Forgotten Souls (The Saving Angels 2)

"Leave me alone," she mumbled, rolling over to the other side of the bed away from me.

Grimacing determinedly, I smiled briefly at her mistake as I placed my hands on her backside and shoved her off the bed with one mighty push. Turning quickly, I fled to the other side of the room as she sat up sputtering.

"What the…?" she said looking like a madwoman. Her short, cropped haircut stood out in every direction, while her face resembled a patchwork quilt from all the lines covering it from being buried in the comforter she had slept on.

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me at her ruffled appearance. "I tried to wake you gently," I said, backing out the door as she advanced toward me. I slammed the door behind me and raced down the hall, putting ample distance between us. Glancing behind me to make sure I was home free, I ran smack into Robert.

"What's so funny?" he asked apprehensively, glancing behind me, obviously suspecting the answer.

"Um, good luck with that one," I said, racing toward the living room as Robert intercepted Lynn.

"Whoa, what happened?" I heard him ask as I opened the patio door.

"I think Krista is ready for a dip in the pool," I heard her answer as I quickly closed the door behind me, smiling with sinister pleasure.

"What are you smiling about?' Mark asked from the patio table, setting the book he was reading aside.

"Lynn. She wasn't overly crazy with the method I used to wake her up," I said, smiling even wider.

"What did you do, dump water on her?" he asked, smiling also.

"Um, nope. I might have pushed her out of her bed," I said, feeling a small twinge of guilt creeping in.

Mark burst out laughing at my admission, which made the guilt switch to unease. If the guys thought it was funny, I was doomed for sinking to their level. I would have to sleep with one eye open so Lynn wouldn’t be able to retaliate.

Lynn's revenge was put on hold as we all got busy getting ready. Haniel had planned on a training session at ten a.m., so we wanted to be out of the house before then. The guys were convinced that once he realized we had completed our mission, it would show Haniel we were ready to take on more complicated missions.

I wasn’t as convinced, but I kept my concerns to myself as we piled into Mark's Navigator.

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.