The Chronicles of Jo-kiel

TWENTY SIX: Jophiel

I bit down hard on my bottom lip as I stared at the door he just walked out of. A part of me wanted to lay back down on the floor and just reminisce on what happened a few minutes ago, and allow him the space to be alone with his thoughts.

But the other part of me desperately wanted to go after him and ask him till he tells me the truth. Zadkiel had an unshakeable faith, I don't know much people in this school but I was 100 percent sure he had a whole lot of faith in God, but now, he needs a reason to keep believing?

I want to know. I want to know what was strong enough to break his faith in God. My questions and troubles in the past didn't break it, so what could have? I glanced at the mat I spread and the food basket, then mumbled a quick prayer before I dashed out after him.

"Lord, please where is he?" I mumbled when I came outside the garden and there was no trace of him. It hasn't been that long since he walked out, and unless he vanished there's no way he could be so out of sight. I stood at the spot and looked around, hoping to catch even a glimpse of him but there was nothing.

A deep sigh escaped my lips at my unfruitful search. "Oh well, I guess the Lord doesn't want me to go after him either" I shrugged and turned to walk back into the garden, but my chest suddenly felt heavy and the urge to go after him increased. My brows knitted together and I rubbed my chest as if that would lessen the burden.

I looked around for Zadkiel again, but he was nowhere to be found and I sighed. "How will I go after someone I can't even catch a glimpse of" I mumbled, but despite my grumblings I found myself walking down the path in search of him.

My expectations weren't high when I started the walk, I already had my mind made up that I won't see him even if I walked down all the paths, but the heaviness I felt began to reduce with each step I took and that began to heighten my expectations. I began walking faster and my eyes glazed around the area with more scrutiny than before.

And before I knew it, I saw Zadkiel hunched in a corner with his jaw clenched painfully. I frowned at his stance and walked closer to him in hopes to talk to him, but my steps slowly halted when I realized he wasn't alone. Another figure that I couldn't make out stood before him, talking in a hushed but stern voice.

I frowned and tried to make out who the person was from my position, but that proved abortive. "This is wrong, Jophiel. You are not meant to eavesdrop on someone's conversation" I whispered, drawing closer and closer to them.

My eyes slowly widened and I clamped my mouth with my hands when I was finally close enough and realized that they were in fact not talking in hushed tones. The stranger who I can now identify as a man from his voice was shouting at Zadkiel.

"You don't get to do that rubbish again! What was that? You couldn't have kept yourself intact!?" He yelled and I flinched. Was this person really shouting at Zadkiel? The school president? "If you blew my cover what would you have done? Huh? Stand there and pathetically watch as they slaughter me or something? Aren't you meant to be the coolheaded one? Answer me for God's sake!?"

I rubbed my eyes and peered at them to make sure it was Zadkiel I saw earlier and it was him, but unlike before when he had his jaw set in a tight line, he looked perfectly calm and collected. And that had me puzzled, how could he look so calm and collected when someone was shouting at him like that, and how on Earth is the other party not scared of him?

My mind was still juggling the questions I came up with when I felt something crawling up my leg and I froze, my eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as I aggressively wiggled my leg to get rid of the crawling object but instead, the thing gripped my leg, eliciting pain from me and I screamed without thinking twice.