Previously: One minute till impact. Celine prayed for guidance and for the souls of everyone who had been less fortunate than her. There was a moment of silence, and then darkness.

A Flaw in the Plan

Chapter 2

The morning sunlight penetrating her eyelids woke Celine from her sleep. After opening her eyes, she experienced a sudden moment of disorientation. Surrounding her was not the cold, clinical environment of the bunker but was instead the very familiar walls of her bedroom at the convent. Her photos of various landmarks were still plastered across the wall, and her books on language still scattered about exactly where she had left them. She could not understand how she could have been in Slough one moment, only to somehow be in Italy the next. The last thing she remembered was the meteor hitting the earth. The sensation was similar to falling asleep, only to hear an alarm blaring what felt like seconds later, when in reality several hours had passed.

Was it possible that she was dead? She did not think so, it did not feel like she had arrived in the afterlife. A dream, perhaps? She pinched herself, but the sharp pain did nothing to change the situation she was in. Another similar explanation came to mind, but she dismissed it almost immediately. Was it possible that she had dreamt the events of the last month? It seemed unlikely, the dream was far too vivid and detailed to have come from her own imagination. Nor could she had conjured up such an elaborate series of events and characters. She had plenty of theories for what had happened to cause her to return to the convent, but none of them were convincing enough for her to settle on. She was still trying to figure out what was happening when her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of sharp rapping on the door.

"Come in." She announced, hoping that her caller might be able to help clarify the situation. The Mother Superior entered the room, quietly closing the door behind herself. She spoke up soon enough, talking about some matter or another while Celine was distracted by the implications of her arrival. The presence of the other nun leant more credibility to her theory that she had died, there was no way the Mother Superior could have found a bunker in time, so she must have also passed on when the meteor hit. If she was in fact dead, Celine had to admit to feeling a little disappointed at the first person to see her. Eventually she managed to tune back in to the nun's little speech, the dialogue gave her an intense feeling of deja vu. It was the same speech she had been given on the day that she had left for the Vatican for her job interview. Distracted, she belatedly realised that Mother Superior had gone silent and was looking at her expectantly.

"Celine, I asked you a question." She told her sternly.

"I'm sorry, I-" Celine struggled to explain her lack of attention. Seeing how distressed her pupil was, the nun dropped her matronly tone.

"Dear child, whatever is the matter?" She asked more sympathetically.

"Forgive me, I'm not feeling myself." Mother Superior patted her hand.

"It is quite alright, my dear, we all have those days. I must confess to be rather disappointed, I had arranged an interview for you to get a position at the Vatican, but if you are not feeling well I will cancel."

"No!" Celine objected suddenly, surprising her companion. Realising that her horrified tone had not been appropriate in the context, she quickly spoke before the nun could interrupt. "I'm sure it is only a passing illness, I will be fine soon enough, and I wouldn't want you to cancel after you've gone to so much trouble." The woman did not look convinced.

"If you're sure…"

"I am." Celine gave her as much of a winning smile as she could muster under the circumstances.

"Then you should pack your things, you have a bus to catch."

Travelling on the bus, she felt unbelievably closed in as all around her the events were achingly familiar: a mother scolding her child for bouncing up and down on his seat, the man next to her apologising after almost spilling coffee on her. Everything was exactly the same as it had been on the day she had met Jude. Everything seemed to suggest that after the meteor had hit, she had somehow been sent back in time. It suddenly occurred to her that the day she was currently reliving was not just the day she had met Jude, it was also the day where they had announced that the apocalypse was imminent.

She did not know what this meant. If she had in fact been sent back in time, the only being with the power to do this was God, and Celine did not know what she had hoped to gain by this action. Was she supposed to change something? She doubted that she had the ability to prevent the meteor hitting earth, the best she could probably do was inform the Saviour team that their plan would fail. Even that was fraught with complications as she had no way to communicate with them, and she was well aware that a prophesising nun was not the most convincing source of information for the scientific community. More importantly, if God's plan was for her to stop the meteor hitting Earth, then why had she sent it in the first place?

Soon enough, the bus arrived at Vatican City. She had always admired the beautiful architecture of the place she had worked in, but she could no longer look at it with the same amount of awe as she had done a month ago. Like an apple, the exterior might appear perfectly pleasant but on the inside it was rotten and corrupted to the core. She did not particularly want to even enter the building again, the memories still too fresh and painful, but if this was the past then Jude was still alive, and she could not pass up the opportunity to see him again.

As before, she was shown into the study that she had become deeply familiar with after spending hours researching each messiah claim case. Glancing into the corner, she flinched, and immediately avoided looking at that window again, acutely aware of the memories it inspired. The priest gestured towards a seat and promptly left, making his contempt of her clear enough for her to understand. Despite having mentally prepared herself, she found herself floored by Jude's arrival. He strolled in, as though he did not have a care in the world, and his first words to her were a throwaway question.

"Who the fuck are you?" The question should not have thrown her off so much, but it was the lack of familiarity that hurt. She eventually managed to stammer out an answer, hating how weak she sounded. There was a moment before he abruptly remembered why she was there and he promptly invited her to sit in front of his desk. She did so, but could not help but glance a little reproachfully at the desk itself, memories coming to her of a not-so-innocent use for it that had occurred in her past. She felt a flush creeping up her neck, and struggled to try to remain as composed as possible. Jude did not notice her unease and launched into a speech about what the job she had applied for entailed.

She tuned out most of what he was saying, already knowing most of it, taken over by a sudden and intense need for physical contact with him. The only thing that stopped her from launching herself at him was the knowledge that he would no doubt recoil from any attempt at initiating contact. In this strange new reality, they were complete strangers. She was snapped out of it once Jude launched into a scathing analysis of her life and her decision to join the convent. She endured the insults without batting an eye, comforted by the knowledge that the words were not said with malicious intent. She had also come to terms with the truth of what he was saying, she had chosen love over her commitment to the church. It did not matter than the choice had soon been ripped from her, because she had made the decision, and she would make the same one again given the option.

Once he had finished ranting, he leaned back and appraised her carefully for a reaction. Last time she had cried, but this time she just looked back at him calmly. Neither refuting nor confirming what he had said. Seeing that she was not reacting, Jude continued.

"The reason I have just spoken to you like that is because I need to know that you can cope with scrutiny and insults. If you work with me for long enough then you will no doubt hear far worse than what I have just said. The job is an essential one, but not one that will earn you many friends."

"I don't care what anyone thinks about me." She told him confidently, but she could tell he was not convinced.

"I can offer you the job on a trial basis. If I have any inkling that you will be a liability, you will be sent back to your convent. Have you brought your things?" She nodded. "You start tomorrow." He dismissed her with a flick of his hands. She stood up and made to leave the room, just in front of the door she turned back.

"I won't disappoint you." She promised. His eyes met hers, and she felt something pass between them in that moment.

"See that you don't."