Aallotar [Good Omens]

Thirteen - Angels in a Graveyard

"Oh, I don't like this place one bit," Aziraphale muttered to himself as he stood before the foggy cemetery. The gates towered high above him and moonlight gave everything an ominous glare. The angel felt as though he was walking into a Tim Burton film.

The gate let out a horrific screech as he opened it, and the dewy grass left streaks on his shoes. He took tentative steps toward the first couple of head stones.

"Ah... hello..." he whispered to the stones, glancing around nervously. "I hope you're doing well. Whichever side you're with." He tried distracting himself some more, but the deeper into the cemetery he went and the darker it got, he grew silent and considered every shadow a threat.

His journey ended when he came upon a large, menacing tree, its limbs stretching into the sky like desperate hands grasping at the murky night air.  Carved into the tree were a few key words--words that made Aziraphale certain that he was at the right place:

H. WAS HERE :)

"Hael? Are you here?" Crickets. A distant owl. Aziraphale gulped. "Listen, Hael, I'm not here to cause any sort of trouble. I simply have a few questions, if I can be so lucky."

His pleas were only met with the sounds of the night.

"I remember our days in the garrison together. We were a good bunch, us and Fable. Boy, did he have some... interesing... war stories... of course... he emphasized animals more than angels." Still no reply. "Oh, bollocks," he muttered.

"Wowza, Aziraphale. I never knew you to have a potty mouth!"

"Hael?"

The new angel appeared from behind the tree, nearly scaring Aziraphale half to death. Well, to discorporation.

"Why, hello, Hael. A pleasure to see you after all these centuries."

"But of course, Zira." She gave him a wide, genuine grin, her green eyes squinting slightly.

"Hanging out in cemeteries on foggy nights?" Aziraphale raises his eyebrows. "That's very demon-like."

"I like to come down here when things get too hectic upstairs. It's quiet. No one wants to come to a place where the dead sleep." She leaned against the tree and traced the words carved in the trunk.

"I thought you enjoyed it when things got hectic," Aziraphale said.

"Use to. It got old."

A silence settled between them. She studied the sky, searching for stars but found none. Aziraphale glanced at his feet, wondering how to ask Hael the questions he had and hoping she'd be willing to answer.

"So, how is heaven?"

Hael turned toward the angel and sighed. "Quite dandy, considering we have a jerk for a boss."

"You shouldn't say that."

"And why? I thought Gabe was the one who tried to erase you from existence. Oh, great escape, by the way. I don't know how you pulled it off, but I was impressed when word began floating around the barracks."

"Yes, that was an unpleasant interaction," he said, ignoring the fact that he knew very little about that event and only had Crowley's vague recounts. "But you shouldn't say such things because they could be listening."

"You think I would have shown up if they were eavesdropping? They have no idea."

"Yes, that's right. Very clever, you are. So clever, in fact, and so very knowledgeable that you happen to know almost everything in the celestial world these days. Good job on that, too--"

"Aziraphale," she said, "why have you come to see me?"

Well, Azirpahle couldn't dance around the question any longer. He took a deep breath and explained everything.

Soon, he left, a great turmoil forming in his brain and cold terror living in his stomach. And he did not leave empty handed.

--
Hello, everyone! This was meant to be posted a week ago but I kept procrastinating. Anyhow, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. How is your quarantine? I've just started online school yesterday and I'm waiting to join a live call with one of my teachers right how. Stay safe out there and stay in doors!
-Alycia 😁