Radicle (Terminal trilogy #2, can stand alone)

14: Neither heaven nor hell

 It was darker outside, but if I wanted my presence to remain unknown, I still couldn't go out the front entrance. I climbed out the same window I came in from, and made my way back to the Hellmouth. Then I paused.

I had only been kicked out of Hell two hours ago at most. I probably couldn't return yet. And Heaven wasn't an option.

I followed the blackstone path instead, deciding that, if I was going to kill time, it'd be better to do it in a time period where things were actually interesting. The blackstone path, of course, was now recognizable as being a tar road. Another part of Heaven that was ruined for me- I was starting to understand why we weren't allowed to wander outside of Heaven for very long.

When I came to the small empty town on the other side, I immediately headed straight to the oak leaf building that contained the portal to the cycling Earth. It was actually sort of weird, now that I considered it, that the portal was in such a place. Could humans from the past potentially use it to head to the present? I stopped to read the sign before going inside- Oak Leaf Group Home for Children, it read.

Jumping into the pit was once again a pain on my nerves. I stood on the edge for awhile, just staring into the abyss that I knew wasn't real and I knew wasn't there. But it was so wide, and a cold breeze seemed to well up out of it. In the end, I sat to sit on the edge- and indeed my legs could dangle- before letting myself slowly fall in.

I awoke on the floor less than a second later. Now I didn't know what I was going to do. If I went down the Hellmouth on this Earth, I would still end up in about the same place as if I took the elevator down in the present. And I had no idea how, or even if, Hell was being guarded.

I went out to the yard of the group home and sat down on a stone bench. For an children's home, there seemed to be strikingly no children. It was a hot spring day. Didn't children play on days like today?

I watched the gardener work for awhile, weeding plants and clipping dead leaves. I was quite bored. I decided to use my apathy about this cycling Earth to my advantage.

"Hey!" I called. "Gardener!"

The gardener stood up slowly, but didn't turn around. I still couldn't tell if they were male or female.

"What."

"Seen anything interesting? Angels, demons, I don't care. I'm bored."

The gardener turned to face me for a moment, but then turned back. "Fuck off."

"I have a day to kill here at least. There's gotta be something you humans do for fun."

The gardener sighed. "Look, a lot of you fallen angel fuckers head over to the Purgatory Cafe off on Lake Street. Go there. Don't stay here or I'll chop your fucking head off."

I frowned. "I'm not a fallen angel." I did not like being called one either.

"If you stick around, you're going to become one pretty soon." I couldn't tell if they were threatening me or warning me. I went off without another word.

Lake Street ended up being a side road that ran through a pine forest. The only building on the road was the Purgatory Cafe, a low and flat building that seemed to have it's origins as a cabin. It didn't really look like a cafe either, more like a bar.

I came to the door. Even now, in the middle of the day, I could hear plenty of noises: music, laughter, and the sound of silverware. It probably wasn't the best idea to go in. But I had time to spare. And my blade, of course, in my pocket.

There was a sign on the door:

"No angels, no demons."

And I went in.