“Leo and Hollis,” he says. “It’s so great to finally meet you. I have been waiting for this day for some time.” His eyes are beaming with joy and excitement.
We stare back at him, dumbfounded, until my father bolts into the room, and Michael heads into the kitchen to help my mother set the table. I hear the stereo turn on and they start singing while they work.
“I see you guys have met Michael. He’s an old friend of ours and will be joining us for brunch today,” my father explains.
“What did he mean he’s been waiting for this day for some time?” I whisper.
“We’ll explain everything. Come dish up a plate.”
Everything is set up buffet-style on our kitchen island. I move along, blindly scooping items onto my plate. There is a strange feeling in the room. My eyes are set on this friend of my parents. He must be at least six foot four, maybe five. My parents don’t associate with anyone so rough around the edges. He’s definitely not one of my father’s colleagues. Is he my biological father? It could explain my darker features, but how could they be so nonchalant about it? If so, he has some nerve thinking he can just come in here all smiles, without even taking a shower, to meet me for the first time. Anger starts to burn inside me. My mother sits down next to me, reaches over and grabs my hand.
“Leo, there is no easy way to tell you this, so I’m going to ask that you remember how much your father and I love you. Your adoption wasn’t an accident—"
“I knew it, you’re a freaking superhero!” Hollis interrupts.
“From the general definition, no. Sorry to disappoint you, Hollis. However, your father and I are archangels. I am the angel Jophiel, the angel of beauty and wisdom. Your father is the angel Raphael, the angel of healing. The world as you know it will be coming to an end very soon. We were sent here to raise you with all the knowledge you will need to know in order to fulfill your purpose. Majority of the population will be destroyed, and there is nothing you or I can do about that. We are not here to save as many people as possible. Your assignment is to find the individuals that you will need in order to build the new society. Your purpose is to scout some of these individuals.”
I place my fork back down. “Yeah, sure. So why is he here then? Is he my biological father and you are just trying to soften the blow with an even worse story? If so, you’ve greatly underestimated my instincts.”
“Metaphorically maybe, but not literally,” Michael laughs.
My mother clears her throat. “Your biological parents are not aware of your purpose, and they are not relevant to this conversation. Their purpose was making you. You know we are serious. Michael is the Commander of Angels and the Protector of Faith. He is here to train you. This is going to consume all your focus moving forward, so you will need to quit your job. We will take care of your bills, food, and anything else you need to accomplish this task.”
The same buzzing noise I heard the day of the abolishment fills my ears. I can’t accept this. This is a mistake. The hash browns in my stomach have mixed with acid and are starting to slide back up my esophagus. “This is ridiculous. There is no way that I am meant to or designed to recruit people for a new civilization. I can’t even be in a room with more than a dozen people! God wouldn’t assign someone like me to do this. He just wouldn’t.”
“This is where you could say you have somewhat of a superpower. Your body only runs cold when you are near a demonic presence, Leo. That is why you feel frozen in those moments. We did our best all these years to keep you from feeling abnormal because of it. We knew it would serve you well in the task at hand, and we didn’t want to scare you at a young age, so we had to mislead you. For that, we are so sorry. If there had been a better solution, we would have been made aware of it. Abba designed you as a living demon barometer, and that is no accident.”
“Who is Abba?” I ask.
“That is how we refer to God. It is another way of saying father,” Michael says, as he continues eating his brunch.
My father pulls my chair toward him. “Michael will give you the address where your training will take place. He will walk you through your assignment and prepare you for the upcoming months. It’s important that you follow his every instruction exactly as he states. I’m sure you will come up with more questions once the shock of all this wears off. We understand this is a lot to take in, but just know that you were built for this, Leo. You will have all the support you need. Hollis, that includes you.”
“Yes, sir,” says Hollis.
Michael hands me a piece of paper with an address, date and time written on it. I can’t think, and they are all staring at me. Anticipating my reaction. I head for the door, dragging Hollis out with me. They don’t try to stop me. I’m sure they don’t have to ask what I’m thinking. They can probably read my mind. Do they know everything I did growing up? All the stories I came up with for making it home late. They knew the truth, and just let me think otherwise.
I tossed Hollis the keys. No way I am about to drive after taking that in. Hollis bounces down the front porch stairs and flings his body into the driver’s seat. I could feel the excitement about to burst inside him, but he held it in. He would look over periodically, with a half grin. Only Hollis would be excited about the end of the world. Finally, he let it out.
“Leo, you have to say something. This is insane! You get to select who makes it through the end of the world! Come on!”
I crumple my face into a scowl. He is like a giddy schoolgirl who just found out she won class president. He badgers me to stay up with him and research every apocalypse series we can find. He finally conks out on the couch, and I make my way to my bed. I lay awake, staring at the old popcorn ceiling, and the questions start rolling through my mind one after another. How will everyone die? Where will we go to be safe when this all goes down? How do I explain this to a total stranger and convince them I’m not bat shit crazy? What is going to be left after? How soon is this going to happen? Why didn’t I just stay at my parents’ house and ask all these questions earlier today? I need to write this down.
Appointment Card
Address: 1247 2nd Street Fillmore, FL. 33523
Date: January 4th
Time: 13:00
I don’t recognize the small town just 47 miles north of the suburb I grew up in. The town of Fillmore now has a whopping population of 16 people. The address takes us to what appears to be an abandoned library. I look the streets up and down. Not a single person in sight. Just a few small houses with some boarded-up windows. Hollis is looking around, too. “I don’t see the Harley. Think we beat him here?”
“Maybe he has wings and legit flew here.”
We decide to get settled in. There are cobwebs draped in every corner, shelf and window. I flick the light switch up and down. It’s good there is a lot of natural light, because none of the lights work. We maneuver through aisles of large, wooden tables and chairs. The towering shelves of books have ladders on wheels to reach the top rows.
Suddenly, there is popping sound, followed by a loud BEEP!
What makes a sound like that? No, not an old oven. I think it's one of those metal boxes called a microwave. I'm pretty sure it caused cancer for thousands of people, but damn, that smells amazing.