The Cries of the Children
Prologue
In a dark and lonely forest, a young child lay fatally wounded. And an angel looked on helplessly as he waited for her to die. She asked over and over again "Why does God want me to die?" He could not give her an answer and so the angel cried.
It was nine days later. An old red Cadillac convertible was parked on the road leading into a dark forest. The road had been blocked off with the yellow tape signifying the area as a crime scene. In side the car, three angels sat, lost in their own thoughts as they listened to the news bulletin on the radio.
" The body found yesterday in the Pine Vale Forest has been tentatively identified to be that of seven-year old Chelsi Adams, last seen playing outside her home on the 19th of September. Police are not yet ready to confirm or deny that she may be the latest victim of the Broken Doll killer…" the announcer droned on.
Tess reached over to quickly switch off the radio. "That's enough of that", she stated, looking over at the two younger angels.
Gloria did some rapid mental arithmetic. "Today's the 29th. That makes, um, ten days…" she let her voice trail off as she realized how in appropriate it sounded.
Monica looked around as she realized that the fourth member of their 'team' was noticeably absent. "Where's Andrew?" she asked in her lilting Irish accident.
Tess placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He's already had the hard part of this assignment, Angel Girl," she said quietly.
As if on cue, the sandy haired Angel of Death suddenly appeared from around the yellow tape. His hands were in his pockets and he looked down at the ground, his usually expressive green eyes reflected a barely suppressed anger.
Tess got out of the car and walked over to him, saying, "You're late, Angel Boy."
He turned to face her. "I only showed up to tell you that I won't be joining you on this assignment."
"Andrew--" Tess began, clearly annoyed with his response.
He angrily cut her off. "How can I face that child's parents, knowing that I stood by and let her die?"
Tess drew herself to her full height and put hands on her hips. "Andrew!"
His tone was bitter as he said, "Did you know it took her seven hours and twenty-two minutes to die. And every second seemed like an eternity." He lifted his eyes Heaven ward. "How many more innocent children are You going to let die until You send someone to stop this monster?" Without another word, he turned and headed back into the forest.
Tess sadly shook her head as she watched Andrew leave. "I had no idea how hard this was going to be for him."
Gloria leaned over the seat and asked, "Why do they say 'the Broken Doll killer'?"
Tess squeezed her shoulder and said, "Because that's how he leaves the children—like broken dolls. That's all you really want to know, Baby."
"Is that why Andrew's so angry?"
"He's not really angry, Gloria. It just hurts him so much to see the innocent children die," Monica said quietly
Tess got behind the wheel and started the car. "Come on, Babies. It's time to meet our assignment."
