God's Gone AWOL

[8] Atticus Snaps

Heaven also had a place for prisoners. However, their justice system was much less forgiving than the one in Hell.

In Hell, breaking the rules was seen more as an injustice to the individual than it was to the collective group. If a demon committed a crime, the shame was felt more by the culprit, as they had disrespected the community and had betrayed the trust of their fellows so they must reflect or do something to regain their own value. But in Heaven, it was the exact opposite. If an angel broke the rules, the shame was not only poured out on the individual culprit, but everyone associated with them as well. If anyone stepped out of line or seriously offended someone else, they must face punishment for their crimes. The angel would be so damaged, that they wouldn't dare to violate the rules again.

Of course, most angels wouldn't dare to violate the rules anyway. In a society built completely on honour and reputation, very few had any motivation to betray their own social status. Instead, Heaven's prison infrastructure was typically only used for prisoners of war. Most of the time, the cells and interrogation rooms were reserved for the unfortunate demons who didn't get the luxury of being killed in action.

No angel had ever been to Hell, but many demons had been to Heaven over the years. None of those demons ever made it out alive, of course. They were always executed after interrogation or torture or whatever punishment Heaven came up with for the crime of existing on the wrong side of a millennia-long war. This was why the prison of Heaven was known for its extreme efficiency. Not a single soul had ever managed to escape it's clutches.

Although it was rare that an angel broke the rules of Heaven, it still happened on occasion. For example, there was a certain angel who had recently defected from Heaven, conspired with two of Hell's most revered demons, stole and attempted to destroy a priceless weapon, and even used it to attack his own superiors. If he hadn't revealed his ability to harness the power of God's soul, he may have already been executed by this point.

Atticus sat in the square interrogation room, his wrists bound to the table with a glowing cord. Even a place like this, though suffocating in nature, was still as beautiful and as elegant as anything in Heaven. Light was emanating from the spotlessly clean walls, casting the entire room in a pale white glow. As always, the scent of Heaven's air was clean and sweet, as though someone was always baking something nearby. But the soothing scent didn't help Atticus' anxiety today. He still felt trapped like a cat in a kennel with no way out.

All of the vivid details from the hillside confrontation were replaying themselves over and over in his mind. Though his head pounded, and his heart felt heavier than all the boulders in the Valley of Achor, he couldn't wipe those frightful images from his memory.

He couldn't forget the way Bentley, amidst the swirl of ceaseless light and wind, had refused to stop the spell. Even as blood started pouring from her eyes, she just kept going. Atticus told her to back out, but she had been willing to see it through no matter what price she had to pay. She was one of the most powerful creatures in all of creation, but she had still driven herself to the point of exhaustion. Even after she had collapsed into Atticus' arms, she still refused to stop.

"Even if it rips my body to shreds," she had told him. "I'm not giving up now,"

Why?

Was it because she cared about Atticus so much that she didn't want him to become a weapon for Heaven? —That was definitely not the case. Even if Bentley and Atticus were on decent terms at this point, they would never be as close as they should be. She would never think of him as anything more than an obnoxious past-rival.

So then was it because of those orders she had been given? Was she so determined to follow the command of that unseen figure that had risen her up from the grave and instructed her to stop the war? It was also unlikely, although it might have been a contributing factor. Bentley valued her freedom more than anything else. Even if she was willing to follow some agreeable commands, she definitely wouldn't risk that much to appease some unseen authority figure in her life.