Free Eternity by Laury Falter Page A

quietly gazed across the rooftops before adding, “Falling is excruciating, nearly unbearable. It can be compared to the process of birth from what I understand. Though I’ve never personally experienced birth as I’ve only come here in…other forms…but I’ve been told of its agony. Falling is similar and thus we try to avoid falling if possible. Had Eran not come down as an Alterum, I would not have followed.”
    I looked at him, perplexed. “An Alterum?”
    His eyes squinted back at me. “You don’t remember anything at all do you?”
    “No…I seem to hear that regularly.”
    “Hmmm, that’s a good reminder never to be reborn,” he muttered before continuing. “The fallen come to earth because they have either been banished from the afterlife for committing an act against humanity – for which they have been given the name Fallen Ones. Or, we come to earth by choice, as is the case with Eran and myself. We are called Alterum’s, which means the other life.”
    “So there are Fallen Ones and there are Alterums…” I mused. “How do you tell the difference?”
    “Well…both have capabilities far beyond ordinary humans and both retain the appearance of a human – commonly taking on the same facial features and body structure across lifetimes.”
    I groaned. “Oh, I understand…That must be how Marco identified Eran and me…because we have the same face as when he last saw us.”
    Campion pointed a quick finger at me. “Correct, but that is where the similarities end. While Alterums attempt to live peacefully, Fallen Ones are intent on satisfying their own malevolent needs and will destroy anything that inhibits them. Most humans are unable to detect them…You are the exception, able to identify them within a few yards away.”
    “Campion…” I waited until he looked in my direction. “How do you know so much about me?”
    He tilted his head back to release a quiet laugh. “I’ve known you for some time now,” he explained, not bothering to elaborate further.
    “I see,” I said plainly.
    We fell silent, him diligently keeping his attention on his surroundings and me still watching the sky where I last saw Eran.
    “You mentioned that you wouldn’t have fallen if it weren’t for Eran. Why is that?” I asked, sensing there was something more behind his statement.
    He grimaced. “It’s the skin mostly. I can liken it to the feeling of being covered in burlap sacks and lugging them around. On the other side we are weightless…free and unencumbered. That…I miss already. But then there is the cold, the heat, the hunger, the requirement to use a bathroom…” he pondered further. “There are other reasons but the ones I’ve given are at the top of my list.”
    “Huh…I’ve never considered how it would feel for the fallen,” I admitted. “For the Alterums.” I was again amazed at the sacrifices Eran had made for me, and now that Campion had made. “Are there any perks? I mean…what’s the impetus for other Alterums to fall if they aren’t doing it to act as guardians to humans?”
    “The powers we bring with us,” he hinted, grinning broadly.
    I smiled. “Of course…So what powers did you bring with you?”
    “Telekinesis, regeneration abilities, flight, and…this one you may not like as much…the power to induce sleep.”
    I glanced at him confused. “Why wouldn’t I like…” I began to ask but never finished my sentence.
    Suddenly I was seeing Campion at the end of a long tunnel, his voice echoing towards me. “Sorry, Magdalene. Eran made me promise to put you to sleep so you wouldn’t worry about him throughout the night.”
    I opened my mouth to protest and then the darkness closed in.
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX: SLEEP
    When I awoke I was no longer in New Orleans.
    The arched hall surrounding me was made of white concrete and ornately designed. Countless pockets lined the walls containing rolls of