Most people crack under JUG. Luke managed to make the most of it, just as the Dean had suggested. Not only had his wound from the fight healed, but his mind felt reinvigorated.

Luke also kept to his promise. Over the next two months, he trained hard and fought hard. He learned to shoot a bow and arrow and actually land shots on the dummy—still not perfect enough to hit the bullseye but an improvement nonetheless. He managed to learn to wield a sword, although he oddly found a whip to be his preferred weapon. It was a very specific weapon that few have used seriously, but Luke managed to disarm enemies from a distance in training, and even slap arrows out of the air with it. Who knew a simple string could be his prime weapon.

Luke didn't worry about other folks liking him. Troubled students like Victor and George avoided Luke, while others started to come around to him. Winter was speeding by and spring was on the horizon, even though the weather stayed the same up in the Rockies—chilly and snowy.

He also managed to send out that letter he wrote to Nellie since not only did his phone have zero service and restricted internet access, but the school wouldn't allow him to make calls unless they were deemed important—and talking to one's girlfriend was not high on the priority list.

It took about a month for him to get a response by mail and in-between that time Luke felt like he had lost the love of his life. When a letter finally came into the main administration office for him, he was a lightning bolt that darted through the campus to retrieve the letter.

Nellie's writing for him was like the gospel. He read each line carefully, almost committing it to memory. She was doing well at CUA in D.C. She said that, since he left, there hadn't been any other instances of possession. Father Matthew was still kicking and preaching about demon awareness on campus. Many of the students just thought he was going senile, but a few have heeded his calling and are sufficiently paranoid enough to keep bugging him about whether they were harboring any demons.

His old suitemates Alex and Gio missed him very much. They hate their new suitemates they got to replace Luke and Kevin since they were stuck-up rich snobs who felt they shouldn't be forced to share a room. Sometimes they play jokes on the two like filling their pillows with used toilet paper. To this Nellie highlighted how gross it was, but still found it kind of hilarious since shit wasn't the worst thing that could come out of a human's body. Although she wouldn't specify what could be worse, and Luke really didn't want to know.

Nellie was ecstatic to come see Luke. She told Luke to let him know immediately when the Open House was so that she can purchase plane tickets to Denver. She attached a photo of her hazelnut skin splashed against a white robe holding a test tube with her red hair tied up in a ponytail. She wrote that she was surviving biology and hadn't become a dropout yet, so everything was good with her. She couldn't wait to see Luke again.

She signed, "Love Nellie." Of course, she wrote a postscript. "I also better not find you with another woman or your face will be possessing my fist."

Luke sighed with infatuation at her jealousy. God, he missed her. He tried getting an exact date for the Open House, but even the Dean said that the date is usually chosen during Spring, so he had to wait.

SGA also got a new student, delivered by an ambassador just like Luke was. This meant that Luke was not the most recent student anymore. However, the condition the student was in was more normal than the likes of Luke and Sirius because students came to SGA with a cog jammed in the mind that needed a tune-up.

The child's name was Nil, and he had blond hair that looked like golden sand. He had dreamy white eyes that looked like spilled milk. He had a smile that never shut off, with small gaps between all of his teeth. His head was usually tilted towards the heavens or looking just above one's eyes as if every human being had a halo around their heads. Wave a hand in front of his face and his eyes wouldn't track it. Push him and he wouldn't react. Talk to him and he wouldn't speak. The child was six years old, and if this trance he was in was allowed to last longer, then he could never be saved.

Although, some considered the procedure to rescue a severely mentally impaired child anything but saving. Some argue it's better to let the child be suspended in his state of innocence until he died. At least he'll be guaranteed a place amongst God and His angels.

But there was a war that needed to be fought, and that war needed soldiers. And these children who were staring at the light of God, suspended like a specimen in a fluid jar, were the soldiers of tomorrow that SGA took pride in producing.

The Dean called a special meeting one week before the Spring Equinox. He gathered everyone in the church after a mandatory mass on a Friday. He took to the podium to deliver the news that everyone knew was going to come ever since Nil had shown up—everyone except Luke.

"As all of you may know, the Spring Equinox is upon us and with a new student joining our community, we must organize a Garden Run."

Whispers began to float towards the massive ceiling of the domed Cathedral. The central dome rose up like a tower and branched off into a cross that stood out across campus. The rest of the church was adorned with a marble altar and red stone pillars where famous saints and figures from Christianity were etched in—from Moses to Mother Theresa. Stained glass windows towered like bay windows diffusing the snowy white light that danced through colorful pieces of glass. Each window depicted famous scenes from the Bible from Jesus's birth to his resurrection. Along the sides of the church were minor chapels and altars, statues, and candles.

Two larger bubbles bloated as auxiliary parts of the Church where staunch Muslims and Jews could practice their own faiths in peace. In the end, whether they were fighting for Jesus or a future version of him, they were all fighting on God's side against the tyranny of evil.

"You all know the drill; one Tempest student is selected at random from a batch to accompany two other students from any of the years below." The Dean motioned to two large fish bowls with hundreds of tiny slips of paper—the size of those inside fortune cookies. One bowl was filled with a rainbow of colored paper, while the other was filled with black slips.

The Dean walked over to the bowl of rainbow slips. He covered his eyes with one hand and plunged his other into the bowl, fishing for a single name that would be announced to join the expedition known as the Garden Run.

Out of all the many-colored slips, from red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and brown, the Dean selected a white slip of paper.

He uncovered his eyes and unfolded the slip of paper. Everyone knew the color coordinated with the year that the student was in—and white meant that a first-year student was going.

"Sirius Tenebrif."

Sirius stood up next to Luke. He worked his way out of the pew and walked up to the altar without looking back. He showed no fear or nervousness, just a sense of duty. The Dean clamped his hand on Sirius's shoulder. Out of all the doves to be chosen, the Dean looked relieved that Sirius was the one selected. Had it been any other noob, that might put a lot more pressure on the Tempest student leading the mission to step up his game.

"Sirius will now do the honors of selecting his companion at random."

Sirius nodded and covered his eyes with one hand, just as the Dean had done. He rummaged through the bowl for a slip and pulled out a red paper. The Dean seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as his chest deflated. Red was the color of Dawn, year six students. They were only two levels below Tempest.

Sirius unfolded the name and announced, "Pepe Rodo."

The Dean's chest seemed to inflate again with pressure. He took the slip and red the name. He didn't look pleased, as if someone had played a cruel joke. The crowd started to mumble.

Then the Dean ripped up the paper. "Pepe has been in the infirmary ever since the last time he went on the Garden Run."

Infirmary, Luke thought. Then he heard someone whisper something about a coma. This kid Pepe has been in a coma for over four months after he was brought back from the Garden Run. It made Luke wonder what happens during a Garden Run and how dangerous it was.

The Dean told Sirius to pick again and Sirius shrugged his shoulders and went to cover his eyes. He dug through the bowl and the next worst thing happened.

Another white slip of paper.

And Sirius's eyebrows rose up as if he wanted no part of the chaos that would ensue.

But he raised his voice and shouted over the murmur: "Luke Sanchez."

Congratulations, you have made it to the halfway point of the story. I tried to limit the amount of Author's Notes in Children of the Archangels to a minimum, however, I wanted to use this median as way to gauge your thoughts on the story and offer some insight into the universe and what you can expect with the next half of the book.

Children of the Archangels takes place in a universe that I have been developing for the past 10+ years. The universe spans six and a half books out of roughly 15 following one character who is so powerful, he makes Luke look like an injured ant. In another book, we follow a female who can manipulate every element to her will. In another story, we follow a college-age student who lives in the forest with animals whom he communicates with.

So yes, I've been developing this for quite some time, and Children of the Archangels is a brief summation of the universe for a new reader. 

As for Children of the Archangels, Luke has been selected to go on the Garden Run. What is the Garden Run? What will this mean for him and Sirius? Will he be able to survive such a journey?

The second half of the book will be the adventure portion of the book. Luke has studied at this school for over two months now. He has learned to use his powers better and has an understanding of his past and the world he inherits. His powers and leadership by example will be put to the test as he ventures towards the place where humanity fell from perfection...

Many people have been asking me--well, how come these people were mentally lost or confused but now all of them seem okay? That question is answered in the second half of the book, as we see how people with mental disabilities are "cured." It is a process that will leave even Luke guessing whether or not it's right or wrong...

Finally, I wanted to leave off with a couple of questions to gauge your thoughts on the book. Feel free to answer as you choose. I read all comments and try to respond as quickly as I can. I also take feedback very seriously and make changes as I see fit. Now, onto the fun survey.

1) Who is your favorite character in the book so far? Any reason why this character is your favorite? 😀

2) Which character would you like to see burn in Hell? 🔥

3) Which character do you think people should keep an eye on? 🤨

4) Which archangel do you wish you were adopted by? 😇

5) Which archangel would you hide in shame because he or she adopted you? 😥

6) Dean Ammon: Principal of the year or worthy of cutting out a picture of him and throwing darts at him while you curse him out? 🤬

7) Which class would you like the most at SGA? 🏫

8) Which class would make you rather get paper cuts on your tongue than sit through such crap? 👅📝

9) Yes or No: Sirius can be my baby daddy. 👅💘

10) Yes or No: Alpha is the most adorable 15-year-old to have ever existed in the universe. 💕

11) What would be your weapon of choice to use in the sim/combat training? ⚔️

12) Create your own Zengan: mash up two or more animals and tell the world why they should be feared. Name them if you wish! 🐺🦅🐝🐍🐘🦏🦒🐃

13) 13 Reasons Why you should share this with 13 friends (Fun, action, adventure, angels, awesome characters, a great school people may actually want to attend, dumb bullies, MC who beats the crap out of the dumb bullies, big daddy Sirius, baby brother Alpha, sausage party, an army of students training to fight for God, & funny AF.) [Psst: Tags work well.]

14) Which character's diary would you like to read? 📖

15) On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the book so far? Any suggestions for improvements? 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟

16) Share any other thoughts here! 💬

Don't be shy people. If you answered even one of these questions, thank you very much! I promise you, the second half of the book is going to be EPIC! Dark angels, extinct wildlife, legendary creatures, and of course, more demons!

Lots of love.❤️

- L. A. Rivera