God's Gone AWOL

[12] The Second Death of Bentley Hellbourne

Although Bentley understood precisely what had happened, it still took a moment for her to even acknowledge it. Staring down at the rapidly cooling body beneath her, reality suddenly clicked in her mind, and she quickly scrambled backwards.

"Nononononononono hold on just a moment. You—"

Her words halted abruptly, whisked away by the ceaseless wind. Her initial attempt at distancing herself from Atticus had already failed. It was only a manner of seconds before she had pulled him back into her arms.

"Why did you do that??" she asked. "Atticus??"

Of course, he did not respond. A sudden, overwhelming feeling of desperation seized control of her body. Her grip on Atticus' corpse tightened, and she frantically shook it back and forth.

"Atticus pash de Ophaniel?? Halo Head!!" she called, as if her words could somehow miraculously bring him back to life.

But nothing happened. Atticus' limp body simply slumped forward, his head falling against Bentley's chest. His eyes were closed, and the ghost of a smile was still imprinted on his features. In death, he looked so peaceful that if Bentley knew any better, she may have even thought he was asleep.

Instinctively, her fingertips pushed against the pulse point at his neck. Her own heart was beating heavier and faster than it had done in nearly three hundred years, but Atticus' heart was completely still. Even with her fingers pressed against the sensitive vein just below the angel's jawline, Bentley couldn't detect a single trace of a pulse.

He had given her his heart, but he had also taken it away.

Bentley's hand fell back to her side. Even though she was staring at Atticus, her eyes slid out of focus and all traces of emotion disappeared from her face. The grip on his body was firm, but her hands couldn't stop shaking. The one thing that had kept Bentley Hellbourne from going insane since her initial death, the last shred of faith she had in this disgusting world... finally fizzled out. And she was left with absolutely nothing.

In that moment, there was no Purgatory. There was no billowing wind. There was no dust, or ashy rocks, or chilly air. There were no angels. No demons. No Heaven. No Hell. No Earth. There was absolutely nothing at all.

There was only Bentley and Atticus, remaining together as one, when the rest of the universe had disappeared entirely.

A greeting over a game of chess. A baptism in a river. A moment beneath a fig tree. A night in the woods. A kiss atop a cathedral. A thousand meaningless touches, brushes and fleeting conversations. A pair of golden, feline eyes and soft white wings. A devilish smile of mischief and a bloodstained reputation. A flower crown. And a singular red jade ring.

These were the only things left in creation. The memories of his voice, sometimes soft and sometimes angry, but always sweet and filled with warmth. The years of incessant bickering. And the eternity it took for Atticus and Bentley to finally figure out the words for their relationship.

"I love you,"

Those were the most important words Atticus had ever spoken. But they were also the last. Bentley knew this to be true, and yet she couldn't react in any way. She couldn't even move.

Around the pair of them, the hoard of white-clothed bodies began to pass by. Most of the angels were too caught up in the excitement of approaching the gateway, that they hadn't yet realized what had happened. After all the challenges and obstacles, they were finally able to complete their mission, and enter Hell for the first time in history. Nobody had time to notice the tangled set of red and white, resting together against the hillside.