Sheila gaped at the old Sentinel who had entered her house, but Sarah did not seem surprised in the slightest; Eli was simply relieved. In her shock, Sheila rose from her chair and pointed at Jack.
“Eli,” she gasped. “You know this man?”
Eli nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“I know him too!” piped Sarah. “His name is Jack, and he walked me home.”
Sheila embraced her child with a dreadful fear in her eyes.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.
“Calm down,” Jack assured her. “If I wanted to harm your child, I would have done so already. Eli and I are only here to help, but we will need some time to explain. Care to listen?”
Sheila slowly retreated back to her seat.
“Fine,” she grunted. “Tell me everything. I’ll wait.”
Jack advanced farther into the house.
“Ah, good,” said Jack. “I’m afraid that you may not like everything you here, but it will all be in your best interest.”
Jack closed the door behind him and took a seat at the table. As Sarah headed to another room to retrieve a chair for herself, Jack began to speak.
“Where to begin…” he sighed. “What if I told you that the two of us were not of the Living World? Would you believe me if I said that we are apparitions from a past life?”
Sheila shook her head.
“Quite frankly, no,” she replied. “Is this all you have to say? If it is, I am going to ask you to leave.”
Jack removed his hat and scratched his head.
“I see…” he mused. “In that case, I suppose I will have to provide some form of evidence.”
Sarah had returned to the small kitchen area with a wooden chair clutched in her tiny hands.
“You’re just in time, my dear,” said Jack, rising from his place at the table.
“For what?” asked Sarah.
Jack smiled endearingly.
“You’ll see,” he answered. “Tell me, Mom. Do you believe me now?” He began to hover over the floor, rising until his head made contact with the house’s low ceiling. “Could I do this if I was a human like you and your daughter?”
Sheila bore a surprised but skeptical expression.
“Well,” she muttered. “I know of illusionists who can perform similar tricks, so you will have to do better if you want me to believe you.”
Jack returned to the floor.
“Very well,” he sighed. “Let’s see… What else…” He crept toward a window that was directed toward the sidewalk outside of the house. “Ah, here’s something.”
Eli and Sheila peered out of the window to find what Jack was referring to. In the gathering gloom, a young man was walking along the street outside.
“Sheila, did you know that you are amongst a miniscule group of humans who are able to see me?” Jack asked.
“No,” she replied briskly. “What are you getting at?”
Jack placed his hand upon the window and began to seep through it.
“Observe and see for yourself,” he challenged before he exited the house and treaded towards the unsuspecting pedestrian.
Sheila appeared puzzled.
“Passing through solid material?” she whispered. “I’ve never seen that illusion before.
But what’s he trying to prove? What does that man outside have to do with anything?”
Eli was intrigued to see what Jack would do as well, as he was now only a couple meters away from the man.
“He’s probably going to demonstrate that typical people cannot see us,” answered Eli.
“You and your daughter are unique because we are visible to you, but we are invisible to most.
That is how I managed to ward off your aggressors; they were never even able to see me.”
Sheila grew pale in disbelief, as she appeared to come to the realization that Jack and Eli may be correct in their assertions.
“So that’s it,” she muttered. “That man outside will never notice your friend, if what you’re saying is true. But let’s see if your words actually are true.”
Eli observed the events unfolding beyond the window as Jack peered over the unsuspecting man’s shoulder mischievously. Jack is behaving quite boldly, Eli thought. Yet we
haven’t met the father of this family, so we can’t confirm our suspicions at this point. Is he truly so confident in his initial belief that the child we’re looking for is in this town? I suppose the odds are just too heavily in our favor now.
Sheila held her breath as Jack leaped into the man’s path, blocking him. The man collided with the slender Sentinel and fell back to the ground, eyes wide with shock. Jack loomed over him, waving his hand before the man’s face, but the confused civilian made no response; he simply returned to his feet and scrambled on past Jack nervously. Jack turned towards the window where Eli and Sheila were with a triumphant grin. He transitioned through the door and stood before Sheila with his arms spread challengingly.
“See that?” he beamed. “Wouldn’t that fellow have noticed me if I wasn’t akin to an apparition? He carried on straight into me without the slightest regard for my presence.”
Sheila’s face remained pale, and she stared at the wooden floor of her house.
“Fine,” she eventually admitted. “I get it - you two are ghosts. Now why are you here?”
Jack returned to his seat at the table, and Eli followed suit.
“Have a seat, and I shall explain,” the old Sentinel assured her. “As I have already suggested, the news I bear is not entirely pleasant. I implore you to keep an open mind and know that we are only acting in your best interest. Now…” Jack’s eyes darkened. “Allow me to cut straight to the point: We are going to need you to temporarily relinquish your daughter to us. We fear that she is in grave danger, and we wish to ensure her safety. Trust me, there is no better place she could be than with us.”
Sheila opened her mouth abruptly for a retort, but she checked herself from saying anything rash. Instead, she let her face sink into her hands and shook her head.
“Why?” she demanded quietly. “What danger is she in? And what would you do to prevent it?”
“I can’t say with certainty what crisis your daughter faces,” Jack replied. “You see, I get my information from.. er… I guess you could call them ‘higher-ups’. We were not given many specifics concerning our mission; we just know that we have been tasked with retrieving your daughter. Once we do, she will be completely safe. No danger lurks where we Sentinels congregate.”
“Then why do you want to take my daughter specifically? If you can save anyone from danger, why are you doing it for only Sarah?”
Sarah had been seated quietly at her place by the table as the discussion had unfolded.
She was looking towards the floor, with a mixture of fear and curiosity in her eyes.
“Sarah is a very special child,” Jack responded. “The human race faces impending extinction because of a malicious virus, and Sarah is the only one who can curb the menace. We need to ensure her safety so that she may later fulfill her purpose and preserve humanity.”
Sheila did not appear fully convinced, as she remained dazed and silent.
“Understand that we do not know much more about this than you do,” Jack continued.
“The details will become apparent as time draws on. In the meantime, we should prepare to leave with Sarah. We really don’t have any other options.”
Eli’s heart sank as he saw Sheila and Sarah exchange a regretful glance. He had already determined that this would probably be an unpleasant experience, but it was difficult to bear, nonetheless. Tough as it is, it has to be done. Sarah must come with-.
His thoughts were interrupted by a clamor beyond the door. Heavy footsteps were approaching, and a deep voice sounded outside.
“Sheila, I’m home.”
The door swung open with a moan, and an adult male entered. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a dark mass of curly hair upon his head.
“You wouldn’t believe what happened today!”
After removing his shoes, he looked toward the group inside and froze. His eyes met Jack’s, then Eli’s. So he can see us too. Now we know for sure.
“Sorry,” said the man. “I didn’t expect visitors. What brings you here, and at this time of the day?” He looked toward Sheila questioningly. “And Sheila,” he gasped. “your face is bruised! What happened?”
Sheila finally managed to free herself from her stupor and respond.
“I was assaulted in an alleyway,” she answered, pointing to Eli. “but this person rescued me. His name is Eli, and his friend is Jack. They have some very important news.”
The man came to stand by the table, undoing the red tie about his neck.
“You saved my wife?” he asked, placing his hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Then I suppose I am indebted to you. Forgive my cold welcome; my name is Michael. It is very nice to meet you both.”
A chill of unease gripped Eli. Great. Now we have to fill him in, too.
Jack seemed to have been pondering the same dilemma Eli was grappling with.
“Sheila?” he asked softly. “Would you be willing to share our current situation with Michael? He may not take to it kindly from me.”
Michael raised his eyebrows, perplexed.
“What’s our current situation? Is there some sort of emergency?”
“You will learn in due time,” Jack promised, rising from his place at the table. “Right now, there’s someone I need to notify. Sheila and Eli can answer your questions while I’m gone.”
Jack exited the house without further explanation, leaving Michael in a state of utter confusion.
“What’s going on?” he asked Sheila, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Sheila drew a deep breath.
“We need to let Sarah stay with them for a while. Her life, as well as the fate of the world, is at stake.”
A flash of dismay appeared in Michael’s eyes, but he was able to maintain his composure.
“So you’re foreign enemies or something?” he suggested with a glance toward Eli.
“No,” Eli replied calmly. “You misunderstand. We are only here to help. Our goal is to return your daughter to you safe and sound as soon as possible.”
“You see,” Sheila added. “These people are something akin to spirits; they aren’t normal. They say that Sarah will somehow liberate the world from the developing pandemic, and they need to protect her from some unforeseen danger until she does.”
Michael remained silent.
“I’ll be alright, Dad,” Sarah assured him. “Jack and his friend are very nice. I know I’ll be safe with them.”
Eli was surprised by the girl’s tone of certainty. Such courage… How can she trust us, though? Is she really that naïve? Or can she somehow sense that we have no evil intentions?
“I know this is a lot to take in,” Eli piped up. “but we need you to trust us. We wouldn’t be trying so hard to get you to understand if we weren’t facing a pressing issue.”
“Sentinels..” muttered Michael quietly.
“I’m sorry?” Eli prompted. “I didn’t catch what you said.”
Michael now bore a reminiscent expression.
“You guys are Sentinels, right?”
“That is correct…” Eli answered suspiciously. “How did you know that? Did you overhear part of our conversation?”
“No,” Michael breathed. “I’ve known about you for a while – since I was a mere child. I used to talk with Sentinels.”
Fascinating, Eli thought. I never would have guessed a human could have interacted with Sentinels in such a way… I thought we were supposed to minimize engagement with humans.
“My peers used to make fun of me for it at school,” Michael continued. “Said I was crazy, that I had imaginary friends. Sometimes I wondered if I was crazy…” He paused, his eyes seeming to lose focus and become distant. “But eventually, I accepted that I wasn’t just dreaming them up; they were definitely real. I asked them so many questions… To my disappointment, they would only answer a few. I still learned much from them, and I would always jump for joy at the prospect of meeting one.”
Jack, who had managed to enter the house without anyone noticing, chuckled.
“Very interesting,” he commented. “I’ve never known of a human with such extensive experience in communicating with Sentinels. Since you have such experiences, do you feel you have good reason to trust us?”
Michael said nothing, while Jack tapped his foot repeatedly on the floor in anticipation.
Eli voiced his thoughts to persuade Michael.
“I really don’t think we have any other options here. Surely you can understand our predicament, and that we are only here to help?”
Sheila gazed expectantly at Michael. “Well?” she prompted. “What do you think?”
With a shade of doubt upon his face, Michael glanced toward Eli.
“I think you’re right: We don’t have much choice. If our daughter is truly in danger, I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe. You Sentinels have earned my trust in the past; we will give her to you. But…” He placed his hand on Sarah’s head. “Is there any chance we could keep her with us a little longer? Could you wait till tomorrow morning to take her with you? We would like to offer her a proper goodbye, and it’s getting late now.”
Indeed, darkness had abruptly gathered beyond the window; Sheila rose to fetch a candle from the kitchen counter.
Sarah yawned drowsily.
“I think I’m too tired to go now. I’d like to leave in the morning, too.”
“I’m surprised you’re so willing to go at all,” Jack commented. “Very brave, but I suppose I shouldn’t have expected any less from the Chosen One. At any rate, all you’ll likely have to do is invoke the powers of Gaia’s Shrines. In other words, your role shouldn’t be too challenging.”
“Gaia’s Shrines?” Eli interjected in surprise. “What are those?”
“Oh, yes,” chuckled Jack. “They are the shrines I told you about back before we were transported here – I just never explained what they are called. They will probably be how Sarah will conquer the virus; they can be used to produce a variety of beneficial effects when their powers are elicited by a Saint.”
“Ah, I believe I’ve heard that term before,” added Michael. “Saints. They are the ones who can see Sentinel’s, correct?”
“That is correct,” Jack responded.
“Well,” Michael continued. “That would make our entire family a group of Saints. In other words, Sheila and I could each draw out the power of the Gaia Shrines ourselves. Why do we need to send our young child?”
Sarah’s eyelids began to quiver as she sat, illuminated in her seat by the yellow light emanating from the candles Sheila had lit. Jack gazed at the child fondly.
“Your daughter was requested specifically,” Jack reminded him. “Besides, she faces imminent danger, so we need to ensure her safety. As for her time of departure…”
“Right,” piped Sheila, who was drawing faded gray shades over the windows overlooking the front of the house. “Is there any way you can leave tomorrow morning? You can’t just steal her off into the night.”
Eli glanced questioningly toward Jack. I don’t’ think he’ll go for it. Even in her own house, Sarah could end up facing peril. This is clearly an extremely dangerous town to live in.
Jack sighed.
“Very well,” he conceded. “We’ll leave in the morning, at about the time Sarah would normally leave for school. Eli, you may return to the rendezvous point we’ve previously established. I shall remain here to watch over the house until the time for departure arrives.”
Eli stood up and glanced toward Jack expectantly.
“I already notified our friends,” Jack assured him. “They’ll be waiting for you.” With an arrogant snicker, he strode to the entrance. “I said we would be the ones to find them, didn’t I?
Too easy. I really am the best Sentinel, not that crone Ana, or anyone else for that matter.”
His hand trickled through the door.
“I’ll be outside till morning. Feel free to contact me with any concerns, though you’ll probably want to get some sleep. See you later, Eli.”
He disappeared beyond the door and into the night.
Eli nodded farewell toward the family of Saints.
“All right, I’d best be off. I’ll leave you to offer your goodbyes. Don’t worry, though: Sarah will be safe with us, and we’ll return her to you as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t be too concerned.”
Making haste, Eli transitioned through the door and took to the air in the dark of night.
The streets were very poorly lit, illuminated only by a few faint lampposts. This truly is a perilous place to live. I hope I’m not making a mistake by leaving Jack all alone to defend the home.
He glanced back toward the house to catch a glimpse of Jack, but he had already traveled too far to make him out in the gloom. Wind rushed by his ears as Eli soared over buildings and quickly left the town behind him; he could not avoid thinking that the notion of being abandoned by their child would be difficult to swallow for Michael and Sheila. It’s still not easy to do, but again, we’ve no other choice.
As he glided past the town’s welcome sign, Eli became aware of his increase in flight speed since first learning the skill. Now, it seemed he could travel at a pace twice that of when he and Jack had initially sought out Johnson. I’ve got to keep my eyes peeled, then. I could be coming upon the others at any moment.
In the distance, an almost imperceptible glow could be seen on the ground. Presently, Eli was struggling to follow the road in the absence of any nearby light source, so he headed directly toward the glow. Maybe that’s them. Surely they’d be using some sort of beacon to
guide me through this impenetrable darkness. It would only make sense that they are responsible for that gleam.
Eli listened carefully for any sound that may confirm his suspicions, but his ears were met only with the sound of vicious shouts and conflict. A sense of dread formed in his stomach and sank heavily within him. It’s as I feared. Rates of crime ascend substantially by night in this town. Will Sarah’s family be subjected to home invasion? No… wait.
Upon further discretion, Eli concluded that the collection of aggressive shouts was not sourced in the town; rather, it originated somewhere off to his right, though he could see nothing.
“What’s going on?” he voiced aloud.
He almost desired to investigate the turmoil, but his attention was diverted by another sound.
“Eli!” came a shout from below, near the spec of orange light ahead. It was a high female voice, most likely Rachel’s. “Are you out there? We’re waiting for you.”
With a sigh of relief, Eli sped through the cool air toward the voice. As he neared the field of illumination produced by what appeared to be a dim fire, he was able to make out Rachel peering up through the darkness. Victor was crouched by the fire, prodding at the coals with a short stick, while Ana was pacing back and forth nervously by the road. Eli descended to the ground near the fire.
“You made it back!” exclaimed Rachel jovially. Victor made no comment upon his return, and Ana did not cease her pacing. Rachel scurried over to the fire and bombarded Eli with questions. “So you left Jack with the girl? Do you think she’ll be alright? What does she look like? How old is she?”
“Uhm, yes,” answered Eli. “she should be fine. I’d say she’s about ten years old; she has long, dark hair and luminous skin, with gleaming eyes and a contagious smile. Satisfied?”
“What is the meaning of this?” Victor demanded from his place by the fire. “Why are we waiting till morning to retrieve the child? Jack notified us about it earlier.”
“He’s respecting the wishes of the child’s parents,” Eli explained. “They want to be able to offer her a proper farewell, so we’re putting the mission off until tomorrow. Besides, the child seems too drowsy to leave with now.”
Victor tossed his stick into the fire in frustration. “Even if she is drowsy, why does that mean we cannot leave with her? This isn’t exactly a game.” He sighed heavily. “So be it: All will be well so long as Jack manages to ensure her safety.”
“To think that our team would be the one to find her…” Rachel mused. “Such great news! We’ll be back to our ordinary routines in no time.”
Peering at Ana in befuddlement, Eli grew concerned by her pacing.
“Is something the matter with Ana?” he asked nervously. His worry became even more pertinent as he came to notice that Ana was muttering to herself.
“Oh, her?” Rachel chuckled. “She’s been trying to contact the Judge to let her know that we’ve completed our mission. For some reason, she can’t get through to her at the moment, but it’s really not that much of a problem. We won’t be needing her to open the soul-gate again until tomorrow, so it’s no emergency.”
“But what’s interfering with the signal?” asked Victor, rising to his feet. “Perhaps the Judge is currently preoccupied, and she cannot presently respond? I would imagine she’d have been able to do it at some point - Ana has been at it for over twenty minutes.”
Ana finally ceased her pacing and collapsed on her knees by the fire.
“Yes,” Victor encouraged her. “I would implore you to rest. You may be too fatigued to be able to communicate with the Judge - it is certainly a possibility.”
“I- I’m not sure that’s it,” Ana sputtered. “although it might indeed be a possibility.
Even so, I don’t want to rest for too long; I’d like to hear from the Judge soon to quell my rising anxiety.”
The four grew silent as Ana lay down upon the ground, while an owl cooed eerily in the distant trees. A sliver of a moon hung in the sky, barely shedding enough light to see a few meters beyond one’s face. The fire, which had served as their primary light source up to this point, was now little more than a mere collection of sparks and coals.
Eli did not feel tired in the slightest, nor did Rachel or Victor, judging by their appearances and behavior.
“I guess we just wait now,” muttered Eli.
“Silence!” hushed Victor. “I’m trying to listen!”
“To what?” Rachel demanded. She closed her eyes, and furrows appeared on her forehead as she tensed herself in concentration. “Wait… I hear it too!”
A chill of unease ran up Eli’s spine. What is it? He could only hear the same distant commotion he had heard before, but now it seemed nearer; it also now consisted of a single line of sound, instead of multiple noises jumbled together.
“It’s travelling toward us,” warned Victor.
“And it almost sounds like a distress call,” Rachel added.
Ana sat up as the noise became louder and louder.
“Whoever it is must have seen our fire. I’m guessing it’s a human in danger – perhaps a wild animal is pursuing him. If that’s the case, we should just subdue the animal and let the human be on his way.”
Eli strained his eyes as he sought out any indication of movement in the shadows. He could see nothing, yet the sound continued to intensify.
“It’s coming from above us,” Eli observed. “Whoever it is isn’t travelling at ground level.”
“So…” Rachel began. “It’s a Sentinel then. What’s a Sentinel doing here? Did Jack get into trouble?”
The shouting became louder still, and it became clearer too.
“Run! They’re coming!” came the desperate yells.
Can’t be Jack. He was at Sarah’s home when I first heard the noises, and that isn’t his voice. Eli and the others began to retreat as the source of the sound bore down upon them, accompanied by the clamor of thundering footsteps. Suddenly, the figure of a flying Sentinel became visible before them in the stifling darkness; a choking stench of smoke filled the air.
“Get going! There’s no time!” the Sentinel screamed.
Eli and Rachel bolted away from the voice, but Victor and Ana stood undeterred, awaiting to see what would occur next.
“Hurry! It’s almos-“ The voice was interrupted as a flash of orange light pierced through the gloom with a thundering roar. The Sentinel’s agonized, wailing face was briefly visible before he was reduced to ash.