Free Espial by Nikita Francois

destination. For the launch code, I entered
112056 and red lights and alarms began flashing throughout the room. Rider ran
over and quickly typed in a series of commands. Everything went silent again.
         “Sorry,” I
blushed.
         “Try
again,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
         I
re-entered the launch code correctly and the pad’s lights lit up as the
countdown began. I ran over and stepped into the pod. I faced Luke, Rider, and
Alex. They were all watching me, arms crossed. I took a deep breath as the last
three seconds were counted. I then saw everything around me flash white and
then go black. I blinked and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in a launch
pod, but in a different room. Five angels were in the room smiling at me. I
smiled back and they began to clap and cheer for me. One neon pink angel
stepped toward me.
         “Glad you
made it, Sol!”
         “Thank
you,” I replied, happy that I had made the trip without incident.
         “We’re
going to send you back now.” She went over to a hologram desk and spoke the
launch destination. “Manhattan.” She then turned to me and waved goodbye. Right
as I waved back, I was surrounded by the flash of white light again. I then
found myself back in the ARC’s ATS room.
         “That was
unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” said Rider to Alex, both shaking their
heads.
         “Same. She
truly is an arch.”
         I stepped out
of the pod and walked toward them.
         “What
happened?” I asked.
         “Well,”
began Rider, “we’ve never seen anyone turn white before. But it was more than
just you turning white. The entire room lit up and the moment you disappeared,
a bolt of lightning flashed in your place.”
         “How is
that even possible?” I asked, confused and unable to comprehend what he was
describing. “I didn’t feel anything.”
         “We’re not
sure it’s a bad thing. It’s just something we’ve never witnessed before. We
believe it has to do with you being an arch, that’s all.” He tried to sound
convincing, but even I could see a trace of concern in his eyes.
         I looked
over at Luke, who was staring at me. He quickly looked away and ran his fingers
through his hair. Alex came over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
         “I think
you’re going to be very useful in helping us, Sol,” he said seriously.
         “I can only
hope I’m of use.”
         “That was
quite an exciting morning lesson, wouldn’t you say so, Luke?” said Rider.
“Let’s head to lunch and update the three.”
         “Who’s ‘the
three?’” I asked.
         “Oh it’s
everyone’s nickname for Glinda, Sacra, and Div.”
         “I get it,”
I replied.
         The four of
us made our way to the entry. Rider turned around and made a quick motion with
his hand. The hologram desk shut down and the lights under the launch pod turned
back to red. The door closed behind us as we looked up the long staircase. Alex
put his arm around me and without a word, flew us up to the top. After we
landed, his arm lingered around my middle and he looked down at me.
         “Sol.
Soleil.” He looked intently into my eyes. I felt myself become warm and tingly
inside as we gazed at each other. He then looked down and removed his arm from
around me. At that moment, Rider came up holding Luke.
         “Ready to
eat?” he asked.
         “Starved,” answered
Luke, who glared at Alex.  
         Rider had
Luke open the door and we entered the lobby. We walked over to the welcome desk
where Ace was comparing wingspans with Glinda. My mother stood behind the desk,
judging them both. Sacra and Div were sitting on the desk, looking on laughing.
Div noticed us first and flew off the desk in our direction.
         “How’d it
go?” she asked Rider.
         “Well. In
fact, it went extraordinarily well. Luke was solid and we can definitely