I felt my back slam into the steel rails, and I lost my balance. I shut my eyes, not wanting the brutal man in front of me to be my last view on life. I felt my head go first, then my chest, then my entire body fall over the fence and into the murky depths of the river. My wings didn't fan out in time, and I felt myself go under, down, down, down...1
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I remember Mr. Borchk telling us about how we wouldn't go to heaven. James was sitting next to me, his peculiar, pointy cat ears pricked, his green eyes alert. I saw his pupils narrow into small slits, and he leaned over to me and said, "You're not listening, are you, Aly?" and smirked.3
I grinned. "Do I ever?"4
"Alya Gayan!" The Mr. Borchk's pinched face loomed suddenly in front of me, surprising me and nearly making me leap of off the chair I was handcuffed to. Ouch! I jarred my elbow as I fell off, only to be stopped by the infuriating metal loop chaining me.5
Glaring at Mr. Borchk, I dragged myself back onto my chair.6
I didn't pay attention to what he was saying back then. But now - now I remember what he said. We were hybrids. We weren't completely human. We wouldn't go to heaven.7
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Slowly, cautiously, I opened my eyes. A golden, barred gate stood in front of me. A wisp of the clouds beneath me swirled up one of the poles, as weightless as a feather. Pushing myself up, I tried to remember how I'd gotten here. Mr. Borchk - something about Mr. Borchk... Oh... He'd pushed me off of the bridge. But how did I get here? The worry seemed to slide off of me as quickly as an ice cream does off of its cone.9
I took a small step forward. As if God had taken a deep, long breath and then exhaled, the wisps of clouds blew away past the Gate. Below me was a hard, black stone floor.10
I was dead.11
Shaking myself and walking boldly to the Gate, I tapped it three times and called, "Hello? Anyone there?"12
After a couple minutes of banging and shouting until my knuckles began to bleed (who knew you could bleed when you're dead??), I finally saw a bald head bobbing in the distance. Squinting through the fog that now lay right past the glinting gold, I saw a squat old man with a wispy white beard hobbling towards me. From his glowing appearance, I knew he was a saint, or an angel.13
"Which saint are you?" I asked, the clapped my hand over my big mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be impertinent."14
15
"Quite alright," the old man said in a slightly British accent. "Actually I'm half angel, half saint - I was sent to Earth as a saint, but failed in my mission, so My Lord turned me into an angel. I'm Saint Jiggy."16
17
"Saint Jiggy?" I'd never heard of him before.18
19
"As I said, my mission failed." His eyes sort of fogged over and became slightly crossed. "It all ended when... when I didn't save Alexander the Great's father from being murdered...20
21
"Anyways, I failed, so you wouldn't have heard of me." He turned around and displayed his rather weak wings, which looked too flimsy to carry this overweight Saint Jiggy.22
23
I displayed my wings, which, though I wanted to be rid of, I couldn't help but be proud of them.24
25
He gasped. "Alya... I am the Keeper of the Gates, a very official position, so I know all of the rules... You are not allowed in Heaven. I'm sorry... But rules are rules, and I must honor them. You are a hybrid."26
27
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29
So I stayed there, for a long time, no meals, no water. The time was unclear here, as heaven was so high that the sun and moon were below us. I'll bet it had been a couple days, and now the hunger cramps were really starting to kick in. Because I was next to Heaven, I think there was some sort of spell that kept the spirits from getting hungry, and I was on the outer boundaries.30
31
Sometimes a spirit would float in from the hole in the center of the granite floor, and would look at me pitifully, then would be greeted by Saint Jiggy and float through the Gates. There, they would become more substantial and look just like real humans. I guess hybrids skipped that stage, because I was certainly flesh and bone (I know. I pinched myself).32
33
Once and a while, a pair of conversing souls would wander past the Gate to meet old loved ones, and gossip about the newest news from Earth and the most recent happenings in Heaven. I'd pass the time by eavsdropping on them. I could also hear the announcements made by Saint Valentine, which were usually about some soul or another who had been accepted into Heaven after months, years, or centuries in Hell.34
35
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But not this one.37
38
"A new War is reaching its climax on Earth, and we need to send a legion of angels to greet the soldiers home. World War III, I hear it's being called. Anyways, it will require all of us Saints and Angels to bring these warriors home. However, there is one Death that we have taken special interest in, the Death of James Slyger, that will take place at exactly 12:00 tonight."39
40
James!41
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"This boy has just found out how to get the Hybrid DNA out of him!"43
44
I felt my heart swell with pride as I realized my best friend had found my plans. What plans? You ask. THE plans. The plans we made together before I tried to carry them out.45
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"He'll succeed in getting them out. But he won't survive."47
48
My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. James? Die? I thought of my imagined-future-boyfriend and his eyes, so bright and full of life. I couldn't imagine him up here. Plus, he wouldn't be with me. He would go into the Gates of Heaven.49
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"So we need someone to go down to help him up here."51
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"ME!" I hadn't realized I'd called out until St. Valentine said, "Alya Gayan?"53
54
"Yes. I'll go. I'll take him." Immediately Saint Jiggy materialized in front of me, and said, "You know this boy?"55
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"Yes, he was my best friend."57
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"You know that you must not show yourself to him until he is dying, yes?"59
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"What? I- I can't?"61
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"Aly, it is best not to interfere with the decrees of God, no matter how brutal they are."63
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"Ok, I understand." But in my head, I was already formulating a plan.65
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"Ok then, you must go now. It is eleven thirty!"67
68
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I felt the wind in my hair as I plummeted into the atmosphere, my wings tucked in tightly to my back. I snapped them out only as I began to see the outlines of the building I was looking for - the Science Laboratory of Hybridology. Was Hybridology even a word?71
72
St. Jiggy had given me a small watch which showed me where James was. I saw a miniscule red dot pick its way across the screen, labeled as DNA Fusion.73
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