Workin' Them Angels Overtime

This is my entry for Bruce Bethke's Friday Challenge for 12/26/08

Workin' Them Angels Overtime
by snowdog

Herald slid his time card into the machine and was finally able to relax a bit when the kachunk! pronounced him off-duty. He glanced at the stamp on the card: JAN 1 1998 0300.

"Hey, you're blocking the line!" A finger poked him hard on the neck.

Herald glanced behind. A towering bearded angel stood close, grinning mischieviously as he continued to poke him with a thick finger. He stood at least six-foot-five with a broad strudy build. His sword was slung over his right shoulder, protruding down between his wings and back.

"Hi, Joshua," Herald said, letting out a sigh as he picked up his own sword and duffle bag.

"What's wrong, dude?" Joshua asked. He stepped forward and punched his own time card. "You look like you got them guardian angel blues." He held the card close to his face and silently mouthed the date and time to himself, as if memorizing.

"I don't know, man. Well, it's snowdog."

Joshua slid the card into the wall-mounted rack and motioned for Herald to lead the way to the lockers. "You're having trouble with snowdog? Didn't you brag a few years back about how easy he was to take care of?"

"Yes, well, that was before..."

"Before..." Joshua prompted.

Herald shook his head and sighed again. "He doesn't believe in us anymore. And since that happened, he's become..," he struggled for the word, "reckless, taking more chances with his life than ever. I think the irony escapes him."

Folding his wings back, Joshua sat on a wooden bench in front of his locker and set about removing his sneakers. "Sounds serious," he said tossing the left shoe behind him. "I'm guessing he partied in the New Year last night?"

Herald nodded. "You could say that."

"Details, Harry. I need details!"

"He started right after work. His boss always gets a ride home with him, but this time they bought a keg and talked a bunch of co-workers into meeting them out in a dark field, just outside of town."

Joshua snorted and tossed the right sneaker over his shoulder. "Eh, so he pounded a few beers. You outta see my guy."

Herald gave an sarcastic laugh and continued. "No, not a few beers. A lot of beer. I quit counting when he drove that huge boat of a pickup back to the store for another case."

"Out driving, huh. Asking for trouble."

"They all sat drinking for hours, right up until about 11 pm. Then his boss talked him into driving them both to a friend's house for a party. Snowdog was very drunk at this point. On the trip there, his nose kept running, and having no hankerchief, he would wipe it on the back of his hand and wrist as he drove."

"Yuck! Man, even I wouldn't do that."

Herald was lost in the horrible memory now. "When they got to the party, snowdog stretched his hand out to the host and noticed that it was covered with streaks of blood. His nose hadn't been running after all."

"No, man, you're making that up!"

Herald ignored the accusation. "It didn't really matter to anyone. That's when the bottle of rum came out. And this where gaps will start appearing in his memory of the evening, I suspect. Snowdog didn't have a lot of experience with hard liquor up to last night. The party itself was a blur. He'll remember the little kid running around among the wasted adults. He'll remember seeing the Ben Fold's Five video to "Brick"... strange details, but no real events or conversations."

"I'm afraid to ask how he got home." Joshua had all but forgotten about changing clothes.

"Sometime around 2 am, his disbelief attracted some hellhounds. There were four of them, so I had my hands full trying to stop them. While I wasn't looking, he climbed into that huge Dodge Ram and started the thirty minute trek homeward. Fortunately for everyone, he lives out in the woods. There was almost no traffic. Strangely, his motor skills were still partially intact. But he spent some time driving in the oncoming lane, just because he could. And then he switched off his headlights for a while and drove by moonlight. I've never been so scared in my life."

"I can imagine."

"Then he thought about the unattended little boy at the party and started sobbing uncontrollably."

"He what?"

"He cried like a baby the rest of the way home. He'll realize tomorrow that hard booze messes with his head. I'm hoping he'll come to his senses in some other ways."

Joshua shook his head. "That's rough, man. But it's not like you'll ever quit this job. We've worked together for a long time, and you have more years in than I do."

"No, I guess I won't quit. But I'll make damned sure he never does anything like that again."