Hello! Here's the 5th chapter! Thanx to…

GrimlockX4

littleGloriaFaith

…for all the reviews! This one's for you! Enjoy :)

Andrew, Monica, and Gloria sat near the back of the church, sharing a pew. They were talking quietly amongst themselves about all the strange things that were going on in that town. The girls had come one their own. Both angels had done all they could to persuade Morgan to come, but the woman would not be swayed. Andrew had come with Travis. The man had almost backed out at the last minute, but the angel was able to convince him otherwise.

The angels kept glancing uneasily at the crowd of townspeople sitting more toward the front. Most of them were just praying. But there were those who were looking for a miracle and had their eyes fixated on the "crying" crucifix, waiting for something. The angels shook their heads. This was so ridiculous.

"Have either of yeh seen Tess?" Monica asked worriedly. They hadn't seen their supervisor since she had disappeared earlier that day.

Both her friends shook their heads. When Tess didn't want to be found, not even her own charges could find her.

The angels suddenly felt a cold chill settle in the room. Then a strange feeling filled their senses. But as quickly as it came, it was gone.

At that moment, a tall rugged-looking man with long, blonde hair strolled in through the front doors. His black trench coat billowed behind him as he took a few steps down the center aisle and settled into a pew almost directly across the aisle from the angels. He shared the pew with two others, dressed all in black. One looked younger than the blonde, with short spiky hair; while the other, with full beard and salt and pepper hair, seemed much older. They shared a look then focused their attention on the people up front making fools of themselves.

The three angels stared over at them suspiciously. Blondie and his friends suddenly turned their heads, giving the angels an icy gaze.

Gloria felt a shiver go down her spine and Monica put her arm around her. The redhead unconsciously scooted closer to Andrew, suddenly feeling very uneasy about those three. Andrew put a hand on top of hers, trying to ease the fear he saw in her eyes. Who were those guys? And what were they up to?

No one had noticed Travis wander into the church that evening. He quietly slipped into the meeting and stood in the corner, listening. The ministers were too busy arguing with each other to realize that he was there. The only one that seemed to be aware of his presence was an older woman who standing at the head of the table. She seemed to be the one in charge of the meeting and looked like she was getting a headache, listening to these guys bickering. She gave him a small smile when she saw him enter the room.

Kyle had just spoken up, getting in what he had to say about all the strange things that had been happening around town.

"Look, it's my opinion that all these signs are nothing but demonic manifestations."

The black preacher sitting beside him rolled his eyes. "Of course, you do. Pentecostals see demons behind every rock and tree."

"And a Baptist wouldn't know a demon if he hit him in the head," Kyle shot back.

"Demons don't heal, Kyle," the Baptist argued.

One of the priests, the younger one, shook his head. "That's the problem with you fundamentalists. You both take the Bible too literally."

His fellow priest backed him up. "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

"I am not judging anyone. I'm trying to set this board on a path—"

"And I'm just stating a fact—"

"You want facts—"

"HEY!" The woman had had about enough listening to these guys argue. "Stop it!" The room immediately quieted down. "You should be ashamed of yourselves…You're all supposed to be men of God and here you are arguing like school children."

"I'm sorry, Miss Tess," Kyle apologized sheepishly.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Kyle took the hint and turned to the man next to him, offering a simple but genuine apology.

"Anyone else?" Tess eyed the rest of them, folding her arms across her chest, waiting.

Michael, Darlene, and a few other young people wandered into the church. They were laughing and joking around, making their way down the aisle. Darlene was eager to touch the crucifix, hoping it would heal her scars. She had been in a terrible house fire as a child and ever since then part of her beautiful face had been disfigured from the burns.

As the group walked past where the angels were sitting, they recognized one of the other young people. A young man. His messy dark hair and tan skin was unmistakable. He smiled, discreetly exchanging a glance with them.

"I didn't know Rafael was on this assignment, too," Monica remarked.

"Neither did I," Andrew answered, a puzzled look on his face.

Rafael's brow furrowed when he realized that his friends seemed to be surprised to see him there. He shrugged it off and continued on his way.

As the group of young people passed, one of the men in black turned his head, his eyes following the young angel. Rafael felt someone's eyes on him and turned. Almost immediately, his gaze fell on the three men sitting quietly near the back. He didn't like the way the blonde one was looking at him. He narrowed his eyes at him but didn't say a word as he followed Michael and Darlene toward the front of the church.

Rafael was talking to Michael when something strange caught the corner of his eye. He glanced up at the statue and couldn't believe his eyes.

Drops of water were rolling down the statue's face.

It looked like…it was crying.

Tess nodded her head, smiling, satisfied with all the apologies that had been made.

She then turned to someone else in the room who had remained silent the entire time, drawing attention to him for the first time since he had arrived. "Travis. What do you think?"

All heads turned toward the ex-minister in surprise.

The Baptist preacher narrowed his eyes at him. "With all due respect, Travis is no longer on the board. He quit the ministry."

"Travis was a founding member of this board," Kyle said, defending his friend. "I respect his opinion, probably more than yours."

The preacher was about to talk back, but saw Tess glaring at him. He bit his tongue, settling in his seat. Everyone stared at Travis expectantly.

The man shook his head, wishing more than ever that he hadn't come. "I'm sorry. I've got nothing to say."

"Travis, the people are looking for an answer," the Lutheran preacher insisted.

"Then do what you usually do—make something up."

All the ministers stared at him, taken back.

"Well, I just witnessed a miracle," the young priest said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. "I once asked Travis what it would take to get him back in church. He said, 'A mira—"

A commotion out in the sanctuary suddenly caught their attention. "What was that?"

The all rushed out of the meeting room to see what was going on. People were now crowding around the crucifix, around Darlene Henchle. Her mother, Dee, was beside her in an instant, trying to find out why her daughter was freaking out.

"My scars…" Darlene turned to face her mother, smiling through her tears. "They're gone."

Dee gently touched her daughter's face, staring in disbelief. Darlene's face was back to the way it once was—free of scars.

Darlene's father, the sheriff, pushed his way through the crowd, wanting to see what was going on. He had just gotten there and had heard all the commotion. He found his wife and daughter hugging and crying.

"I touched it," His daughter tried to explain once her mother released her. "It was crying, and now the scars are gone."

Brett Henchle's wide eyes went from his daughter's face to the statue then back again. He rubbed his head. He felt another headache coming on. He eyes went back to the statue. If it worked for his daughter, maybe it would work for him, too…

Monica, Andrew, and Gloria stood behind the crowd of people, staring up at the statue warily. Rafael maneuvered through the throng of people to join his friends, his eyes mirroring their confusion and fear. All four angels looked over at the three men who were standing nearby, observing this latest development with great interest. Everything about this was wrong. God had nothing to do with it.

"Tess?" Monica spotted their supervisor standing with the group of ministers.

The other three angels followed her gaze and found Tess giving the three men in black a nasty look. But as soon as she realized she was being watched, she vanished. Leaving four very confused angels staring at the empty spot where she had been standing only moments ago.

Hmm…what's happening here? Review to find out!