God's Gone AWOL

[12] Another Left Behind

"I cannot even begin to describe the disappointment each and every one of you has caused me. The shame you have brought upon Heaven..."

Gabriel was speaking, but Ophaniel was not listening.

The thousand some-odd angelic soldiers were all kneeling at the base of the canyon, their heads tilted towards the ground. In front of them, a rather woozy Nathaniel was also kneeling. A heavy air of shame and guilt hung around them, unmoved by the endless gusts of wind. Gabriel stood above, scolding incessantly on behalf of the rest of Heaven. Nobody was happy with this situation. It was a nightmare no matter how anybody looked at it.

Behind Gabriel, a solemn line of bodies stretched across the surface of the grey cliff. There weren't too many as Hazel's souls were mercifully bad at killing angels. Most of the casualties were Xander Hellbourne's doing —with a few, such as Camael, having perished because of the gateway. White sheets of fabric had been placed over many of the deceased, giving the bodies a strange, almost ghostly look. A few of Gabriel's angels hurried to and fro, tending to the injured and placing cloths over the remaining dead.

On the far end of the line, one particular angel's features were visible beneath the whipping corner of the cloth. Her face was elegant and refined, and she would have almost been beautiful if not for the dried blood staining her lips and chin. Only in death could Camael appear so peaceful.

On the other end of the line, Atticus' body had yet to be covered. Like Camael, he looked completely at peace. His smile had since slipped away from his features, but he still looked as calm and gentle as he had been during his life. The soft hands, which had lovingly mixed up batches of hot chocolate, and played the cello for nobody but himself, were folded across his chest, covering his fatal wound. If not for the situation, perhaps Atticus could have even been mistaken for being alive.

Ophaniel knelt beside his child. He wasn't crying. He wasn't displaying any emotion at all. Although his face was as blank and cold as ever, his hands trembled as he reached for the body laying before him.

"I failed again," he said softly.

"This was never your fault," said one of the other angels.

She was dressed in white and black, her dark cornrows pinned up in a large bun. Until now, she had been tending to the wounded. Ephrath had only stopped when she heard Ophaniel whispering quietly to himself.

However, Ophaniel gave no response. At first, he appeared as though he wished to say something. But in the end, he merely closed his eyes, unable to look at Atticus' body any longer. Whether it was out of grief or out of shame, Ophaniel turned away for the last time. Then he swiftly returned to Gabriel's side, leaving Atticus behind.

For a moment, Ephrath remained, looking at the body in silence. Eventually she let out an inaudible breath, and waved her hand. A nearby sheet of white fabric drifted towards her, gently falling over Atticus until he was completely covered. Then she too turned away, and resumed her duties.

When Ophaniel returned to the main event, Nathaniel was in the middle of pleading his case. But he wasn't doing a particularly good job.

"We only did what we thought was right," he told Gabriel, putting on the air of an innocent little disciple.

"No. You did what every angel in this realm is programmed to do," Gabriel replied. "You tried to feed into your own pride, and killed dozens of your fellow angels as a result,"

"Archangel, I—"

"What?" he interrupted. "What could such a disgusting creature like you ever say to make amends for this atrocity?"

The words were like a punch to the gut. Nathaniel lowered his head for a moment, as though he physically needed to swallow his pride. Because of the way he looked right now, with his disheveled hair and bloodstained face, Nathaniel was almost pathetic when compared to the righteous and glowing Gabriel.

"It was Camael who first—" he started.

"Of course. Place the blame on the dead one." Gabriel's eyes were glowing a pale shade of gold. "Camael has already received retribution for her actions, do not try to dissuade me by shifting my anger."

He gazed down at Nathaniel as though he were a bug that desperately needed to be squished.

"Heaven has made it very clear that we had no intention of launching any sort of invasion at this time. Even if this horrific conspiracy of yours had succeeded in some way or another, did you think you would be rewarded?"

Nathaniel gave no response, which was probably the smartest decision he could have made in that moment.

"I can understand why a low-ranking choir leader such as yourself would be so desperate for some attention. But did it ever occur to you that someone in your position has no way of seeing the whole picture? Do you not realize we have our reasons for not always taking the offensive?"

"..."

"At least Camael was smart enough to die on her hill," Gabriel said. "But you? You just can't let go of yourself, can you?"

If he were facing off with anyone but Gabriel, Nathaniel may have still been able to whip out a couple of smart comments. Maybe he would even be able to ease the tension somewhat, or use sweet-talk in the same way he had done with Atticus. But Gabriel was one of the only angels in all of Heaven with whom Nathaniel could not argue. So he had no choice but to take the fall.

Having said his fill, Gabriel turned to address everyone else.

"We'll discuss punishment later," he told them all. "Right now, let's just make sure we've cleaned up properly. Those of you who were fooled into participating in this historical stain, just return to your original positions in Heaven and await further instructions. Everyone else, lets gather the fallen and bring them home,"

Everyone, including Nathaniel, saluted in response. The remaining members of the former army all gathered together and began their shameful journey back towards the gateway to Heaven. Whispers passed between them as they went, and their heads were still bowed. Those who were attending the bodies continued their work, preparing to move the dead back where they belonged.

However, after a moment of thinking, Gabriel suddenly turned around. His poised yet dangerous silhouette was intimidating enough to make the entire team of angels pause in their work.

"And as for Atticus pash de Ophaniel..." he started.

Ophaniel glanced upwards.

"Leave him," Gabriel told the angels. "He has already defected, so he is no longer a member of Heaven's ranks,"

Hearing this, Ophaniel froze.

Even though his words made sense in theory, nobody was actually expecting this turn of events. Many of the angels looked up in surprise. By this point, everyone had figured out that Atticus was mostly innocent in this scenario. He had involuntarily been pulled into the mess, and forced to participate against his will. Although it was true that he had formally defected, it still felt wrong to just leave him behind.

A moment of awkward silence passed.

"...Archangel, I'm afraid we cannot do that," Ephrath spoke up.

Gabriel's light coloured eyes glanced down at her. His expression wasn't hostile, but it certainly was strange.

"You think we should burn the body a traitor?" he asked.

"No, no. Nothing of the sort," Ephrath replied. "It's just... We can't leave Atticus' body here because it's already gone,"

Instinctively, Gabriel and the rest of the angels all turned in unison. Sure enough, the white cloth marking Atticus' body was still there, right where Ephrath had placed it. However, it was laying flat against the ground without anything underneath it.

Atticus was gone.

In the time it had taken for Gabriel to say a few words, Atticus' body had disappeared entirely. Not a single trace was left behind —not even a drop of blood or a hint of vanilla left behind. He had simply vanished into thin air...

Ophaniel sucked in a breath.

...