Heaven on Earth: Terminus (Book 1)

Chapter 18: Void (Nate)

Camp Seraphic

I feel the smooth but lumpy texture of the leather sleeves on my jacket. Apparently, it’s supposed to be incredibly strong for leather but I didn’t quite catch what Mike called it and I’m too scared to ask again as it’s already been five minutes since he gave it to us. It would be too awkward to ask now. The main body section of the jacket is just normal black material that’s supposed to keep us warm and it’s supposed to hold our miniature weapons inside. I check the inside and there are pockets at the top, close to my chest. Luckily, I brought my bag so I just swap my spear and axe into a pocket each. “Everyone settled?” Mike asks, “As I said, there are no pants that come with these so you’re going to just have to wear your jeans. Anyway, moving onto the main attraction.” He turns around again and reaches for something inside the pod that held the jackets. He turns back around and dangles a pair of boots that are the same colour as the jacket. Black. “These boots are very light and are made for long hikes. You’ll need them. Put them on.” I take the pair that he’s holding out and put them on before lacing up. Thank God it’s my size. I look at one of the mirrors in between each pod and I have to say, I look good.

“Anything else?” I ask,

“Yes. To round out your Acro-Jacket and Boots ensemble, you get a Multi-Belt.” Mike begins to hand them out as well so I strap it on when I get one and it hangs loosely on my waist. “That’s it.”

“So how are we getting into Heaven without barging through the front gates?” I ask,

“We take one of the old escape tunnels from the Great War.” Mike replies,

“Explain?”

“Well during the war, we built tunnels that would take angels out into the human world without any demons knowing. They’re not in use anymore but we should be able to access them through the human side. The tunnel that leads closest to where we need to go is in Los Angeles, in the Staples Center.” He explains, “So we use the Cloak of Continuum to get there, Betsy have you got it?”

“I sure do.” Betsy replies and she tugs out the cloak from her satchel to wear around her Acro-Jacket. “You know the drill.” She says and Tom, Azalea, Mike, Beth, Josiah and I grab a piece of the cloak.

“Like before, I’ll guide you.” Mike announces just before everyone closes their eyes and the world rips into the exchange space. I open my eyes but there’s something not right here, I can feel it in my bones. Instead of the soothing sensation that I get when we cross through here, I feel a sudden urgency. I look about and I identify the problem straight away, two streams of black smoke whizz toward us at lightning speed and they weave around each person clinging onto Betsy’s cloak. The smoke is opaque and reminds me of when Zagan attacked us in New York. I wonder if this is him again. My eyes shut involuntarily and when my eyes open, I’m standing in a bustling street with people pushing past me every second, it’s like I’m in a river. The sun beats down hard and when I look around, all I see are the glass panels of a tall hotel. Where am I? This is definitely not Staples Center. I walk forward, not knowing where to go and I end up being met by a larger crowd of people at the turn of the hotel. Someone collides with me and I immediately hold onto them as they’re wearing the same jacket and boots as me, the person turns around and it’s Azalea. I sigh and smile at her and once she realises that it’s me, she smiles as well.

“What happened in the exchange space?” She asks in confusion.

“Don’t ask me. All I saw was this black smoke and then next thing I know, I’m lost.” I say,

“Well...” She pauses for thought, “Seeing as I found you quite easily, everyone else should be fairly nearby. I say we find people.” I look around and at the sight of something large and red, I move into the oncoming crowd and I have to face people’s rude remarks to see it properly.