CounterPoint (3 page)

“I know. I’ve been busy,” replied Ariel, watching the water spray over the diamond rocks and glisten magically up into the air against the backdrop of a golden oasis sky. Small droplets from the spray formed into a long sleeve of shimmering, rainbow-coloured stones and flew downwards, sweeping round the garden like a pup exploring the outside world for the first time.

“As have I.  I’m sure you haven’t contacted me now to correct that faux pas. I gather the problems on Earth are mounting.”  Lana was always cold and calculating, straight to the point no matter who or what you were.

“There are rumours that Michael believes the time is now to rid evil from the planet forever. He believes if we do not take action now then evil will take over this world, and therefore destroy the experiment. Obviously I haven’t relayed my fears to the department staff. But we both know this has been boiling for years. Too many now think God isn’t coming back, and that we’ve been tasked with administering a planet for all eternity.  None of us have been consulted,” he said, trying to contain his anger. Angels were created to serve the wishes of God.

“Do you truly believe this path is not righteous?”

“I believe going down this path will lead to hundreds of millions of human causalities. It could even make the planet uninhabitable. The experiment would be voided. The Ministry of Defence is already stockpiling weapons to field the entire angelic presence on Earth. If we descend onto the streets to take demons head on it will mean
war
. Humans have progressed to such an extent that we will not be able to camouflage this. The chaos it would wreak on the planet would be cataclysmic. It would overwhelm every regional office and every Ministry,” said Ariel.  Despite looking serene and calm in the garden, he was frightfully alert mentally. The issues they faced deserved nothing less.

“It would mean an end to the human experiment. That is definite,” shot back Lana impatiently. She always was more ‘human like’ with her expressions. “Regardless of how Michael tries to justify this, the experiment will be voided. Be under no illusion about this. No one on Heaven, Earth or beyond truly knows what will happen if Michael were to take this course. Even if he is able to evaluate the experiment after the war, only God knows the parameters to be measured against. Michael may believe evaluating the experiment will free angels from their task on Earth. That will only happen when God returns and evaluates the experiment – and our actions will be included in that experiment.”

“What does Heaven say?” asked Ariel, his high powered angelic mind processing endless outcomes.

“Would it matter?” replied Lana.  “Michael rules both Heaven and Earth. You know this. Heaven, even if it disagrees with Michael, will not stop him.”

Ariel knew this was true. Those in Heaven, the elder angels, had long since resigned themselves to the knowledge that Michael had built an empire on Earth. They had little sway over planetary affairs and were now considered advisors at the very most. “If we go to war with demons planet wide, and then try to evaluate the experiment, the other Gods will rise against us.”

“Most certainly, Ariel. When Michael announces his course of action in the Council the other Gods will begin making preparations of their own.” 

A Council meeting was only ever convened when something that had global ramifications was to be enacted. It was first established by the Archangel Gabriel as a way of creating channels of communication and dialogue in areas which were often fraught with tension and violence between Michael and the other Gods who had settled on Earth.

“The Council won’t be able to stop Michael however,” said Ariel, stating the obvious.

“How true. The other Gods will not side with us in this battle. They may not side with demons either but they will get involved. You know many angels see the Council as a tool for appeasing those they consider inferior to themselves. Another nasty aspect of our kind we do not talk about. However Michael tries to justify this, the Gods will rise against it. They will not stand idly by and watch a place they now call home be destroyed by a petulant Archangel,” replied Lana, now sitting beside Ariel but still gazing forward into the distance.

“What would be the global effects of this war?”

“For humans, the destruction of cities and infrastructure on a scale unimaginable to them. Countries will attempt to use their armed forces to intervene as fighting will descend onto the streets and into the air.  Millions would be displaced and hundreds of millions more would be killed in the crossfire and with civil unrest. I do believe we would ultimately be successful in destroying the demon threat, but the scar we would leave on humanity and on the planet would never heal. Humans would become aware of our existence beyond all doubt. Gods such as Kali will become involved, adding to the chaos. Every department would be over-run. You’re talking about an influx of human souls greater than at any point in history. Remember the problems we had when the Black Death and Spanish flu occurred? Not to mention two world wars in one century.”

“Oh, I remember,” answered Ariel. Those crises overwhelmed every department, allowing demons to swell in numbers by luring humans over to the dark side. When a life form on Earth dies, they automatically leave their physical body and appear at a local sorting office, where angelic staff decides whether the person has earned the right to proceed directly to Heaven. If one has done enough good in their human life, they are taken by an angel to Heaven. If staff at the sorting office can’t decide on a particular human, they are sent to purgatory. This waiting area for humans has been bloated for centuries. Once in purgatory the human must wait for a council of elder angels to review their life and decide whether they should be allowed entry to Heaven, or face damnation in Hell. For those who had committed unforgivable sins, one of Death’s staff would collect and escort them to Hell. Hell was once under the control of angels as an intense rehabilitation centre but demons overran it centuries ago. Angels were never able to regain control of Hell since. The entire process was set up to be extremely efficient, if rather emotionless. As Ariel knew however, Angels were there to run the planet as efficiently as possible and not to mollycoddle its inhabitants.

“Then you should know this will cause chaos on a scale we have never witnessed before. Not only that, but with these humans directly caught in the crossfire of a war between Heaven and Hell, their souls are going to be shattered. It will take years to repair that kind of damage. To make matters worse, it will also incur the wrath of those outside the angelic hierarchy.”

“You’re referring to the Sisters of Fate?” asked Ariel. He knew that those not in the angelic ranks could cause trouble but usually they stayed out of their affairs.

“Not only them. Death, the Script Writers, the Holy Ghost. They’ll all be infuriated by this deviation from the natural course.”

“Michael’s in charge though. It’s our planet. We have to do what we think is right, Lana. How much longer do we carry on administrating this world for? What if God never comes back? What if the human experiment is irrelevant now?”

Lana looked round at Ariel and shook her head in disappointment, clearly spending too much time on Earth with the rest of the department heads had clouded his views.

“This is not our planet and Michael is not in charge. He’s merely the next one up the celestial chain of command. God is in charge, be under no doubt about that,” she countered scathingly. “The human experiment is not to be evaluated now. To do so would destroy the experiment. If Michael thinks evaluating this experiment will release him from his tasks then he is a fool. There is no guarantee the experiment will be successful, and if it fails then we will all be held accountable. Evil has not destroyed this experiment and therefore Michael cannot take this course of action. God will seek to punish those who have managed this planet so poorly in his absence.”

“God’s gone, Lana. He hasn’t been seen or heard of since the fall of Lucifer, have you seen him? Heard from him?” replied Ariel, equally scathingly. If there was one intense controversy among the angels, it was this one.

“No, I haven’t. The last time I saw him was with the rest of you, before he ordered Michael to banish Lucifer once and for all. But I have faith. One day he will return and when he does, he isn’t going to be happy. I suggest you decide where your true loyalties lie. Just remember this, you are here to protect and care for God’s creations.”

Ariel stared at Lana, his face a blank expression, but she had gotten her point across. The conversation was over and she vanished.

Chapter 3

David Bassett stood in the kitchen overlooking the Thames in London. It was a modern, spacious, well-apportioned apartment with huge glass pane windows overlooking the muddy Thames River. The minimalistic design and the monochromatic black and white aesthetic suited David and his partner. They were both by every means ‘city boys’, dining in fine restaurants and wine bars.  The apartment was kitted with the latest gadgets, due to David loving technology. Stirring soup in a pot, he looked absent-minded as he pondered the presentation he was to deliver the next day to his boss, only slightly aware of the raging storm outside. Most people beyond the field considered financial investment boring. He found it thrilling: the chase of getting a deal, making the numbers work.

The breadbin opened smoothly, and a loaf of bread unwrapped itself. Four thick white slices were released and travelled across the kitchen, settling down on a square white plate in the centre of the rectangular, black glass dining table. While the table seated eight, only two places were laid out as they hadn’t entertained in a while - the pressures of work.

“Thomas, dinner!” called David. Hearing the movement upstairs, he knew Thomas had actually heard him the first time for once. Pouring the homemade pea and ham soup, a personal favourite, into two deep white bowls, he made sure to equal it out.

“Thank God, I’m starving. Been waiting for this all day,” claimed Thomas, sitting down at the edge of the table and unfolding a black cloth napkin. He was an extremely attractive guy, fine featured with a styled mop of brown hair. Always slim no matter how much junk food he ate, he was able to make any clothes look good. “Wow, you’re actually carrying the bowls over, I’m impressed.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” smiled David, settling down at the table. It was true he had been trying to rely less on his unique abilities of late, especially in front of Thomas. He knew Thomas had no problem whatsoever with them; Hell, they’d been together eight years. But still, David was always worried that they might someday just stop working so he should always be careful not to rely on them too much. Simple every day chores were okay, well he tried to convince himself of that anyway. Considering how untidy Thomas could be it was either use his abilities or get a maid.

“Just exercising my wrists. I’ve booked our taxi for one,” David smirked, meeting Thomas’s wide smile. It was actually booked for quarter past one, but Thomas was never on time and always running around the house like something possessed at the last minute. When it came to organisation, he was severely lacking.

“Why so early?”

“There’s a demonstration for some gay pride rights tomorrow, traffic will be crazy.”

“Ah, right.”

David always ensured he visited his family in Dublin, Ireland, at least once a month. It was the only area where he and Thomas were totally different. He wasn’t close to his family at all, and could go for months without even speaking to them on the phone. David had given up trying to persuade him to make more of an effort, he knew there was bad blood on both sides and Thomas couldn’t be expected to do all the mending himself. However, David certainly considered himself a ‘home bird’ and only took his current business position here after much thought and persuasion from his family and friends, not to mention the near million pound annual salary. While he knew it was an amazing opportunity to work for such a large international organisation, he did hope to be able to secure a position in their Dublin Head Office one day. Neither he nor Thomas particularly liked London; it was grey and very dull. Some aspects, such as the nightlife, appealed to them greatly but they always knew if they had to choose, it would be Dublin.

“How about we head out tonight, to chill and have some pre-holiday drinks before we go?” asked Thomas, that trademark cheeky smile on his face again. Thomas could never just have
‘a few’
drinks when he went out. Whilst being a lecturer, no one should be under any doubt that when Thomas was not in work he was a totally different guy.  Compared to David he was definitely the party animal of the two, not that he cared of course. He fell in love with him for who he was, not for who he wanted him to be.

They met back in 2004 when they were both at the University of Dublin.  Thomas was walking across a pedestrian crossing, music blaring out of the earphones he wore, when a bus came speeding. If David hadn’t slowed the bus down that day, he probably wouldn’t be here. That little incident struck up their friendship. Friendship eventually turned into dating and then a relationship. He always wondered if he had gone to his lecture that day instead of deciding to go to the library, would he have ended up with Thomas. He never believed in a grand plan or fate. He liked to believe you made your own luck and your own decisions. Take each day as it comes. He certainly made his own luck that day. It was always a joke between the two, with Thomas accusing him of
stalking him
that day and speeding the bus up then slowing it down on purpose. Laughing at Thomas trying to pull the innocent face as he suggested drinks, David rolled his eyes and agreed. After eight years, Thomas could still charm him to no end.

“Let’s head to the L.E.H.G, haven’t been there in ages. Matt’s been asking about you,” said Thomas, trying to scoop up some bits of ham in his soup.  L.E.H.G was a gay bar in a district of London called Soho and Matt was the owner.