The ride to Sam's house was noisy, as the guys pumped themselves up for what we would be facing later that evening. I laughed at their antics, along with Lynn who thankfully seemed to have forgiven me for the wake-up call. Though they appeared lighthearted, I could sense the same unease that I felt circulating around the vehicle. The fact that they weren’t a hundred percent confident actually reassured me. I couldn’t help feeling that too much cockiness was just asking for trouble.
Mark pulled up the SUV in front of Sam's house and Shawn jumped out to get her. Sam, threw the door open before he could ring the bell in her usual exuberant way. She bounded down the walkway beside Shawn. We couldn't help but laugh as she practically bounced with excitement.
"Hey guys, what's so funny?" she asked as she slid into the third row seats with Shawn.
"Nothing," Robert always the pacifist of our group said, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
"Okay," Sam said, looking at me puzzled. "Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I'm ready to save some souls," she said, moving on.
"Hell yeah I am!" Shawn said, agreeing with her sentiments.
Their excitement was contagious, and the last of my doubts were pushed aside as I relished the thought of changing someone's life forever. The whole Angel thing definitely had its perks.
Mark pulled the vehicle into the same dirt lot we had parked in the day before. I had an odd sense of déjà-vu as we all piled out of the vehicle. Sure, I had just been here the day before, but as my friends and I walked toward the entrance, I felt like we had all done this already. I couldn’t help wondering if that was a sign that we were on the right track. Maybe this was God's way of telling us we were exactly where we were supposed to be.
My friends were excited about the same sights and smells that had enticed me the previous day. The market had lost some of its appeal for me as I searched for the unknown girl in vain. Sam and Lynn had to repeatedly tell me to slow down as I tried to hurry down each row. Finally exasperated, they told Mark to hold my hand so it would anchor me to them.
"It's fine if we don't find her here," Mark whispered in my ear, picking up on my anxiety. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's at the fairgrounds helping to set up the revival. Who knows how many people are involved in the whole thing. It could be just the handful of people we saw and the girl, for all we know. Well, that and the ringleader they mentioned, of course."
"I know," I said. "I was just really hoping to find her here this morning so we could do our thing and be back at your house before Haniel suspects anything," I added, acknowledging again the fact that I thought it was wrong that we were misleading Haniel. I had grown quite attached to our Archangel and I felt guilty for deceiving him.
The morning moved at a snail's pace for me as my friends "oohed" and "aahed" over each stand. I tried to keep my impatience at bay, knowing that the previous day I had been the same way. I was relieved when noon finally rolled around and we could break for lunch. Mark guided us to the same spot we had eaten at the day before, so that our large group could eat under the willow tree in peace without having to scrounge for a big enough table for all six of us.
"Corn dog, or do you want a burger and fries?" Mark asked me once we were settled on the soft grass under the sweeping branches.
"Burger and fries would be great."
"I want the same," Sam said, laying her packages behind her.
"Not me. I think I want one of those gyros from that stand," Lynn said, pointing to the stand across the way.
"Ohhh, I want one of those too," I said, changing my order. "But I don’t want any of the veggies."
"Of course you don't," Lynn said laughing, "That would almost be considered healthy if you got it with all the veggies."
"Exactly," I replied, smiling at her mischievously.
"Well, I still want a burger. I don't know how you guys can eat a cute wooly lamb," Sam said shuddering.
"It's not like a burger is much better," I said, teasing her.
"I know, I know, but I can't give up beef and besides, I don't know any cute cow songs like, 'Mary had a Little Lamb,'" she said, smirking at me.
"Great, now I'm going to have that lullaby stuck in my head while I'm eating," I grumbled.
"Not me," Lynn said. "I'm more worried about who's handling my food than what I'm eating."
Sam giggled at her words.
Lynn may be all Goth, but she had a serious obsessive compulsive disorder when it came to germs and food preparation. She had major issues with eating food after it sat out too long and made waiters at restaurants bring her food as soon as it was prepared. I found the whole thing funny and teased her about it constantly.
"I would be more worried about not having a sink to wash my hands in," I said teasingly.
"Ha, never fear, I planned well for that," she said, pulling a package of antibacterial wipes out of her bag.
Sam giggled and I grinned, but we both took one willingly. The thought of all the different things I had handled that day that others had touched, made even a normal person like me blanch.
"I like these wipes better than the gel," Sam said, wiping the fronts and backs of her hands. "The gel doesn’t help get the dirt off like these do," she added, holding up her dirty wipe for us to inspect.