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The only sound is that of ambient echoes pulsing within the tunnel. No natural light can reach down into the depths of the shaft, just a wash of shadows and murmurs. All he can hear is a discordant hum in the back of his mind like television static.
The mercenaries have long packed up and moved on.
They left nothing behind.
Left nothing, except Daniel.
Left for... well, left for dead.
He knows the floor beneath him is dirty and uneven. But Dan can’t feel it. He feels the pinch of his tied wrists, but his fingers have gone numb. He thinks he’s moving... crawling... dragging his body desperately forward -
But it’s so dark, and Dan is so tired and all sensations have become a jumbled mess. The only tell-tale that his attempts to move are actually succeeding at all are the pained gasps that rumble in his chest. He barely convulses and he can feel the fluid building in his lungs. He’d choke if he had the strength for it.
“Oh this sucks...”
“Who’s there?” He gasps, but it sounds more like a gurgle.
“It’s okay Dan,” a woman’s voice. She sounds young and a little sad perhaps. “I’m a friend of Ella’s.”
“Ella? Is she alright?”
Ella? She can’t possibly be here too! Please G- anyone - don’t let Ella have followed him somehow. If she got caught up with the mercenaries too Dan would never forgive himself. Well, just another sin to add to the list, he thinks wryly.
“Oh she’s fine,” the voice quickly assures. “Nah, I’m here for you. Man, I was really hoping this was another false alarm.”
It’s such an odd thing to say and Dan struggles for moment to turn around, forgetting that he can barely hold his head up right now.
There’s the sound of rustling coming from the direction of the voice. It’s a strangely familiar sound and at first Dan assumes it’s the flutter of the cloak that drifts into view.
“False alarm? What are you ta-”
Gathering himself for a moment Dan manages to manoeuvre himself so that the whole of his mystery acquaintance comes into view. And then the glossy dark plumage of wings becomes all too apparent.
She’s petite, her face round and kind and yet Dan is filled with an involuntary sense of awe. The old school kind of awe that makes the depths of his soul tremble slightly.
Still, she smiles gently and offers a tentative wave.
“I’m Azrael. But I guess you can call me Rae-Rae, being a friend of Els and all.”
Els... as in Ella? Did Ella know all this time? Dan scrambles in his mind to make sense of everything. But there’s only one thing Dan manages to latch onto with certainty.
“You’re a – an angel... The angel of- oh.”
Lapsed Catholic though he may be, after a certain Police Consultant shaped revelation, he did brush up on his knowledge of the canon and any information pertaining to celestials. Well by ‘knowledge’, he means searching ‘Archangels’ on Wikipedia.
He’s not sure Father Santiago would have come away undisturbed by his ramblings of ‘Lucifer, pudding and God’s Wife’.
“Yeah... I am really sorry about that.” Azrael’s smile drops then. She actually appears to fidget.
The Angel of Death is feeling awkward about reaping Daniel’s soul? Dan wonders if his life can get any weirder. But then he realises, he won’t have a chance to find out. It’s the end of the line, punctuated by a tiny awkward angel.
“I guess this is why I’m not supposed to get too attached to humans...” the angel grumbles.
Dan almost snorts in amusement. The snarky tone is reminiscent of Lucifer and it’s suddenly surreal how this diminutive creature not only can be the Angel of Death, but also the Devil’s little sister.
The novelty abruptly disappears though as Azrael crouches down. Dan flinches back, desperation and intuition screaming at him to run, run, run!
But he can’t move.
Azrael motions her hand towards him slowly but Dan manages to thrash his head in protest.
“Wait! Wait! Not yet! I can’t! Not yet!”
She sighs a little and leans back. But despite her frustration, Dan’s almost certain her face softens with regret.
“Dude, I know,” Azrael laments. “Well I don’t know know, like I’m immortal but I get it. Lots of humans get scared of crossing over. I mean I don’t usually show up while they’re still conscious but I figured I owe–”
But Dan doesn’t have time to worry about the ramifications of stalling death.
“No, you don’t understand! I have to-”
“You’re worried about where you’re going,” Azrael interrupts in exasperation. “Look, I can’t help with that-”
“NO! I already know where I- I – it doesn’t matter. But I need t-to... Wait. Lucifer and Amenadiel, they’re your brothers right? You have to give them a message.”
Dan watches the angel hopefully but her expression falls. Azrael seems to shuffle nervously again, almost like the proverbial child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
“Yeah, I can’t do that... For one thing there are a lot of souls I’m gonna have to catch up with after... this.” Azrael gestures vaguely around them. She twitches, as though fighting the urge to move on, worrying her hands together. “Aaaaand they really won’t want to see me after... you know...”
Dan almost sinks down in defeat.
“So you’re not gonna help me?”
“I am helping you! Do you have any idea what it’s like for a soul that gets left behind?”
Soul.
It was official then. Dan Espinoza was no longer for this world. And he had no answer for the angel beside him.
But he had to try. He had to make this last case worth it. His death had to mean something. He was leaving behind his daughter, his friends, his family. Damn it, if his number was up, at least make it for a good reason!
But Azrael’s hand keeps reaching for him. He can see the pain in her eyes, the tightness in her jaw. It’s of little comfort though. Stories would suggest you can bargain with the Grim Reaper, but one glance at this angel tells Daniel those stories were a lie.
“Please, just let me...” Dan scrunches away, no clue as to what will happen or how it will feel.
“Hm.”
Dan blinks.
“Well, you really are a complicated one.” Azrael remarks; she sounds almost... surprised?
Azrael is paused, still as a statue. Her hand hovers a scant half-an-inch away but makes no further move towards Dan.
“I’m not dying?” He doesn’t dare to hope but he can’t help the plea that rings in his voice.
“No, you... you are... I just can’t take you yet,” Azrael hums, as though remarking on something as banal as the weather. She takes her hand back.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re still tethered - only just – which indicates a strength I didn’t know you had...” the angel says.
And why does that sound so familiar?
“How long do I have?”
Azrael considers him seriously.
“How long you think you can hold on?” the angel responds, leaning back.
However long it takes, Dan thinks. But he knows the reality is not so simple.
Silence descends. It’s not a heavy silence but Dan still feels Azrael’s eyes on him. Well, if he’s got a momentary reprieve he’s not going to waste it.
Dan struggles fully to his knees. He knows he’s still alive because everything hurts.
Maybe he can’t buy himself more time, but he can make himself easier to find. So he shuffles forward, wobbles and gasps. He’s so tired but he climbs to his feet. It’s a terrible idea and Dan thinks he’s going to collapse immediately. Everything sways like a bad trip but he’s still standing.
Dan notes Azrael is still watching him; her expression inscrutable.
“You can... you know, catch up on those other souls, if you want.” He suggests, the croak in his voice poignant.
“Nah, I gotta see this through. Doesn’t happen often. Last time, I waited for a guy in a cave for three days...”
Dan’s step falters slightly. Did she mean...? No, too much to unpack there. Keep moving. Keep holding on, he repeats to himself.
Azrael follows, unperturbed by her quarry ambling away. Her steps are silent except for the gentle swoosh of her wings.
“I really am sorry you know,” Azrael repeats. “Taking humans my brothers care about... it sucks so bad.”
She continues to talk, as though they’re just having a nice conversation during an afternoon stroll along the beach. But as much as Dan tries to ignore it, he can hear the sorrow in her voice.
How often does she do this? Not taking souls - but talking with them when it’s time? Did she do this with Caleb? With Charlotte?
“Charlotte,” Dan chokes.
He finally looks at Azrael again expectantly.
“Charlotte?” the angel asks quizzically. “Oh, Charlotte. I wasn’t needed the second time. Amenadiel carried her up then.”
Dan stumbles to a pillar. He slumps back on to it, not in relief. He’s in too much pain to feel relief, but it’s a reprieve from dragging his exhausted limbs at least.
“Amenadiel carried her, huh?” Dan says breathlessly.
Somehow the notion fills him with warmth. If Charlotte had been in his position she would have had no patience for talking with Azrael. Knowing Amenadiel was there for Charlotte, that she wasn’t alone; it doesn’t take the pain away but it softens its edges.
“Yeah, first time it was just a normal pick-up, you know?”
And no, he has no idea. But he nods his head as he slips slowly to the floor.
“How you doing over there?” Azrael asks tentatively.
“I’m holding on,” Dan coughs. He can feel that last reserve slipping away. He can’t seem to focus that well anymore. “Just keep talking will ya?”
He doesn’t think he’s imagining it when Azrael’s lips tremble as she tries to give him a gentle smile. Her presence drifts beside him and he concentrates on her voice.
“So yeah, the first time was all me. Then I’m back in LA and you would not believe how surprised I was to find Mom inhabiting her body. I mean a mortal body, doing human stuff? That was ju-”
Dan startles, though his limbs feel like jello, “Maybe don’t talk about your Mom, okay?”
Azrael nods and continues to chatter, as though she daren’t let silence encroach again. There’s something about Ella and ghost rules, pranks and Amenadiel’s hilarious angry face. Maybe he can tell her about the recent prank of Lucifer’s...
Maybe she’ll watch over Chloe and Trixie the way she’s apparently been watching over Ella...
Azrael’s words cut off. Confused for a moment he tries to look up. Instead he convulses with a flurry of wet coughs, a trail of blood escaping from his lips. In the wake of it, he hears footsteps, the pulse of a flashlight and then-
“Dan.”
Ah, he made it.