Forgotten Souls (The Saving Angels 2)

"I guess they felt a regular sized arrow would just be too difficult for us lowly graduates to figure out," she added.

Breaking away from the group, Sam and I followed the not so discrete arrows that lined the hallway walls, directing seniors to a different location. Sam's giggles increased with each sign we passed, making it hard for me not to join in. By the time we burst through doors to what Sam called "the holding pen," we were both clutching our sides.

The sound inside the large room was deafening, as everyone gathered around, talking about their plans for the evening and graduation gifts they had received. Of course, there was a lot of crying and gushing about how much they were going to miss each other, but for the most part everyone was excited about the significance of this moment.

Sam and I stood alone, which was how we preferred it. The only other group that was off by themselves was the Lush Trio. Sam and I had noticed when we returned to school that they were oddly subdued after the bathroom incident at prom. Gone were the sarcastic degrading comments that they were known for and the constant desire to be the center of our high school world. I had caught them studying Sam and me on more than one occasion. The change was nice, but felt strangely eerie. They were just simply there now. At first I was uber stressed that I had somehow damaged them, but Haniel was quick to reassure me.

"They have just come to realize their superficial qualities were not quite as endearing as they thought. They just needed the right push in a different direction," he had said, smiling slightly at me.

"Did I push them in that direction or did you?" I asked, suspecting the latter.

"I will leave that to you to figure out," he had said.

Watching them now, I felt a little bad that they seemed so unsure of their place with their peers now. Even more amazingly was the fact that all the girls that had vied for their attention for the last four years already seemed to have moved on. The Lush Trio seemed to be old news. High school really was survival of the fittest.

"Ladies and Gentleman, it's time to line up," Ms. Johansson, the principal's secretary, called out, trying to corral the rowdy bunch into two lines. Sam and I reluctantly parted as we stepped into our alphabetical place in line. >"What?" I asked incredulously, surprised by his words. Here I was expecting to get yelled at and instead, he was talking about my lack of listening skills being my greatest virtue.

"Do not misunderstand me. I wish you would practice a small amount of restraint to avoid harm, but what were the after effects of not following directions tonight?"

I shrugged my shoulders, confused. To me my stubbornness had caused nothing but mayhem and trouble.

"When you were held captive by The Dark Angel, did you leave your Protector behind when you escaped?" he asked me.

I shook my head no, shuddering at the mere suggestion.

"You were willing to sacrifice your own life to save him. Am I right?"

"Of course," I acknowledged. "But that was different. It was just Mark and me, and it was only my life I was risking," I finally said in a hoarse voice.

"Tonight was no different, Krista. Your unwillingness to leave saved many more souls, and most importantly, you helped another find her way to Heaven."

"I did?" I asked, sudden tears springing to my eyes as I recalled the lifeless girl on the dirt floor we had left behind.

"You did," he replied. "Plus, what you did not see was the rest of your band following you back in to save the remaining forgotten souls."

"You guys did that?" I asked with overwhelming happiness flooding its way inside me. Maybe I hadn't botched the entire mission after all.

"We couldn't let you down Sis, since you seemed Hell bent on saving everyone," Shawn said, smiling at me. "Oops, sorry Haniel about the "H" mention," he added, winking at me.

"I would say your first mission was quite successful. All of you should be proud of yourselves," he said, turning to leave, but paused at the double French doors. "Krista, perhaps we should take care of your neck before you head home."

"What?" I placed my hands on my neck and cringed when my touch sent waves of pain shooting through me, making my eyes water. I stood up to see the evidence in the oversized mirror over the couch, gasping in surprise at the purple bruises covering my throat.

"Oh no, my mom will freak if she sees these," I said, stepping closer to the mirror so I could inspect the marks more closely. It amazed me that each of his fingers had left their mark on me.

"Krista, if you are done admiring your injuries, could you please follow me to the patio," Haniel said dryly, making me laugh.

"Okay, keep your shirt on," I joked, heading toward him.

"Keep my shirt on. Why would it be off?" Haniel asked puzzled as I walked by.

Sam burst out laughing behind us as Haniel closed the patio door.

Haniel still looked confused. "It's a phrase, Haniel," I said sighing. Trying to explain our humor to a celestial being definitely had its obstacles.

"Oh, I see. You were joking."

"Yep, it was a joke,"