Resurrection - Fallen Cam - Vanilla

XVIII

Cam clenched his jaw, and swallowed a lump of tears as he watched Daniel place an assortment of books into Victoria's canvas backpack.

"Hey!" She said, smacking his hand, reefing the books back out to see exactly what Daniel thought 'The Essentials' were.

He'd piled four hardcover books into the bag. A pocket book of language translation, a slightly larger book on editable plants, a brief history guide and a thick medical book. While they were heavy and took up a lot of space, each seemed necessary.

She tossed them back into the bag, with far less care than Daniel had, then looked up at Cam and gave him a comforting smile. He felt a sharp pang in his heart, he didn't want to accept that this was happening, that she was really about to leave.

Sure, she might immediately come back mere moments after she'd left, but there was no guarantee. Certainly, there were things about the Victoria he'd last seen that he missed, but it was not worth risking her entirely.

"Just remember, you're going back to find experience to get into the garden, so be careful whose announcers you jump." Daniel coached, which made Victoria roll her eyes.

Being the only angel still in Sophia's good graces, Daniel had wracked her brains thoroughly about Eden, and angelic allegiance. Cam had encouraged his curiosity, as it allowed him to delay Victoria for a few extra days.

However, Daniel was now brimming with all kinds of information what spurred Victoria on with each sliver he divulged. Cam had done the math, between everything Daniel now knew, what little they could deduce from the letter and their own experiences it was even more complicated than he'd imagined.

It seemed that, like Eve, the Original angels needed to eat from the tree of knowledge, to truly have free will. Freeing their hearts to choose Victoria, rather than being stuck between Lucifer and the Creator.

Once Victoria had the apples, they would need to convince six Original angels to side with her, before her presence would be strong enough for Newborns to have her as an option to side with.

Getting the apples was the kicker, Victoria would need to travel to as many places as possible so she could feed off the shared experiences of others until she was able to access another's memory of Eden, which would allow her to travel to the garden. Where Lucifer, was apparently waiting for a daddy-daughter date apple picking.

They were still no closer to finding out what was wrong with Cam either, while he felt unchanged, he was certainly worried, far more worried than he'd let on. It felt wrong, that Victoria should be leaving now, when he felt like he needed her more than ever.

What Cam didn't know, was that Daniel had braved the depths of Hell, at Victoria's request, to ask Lucifer. She'd intended to go in and ask herself, however once she explained her intentions Daniel insisted he go instead; apparently it 'Wasn't safe.'

When Daniel arrived in the fiery cavern, he was eagerly ushered in by the cloak adorned Demons, who were excited by the prospect of the only unallied angel coming for a visit. After an eternity of waiting, and enduring the painful, obvious ass-licking attempts by the Demons, he was told that Lucifer was away; visiting family.

If Victoria wanted an answer about Cam, she was going to have to ask him herself when she caught up with him in Eden.

Victoria faulted as her fingers gripped the zipper of her backpack. Everything she knew, the 21st century, her boyfriend, the friend she'd found in Daniel would all be going away for a very long time once she closed this zip.

Cam's hand enclosed her own, he'd been standing over her shoulder and saw her hesitation. His touch was warm and comforting, yet a sadness seemed to accompany it.