Into The Light (The Fallen Shadows) Read online

  The aircraft made a swift sharp turn to the left sending Ash jerking toward Katharine. Their faces were inches from one another and they shared a lingering gaze. As their gaze locked Katharine noticed a kindness in Ash’s eyes that she’d never seen before. She was surprised by the sensation she was feeling bubbling inside her. Her heart began to race and she began to wonder what it would feel like to kiss him.

  Katharine had been so strong throughout the entire process and had never faltered or questioned Ash’s sanity, something none of his other Trackers, not even Angelina, was able to do. Katharine was stronger and braver than she truly knew and as he sat there looking into her eyes he felt hope. He believed that she would be the one to help put an end to the battle that had been consuming Heaven, Hell and Purgatory for thousands of years.

  He tried to shake the feeling that brewed within him, the same feeling he had with Angelina, but it had already surfaced. Ignoring his better instincts he leaned in slowly, drawing closer to Katharine’s face. Their lips were inches from interlocking when the aircraft jerked again sending Ash into an upright sitting position.

  “So you said the Transporters were newborn angels right,” Katharine said, trying to redirect their focus, “but aren’t angels simply infinite? How are they born?”

  Ash adjusted himself on the stool and cleared his throat. He was trying to bring himself back to reality and remember that he and Katharine were there to serve a greater purpose. Discussing the Garrison might be the right distraction he needed to keep him from focusing on how smooth Katharine’s lips looked.

  “Yes angels are infinite but like mortals, we have to come from somewhere,” Ash began explaining. “Angels are born directly from God. He is pure and therefore it is meant to keep us pure and good. Unlike the angels, we, the Guides, do not come directly from God. The angels, through a few celestial spells, help us to protect and serve Heaven and we are raised and taught by them. We grow up learning our craft but of course as Guides we have to earn our place among the ranks, which is where the Transporter comes in. Our Transporter for example is on his last year of earning his place. He has been a Transporter for the last three hundred years and he has been proving himself worthy of a place among the Guides.”

  “So you were a Transporter?” Katharine inquired leaning forward forcing the seat belt to stretch with her body.

  “No I wasn’t,” Ash said shifting in his stool uncomfortably.

  “But I thought all Guides had to…”

  “You should sit properly in your seat, wouldn’t want you falling off your stool and getting hurt. We can’t risk injuring our last hope for survival,” Ash interrupted in an attempt to change the subject.

  His history among the Garrison and how he came to be a Guide was not something he was willing to share with Katharine at this time. His story was far too complicated to get through on a brief ride. Ash feared that if Katharine knew just who he truly was she would never look at him the same way again.

  Katharine had once again hit a nerve and in an attempt to keep the already uncomfortable trip less awkward she turned her attention to Molli who was sitting across from her with her arms folded in her lap. She seemed subdued and unaffected by the quick and abrupt motions of the aircraft, which was strange since Molli always hated flying.

  A few years earlier Katharine’s family and Molli’s family took a trip to Disneyworld but they were forced to drive, a drive that took them 24-hours to complete, because Molli was too afraid to even consider stepping foot on an airplane. Katharine had flown so many times that the idea seemed as simple and easy as closing a closet door. “Do you have a death wish?” Molli would always ask Katharine whenever she would express her desire to take a long flight to some foreign country.

  Having an entire life’s plan figured out before you turn 18 is an incredible thing but Katharine wanted to travel before Harvard. She wanted to see the world and she wanted to do it with her best friend, but Molli would never consider it. “I’d rather have my teeth pulled without Novocain then step foot on an airplane,” Molli would always reply. Yet somehow there she was sitting as if nothing in the world could hurt her.

  “You doing okay Molli?” Katharine asked, seemingly awakening her friend from sleeping with her eyes open.

  “Oh yes, I’m fine. Are you doing okay? You’re the one who was just laying in a hospital bed,” Molli replied smiling.

  Katharine nodded. Her friend’s vocal inflections weren’t too convincing but considering the situation they were in she knew it wasn’t the right time to quiz Molli on her strange behavior.

  “Well considering I’m still breathing, I’d say I’m doing pretty well,” Katharine replied.

  Molli smiled and gave Katharine thumbs up before returning to her subdued seating position.

  Katharine looked in Ash’s direction but he had his eyes closed and his arms folded across his chest. The position in which his arms were resting allowed his muscles to come through. Where did those come from? Katharine thought to herself as she looked at the enormity of his biceps.

  He had a nice body but Katharine had never realized just how toned he truly was. Once again she found herself becoming lost in his attractiveness. It angered her and she wasn’t the only one.

  “We’re almost there, so you might want to prepare for landing,” Davon said abruptly.

  He had noticed the way Katharine was sizing up Ash’s body and it reminded him of the way Angelina used to look at him and Ash had already begun to make gooey eyes at Katharine; nothing good was going to come of this. He would never understand how a Guide could fall for a Tracker.

  Davon had always been committed to the job; train the Tracker, make sure they were ready for what needed to be done and send the Descended back to Purgatory. That was all Davon knew, it was all he was and the idea of letting anything distract him from the job was far too foreign to even consider. He never allowed himself to get close enough with any of the Trackers to care about them as anything more than a tool to be used for the greater good.

  In fact, Davon was not the only one who could never imagine feeling anything but committed to the job. Nearly every single one of the Guides felt the same as he did and they often ridiculed and refused to work with Ash because of the incident with Angelina. Davon felt a need to protect Ash from ever falling short again. They were brothers in arms and were stronger when they worked in sync with one another.

  Davon stared at Katharine for a while, examining her features. He could see Ash’s attraction to her. Physically she was beautiful and her strength was inviting but what they were doing, what a Tracker was meant to do, was far greater than falling victim to a pretty face.

  Katharine caught Davon’s gaze. He was staring at her intensely and it made her uneasy. She scooted herself back on the stool so her behind was perfectly formatted with the center of the stool.

  “So I have to ask, how is it that you were gone for an entire day and yet your parents didn’t come looking for you?” Davon asked.

  “What?” Katharine, almost startled by the sound of his voice, jolted in place.

  “Back at the hospital you destroyed my plan of getting you out of there without having to involve the Transporter because you didn’t want your parents knowing what had happened to you, but you were gone for a day and your parents what, didn’t notice?” Davon repeated the question.

  “I have never done anything to make them not trust me or worry about me. It isn’t uncommon for me to not come home for a day or two but normally I’m spending the night at Molli’s house. So I’m not surprised they didn’t come looking for me, they probably just assumed I had gone to Molli’s after school and stayed the night. Besides its Meadowbrook, nothing bad ever happens,” Katharine’s smile changed when she realized that her peaceful town had turned into a nightmare, “so they had no reason to worry.”

  “I’ll never understand mortals,” Davon replied derisively.

  The aircraft began to make brief spurts of noise like a floor fan that is r
unning low on power. Katharine grabbed the seat belts strapped to her chest to hold on as the craft jerked from side-to-side violently.

  “What is happening?” She shouted, afraid that something was wrong and they were about to crash. She looked at Molli who remained completely subdued.

  “It’s okay Katharine we’re here,” Ash said gently touching her arm for comfort.

  The craft descended slowly, blowing the leaves that had been stacked in a pile outside of Katharine’s house until they were completely spread out on the front lawn. To the naked eye the flying leaves simply looked like gusts of wind blowing them about the lawn rather than a heavenly aircraft landing on the lawn of a typical Meadowbrook home.

  The Oak Street home where Katharine grew up was modest in size, much like most of the homes in Meadowbrook. Each home was either ranch style or two floors and every one of them had beautiful backyards where many housewives would grow spectacular gardens. No one tried to outdo their neighbors with fancy items inside or outside the home.

  In fact, there was only one mansion in the entire town and that belonged to Mayor Reinhold, a member of the family who was always at the helm of the town. The Reinhold’s founded Meadowbrook in 1902 and ever since their family had run the town. There were never any mayoral elections because it was always known that a Reinhold would be the town’s Mayor; this kept things simple and left the town without the competition of politics.

  Katharine’s parents were convinced this is what helped keep the town so peaceful. “Politics always mucks things up and starts wars. Without politics life is much more peaceful and safe,” Katharine’s father, Royal Macklemore said, once when Katharine asked him why he and her mother, Marion, choose Meadowbrook to be their home.

  The Macklemore’s home was bright blue with white shingles covering the rooftop. An enclosed porch was one of the standards for Meadowbrook homes and Katharine’s home had a beautiful one that Marion had turned into an indoor garden. She was an avid gardener and was always working outside in the backyard on her garden or in the garden on the porch.

  Wrapped around the house were sets of mixed small and large windows and one large bay window centered between the front door and the second floor master bedroom. Royal had installed a stone walkway that led up from the edge of their property to the front door. It took him an entire summer to complete it but it was a labor of love.

  The aircraft landed gently on the front lawn. The landing was so effortless that Katharine didn’t even know they had landed until Ash was standing in front of her undoing her seatbelt. Davon was the first one off the craft, followed by Ash. Molli however, remained strapped on the stool with her head clasped in her hands.

  “Are you coming Molli?” Katharine said standing near the exit of the craft with one foot still inside.

  “Yes of course,” Molli looked up and smiled at Katharine before slowly unbuckling. She stood up carefully, as if she were weak and injured. Katharine ran to her friend and helped keep her steady and balanced.

  “Are you okay?” Katharine asked, wrapping Molli’s arm around her neck for support.

  “I’m fine, just a little nauseous from the flight,” Molli explained.

  “Ha! I knew you weren’t okay with flying,” Katharine said proudly, as she helped guide her friend off the aircraft and onto the solid green grass beneath them.

  Katharine looked up at the house in which she grew up but somehow it looked different. She couldn’t understand why the idea of stepping inside frightened her. She stood on the front lawn holding Molli steady for a few minutes before Molli stepped away from Katharine and was able to stand upright. Ash and Davon stood with their arms folded across their chests directly behind her.

  “Any day now,” Davon said, encouraging Katharine to go inside.

  Katharine stepped toward the front door and turned the silver knob with the letter, “M” embedded in the center of it. It was common for residents to have the first initial of their last name embedded in their doorknobs. The door creaked open slowly and Katharine stepped inside.

  Before allowing the door to close behind her Katharine signaled for Molli to come. Hesitating Molli looked back at Davon and Ash. Davon rapidly shook his head while Ash nodded his forward encouraging her to follow Katharine. Despite her unease, Molli joined her friend.

  Inside the lights of the front hallway were on and shining brightly. The crystal chandelier shook as the front door slammed shut behind the girls. Along the walls of the foyer hung framed photographs of Katharine and her parents in posed positions. They had taken them a few years earlier at one of those photo places in a local mall. They wore the same blue button down shirt with white stripes and white business-type pants.

  She always hated looking at those photos because they always felt so fake; her family wasn’t that pose for pictures type of family. In fact, they often made funny faces and joked around when it came to having their pictures taken. “Let’s just do these and have them be our only posed pictures,” Marion said when she was trying to convince her daughter and husband, who were reluctant, to jump on board.

  Katharine looked around the foyer and saw her father’s brown leather jacket was hanging on the wooden coatrack that was tucked in a corner nearest to the door. His shoes were placed neatly underneath the jacket. Her mother’s jacket and shoes were not there, an unusual sight as her father was the one who worked while her mother stayed home and took care of things.

  “Dad?” Katharine shouted making her way into the kitchen where she saw her father standing over the island with the granite trimming centered in the room. He was holding a white porcelain coffee mug with his thumb, index and middle fingers.

  On the island was an open newspaper that he had been reading as he drank his cup of coffee. The stainless steel refrigerator was slightly cracked open revealing a parade of food items including a half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich that Katharine had made the morning before and forgotten to take to school.

  Royal was what his family referred to as a “kitchen forager.” He would go through the cabinets and the refrigerator and pick at the food inside without ever really settling on one particular item. He never realized he was doing it; it just became second nature to him.

  “Dad?” Katharine said walking into the kitchen with Molli following a few steps behind.

  Royal looked up from the paper and nearly spit the coffee out of his mouth. He was both surprised and embarrassed to see his daughter standing in the doorway staring at him.

  “Kat? What are you doing home so early?” Royal said, putting the coffee mug down on the paper he’d been reading. “Why aren’t you in school?”

  Katharine realized she hadn’t looked at a clock in almost two days. She looked past her father and at the clock that hung above the porcelain sink nestled between the dishwasher and the wooden pantry that held some of her favorite snack foods. 12:56pm read the clock. Crap! Katharine thought, it was the middle of the day.

  Once again she would be missing school, she could only imagine the look on Mr. Denoza’s face when he realized she was not in class. It was probably similar to the one her father was giving her, the look of confusion and disappointment. In her concern to get home before going to meet Chance she hadn’t considered the possibility that she’d still be badgered with questions from her parents about her absence from school.

  “Teacher’s conference. Remember I told you about it a few weeks ago,” Katharine replied coming up with the least questionable excuse she could muster up. “Molli and I stopped by to grab a few things but I thought I would spend another night at her house if that’s okay.”

  Royal sat for a moment confused. He looked as if he were looking through his memory bank trying to find the precise moment that his daughter told him about the teacher’s conference. He looked at Katharine and appeared to be looking around her, as if he were looking for someone or waiting for someone to walk in at any moment. That’s strange. Katharine thought.

  “How come you’re home?” K
atharine asked turning the tables on her father. He was not usually home at this time of day. His busy work schedule often kept him at work well past 8:00pm. “Where’s Mom?”

  Royal stood up and headed over to the sink. He took a final sip of coffee before pouring the remaining liquid down the drain and placing the empty mug gently on the porcelain. He stood there for a moment with his hands clasped around the edges of the sink. He lowered his head slightly and loud out a long quiet sigh.

  “She went to Manna’s,” Royal replied. Manna was Katharine’s Grandmother, Rosalie Cornfeld, Marion’s mother. She lived in Brighton Beach, a town just outside Meadowbrook.

  When Katharine was just a baby she would try to say “Grandma,” but it always came out sounding like, “Manna,” and it simply stuck. Marion often visited her mother on the weekends but it was rare that she ever went during the week.

  Katharine’s heart sank. She had been hoping her mother was home so she could see her once more before meeting Chance and diving head first into this world beyond her own. Her mother was the one person, aside from Molli, whom Katharine could confide in. Their bond was more of a friendship than that of a typical mother and daughter relationship.

  Her father, as wonderful of a man as he was, was more traditional and believed a child should be treated as such and not as a peer or a friend therefore Katharine had always been closer to her mother.

  “Is Manna okay?” Katharine asked fearing for her Grandmother’s health.

  “She is fine your mother just wanted to go for a visit,” Royal replied, his voice trembling.

  Katharine turned to Molli motioning towards her father. Molli shrugged and cocked her head to the side. She wasn’t sure what was going on but Molli knew something wasn’t right with Royal and Marion. Katharine could not handle more life altering news and Molli had to find a way to deflect the conversation between Royal and Katharine from going any further. She pointed towards the ceiling with her finger putting the reminder in Katharine’s face that they had to hurry. Katharine acknowledged the gesture.