Uriel adjusted fast. Far faster than any entity John has ever seen. It only took a day for the angel to fully understand English. They also were able to master 3 other languages, move objects with their mind, and show their fascinating ability to intrude into the minds of others. Agent

At first, it was confusing for John on what to call Uriel when they weren't around so he eventually settled on they or them. It was two people inside the body after all, and angels didn't really have a gender.

They also got their own room, an enclosed space with a window leading to wherever they wanted. Jenny had the pleasure of decorating it. She chose yellow for the walls and a bright yellow resembling the sun's light on a warm summer morning. She chose orange for the bedsheets and the rug. The desk for homework was a deep oak with gleaming brass handles.

Jenny was out quite often. Both she and Uriel enjoyed free roam of floor 12 of the facility. They often played pranks on the guards there. The most common was making them think there was a spider on them. They also made a friend in Guest 1879, Gideon. A being that claimed to be the god of the wind and had no proper physical form but could whisper through air currents. It was quite a task hunting him down.

Jenny also got her choice of outfits. She chose a lot of yellow outfits, and the one she wore as she stormed into johns office was a frilly yellow dress with comfortable purple flats.

"I wanna go on a mission with you," she said as vibrant green eyes bore into johns blue ones.

John sighed, "I don't have any missions that require my attention right now. I only go on ones too delicate for brute force, which are rare."

"Then send me on a ride-along or something." Jenny crossed her arms defiantly.

Just then, there was a knock on johns door. He sighed and told them to come in. The man who entered was a gaunt man in a suit that matched Johns in everything but neatness. His skin was a pale grey like the ash off the end of a cigarette, and his hair was a mess of speckled grey and brown, grey from stress and brown because he dyed it regularly. In fact, you could even see the receding line of his hair just above the forehead. It was treckman. He was sweating something fierce, like a marathon runner on a hot summer day. He was also carrying a file under his arm.

"Sir, something needs your attention." he gasped in massive breaths of air between his words, "It's urgent."

John took a deep sigh and let it out as he outstretched his hand. Treckman gave John the file, and John opened it to see a bizarre report about a whole unit of soldiers who had been sent to Wheaton Lodge in forest city, Maine. Whose motto was "FISHIN, NOT WISHIN!" The team was subsequently maimed by the abilities of an unknown entity that appeared as a ball of pure white light. It was reportedly intelligent and even spoke to the soldiers saying, "Send me John and Jenny. Send them to me, and you will all survive; the world will have a chance."

He looked at Jenny and chuckled, "Looks like you'll get your wish, kid; we're headed to the top 25 fishing lodges in North America!"

Jenny was unexpectedly excited, shouting "Whoopie!!" at the top of her lungs as she ran out of johns office and into the hall towards her room.

"Are you s-sure you should take her, sir?" treckman asked with a voice that was not dissimilar to that of a stuttering and nervous Oscar the grouch.

John said nothing, But instead glared at Treckman in a way that said all on its own, "DONT YOU DARE QUESTION ME"

Treckman took one look at John's face and apologized profusely before exiting the office and running to go report to John's superiors about his response to the request.

John sat back in his chair and stared at the portrait of Elvis on his desk. The king stared back at him with the sly grin he once wore in life. It held no sentimental value to him, but he believed it made the room feel more alive. He gingerly touched his silk tie. Today's color was a vibrant pink, and John breathed a long deep sigh of relief. He was bored with his desk.

Part two: the secret train

Jenny followed John, or was it, Uriel? Either way, they skipped down the long hallway lit by even more fluorescent lights. The linoleum floors shifted from their usual light grey color to a vibrant white. As Uriel, John simply assumed it was Uriel, skipping in their pretty blue dress and magenta sneakers with pink trim that matched John's tie. Jenny clearly had an eye for fashion.

John stopped for a moment and waved Uriel over.

"Uriel, there is something I need you to know. I'm assuming you already know, but it needs to be said. You are an asset, and you have a use, but the moment you appear to be a threat or lose your use. You go to level one" John paused and took in Uriel's blank gaze, "BUT that does not mean I want you to go there."

Uriel gave John a knowing ample stare that said all it needed to. A gaze that said, "I know, and I don't care," a look that said, "ill be on my best behavior, but I'm going to do what I want."

Of course, John was right that it was Uriel. He could somehow tell from the look in their eyes... no, the look of their eyes. Instead of Jenny's vibrant green eyes that complimented johns bright blue, Uriels had a seething yellow color that demanded respect and reminded John of the golden rays of the sun that streamed into his window during the purest hours of the day.

Another clue that it was Uriel and not Jenny was that she had one odd peculiarity. A small thing that most would not notice. Jenny's pinky finger on her left hand was slightly longer than the other and just long enough to match the length of her ring finger. But as Uriel presented themself, Jenny's finger recedes to that of a standard size.

Wordlessly and gracefully, they moved further down the long, empty corridor. Passing several empty, glass-paned cells along the way. Compartments that, while empty now, would eventually hold monstrosities beyond the human imagination.

Creatures like that of guest number 726, aptly named fish face or F.F.. She was a strange creature with twisted and gnarled features. It looked almost like a giant angler fish but with large thumping legs, and instead of a bioluminescent light at the end of its dangle, she had a little boy. A little boy no older than five years, perhaps less. The little boy was always dressed in a onesie and carried a teddy bear. When she was first captured, F.F. was luring vagabonds and homeless people into an alleyway and consuming them. After being entered into the facility, she knows most of the English language and has a well-balanced diet of cattle and fish.

John was pulled from his recollection of F.F. by their close approach to the elevator. the silver doors awaited them like glittering gates that could either lead to heaven or hell. The anticipation from Jenny, the excitement, was overwhelming. She was an eager, if young, asset to the facility.

They reached the silver doors and, without having to press a button, they opened them. Inside, the elevator was spacious and comfortable. It had auburn wood as the face and was lined with a golden trim that made Jenny want to stay and chip away the riches within.

They both entered the elevator and John press a white circular button with GL imprinted on it. Jenny assumed it to mean "ground level".

The elevator began to rise and Jenny was thrown off kilter, but John was perfectly still. the elevator rose and rose, it felt like an eternity had passed by the time it reached the surface. The surface just happened to be the big red apple that was smack dab in the middle of Cornelia. It was misshapen and odd looking, but the red color made it clear it was an apple.

The streets were empty when Jenny and John exited, so nobody saw when they stepped off the single ledge and toward the ticket office right next to the big apple. The trains passed through here every day, usually freight trains, and occasionally there was a private train disguised as a freight. One that was entirely red and covered in graffiti. It was made to look like that by an artist known as "Banksy". Nobody knew his name, not even the CIA. Because she was an agent with the facility. well, not really an agent but more of a consort.

The train had just arrived when the train pulled into the station. John approached the station with no hesitation.

"One ticket to cassowary row, please," John said to the clerk at the desk. As he asked, a panel on the side of one of the cars, nearly invisible, opened up to reveal a hidden passenger car. The car, as Jenny could see, was a well-furnished car with an open bar, several seats that had red cushions, and an oak finish that was heavily waxed and finished.

The bar was open, even to Jenny, despite her age. This excited Jenny and she was tempted to get a bourbon on the rocks but decided against it even though it was her father's favorite drink.

She sat on one of the cushioned benches and sighed with relief. With all the things she had to do, she barely had any sleep and was ecstatic to finally get some rest, but before she could let the thought of relief consume her, John slammed a file on the desk.

"We need to go over the case file," John said coldly.

"Couldn't it wait for tomorrow?" Jenny pleaded, "it'll take us at least a day to arrive at the cabins and I need sleep."

John stared blankly and without a word, Jenny got to work.

Part 3: Arrival

Jenny and John had gone over the mission statement at least six times before finally John relented and allowed Jenny to sleep. She curled up on the red cushioned seat and allowed a deep sleep to overtake her. She began to dream.

In this dream, she awoke in her bed at home, only it wasn't home. Something was different, Jenny couldn't tell what, but she knew it was something. Maybe it was the lack of windows or the color of the walls.

Just then, Jenny realized what was wrong. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. It was her room at the facility. The only difference from the real one was the large purple door that towered in front of her bed.

She lept up and out of her bed; she then grasped the door handle in her delicate hand and pulled the door inward. It didn't budge. Instead, she heard a loud thump on the other side and felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Blood began to taint her pink nightgown in a crimson flood. Then she was standing in her kitchen. Her actual kitchen from home.

The kitchen smelled like pine sol and the floor had a glossy tent. Her dad must have just mopped the floors. Jenny's mom appeared at the kitchen table. Only, her face wasn't there. Instead, there were light indents where her eyes should have been and a slit where her mouth used to be. She was dressed in her beige business suit with her hair blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

Her father was there too now with the same lack of a face that looked like someone had grafted a blank canvas of skin over their skulls. They both stared at Jenny with wide toothy grins. Their teeth weren't human, instead, they were sharp needle points that threaten you with their dirty, knifelike edge.

"We're so much happier without you jenny" her father, or the thing in her fathers clothes, spat out.

The thing in her mothers suit hissed out a laugh of agreement then stood. They staggered toward her in janky cluttered motions. Almost like all of their limbs had been broken. As they drew closer and closer, jenny could see their muscles spasm and their arms down and then up behind their backs. Jenny screamed a shrill, terrified shriek as they closed the distance. She closed her eyes tight.

Nothing. Nothing happened at all. She opened her eyes, expecting any moment to be ripped to shreds. Still nothing. Then Jenny realized she was falling in that airless void again. The void was so black that she couldn't tell the difference between her eyes being closed or open.

Jenny could feel an unseen ground approaching and could hear the voices that were once like whispers in the wind, now loud screams of horror and pain. Now she saw a light that she, at first, thought was the orange light at the end of a tunnel but then realized was a fire. An all-encompassing, all-devouring fire.

Jenny screamed but her own shouts of terror were drowned out by the ones around her in the black. Then she woke when the train finally came to a stop.

She jolted up, sweaty and gasping for air like a fish gasps for water after being dragged out of a lake by an all too happy fisherman.

John paid her no mind as he pulled his briefcase from the underside of his seat. Jenny pulled in a deep breath as she took in her surroundings. The soft, plump cushions of the seats. The hiss of the train engine as it stopped. It had all been a dream. A nightmare.

"Don't worry, Jenny, ill protect us," Uriel said from inside her minds eye.

"I know you will. But there's nothing you can do to stop the sandman from giving me these dreams. Not even you are that powerful." Jenny replied wistfully.

"Sorry." was all Uriel could think back.

Jenny stood and grabbed her own briefcase from beneath her seat. She opened it, and within was an earpiece, a handheld radio, and a silver watch that told perfect time. Jenny picked up the radio and realized that it came with a pink belt that matched John's tie and the trim of her shoes. She clicked the belt in place and then grabbed the wireless earpiece. She placed it in her ear and then went for the watch. She could feel the gentle tick tick of the second hand against her palm as she held it.

"Why do i need a watch?" she asked John.

"Because some entities can alter time or how we perceive time, and the watch tells us when that happens," John stated as he attached his own watch, this one being a pink gold to also match his tie.

The last thing in johns luggage was a small camera. Black and extendable. It looked like one of those ones from one of those spy movies.

Jenny adjusted her radio to the proper channel and handed control over to Uriel for the time being. they settled into the steering of Jenny's body and followed John off the train. As they exited, the bright sun of Maine showered them with its golden rays.

part 4

John led Uriel to the yellow taxi that awaited them on the course gravel near next to the train station. The driver was a man with deep ebony skin in a neat suit that nearly rivaled johns if not for the tie, which was a pure and clean white. Uriel could hear the man's name in his head, loud and clear, agent church.

"Im assuming you know the situation," he said bluntly.

John nodded and said, "What do you have to add church?"

"Thus far, none of our people have died. Just come very close. As you know," Church sighed, "what wasn't included in the report was its threat to end the human race in order to save the world overall. Apparently, it's terrified. Also, it goes by Kenneth, dunno why, but that's the name it chose. Maybe to sound more human."

"Does it believe a nuclear apocalypse is imminent?"

"I dunno. If so, it's not in the reports. All I know is that it's powerful. Maybe even more powerful than your angel friend there." agent church replied with a glance at Uriel via the rearview mirror.

John wasn't concerned with power levels or potential loss of life. No, what he was concerned with was the implications that humanity was the danger. Sure nuclear war could break out any day, but a being of that power shouldn't care. That could only mean this was an omega-level threat. One that could destroy entire universes.

John had never felt fear, not even when he was caught with his neighbor's dead cat buried in his backyard. Now though, John could feel something. He didn't think it was fear, but it was something cold and wet deep within his gut like someone had reached into him and was trying to rip out his intestines.

Church pulled into the long winding gravel drive of a large log cabin with 2 stories and an attic window made of stained green glass. John stared up at that window and could swear he saw it shining dully, even in the bright light of the midday sun.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the cabin; John and Uriel exited before Church could. By the time he was out of the car, they were already halfway up the stairs and almost at the large brass-colored door. Two agents waited next to it, both wearing the same earpieces as John and Uriel. They did not wear brightly colored ties or frilly dresses. Instead, they were clad in the kind of attire you would see in a movie, like men in black. Black suits, black ties and shoes, as well as black sunglasses to hide their eyes from the sun's rays of light.

They pushed open the door with a loud squeak that sounded more like a moan of pleasure. They pushed through the threshold of the house that smelled of apples and elderberries. The room itself held a hatrack of walnut wood and a well-cushioned couch with an odd yellow tinge to its natural plantlike green. The room was covered in cats. Not real cats but plastic ones. Japanese waving cats, medieval paintings of deformed human cats, and a single porcelain cat that stood at the precipice of the fireplace.

As they entered, a bright white light descended from the top of the stairs. It was almost like an angel descending from heaven, which was ironic considering there was an actual angel present. The light was coming from a ball of pure energy that had no hard edge but was more like a well of static electricity that hummed as it floated by them to the coffee table.

"Welcome John, Jenny, and Uriel." it said in a wobbly tone that sounded like someone had adjusted the antennae of a car just a little too much, causing the station to static over, "I know you have many questions but time is short so I will allow a question each and then I will proceed to the reason I called you here."

John did not hesitate, "what are you?"

Kenneth buzzed at the question, "I am energy, the energy of now and later, potential and kinetic, AC and DC. I am all of these things. But to answer your question properly, I am a harbinger."

"Where did you come from?" Jenny chimed in.

"I come from the place from which all beings of my nature emerge, the hole. Hidden deep within the center of the universe. It eats up matter and power like a hungry giant and spits out the darkness left behind. I am the energy left over from one of it's most recent feedings."

This time uriel spoke up, "why us?"

"Because in all the infinite yet finite possibilities, you three have the best chance of success."