The Quo

  I did as I was told.

  Then one day, my father fell asleep on the sofa watching a documentary on animal behavior. I stood there watching it over his shoulders.

  There was a segment about a spotted wild dog that had puppies. She was always fending off this vicious pack that would come by. Every few hours the frail dog had to fight to protect both herself and her puppies. After several days of this she was tired, wounded and worn.

  One day, when the pack came back yet again, they found that the puppies were dead. The mother killed them so that they would no longer serve as a distraction.

  The announcer said that the puppies were the dog’s weakness. And that now that she didn’t have to worry about them, she was free to be as focused and ferocious as she needed to be. And sure enough she skillfully hunted and killed the entire pack.

  It was then that I realized my father wasn’t the problem. My problem was my mother. She was my weakness. He knew I loved her. My loving her made her a weapon he could load and use against me.

  I walked into her bedroom and saw her laying there, looking frail like the puppies. I took the pillow and pressed it down on her face, gently at first. She moved frantically. But I held her down because I could not afford to have a weakness.

  When the cops came they took me away. I was sent to a bunch of shrinks. They were stunned.

  They couldn’t understand why I had done what I did. I didn’t seem crazy, so how could I have killed my own mother?

  Two years later, I returned to my father’s house and found that time had gotten the best of him.

  But even though he was older, he didn’t get nicer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, you could say he was even more evil than before.

  He said he didn’t care too much that I had killed my mother but it upset him not to have someone cook and clean for him. So he made me do it. And when I didn’t arrange things to his liking, he’d take it out on me.

  He said now that the doctors had “fixed” my head, he wasn’t afraid of me. He didn’t see the spark of anger and rage he used to see in my eyes when I was little. What he didn’t know was that I had learned how to hide my rage behind kindness and civility.

  One night, after a particularly vicious beating, he’d made me mop up the blood and go to bed. I lay there, smiling, because I knew my father would be sleeping well that night because he had concluded that I was never going to retaliate against him.

  It was around three in the morning when he woke up to a gasoline-soaked bed. I stood at the doorway with a lighter and a smile.

  “Don’t you do nothing crazy, boy,” he said trembling.

  “Don’t you know I’m not crazy anymore? They fixed me.”

  “Look, look, don’t—don’t—”

  “—don’t—don’t—what?” I asked laughing.

  “Look, I know I ain’t been nice to ya.”

  “No, Dad, you haven’t been nice at all.”

  “Okay, okay but that’s not my fault. It’s your Mama see, she lied to me.”

  “About what?”

  “She said that you was mine but really you wasn’t. She got with some other guy and pretended that you was mine so I would stay with her. I overheard her say so on the phone one day.”

  “Why didn’t you just throw us out?”

  “I wanted to be charitable.”

  “Oh, so you kept us because you’re filled with charity?”

  “Well, I fed you, didn’t I? I gave you shelter and I only beat your Mama when she was ask’n for it. Truth is your Mama was a lie’n bitch. That’s why she in hell now. You do this and you going there, too.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  I ignited the spark, tossed it onto the bed and the whole thing became a sea of blue and orange blaze. I ran as fast as I could but the fire spread quicker than I thought it would. Fire is like that.

  It’s unpredictable. You can’t tame it for long. And just when you think you understand it, it turns on you.

  Before I got to the door, flames had covered everything. I knew I was going to die. I was okay with the flames dancing on my toes and arms. Even as I screamed, I was happy. I was happy because I had a perfect view of my father’s melting flesh.

  Then I thought back to the spotted dog. I thought about how she seemed to regain her strength after killing her puppies. I thought about how powerful she looked when she killed the last member of the pack.

  I didn’t know how to put it into words before but standing there in a sea of flames I understood what the dog felt—freedom. To live without loving or being loved was to be totally and completely free…

  Ameana’s been quiet for a few minutes now. I want her to say something yet I don’t want the silence to be broken.

  “I told you there were no heroes,” I remind her.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “Are you gonna get up and go?”

  “Go where?”

  “Away from here—from me.”

  “Because you killed an abusive, sadistic creep? No.”

  “What about my mother? I killed her because she made me weak.”

  “I think you killed her because you loved her and you didn’t want her to cry forever.”

  “If that’s the case, shouldn’t you be worried?”

  “Maybe, but I’m not.”

  “You’re putting all your hopes on some hidden “goodness” you think I have.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Ameana, there will come a moment when I’ll disappoint you.”

  “Until then, can you hold me?”

  I move in closer and hold her tightly. I can feel her relax in my arms.

  “I know I said you should tell them about us but maybe you should be sensible; walk away from me. Now.”

  “You’re right. This is foolish; dangerous. You could kill me at any moment.”

  “I could.”

  “I’m gonna be smart, end this right now, and leave,” she vows.

  We lay there in foolish danger until the sun comes up.

  As soon as Ameana leaves to tell her team about us, a little boy pops into my room on a Port. I immediately summon up fireballs. The Sage seems amused.

  “This behavior does not fit a reformed Akon,” he says.

  “I’m not reformed.”

  “No need to convince me. So do you know where your new love is living? We’ve been looking for her and her team.”

  “She wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Trust issues between a demon and an Angel…interesting.”

  “It wouldn’t matter anyway. She says it’s never the same place.”

  “Oh, their location must be in a Whirlwind.”

  “A what?”

  “It’s a nifty little thing the Paras invented to hide from evil. The way cell phone signals can bounce around from tower to tower, so can the new Guardian’s hideout. It’s like their location has been placed at the center of a whirlwind, hence the name. They are never in the same spot for more than an hour. They could be in Rome now and in Chicago an hour later. It is very much like Hun’s Market.”

  “So you have no way to track them?”

  “Not yet. But they can’t stay in their hideout for too long.”

  “Sage, why are you here?”

  “Well, Lucy’s been looking for you.”

  “I’ve been attacked a hundred times in the past three months, so yeah, you could say she’s looking for me. Did she send you?”

  “She doesn’t know where you are. If she did, she might come get you herself. You did kill one of her Akons.”

  “Why didn’t you tell her where I am?”

  “Lucy and I aren’t friends. We’re business partners. We have a common goal: an Angel-free world.”

  “Well, congratulations, you have every Angel running scared. The Quo control everything.”

  “Not everything. There are still Angels lurking. They take “Slate” pills. It allows them to hide their wings even from each other. That has become a problem for us.
How can we take out Angels if we can’t identify them?”

  “You came here to tell me that?”

  “No, I came because Lucy agreed to let me make a deal with you.”

  “What deal?”

  “She agrees to overlook your betrayal if you agree to help us.”

  “Help how?”

  “The Council had a backup in case something were to go horribly wrong and they were somehow replaced. They created the Shoma.”

  “What the hell is that?”

  “It’s a carving embedded into a wall of a structure here on earth. Every three months, The Council would input a code that told the Shoma everything is fine. Yesterday that was supposed to happen but as the Council members are dead, no code was input.”

  “So what happens now?”

  “The Shoma did what The Council programmed it to do - it split itself into three pieces. Each piece is called the Alpha. If the three Alphas are assembled before sixty days, the Shoma comes together and freezes all of humanity. The system will reset. There will be a new Council appointed. The light that we have fought so hard to destroy will be reassembled. If it’s not done in the next sixty days, the Shoma will be rendered no more than a trinket.”

  “Why would the Council only give one chance to reset the world?”

  “The Shoma harnesses a lot of energy. It can only stop and reset the world once. It’s strongest within the first sixty days. After that it will still have power but the kind of power that can light a city, not the kind of power that can stop all living things.”

  “So if the Guardians get the Shoma back together in sixty days, they will undo everything you did?”

  “Yes. Right now the light is all but gone, almost everywhere is a “no fly zone,” and the souls on the bridge don’t have access to the light. But should the Shoma be found and put back together, things will go back the way they were.”

  “Why can’t you find the three Alpha pieces and destroy them?”

  “We don’t know where they are. And even if we did, it’s indestructible, even by Lucy. The only thing we can do is let the time run out.”

  “You have it all thought out, huh?”

  “No, I didn’t know about the Shoma. I just received that information from an Original Para.”

  “And why would a Para give you that kind of information?”

  “I persuaded him.”

  “You tortured him?”

  “It was an ugly situation, but for a good cause.”

  “Again, what do you want from me?”

  “There is only one other person who knows about the Shoma.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Rahell.”

  “The Taker?”

  “Yes. Her father told her about it many cycles ago.”

  “We’ve been searching for her but have had no luck. But this morning, I foresaw her calling the Guardians.”

  “You want me to stop her from telling them about the Shoma?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what do I get for doing this?”

  “Is your life not enough of a gift?”

  Yeah, it’s really nice of you but I want one more thing.

  “Oh yes, the Second Guardian. Fine, Lucy will allow her to have some use of her arms and legs.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “This must be love. Okay Rage. We will spare you and your girlfriend, but that is only if you assure the Guardians don’t put the Shoma back together.”

  “Fine.”

  He throws a cheap-looking black plastic watch at me. I catch it before it hits the ground.

  “It’s a Mind Tracker. Very rare. It will track whoever is on your mind.”

  “Why can’t you use it to find The Guardians?”

  “It’s a device made by Paras. It reads your intentions. If you mean the person harm, it will not show you anything. But since you…feel for Ameana, it should show you where she is and exactly what she’s doing right now.”

  “Sage, what kind of future do you see for me and Ameana?”

  He laughs sardonically and says, “What future?”

  CHAPTER THREE:

  BASTARD ANGELS

  I look inside the Mind Tracker and see Ameana enter what must be the Asian chick, Miku’s room. I can see them so clear it’s like watching them in HD. I wonder how Ameana would feel about me watching her. I’m guessing she would object. But then again everything I’m doing is to save us so she can’t be too upset with me.

  “Hey, where have you been?” she asked Ameana.

  “It’s a long story. Where’s Wolf?”

  “He’s helping organize a safe house with the other Paras. Jay went with him. And Rio is out looking for Marcus once again.”

  “I thought he was going recharge. He’s been on duty for three days straight.”

  “He’s feels really bad that he can’t read Marcus’s wave. He’s just going to keep trying.”

  “Actually, I’m glad the guys aren’t here. I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay, what’s up?”

  “I’ve been kind of seeing Rage.”

  Ameana puts the words together like she is putting together a bomb and at any moment, it will go off.

  “Miku?” she says when her friend remains silent.

  “First, how can you be seeing anyone when you’re with Wolf?”

  “I was going to tell Wolf the truth a few weeks ago but then he found out his Dad was among the victims in the blast. How could I break up with a guy whose father just passed away?”

  “So you think it’s better to cheat on him?”

  “No, I just didn’t want to hurt him.”

  “Okay, let’s set that aside for a second. Rage?” she asks.

  “What about Rage?” someone says from the doorway of the room.

  The girls turn around and find the Hippie standing there along with the rest of the team. They all enter the room.

  “What’s going on?” Rio asks.

  “Nothing, I just need to speak to Wolf alone,” Ameana says.

  “Okay, it’s all good. We’ll be outside,” Jay says as they all head out except the Hippie.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks her.

  “I have been trying to tell you something for a while now but it’s never the right time.”

  “Okay, I’m here. You’re here. What is it?”

  “Rage and I—”

  “—stop.”

  “What?”

  “Stop, whatever you are about to say because there is no ‘you and Rage’.”

  “Wolf—”

  “—Look, I know he saved your life. And that might realign his chi for a minute or two. But Rage is a demon. He never does anything without it benefitting him. So whatever you’re feeling, or think you’re feeling, you have to fight it because it’s not real. You and I, we’re real.”

  “You knew he saved my life?”

  “Yes, I figured you didn’t want to talk about it so I let it go.”

  “Okay but this isn’t about that. I have always felt something for him.”

  “What are you talking about? Do you know how many times he’s tried to kill you?”

  “I know but…it’s complicated.”

  “No, Ameana, it’s not. You like the idea of Rage but the actual guy is a demon. He can’t love you. He doesn’t know how.”

  “I don’t expect you to understand. I’m just trying to be honest here.”

  “So what are saying, you want to break up so you can start seeing Rage?”

  “We’ve been hanging out.”

  He looked like he’s been slapped in the face, hard.

  “What?” he chokes out softly.

  “We’ve been seeing each other—I’m sorry. Your father died and I didn’t want to hurt you—”

  “—THIS IS HOW YOU “DON’T” HURT ME?”

  She reaches out for him and he shrugs her off.

  “Now, I see why Marcus left you,” he says spitefully. I clench my jaw and plan a special way to kill th
e Hippie in my head.

  Ameana follows him outside to the living room where the rest of the team is waiting. She calls out to the Hippie but he takes off. Her team looks at her accusingly.

  “Is it true?” Jay asks her.

  She bites her lower lip and makes herself look the bastard Angels in the face.

  “Yes. Rage and I are together.”

  The bomb went off. All at once her team began to argue and shout at her. I want to destroy them all for attacking her the way they are. How dare they? She can love whoever she wants. If I knew where they were right now, I swear to Lucy, I would set the whole damn house on fire.

  “EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!” the mood ring boy roars. I’m guessing he rarely yells because that catches the attention of everyone in the room.

  “Now, let Ameana explain herself. There has to be a reason why she thinks she’s into the prince of darkness.”

  “He’s not—anyway, I’m more than ‘into him.’”

  “How much more?” Miku asks.

  “I love him.”

  Jay laughs a hearty laugh. Everyone turns to him. He takes a seat on the sofa and puts his feet on the coffee table. He acts as if he’s going to settle in and watch his favorite show.

  “This is perfect. Almost every Angel we know is dead. We can’t go back into the light because there is no light to go back to. Our leader is missing. And our new leader is in love with a demon,” Jay mocks.

  “I know it’s hard to understand,” Ameana says going up to him.

  “There’s nothing to understand. All the battles we’ve fought have left you with brain damage. I didn’t know that could happen to Angels but hey, I guess it can.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel the same way about Rage that you felt about Isabelle.” Jay’s expression grows cold and deadly.

  “Don’t EVER compare what I had with Isabelle to the sick, twisted, demonic mistake you’re about to make with Rage.”

  “I’m not saying he’s an Angel, I’m saying maybe he’s not all bad,” she says helplessly.

  “Please tell me that he has some kind of mind control thing on you,” Rio says.

  “I know it’s hard to hear—”Ameana begins.

  “No, it’s not hard, Ameana. It’s unacceptable,” Miku says.