Please r&r folks. I know it's a bit slow getting started, but it will get more exciting soon, I promise!
As he drove through the rain, the road slick and shining under the streetlamps, Chas Kramer was a little more fractious than normal. It had been a little over a week since the events in the hospital, and he had been twitchy ever since. As he screeched through a red light, narrowly missing a silver Sedan, John reached through from the backseat of the car, laying a hand upon his shoulder.
"Take it easy buddy."
"Sure. Sure." Chas rubbed a hand over his forehead and slammed the steering wheel to the left, pulling up outside Papa Midnite's.
John led the way down the steep steps into the underground club, the drenching red lights making hiss eyes glint menacingly. As he reached the doorman, he felt a flicker of surprise when he held up two cards. He looked at the skin headed thug inquisitively, who nodded at Chas.
"Two frogs on a wall," John said, and looked at his young companion expectantly as he crossed through the doorway. Chas stared wide-eyed at the card being brandished at him, and said jokingly;
"Pig in a blanket?" To his utter astonishment the doorman turned the card around to reveal a picture of a boar wrapped in a tartan blanket. Mouth still open, he felt Constantine pull on the collar of his shirt, dragging him into the club.
The dimly lit basement was full of unearthly forms as they crossed the floor. Crimson and emerald eyes glinted at them through the shadows, fluidic bodies moving in and out of the darkness. Chas felt them boring into his very being, and dropped his gaze, practically stepping on John's heels until they came to Papa Midnite's door. John stared at the steel slab commandingly, and a moment later a burly bouncer opened it inwards to a lavishly furnished room. The walls were burgundy, with posters plastered upon them, a wine red carpet beneath their feet. Against the far wall was a beech wood desk topped with studded leather, and sat behind it was a slender, coloured man in a long, faux suede coat and an open neck white shirt. He sat leaning on his elbows, steepled fingers resting upon his lips, and was listening intently to a woman sat opposite him. She sat with her back to the door, and was whispering hurriedly;
"It's not my fault, Midnite. I just did as I was told. I don't enjoy clearing up after my kin, you know. But Father said I had to do it, said it was important, said he was important. So I fixed it.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" The woman had noticed Midnite's gaze had wandered slightly, and that he was now staring over her shoulder with a mixture of surprise and amusement. She spun in her seat, and Chas gasped. Looking up at him were a pair of turquoise eyes that had widened slightly. The girl had loose dark curls spilling down over her shoulders, and porcelain skin that he thought he saw fill with a slightly pink hue below her soft cheekbones. She stood hurriedly, pulling at her muslin over shirt, and Chas felt himself speak without meaning to;
"What the Hell is she doing here!"
"Just leaving," the girl said. She shot Midnite a warning filled glance, and brushed past Chas and John out of the doorway. Chas stared after her for a moment, then looked pleadingly at his mentor.
"Fancy a drink, John?" Midnite waved a decanter of scotch and Constantine stared down at his companion for a long moment, before nodding and saying;
"Just watch yourself." Chas grinned and ran out of the room into the club. His eyes scanned across the mass of heads and moved through the crowd, slowly getting frantic. All around him was darkness, pressing in on all sides. Perhaps she'd left the club. If she had she'd be too far away to find now. He spun in the dark, feeling hopelessly lost and very aware of all the eyes upon him, when he saw a flash of white. He focused for a moment, and saw her at the bar. She was slumped on a stool, her chin in one hand, a glass in the other. Chas crossed over to the bar and sat beside the girl, looking at her hard. She glanced up at him and sighed, before going back to nursing her drink.
"Can I help you?" she said. Chas took in the defeated air of the girl, and said;
"You're one of them, aren't you? You're Gabriel's sister. An angel."
"Yep. Yep. And yep, unfortunately."
"Oh," said Chas, "right." The girl took a sip of her drink, and Chas smiled as she wrinkled her nose at the fiery liquid coursing down her throat. It made her look young. Well, younger than she really was anyway.
"So, er, nice weather we're having, huh?" The girl laughed wrly for a moment, and replied half-heartedly;
"Yeah…"
Uncomfortable by the silence, Chas began drumming his fingers on the bar. Well, this was going great!
The angel glanced at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment, then downed the rest of her drink.
"Earth sucks," she said hoarsely. Desperate to rescue some sort of conversation at this point, Chas said;
"So, what's your name?"
"Huh, what?" The girl snapped out of her stupuor for a moment and looked up at her companion, who repeated;
"What's your name? You know, I'm Chas Kramer, the humble yet slightly neurotic cab driver, and you are…"
"Archangel Uriel, seraph and cherubim of the eight choir of Heaven, and the Flame of God."
"Oh, that's…nice." Chas took off his cap and pushed his hand through his hair. Uriel watched him with interest for a moment, then took the hat and spun it around on her index finger.
"You know," she said," you only do that when you're uncomfortable. Do I make you uncomfortable, Chas?"
"No. Well, kinda, I mean- look, did I die?" Chas just blurted the question out, tired of wondering.
"Do you really want to know?"
"I'll take that as a yes. God…"
"Don't blaspheme." Uriel looked at him eyes full of concern. Chas contemplated things for a moment, then said;
"I suppose it's ok tough. I mean, you brought me back, right?"
"I guess so," Uriel replied and handed back the cap, which he pulled over his eyes.
"Thank you," he whispered. Uriel looked at him for a long moment, now the pillar of solemnity, and said;
"Stay safe." With that she rose to her feet and glided out of the club. Chas watched her go, a new feeling of calm settling over him. Sure he'd died, but at least he'd got a glimpse of Heaven. Who would've imagined L.A would look so clean?