Monday Morning

Jesse stopped in the middle of the bridge. A single snowflake fell on his naked hand, but he felt nothing. Despite the sizable crowd that moved about him, he could not hear them distinctly. He strained to make out a phrase, even a word. Perhaps a “merry Christmas” or, as distasteful as it would be, “happy holidays”. But he heard nothing.

In his heart, no, his very soul, there was a deep and wrenching feeling of dread. The exact feeling of waking up in your house and wanting to go home.

The snowfall slowed, and the sky darkened a bit. Jesse tilted his head up. He couldn’t make anything out of the gray sky. Then, it appeared. His eyes lit up. Finally, something familiar. Something to lift him out of this nightmare.

He put his hand on the doorknob, and found it to be pleasantly cold. It turned, and the door swung open. The sound of oil spitting could be heard from the kitchen. Jessie frowned. He hadn’t remembered buying eggs.

“Hey, sorry about the eggs. I burnt the pancakes again”

Jesse began taking an inventory of everything on the round table just inside the door.

“It’s fine. You’ll get it eventually”

Two glasses, a 5th grade math workbook, lipgloss, his daughter’s stuffie (some sort of pink creature with large eyes), and a box of tissues. The lip gloss was plated with gold, and had obviously been opened. The cap wasn’t on all the way. Jesse snapped it closed.

There was a sound of thumping footsteps, and a figure flew into the room.

“Dad!”

The child turned around abruptly and disappeared into another room.

Jesse's wife’s face lit up. She took the pancakes off the burner and dashed out of the room.

He heard whispering in the other room. The pancakes returned to the burner, and a dash of butter was added to the pan. The fork was in the sink, spoons corrected, a small spill removed-

“Okay okay, you can look now”

They stood proudly beside each other, hands resting on their hips. Each wore a white medical eyepatch. The smaller one puffed out her chest a bit and stood on her toes.

“Now me and mommy match!”

“Won’t that affect her vision? I don’t want her hurting herself”

His wife slumped.

“I wear it all the time, and I’m fine. It’s only for fun…”

Jesse took the kercheif from his daughter and set it on the counter. He would have to repurpose it later. The pancakes needed flipping.

“It won’t cause vision loss in the covered eye, as it has finished developing. However, the material isn’t fit for an eyepatch, so it will irritate the eye. The other eye will also face additional strain, and could lead to headaches and general discomfort”

The child began tying a kerchief around her head, making a blindfold.

“This isn’t working, mommy”

Jesse watched as his wife removed the cloth and showed her how to tie it around her wrist. She found another bandana and followed suit.

“There, now we match again”

Jesse kissed his wife and daughter on the forehead.

“Let’s say our prayers before we eat”

They all sat down at the small, circular table. Bowing his head, Jesse recited the prayer he had known since the day he was born.

“Father, bless this food. Bless this house, and bless all that I hold dear. Protect us from all that would ail us. Grant your son this request, so that we may continue to live in your grace”

***

“Oh my god, you shouldn’t even joke about that. Seriously, that’s so messed up”

Isaac leaned his head back and swung his feet side to side. The sun felt really good on his skin. Even though it was cold, he was fine. His friends said he was like plant. 

“It’s true, ask Em”

He could hear Jack making some sort of noise, but he didn’t bother trying to figure out what he was saying. It was so nice. Just a wonderful day. For once, there were no angels, no drama, no calls from the police.

Later that day, he would go out drinking with Em. They’d finally be rid of Jack. After a few rounds, they’d go somewhere quiet and look at the sky until they got bored. After that-

“Hey Isaac”

He opened his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“One of our spotters says there’s a big angel downtown”

Isaac grunted and sat up. His legs felt a lot more tired than they had just a moment again. He would have to redesign his leg armor to be lighter. The material was stretched thin enough already…

Em adjusted a strap on Isaac’s harness and fixed the ratty Dodgers hat that she refused to throw away. Two guns came out of two holsters, big, beautiful cannons, shining bright in the sun.

“The decider’s guild says we need to hurry” Em said as she launched a hook into the side of the nearest skyscraper. “Every 30 seconds, the angel recites a short prayer. There are reports that certain people in the surrounding area are combusting”

Em flew forward, with Isaac close behind. He was already itching to gather more speed. The wind was heavenly.

“Uh, so about what you said, earlier, I’m serious, throwing stuff at children-”

“It was a joke, Jack”

Isaac could see the top of the angel, casting its long shadow over Okinawa. It was, as Em often said, kinda big.

The angel was in full view now. Shining white skin on full display, it stood proudly, fully aware of its divine purpose. Created for only one thing, angels were all bound by a common goal: the ruin of humanity.

“Em and Jack, focus on the legs”

Isaac pulled himself forward with his left-hand grappling hook, allowing his right to unclip the large scythe from his back.

He was flying now, and the most beautiful thing was that he was in complete control. Every possible obstacle, the streetlamps and cars and signs, they were all easily avoided. Hundreds of hours of practice had done its work.

The angel turned its large, blank “face” towards the trio. It raised one of its long, thin arms towards the sky and began chanting.

The angel’s mouth opened and swallowed the sky before praising the lord. Isaac noticed his shirt was on fire. He shot a hook into the top of a nearby skyscraper and flung himself high into the air. While trying to keep an eye on the angel, he managed to take off his jacket and throw it away.

Em and Jack had already made it to the angel.

“Hey, keep track of how long it’s been since it last said a prayer!” Jack yelled. His voice cracked a bit and it took every bit of Isaac’s self control not to point it out.

Em fired two shots, damaging the angel’s leg joints. The glistening armor began to crumble and fall slowly towards the ground.

The angel turned its head towards the ground and, in one swift motion drew a long, thin sword out of the sky. It swung the sword at the ground, flinging debris across the street. Em and Jack nearly avoided the attack.

Isaac shot a hook into the angel’s shoulder. He yanked his left arm backwards and fired off the thrusters attached to his leg armor. Raising his scythe above his head, he set his eyes on the angel’s neck and-

A metallic screech pierced the air, causing all three of the deciders to cover their ears. Isaac landed gracefully on a nearby building and admired his work. The angel’s head had been cleanly cut off, and was now fading away slowly along with its body.

Isaac grinned.

“I should get paid for this”

***

“We pay you for this goddammi!t"

Mizugawa slammed both his fists on the table. Isaac stood in front of his desk and stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

“And please, change out of that ridiculous outfit”

Isaac pinched the sleeve of his shirt. His daily attire consisted of a blue Hawaiian shirt over a sports bra, black jeans, and all topped off with pink heart earrings and plastic heart glasses.

“Waah?”

Mizugawa closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Anyway, I’ve got an assignment for you. It’s important, so you’d better not mess it up”

Isaac sat down on top of the desk and lit a cigarette. Mizugawa pulled out a photo and placed it in front of Isaac.

“It’s come to our attention that a god has been living in Kamakura for a while now. He’s assumed the form of a human, and apparently even has a wife and child”

Isaac inspected the picture. A blank, dull face stared back at him.

“Frankly, we’re not exactly sure what to do with him. He hasn’t tried anything yet, but you never know. The gods are fanciful”

“Not much of a looker. What do you want me to do then?”

Mizugawa took the photo from Isaac and placed it in a folder.

“Talk to him. Figure out what he wants, why he’s staying there. Any information is helpful”

Isaac frowned. “That’s it?”

“Yes, just don’t make him mad or we might have a problem on our hands”

“Ah, yeah. By the way, what’s his name?”

“Jesse Smith”

“Smith? Really? That’s uncreative as hell”