Original Sin

Chapter 22

"Alex, is this Heaven?"

Hailey looked around at the city in the clouds. The gold embellishment adorning cathedrals and fountains reflected the sunlight. Nothing was broken, ruined by the world and it's inhabitants. It was beautiful.

Alex didn't respond to her question. His face was a plain smile, though just as comforting as it should've been. 

"This is a dream, isn't it?" Hailey questioned and turned to face him, her hands finding his toned, warm chest. Hailey slowly let herself sink into the man she loved, her angel, her husband. His arms wrapped around her body, enveloping her in warmth like the summer heat. His scent reminded her of a day on the beach, walking along the surf, her toes sinking into the wet sand.

"Is it a good dream, love?" he asked.

She nodded her head, still buried in his chest.

"I don't want to wake up. I know there's something awful waiting for me if I wake up."

"Is your life really so awful?"

She propped her head on his muscles and looked up, meetings his gaze. She knew right now this Alex was just a projection of her subconscious mind, a figment of her imagination, perhaps even her body's subtle way of comforting her. But his question was posed not because of Michael or the upcoming war. Instead, he tried to force her into positive thinking. It was just like the real Alex, one of the qualities she loved about him. 

Even her subconsciousness was in love with him, every cell in her body. He was the only person, or entity, in the universe who had this privileged. 

"No," Hailey replied, "It isn't."

Alex smiled, and the rest of the city seemed to brighten with the action. "Take heart in that knowledge, love. Our life together...It could be so beautiful."

She felt chills creeping in. Reality was slowly encroaching. Why must dreams last only one sleep and not forever?

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Hailey woke from the dream with an aching head. She begged her senses to remain dull and ignore the outside world, but they chose not to listen. Sunlight streamed in from holes in the tent ceiling. There was a thin layer of fabric separating her bottom from the cold, hard ground. Though she didn't know where Michael had taken her, it was dreadfully cold. Hailey was visibly shivering, having worn only a pair of ripped jeans and a plain black t-shirt in Jerusalem. Clearly, Michael couldn't be bothered to throw a blanket over her exposed skin. 

The Western Wall... Michael had forsaken one of history's most spiritual landmarks. Hailey felt the burden becoming heavy in her heart, the weight of so many faithful lives taken too soon at the hands of one rogue angel. 

She tried sitting up, the pain in her head throbbing even more at the action. Her back felt like a thousand little pins simultaneously stabbing her flesh. She assessed her injuries, and in doing so discovered chains wrapped around her ankles and wrists, shackles pinned into the frozen ground. Just to test their strength, Hailey tugged and pulled at the frozen pin connecting to one chain around her injured wrist, which still hurt like a bitch. 

It wasn't budging. She wouldn't be escaping this place unless Michael let her go. Unlikely.

Her wounds were healing, though very slowly. Hailey suspected Michael's bite suppressed other actions within her body as well as kept her in a state of semi-delirium. She couldn't look at her back, but assumed it was in similar shape to her wrist and arm. Fending off attackers would be very difficult and very painful. Her options were limited at the moment.