knees.

Hugh stared blankly at the impossible sight. “They.... They’re…”

“Angels.” Alec supplied the word warmly. “Yes, they’re real.”

Hugh couldn’t think of a thing to say, presented with something so… awe-inspiring. The brewing fight was over instantly, with the angelic escorts taking each fighter away from each other.

“Well, you asked who was in charge.” Alec grinned. “You just met the police force. Sooner or later, they won’t be so… peaceable about it; but those people are new, and haven’t sorted themselves out yet.”

Hugh caught himself quickly and sat back down. He had no idea how it was possible, but he knew that if he stepped out of line, someone with wings would keep him in his place.

For the first time since the beach, Hugh was afraid.

~~/*\~~

End of Chapter One