Chapter 22: Code Eleven and Counting to Ten

Sunday, July 19, 2009, 8:30 PM

“Oh, get a room, you two!”

Annie and Joey were in mid-kiss, hovering thirty thousand feet over the city, floating over a layer of clouds, and their eyes snapped open in alarm. They had just spent the past several minutes playfully flying over the city, and were finally in a romantic embrace. So the last thing they expected or wanted to see was somebody else up there with them.

They turned and saw the young curvaceous girl floating near them. She looked about fifteen, had dark green skin, long flowing light-green hair, and wore a skin-tight bodysuit of blue and green. Snow drifted off from her body.

“Sn ... Snow Angel?” Annie gasped, recognizing the superhero.

“Oh! Young love!” Snow Angel sang as she pirouetted about them. Snowflakes sparkled off her as she spun in the setting sunlight. “I love it so! You really found a good spot up here. This is very lovely! So romantic!” Her voice was musical and dainty. She swooped closer to them. “So tell me! Who’s idea was this?”

“Um...” Joey and Annie looked at each other guiltily.

“Just kind of happened, huh?” She batted her eyes at them. “I can understand. It’s really easy to get swept up in the excitement. And I have to confess, I’ve brought a few guys up here too. It REALLY gets you in the mood!” She floated and danced around them happily. “But I also have to tell you, foreplay in the planet’s most restricted airspace? Not the best of ideas!”

Annie’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god! Are we in trouble?”

Snow Angel smiled brilliantly. “Well, you wouldn’t BELIEVE the phone calls I was getting. You really upset a lot of the boys downstairs, and right now they’ve got a few F-16s at Andrews ready to come and take a peek at you. So let me handle this.” She pulled out her cell phone, placed the receiver in her ear, and dialed. She waited a moment.

“HIII! It’s me! Snow Angel! Listen, I’ve found them, and you can call off the boys. We’ve got a Code...” She scrutinized them closely. “ ... Eleven here ... Yeah. It’s just a couple of kids on a date, and I’ve given them the once-over, and, no, they’re not carrying any WMDs! ... What? ... No! No, I’m not bringing them in for questioning ... Cause it would REALLY break the mood right now, that’s why! ... Captain ... Captain! ... Captain, I’m...” She rolled her eyes and held up one hand, flapping her fingers open and closed, pantomiming a loquacious puppet. “Captain, don’t make me have to pull rank through EarthGuard. I really don’t like filling out the paperwork ... Well, I understand, but you were NOT the first one to call me. I got an earlier call from EarthGuard ... Hold on!”

She put the phone on mute and looked at the two. “You’re Joey and Annie, right?”

They nodded.

“Whew! Good! I’d hate to think I got the wrong couple.” She reset the phone. “That’s right! We can vouch for them ... Yes, I’ll take care of them. I’ll bring them down as soon as possible ... Thank you, Captain ... You tell your boys I’m sorry they didn’t get to play with their toys, and I’ll come by for a visit soon to cheer them up ... Thank you, Captain ... Buh-bye now!”

She pressed a button on her cell phone and sighed. She gave them a sad shrug. “A promise is a promise. I have to take you down now. They really don’t like you being up here. Come along!” She reached out and gently took them by the hands and guided them downward.

“Um ... Thank you,” said Annie. “How much trouble are we in?” she asked as they descended into the clouds.

Snow Angel smiled and shrugged. “Not much now, but oh, this could have gotten really ugly. You do NOT want to mess with the F-16s. Those things are just nasty. And if they didn’t just kill you, but somehow brought you in for interrogation, you wouldn’t get out for years. Believe me, there are some very paranoid people in the military. They get paid a lot of money to look for dangerous things, and you know how people naturally believe the things they are paid to believe, so if they think you’re dangerous, they’ll keep you until they prove it.”

Annie looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I didn’t think about this.”

The superhero giggled. “Believe me, NOBODY ever thinks about this. You’re not the first ones to come up here for a little nookie. I’m just glad I caught you early, in code eleven.”

Joey frowned. “Code eleven? What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s just a little joke between me and the boys. Couples like coming up here so often, that it’s not a big surprise when it happens anymore. So the big question they want to know is, how far did you two get? Two people on first base, that’s code eleven. You know? One-One? But if you had your hand in her top, that would be a code twenty-one.”

Annie giggled. “So, I suppose the worst you have to encounter is a code thirty-three?”

Snow Angel laughed. “Well, there’s the thirty-threes, and then there are the thirty-threes with precipitation. But the ones you really have to be careful of are the code threes.”

Annie yelped and laughed heartily, and Joey had no idea what they were talking about. They descended out of the cloud bank and could see the city again. “So? Which way is home?” asked the superhero.

Annie looked around. “Ummm ... I don’t know. Where are we?”

Snow Angel pointed to the river. “That’s the Potomac. North is that way. You really have to know the city if you’re going to do any flying. Where do you live?”

“Adams Morgan.”

“Oh! Nice area! I know where that is! Come along!” And she led them home.

When they arrived at their building, Annie and Joey could see Tricia and Quantum Knight on the rooftop waving at them. They bashfully waved back, and descended to their apartment balcony. As they landed on the balcony, Annie slipped upward and lay in Joey’s arms, and he carried her inside. They waved to Snow Angel, and she waved a finger at them. “Now you two find something fun to do inside. I don’t want to have to go chasing after you again. Okay?”

“Oh, we’ll find something fun to do,” said Annie, and she nuzzled into Joey’s neck.

Snow Angel waved them off, pirouetted back up to the rooftop, and floated towards the two women. Quantum Knight walked up toward her. “Thanks, Iowa! I knew I could count on...”

Snow Angel floated right past Quantum Knight, ignoring her friend, and zeroed in on Tricia. She bobbed directly in front of her and stopped just inches away. “Well HELL-OHH!”

Tricia jumped back as the floating superhero approached her far too closely. “Oh! Um, Hi!” she answered nervously.

“You MUST be Tricia!” said Snow Angel, closing the gap between herself and Tricia.

“Yes ... um ... That’s me! Tricia Sanchez.” Tricia took another nervous couple steps back. “Pleased to meet you.” Snow Angel continued to press forward, always approaching as Tricia backed away from her. “Thank you for ... um ... helping them. I was worried that ... um ... they would get lost.”

“Oh, my PLEASURE!” she said, just a bit too enthusiastically. She looked Tricia up and down. “You look gorgeous naked, don’t you?”

Tricia let out a very nervous laugh. “Oh ... um ... Yeah, I guess. Thank you? No complaints so far!” She kept nervously backing away from her.

“I’ve seen you before!”

“Well, um, yeah. I’ve been on TV a lot.”

“Really? I should get one. So, you like doing things in front of a camera?”

Quantum Knight stepped forward. “Back off, Iowa. She’s straight.”

Snow Angel shot Quantum Knight an annoyed glance. “So?”

“Iowa!”

Snow Angel grunted in frustration. “Oh, poo! You’re not being fun!” She floated back a respectable distance from Tricia and gave her an apologetic look. “I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. But you are just so scrumptious looking!”

Tricia was just glad that she was no longer being chased by a horny superhero. She blushed. “I ... thank you, I guess.”

Quantum Knight tilted her head towards the south. “So, where did they get off to?”

Snow Angel continued to admire Tricia’s body.

“Iowa?”

“Hmm?” She was startled out of her revere.

“Where did you find them?”

“Oh ... um, about a mile from the Pentagon. Captain Ridge was NOT at all pleased. And about five miles up.”

“And were they...”

Snow Angel clasped her hands together and spun in mid air. “All over each other! Oh, it was lovely. I really hated to break it up.” She sighed. “It’s so beautiful up there.”

Tricia approached the edge of the building and rested her hands on the ledge. She looked out over the city. The sun was just under the horizon, and the streetlights and building lights were turning on. “I bet it is,” she said. She sighed. The other two women joined her and looked out. The Washington Monument and the Capitol building were brightly lit, and dominated the cityscape

“Kind of like Cairo all over again, isn’t it?” Quantum Knight said.

“Yeah,” Tricia said. “That was an amazing night. I’m usually really scared of heights, but not then.” She carefully looked over the edge of the building and felt squeamish.

“What happened in Cairo?” asked Snow Angel.

“We got to fly over the city at night. Four of us,” Quantum Knight answered.

“It was so beautiful,” Tricia said longingly. “It’s so romantic up there, it’s a wonder this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often.”

“Oh, it does,” said Snow Angel. “All the time. Starts in the spring, and we get some fliers who take a date up there. It really picks up in the summer, sometimes a couple times a week. Not so much in the winter months.” She sat on the edge, dangling her legs over the side of the building. “Don’t understand why. The sky is always so clear.”

“Some of us get cold,” said Quantum Knight.

“Oh yeah. That’s right. I keep forgetting.”

“Have you been to Cairo?” asked Quantum Knight.

“No. I haven’t! I should get out there some time.” She grimaced. “But I don’t like airplanes.” She looked at Quantum Knight. “So Cairo is nice?”

“From up high it is.”

Snow Angel looked out over the city. “Some cities are really nice to fly over. Baltimore is beautiful. Lots of colors. Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco ... gorgeous! New York is fun. Lots of tall buildings to play around. L.A.?” She mock gagged. “Ugh! Not again until they switch to electric cars.”

Tricia laughed.

“But D.C. is really special. It’s not as tall as other cities, so you get to stay low. You get to see all the monuments up close. Lots of classic Greek architecture. If it weren’t for all the paranoid generals here, it would be really nice.”

Tricia looked out over the city and imagined herself flying over the streets and around the buildings, the statues, and the monuments. She sighed longingly.

Snow Angel checked her out. “You want to go?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to go flying?”

“What? You and me?” Tricia flustered. “Oh, no. I couldn’t. I don’t really want to.”

“Yes you do,” Snow Angel chided.

“Well ... I don’t want to impose. I mean, you’re on duty and all.”

“Oh no! No imposition. I’d be happy to take you up! Show you what I get to see every night.”

Tricia hesitated. “Well ... Can you do it? I mean, are you strong enough to carry me?”

Snow Angel giggled. “I can make anyone near me fly. So you’re not too heavy.”

“Um...” Tricia was still hesitating.

“And I promise to be a good girl!” she said, raising her hand. “You will have nothing to worry about. I will not touch you inappropriately when we’re flying.”

Tricia turned to Quantum Knight for support. “She can’t lie,” said the other superhero.

“Oh, that’s right,” Tricia said. “But ... is it safe?”

“I can promise you, that as long as you are with Snow Angel, your health and safety are guaranteed. She is the absolutely safest way to fly.”

Tricia looked back and forth between the two superheroes, and made her decision. “Well, okay! I guess a quick flight wouldn’t hurt.”

Snow Angel squealed in delight and took Tricia’s hand. Tricia immediately floated up into the air, supported by invisible magical energies, and she shrieked in surprise. “Come on! Let’s go flying!” said the green girl. And they took off over the city.

Quantum Knight stood alone on the rooftop and watched the two fly away together. “Yep,” she said to herself. “Health and safety guaranteed, and nothing inappropriate when flying.” She chuckled to herself. “But once you land, you can kiss your lesbian virginity goodbye.”

Joey carried Annie in his arms into the apartment. He kept her ultra-light, wrapped in an anti-gravity field that left her with only a couple of pounds of weight. She was kissing his neck and hugging his body as he cradled her. He leaned his head toward hers and their lips met, and they kissed passionately.

With her free hand, she unstrapped the Velcro tether from her arm, freeing herself. With both arms free, she held his face in her hands and kissed him, pushing her body up against his.

“It’s time,” she whispered. She gazed at him adoringly. Joey felt himself getting lost in her beautiful emerald eyes. “Take me to bed.”

He smiled at her and carried her past her chair and into her bedroom. She held him close and snuggled up to him, kissing his lips and cheeks and neck. He took her to the bed and let go of her body. Her body slowly drifted downward, but they held each other’s faces. She took a hold of his wrist which still had the Velcro tether on it and giggled as she ripped it open and tossed it to the floor. Her face was shining with joy, passion, and excitement as she started pulling his tie off.

Joey pried and kicked his shoes off as he held her, kissing her lips. Her sweet warm tongue was making exploratory probes, grazing his lips and tongue, and soon their kissing was raw and open-mouthed, their tongues licking and tasting each other.

Annie threw his tie to the floor and started unbuttoning his shirt. She giggled and delighted in running her fingers over the buttons, and then over his smooth naked chest. “I’ve never done this upright before,” she whispered, and she kissed down his chest, unbuttoning the shirt along the way. Joey ran his hands across her back and found the zipper to her dress. He pulled it down and opened the back. Annie pulled herself upward and extracted her arms from the simple straps as he pulled them over her shoulders. The yellow dress fell to the floor in a puddle of cloth, revealing her golden flawless skin and leaving her in a simple white bra and panties. Joey ran his fingers across her arms, shoulders, chest, and down and across the curves of her full soft breasts. Annie gasped and squeaked, and held his head to her chest. He kissed the soft rounded top of her large breasts, and she trembled.

Joey felt inside her mind, and could feel her trying to use the thrusting momentum power again. He willed the power back into her, and she squealed as she felt the power return to her. Her body thrust lower, and she reached his pants. She unbuckled his belt and started working on his pants as he dropped his shirt on the floor.

When his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped, she pulled them down, freeing his erection. She stopped and looked at his penis in surprise. Then she looked up at his face with confusion.

“Joey. You’re circumcised! Are you Jewish?”

“Um ... no.”

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed.

“Well, my grandmother on my mom’s side was, but...”

Annie exploded. “AAIIEE! OY! MEIN GELIBTER! I’VE FOUND YOU!” She grabbed him around the waist and willed the momentum power, throwing both of them on the bed. She shrieked and laughed and screamed in joy as they bounced and rolled. She hugged him tight and smothered his stomach with kisses as his penis pushed hard into one fat breast. Annie pushed him on his back, willed herself lighter, and pulled herself up his body, kissing his chest and laughing, and soon her mouth was on his, and they were kissing each other hungrily and clawing at each other’s bodies.

Joey managed to kick his pants off his legs, and he lay naked save for his socks on the bed as the beautiful half-naked Japanese girl slathered her body on top of him. His hands explored her smooth back, and ran over her bra strap. He tugged on it feebly, unsure what to do. Annie pulled off his mouth.

“I can’t figure this out,” he said.

She giggled, reached back with one hand, and expertly unhooked her bra. She pushed back down on him and resumed kissing him as he opened her bra and pulled the straps down off her shoulders. They soon extracted the bra and her dangling necklace and tossed them aside, and Annie lay on top of Joey with her full naked bosom pressed hard against his naked chest. He could feel her hard nipples poking into him, and they rolled over with her on her back. He propped himself up on one arm next to her, and admired her large and beautiful breasts, capped with small and dark nipples.

He reached out and lightly ran his fingers over the firm and round mounds, and gasped as he took in their exquisite beauty. His erection pressed hard into her leg.

“They’re not as big as Tricia’s,” said Annie, almost apologetically.

“They’re beautiful,” he answered, and he cupped one large breast and gently squeezed it. Annie gasped and shuddered slightly, and Joey could feel her pleasure centers lighting on fire from his simple touches.

“You like this, don’t you?” he asked, grinning.

She bit her lip and trembling, nodded her head. “Yeah ... I ... Oy!...”

He carefully ran his hand over her breast, exploring the full curve from the upper to the underside. His fingers delicately brushed over her erect nipple. Annie bolted and shook.

“You REALLY like this!” He could feel her mind flaring in reaction. She was panting and writhing, and she arched her back, pushing her breast into his hand. “I mean, Tricia likes this, but you REALLY like this!”

“It’s the ... it’s the ... para ... plegia. OH!” She gasped as he caressed and squeezed her. She shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. “I lost ... sensitivity ... down there ... OY! ... And it all ... moved ... up here ... to Moysheh ve-Arendlakh!” She groaned.

Joey smiled. “So, what if I kissed you right here?” He leaned down and kissed the top of her breast. She gasped. “Or here?” He kissed lower, licking her and tasting her sweet skin. He dragged his tongue down to the underside of her breast, and Annie bucked and panted heavily.

“Oy! Azoy! Azoy!”

He ran his tongue around the full underside of her breast, exploring and painting the perimeter. Her breast was soft and warm, and her skin had a slight salty-sweaty taste that he loved. Annie whined and thrashed, and she grabbed the blanket in her fist and held on as she arched her back. Her body was a contradiction in action, her top half consumed in frantic motions, and her bottom half lifeless and limp.

He licked higher and brushed his tongue over her hard nipple. He felt parts of her mind igniting, and she shrieked, grabbed his head, and pushed his face directly into her breast, forcing her nipple into his mouth. Joey rolled on top of her, laying between her languid legs, and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her breasts to his face tightly.

Annie moaned and enveloped them both in the anti-gravity field, and they floated off the bed. She laughed and shrieked and held his head to her breast and shook her boobs in his face.

Joey latched onto her other nipple and sucked hard. Annie screamed.

“AZOY! AZOY! IKH KIM SHOYN BALT!”

He didn’t need to know Yiddish to know what that meant. He could feel it in her mind. There was a growing surge of signals in her pleasure center. Joey swirled his tongue around her nipple as he pulled it hard into his mouth.

There was an explosion of activity in her mind, and Annie screamed in her orgasm. Waves of ecstasy rolled through her brain, and she clung on tight to his head as they floated in the middle of the room.

Flying over D.C. was every bit as beautiful and exciting as Tricia had imagined it to be. Snow Angel took her on a grand tour. They flew over parks and memorials, and she got to see the wonders of the city from a new vantage point. The Portrait Gallery, the National Archives, and even the IRS building were awe-inspiring structures in their classic Greek style. Modern styles blended with ancient, and she loved the strange curves built into the Mellon Auditorium and the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building. They flew over the White House gardens and around the Ellipse and across the National Mall, swooping through two sculpture gardens and around the various Smithsonian museums. Snow Angel took her west to the Washington Monument, and showed her the secret that only the flying community knew of; the lipstick mark at the top of the monument. She explained that it had been there as long as she had been in D.C., and nobody knew who did it.

They explored the World War 2 Memorial, and then followed the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. Ignoring the tourists, Snow Angel flew them both directly inside the open structure, and they floated in reverence before the giant statue of Abraham Lincoln. Tricia waved to the tourists who took their pictures, and Snow Angel blew Abe a kiss, and then they headed out north following the shoreline to the majestic Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“I want to show you something,” Snow Angel said, and they took off north and arrived at the luxury Watergate apartments. Snow Angel settled Tricia on a balcony, waved to the door, and it opened for them. She floated inside to the pastel colored apartment. The lights turned on as she entered.

“What’s this place?” asked Tricia as she walked in and looked around. It was a lovely apartment decorated with flowers, strange crystals, and light pinks, yellows, and greens. The scent of flowers accented the room. She ran her hand over the soft fabric of the couch.

“My place. My sanctum sanctorum,” answered the superhero, and she waved one hand. The glass balcony door closed by itself, and a stereo turned on. Soft music played at a gentle volume. She floated into the kitchen. “Did you enjoy your flight?”

“Oh! Yes!” Tricia sighed. “It was amazing!” She touched her chest, feeling her heart still rapidly beating from the excitement. She ran her hand through her wind-swept hair and fluffed it out. She still felt a little dizzy from the flying. “Thank you!” Tricia looked at a strange green crystal that at first glance appeared attached to the wall. Her eyes opened wide when she saw that it was actually unsupported, and floated freely next to the wall. “I had no idea the city was so beautiful.”

“Thank L’Enfant! He designed the place,” she answered from the kitchen.

“What is this crystal? Is it magic?”

“Uh-huh! It’s a ward. It protects this place. Nothing can get inside without my permission.”

“It’s gorgeous,” she said, although she realized it reminded her of the cursor from The Sims. Tricia leaned down and smelled a bouquet. “Love the flowers.” She thought for a moment. “What was that big red ‘one’ near the White House? Looked like it was made out of roses?”

“World War One First Infantry Division memorial.”

“I never knew about that one.”

Snow Angel floated back into the room, and returned with two glasses of white wine. She handed one to Tricia. “There’s a lot to discover in this city. I’m still exploring it.” She touched her glass to Tricia’s. They sipped their wines. It had a sweet apple flavor, and Tricia felt the alcohol warming and relaxing her. Snow Angel gave her a sultry smile, and looked down over Tricia’s body. “I’m still finding things in this city that excite me,” she whispered.

Tricia caught the double entendre, and chuckled nervously. “You promised to be a good girl. Nothing inappropriate.”

Snow Angel smiled and cocked her head. “And I was. But we’re not flying anymore.”

Tricia’s jaw dropped as she remembered the conditions of Snow Angel’s promise. She looked around the apartment at the flowers, the stereo, the wine, the lit candles. Where the hell did THOSE come from? She looked back at the superhero. Snow Angel had floated a couple inches closer to her.

“Ummm ... I’m...” she said as casually as physically possible. “I’m not into that.”

Snow Angel pouted. “Aww...” She grinned and bobbed closer. “You could be. I think you would be spectacular. I sense such raw sexuality in you.”

Tricia gave another nervous laugh, and took a step back away from the floating woman. She could feel the cold emanating from her close body. “Well, I’m really not like that. And I’m flattered that you find me so...”

“Oh, you are hardly flat!” said the superhero, eying her full breasts. She drifted closer, and Tricia found herself being slowly chased, and she ducked around to the other side of the couch.

“Um, seriously! Please. I’m not that type.” She quickly put her wine glass down on an end table, freeing her hands.

“Sometimes all it takes is one good experience. Have you ever made love to a healer before?” She skimmed closer.

Tricia took another step back, making her way around the couch. “Uh, no ... I ... can’t say I’ve done that.”

Snow Angel glowed with a green aura, illuminating the room. She released her wine glass and it floated down to a table, not spilling a drop. “I can make you feel good in every imaginable way,” she said, sensualously stretching her arms up over her head. “I can replenish your energy, make it so you never get tired, never grow weary, always stay at peak condition. No muscle cramps, no exhaustion, no stretched tendons. Even friction-burns can be kissed away.” She floated closer. “I once made love for three days straight. We never stopped for food, water, or sleep.”

“That’s ... That’s impressive!” Tricia gasped, taking a few nervous steps back. “One for the record books!”

“We can make our own record. You busy this week?”

“Sorry! I got a ... thing!” She stepped backwards and hit a wall.

Snow Angel gestured to Tricia’s feet, and two streams of ice shot out of her hands, freezing her feet to the floor. Tricia lost her balance and fell back against the wall. The superhero swooped up to her, took her arms and strongly stretched them out wide. Ice grew over Tricia’s hands, binding them to the wall.

“What are you doing?” Tricia gasped.

Snow Angel bobbed up very close to Tricia and caressed her cheeks with chilled fingers. A light frost came from her breath as she closed in. “Shhhh...” she shushed her. Her cold body pressed up against Tricia’s, and she could feel Snow Angel’s soft breasts push up against hers. “I want you to try this,” she whispered. “I want you to like this.”

She leaned in close, licking her lips and tried to kiss Tricia. Tricia turned her head away violently, refusing the kiss. Snow Angel pouted and shushed her, and tried to gently return Tricia’s face to hers. “Just a kiss. Am I so revolting?”

Tricia got furious. She turned her face straight to Snow Angel and glared at her angrily. “Yes! What do you do to your babies?” she barked at her.

Snow Angel blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Your babies! What do you do to them?”

Her mouth dropped open.

“I know about your pregnancies!” Tricia said. “Quantum Knight told me. You’ve been pregnant scores of times, but you don’t have any kids. What are you doing?” she demanded. “Are you that irresponsible?”

“I’m not being irresponsible.” Snow Angel touched her abdomen. “I still have my babies. They’re all right here.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“I don’t lie. The magic won’t let me.”

“Oh. So, you’re still pregnant?”

She shook her head. “No. Nobody is growing in here. Not for a while. I’ve been very careful this year.”

“So, what are you doing to your babies?”

“When they are conceived, I just ... un-conceive them. It’s a simple spell. They just return to what they once were, eggs. They go back. They are still with me.”

Tricia’s jaw dropped. “You’re killing your babies? You’re aborting them?”

She shook her head. “They don’t die. They just become the one cell again. The weird side effect is every time I do this I get younger.” She caressed her abdomen. “But they are always with me. I can feel them.” She gave Tricia a curious stare. “Did you know that every woman carries hundreds of souls with her?”

She reached out and touched Tricia’s abdomen. “Here. Souls. Your babies. Hundreds of them.” Her fingers glowed blue as she probed Tricia’s womb. “You lost a baby. I can tell.”

The pain returned. Tricia felt the shame envelop her. “I ... I had to ... I didn’t want...”

“You hurt from this still.” Snow Angel smiled at her. “Why do you hurt? Because people tell you to be hurt? Did you think a little thing like death can harm a soul? They go through so much. They don’t die. They attach, they detach, they flow, they experience, they explore. Life and death are just stages and opportunities for souls. Chapters in their stories.”