By Christopher Leeson
5-1-2017
An Angel from Hell story
CHAPTER 2, Part 2
by Christopher Leeson
The waitress looked ready to bolt for the door. Fine, outside was where Jezebel wanted her.
“Miss!” some one called across
the room. “Can you bring my check?”Holly glanced back. “I'll be right there!” Then she squared off with her blonde customer. “How do I know that you're not Cabal?”
“You can't. You'll just have to take my word for it.”
Holly tried to back away, but Jezebel held on. “I-I've got to deal with that customer,” the waitress said.
“Let the bakery lady do it! No histrionics. I'm not here because I like you. I've been sent because somebody else does like you -- Heaven knows why. If I don't bring you to safety, it's on my head, so don't make make things hard for me."
Holly looked overwhelmed. It flashed into Jezebel's mind that she should offer reassurance, but human feelings had never been important to the angel. Threats were more her style; compassion, not so much.
The brunette looked toward the far end of the room. Jezebel tensed, wondering if she was going to yelp for help. “Stacy! There's an emergency outside,” Holly said. “Can you take care of my customers for a few minutes?”
The blonde, taking that as a cue, got up and, still gripping the girl's wrist, led her to the exit. The latter dug in her heels next to the coat rack. “It's c-cold out there,” she jabbered. Scowling, Jezebel let her dress for the weather and then herded her through the exit.
“We're not going back in there. We don't dare,” the Watcher said. “Get into my car.” She pointed. “The cream-colored one.”
Holly tried to back away, but Jezebel held on. “I-I've got to deal with that customer,” the waitress said.
“Let the bakery lady do it! No histrionics. I'm not here because I like you. I've been sent because somebody else does like you -- Heaven knows why. If I don't bring you to safety, it's on my head, so don't make make things hard for me."
Holly looked overwhelmed. It flashed into Jezebel's mind that she should offer reassurance, but human feelings had never been important to the angel. Threats were more her style; compassion, not so much.
The brunette looked toward the far end of the room. Jezebel tensed, wondering if she was going to yelp for help. “Stacy! There's an emergency outside,” Holly said. “Can you take care of my customers for a few minutes?”
The blonde, taking that as a cue, got up and, still gripping the girl's wrist, led her to the exit. The latter dug in her heels next to the coat rack. “It's c-cold out there,” she jabbered. Scowling, Jezebel let her dress for the weather and then herded her through the exit.
“We're not going back in there. We don't dare,” the Watcher said. “Get into my car.” She pointed. “The cream-colored one.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“I don't know yet. My people will have to contact me.”
Holly permitted the Watcher to lead her to the passenger of her Honda Civic. The waitress got in. She had seen that expression often, on the faces of the trapped and hopeless. “Don't act like you're going to the gallows,” Jezebel told her. “It isn't my job to hurt you.” As soon as these words were out, Jezebel was left to wonder whether they had come from her or from Jill.
The fallen angel got in on the driver's side, and was relieved that Susan – Pelopia, or Holly, whatever – didn't use that opportunity to bolt back to the café. She supposed that the girl's easy capture had so demoralized that she was just giving up.
Jezebel steered out of the drive way. “I don't want to follow the main route,” she said. “That would be too obvious. Is there another road back east?”
The brunette nodded dispiritedly. “We can go a couple miles west, and then turn off on County Road 378. That goes north to a secondary road. I don't remember its number; it runs toward Nebraska.”
“We'll try it.”
“Who are you afraid of?”
“The Cabal. Haven't you been listening?”
“Can't we stop at my room?”
“What's so important there?”
“Not much. But I could use a warm pair of pants.”
“Too much risk. I got some things packed. We're about the same size.” Jezebel accelerated to the speed limit. It wasn't long before the turn-off for 138 came into view.
Jezebel found herself asking: “Why do you dress like a Tyrian whore? I'd suppose a fugitive wouldn't want to attract attention.”
Holly grimaced. “I got the idea from a mystery novel. The heroine...she had to walk through a room full of villains who knew her, so she'd rigged herself so that they'd be looking at her legs and boobs, not her face. I've been making myself look as plain as possible."
Holly shifted and began staring at the bleak scenery, like a man waiting for the gallows would cast his dead gaze out the cell window. She gave a miserable smile. “I still looked like a girl-next-door on the cover of my first CD. But my handlers kept nagging at me to loosen up, to get with the times. I did, and before I knew it, I stopped being embarrassed about wearing almost nothing.”
The blonde considered these
words and frowned. Did Holly have a Jezebel spirit? A normal angel could discern such things, but in this body she could sense nothing that the Father didn't want her to sense. “Did you
start having a lot of sex, too?” she asked.
“Mind your own business!”
The Watcher smirked. “The touchy girls are the guilty ones.”
Holly raised her chin. “And I guess you've been with a lot of girls?”
“I guess I have."
It wouldn't be a surprise if a rock star would be having a problem with Jezebel spirits, those intrusive little demons.
“When did you know that you were rescued by an angel?” she asked the girl.
“Mind your own business!”
The Watcher smirked. “The touchy girls are the guilty ones.”
Holly raised her chin. “And I guess you've been with a lot of girls?”
“I guess I have."
It wouldn't be a surprise if a rock star would be having a problem with Jezebel spirits, those intrusive little demons.
“When did you know that you were rescued by an angel?” she asked the girl.
“How do you know it was an angel?” responded Holly.
"I talk to the angel crowd. Honestly, do you think you have any secrets that matter?"
There was a pause. “Are – are you an angel?”
The Watcher kept her eyes on the road. “Do I look like angel?”
“No. But the one who saved me didn't look like angel either; she looked like a party girl.”
Jezebel nodded. “They can look like anything they want. Did she admit to you what she was?”
“Not really. But things happened that made no sense. And I'd been praying really hard just before she came in.”
Jezebel, without really caring, asked, “Then what happened?”
The girl sighed. “She told me to hold her hand and not to let go. Then she led me right through the party. No one looked my way, or her way, even though we were both pretty hot. It was like they couldn't see us at all.
"When she got me to my car, she told me not to go home, but to head out of town quick like. She also said I shouldn't keep using my own car or
even a rental, because GPS tracking would get me caught. Then she put my purse into my hands; I'd
forgotten it, but she hadn't. Before the
girl left, she warned me not to use any of my plastic to buy things or get cash, because 'the Cabal' could trace that, too.
“I took a bus toward the east, and then bought some new clothes as soon as I could. I got on another bus going north and, up in Utah, switched routes again. I wanted to hide where the entertainment crowd never goes. That meant the sticks. I was ready to do anything rather than get caught.
"When the bus was braking for Manville, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I couldn't believe it. It was the girl from the party. She told me to get out, that this was where I should stay for a while. The stop was at the café. They had a 'Help Wanted' sign in the window. I didn't have a lot of money left and couldn't run much farther anyway, so I applied. Renting a room left me flat broke. I had to sink to drinking tap water and eating leftovers on the sly before my first check was ready."
Then her voice fell. “After all that, you still found me.”
“I saw that video you made,” the Watcher said, “about the party at the dark house.”
Holly nodded dejectedly. “I've been to a lot of parties like that. They were the early, mild ones. But as time went on, they got worse. More and more, the hosts and guests started acting like monsters, like characters right out of The Vampire Diaries.
“I took a bus toward the east, and then bought some new clothes as soon as I could. I got on another bus going north and, up in Utah, switched routes again. I wanted to hide where the entertainment crowd never goes. That meant the sticks. I was ready to do anything rather than get caught.
"When the bus was braking for Manville, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I couldn't believe it. It was the girl from the party. She told me to get out, that this was where I should stay for a while. The stop was at the café. They had a 'Help Wanted' sign in the window. I didn't have a lot of money left and couldn't run much farther anyway, so I applied. Renting a room left me flat broke. I had to sink to drinking tap water and eating leftovers on the sly before my first check was ready."
Then her voice fell. “After all that, you still found me.”
“I saw that video you made,” the Watcher said, “about the party at the dark house.”
Holly nodded dejectedly. “I've been to a lot of parties like that. They were the early, mild ones. But as time went on, they got worse. More and more, the hosts and guests started acting like monsters, like characters right out of The Vampire Diaries.
"After a while, they started
pressuring me to attend Satan rituals.
Blood started flowing. There were
parties where they brought in scared kids, too -- preteens. I started to think that everybody in show
business was crazy. I wanted to call the
police at first, but my so-called friends kept telling me not to. They said that the big shots were too well
protected, that any cop I talked to would probably be on the take from them. Even the FBI was supposed to be covering for
the Satan guys.”
“Did you ever believe that they were serious about worshiping Satan?”
“After a while...I did.”
“Well, maybe you aren't as dumb as that video made you look.”
Holly shot her a hard look. “Are you going to kill me, or are you going to let someone else do it?”
“Neither. Like I said, I'm saving you.”
“Yeah, well, everybody lies.”
“If you're so sure that I'm Cabal, why didn't you fight me harder?” asked Jezebel.
The waitress sank down into her seat. "I thought that there might be more of you, that people in the café could get hurt. Anyway, my life is ruined, my career is ruined. I don't have any real friends, and I'll probably never be able to see my own mother again. I'm sick of living.”
Jezebel shook her head. “Don't say that. What comes after death is a...a Hell of a lot worse than any kind of living is.” No sooner were those words out than the Watcher clenched the steering wheel. Had she actually given some honest advice?
Suddenly, Jezebel noticed a car kicking up dust behind them. “Do locals usually drive that fast on crushed rock?” she asked her companion.
Holly took a hard look back. “That Dodge looks familiar. I think it's the same Challenger that was sitting in the parking lot at the Tumbleweed. We don't get a lot of expensive models stopping at our little place.”
“Not good. There's a T-intersection is up ahead. If they turn our way, I'm going to floor it. Is that vehicle fast?”
“It's a muscle car!” said the brunette.
“So it's fast?”
“Of course it's fast. Are you a foreigner or something?”
The turn was just ahead. The two-way was blacktopped and Jezebel thought that she could gain some on the other vehicle before it left the gravel.
“Do you have a gun?” Holly asked anxiously.
That question sounded sensible. As a warrior angel, Jezebel usually preferred to solve serious problems with violence.
“No, I don't. Hold on. This could get bad.”
Jezebel took the turn east and accelerated. The other car gunned it also, but the driver seemed unused to loose gravel. The angel had no doubt about what the situation was.
“Look!” she suddenly said. “We'll be curving around that wood-stand up ahead and they won't be able to see us for a few seconds. When I slam the brakes, you can get out and run for cover.”
“What about you?”
“I'll lead them away.”
“What if you're caught?”
“I'll kill them all. Now, go!” She skidded to a stop. Holly exited with rabbit-like nimbleness. Jezebel took off again.
She glanced back and saw the silver-blue Dodge surging at high speed past the woods. That much was good.
Good for Pelosia Wittke, but not for her.
“Did you ever believe that they were serious about worshiping Satan?”
“After a while...I did.”
“Well, maybe you aren't as dumb as that video made you look.”
Holly shot her a hard look. “Are you going to kill me, or are you going to let someone else do it?”
“Neither. Like I said, I'm saving you.”
“Yeah, well, everybody lies.”
“If you're so sure that I'm Cabal, why didn't you fight me harder?” asked Jezebel.
The waitress sank down into her seat. "I thought that there might be more of you, that people in the café could get hurt. Anyway, my life is ruined, my career is ruined. I don't have any real friends, and I'll probably never be able to see my own mother again. I'm sick of living.”
Jezebel shook her head. “Don't say that. What comes after death is a...a Hell of a lot worse than any kind of living is.” No sooner were those words out than the Watcher clenched the steering wheel. Had she actually given some honest advice?
Suddenly, Jezebel noticed a car kicking up dust behind them. “Do locals usually drive that fast on crushed rock?” she asked her companion.
Holly took a hard look back. “That Dodge looks familiar. I think it's the same Challenger that was sitting in the parking lot at the Tumbleweed. We don't get a lot of expensive models stopping at our little place.”
“Not good. There's a T-intersection is up ahead. If they turn our way, I'm going to floor it. Is that vehicle fast?”
“It's a muscle car!” said the brunette.
“So it's fast?”
“Of course it's fast. Are you a foreigner or something?”
The turn was just ahead. The two-way was blacktopped and Jezebel thought that she could gain some on the other vehicle before it left the gravel.
“Do you have a gun?” Holly asked anxiously.
That question sounded sensible. As a warrior angel, Jezebel usually preferred to solve serious problems with violence.
“No, I don't. Hold on. This could get bad.”
Jezebel took the turn east and accelerated. The other car gunned it also, but the driver seemed unused to loose gravel. The angel had no doubt about what the situation was.
“Look!” she suddenly said. “We'll be curving around that wood-stand up ahead and they won't be able to see us for a few seconds. When I slam the brakes, you can get out and run for cover.”
“What about you?”
“I'll lead them away.”
“What if you're caught?”
“I'll kill them all. Now, go!” She skidded to a stop. Holly exited with rabbit-like nimbleness. Jezebel took off again.
She glanced back and saw the silver-blue Dodge surging at high speed past the woods. That much was good.
Good for Pelosia Wittke, but not for her.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3, Part 1
With this posting we have gotten past all that expository material and into the action. Writing exposition is especially difficult when one is setting up the reader to understand a world so complex as that of the angels. BTW; has anyone except me noticed how much End Time (the road to Judgment Day, that is)material is on the net? Especially on YouTube? One video maker especially, Steve Quayle, goes deeply into arcane material that can really raise one's neck hairs. And he's a gold mine for the lore of demons and angels.
ReplyDeleteNext month I believe I will be able to start a new novelette featuring the Wild West World of Eerie, AZ. That posting will have to be a priority for a while, but I want to continue the adventures of Jezebel Watcher at the same time. I might not be able to keep up with the extra work burden and Jezebel's adventures might fall behind, but we'll see.