Chapter 9 (part 2): Tears of an Angel
Jack had started walking again, his hand held in the grasp of both Bobby and Sue. He realized that once the connection was broken he would only have the remnants of this feeling, not the full force of it, so he had to take advantage of it while he still could. He walked on until Bobby let go. Just as he had expected, the feeling vanished, leaving only a ghost of what had been. He found that he was disappointed and realized that he had been hoping that the feeling wouldn't leave. He stood there a moment, a feeling of great loss coming over him. There was an extremely fierce and icy blast from the wind that made Jack realize that he was going to lose it all if he focused on what was now gone. Taking a deep breath, he started forward, drawing on the last of the euphoria that remained from the previous contact. He walked on for quite a time, focusing on only putting one foot in front of the other. After a time he realized that he was barely going anywhere. Lifting his head, he could detect no change in his surroundings, except that he was now standing next to a tree. Taking a deep breath he was hit by a wave of exhaustion. He had pushed himself too far. He sagged against the tree, sliding down it until he was sitting at its base. Jack sat there, too tired to move anymore. Slowly his eyes started to droop closed. He felt Sue squeeze his hand, but it wasn't enough. He heard her voice, but only the sound of it, not the words. He couldn't go on. As he was just about to fall asleep, he saw something approaching. It gleamed white and pure. He forced his eyes open, and as it drew closer, he saw that it was a woman. She was wearing a gleaming white dress that was vaguely familiar. She looked like an angel. As she drew closer, he was surprised to see that his angel was Sue. She was wearing the same white dress that she had when she was playing the piano on the last assignment. She came over and kneeled down next to him. He couldn't do anything but stare at her in awe. She seemed bright and cheery, completely defying the natural state of things here in the black desert.
"You can't stop now Jack. You can't give up. Come on Jack. God will help you. I will help you. Please." She was pleading now, about ready to cry. Jack wished that he had enough strength to comfort her. "You were doing so much better. I don't want to lose you." She started crying, and there was nothing Jack could do. He didn't know if she realized it or not, but her tears were falling on him. He watched, helpless, as she managed to barely stop crying. He was even more surprised when she leaned over and kissed his cheek, tears threatening to start all over again. "For me Jack. If nothing else, do it for me." Jack tried to say something, anything, but he found he could not. Then she was gone. She seemed to become like white mist that was dispersed by the wind. Still, only her hands remained, clasped with his. He knew that she was crying again as his eyelids once again started to slide closed. Maybe I should have told her that I am glad she's around. Jack thought as his mind drifted into the darkness.