Skirted Spies: Season 1

Episode 8-3: Angel's Lantern

There's a deafening ringing sound, my vision clears up and I can feel the cold on my back as I lie down in the snow. My eyes lazily roll to look at Clyde, who seems completely unharmed. He has his sword pulled back, and the angel is on her knees bleeding profusely from her head. He swings harshly and brutally, and her dome gets lopped off cleanly.

I heave myself up, "Holy hell! That was messy."

Clyde tries to calm his breathing, "Yeah, no kidding. Some angel huh?"

The angel's body remains on the floor, blood pooling out of the neck. The head lies still in the snow, it's really just another normal human body, was a normal human body.

"That's...different," says Abel, stepping closer to the body. "Angels are suppose to leave Earth with a magnificent beacon of holy light."

Jacob joins our small circle, "I...I don't understand."

"I hate to burst your bubble," says Clyde, "but this was obviously some deranged human posing as an angel."

Jacob and Abel share the same look of utter disappointment and profound sadness. They stare at the body, watching it do absolutely nothing. 

"Dammit!" Jacob says.

"Look," I begin, "I really wish I could explain this whole thing, but I can't, not right now anyway."

Jacob falls on his knees and begins weeping. Abel accompanies him on the floor, his arm thrown around his friend's shoulders. He lets him cry for a few minutes as Clyde and I stand there awkwardly. Jacob eventually pulls himself together and reaches into his jacket pocket.

"Here," he says while pulling out the mysterious box, "we don't need this anymore. You can have it if you still want it."

I hesitantly reach out and take it from his cold fingers, "Case closed, huh Clyde?"

"Not yet," he says, "the threat is gone, but there's still some unanswered questions."

He's right. There's still the matter of the divine power that we witnessed, including the glowing lantern and the warped reality around this woman. I give a sincere goodbye to the Biblical Brothers who still sit in the snow. I feel bad for them, but unfortunately Ispio training asks me to detach from victims involved in a case. We have to leave soon, and I've already called for a pickup from Barry The Pilot. We leave them to tend to themselves.

"Can I drive this time?" I ask.

Clyde shrugs and walks around to the passenger door. I get in the driver's seat and turn the heater on full blast. The night is dead and chilly, and I feel the same way on the inside. I push my emotional priorities to the back of my mind, and search in my memory for a good distraction.

"Hey, you got hit with the angel's lantern right on the head. You okay?" I ask.

"What? I didn't get hit, what are you talking about?"

"Wha-yes you did! I was standing right next to you when it happened. She hit you with the lantern, the place lit up like a fireworks show, then suddenly I was on the ground and you had the angel on her knees!"

"Jesus, what drugs are you on? That's not what happened at all."

Okay, there's something wrong here. I stop talking and focus on the icy roads. Suddenly, the radio turns on by itself, changing its own station to play some old marching music. I jump a little, but Clyde seems completely unfazed, and simply turns it off.

"Dammit Troy, you know how I feel about marching music."

"Uh...I didn't do that."

"Oh please, I'm sitting right next to you! You think I can't see your arm turning the knobs?"