Shilo ran through the door, slamming it open with her body. The force causes some papers to fly off, landing on the floor by Michael's desk.
Michael himself nearly flinched as the loud slam of the door startled him while he was sitting by his desk. "Good lord!! Shilo!!" He yelled, taking his glasses off and glaring at her. "Knock first!"
"Sorry, sorry." Shilo apologized. "I... had a busy day." She lied, still shaken by what she witnessed back in the courtroom.
Michael scrutinized the pile of reports that were piled up on her arms. "Yeah, I can see that, " he affirmed. "Are these the reports from the teachers at Camael's school?" he asked her.
"Yep!" Shilo nodded.
"Wonderful." Michael smiled, pleased with this. "Place them on my desk, and I'll look over them." He instructs her, tapping his desk at the end.
She placed them on his desk, which relieved her and made her feel weightless and light again—and it helped her get her arms back from carrying so much weight. She took a few steps back, giving Michael space to look over them with his glasses.
Michael begins to take one and read them. He nodded, pleased with what he saw.
As he begins his work, Shilo stands with her hands behind her and watches him. She is very nervous, trying to put up a calm smile but only showing more nervousness. She still remembers watching the meeting and hearing Adam and Sera discussing the extermination and how those angels go down to that hellish prison to murder those demons for no reason. It was not what Heaven should be remembered as.
She gulped. "So...anything happened today?" She asked Michael.
"Not that I know of, no," Michael answered, not taking his eyes off the reports he was checking.
"Really? No new souls entering in?" She continued questioning him. "No possible attack from any demons?" She added.
"We got three adults who entered the city and one young kid," Michael informed her, placing the paper down and picking up another. "All have been accepted."
"No demon?" She asked again, hoping that maybe that spider demon managed to get in after seeing his progress.
Suddenly, Michael froze in place. He slowly removed his glasses, set them on his desk, and faced Shilo suspiciously. His eyes show caution and bitterness. "Demon? Why are you asking about that?" He questioned her.
"Oh! Something out of my mind is all!" She answered with a nervous smile. "Not like these were any angels that go to hell and kill any demons there!!" She laughed nervously.
Michael stood up, ignoring the papers that flew out of his desk from the force of his wings. He stared down at her. Shilo knew that stare from him; it meant someone was about to get into serious trouble. Michael's stare was hard, cold, and bitter.
"Are you implying that our people randomly go down to that hellish place my brother and his lover created and murdered their kind?" Michael questioned her.
"W-Well..I mean.." Shilo stammered. "I'm not... I'm just-"
"Over centuries, you know that not one angel in over eons has ever disobeyed and gone down to hell," Michael added, interrupting her. He approached her. "And even if they did, they must face me before leaving heaven."
Shilo gulped. "I know..but-"
"But nothing." Michael stopped her. "You know better than to start making up rumors about something like this." He snarled.
"I'm sorry." Shilo frowned, looking down in sadness.
"You are forgiven, my angel." Michael kissed her forehead. Then he returned to his seat and resumed his work.
During this, Shilo lifted her head, spotting a painting of a portrait with Michael and Lucifer in it. They were smiling together, their arms on each other's shoulders, so happy, back before his fall and the birth of Hell. She wonders if Michael still misses him just as she does; they are close as brothers and always care for each other.
Shilo turns her focus on Michael, inhaling and exhaling. "Have you ever contacted Lucifer?" she asks him.
Michael froze, just midair. "No. I can hardly get any connection down there." He answered. "I haven't spoken to him in eons since his fall."
"Oh." Shilo frowned. "But if you did, what would you tell him?"
Michael sighed, setting the paper back down. "I'd tell him how much I missed him, how he is holding up, and how his wife is," he told her. And I also tell him about you, how well you are doing, and how happy you are about me," he added.
"And if he even has a child?" Shilo asked him.
Suddenly, Michael's eyes changed from warming to menacing. "It's impossible; that wife of his can't reproduce a child, let alone a single womb in her body," he informed her. She is cursed to be motherless forever, unlike Eve."
"But..what if they did have a child? One that is so fully grown and is now trying to accomplish something for Hell?" Shilo questioned him again. "Maybe trying to get demons in heaven?"
"Shilo Winterstone of Perseverance." Michael hissed, standing up, and the air turned bitter cold.
Shilo flinched. Whenever her title is called, she has stepped out of line. She backed away from him a bit.
"I don't know where you get such idiotic ideas from, but that is impossible." Michael scorned her. "Lucifer and his wife can't have an heir, and there is no explainable way that demons can enter Heaven. They were placed there for a good reason; they failed the divine judgment to enter here." He pointed out.
"Well, what if it is possible? I mean, I saw her! I saw a woman who looked like Lucifer, and she talked about trying to get demons in Heaven!" Shilo mentioned Charlie. "She has a hotel! A hotel that focuses on rehabilitating!"
Hearing this, Michael froze, taking it all in and piecing it all together. Then he glared down at Shilo with such anger and disappointment. She had never seen him like this before. Michael shoved the papers away, sending them flying away.
"How did you know about that?" He asked with a dark voice. "That was a private meeting never meant for lower rank's eyes."
Shilo gulped. "I..sorta..kinda..peek?" She answered with a meek voice.
"We talked about this! Your curiosity once got you into trouble, which hurt you!" Michael shouted. His halo opened five eyes, his shoulders sprouted two eyes, and his wings opened eyes. "I can't believe you were spying on Sera's meeting with those hellspawns!!"
"I'm sorry! I heard her say Morningstar, and it got me." Shilo explained. "It has been so long since I have seen Lucifer, and when I saw that woman, she reminded me so much of him!" She frowned deeply. "She even talks like him! Michael, she is something extraordinary!"
"She is a fool!" Michael shouted at her. He started pacing. "I mean, creating a hotel to redeem sinners!? For what!? A chance to get away from the exorcist blade!? She is spelling her doom!"
Shilo furrowed her eyebrows. "Sinners? Is that what those demons are?" She asked him. "What Adam and Lute killed?"
Michael stopped pacing and gave her a frightening glare. "What Adam and Lute do is none of my concern. Their business is not to be worried about," he told her.
Shilo glared back at him. "Yet it's nothing I was told about?" She questioned him. "I've been here way longer than they have, and I was never told about this? About that woman? Those sinners? And that angel who was like Lute?!" She shouted. "Who is a killer?! We've been together, and we always shared our moments! But I don't remember you telling me about this genocide!!"
"Genocide!?" Michael yelled, his voice growing loud. "You think Sera and I agreed to set genocide on those ungrateful sinners!!? Shilo, you are a virtue!! That information is not for angels like you!" He bellowed. "And that genocide you call it is only a way to keep them in line!! If the rest knew about the extermination, think of what could happen! We'd be left with an empty empire!!" He added. "We are trying to protect Heaven from a possible attack from Hell, and if it means getting rid of those sinners, then our only option is to remove them!!!"
Shilo flinched, frightened by his voice and words. She backed away from a wall until her back hit it. He had never yelled at her like this, only with care and concern. But this, this was rage and spitefulness.
Once Michael saw her state, he sighed and rubbed his forehead, calming himself down. He faced her with a calming presence. "Angel, I didn't mean to snap like that." He exclaimed. "Please understand that these are dangerous sinners who would kill angels like you; that's why the extermination is to keep you and the rest safe—to keep our empire safe." He started to pace.
Shilo watched him pacing with his hands behind his back.
"Who's afraid of the sun? Who'd question the goodness of the mighty? We who banish the threat." Michael begins to sing. "When your little ones all go nighty-nighty. Well, there's no time for doubt right now and less time to explain." He walked to a massive window of his office, showing the city of heaven. "So get back on your horses, kiss my ring, join our next campaign."
He watched the angels talking and working. "And the empire grows with the news that we're winning. With more fear to conquer and more gold for spinning." He sings with a stern expression in his eyes. "Bright as the sun, shining on everyone."
He turned and faced Shilo. "Some would say that we forced our words. And we find that ingenuously churlish. Words are just words," he shook his head. "Don't be so pessimistic, weak, and girlish." He then spread his wings open and his arms open. "We like strong, happy people who don't think there's something wrong with pride. Work makes them free, and we spread that freedom far and wide."
He began to approach her while singing, "And the empire grows, the seeds of its glory, for every five tanks, plant a sentimental story." He stopped before her, his shadows overcasting her. "Till they worship the sun, even Christ-loving ones."
Shilo frowned. Then her heart started to freeze. She saw the look of malice and vengeance in his eyes, almost like in Sera's eyes.
Michael stared down at her. "And we'll kill the terror who rises and a million of their races. But when our people torture you, that's a few random cases." He sings to her. "Don't question the sun; it doesn't help anyone." His voice sounds threatened at the end.
Shilo felt dread; all she knew was that she was starting to crumble from the sheer sense of betrayal.
Michael pulled away from her, resuming his pace. "But the journalist cried out," he sings. "When it was too late to stop us. Everyone had awakened to the dream they could enter our colossus." He narrowed his eyes, looked up, and stared at the painting of him and Lucifer. "And now I'm right; here you said I'm right. There's nothing that can harm me." He approached it, stroking Lucifer's face, placing a hand on it. "Cause the sun never sets on my dungeons or my army."
Then, he brutally shoves the painting off the wall, letting it fall on the floor. "And the empire fell on its own splintered axis. And the emperor wanes as the silver moon waxes. And the farmers will find our coins in their strawberry fields." He fixed his gaze on Lucifer; his eyes were painful and sad, still hurt by what he had done. "While somebody somewhere twists his ring as someone kneels. Oh, where is the sun, shining for everyone?"
His fist tightens. "Oh, where is the sun, shining for everyone?"
Shilo frowned and saw it all. She was correct; he still missed him even when he wouldn't accept it.
Michael sighed slowly, brushing his bangs up. He slowly turned around and faced her. "I would advise you to avoid this topic of the extermination and forget about those sinners." He advised her. "They made their choice, so they must live with it."
Shilo just sighed sadly, and then she nodded, understanding his order. "Okay."
"That's my angel." Michael smiled as he kissed her on the lips and pulled back. "I'm free tomorrow; maybe we can spend the day together," he informed her.
"Sure, I like that idea." She smiled back at him.
Michael was pleased with this. "Great. See you then," he added.
Shilo took her leave, leaving the office and leaving Michael alone. She closed the door behind her and headed down the hallway. During this, she reflects on today's events—Sera's approval of the extermination, Michael's explanations, and Charlie's hotel. The more she thinks about today, the more she can feel her head starting to hurt. She doesn't understand why the archangels and Sera never bother telling her about the extermination, nor why they are targeting only the sinners.
She ignored the direction she was talking to, lost in her mind. Then she crashes into something or someone. She fell on the floor, landing on her back.
"Ms.Winterstone!! I am so sorry!!" Emily's voice gasped. She grabbed Shilo's hand and pulled her up. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay!?"
Shilo stood up straight, dusting her vest. "I'm alright, Emily; I was too lost in my mind to sense my surroundings," she told her. She faced her former student. "Are you okay?"
Emily frowned, looking away with her arms crossed. "I'm…. I'm not sure," she answered.
Shilo can see that she still worries about the sinners and her sister's horrible agreement. She doesn't blame her; she feels the same way. But she can't tell her that she only knew about it; it would disintegrate their bond, and Emily would think she is on their side.
So she did the only thing she could do as a teacher. "Sweetie, you know I am here if you have something in your mind," she implied. "I'm not gonna judge you."
After a while, Emily let out a sigh. Then she faced her. "What would you do if someone you trusted in your entire life lied to you and did something bad?" she asked.
Shilo gulped, not expecting this question to reveal her feelings, which would be shown by what she witnessed back in the courtroom. She formed a lie; she knew that lying was not right, but she had to save herself.
"I would leave them be, just until I am ready to talk to them and explain how I feel," she lied. "No one is perfect, and we must learn that all of us have flaws."
Emily frowned. "Even if they are killing so many innocent lives?" she asked.
"Killing innocent lives?" Shilo questioned her.
Emily looked down. "Nothing. It's not important," she faltered.
Shilo huffed out. She placed her hands on Emily's cheek, making her look at her. "Emily, I told you I wouldn't judge you. If you have something weighing you down, I won't tell anyone about this."
"Promise?" Emily asked.
"Promise." Shilo nodded.
Emily breathed in and let it out, trying to calm her senses. With a huff from her chest, she looked at Shilo in the eyes. "Sera decided to set up an extermination on those poor innocent souls down in Hell, and I never knew it till now," she revealed.
That proves Shilo's thoughts. Shilo let her cheeks go and placed her hands on her shoulder. "I see. It must have been very overwhelming." She pretended to be surprised. "Did she tell you why she decided on the extermination?"
"Something about trying to protect heaven, saving the souls in heaven," Emily explained. "But there are other souls that are like us, and to hear that we are killing them, it just doesn't sound right," she added. "They were created like we are, and they want to remove them?"
"Emily, you have to understand," Shilo started. "Heaven can only allow souls who have done good deeds in God's grace and followed God's words—like the lessons I told you about. All are reasonable people and are rewarded by coming here." She continued. "But there are bad people who refuse God's name and are set down there; that's why hell is created, to punish the wicked." She could feel a bad taste in her mouth while speaking.
"But you should have seen those demons! They weren't only being punished! They were getting hurt! They don't understand what will happen to them and are suffering down there!!" Emily yelled. "And Heaven doesn't care!! Why can't they see that!!?"
"Emily, you don't understand." Shilo's voice grew cold and icy, nearly causing Emily to shiver in fright. "You were never there when Lucifer was banished for releasing an evil force that almost broke Heaven. Hell is his domain, and no one wants to be involved with him after... " She felt a single roll of tears down her cheek. "…after what he did..." she cried, feeling that hurtful feeling in her heart.
Emily blinked, watching the single tear down her cheek. She never met Lucifer but learned about his crime and punishment. She was told he was an evil man who enjoyed letting demons torture the souls that entered Hell. It frightens her. But she saw the tear from Shilo, hinting something.
"You..still love him, do you?" Emily asked her.
Shilo wiped her tears. "I… I can't keep gripping on to that hope; he will never be mine, and I have to get over it," she answered. "But there hasn't been a single day where I still think about him and miss what we used to have. He was my closest friend."
She breathed in and out. "But what I am trying to say is that even if Heaven tried to help those demons, they might not be pleased with getting involved with holy presents," she informed her. She saw firsthand what that moth demon was to that spider demon; it was nothing but a survival of power there.
"I just want to help those poor souls," Emily frowned.
"Even if those souls are awful and horrible monsters?" Shilo asked with a raised eyebrow.
Emily looked down, not answering to her. Shilo sighed. Emily is a good, pure, innocent soul, but she doesn't understand what she is trying to tell her. She is too sheltered to see the big picture, but then again, she too is sheltered, never once getting a chance to see the world below.
"Please be careful; I don't want you to get hurt," Shilo told her.
"Yes, ma'am." Emily nodded slowly.
"Now, don't say one word about this to anyone, okay?" She watched Emily, nodding. "Okay. Take care." She hugged Emily, who hugged her back. After a second, they let go. Shilo walked past Emily, focusing ahead.
Once Shilo was sure she was out of Emily's sight, her fist was gripped, and her eyes were narrowing ahead. She can feel a surge of betrayal and rage. Even if Heaven gets hell involved, it won't be to help or protect them. It will be for power and genocide. And the seraphim and archangels are allowing it.
Shilo may not care about what those demons and sinners are doing down there, but there will be more coming, and they will end up being dead again. And if Sera and Michael keep it a secret from both her, Heaven, and Emily, too, it only shows that they are lying and putting up a false sense of comfort.
She can't let another soul go down to hell, and she can't get Emily involved for her own sake. But what can a virtue angel like Shilo do to stop the exterminations and prevent a sinner's blood from staining the wings of an angel?
'Empire' by Dar Williams