*AN* New Story although not a totally different or unrelated plot. The epilogue for unthinkable alternate ending 4 (UA4) is sitting on my computer and I was actually working on it before this. This is a spin off from UA4. I was writing it and then I came to this section of James being an angel and I had another idea but it would be too long to include so I made it it's own story.

Summary: James had since passed on well before his time (suicide). His actions on earth would not permit him to enter the clouds right away. This is the story of how he has to go about getting his wings.

Attention: I mean no harm when I describe the place called clouds. I used clouds as a neutral term to describe paradise, heaven, eternity or what ever you may call it. Even if you do not believe in any of the above, do not take offense. I write in pure fun and fiction and take no stand for or against any particular religion or culture. *

James' time in the clouds would be brief and there wasn't a guarantee that he would be granted access. His time on earth would be screened by the higher ups for suitability of residency. Since James didn't have his memories, he didn't know what kind of danger he was in, Katie made it a point not to tell him about it. She was close to not gaining access herself; she wouldn't have gone to hell or anything that severe but she wouldn't be allowed the 'premium version' of the clouds so to speak. Due to not being pure with no marriage upon entrance she was originally headed for the secondary clouds but she was called to action upon realization that she was an angel. It was because of James that she gained access and not scrutiny; she owed it too him to try to get him to pass.
James was taken a back to say the least at all the information he was just given. He didn't know how to respond or what he could do. Before he could say anything more a low chime rang through the house, following a winding light before manifesting itself as a radio at Katie's side.
"It's time for us to attend your viewing." She said. James swallowed hard but his mouth was dry. He took a few seconds before he got up and followed Katie out their front door. But instead of the usual view they had on earth it was replaced by a white light. Katie moved to the side to allow James to enter first and she followed behind. The white light soon faded and they were in a white room the was quiet but full of people. Katie nudged James forward who had stopped to look around. He continued in her guided direction and approached a large desk with a chair that was turned around facing a large window.
"Welcome." A voice said. James flinched out of surprise. "Do not be afraid, young man." he said as he spun himself around to face the duo. "Come to my side, Angel." he said to Katie. She stood to his side as he gave his intro speech. Once he finished, he looked at James who just stood somewhat dumbfounded.
"Are you god?" James managed to whisper.
"Boy if I had a dollar for every time I was asked that!" he boomed to Katie.
"You'd be rich sir." she joined with a smile.
"Ah yes, but alas, money has no place here. I am not, god. I am merely the admissions councilor so to speak. I decide where you place in this great place we all call home. Let's get started shall we? Angel, I must ask you about your guarded soul. How does he fair?"
"Our time on Earth was short. We had many ups and downs as we worked together. Although we had a rocky start, our relationship overcame a huge obstacle." she said.
"I see. How about you?"
"I'd love to tell you but I don't remember anything."
"Ah, yes, Your memories have yet to return. Angel, what have you completed with your guarded soul?" he asked. She handed him a paper that detailed everything she had done that he would need. "Ah! Clever. Well done Angel."
"Her name is Katie you know. If she works for you, the least you could do is know her name." James said flatly.
"James!" Katie warned.
"Sir." James quickly added.
"Tell me, what relationship do you have with Angel; I mean Katie."
"Well….I guess we worked together as she said. I really don't remember but I wish I did. When I awoke, everything felt so familiar and I recognized her right away. I want to remember believe me I do. I want to know what we went through together, I want to know why I feel the way I do."
"How do you feel?"
"Honestly I feel sick. I look at Katie and I get butterflies. Something is missing and I don't know what. I know I committed suicide but why? What did I do? What was I feeling?" James was getting frustrated. Katie and the councilor looked on in silence as they waited for him to continue. "I just don't know. I feel like there is something no one will tell me. What are you trying to hide?" he stopped and his eyes widened. "Oh my god…no….I remember everything….Katie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, now I know why you left me. But I also know why I left, because I couldn't live without you anymore. After what I did I couldn't see myself with anyone else but you, I tried, believe me I did but I couldn't trust them like I could you. I know what I did to you was wrong and I practically ruined your life but please know that I'm sincere when I say I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He said. He approached the desk and dropped to his knees. "Please sir, I'm sorry, don't separate me from Katie again. She didn't fail her duties when I killed myself, I just wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her and my children. Just like in the vision I had." The man behind the desk stayed quiet for a moment.
"The deeds of your life cannot go unpunished. You have committed great sin and although your regret saved you on earth, it will not save you here." he boomed. James looked defeated as he hung his head low. "Angel, your work is finished, you are dismissed and free to return to your quarters."
"Yes, sir." she said as she bowed in respect.
"Rise." he said. James did as he was told, although slowly. "I can see you love Katie dearly and want to repay for your actions. You have done well in that respect. You will be permitted to enter the clouds, but first you must work to repay your debt. I warn it will not be an easy task."
"Anything! Just please let me be with her."
"You will be given the task of an Angel and will need to save 15 souls. Once you complete this task you will attend your review and reflection where you will spend time in the neutral zone until you have learned your soul mission. Once you finish these tasks, you will be evaluated on your performance and from there be granted or denied access. In all this will take you about a year. Do not be fooled, this will test your abilities in many ways. Are you prepared to accept this task?"
"Yes sir!" James said giving a salute.
"So be it. You will begin immediately." he ordered. James was about to ask a question but the councilor clapped his hands and James was in the neutral zone. He didn't have time to think before he heard a buzzing; he looked around and saw a screen next to a flashing red light. He pressed the button to turn off the alarm and the TV turned on to reveal his first assignment. He was staring at an older teen who was leaning against the rail of a bridge. He kept looking left and right for passer-by but spent most of the time looking down. James was confused as what to do. He didn't see any instructions or even any levers or buttons. How was he supposed to get to earth? He was busy trying to figure out what he was supposed to do that he didn't notice the teen climb over the side of the rail.
"Oh shit!" he said to himself when he saw the teen. "Crap! What am I supposed to do? Hey kid! Hey! Don't do that!" he said to the screen. He pressed the screen to see if there was a hidden switch. "How do I get down there? How am I supposed to save souls if I cant reach them?" he said frustrated as he raised his hands to his head. Suddenly he sank through the floor of the room and before he could grab onto something he started his descent to earth. He yelled as he crashed to what he though would be his second death but instead he just landed softly in the water. He swam his way to the shore and was bone dry when he got out. He brushed himself off and looked in amazement at himself and the distance of the fall.
"Are you ok?" a voice called out to him. James looked around and then rested his gaze upon the boy he saw on the screen. He was making his decent to the shore to James' side.
"Uh, yeah I think I'm fine. That was weird though."
"I'll say; you came out of nowhere. I didn't even see you jump. I thought I was the only person who was going to end his life today."
"Yeah about that; Why were you going to jump?"
"I've got no one left who cares for me. In fact no one ever cared for me. I figured I can save everyone the trouble by taking myself out, its not worth living if you're alone or not even wanted."
"I see. I know what that is like." James said truthfully. "That's similar to how I felt during my life on earth."
"On earth? What do you mean? You are on Earth…" He said confused. He then noticed that James' clothes weren't wet; in fact he was dry. Too dry for someone who just crashed into the lake and only been standing in the open for 5 minutes. Even in this heat, he couldn't be that dry.
"I'm an angel. I was sent here to help you. In fact you're my first case; I had a hell of a time trying to get down here too. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me; pun intended." James chuckled.
"So, I'm suppose to believe that you're an angel that is supposed to care for my soul? I don't believe in that stuff. I'm Atheist."
"Whether you believe or not, I exist. Some form of heaven, hell, angels or souls exist in every culture and religion. We all end up in the same place; Jewish, Hindu, Catholic, Mormon, everyone is all housed together. Whichever the case, I'm here for you right now."
"Until you have to move on to the next victim right?"
"That I don't know, like I said I'm new at this."
"Are you repaying some sort of debt or something?"
"In a way I am. But I'm still not sure how it works up there. Although don't confuse it for me not caring about you, I want to help you whether its part of my job or not. All I do know is that I was in the same boat as you. Trapped with nowhere to run except I had options that I didn't even bother with. I had friends that I could have turned too but I didn't. I focused on my own selfish desires and ruined many lives. I cant let you make the same decision I did, at least not without thinking it through."
"But I told you I have no one. My parents disowned me a long time ago. They told me I was a mistake and that I was useless and would never amount to anything. I was bullied constantly in school, teachers didn't even help me. I don't have any friends, I'm a loner and I'll always be alone."
"Don't you have any family that could help? A girlfriend even?"
"Nope. No one. My family hates me to no end; one half is full of superficial, high class snobs, the other half are addicts or criminals of some sort; many of which are dead." he explained. James quickly realized the extent of his mission. Like Katie explained to him, everyone has a guardian angel that is someone close to them. This kid really had no one, that's why James was sent. "I figure I can end it now and that way I don't have to deal with the pain anymore."
"I hate to break it too you but all of your problems will follow you. The pain doesn't stop if you kill yourself. You will still hold all the bad memories of you life and even though you could be living in your version of paradise, those memories will eat at you day after day."
"You know a lot about this stuff despite being new to the job. What happened to you anyway?"
"I was alone and I couldn't stand it. My best friend had died way to young, she was only 21. She was in a car accident and it was determined to be a suicide. Her injuries weren't severe but she lost her will to live and passed away a day after the accident in the hospital. I was really close to her, in fact I loved her and I just couldn't live without her. I tried, believe me I did, for a little over 11 years, I dated several girls but I could never commit to any of them like I could to Katie. They were all just after my-" James paused; he didn't want to say he was famous or rich. "they were after something else and didn't like me for who I was as a person. I just wanted to spend the rest of eternity with Katie but I didn't want to wait to live out the rest of my life to do it. I missed out on a lot of stuff though, and I let her down. She was my guardian angel, as fate would have it, she tried so hard to make sure I continued on without her and I was too weak."
"Then I still dont get why you are here, I assume, trying to convince me not to off myself. I get that its some sort of job but why did you get this crappy job."
"Part of it was because I committed suicide and another part is because of what I did with my life." James answered. The teen stared back with a raised brow. "Remember the girl I was talking about?"
"Yeah?"
"I raped her."
"What? Dude that's sick!"
"Yea…I got that message. I regretted what I did and our relationship healed. We overcame the biggest obstacle ever and were friends to the end. An end I wish didn't come so soon, but alas fate overpowers will sometimes."
"Is that why she killed herself?"
"No, it was because she was dealing with a lot of bullying herself, she felt unwanted, unneeded, and useless. She was a busy girl but her lifestyle was far from the average teen and was stressful, but worse, her parents became the enemy instead of her support or her friends. Once she turned 18 the leash she was on became tighter and upon turning 21 she practically became a slave. She couldn't go to her own college classes without a complete check-in. It made things difficult when she had to travel, she felt that she was a burden to those she worked with because of all the things she had to do for her parents."
"That sounds rough."
"It is. But she overcame some of the worse stuff in her life, she was a tough girl and made a comeback time and time again. She never let anyone down and on the outside she was a happy go lucky girl. She made a name for herself and became a well known and well liked person in her fields of expertise. She overcame the bullying and the criticism; just like you need to do. You need to stand up for yourself and make a name for your future. Take pride in what you do even if everyone else thinks its stupid or a waste of time. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, all that matters is that you like it and are having fun doing it."
"But what if I don't know what that something is?"
"You'll find it, and once you do, you'll know it."
"Thanks, but I don't think I can just ignore all the hatred in my life."
"Not with that attitude you cant." James said. "Sure it's not easy but you cant just give up. You may think that no one would miss you and even if it's true which I don't think it is, you cant just end it all. Everyone has their ups and downs, some more than others and yes it's unfair but we have a purpose to fill. Look, I'm not sure if I can help you find exactly what your purpose is, but if its anything like TV my job wont be finished until you find your own path."
"Are we really going to do this? Seriously?" the teen said half heartedly. James' enthusiasm faded at his response. He thought for a moment before coming up with a different idea.
"Well, no, we don't have too I suppose. We can always just talk; does that sound alright?" he asked. The teen smiled a little.
"Yeah, that's ok, sounds nice."
They both talked for quite a while; James learned a lot about the teen, whose name was Brad. They both helped each other really, Brad helped James understand what he was supposed to do and James gave Brad the courage and self esteem he needed to continue through life. Brad was a big fan of animals; he turned to them at his lowest point, they were fun to be around and didn't care if he was a failure or not, they were always happy to see him. James convinced Brad to work with animals and be there voice; like Katie was. There are many people that like animals but find that working with them is a waste of time and effort, that they don't have rights or feelings. But they do, plus it is a huge industry and many who work in the field can do just as well as someone in an equal field for humans.
Brad's confidence had skyrocketed during their discussion. James had the ability to see different meters that read the soul through his glasses. James was confident that he had done good but he didn't know where to take it from there. Brad talked about some ideas that he had and James agreed wholeheartedly and gave him courage. Brad was confident in his ways and thanked James for his help.
"You know, if it wasn't for you I don't think I would have ever seen all the options that you gave me. You were right, there is always a way out even for someone like me. I want to thank you; I hope you find your way back up to the clouds or get your wings, or however it is done up there."
"Thanks. I'm glad I could help. Just remember I'll be watching you to make sure you fulfill your purpose in life. Don't let me down Brad."
"I won't James; I'll do my best to live up to my own life goals and expectations. I've got so many ideas I cant wait to put them all into action. If you're ever in the neighborhood again, you'll visit me right?"
"I don't see why not, I cant guarantee that you will know I'm there. Remember I will be watching out for you; but I wont be making decisions for you, just nudging you in the right direction sometimes."
"Thanks, James." He said holding out for a handshake. James reciprocated and Brad began his climb back up He looked behind him once more and waved to James who watched him begin his ascent. James couldn't see it but he was no longer visible to Brad and when Brad reached the top he looked back over his shoulder but saw that James was gone. He looked up to the sky and wished James a fond farewell and made his way back into town.
In an instant James was back in the Neutral Zone, where he was greeted by the councilor on a job well done before disappearing again. James would have to learn on his own on how things worked and he had plenty of time to learn. There wasn't much to do in the neutral zone and although his missions were frequent at first, they soon diminished and he sat around for days at a time. He only had 2 missions left so it was annoying to wait all that time. It was a good thing that he wasn't needed of course not that he didn't want to work, it just meant that things were running smoothly on earth or at least there weren't any lost or lonely souls.
He sat around for several days as he kept himself busy by learning how things worked. He had little of his own magic and could only call upon things he would need. He couldn't yet fly but he could levitate and somewhat glide. He could also lift things many times his size and make nature do his bidding. He could create miniature tornadoes in the fallen leaves, create breezes and could communicate with animals. He also learned how to travel between the neutral zone and earth; it was a tricky process to say the least, it required a lot of concentration. He practiced during his down time; no one else was ever around so he was never bothered. It got lonely though, the neutral zone seemed to be a wide open space but he explored it once and the space just kept repeating; on further experimenting he realized that it was in fact the space that he occupied that kept repeating. In essence he was trapped in his 'office'. He never saw or heard of anyone other than the councilor though, during his stay.
James was in the middle of perfecting his gliding when the alarm buzzed. Slightly annoyed at the timing he walked over to the screen and waited for it to turn on, revealing the location. It turned on but the picture was garbled and fuzzy. He hung his head in an exasperated sigh before making his way to earth. He closed his eyes and in a mere few seconds, when he reopened them, he was on the streets of earth. He had no idea where though. He had been all over the world helping souls in need, he couldn't speak any other languages other than Hebrew and English but he still had no problem communicating and understanding those who spoke another language.