Chapter Two

When I slammed the door, Jessica whirled around in surprise.

“Logan, what the hell are you doing?” she yelled, getting up from her computer and starting to walk over. I jumped up and ran over to her, getting really close to her in order to cover her mouth with my hand.

“Shhh!” I hissed, “There are two kids out there with guns. They’re after me,” I told her. Her eyes widened, and she became still.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, as I loosened my grip on her mouth.

“I don’t know,” I replied, “Please, just stay down, okay? I’ll take care of it. I don’t want you to get hurt,”

She didn’t answer me, so al I could do was hope and pray that she would listen to me. I still liked her a lot, like I said before, and if anything happened to her…I might die. The two kids had seen me now, and one ran off while the other began to pick the lock. I motioned for Jessica to crawl to the left side of the room, while I got into the corner behind the door. Then, I waited. He got the door open quickly, and walked cautiously into the room with his machine gun at his side.

‘Where the fuck did these guys get machine guns?’ I asked myself in silent disbelieve. He didn’t see either me or Jessica, thankfully, but he kept on looking. Persistent bastard. When he bent down to inspect under the computer desks, I saw my chance, and hurled myself across the room at him, and onto his back. I got my arm around his neck, and pulled back sharply. He flipped out, and started flailing around and yelling loudly. I kept choking him. His hands came up, and he dropped the machine gun to pry at my arm. Jessica jumped out and grabbed the gun, leveling it at the kid and me. He was still flailing, and managed to get me between him and the hard cinderblock wall, whereupon he began slamming me into it. Hard. I felt ribs crack. It hurt. I coughed up blood onto the floor. Then, with one final twist, I broke his neck. He dropped to the ground in a heap. I landed on top of him, a fact that my broken ribs were more than grateful for. I got up, ignoring the pain, and walked over to Jessica. We embraced, and I could tell that she never wanted to let go. Near-death situations are terrific things, if they involve the object of your affection, trust me. I turned us around so that I could watch the door, in case the other one came back. We just stayed like that, bodies intertwined, her head on my shoulder. I could feel a few frightened tears seeping through my shirt. That was when the other one decided to make his entrance. He snuck quickly through the door, and held his gun up to the back of Jessica’s head. She was still unaware of him. He was just out of reach, and I couldn’t do anything to him. I glanced down to see the gun at my feet. Also out of reach. The boy took the safety catch off his gun.

Quick as a flash, I flung Jessica behind me, just as the boy opened fire. I felt my body become riddled with bullets, and I sank slowly to the ground. My blood spouted everywhere, including the boy. Jessica grabbed the other kid’s gun, and let loose with a spray of bullets that tore through the other gunman. He dropped to the ground like a stone, holes all over his body. The school was safe. Jessica was safe. Nothing else mattered. I felt where the bullets had hit me; one by the side of my face, some in my shoulders, but the greatest amount were embedded in my chest. I wasn’t going to survive this. Jessica rushed to my side, and desperately looked down at me horrified. Her mouth was moving, and I could make out the words, ‘I love you,’ though I heard nothing. Tears were falling freely now from her eyes, and she put her hands to my face, and brushed my hair from my eyes, begging me not to die. I could hear her voice in my head, though all I could see was her beautiful lips moving. She was pleading, “Please, Logan, please! Come back! I love you! Please don’t die! Please, please stay here with me!”

I tried to say something, but nothing came out. I couldn’t form the words. My vision had begun to fade, and the darkness was eating at the corners of my eyes. The last thing I saw before my sight was lost to the void was Jessica, smiling at me with tears still falling from her eyes. I smiled back, knowing she would be okay. I felt her hand enter mine, and I used the absolute last of my strength to squeeze it, telling her that I loved her too, and I was sorry.. I felt her head fall onto my chest, and her sobbing. With a sigh, I felt my body shut down, and my last breath leave my body.

Then, something unexpected happened. I opened my eyes! I blinked a couple times, to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

‘Wow,” I thought to myself, ‘I’m not dead,’

I looked around me. Jessica was still sobbing on my blood soaked chest. Both the bastards were on the ground, which was soaked with our blood. A crowd of teachers and students had gathered. The principal was edging into the room, stepping over the bodies and the pool of blood to stand over Jessica.

“Honey…” she began, but Jessica screamed for her to go away. The principal stepped back, with a confused frown on her face. The security guard whispered something into her ear, and she stepped aside to allow him access to the room. He walked across the floor, and stepped over the pool of blood to kneel next to Jessica.

“Come on, sweetie,” he said, “You got to go,” and put a hand on her arm. She screamed something inaudible at him, and tried to wrench her arm away, but his grip was firm, and he pulled her up.

“No! No! I can't leave Logan!” she shouted, but they paid no heed, and pulled her out of the room. I tried to sit up, to say ‘Take your damned hands off her!’ but nothing came out! I looked down to see…me! I was still there! There was blood leaking from my mouth, and a pool forming underneath me.

“Shit,” I said. I was dead. I was floating slowly upward, towards the ceiling. Before I could pass completely through it, I flailed desperately around until I grabbed ahold of a computer. I pulled myself down with it, then propelled myself through the air to Jessica. I found her in the hallway, with the principal trying to console her, but to no avail. I kissed her lovingly on the forehead. Then I let go, waving goodbye to my first and last love. I floated up to oblivion. Or heaven. I wasn’t sure which one I deserved.

Up and up I floated, through the ceiling, up through Mr. C’s classroom, and out of the school. As I rose higher, I sent a flock of pigions flying away in fear. They must have sensed my presence. Father and father, through the small whisps of loud and up past the stars and the sun and the moon. I looked down on the world. It looked so peaceful down there. No one knew what had just happened in Port Chester High. Not that I wanted attention or anything. I never wanted to be a hero, only help those I loved. Suddenly, everything stopped moving. I stopped floating. Then I began to sink.

“Oh, no,” I had time to say, before I plummeted back down to earth. My eyes had been forced closed by the rushing air as I entered the atmosphere, and I couldn’t see anything. Then, I stopped abruptly. I opened my eyes to see…clouds. Clouds everywhere. There was a very old man with a halo sitting at a desk, shuffling papers. Behind him were the gates of Heaven.

“Mother damn…” I whispered. I had actually made it to Heaven! I adapted readily to the strange terrain, and walked over to the man.

“…hello?” I inquired, tentatively.

The man, a saint obviously, looked up.

“Why hello, my son,” he replied, “I am Saint Peter. What is your name, please?”

“My name is Logan DeRais,” I told him, in awe that I had actually gone straight to Heaven, without even a century of purgatory, or worse, Hell.

“My son, congradulations on making it here,” he exclaimed, standing to shake my hand. I took his, and we shook.
”Now, your cause of death was shooting, correct?”

I nodded.

“Very good, yes very good,” he bobbed his head, smiling, “You made a very good decicion, sacrificing yourself for someone you love. That is why you are here right now,”

“excuse me?” I asked, confused

“Let me explain. Your soul was damned to hell when you died. You were very cruel to your family, and a girl in life. But don’t worry! When you gave your life to save hers, you redeemed yourself. Now, you can spend all eternity in Heaven. Paradise!”

I thought about it, long and hard. I stared up at the white gates behind Saint Peter. I could see my best friend, who had died a month before, waving to me from beyond its barrior.

“Sir,” I began, “I am truly honored that you would let me into this wonderful existence, particularly after all the things that I have done. But…without Jessica, any fools vision of Heaven would be a Hell for me. Is there, by any chance, an alternative to going to Heaven? I’ve heard stories and songs about guardian angels, and how they return to earth to protect someone they love. Is that option open to me?”

Saint peter smiled knowingly ,”I thought you would aske that. Logan, from the moment I first saw you, I sensed that something was different about you. Now I know what it is. You are in for a very interesting future, my son. Be careful back on earth,”

“That raises another question,” I said, “Once I arrive on earth, what form will I be in? Will I be an angel there immidenantly?”

“Once I send you back, you will be able to choose your own form. You can be as tall as you desire, or as short. Hatever features you disire shall be yours. You can be spirtitual, or physical. If you over-exert yourself, you wil become Breached, and you will be vulnerable to all the hazards of the mortal realm. You will begin to leak illiaster, that is, the substance that gives you life, out of your pores, so be careful. Do you understand everything I’ve told you?”
”Yes,” I replied.

“Then I will send you back now. Good luck, Logan. Good luck,”

I nodded to him, and stood straight. After a moment, I felt myself sinking. Peter was rising above my head, and the cloud floor I had been standing on was now at eye level.
”Oh, not good,” I said as I plummeted down through the clouds once again.