Fledgling: Book 1 (Afterlife) (2 page)

Blue cocks an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” He looks me up and down. “A multi-coloured being. They’re unpredictable.”
 

“I’m not that multi-coloured.” I defend myself. “I am only a few colours.” Holding out my golden-yellow wings, I look at my form fitting clothes and study my pants. The colours reflect our aura. “I am green, blue and golden yellow,” I say.

“Not to mention the black hair and grey eyes,” Blue points out.

I look at his dark hair and screw up my mouth. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

He smiles. “There seems to be a shortage on this deserted island.”

“Hmm!” I say. “And have you ever thought that maybe my eyes are silver not grey?”

“Silver eyes,” he says looking thoughtful. “Now that would be an interesting colour.”

“Fledglings!” The deep voice is stern, sounding over the noise of the group.
 

I look up. We all look up — all ten of us. In this place, we are all called Fledgling — new and ready to test our wings in the expansive world. We are nameless, freshly graduated angels after an intense six months of training. Our human names lost to us forever. All of us are chosen from our unique human lives.
 

Yes, that’s right. We were once humans. How? Well, that comes to that age-old question — What happens after we die? Do we go to Heaven or Hell, reincarnate, become reborn, spend our days floating around as spirits, or do we turn back to dust — never seen again?
 

My story is different. I have lived three lives. Yes, that is right, three. For the people who believe in reincarnation or rebirth, this would not be news. What makes my lives different is that they all ended abruptly and in violence. Each life ended by murder. In fact, every newly fledged angel here was murdered three times as an Innocent — Pure of heart and doing the best they can, to live a worthy life. It is the only way you can be chosen to serve and protect the current Innocents. To be honest, it was not something on my list of jobs to do as a human — die three times by murder, so I spend the rest of the days in service. Though now that I am here, I am glad to be chosen to protect people who are like I was as a human — innocent.

I study the figure that descends in front of me, the owner of the stern voice. Tall and built like a warrior with muscles well defined on his bare arms. His medium length hair flows loosely, and the brown glows golden in the sun. His jaw chiselled on his handsome face. While standing in front of his new graduates, his blue eyes observe every detail as he calls for their attention. He wears the outfit of an old-styled Roman warrior, cut off short above the knee. He is our leader, Michael, the great archangel. Not only is he the leader of our group, but also the leader of all the Archangels. For six months, he has been training us for this day.

Physically we are ready. We have been training hard. Our mission is to make the world a safer place for the Innocent, but it is what we have to do to the alleged guilty that may be a problem. Ruling that someone will be evil for the rest of their life and punish them, is a hard gig, even if directed to who must receive the punishment. The punishment is to insert a conscience into them. Sounds painless, but I have my doubts — after all, it is a punishment.
 

Today is the day we begin putting our training into practice. We have been waiting for this moment when Archangel Michael, our trainer, descends to give our instructions. Today is the day we are released to begin our new role as protectors of the Innocent.
 

By the time Archangel Michael has descended, we are all crowding around him and waiting for his instruction. I look around at the other fledglings’ faces. Their different auras are shining through in different colours. Some of them look eager to start, and others look apprehensive.
 

“Fledglings,” Archangel Michael says again. He stands firm in front of us with his white wings held out wide. His angelic form was intimidating enough, but with the wings spread they gave him a god-like appearance. As he studies the faces of his ten newly graduated angels, he continues. “As you know, today is the first day for you to fulfil your missions and duties in your angel life. You have all trained well, yet I know that some of you will struggle with your new role. You trained for a very important mission. It is imperative you insert the conscience, mentally maiming the evildoers from continuing in their ways. These orders must be followed closely to create a better and safer life for the humans on earth.”
 

He tucks in his wings and paces in front of us. His voice laced with authority. “Note well, if you do not follow these instructions — we have proven for thousands of years — your trial will be before the board of archangels, and your fate decided. I am the leader of that board; however if you break the rules you will not have any leniency from me because you were my student. Due to the large rise in crime, it is only recently we have started employing the innocent humans of three deaths to train as future angels.” He stops pacing and turns to face us. “If you do not do as commanded, you will be punished and placed in the abyss for as long as your ruled penalty — if not for life.”

He turns and studies his students one by one. When it is my turn, his eyes bore into me when he examines my face. Even though I am uncomfortable, I turn my eyes to his and hold my head high. It is not an act of defiance. I know I have trained well, and I am happy to serve and protect. His muscles along his jaw line ripple as his face remains expressionless. He continues to step forward and analyse the remainder of the graduates.
 

I breathe a silent sigh of relief as his eyes turn away. Archangel Michael stands for protection, justice and strength. If you are pure of heart, he will fight for you, but I would hate to be on his bad side. As he studies the other graduates, I watch. They have a similar reaction to mine, so I know that I am not alone in how I feel.
 

Once he has finished his final study of his graduate’s faces he turns and stands in front of us. He holds out his hands, and a small cloud appears within them. Balancing the cloud on one hand, he reaches in the centre with the other. When he pulls out the hand, he holds a small glowing bean and approaches me. As he holds it out and I take it from him tenderly, feeling it in my fingers. It feels smooth and warm. I look at him with confusion.

“These are the beans of life. Once you have received your bean, you must swallow it for it to reveal to you the life you are to protect. Any person with ill intent that is surrounding your person must receive a conscience. When inserted, they will stop pursuing the one you are protecting. Once you are successful in completing a mission, you must return to receive another. Remember, you are not on earth to kill.” He finishes handing each one of us a shining bean and says, “You may proceed.”

I slide the bean in my mouth and swallow. It slides down with ease, just like a tablet would with a little water. When it reaches my stomach, warmth starts to spread through my abdomen. At first, it reminds me of that feeling of swallowing a large amount of coffee; then the warmth grew. It is an unusual feeling. Visions of a face and a name start to reveal themselves to me, along with the country and precise address.
 

I close my eyes for a moment taking in the instructions. When I receive them, I open my eyes.
 

Archangel Michael watches until we complete the digestion of the instructions. “Now is the time to leave. Remember, once your mission is complete, you are required to return here ready for your next. Serve well.” His image disappears leaving the fledglings to process the information.
 

I look to the side to watch my friends. Blue is watching me. He almost looks sad. I give him a little smile trying to cheer him up.

Yellow interrupts my thoughts. “I am so going to miss you guys,” she squeaks.
 

I turn to look at her. “Where are you off to?”
 

“Bridgeport Connecticut, in the United States of America.” The edges of her mouth are turned down.
 

I turn to Blue and raise my eyebrow. “Paris, in France,” he answers. “Where are you going?”

“London. I’m so glad we can’t get cold anymore.” I smile weakly. “I hope we see each other soon.”
 

Blue places a hand on my shoulder. My heart sinks. I will miss him and Yellow. I look up into his eyes, and a thought crosses my mind. Holding out my hand I close it into a fist. After a moment, I open it to reveal three small charms. They are golden with three angels standing together, arm in arm. One blue male, one royal blue and green female with golden wings, and one yellow female angel. “Hopefully these will remind us of each other until we meet again.” I lace one on Yellow’s necklace and clasp the latch behind her neck. I study Blue’s physique briefly in search of a location to fasten it. He is not wearing any jewellery. The heat rises to my ears, knowing I am studying his form again. It is a strange sensation as I do not wish for any romance from him. He is my new best friend and besides, romances are strictly forbidden. But I cannot help the heat from embarrassment rising to my face. My eyes finally fall on a metal loop on his long pants — the little amount of clothing he wears. It is near his hip. Glad that the awkward search is over I lock the clasp over the loop. My eyes wander up to his. He is wearing that cheeky grin again. I back away and my fingers grab my bracelet and fumble with the clasp of the charm.
 

When attached, Blue steps forward and embraces me in a hug. Awkwardness mixed with comfort fills me in his firm arms. With a large smile, he steps forward further, dragging me backwards and opens his large arms to embrace Yellow. I reach out to embrace her. She wipes a stray tear from her cheek with a finger and returns the embrace. “Bye guys,” she squeaks through her sobs and then she disappears leaving Blue and I in our embrace.
 

I step back. “Best of luck,” I say and I lunge into the air without looking back. I hate goodbyes, I always have. Spreading my golden wings, I allow the wind to carry me. I am in the mood for flying today.
 

- Chapter Two -

A brightness glows from the buildings and streetlights below. I'm here. I have reached London. It took a little while because the Coral Sea, where the island sits, is near the northern parts of Australia. The flight was long, but completely invigorating. I enjoy feeling the wind beneath my wings and the clearness of mind that comes with the freedom. Since I began as a trainee angel, I had little time to think and ponder over what has happened. I had this time when flying. When I can think back over my three lives, I am glad I have been selected for this role.

Beneath me, it is early evening in the middle of December. It's cold and many people are already indoors settling in for the night. During my short lives, I did not have a chance to travel, and I am looking forward to seeing the different parts of the world.
 

I spot the street of my destination — Brick Lane. Its road and buildings finished in brick with only some walkways consisting of concrete. Even at this time of night there are several lights shining out of the buildings on the lower level. Curry restaurants and bakeries are still open for business, with cars parked out front. As I look for a discreet place to land, I fly low over the street making sure I am high enough to remain out of sight. My vision is stronger now I am not human. The lane is lit too brightly to land. I rise and circle the area doing my best to keep my golden wings away from the light. Not too far away, I spot a dark alley. Quietly, I land in the darkness and transform myself by folding away my wings. That way, I look human.
 

I walk out of the cramped area and into the light passing some closed shop windows. I stop, pretending to look at the merchandise on display. It is the first time I have seen myself since I have become an angel. As I ignore the people walking past, I observe the young lady in front of me. She looks to be about the same age as my past life – eighteen. Her skin is pale, her features on her face well defined in the right places. Her lips are full, and her eyes, intense between the long dark eyelashes that extend past the thin line of the eyebrow. I watch as the elegant hand in the reflection reaches up and strokes the long, dark brown hair. There is not a curl in sight.
 

Wow. It would have taken me ages to style my hair and face to look like this when I was a human. The image looks similar to me in my last life, but better, like I have been photo-shopped.
 

I let my eyes wander over the body. I'm wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt. It looks kind of like a bodysuit, with a mixture of royal blue and a deep green, with a few flecks of golden yellow I was certain would match my wings. I turn sideways to have a brief look behind. I look in perfect shape. But then I should not be surprised as training camp is a hard workout with all the fighting styles we learnt from Archangel Michael.

I turn back to the window and do one last final check making sure it is me.