"Persephone...." A voice called to me. "Rise and shine."
I slowly opened my eyes, looking around the dimly lit room.
Candles gave it light, sitting atop drawers in two different corners.
"Do you know where you are?" A man says to me.
Wait, no. He's my brother, Blake.
"Hey Blake." I say, sitting up in an uncomfortable bed.
I continue to look around the room.
It stinks.
"What's that smell?" I ask my brother.
He shrugs. "Don't know. It smells like someone died in here."
"Us." I say, and Blake's eyes widen.
"Don't bring your dark humor into your afterlife." He says.
"We did die, tho-!"
"I know! Okay! Yeah, we died!" Blake gestures around the room hysterically.
"So, what do we do now?" I ask, looking over to Blake sitting on a wooden stool next to me.
He shrugs again. "Don't know."
Blake and I jump, we were frightened as the door to the room had suddenly opened.
There were two men, one old, and one young.
The old man was holding a clipboard in his hands, and the young man looked at us expectantly.
His eyes were now curious when he watched us cling to each other in fear.
His head tilted to the side.
"Hello." He says, his voice warm and welcoming. "My name is Liam."
I took a good look at Liam.
Long, dark brown hair that reached his back mid- way.
Gorgeous golden eyes that could stare into your soul.
Tall and handsome, his features were perfect for a girl that liked that kind of men.
Like me.
"Persephone!" Blake yelled into my ear, and I gasped, snapping back into reality.
"Stop staring, please." Blake said, as I looked over to see his glare.
"Sorry." I muttered, my head falling a bit.
The old man that was with Liam cleared his throat. "My name is Thomas, like I was saying. I would like to quickly begin our business."
Thomas's figure and features looked old, along with his voice.
Were they our guardian angels?
As I asked myself that question, I was received the answer.
Yes, they were our guardians, and they will continue to be until the Master makes a new world.
"Wait, Master?" I asked, and they nod.
"Our dear Lord and Savior." Thomas said, and Liam gave an awkward shrug as a hand went behind his head to scratch.
"I wouldn't call him that. We just call him by his nickname."
"Nickname? Baby Jesus has a nickname?"
"Well, not really." Liam says. "One day, we just started calling him Little Lamb, and it stuck."
"Little Lamb." I say flatly, and Liam repeated it, reassuring me.
"Alright." Thomas said, steering us back into business, and explained everything we needed to know.
He gave us a large summary of an explanation that would've lasted us three hours.
"So basically, Jesus, or Little Lamb, decided that it was time for a new world." I said. "Okay, then. Okay! No problem. Right?"
Lian sighs. "I guess."
"So, everything's fine...."
There was a tense silence.
"Why?" I ask. "Why now? Why, when we were just about to hit a huge breakthrough that would've affected the entire world? We had flying cars, and someone almost killed Donald Trump! I was a writer, and Blake was a dancer! Why would Little Lamb end the world when we thrived the most during that time?"
"Don't ask us!" Thomas exclaims. "That guy Has an IQ of over Two Hundred! Do you think we'd ever ask him why he destroyed the Earth twice now?"
I puff my cheeks a bit, crossing my arm while Blake has an arm wrapped around me.
"It's okay, Perse. I guess we can say that we lived a good life."
"We didn't even get to live the rest of it!" I yell.
"Alright. calm down." Liam says. "You two are angels now. You have responsibilities."
"Like what?" Blake asks.
"Helping build the new temple of worship. Since there are new angels incoming, we though we'd be prepared."
"That's boring." Blake says, sighing, and Thomas's clipboard finds his head.
"Hey! Why'd you hit me?"
"Why? What you just said was insulting to the lead church."
"Who's the Lead Church?" I ask.
"The lead church is a group of the earliest and oldest angels. The d
Disciples, even."
"You mean, The Disciples? Like the old men in the bible?"
"Thomas clears his throat. "Yeah, I guess. If I were you, I wouldn't talk about them much though. They can appear like ghosts."
I grunt in response.
There was another tense silence.
"Why'd my father fall?" I ask suddenly.
The guardian angels cough.
"Tell me." I say, voice growing louder in anger.
"He didn't once hurt a soul, so why was he condemned to hell? What did he do?"
"We can't tell you that." Liam says flatly, as if telling me to give it a rest.
"Why not? Am I not aloud to know the reason for my father's injustice?"
"Injustice?" Liam barks, angrily stomping forward to look down on me.
"What injustice? Your father hur-"
"Liam!" Thomas had yelled louder than anyone had expected from him.
We all jumped, including Blake, and turned our heads to him standing by the door with his fists balled.
He had opened the door, and received something from another angel, pairs of clothes.
He threw some at Blake and I, and looked over to Liam.
"Out. let's go, now. I suggest we talk about your recent behavior issues."
Liam grimaces at me, then turns around to leave silently.
Thomas begins to apologize.
"I'm terribly sorry. Liam has a bad temper, and I try my best to-"
"You don't have to apologize." I say, now flatly and tense. My anger hasn't boiled down, and of course I'm upset, but....
"I just want to kow why. That's all."
I simply shrug my shoulders, and as Thomas turns to leave, he utters one word.
"Heavens. Great heavens."
He leaves, but not before poking in on us.
"You two should change out of those dirty, drab clothes."
He's gone.
Blake and I look at each other. and tears begin to fall from my eyes.
"Why did he leave me? What did he do? What did father do?" I ask.
Blake embraces me tightly.
"Please, don't cry." He says, squeezing me tighter. "It hurts me to see you cry like this."
I push him away, wiping my tears. "You should have said that when we were alive."
Of course, I was right, he should have said something about my treatment when we were alive.
How badly my mother treated me, and how she played favorites.
Apparently, I was her least favorite, being given terrible meals that were bland and strictly nutritional.
They were lifeless, but soon replaced by their meals.
Either my father's, or Blake's.
They quietly slipped some of their food onto my plate not to raise suspicion.
They were the only two who cared for me. My other siblings could give less of a damn if I was hanging onto a branch, about to fall from a cliff. As a matter of fact, they'd watch me hang there.
I'm glad that at least two people cared for my well being.
Blake and I silently dressed, with our backs to one another.
Thomas soon came to collect us, and admired us in our new clothing.
"My, don't you look wonderful. White suits the both of you so well. Especially you, Blake."
Blake shrugs, lifting a hand to the back of his neck to scratch.
"Um, thanks. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome." Thomas said.
He looks over to me. "Surely you've recovered from Liam's harsh attitude?"
I simply glare at Thomas, and he slightly shies away. He clears his throat.
"Shall we go? Little Lamb awaits us."
"Little Lamb? You mean-?"
"Yes. Baby Jesus."
"What about the father? Him too?"
"Yes, now let's go. He's waiting, though he's very patient."