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“Um—hi…it's just…let me get this straight,” stammered Kara. “I’m getting a new job as a guardian angel, and you’re going to be like my boss? Is that what’s happening here?”

“You better believe it, cutie.” David marched up and grabbed her dossier from the oracle.

“I think I’m losing my freaking mind.”

“No—you're just dead.”

Dead
, Kara thought. She wanted to dissolve on the spot. She might be dead, but her core could still feel pain.

“Come closer, Clara,” said the oracle. With his feet, he steered his crystal ball away from the desk and came towards her. “It is time for you to take the oath! Or did you take it already? Oh dear. Here I go again, mixing everything up! Have we been here before?”

Kara shook her head. “Uh—no. What oath? I never took an oath.”

“Oh good,” sighed the oracle. “It is the oath all guardian angels must swear to. A sealed oath which can only be broken if the soul dies.” A sudden glow emanated from the crystal ball, bathing the oracle’s feet in a soft white light. The brightness subsided. A cloud-like mist formed from inside the globe. It swirled around, changing its form with every twist. The oracle pressed his wrinkled hands together in front of his chest, his eyes still fixed on Kara’s. To her great surprise, they started to change color—morphing from blue to brilliant golden.

Kara’s eyes widened as she backed away. “Wait! What if I don’t
want
to become a guardian angel? Can’t I just go back home?”

The oracle shook his head. “I’m afraid not. This is how it has to be…there is no other way. Your life as you knew it is over. Today—you’re starting your new life and your new job.”

She blinked, her mind working overtime. It had to be better than doing nothing, being
really
dead. And then there were the broad shoulders of Petty Officer Dav—

“Come closer,” said the oracle sternly.

Fighting the urge to run away from David and the oracle, Kara stepped forward. “Wait a minute—I think you’re making a mistake. I don’t think I’m the right person for this job—”

The oracle put a finger to his lips and nodded imperiously. “The Chief has chosen
you,
Clara
,
to join his army, to become one of his guardian angels, a true and sacred honor.” His golden stare hypnotized Kara. “Now, you must repeat after me.”

Kara nodded.

The oracle continued. “I, Clara Nightingale—”

“It’s Kara.”

“Oh no! Did I get it wrong again? My memory is not what it used to be.” The oracle smiled and wiped his brow.

“Let’s start this again.” He cleared his throat. “I,
Kara
Nightingale, declare myself servant of the Legion of Angels. I will perform my duties as a guardian angel wholeheartedly. May the witnesses of my oath hold me to it.”

Kara felt foolish but repeated everything word for word anyway.

“We will hold you to it!” declared the oracle and David together.

And then something strange happened. First, the oracle’s skin started to blaze a soft golden color, and then he leaned forward and pressed his thumb on Kara's forehead. His touch burned a spot between her eyebrows and sent a sizzle of electricity from her head to her finger tips. She felt heavier somehow, as though the simple touch had weighed her down. After a moment the oracle leaned back, and Kara watched his eyes slowly return to their natural blue color. The crystal ball shimmered then lost all of its brilliance.

She reached up and touched her forehead, running her fingers along the spot where she had felt it burn. Her brows drew together. She could feel the outlines of a star—just like David’s. The oracle had branded one on her as well.

“I have a
star
on my forehead?” said Kara, which was more of a statement rather than a question, as she rubbed her brow. A tiny smile reached her lips.

“It is the symbol of the Legion of Angels. You are a guardian angel now—you swore the oath.” The oracle steered his crystal ball back to the other side of his desk and sat back down. He glanced at the clock. “And now
you
have a job to do. Time is of the essence! Daniel!”

David flipped a black duffel bag over his shoulder and strutted over to the pool. “That’s me. Let's go, Kiddo. We only have a half hour to get to Mrs. Wilkins, before she dies in a freak dishwasher accident.” He climbed up the little ladder hanging over the edge of the pool and stepped onto the ledge.

Kara frowned. “Hold on. You mean to tell me, that to reach Mrs. what's-her-name, we have to jump into the pool?”

“That's right,” answered David as he lowered his bag and jammed the file into it.

It was too weird. But then again, she
was
dead—walking, talking, with a golden star burned into her forehead.

She took a few tentative steps towards the pool. “Wait a minute—how come
I
wasn’t saved? Where’s
my
guardian angel?” Images of her life flicked inside her head—her family, her friends, her paintings. “Why wasn’t there anyone to save me?”

David zipped up the bag and threw it over his shoulder. He flicked his eyes down at Kara and grinned widely. “You were saved—well, your
soul
was, that is.”

“Huh?”

His eyes were thoughtful as they rested on her. “Your soul was chosen. You were destined to become a GA. It was just a matter of time before you died and were shipped up to Horizon! We’re running low on guardian angels you see, and you were next on the list.” He winked.

“I was
chosen
?”

“Yup. By The Chief himself. Thinks you’ve got what it takes to do the job. And—speaking of the job, we have to go—” David threw out his hand and beckoned her to join him.

Who is this Chief? And why did he choose me? What’s so special about me?

“So—how do you know what's going to happen to her—that woman—before it happens?” Kara clamped her hands around the metal pool’s railing. “I mean, how is that possible?”

“You forget where you are. oracles can see into the future. It is their gift. They know days before that someone is about to die. So they assign a guardian angel to save that person's soul. It's your job to save them, no matter what, before the demons devour it.”

“Demons?” Kara’s eyes widened. It took a few seconds to gather herself. “Are you freaking kidding me?” An image of her mother flashed in her mind’s eye.

She turned her attention to the oracle who was ignoring their conversation completely. His eyes were gold again. He stared into space, still as a statue.

“The oracle's busy now. He's doing his job; now it’s
our
turn.” David grabbed hold of Kara's arm and pulled her up the little staircase, settling her next to him. His gaze narrowed. “Now—listen carefully. Are you listening?”

“I’m all ears.” But Kara couldn't shake it off, the feeling of dread. Demons were her mother’s favorite subjects—a crazed woman’s imaginary foes—right? “No-no one said anything about demons.”

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s gonna happen—it’s a real easy assignment, trust me. We’ll be back before you know it.”

He smiled and studied her face. His blue eyes glistened. “Up here, water is important. Remember that. It’s the gateway between Horizon and Earth—it's how we travel.” He flashed another smile, his teeth exposing their radiance. “So we have to jump in. You ready?” He grabbed Kara by the elbow, edging her forward.

Kara stared at the pool's reflections, imagining demons in the deep water—waiting for her.

“All right then,” said David, “on the count of three—”

“What? Wait! I'm not sure I want to do this—”

“One…”

Kara jerked her arm around, desperately trying to rid it of David’s iron grip.

“Two…”

“Wait!” Squealed Kara. “I can't swim!”

“Three!” David pushed himself off the ledge and jumped, dragging Kara down with him.

She splashed into the water and sunk to the bottom. The water didn’t
feel
like water at all, more like fog, or a heavy mist, like when you’ve stayed too long in the shower. Kara could breath easily, somehow, probably because she had no lungs. She turned her head and tried to look for David, but she began to spin fast—horizontally—with ear-piercing shrieks as whitish bubbles seemed to consume her. White light exploded all around her. Shielding her eyes, Kara managed to look down. The light was coming from her. Her entire body was illuminated by fluorescent white light. She felt a sudden pull and watched her body disintegrate into millions of brilliant particles. She started to flow away.

With a last flash of light, everything around her disappeared.

Chapter 3. The M Suit

K
ara forced her lids open and looked around. She frowned.

The shadows of the world around her were a hazy blur, as though she had opened her eyes under water. She felt dizzy, almost like the time she stole a bottle of wine from her parent’s wine cellar and drank half the bottle. But this was different. She was trapped in a strange body. She searched inside this body and found herself. She willed the body to move. She moved her fingers, then her arms. This new body felt like she was wearing it on top of her other self; a skin-tight suit.
Is this normal
?

As the dizziness lessened, her nerves calmed. She concentrated on her hearing. She could hear the distant sounds of traffic and the soft murmurs of people talking. She blinked. Shapes became focused. It was as though she were watching the world through someone else’s eyes. She looked down at her new body and pressed her hands against her chest. Nothing. No beating of the heart, no lungs compressing. Empty.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the shadows around her. She was in a humid alleyway. It stank of last week's garbage. She followed the smell and spotted cats eating from the metal dumpsters. Tall brick buildings masked the light. Shapes moved within the shadows. Kara recoiled as two grubby looking men eyed her from a dark doorway, whispering at each other.

They can see me?

Then something touched her shoulder—

Kara jumped backwards and nearly fell.

“Relax, Kara, it’s me.” David reappeared. He wore the black duffel bag on his back. His cheeky Colgate smile made his face a little too handsome. Kara turned away so that he wouldn’t see the flush she felt staining her cheeks. Then she remembered—she couldn’t blush. She had no blood.

“How you feeling?” he asked, as he clasped her shoulder.

Kara grimaced. “Like my sixteenth birthday hangover.” She lifted her head. The world around her was in focus now, but the ground still wavered slightly.

David stared into space, a silly grin on his face. “Yeah…those were fun times.”

He sighed and turned back to Kara. “But that’s normal. It’ll go away in a few minutes.”

He let go of her shoulder and dropped the duffel bag on the pavement. He bent down, rummaged through the bag and pulled out a map. After studying it for a moment, he stuffed it back and pulled out a brown leather wrist watch. “Good, we’re only a few blocks away.” He leaped to his feet and strapped the watch around his wrist.

A breeze masked the dumpster smell for a moment as it brought in exhaust fumes, hot pavement and dog poop from the busy street. Kara brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She brought her hand up to her face and studied it, wiggling her fingers, focusing on the fact that she was in a body that didn’t belong to her.

This is beyond weird.

Back in Horizon, before taking the big plunge, she remembered feeling like her old self, just without the internal organs—but like herself. But now back on Earth, after her death, this body felt alien.

“The M suits take some getting used to the first time. Believe you me; I know!” David clapped his hands together. “Man, I remember my first time…I was totally spacing out.” He laughed, his eyes sparkling.

Kara smiled. He reminded her of the college boys she’d seen around the city: young, beautiful and full of themselves. They oozed an
eau d’arrogance
. Most of the high school girls drooled over these boys. She had labeled them, the Untouchables.

“But you know, after a few suits, you’ll hardly feel them anymore—they kinda become part of you.” David straightened out his jacket and flipped the collar up. “Yeah…that’s more like it.”

Kara frowned. “What do you mean by
M
suits
?
”

“Mortal—humans—Earth dwellers. If you’re not part of the Legion, you’re a mortal.”

“So you’re saying I’m wearing a
human
suit
?
”