Terminal (Terminal trilogy #1)

27: October, still

The next morning, I realized I couldn't spend the rest of the day just sitting with Phin, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. I ran a few ideas by Phin, who merely laughed.

First on my list was a visit to the morgue. Bad idea, dumb idea, but I was at the hospital before this really started tot settle in my mind. The morgue was unlocked and by the cafeteria, and luckily the body I was looking for was easily labeled.

This was a terrible idea. Rhamiel had been white enough from years of spent in a prison cell underground. Now he was dead, a new level of pale had been achieved by his corpse. This was gross. His clothes were brown with bloodstains, but otherwise untouched- I didn't know a thing about morgues, but I'd figured they would've cut him open and examined him by now. Did morgues do that?

They probably did that to angels, at least.

I stared at the body for a while. It sat there. Someone had folded his now permanently physical wings behind him poorly, and feathers stuck out at odd angles. Without really thinking I began to straighten them, sticking my hand under the cold corpse and causing him body to wobble uneasily.

Man. The fuck was I doing.

I sat down on a table. It was cold as shit in here, and I... kept sitting. A lot of time passed, or at least, a lot compared the average amount of time most people would spend sitting in a morgue and staring at a thawing body.

Unexpectedly, Pepper came in. She blinked in disbelief that I was here. I stared with similar emotions.

"Small city, huh?" I said.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

I gestured towards her. When she stared blankly, I said, "Same to you."

"I'm going to preform funeral rights on," she pointed at Rhamiel, "This body. It's rather upsetting to see you... already have it out."

"Did you know Rhamiel?"

"In death, he carries no name," Pepper shook her head, "But no, I didn't. He would've known who I was though." For once, everything about her looked real.

"Don't you guys burn bodies in your funerals?"

"How do you know that, Mannie?" Pepper said, "Yes. Obviously, I can't do that now. I thought I'd just drain his blood and sing the song."

"What's the song like?" I half wondered if I knew it. If I knew Michael- and well, I did- he was probably using the lyrics of some old lullaby.

"If you help me drain the blood, you'll get hear it."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

Pepper bit her lip. She wasn't wearing makeup today, and in the harsh light, her hair nearly looked natural. At the very least, she didn't look tacky. "Normally Vic and Cas handle this sort of thing, and they have blades to pull it off. I figured I could try... maybe if we slit hit wrists lengthwise?"

"That seems a bit disturbing."

"You're right. I'll just sing. Michael'll get his soul either ways, right?" Pepper fixed Rhamiel's hair with her fingers, brushing it out of his face.

"Why're you asking me?"

"You know a lot more than you should about my family. Do you know our funeral song?"

"It'll be in angelic, so probably not. But you start."

Pepper wasn't a good singer, and she started flatly, humming an instrumental part before singing in that messy fake language she knew better than I.