Free Eternity by Heather Terrell Page A

Michael run out onto the field before, for some reason, the way he looked struck me. His physicality reminded me of all our long nights together. Long nights that seemed a long time away. He literally took my breath away. I held it, waiting to see what he would do.
    The first few plays disappointed, but not because of Michael. Again and again, Michael was in position as wide receiver. Still, none of the other players managed to pass him the ball. I watched as the clock ticked down to the end of the first quarter, and I could feel the frustration in the fans around me.
    Then, with seconds left in the first quarter, the center tossed the ball to the quarterback. The quarterback held the ball tightly in his grip and readied his throw. He scanned the field, looking for one of his guys to be open. Most of his players were caught up with Bethel’s team near the end zone. All except Michael.
    I saw the quarterback nod in Michael’s direction, and then release the ball. As Michael prepared himself to catch the pass, a massive pileup of guys landed right in front of him. The football sailed through the air toward Michael, but it seemed impossible that Michael could jump high enough to catch it.
    Until he did.
    I watched as Michael lifted off from the ground with grace and speed. I’d only ever seen him get such height during our late-night meetings.
    The crowd cheered wildly as Michael caught the ball in midair and scored a touchdown. As he ran back to the sidelines, I watched the back of his coach’s head as he reached out to give Michael a high five. Michael’s face shone with pleasure at the roar of the fans. I saw that Michael wasn’t thinking at all about the end days or Nephilim or even me. He was reveling in his own glory. Reflected glory, that was, from the coach, his teammates, and the fans.
    But there was more, and I was furious.
    “Wow, Ellie, Michael is amazing tonight.” Ruth interrupted my thoughts. I heard awe in her voice.
    “Yeah, he’s amazing, all right.”
    The anger in my voice was irrepressible, and Ruth turned to me in surprise. I didn’t dare explain why I was so mad at him. I knew what everyone else didn’t.
    Michael had used his powers on the field.

Chapter Sixteen
     
    How dare Michael? After all his lecturing about our not using our powers—not even to figure out this end-days puzzle—to protect ourselves and our parents from the other fallen angels, Michael had used his powers for a high school football game. It was unbelievable.
    The more I thought about it, the madder I got. Anger always made me quiet, which Ruth understood all too well. When I was silent on the walk from the stadium to the parking lot, she knew better than to ask why. Even though I’m sure she was insatiably curious for the details.
    We hopped into our separate cars, fortunately for Ruth. The ride alone to the Daily Grind gave me time to think. I was still furious at the risk Michael had taken, yet I knew we needed to be aligned. Maybe he had a good reason for clinging to his football successes, I told myself, and I simply didn’t understand it. Even though, for the life of me, I couldn’t conjure up an acceptable explanation for his using his powers on the field. By the time Ruth and I met up at the coffee shop, I had cooled off enough to be civil and wait patiently for Michael.
    Ruth and I watched as the coffee house clock hit nine, nine thirty, and then ten, all the while making pathetic attempts at small talk. Michael never showed. I called him repeatedly on his cell. He never picked up. All my hard-won equanimity started to slip away. It was one thing for Michael to punish me with the cold shoulder, but it was an entirely different thing for him to ignore his enormous responsibility to humankind because he was mad at me. After all we’d been through in Boston, how could he disregard the stakes?
    “I don’t think we should wait any longer, Ellie,” Ruth finally whispered.
    “I know, Ruth.” I sighed. “Talk