"Furious, Atourum reminded the council that they were supposed to be objective. He accused them of siding with Omnis. The council went behind closed doors to talk the matter over. When they reached a decision, all parties were once again gathered.
"Death, Time, and Fate all spoke in unison. "We, the council appointed by Omnis, have come to a conclusion on the matter of the bridge and the broken rule. While we will not give Atourum the location of the bridge, we will create a triplex that holds a map to the bridge. The triplex will then be placed somewhere on Earth every six hundred and sixty-six years. You, Atourum, will be given a chance to seek out the triplex.
""If the map is found before midnight of that year, you will be permitted on to the bridge to do with the souls whatever you wish. If Atourum does enter the bridge, all balance will be lost and the Earth will be plunged into chaos and fire. Therefore we are also granting the Guardians a chance to seek out the map and destroy it.
"We will hide it somewhere on Earth. Each side can go about seeking the map any way they choose. However, the same basic rules still apply: Guardians can not kill human beings. If this is done, they will be thrown down to the flames. Only the first Guardian can take a life; and although Akons can kill a human, they can not take a soul unless that soul is willing. Each side will be given a name with which to start their search.
"Only humans that are integral to the search can be informed of the mission. If humanity as a whole should find out about the search, the council will intervene and both sides will be punished. Humanity must remain, with a few exceptions, unaware of what is happening. We can not and will not tolerate exposure, as humans are frail and panic when faced with uncertainty."
"And so, every six hundred and sixty-six years, Guardians and Akons come down to Earth to find the Triplex."
Panic rises inside me as I say out loud what Jay won"t. "This is the sixth hundred and sixty-sixth year."
"I"m sorry, Emerson, but we"re going to need that in the form of a question," Reese jokes in his best announcer voice.
I ignore him and go on. "That means you guys have to find an object that could be anywhere on Earth? If you don"t find it, we will all die a fiery death?"
"That"s about right," Jay chimes in.
My stomach feels queasy again. Maybe eating was a bad idea. Okay, note to self: news of the end of the world is best taken on an empty stomach. I"m fighting back bile. My hands are clammy and won"t stop shaking.
"It doesn"t have to be fire. It can come in many ways, like a flood, earthquake, or tsunami. Most people think h.e.l.l on earth would just be fire, but really, it"s a combination of things," Miku says casually as if we were discussing where the best lunch specials can be found. We all stare back at her.
"What? It"s true."
Rio looks at her dubiously. "You"re a creepy little angel."
"So, what"s the name on the paper?"
Everyone looks at me as if to say "don"t be stupid," but I had to ask. I need to hear it out loud. The look of sympathy on Miku"s face confirms my deepest fear.
"My name is the clue."
"You, Ms. Baxter, have just gotten to the final round! Now, will you choose door number one or door number two?" Reese is getting on my nerves.
Apparently I"m not the only one. I feel a soft breeze beside me. I look over and Jay is still seated beside me. But I know he moved because Reese"s mouth has literally been taped shut. Jay leans back in his chair to admire his handy work. I look at him bewildered.
"How did you...?"
"Skills baby girl," he smirks. Even as I"m hearing news of impending doom, I can"t get over how amazing he looks. And when he called me "baby girl," I felt a warm feeling wash over me. Wow, he is so hot. Focus, Emmy. Focus.
Not one to be out done, Reese rips the tape off his mouth and "pops" up behind Jay. He holds him in a headlock.
"Where you gonna go now, speedy? Come on. I"d like to see you glide out of this," Reese says triumphantly.
They wrestle back and forth, each trying to pin the other one down. Every time Jay gets the drop on Reese, Reese disappears. And whenever Reese manages to get the upper hand, Jay moves at an impossible speed.
Rio announces that he has dibs on Jay. Reese, offended, pops up behind Rio and pulls the chair out from under him. Miku howls with laughter. Apparently the end of the world is a light-hearted subject.
"Excuse me!" I snap, not bothering to hide my irritation. "Are you guys kidding me? Was this all a joke? I thought this was serious. You guys just brought me here as some stupid elaborate game?"
"No, it"s real Emmy." Miku puts her hand on my shoulder. I shake it off.
"If this is real then why aren"t you guys taking it seriously?"
"We"re just tryin" to be easy," Jay says.
"How can you "be easy"? We"re talking about the end of humanity. Forever!" I am seething.
"Emmy, calm down," Rio says gently.
"Don"t you get it? I can"t help you guys. I have no idea where your map is. Your council made a big mistake." I look at all of them with a mixture of hysteria and disbelief.
Miku chimes in, "You"re the clue the council gave us. They"re never wrong."
When I speak my voice is unsteady. "They"re wrong about this; I"m just some girl. I watch bad TV and spend way too much time reading about things that can"t possibly happen to me."
I stand up and look into their all-too-calm faces. I"m so frustrated, I could scream. "If I"m your clue then we"re all dead. Do you understand?"
"Well, we"re already dead, so...," Reese joked.
"Fine, you just sit there and keep making jokes. It"s obvious you don"t care." I storm out of the kitchen. They all follow, with Reese heading me off.
"Stop popping out in front of me!" I shout.
"It"s called blinking," Reese states matter-of-factly.
"Whatever. Knock it off." I can feel rage welling up.
Jay comes from behind me and blocks my way.
"Move! I"ll fight you, angel or no angel." The sheer thought of being confronted with violence by a girl who"s half his size and only a fraction of his strength, amuses him to no end. I ball my fist and speak through clenched teeth. "Move!"
He can barely keep from laughing. He holds his hands up as if to surrender.
"Alright, baby girl, it"s all you. I"ll just glide back to my spot, killer. It"s cool."
He moves so fast that by the time his words. .h.i.t the air, he is already out of my way. He looks like light reflected on a car window going 120 miles an hour. Now only Reese remains.
"Before you storm out, at least give us a chance to apologize," he says as he silently appeals to Miku to intervene.
"We were just blowing off steam and we"re sorry," Miku offers from behind me.
"No, you"re not. It"s not your life that"s coming to an end. It"s not your mother whose-"
I freeze. My mom. She"s probably got half of New York looking for me.
"It"s okay. We called her. We told her you were studying with us and you fell asleep. She knows you"ll be home late," Rio says in an effort to calm me down.
"Who did you tell her you were?"
"Cla.s.smates of yours."
I"m weak with relief. I crash onto the sofa and sob. They let me. They don"t approach or try to comfort me. I"m grateful for that. I need the s.p.a.ce to fall apart.
My mind wanders from my mom and on to my neighbor, Donna. She has a four-year-old son, Benjamin. I take him to the park on weekends. He loves the swings, and he"s sure if he keeps trying he can go high enough to touch a cloud. The thought of his little body pulverized by some evil force makes me sob even harder.
And just when I think it"s not possible to shed any more tears, a fresh salty stream runs down my face. Sorrow and desolation engulf me. I stop trying to hold myself together and let the weight of my grief pull me into the fetal position. My body steadily rocks, sob by sob.
They don"t speak or impose on me in any way. They allow me all the time I need. Maybe patience is another power that angels are granted. And even though I"m ensconced in misery, I"m certain that if they were not with me, I would be worse.
Finally I stop crying. I don"t feel better, I"ve simply run out of tears. So I just lie there and take in the silence. My head is throbbing. I"m lightheaded and empty. I should eat something but the thought of chewing is exhausting.
"I have some questions," I say to no one in particular. My throat is raw and strained. I speak so softly I think they don"t hear me.
Rio asks, "What do you want to know?"
"What"s a tri thingy?"
"A Triplex. It"s a cover coat that protects the object inside it by taking the shape of its surroundings. It"s what our wings are coated with. That"s why you can"t see them even though they"re out all the time; it blends into whatever surroundings we"re in. If it"s snowing, the Triplex will take the form of falling snow," Rio explains.
"Can"t people feel your wings when they"re standing beside them?
Reese responds, "Not with the Triplex. It takes no s.p.a.ce. It has no definite form. You can only find it if you expect it to be there. I can always see Miku"s wings because I know that they are there."
"Why did I see yours before then?" I inquire.
"Because you thought you were dead. You were expecting angels; so you saw one. I"m not sure you realize it but you screamed the whole way down... and even after you were safely back on the roof." He"s trying hard not to make fun of me. "I think I lost all hearing in my left ear." Apparently he can"t help himself, nor can I really blame him.
I must have looked like a nut. I didn"t even realize I had screamed. "Sorry about that," I mumble.
"What? I can"t hear," Rio shouts back.
I throw a pillow at him and he blocks it with his wings. It didn"t get anywhere near him.
"So the map of the bridge is in the Triplex, making it virtually impossible to find," I surmise.
"Virtually," Jay chimes in. "But since your name is our clue, we think that the council met you and decided to leave the Triplex with you."
"I think I would remember running into Death, Time and Fate, don"t you?"
Miku replies "Actually, no, you wouldn"t. The council would have used someone you know to put the Triplex somewhere in your life where you wouldn"t discard it, either because of necessity or sentiment."
"Nothing jumps out at me. Sorry."
"Don"t worry. It will," she says encouragingly.
"We"re already two days into the New Year. Why did it take so long for you guys to come to me?" I ask.
"There are 53 Emerson"s in New York City alone," Reese retorts.
"So, how do you know that I"m the one?"
"You"re the only one being shot at today."
"Oh." Point taken.
"It"s more than that. I"d felt dark waves heading toward you and thought that it would be a good idea for us to keep a closer eye on you," Rio adds from across the room.
"You knew they"d attack me?" I am amazed. "Can you tell the future?"
"Why, you play lotto?" Rio jokes.
"Seriously. How do you do it?"
"All Watchers, Guardians and Akons have at least one power. It comes from their last moments on earth. Let"s say you were crushed by a car on your last night on Earth-"
"Ooh, that"s a good one," Miku says, completely taken by the image of carnage in her head.
"-Anyway." Rio rolls his eyes and continues. "Let"s say after being crushed to death, you get chosen to be a Guardian. Your power would be the ability to manipulate metal because at your time of death, that is what your spirit asked of Omnis. Everyone"s powers have to do with the way they died."
"So, you can"t see the future," I state, half-deflated by this additional downer to death.
"No, but I can feel the emotions and desires of people miles away from me. Their emotions give way to their actions. I knew you were feeling nausea even before it registered in your body. "
"That"s why you brought over the trash can," I say, amazed.
"Yeah I could tell by your color wave you were feeling unsettled and overwhelmed. I knew you"d get sick but I didn"t know the exact moment or where to place the trash," Rio clarifies.
"You see people"s feeling as colors?"
"Yep, he"s our very own mood ring," Jay teases.
Rio ignores him and continues. "They appear in colored waves. Humans usually emanate the same three colors; orange, gray and blue. That usually means worry, insecurity and fear. It can change throughout the day. If they meet a loved one or find out there"s a baby on the way, the change is powerful. They radiate a soft white glow."
"So you know what the guy down the street is feeling right now?"
"I know what Manhattan is feeling. That"s how I was able to find you in the hall. Your color wave is almost always..." He was going to say something but then thought better of it.
"Let"s just say your color changed to onyx. That means the person fears for their life."
"Can you change what people are feeling?" I have to know.
"No, but along with Jay"s ability to "glide," he has suggestive powers. So if you radiate deep sadness and you"re near me, I"ll get Jay to suggest something to lift your spirits."
"That"s sweet," I can"t help but say.
Rio smiles, "Can"t you tell by now what a nice guy I am?"