The Fallen (Angelic Redemption) (16 page)

Lila’s opening shots and the following chaos
finally convinced the humans they were in danger. Having rushed into the
kitchen, they waited for Sophie to give them directions. Now, as the gunfire
subsided and the sounds of cars crashing increased, they were still waiting.

Sophie watched the gun in her hand tremble and
felt the humans’ eyes on her as she hid like a coward. The self-proclaimed
loser as a human was now a loser as a hunter. Sophie felt like crying, but knew
that would only make the situation worse.

How much Sophie wished to be a hero like Lila. To
make God proud as He looked down upon her, but she was afraid of the villains
and their evil plans, afraid of the pain and suffering that awaited her, and
mostly afraid of failure. God watched on though. She could almost feel His eyes
on her and this sense of being judged finally forced her to act.

The humans watched her walk to the kitchen door -
towards danger and not away from it. Some of them whispered, but she could hear
nothing beyond the beating of her angry heart. Sophie felt stupid moving closer
to those who wanted to harm her, but she knew this was her job. God didn’t
expect her to do what Lila did, but He expected her to do something.

Sophie left behind the whispering humans and
walked into the empty dining area. Outside the chaos had died down, but Sophie
sensed the fight wasn’t over. Approaching the restaurant’s front door, she saw
villains on the ground, twitching and groaning as they regenerated. She also
noticed broken and smoking cars. What she did not see was Lila.

Standing just outside the front door, Sophie
waited for some sign. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew standing there
doing nothing felt wrong. Moving towards the twitching villains, she pointed
her gun at the closest one and fired into its head. The other villains were
more than twitching though. They sat up and aimed their weapons at her.

Sophie flinched at the oncoming bullets then
cried out when someone’s hands were on her. Roman turned her body so he acted
as a shield for the attack. Undaunted by his wounds, he returned fire. The
villains flopped to the ground.

“Where’s Lila?” Sophie asked, still cowering
against Roman.

“At the hotel, getting us a new car. How are the
humans?”

“Okay, but I think there are more villains.”

Roman nodded, turning in the direction of a semi
racing towards them. Having dislodged itself from the first semi, the truck now
rumbled its way into the parking lot. Sophie began to speak when Roman
disappeared. She saw him reappear in the cab of the truck where a quick
struggle ensued. The truck groaned to a halt before shutting off completely. In
a flash, Roman returned and destroyed the villains on the ground then stood at
Sophie’s side.

The sound of approaching sirens concerned Sophie. While
Roman seemed to hear them too, he frowned in a way that seemed more afraid than
necessary.

“Do you feel that?” Roman asked, studying the now
quiet road.

In the restaurant, people began to stir. Across
the road at the gas station and fast food joints, patrons poked their heads out
to survey the damage. Sophie tried to sense what Roman did, tried to feel the
danger, but her nerves were frayed and all she felt was fear.

“Lila,” Roman whispered, grabbing Sophie’s wrist.

For a moment, Sophie felt like she was falling.
The sensation tensed her body and she cried out. Just as the panic started to
set in, she was standing with Roman in their hotel room.

“Did she already take our stuff?” Sophie asked, needing
to hear her voice for comfort.

“She
must be waiting in the parking…”

Flinching, Roman grabbed at his chest and Sophie
thought they were under attack again. The room was silent though and outside
the only sounds were sirens approaching from the interstate.

Grabbing Sophie again, Roman shifted them from
the room to the hotel parking lot. Standing next to their old car, Roman
studied their surroundings, his eyes frantic.

“She’s over there,” Roman said, moving quickly
through the parked cars.

Like Sophie, Lila was tall at around five ten. If
Lila were standing, she should be obvious in the parking lot, yet Sophie didn’t
see her. Roman though moved with the swiftness of a man knowing his
destination.

Roman stopped abruptly next to a large SUV. When Sophie
saw Lila, any confidence she felt in herself, let alone the mission,
evaporated. Roman moved quickly to Lila’s side, taking her hand and whispering
something Sophie couldn’t hear.

Staring at Lila’s lifeless body, Sophie then
noticed a pile of fleshy goop near the SUV.

“What is that?”

“A demon,” Roman said quickly, his voice calm as
he picked up Lila and moved her to the SUV. “We need to go now.”

Sophie stared at the goop and the pool of Lila’s
blood. She hoped to hear a moan or see movement from Lila as Roman laid her in
the backseat. Roman might have hoped for the same, but he showed no signs of
panic or sorrow. He instead turned back to Sophie and took her hands.

“This looks bad and it makes sense to be scared,
but we can’t stay here. The villains and the demon might be dead, but we’re
exposed here. Please get in the car and start driving, so I can stay with Lila.
Will you do that for me?”

Sophie knew Roman must be afraid, despite the
calm in his eyes and steeliness in his voice. She wished he would cry out
though and lose his cool, just so Sophie could do the same. Yet Roman refused
to give up hope.

Embracing the faith in Roman’s eyes, Sophie hurried
to the car. Roman slipped into the backseat, holding Lila’s lifeless body
against him. He again whispered to Lila and again his words were met with
silence.

“Get back on the interstate and ignore the
police. Just head east and I’ll let you know when to change highways.”

“Where are we going?”

“To a safe house. We’ll be there by nightfall.”

“We should go back to Sawyer’s.”

“He can’t help us and I need my people.”

“She’s dead, isn’t she?”

“She’s not dead.”

“She looks dead, Roman. I’m sorry, but she’s
gone.”

“I know what she looks like,” he said, his voice filled
with an unnatural calm, “but I also know how it feels when she’s dead. God
isn’t done with her yet. Just drive as fast as you can and we’ll save her.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Sophie said, pulling past
the line of police cars.

Roman nodded. “The Lord can fix this. He can
still save her. If you believe it, He’ll reward your faith.”

Sophie nodded, wanting to believe. Speeding up
the SUV as she merged onto the Colorado interstate, Sophie listened to Roman’s
whispering. His words were soft and calm. While she wanted to feel such
calmness too, Sophie knew her friend was gone. Unnerved by the meaning behind
Lila’s silence, Sophie sighed again.

“I’m sorry, but I need to listen to the radio to
calm me down.”

“Go ahead,” Roman said, pushing hair from Lila’s
lax face.

Switching on the radio, Sophie was startled to
find the sound way up. As she turned down the volume, she realized REO
Speedwagon’s
Can’t Fight This Feeling
was playing. Roman glanced up and
smiled.

Sophie didn’t know what would happen next as they
raced into the warming day, but she knew God had the answers. For the time
being, this would have to be enough.

The prison once housed violent criminals. Now,
the only prisoners were female aid workers seized in an attempt to distract
from the personal nature of Heidi’s kidnapping. Having switched cars just
before sunset, Joaquin and Heidi sat in an older model truck not far from the
walls of the prison.

Eyeing Heidi in the darkness, Joaquin still hoped
to convince her to stay behind. Yet, she seemed determined to storm the castle,
based solely on the orders of a child.

Heidi stared at the prison with a strange smile
on her face. The anticipation radiating off of her was intoxicating and Joaquin
found himself looking forward to causing the cartel pain.

Turning to her, he momentarily enjoyed her beauty
before getting down to business.

“You will stay with me. No wandering off. No
slowing to help injured women. Stay next to me the whole way. Yes?”

“Yes.”

“I will be very angry if you try to be heroic.
These women mean nothing to me. Do you understand?”

Nodding, Heidi was nearly bouncing in her seat.
“Do you want to kiss me for good luck like you did at the hotel? Maybe that’ll
settle your nerves?”

Joaquin would not allow himself to smile. Her
excitement irritated him as much as it invigorated him.

“Do you understand what it’ll be like?”

Nodding again, Heidi said, “They’ll try to kill
us, but you’ll kill them first. We’ll find my friends and use the cartel’s
vehicles to get away. What if we can’t get to the cars though?”

“When I’m done, there will be no one left to stop
us. Although after these men are dead, I’m not sure what we’ll do? If I can’t
get you out of Mexico, how will I manage to save the women?”

“Once we free my friends, the cartel will give up
when they see they can’t win,” Heidi said with a certainty unrestrained by
reality.

“Now you’re just making things up.”

“Have faith, Joaquin,” Heidi said, smiling. “Can
we go now?”

Taking a deep breath, Joaquin nodded and opened
his door. Heidi followed him as they moved towards the outer walls of the
prison. Nearing the entrance, Joaquin spotted only one man, watching a small
television in the guard’s quarters.

Joaquin’s plan relied on his ability to shield
Heidi throughout the firefight. This plan, like her certainty, was detached
from reality, but Joaquin knew he must continue. Pausing just before the guard
came fully into view, Joaquin turned to Heidi.

Even in the blinding darkness, his fingers found
her and he caressed her lips. She would be gone soon, probably within the hour.
At that moment, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. Kissing her gently,
he wished to carry her away somewhere safe and keep her with him. This desire
was foolish though.

Heidi would not leave with him, would not allow
him to walk away from this mission, and would not love him if he failed her
friends. As her hands reached for Joaquin and pulled him closer, she did seem
to love him. Whether her feelings were love or lust, Joaquin could only hold on
for a few more minutes before the reality of their situation took hold.

Once they let go of one another, Joaquin tried to
concentrate on the plan – an impossible plan leading to Heidi’s death. He did hope
no matter the bloodshed about to take place that she would somehow manage to be
at his side in the end. A hope Joaquin had no faith in, but it was all he could
reach for to avoid backing out of Heidi’s suicide mission.

“Stay with me. Never leave my side,” he
whispered.

He thought she nodded, but it was difficult to
tell in the darkness. Pulling out his weapon and checking the silencer, Joaquin
cracked his neck to each side and took a deep breath. Right or wrong, win or
lose, there was no turning back now.

The shot found its mark and to Joaquin’s relief
the man did not fall over dramatically and cause a commotion. Heading down a
hallway leading them deeper into the prison, Joaquin kept expecting men to pop
out from each doorway. Instead he found only one empty room after another.

At one point, Joaquin felt certain their
excursion was one big circle. Behind him, Heidi remained silent and he often
glanced back to check on her. Each time, she would look at him with an
expression somewhere between enthusiasm and pure terror.

After walking for what felt like a good twenty
minutes, Joaquin stopped and frowned.

“No one’s here. Maybe they’ve been moved?” he
whispered.

Heidi shook her head. “Maximo said they were
still here.”

Joaquin considered arguing whether a boy’s dreams
should be considered fact. Before he could, hushed voices drifted down the hall,
causing him to raise his weapon and pull Heidi closer. He could not decipher
the meaning behind the whispers, yet he recognized them as female voices.
Heidi’s big fearful eyes grew excited and she started moving towards the voices
and past Joaquin.

Tugging her back, Joaquin wagged a finger at her.

“Stay with me,” he repeated and Heidi nodded.

Heading down the hall, Joaquin again prepared for
men to attack. Certain a battle was behind each door, he instead found every
hall empty and every room abandoned. At the end of the hallway, behind a door,
the voices continued, barely audible.

Pushing open the door slowly, Joaquin discovered
a line of cells filled with a half dozen women. The women stepped away from the
bars in unison, the fear on their faces intensifying as he approached. An older
woman began to cry as the fear became unbearable. Then Heidi stepped from
behind Joaquin and shushed them. In that instant, the women rushed to the cell
doors.