Confronting the Fallen (10 page)

“
I
think so,” Chris replied. “Are you Mr. McKenna?”

“
I
am indeed. And you are?”

“
Chris,
sir. Chris Wright. How are you doing?”

Mr.
McKenna extended his hand and shook Chris' firmly. “I'm fine,
thank you. So you are Mr. Wright. A pleasure. What brings you out on
a lovely evening like this?”

The
man waved his hand upward and Chris looked at the darkening sky,
amazed at how many stars he could see now that he was outside of the
city.

“
Well,
actually sir, I just wanted to get some fresh air. You know, stretch
my legs a bit.”

Mr.
McKenna smiled warmly. “I know how you feel. I prefer
patrolling the grounds to inside duties.” His smile widened.
“At least until winter hits.”

Chris
laughed and nodded. “I hear that,” he said. “Winter
has always been my least favorite season, except for hockey, of
course. So, it's okay for me to wander around?”

“
Of
course. Just let me inform the rest of the team that you are out and
about.”

The
man pulled out a cellphone and quickly tapped out a message. He
waited a moment, nodded and looked at Chris. “All clear,”
he said. “Just one more group to inform of your presence.”
He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Chris
looked at Mr. McKenna in confusion. What the heck? Then he heard a
distant baying, like a pack of wolves on the hunt.

“
Um,
what's going on, sir?” he asked the man nervously.

Mr.
McKenna made a reassuring gesture. “Not to worry, Mr. Wright.
The grounds are patrolled by dogs as well as guards. Once I introduce
you, you will be safe to come and go without them bothering you.”

“
Oh.
Okay,” Chris said dubiously. The barking was coming closer and
the deep voices of the dogs told him that these were definitely big
animals. He swallowed and hoped that this man knew what he was doing.

And
then from around the far corner of the house, a pack of dogs appeared
and raced toward Chris and Mr. McKenna, baying at the top of their
lungs.

Chris
stood frozen. He'd never seen dogs this large before. The head of the
lead animal was level with his elbow. All of the dogs were covered in
brown fur and they looked heavy and strong.

The
pack came to a sliding stop just a few yards in front of Chris. He
counted ten of them. The leader stared at him with its huge brown
eyes. Chris felt like it was sizing him up. Then slowly, one foot at
a time, it stalked toward him.

“
Mr.
Wright,” Mr. McKenna said calmly, “this is Eliza. She's
the leader of the pack. In fact, most of the others are her children.
Eliza, this is Chris Wright. He's a guest.”

The
dog stopped and looked at the man. Wildly, Chris thought that she
seemed to know exactly what was being said. Then the dog looked back
at Chris and shook her tail once. He took a deep breath, knelt down
on one knee and extended a hand toward Eliza. Her head was now higher
than his own.

“
Mr.
Wright, I don't think that's a good idea,” the man said
cautiously, but the dog cocked her head and then stepped forward and
rested her lower jaw on Chris' shoulder. He grinned and spontaneously
wrapped his arms around her neck in a huge hug. He just knew that it
was the right thing to do.

Eliza
nuzzled into his neck and shook her tail vigorously. Her pack mates
quickly crowded around and Chris was swamped by large furry heads and
wet tongues licking his face and hair. He started giggling
uncontrollably.

Chris
finally pushed the dogs off of him and stood up. Eliza gave him a
final nudge, then with an imperious bark, she led the pack off into
the darkness.

He
looked over at Mr. McKenna. The man looked amazed but smiled as he
met Chris' gaze.

“
That
was...extraordinary, Mr. Wright,” he said, sounding a little
dazed. “The dogs rarely accept anyone so quickly. And to show
you such affection?” He shook his head.

“
Aren't
they like that with everyone, sir?” Chris asked.

“
Hardly.
They recognize those we ask them to, and do not harass them when they
are out on the grounds. But they are very stern beasts, very proud.
And Eliza is the proudest of the lot. For her to accept you that
quickly is a great compliment.” His smile widened. “I
tend to judge people on how they interact with my dogs. So I think
we'll get along just fine, young man.”

Chris
grinned. “I hope so, sir. What kind of dogs are they? I've
never seen any that big before.”

“
They're
Irish Wolfhounds, Mr. Wright. Very loyal, very clever. They almost
have a sixth sense with people, which is why I pay attention to their
reaction with strangers. Eliza is large even for her breed.”
Mr. McKenna smiled slightly. “She is the boss and the pack
takes their lead from her.” He gazed off on the direction of
the dogs. “They patrol the grounds after dark, but now that
you've been introduced, you'll be able to walk around at your
leisure.” He looked back a Chris. “So off you go, Mr.
Wright. Enjoy your walk. Just remember to check in with the front
desk when you get back.”

“
Thanks,
Mr. McKenna,” Chris said. “I will.” And with a
wave, Chris set off to explore.

The
front yard was lit by lights on poles leading from the front gate to
the door of the house. Chris followed the line of the poles toward
the gates. They were closed and two people, a man and a woman stood
on either side. Both were wearing what Chris had started to call the
uniform; a dark suit, no jewelry or flashy colors and a tie. He waved
at them and both of them nodded back.

Chris
turned left and followed the wall. A light shone down at regular
intervals along the inside of the wall, every ten yards or so. It
didn't light up the entire yard, but he could see well enough. He
reached out and trailed his fingers over the rough stone of the wall.
Then he stopped, turned and rested his back against it and stared out
over the dark expanse between the wall and the house.

A
cool breeze touched him for a moment and he smelled the sweet scent
of fresh-cut grass. The sky was entirely dark and Chris finally went
over the day that had passed in his mind.

He
always thought better at night, in the darkness. And the thing that
he had avoided contemplating all day now came back to him in full
force. Angelic souls.

He
thought about the idea the way that his parents had taught him;
dispassionately, without judgment. He just let it roll around in his
mind to see where it would take him.

What
could it mean? If it were true, that is. Angels as people? The end of
the world? He shook his head and laughed a little.

The
judge thinks he knows me, Chris thought. All he sees is a thirteen
year old kid. Thirteen. Ha. If he only knew what I've had to do to
survive in the last three years. Even my parents wouldn't recognize
me. And I have an angelic soul? Yeah, right.

Chris
pushed himself away from the wall and started walking slowly across
the darkened yard, still working through his confused thoughts. He
reached the corner of the house and turned to the left. The night was
cooling down quickly but Chris liked it. Suddenly three people
appeared out of the darkness and he stopped quickly and took a step
back.

Two
of the guards in their suits flanked a third figure. All three came
to a halt and stared at Chris. His heart was in his throat and he
stared at the figure between the guards.

The
person was wearing a long leather coat that reached almost to the
ground. He was wearing a hoodie that covered his hair, but the light
from a nearby pole shone slightly on his face, his eyes almost
covered by blond bangs, and Chris recognized his new friend Tyler.

“
Hey
Tyler!” he said with relief. Tyler had jumped slightly but now
grinned at Chris.

“
Hey
man, what are you doing out here?”

Chris
shrugged. “Needed some air. What are you up to?”

“
Me?
Um, well...” Tyler glanced at one of the men beside him who
shook his head slightly. “Nothing much. I'm patrolling. All of
us take a turn once in a while.”

The
other man spoke up. “Come along, sir. We have our rounds to
complete.” His voice was flat.

Tyler
looked at him a bit nervously. “Yeah, of course.” He
smiled weakly at Chris. “Sorry. Gotta go.”

“
Yeah,
sure,” Chris said in confusion. “See you later.”

Tyler
waved and the three walked past Chris and disappeared around the
corner. Now what the heck was that about, he wondered as he stared
after them. He decided that he'd wait to talk to Tyler when there
were no adults nearby.

Chris
looked around. The side of the house was lit by a large light high up
near the roof and he could see a vast lawn spread out in the
distance. The high wall stretched out until it faded into pools of
light off in the distance. The smell of cut grass was stronger here
and he took in a deep breath, enjoying the sweetness.

As
he stood there, Chris saw, far off on the shadowy lawn, several of
the dogs loping slowly into the darkness. The sight made him shiver
for some reason. Maybe it was simply the strangeness of everything.
Here he was, standing on the grounds of what he knew was a mansion,
patrolled by serious-looking people and a pack of giant dogs. It was
surrounded on all sides by a high wall and filled with both adults
and teens, all of whom seemed to be involved with something to do
with angels. He shook his head. Put that way, the entire thing
sounded insane.

What
exactly do they need all this protection for? Is it just for defense
against groups like Talon? Are they really that bad? And why would
Talon even care about Judge Hawkes and his people anyway? Chris
sighed again. Too many questions and too few answers.

Patience,
Chris, he thought. You've made it this far in life because of
patience. And thinking things through. So, let's just wait and see.

He
turned and began to walk back toward the front door, suddenly very
tired. He decided to sleep on it and wait to see what would happen
while he was here.

Over
the next few weeks,
Chris got to know the house and its inhabitants very well. He got
lost several times for the first few days, but eventually figured out
where everything was and could make his way through the maze of
hallways and staircases with minimal effort. When he wasn't in the
library discussing ancient civilizations with Mrs. Stiles, he was in
the games room playing video games alone or with several of his
fellow teens. Sometimes he would spend hours in a small lounge he'd
discovered that had a television and a few armchairs; just curled up
and flicking through the channels. Chris had had very few chances to
watch TV in the last few years and enjoyed the luxury of channel
surfing to his heart's content.

It became
a routine for him to go out for a walk on the grounds every night
around eight o'clock. Eliza and the dogs seemed to know when he would
appear and greeted him as he left the building. Mr. McKenna and Chris
would spend some time talking about the dogs and about other animals
that the man had trained over the years. It turned out that Mr.
McKenna had worked in a zoo when he was younger and Chris was
fascinated by the man's stories of dealing with wild animals like
lions and elephants.

Chris ran
into several other young people on his nightly walks as well. Just
like Tyler, they were dressed in long, loose-fitting leather jackets
with a hood pulled up over their heads and, like Tyler, they wouldn't
explain what they were doing. Just 'patrolling' was the standard
answer Chris would get when he asked. It was frustrating.

It was
even more frustrating for Chris because Tyler refused to say anything
about it even when they were in the games room without any adults
around.

“
Sorry,
Chris. It's confidential,” was all Tyler said. Jacob was there
too and nodded seriously, while saying nothing. Finally, Chris gave
up.

“
Fine.
Keep your secrets,” he'd said grumpily.

“
You
know, Chris,” Tyler said as he looked at Chris thoughtfully.
“If you'd just join us, you'd know all of this stuff.”

Chris
shook his head. “I'm not convinced yet,” he said
stubbornly.

“
Convinced?”
Jacob seemed baffled. “Convinced of what? That we're not bad
guys? That the judge isn't some sort of freak? What exactly do you
need to be convinced of, Chris?”

“
Yeah,
man,” Tyler said. “What are you waiting for anyway? I
mean, I'm sure it's nice to sit around all day; reading, watching TV,
playing games. But how long is it going to take for you to figure out
that what you see here is what you get?”