"The 6th Aspen Girl"
Writer's Note: This is set during "The Pact" episode. Erin, Nikki, Melanie, Kim, and Abby have secondary parts here.
Chapter One
Angie looked out the window on the bus as it trudged down a rural road. The other girls talked about the usual: boys, camp, fashion. But that wasn't really her kind of thing, so she drifted off into a daydream. The rhythm of the bus seemed to lull her to sleep and into her own world and soon she was out of it.
It was always the same thing. She's flying and suddenly is knocked down to earth. Then there were the eyes, red and glowing, a malicious smile on the face that matched them. She's jolted awake just as Abby, the girl sitting beside her, was starting to mention the bus was nearing the camp. It was their first year at this particular camp.
They had met at the meeting place where everyone met to take the buses. A chubby, dark haired girl with a purple streak up front, they had hit it off pretty good. Both loved the technology with their laptops in tow. Angie had a vivid red right out front to stand out against her dark brown hair.
Looking out, Angie could see the big sign. "Camp Sunlight" was spelled in big letters. Until a few months ago, she had never heard of this place. She was already feeling a little better because she shared a bond with the some of other campers.
Tess was fuming from the little switch Rafael and Monica tried to pull on her. She already asked the Father for Monica to be brought back to the camp. It would only be a short time before she would be back.
In all my years as a supervisor, never have I've had such a pack of stubborn angels under my charge. Tess muttered as she watches him prepare the medicines in the infirmary. Always trying to pull a fast one on me. She had to keep a close eye on this one like the other two.
When the buses finally stopped, Angie followed Abby out behind two other girls. One was black with long braids. The other girl was red headed, white and pale as a ghost. Like everyone else, they wore the yellow "Camp Sunlight" shirts, but they had taken permanent markers and crossed out the Sunlight part and under it wrote "Sundown". The two looked like they swallowed a gallon of lemon juice by the expressions on their faces.
I should have brought popcorn, Angie thought, we have some real drama queens here. That was her first impression of them. Apparently they were veterans and that they entitled them to bark orders to the newcomers.
"Newbies carry our bags." The redhead commands Abby, the Hispanic girl named Melanie, and Angie. Abby and Melanie protest, but do it anyway, but Angie refuses. "You're more than capable of doing it yourself." She tells them, picking up her bag and and walks off to the board with the cabin assignments pinned on it.
She was trying to find her name, hoping those girls weren't in the same one as her, when someone bumped into her with a big black duffle bag. Her heart fluttered at the sight of the tall, blonde haired man holding it.
"I am so sorry! It's like a madhouse here. Didn't see you there." Andrew extends his hand and Angie shakes it. "I'm Andrew and who you might be?" Those green eyes making his smile seem brighter. "Angela Starling. First year here. I just need to know where my cabin is."
Pushing back his locks, he runs his finger down the cabin lists, finally seeing her name. "Aspen Room and it would be that way." Pointing in the general direction. Angie picked up her bags and trudged towards there.
Entering the Aspen room, she caught the two girls from earlier bossing Abby and the other two girls around. "Fork over the towels, Newbies drip dry." The redhead named Erin says with a bitter edge in her voice. When the blonde with the curly hair protested, she snaps back with, " Do I hear backtalk? Because if you're going to be a problem, they have a way of resolving themselves in really ugly ways."
Wow, with this attitude, maybe an object lesson is in order for these two she thought, mental note: ask around about where to find and obtain a pair or two of really sharp scissors...she smiled at the thought of it.
The camp song was pretty good, led by the activities director Tess. An older black woman that can sing, she roused the crowd. "You got the spirit?" She asks the campers and we respond. Looking over, Angie sees Erin and Nikki sit there stonefaced, then roll their eyes and get up to leave. To her they seemed bored. Soon enough, they get up and walk out.
Chapter Two
The water in the pool was soothing and calm. Angie had finally gotten settled in and now could relax. She loved swimming and one of her favorite things was to hold her breath underwater while sitting still, her longest being almost two minutes. The idea of the outside noise being muffled helped her relax and clear her mind.
Andrew was the lifeguard today (strange considering he's an angel of death). He had been watching Angie for the last few minutes and asked himself what was she doing submerged for so long. It was actually around a minute, but seemed an eternity to him.
Angie was in a state where she could access those nightmares she was always plagued with. She was known to hold her breath underwater for up to 2 minutes. Again she saw herself in the air and knocked down. It was like in slow motion as she fell, then a glow envelops her. She was so close, until she felt a hand on her head. Snapping out of her state, she of course grabs it, digging her fingers into it.
"What are you doing?" She gasped breaking to the surface, "I was so close..." Then she sees the hand belonged to Andrew. "I'm sorry," she apologizes, " I just don't like it when someone startles me like that. Makes me skittish."
"Apology accepted. How long can you stay under?" Andrew asks Angie as she was paddling along the edge of the pool. "Two minutes. Always loved the water." She tells him. At the end of the pool session, she takes her towel and sunscreen and heads off down a path to explore the camp.
On her way back, Angie comes across a face shaped rock. Erin and Nikki were there. Their attitude from earlier was replaced with a solemn expression of vulnerability as they recited names that were written on it. Apparently they were names of girls who attended here and died.
Later, Monica arrives with evening medications. Angie liked her right from the bat. Hair, accent, and personality despite Erin and Nikki's grim attitude coming back. She hated the medications she had to take for HIV. Wish they could find a cure, that way I wouldn't have to take this mess. It had been within the last two years she was diagnosed. A tainted blood transfusion did it after a car wreck almost did her in.
That night, after everyone was asleep, she woke up. Angie heard crying from Erin's bed. The girl was quietly weeping. Erin is really trying to keep it together, she thinks, I feel like that too sometimes myself.
Making sure nobody was awake, after putting on a pair of shoes and a light jacket, she snuck out. For some reason, all her life she was able to pick locks, slip out of her room, sneak away with nobody noticing. Her friends nicknamed her "Ninja" for that reason.
She headed towards the lake. It really is beautiful at night. The moon was full and the flashlight she carried wasn't really needed because it was so bright. The water was clear and it claimed her. Reminded her of where she grew up with her adopted parents. The closest thing she connection she had to her natural family was the bracelet she wore on her left wrist.
By what her parents told her, when they found her in a wildflower field as a baby, this was with her. It had a strange symbol on it. Since she was 10, Angie had worn it everyday.
She just prayed, reflected, and wished that she could find her family before this virus takes her from this world. Turning over the bracelet in her hands, Angie tries like so many times before to find a clue. My parents had done all they could to figure out what this emblem meant and what connection I may have to it. Nothing so far.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling, Angie panics and runs off, unknowingly leaving her bracelet behind on the dock bench. Getting back to the cabin in record time, she managed to get back in before Rafael did bed checks.
Chapter Three
Andrew had thought he had saw something by the dock and went to investigate. On the bench was the bracelet he saw Angie wore earlier. She had to have been out here. Upon a closer inspection, he notices a symbol. One that definitely not human. What would she be doing with this?
Tess examines the item Andrew gave her very closely, "Most definitely an angelic symbol, but I don't know what it is. Let me get in touch with a friend who could help." She tells him, handing it back. "Return this, but don't let her know. Now we have a bigger question: what is a human doing with this?"
In the morning Angie was frantic, she lost her bracelet. Looking everywhere, it couldn't be found. It had to be at the lake from last night, she thought, the bench on the dock. The only possible connection to my real family is gone. It was a good luck charm to her, now it could be at the bottom of the lake. I had to go out there last night and am now paying for it.
When she had went back to sleep, Andrew puts it in her pool towel so she could easily find it. In the morning, she was relieved in finding it. Who found and returned it? Must have been whoever was coming by when I bolted.
Later, while swimming, he was able to talk to her. "My parents found me in a field not far from their house when I was a baby. This was on my wrist." She caressed the bracelet, "All we know that it's silver, but the symbol is nothing any one had ever seen. I think it may be a family crest." Andrew was listening, his blonde hair was blowing in the slight breeze.
"They adopted me soon after and now I'm in a race against time because of this disease. The fact I could keel over at any time makes it much more crucial. If I can do that, I would die a happy person." Angie stared into the clear pool water, eyes misty. "They named me Angelica because I was their little angel."
"You never know, it may happen before then." Andrew says, hoping to give some comfort. He felt her nervousness, the rush of trying to find out could make the virus progress worse. "Maybe I can help. Let me try and do some research." Reaching out, he clasps Angie's hand and gently squeezing it.
Chapter Four
Again, that night Angie slipped out of the cabin. She had enough of Erin and hearing of her infatuation with Andrew. Back down to the lake she went. The moonlight reflecting off the water's surface was soothing, and the sound of thue breeze made it better.
Her, Abby, Kim and Melanie became good friends real quick. But Erin and Nikki had that outer toughness. But everyone knew they were just as scared as the other girls. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Something about the water stirred memories. Ones Angie knows are not hers. People from different times before she was born and of different cultures. No way I could have met them. But how could that be?
Dreams of flying through the air were her favorites. They came more often than any other type of dream, they were so real that when she woke up, it broke her heart when she realized it couldn't happen in real life.
"You know it's after curfew don't you?" An Irish voice whispers in Angie's ear, breaking her out of the thoughts. It was Monica, with a flashlight in hand. Angie felt...comfortable around her. "What are you doing out here?" She sits down beside the girl, taking a deep breath of the lake air.
"I'm sorry, I had to get out. Erin was starting to drive me crazy with all her talk of Andrew." She came right out and said it. Honesty was the best policy she was taught growing up. " Coming out here just makes me feel..."Angie struggles to find the words, "calmer." It was half true. She couldn't tell Monica (or anyone for that matter) about her dreams. But she starts to open up.
"Ever have a dream so real when you wake up, it leaves a sense of disappointment it couldn't happen in real life?" Then she tells a few details she's seen in them. Monica then offers to accompany Angie back to her cabin, Angie refuses. "I can find my way back and won't do it out again. I promise." Then quick as a flash, she was gone.
Chapter Five
Once back in her bed in the Aspen Room, Angie was still nervous. She was expecting Monica to drag her back to the cabin by the ear. She didn't get much sleep that night. They came back, more vivid this time. Details were clearer.
A scared little girl was beside her and Angie felt she had to protect that person. It was night and they were running from something. Suddenly, a blow from behind knocks her down. She tells the girl to run ahead into an old farmhouse nearby. The figure was dark but had glowing red eyes. They engage in a fight, her trying to buy time for the girl to reach safety. There had been a light on in the farmhouse she had noticed. They end up in the air, fighting intensely. One moment of distraction and another hard blow sends Angie spiraling down. Then it all goes black.
The next day, heading towards the Face on her way to the pool, Angie sees Nikki and Erin arguing. "I can't believe you wrote your own name on there. Everyone's name that's on it is DEAD. Have you finally lost it?" Nikki was almost livid. She didn't want to lose her friend any sooner.
"I'm not afraid anymore." Erin had a slight smile saying it, sending chills down Angie's spine. The two passed her without notice. She felt something wasn't right here. Once reaching the Face, she sees why Nikki was so upset.
The words "Erin Loves Andrew" were written in big red letters on it. It scared her, like it was some kind of omen. This wasn't just a crush: something big was going to happen. She knew it. Angie had to admit, Andrew was kind of cute, but she also knew something was different about him.
Softball was never Angie's kind of thing, so she signed up for the pool as usual. Beside, it was more her kind of thing. Raphael was in charge this time. He was just there playing lifeguard while Andrew was doing infirmary duty. There had been a bunch of cases involving poison ivy and he had loads of calimine lotion on hand.
Floating face up, Angie just let herself drift off while staring into the clouds before her eyes close. The same dream came back as before. This time, she heard the voices of her parents. It sounded like they found her.
Then Raphael calls everyone out of the pool. Angie snaps out of her daydream as she felt everyone swim to the edge. "Everyone get your towels and get to your cabins." he says. Quickly she gathers her things and heads back.
The other girls were already in the cabin by the time Angie arrived, except Kim. Sitting quietly on their cots and looking like someone had died. She asks what happened. "Kim's on her way to the hospital," Melanie explains, "collapsed at the end of the softball game." It was a waiting game now.
Monica comes by about two hours later and tells them Kim is holding her own and brings up the talent show. Angie suggests a sing along with her playing a keyboard. But Erin had another idea, giving a morbid twist to "She Will Be Coming Around The Mountain". Her bitterness was plain as the nose on her face. Angie had that same sensation about Monica like she did Andrew. As sincere as she was, Erin was too angry to listen to reason.
Chapter Six
Later, during arts and crafts, Abby got a call from her mom that she would come to pick her up Friday morning because she heard about Kim being in the hospital. Angie sees Tess comfort her like a mother. After finishing her bead necklace, Angie heads to the cabin, heading down the same trail as the Face. Stepping behind a tree, she sees Erin and Andrew. She's showing him what she had wrote on the rock.
Andrew sees Erin's proclamation of love and had to admit it, was flattered. It wasn't the first time a human female had a crush on him. So he had to break it to her gently like so many times before in times past.
Angie couldn't hear what was said but just by seeing Erin's reaction, it went exactly like she saw it. Andrew leaves and the other girls came up. Angie took the long way around. Maybe she could talk to her later. She tried to leave, but something kept her there.
Getting closer, she could hear better. Erin was saying something like "we can choose our time and date to die. Go out on our own terms." They didn't know she was listening.
By what she was hearing, they were planning to kill themselves, at least Erin was. That girl already had a preoccupation with it, that was for sure. Now she was leading them to do the same. Angie was conflicted on what to do. Should I try and talk them out of doing myself or get an adult?
That evening, after diinner, she tries to find Monica, who was in the infirmary prepping the nightly medications. Knocking, she hears Monica call her inside. "Hi Angie. You're okay?" Her Irish tone showing concern.
Angie was nervous enough, but felt at ease with her. "I need to tell you something..." and she told Monica what she had heard earlier that day. "It's serious and they don't know I overheard them. At least I don't think so." Watching the girl leave, she knew why she and the other angels were there.
Chapter Seven
Tess, clad in her angelic robes, strode down the Halls of Heaven towards the Archives Department. She had a meeting with an old friend. How she missed the beauty of this place on a regular basis. Sarafina was a dear friend who worked alongside her in Search and Rescue a very long time ago.
"Tess! How have you been?" A frilly little voice caught her ear. "It's been so long since we've had a sit down." Today she wore a flower dress with her Archives badge pinned on the front. In her hand was a frappachino that smelled of caramel. They sat down at a table in a courtyard the Halls.
After a few minutes of catching up, Tess finally gets to the point. "Actually, I come on business." Tess pulls out a picture of the bracelet and shows it to Serafina. Her blue eyes grew, she recognized the emblem. "I'm working on an assignment and this happens to be in the possession of a human girl. Usually, something like this they cannot wear, much less touch."
"Did you say a human had this?" Serafina says, her face showing suprise, into gets up. "Come with me. If this is true, then what we have here is a Lost Angel." They get up and head straight to the Archives. Once there, she begins to search through volumes of thick books.
"Now show me that picture." Tess hands it to her. "This is an insignia of a high level Search and Rescue angel. Give me some time to check our list of Lost Ones and I can get back to you as soon as possible." Tess thanks her and mentions something else.
"What are Lost Angels?" Tess had heard the term in whispers, but never understood it. How could be an angel be lost? Serafina explains how that from time to time the Father will step in and revert an angel to a human form for whatever reason He sees fit. To protect, maybe to experience life as a human. "I think that the former may be the case here. But we both know they are never truly lost."
The friends part and Serafina guarantees she will do what she can to help. Tess gives a description of the human and then rushes back to the camp. Something serious was happening there. The Father tells her that.
Back at the camp, the girls finally got their hands on some pills, thanks to Melanie's rash. While Rafael was distracted with that, they got the keys to the cabinet and got what they needed. They debated over whether to let Angie in on their plans, but decided against it, not knowing that she knew and already told someone.
They had to be better at covering their tracks because the counselors seemed to keep a closer eye on them. One of them always seemed to be hanging around. Especially Andrew. Erin couldn't even look at him after being dejected at the Face.
Chapter Eight
Tess filled in Rafael, Monica and Andrew about what she learned from her friend in Archives. But for now they had more pressing matters at hand. "What about the girls in the Aspen Room?" She asks, "We don't have much time, but there were pills missing, so we need a word and quickly." Rafael says the cabin, everyone except Angie, were getting dressed for the talent show. Of course, they were dressing in what hopefully would be their funeral wear. They had to careful what they say around her, for fear of them being found out and stopped. But one thing Nikki and Erin did was apologize to Angie for how they treated her. "You're not so bad after all." Erin says with a false smile and a look of defeat in her eyes.
Erin wanted to clear the air so to speak before leaving this world. Then they headed out, to the talent show. Or so they made everyone think, leaving Angie alone in the cabin worried. She then heads out that way...
"You're saying we may also be dealing with a Lost Angel?" Andrew says with a tone of concern in his voice. "I only thought it was a myth, something to entertain the young cherubs." Tess nods, "Yes, I also had heard stories about that. But the Father hasn't lost track of them. Keep that in mind. By what I've been told, our lost one is starting to remember." Tess then looks at her watch. "You go to the girls and I'll handle the talent show."
Angie watches as her cabin mates turn away from the trail leading to the main hall where the talent show was going on. They turn on the path leading to the Face. She was so scared for them, yet she follows them in the shadows. Not realizing Monica was there right beside her, but Angie felt her.
Once there (it was a little harder to reach because of the dark), she sees Abby begin to dole out something to the others. She was going to run towards them and try to stop it, but she sees Andrew and Monica right behind them, glowing. And that frightened her so much her feet wouldn't move. Suddenly, her mind was flooded with images like before but more intense.
So Angie turns and runs, thinking it must be the new medication she was on. Blindly, she runs, anywhere she could be alone. Monica was worried but she had to deal with the others. The Father would take care of this one for now...
Angie was running towards the lake. At the pier and in a second before falling into a dead faint, realizes who she was, just feet from the edge. It was too much for her to handle at the moment. And there she would lay in the starlight. The next thing she remembers is hearing Andrew's voice.
"Tess, she's still breathing. And I think she's starting to come around." Angie slowly opens her eyes and sees the two of them leaning over her. They found her on the pier just inches from the edge. "We found her in time. Angelica, can you hear me?" Tess had gotten word from the Father who she was, therefore knew her name.
She comes around, still shocked by them glowing. "I...I...now remember. Not all of it, but just enough to know for a start." Raising herself to a more comfortable position, Angie begins to glow like Tess and Andrew. She feels a sense of love never had experienced, but yet, felt familiar.
But, that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. "What about Erin and the others? Are they-" Andrew calms Angie down by explaining that they chose to live and are waiting for her. "And Kim is back from the hospital. Come on, they're about to have a sing along by the fire."
They go back and sing a Spanish song Melanie knew by the campfire. this would be Angie's last night as a human. Her serarching for who she was had finally ended. Shortly after she would be leaving for her true home in Heaven. Not by death, but as a celestial being.
As for her new adventures, well that's for another time...
The End
