"Samantha?" Ava said staring slackjawed at me. I nodded and she rushed inside wrapping me in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're safe.." She said burying her face in my shoulder. I felt her tears on my neck and realized she was crying. I wrapped my arms around her and tried to comfort her, I wasn't that good when it came to things like this but I could tell she was very upset.
“Hey it's okay” I whispered. She shook her head and pulled away looking up at me with inky black tear-stained eyes. “It's not okay.” she took a shaky breath before continuing “my family is gone. My house is gone.. Oh my God Samantha even Grace is gone..” she sniffled trying very hard not to cry. “Ava I'm sorry..” I commented not knowing what to say. “Wait Grace is gone? What happened?” I felt a small bit of hurt in my heart.
Ava sniffled and fresh inky tears ran down her face. “She.. She went with all those people in the sky. She just floated up and disappeared like the rest of them.” I felt tears prick the edges of my eyes and before I knew it I was crying along with Ava at the loss of our friend.
At this point, my Stepmother decided to clear her throat and speak up. “Ahem” she was returning from the kitchen, two mugs of hot tea in her hands, she placed them on the coffee table in the den then left quickly returning with a plate of sugar cookies.
“Here I thought this might help lighten the mood for you girls.. God has plans for both of you so cheer up, things will be okay.” She smiled and I rolled my eyes and laughed a little. I wiped my eyes and saw that ava did the same. We both stood up and walked towards the table, picking up the mugs and plate of cookies I looked at Ava.
“Can we go on the back porch.. I'm stressed.” she said quietly looking down at the carpet. I nodded, knowing exactly why she wanted to go outside. I didn't like her habit but I knew she was upset and I couldn't tell her no. We walked through the hallway and took a right through the dining room, I opened the door leading to the porch and closed the screen sliding door behind us.
I set the mugs and cookies down on the small wicker table then sat down on one of the comfortable rocking chairs scattered around the screen porch. Ava sat down on the blue chair adjacent to me and started digging through her backpack. She pulled out a pack of Marlboro Lights and a pink lighter then lit one up, taking a deep drag. I handed her a dusty ashtray from the corner which she placed on the table by her mug.
I picked my mug up and took a small sip, savoring the taste of lavender tea. “You know you should quit smoking those..” I whispered to Ava.
She gave me an annoyed look before ashing her cigarette and picking up her mug, taking a small sip as well. “Why bother? The world is ending. Nothing matters.” she said quietly. I shook my head but didn't say anything, instead opting for another sip of tea. We sat there quietly for a few minutes before Ava spoke up again.
“So you changed too huh?” I grimaced and refused to look at her. “Those wings look uncomfortable, how do you lay on your back with them?” she said. I shook my head and looked at the wooden floor. “I don't.” I said softly. She seemed to pick up on my body language and changed the subject.
“So um. What happens next?” I shook my head and looked at her. “I don't know..” suddenly a deep voice spoke in my head startling me. ‘Your friend is the vessel for the soul of Abbadon. Relay my message.’ “what?” I said aloud. Ava was looking at me with a bewildered expression. I frowned as the voice continued in my head. ‘I am the archangel known as Michael, let it be known that the rebellion has begun.’
the voice trailed off finally and I sighed. “Fuck I must be going crazy,” I commented. “Why? What's wrong?” Ava asked with a raised eyebrow? “I.. I'm hearing voices I think.” I said quietly. Ava's eyes widened, “what kind of voices?” she said. “Why?” I looked at her suspiciously.
“I've been hearing voices too. I can't tell if it's real or not..” she looked at the floor with a sheepish expression. I sighed and took another sip of tea. “It was this guy's voice in my head. He said to tell Abbadon the rebellion has begun? I don't know it's weird.” Ava’s eyes widened and she pulled another cigarette out of her pack. “Abbadon says to tell Michael that his messenger will deliver what was promised..” she said sheepishly before lighting her cigarette.
I glared at her. Was she making fun of me? “Are you joking?” I said. She shook her head and looked at the floor. ‘She is not joking. Everything is going precisely as planned.’ the voice of Michael echoed in my head. I groaned and stood up. “Holy shit this can't be real..” I sighed. I looked at Ava and said, “when you're finished with that let's go inside. All of this is so overwhelming I need to lay down.”
she nodded and ashed her cigarette, stuffing the pack and lighter back into her bag, she stood up and we both started walking towards the door. Just as I was about to open the sliding screen door, I heard a loud shriek followed by a crackling boom near the front of the house. Ava and I shared a knowing look as we both knew what that was.
