The holding cells sat four miles away from the barracks. From outside it resembled a hangar with tall thick glass set into its walls, but the inside boasted two floors of separate rooms with four interrogation rooms between them. When Brigid was small she didn't see the need for a place like this, but Christoph's insistence eventually silenced her thought. The cells had to exist because even under God's watchful eyes, some people refused to strive for good. It was often the only way people from Three made it to Two, but those unworthy came to hate the promotion. The relocation was often torture. The people of Three were not yet ready for the potency of God's power, and the cells served to show them he was more present than they thought. The holding cells existed to help save her people, so the fact that she had to come there for soldiers gave her a persistent furrow. The building was mostly empty; her footsteps bouncing loudly off the walls. She felt like it was better empty, wishing that people would stop putting up the fight. But she knew it wouldn't happen if things could get this bad. She had to get to the bottom of it first, and the soldiers were her clearest path.

Robert and Micky were the names on their id. With their number she pulled up a profile on her tablet, checking for any pertinent information. The two knew each other for a time going back. After years spent in the same school and same class, they went into shipping and spent three years there. It was only recently that they rose to the rank of soldier. In their file, a man named Wesley was their lead, serving in tandem with another recent promotion named Grant. The two of them were at Angel class, and files even suggested that Wesley could go further. If the profiles were all Brigid needed for these men, she might not have come here. She sighed, wishing that they were, and pushed open the interrogation room's door where Julius made the two men sit.

"Good evening, gentlemen." Brigid pulled out a seat, sitting down. Neither of them was cuffed. That told her they had come willingly. She hope that meant this conversation could go well. "While I was in the middle of my speech, I witnessed you two heading off with a civilian. Julius tells me he found you coming out of Sector Four. I wanted to know what you were doing in Three, but now I feel like there's more you should say. Would you gentlemen be willing to explain freely, or should I ask direct questions?"

Micky was the wiry man sitting on her right. Some sort of hierarchy must have been established because he did the speaking for them. "It wasn't a big deal, ma'am!"

“You don’t get to decide that, Micky.”

“Well you know how the job goes. We heard a rumor that there were loose batteries running around out there. That guy was just showing us where he thought they were.”

“What would you have done if you found those batteries?”

“Killed them ma’am, and write a report.”

“Kill them without weapons?” She cocked an eyebrow.

Micky gulped. “I guess we didn’t think that far ahead. We knew we couldn’t bring weapons into Three, I guess we were just on auto-pilot after that.”

Brigid glanced between them. “I suppose the batteries were what caused your injuries?” Robert touched his swelling eye. Mickey continued.

“Yes ma’am. It was really embarrassing.”

“But you got the job done?”

“Yes ma’am, of course.”

Brigid sighed, putting her tablet down. “It says in your profiles that you became soldiers six months ago. Is this accurate?”

“Yes ma’am! We’re very happy to be here too.”

“How many batteries have you disposed of?”

"I've done four ma'am. Robert's done seven." She took note of him answering for his partner.

“Did you find the job difficult?”

“Not at all! Although I’ve never dealt the finishing blow.”

"I imagine not. Batteries are dangerous. Usually, only Angels can kill them."

Micky swallowed. “Sounds like we almost died.” He laughed.

“You two aren’t secretly angels, right?”

"No ma'am, we're training every day for the chance at a promotion."

"Well consider this a preliminary test! If you can answer this question correctly, I'll recommend you. How do you dispose of a battery?"

Robert sat up straight. “By really going at it, ma’am. Swords are the best thing to use. You just gotta do fatal damage to them and that’s all it takes.”

“She was talking to me, idiot!” Micky barked.

“We’re both in the room, dumbass! She’s talking to the both of us.”

Brigid held up her hand. “Do you agree with his answer, Micky?”

“Yes ma’am!”

Brigid sighed. "Julius could you provide the two with weapons?" The man obliged as he put two machetes in front of them. "Gentlemen, I would like you to try your best to escape."

“Beg your pardon, ma’am?” Micky smiled.

“I was hoping you two would answer me honestly, but I can see my kindness has blinded you to the gravity of this situation. The weapons are so you know I gave you a fighting chance. Julius will be a witness. If you two can make it past me then you are free to go."

They looked at the weapons, deliberation glowing in their eyes. As hands snaked up to grab them, heads crashed into the table. Snapping back up, they frantically searched the room. Brigid said nothing as they looked between her and Julius. They were looking for a ghost; checking if their interrogators has seen it. That just proved the need for escalation. Once again she acknowledged that Christoph was right. There were always people who distrusted God's plan, and these two proved those people could be found in Sector Two. If they were Threes, leaving them here would be enough. She had a duty as their betters instead; she’d remind them that they weren’t so powerful that they could lie to a witness of God.

“Your error, gentlemen, is in how you two claimed to have disposed of the batteries. It would have made sense if you didn’t know, but claiming that you did tells me you have more to hide. Between the two of you, eleven batteries have been disposed of? Pick up the weapons, if you insist on lying beyond this point, you may want to use them on yourself.”

“Should I send a message to the King and Queen telling them you won’t be home for dinner?” Julius asked.

Brigid shook her head. “No. I think these gentlemen will help us resolve this issue quickly.”

⁘⁛⁘

Peter thought Sector Two was an interesting place. While Sector Three was building after building, making a half-circle around Central Hall and its park, Sector Two was a place of unfamiliar wilderness. Trees flanked him on either side down a long stone road. Intermittent lights illuminated the way, often making him walk through shadows. He could see the barracks shining further on. The three red-brick buildings sat off the road to the right—windows looking on a restaurant across from them. Sticking with the naming convention, he supposed that was the mess hall. He ducked off to the side as he noticed a checkpoint, too, taking the moment to consider his options. A lesson from his sister was the first thing to come to mind. To heal himself, he needed to focus on a medicinal item. God's blessing was robust, but his followers were limited. They needed a focus to know where to start. Peter didn't think his sister was nearby, but people she met certainly were. Cutting his hand on the pipe sword, he made the bleeding wound his focus. Through blood connection, he connected the dots, finding all the people that came to her for power. One of them was sitting at the gate. As Peter rose to ask a few questions, a frigid feeling pushed into his back.

Icy fingers wrapped around the power inside of him, tugging it like a fruit on a stubborn branch. Peter’s chest tightened as his body seized up, paralysis worming from his heart down his veins. Something deep within was splitting, and the icy fingers were taking advantage. He felt like cracking glass, a few tugs away from being shattered. Worst of all it felt familiar. He could remember the distant emptiness of a hole in his chest— entirely unfair and screaming at the world. He couldn't scream now but wished his pieces could come together just long enough to swing. His mind suddenly drifted to what Rashawn said a few hours ago. She used to tell the older people how to take care of themselves… Peter wondered how. How did the Witch know there was something wrong with their bodies? It didn't sound like she took them to a doctor. Could it have been something internal that only she could see? Using his blood as a focus, Peter turned his sense of self inward. A glowing wisp lay at his center, where the icy fingers pulled out a blue seed. It was still a piece of him, and he willed it apart. The hand paused and retreated. Before it could leave his body he willed the blue into a chain, catching it at the wrist. His voice roared into the space within.

“You tried to take a piece of me, so I’m returning the favor.” The chains revved, shredding the wrist apart.

A shrill shriek filled his ears as the thief ran away. Returning to his outer self, he gazed up to the night sky, taking a deep breath. The anger went unabated since this day started and there was still a couple of hours before it was over. In his hand, the pipe sword was moving. A chain sat around its blade, rotating lazily, moving faster at his mind's command. He exhaled hard, turning weary eyes on the path ahead. If these people didn't have answers, god wouldn't be able to save them.

The trek to the gate shaved off another ten minutes. Inside the booth, a soldier was lounging, lazily scrolling down his phone. His head bobbed to unheard music until Peter tapped on the window. Springing up, the man squinted. Peter moved close to the glass and watched his mouth drop. The guard's eyes bounced around the room, telling Peter exactly where the weapons were. He tapped again and the guard swallowed hard.

“You’re not supposed to be here…” So this one knew his face too?

“Where's my sister?"

The soldier's hand shot for the edge of the desk; Peter brought the chain sword around. Glass exploded as blood splattered the back wall. Two pieces of the guard fell, leaving a hovering wisp behind. Peter grabbed hold with an azure hand. He could feel a piece of the man inside it and see the moment he met his sister.

“So how does this work?" The soldier asked.

“Just think about how it entered your body. Follow its movement to your center, and imagine it growing bigger."

“Will this really make me a soldier?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you’re giving this to me for free?”

“Mostly free. I'll come looking for payment around Sanctuary day."

“I got a year, huh?” The guard was smiling. He had a year to decide how he’d deal with her.

“Until then, have fun!”

“I will.”

Peter crushed the soul, following its power as it moved up his arm. He imagined it growing bigger when it reached his chest, feeling a surge rush through his body. Another one was nearby.

Outside an academy, two young men tossed stones across a pond. One of them smiled ear-to-ear, while the other smiled softly, thinking over what he just heard. He had to be happy for the guy in front of him, but it was already hard.

“I guess being that guy’s boytoy really pays off?”

“You’re kidding, but it does! He's super smart. I'm learning so many things I never thought I would."

“Sounds great. You’re going to be an Angel in no time.”

“Yeah, and I’m glad you’re here to see it. When they invited me to soldier training without you, I was bummed out.”

“I was always better. If you can become a soldier, I can too.”

“If I become an angel, I hope you can join me.”

“At my rate? By the time you get Angel, I’ll be living in Sector One.”

“Great. Then I only have to look ahead.”

“Yeah. Don’t get comfortable with your new boyfriend either. I'll have a place on my team for you. You won't need him anymore.”

“I’m actually happy to hear that.”

“Where’s my sister?” Peter dropped from the sky behind them. The face on the left stayed blank; the right one’s jaw tightened.

“What are you talking about?” Said left.

“Who are you talking about?” Said right.

Peter swung the chain sword down, grabbing the soul before the body even split. It showed the man meeting his sister in Central Hall's park.

“Am I going to be a soldier forever, or can I get better at using this?”

“You can get better. It’s just in how you use it. Remember that this power is God’s Light. It exists within you, yes, but also radiates off you. When you learn how to feel it on the outside, you can do amazing things with it. You can even do something like make wings.”

Peter crushed the soul. He followed this power to the outside, shaping wings of light to rise from his back. He left a stunned soldier behind as they beat, heading to the barracks. Like a missile he broke through a room's window on the seventh floor. Glass sprayed in and around as he crash through, crushing a table beneath him. Three soldiers spotted his face and leaped for their guns.

“Where’s my sister?”

“Freeze in court you piece of shit!” One of them yelled.

Peter whirled, shredding them and the firearms. He snatched up all their souls at once.

In this memory, he saw a tall blonde man with gauges in his ears. Three large marbles spaced his fingers apart as he showed them to Peter’s sister.

“Can you use these things to give powers to my guys?”

“What are they?”

“Halos. They’re pretty good. I’m almost to Angel rank because of this. I’ll get my wings soon.”

“And you’re trying to keep your friends close?”

“What’s it to you? Just do the thing. Your normal way takes too long.”

“These things will make you more vulnerable. Are you sure you want to take the easy route?”

“You still want your payment on Sanctuary Day, right?”

“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Two more soldiers charged into the room. Peter crushed the souls in his hand. Before the men could question what they just saw, he came spinning through them, tossing their chunks through the air. He didn’t need to ask the question, both of them were in the memory too. He took their souls still, just in case. In these two, his sister was nowhere in sight.

“All right boys, I saw the girl and basically got you a re-up. I’ll be real with you too, I’m doing this just in case Grant or Wesley get dumb. The two of them aren’t smart, they might screw a good thing up.”

“How are we gonna know when they do?”

“I know where they meet. I’m going to bug the place and listen in. Whatever they try to do, we’ll stay two steps ahead.”

Peter used the souls as a focus as he leaped out the window. There were still a number of blips remaining, but this let him find the man he just saw. He sliced through the sky to the east, chasing a light he felt walking away from a distant train station. Landing on his path, he made the man freeze with a cigarette brought to his lips. The man’s hands went up as he saw the blood-soaked chain sword.

“You almost look just like her." The words slipped from loose lips.

“Where is she?”

“Wesley and Grant are gone! They left the castle.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“There’s only a few of us that know.”

“You’re not answering the question.”

The man spat the cigarette aside. "I'm dead either way, but come on, we can make a deal. If you help me take over, I'll tell you anything you want to hear!"

The chain sword revved. “Where is my sister?”

The man sucked his teeth. “Gone. Not dead; not yet anyway. I’m talking gone like Wesley and Grant. You help me and I’ll help you. Let’s not get violent!”

Peter got violent. The man didn't even see it as Peter leaped forward, tearing through his stomach. He saw his error as his still living torso dropped though. The soul left him, and the young man took hold. Before his mind faded, he saw himself sitting at a laptop.

An audio file played back. “I'm sending our guys to the club, but Ronaldo's heading out with his best and the source. Grant and I are gonna go check out that place the doctor used to work for. When it gets late, you guys do the thing at the lab." There came a pause—the recorded man was on the phone. “You gotta decide now. We’re going to make our move, and anyone against us is going down.”

Peter turned this soul into a focus and took off west. It pulled him far from the fort, over the trees, leaving the shape of civilization behind. Green rolled on for a few miles as he soared. There was space in Sector Two, so much he wondered what it was for. He put that thought in his pocket as the club came into sight. It sat in a clearing, its windows glowing dimly. A man guarded the entrance, and with a dive bomb, he was removed. Peter took hold of the soul and saw his sister again.

“The higher ups really can’t find this place?” She was there, and this guard was new.

“Unless they come looking it’s invisible. You and your friends can come here whenever you like.”

“What are you getting out of this? Wes and Grant aren’t telling us, they just want us to start recruiting people.”

“Are you sure you want to be the soldier asking questions?”

“I need to know what I’m getting into. The bastards think they can just step on me, but I’m important too.”

“I agree. That’s why I think you should watch the door when it’s time for a big meeting.”

“Why’s that?”

“To get a message across.”

“What's the message?"

“Maybe something like, if a trespasser comes here they better be ready to fight. It's kill or be killed, and you guys aren't afraid of killing."

The guard liked the sound of that. Peter crushed his soul. He got his sister's message loud and clear. As he entered the club and felt the music through the floor, he drifted down the hall and in his mind. Back to a time when he stood with his sister on a roof. They looked from it to Sector Four below, and Peter watched her face twist into a frown.

“Why are you sad?”

Her green eyes fell on him, and the frown went away. It felt like she returned it to a box he wasn’t allowed to open. She shook her head, and a smile took its place. “Do you trust God, Peter?”

He nodded. “With all my heart! I know God is good, and he protects us from evil!”

“That’s right. God is a benevolent protector, but do you know why he protects us?”

“Because that’s what good guys do?”

Her smile shifted a bit like she had a true reason to wear it. "I suppose that's true! But there's something else to it. God protects us because we are like his children. Think of him as a teacher, and everyone who enters his class is worthy of his love."

“God protects us because he loves us?”

“Yes. He wants to make sure we’re all strong. He knows there will come a day when he can’t protect us, but when that day comes, we’ll be able to stand for ourselves.”

“God thinks like that?”

“He’s been around for a long time. He’s seen more people than you can count!”

“I love God too then!"

“And he loves you. He loves all his children, that’s why he punishes those who hurt others. Do you know what that means for you?”

“I have to make sure I don’t hurt people!”

“Right! But sometimes you’ll get mad, and want to hurt someone else…”

“I can stop myself.”

“That’s good, but don’t throw it away.”

“I have to hurt people?"

His sister stroked her chin. "Did I ever tell you why dad named you Peter?” He shook his head. “It’s because dad liked super heroes. He named you after his favorite one!”

“Wow! Really?”

“Yeah. He was a guy who swung around through the city, helping people who needed it. He knew that the only people it’s all right to hurt are the people hurting others.”

“How does he know though?”

“You can usually tell. When people want to hurt others, they don't go very long without doing it."

“What if I can’t tell because they’re not hurting anyone in front of me?”

“Do you think the Rejects are bad?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s the right answer. You don’t know who’s bad or good, but people will show you who they are. Evildoers will always choose to hurt people first."

“So it’s all right to be mad if I’m stopping evil!”

“Yes. But put a stop to evil in the right way. If you see a bully, you can fight to stop them. But if they’re all right with killing to get their way?”

“Do what I have to do to stop them!"

“Right, but that’s only if you become a hero. You’re just an itty-bitty baby right now!”

“No I’m not! I’m nine!”

Peter drifted back, feeling like he mastered the tide. He wasn't here to find his sister, he was here to help her out. The people further on had done something heinous, and she wanted it to end. If the question was, Why did I come this far? That would be his answer. But when this was all done, he'd still have one question left.

A bathroom door opened and a man froze as he spotted Peter’s face. “How did you find this place!” A gun came up.

“Where's my sister?" Peter asked. He watched the finger on the trigger, slicing through the man as he twitched. Peter picked up his soul and saw his sister again.

“If you're seeing this dream, it's because I know what you've done. I knew that when Sanctuary Day got closer, I would ask you for payment, and some of you had no plans to pay up. Still, I was determined to help, but I would have stopped if I knew how you were getting those Halos! I'm taking one of your leaders with me while the others are away. Since he's not there, let me give you one last lesson on how to become an Angel."

“I’m listening, Fiona.”

“Feel the power outside and inside you, and pull it together. If God rewarded it to you, you'll feel like a shining soldier. If it is ill-gotten though, you will permanently become a monstrosity. While I'm away, someone will come to collect. I hope you're prepared to pay up. He's coming for your life."

Peter pushed open the doors of the dance floor…