"Road trip!" Dawn shouted from the backseat as Dad started the engine.
"We're literally just going home," I said, but I was smiling.
"Still counts!"
The camping trip had been perfect. Two days of hiking, swimming, and Dad's terrible campfire stories. My shoulders were sunburned, Dawn had a collection of rocks that took up half the trunk, and Mom had taken about a thousand photos.
Though there was one thing that put a damper on things. Last night, after everyone went to sleep, I'd finally worked up the nerve to call Katie. The conversation I'd been avoiding for weeks.
"Arthur? It's late. Is everything okay?" Her voice had been groggy.
"Yeah, sorry. I just... we need to talk about Harvard."
There was a pause. "What about it?"
"Is there any way we can compromise? Maybe I could look at schools near Boston, or you could consider—"
"Arthur, we've talked about this. Harvard has the best pre-law program in the country. This is my dream."
"I know that. But what about us?"
"What about us? You can come with me. There are plenty of schools in Massachusetts."
And there it was. The assumption that I'd just follow along. That my plans, my dreams, didn't matter as much as hers.
"Katie, I can't do that. I have my own goals. My own path."
"So what are you saying?"
I took a breath. "I'm saying... do whatever you want. Forget about our relationship."
Silence. Then, "What?"
"You heard me. Go to Harvard. Live your dream. But I'm not going to follow you around like a puppy."
"Arthur, you can't be serious. You—you always—"
"I always went along with what you wanted. I know. But I'm done being your comfort zone. I'm done always going with your whims."
Her voice cracked. "You don't mean that."
"I do. And honestly? I care too much about you to hold you back. You deserve to chase your dream without worrying about me."
"Don't do this. Let's meet up when you get back. We can talk face-to-face—"
"There's no point if you won't change your mind. And I can't be who you want me to be."
"Arthur, please—"
"Goodbye, Katie. I hope Harvard is everything you want it to be."
I'd hung up. Then I sat there in the dark, staring at the tent ceiling, feeling like shit.
But also... lighter? Like I'd finally done something for myself instead of just going along.
This morning, I'd woken up determined. I had people who actually loved me, not just the idea of me. My family. They were what mattered.
"Everyone buckled up?" Mom asked, turning around to check.
"Yes, Mom," Dawn and I said in unison.
Dad pulled out of the campsite and onto the dirt road. "Alright, three hours back home. Who wants to pick the first song?"
"Me! Me!" Dawn bounced in her seat.
"Oh no," I muttered.
She grabbed Mom's phone and scrolled through the playlist. "Found it!"
Call Me Maybe started blasting through the speakers.
"Really?" I said. "This song is ancient."
"It's a classic!" Mom said, already singing along.
Dad joined in, completely off-key. Dawn was doing some kind of dance in her seatbelt.
"I hate all of you," I said, but I was laughing.
"You love us!" Dawn said.
"Debatable."
By the time we hit the highway, we'd gone through half of Dad's "Road Trip Classics" playlist. Mom was belting out Somebody That I Used to Know, Dad was doing his best Gotye impression, and Dawn was providing backup vocals that were mostly just screaming.
"This is an assault on my ears," I said.
"Your face is an assault on my eyes!" Dawn shot back.
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"Your face doesn't make sense!"
Mom laughed. "You two are impossible."
We sang through Dynamite, Party Rock Anthem, and Moves Like Jagger. Dad did a terrible Mick Jagger impression that made Dawn snort-laugh so hard she almost choked.
"Dad, please stop," I said. "You're embarrassing yourself."
"I'm a parent. Embarrassing my children is literally my job."
"You're too good at it."
I leaned back and watched the scenery pass by. Trees, signs, other cars. Normal stuff. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Probably Katie. I ignored it.
Dawn noticed. "Who's texting you?"
"Nobody important."
"Is it Katie? You've been weird since yesterday."
Smart kid. "Yeah."
"Did you guys break up?"
Mom turned around. "What?"
"It's fine, Mom. We just... want different things."
Dad glanced at me in the mirror. "You okay, son?"
"Yeah. Actually, I am."
And I meant it. The sun was warm through the windows. The highway stretched out ahead of us. Everything was normal. Everything was good.
We were about an hour from home when Dawn started getting restless.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"How about now?"
"Still no."
"Now?"
"Dawn, I will throw you out of this moving vehicle."
"Mom! Artie's threatening me!"
"Arthur, don't threaten your sister."
"She started it!"
Mom turned around with that look. "Do I need to separate you two?"
"No," we both mumbled.
Dad laughed. "Just like old times."
"What do you mean, old times? This is every car ride," I said.
"Fair point."
Dawn pulled out a bag of gummy bears she'd been saving. "Want one, Artie?"
"Depends. What flavor?"
"All of them." She shoved a handful in her mouth.
"You're going to get sick."
"Worth it."
I took a red one. "Thanks, squirt."
She smiled, her cheeks full of gummy bears like a chipmunk.
My phone buzzed again. And again. I pulled it out. Seven missed calls from Katie. Twelve texts.
Please call me backWe need to talkDon't do thisArthur pleaseI'm sorryCan we just talk?
I turned off my phone and put it away.
"You sure you're okay?" Dad asked quietly.
"Yeah. I made the right choice."
Pumped Up Kicks came on next. Mom reached to skip it.
"Too dark for a road trip," she said.
"Aw, but I like this one," I said.
"It's about school shootings, Arthur."
"The beat is catchy though."
She skipped it anyway. Ho Hey started playing instead.
"Much better," Mom said.
Dad was humming along, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. We were coming up on an intersection. The light was green.
"So, when we get home, I'm ordering pizza," Dad announced. "I'm done with camping food."
"We had s'mores literally last night," I said.
"And I'm done with them. I want pepperoni."
"I want cheese!" Dawn said.
"We can get both," Mom said. "Half and half."
"Works for me."
Dad started going through the intersection.
I saw it before anyone else did.
A car. Coming from the right. Too fast. Way too fast.
"Dad—!"
Time slowed down as if I were in a slow-motion video. The car swerved. The driver wasn't looking. Wasn't stopping.
It was going to hit us. Right on my side.
Dawn.
I didn't think. I just moved.
I grabbed Dawn, twisting my body to shield her. My arm wrapped around her head, protecting her face.
The impact was a sound I'll never forget. Metal screaming. Glass shattering. The whole world lurching sideways.
Then came the pain.
A sharp, stabbing pain in my back.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
Something had pierced through me.
I looked down. A metal rod. From the doorframe. Punched straight through my ribs.
My hands were still wrapped around Dawn. She was screaming, but I couldn't hear her. Everything sounded like after an explosion. With loud beeping noise and muffled voices.
I gripped the rod with one hand. It was slick with my blood.
The rod was still moving toward Dawn.
I grabbed it with both hands and held it. Held it away from her. My hands were shaking. Everything was blurred as my eyes filled with tears. At least Dawn was okay.
"Arthur! Arthur!"
Mom's voice came. She was out of the car. Dad too. When did that happen?
"Dawn, are you hurt? Baby, talk to me!"
"I'm okay! But Artie, Artie's—"
Dawn was crying. I could feel her shaking in my arms.
"Let me see him! Move, I need to see—oh my God. Oh my God, David!"
Mom's face appeared in my vision. I felt someone hugged me. Probably her. She was crying. Why was she crying?
"Call 911! NOW!"
Dad was on the phone. His voice was shaking. "Yes, there's been an accident. My son is—he's been impaled. We need an ambulance. Please, hurry!"
"Artie?" Dawn's small voice. Her hands grabbed mine. The ones holding the rod. "Artie, say something. Please say something."
I tried. My mouth wasn't working right.
"I'll be good, I promise! I'll behave, and I won't bite you anymore, and I'll do my homework without complaining; just talk to me! Please!"
She was sobbing now. Her hands were so small on mine.
I forced my mouth to work. "No...backsies."
It came out like a wet noise. Of course. There was blood in my mouth after all.
"You have to...behave now. You...promised."
"I will! I will, I promise! Just don't—don't—"
Mom was praying. Her hands on my face. "Please, God, please. Not my baby. Not my boy."
Dad was next to her. Tears streaming down his face. "The ambulance is coming, Arthur. Just hold on. Just hold on, okay?"
"David, there's so much blood—"
"The ambulance is coming! Hang in there son! Don't you dare give up!" Dad, whom I never saw without a smile, was crying.
Everything was getting cold. That wasn't right. It was summer. Shouldn't be cold.
I tried to smile. Did I manage it? I couldn't tell.
"I had...a good family," I said. Each word took everything I had. "Best family."
"Don't," Mom sobbed. "Don't you dare. You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine."
"Don't be...sad, mom."
"Arthur, please—"
My hand found Dawn's head. When did I let go of the rod? Didn't matter now.
I patted her hair. Just like I always did.
"If you...miss me..." Breathing was hard. So hard. "Look at...the stars."
"What? Artie, what—"
"I'll be...watching. Always watching...over you."
Dawn's face was blurry now. Everything was blurry.
"Like a star," I whispered.
Mom was screaming. Or maybe that was the ambulance. Couldn't tell anymore.
"I love you all." I think I said it. Hope I said it.
Dawn's face. Mom's face. Dad's face.
I tried to hold onto them. Tried to remember.
But everything was fading.
It felt so cold.
Then nothing.
Somewhere above, far beyond mortal sight, something ancient stirred.
A being of indescribable form, with powers beyond measure. Its body was like the endless darkness of the void, yet it was illuminated by countless small lights flickering within the darkness, like stars. It watched the small tragedy unfold.
It had been watching for some time. This boy. This unremarkable human life.
But in his final moment, that declaration, that caught it's attention.
"Watching over them always, like a star, huh?"
The being tilted its head. Curious.
"How amusing. He's almost like me if I were human," it murmured. "Very well then."
A hand, or perhaps the concept of a hand, reached down through the veil of reality.
"Let us see if you meant those words, Arthur Morgan. I shall give you a second chance. May the stars guide you."
Every where I looked, there was Darkness.
I felt like I was floating through vast space. No, not floating. Falling? Rising? There was no up or down here.
I saw colors that didn't exist. Colors that hurt to perceive. I heard sounds that weren't sounds.
My body was gone, but I could still feel. Still think.
What happened? Where was I?
The memories came flooding back.
The car. The impact. The rod.
Dawn. Mom. Dad.
I tried to reach for them, but I had no hands. No arms. No body at all.
I was dead.
The realization hit me like a physical blow, even though I had no body to feel it.
I felt an emptiness within me that had nothing to do with the void around me. The thought that I was truly dead, settled into whatever passed for my consciousness now.
I would never hear my father's terrible jokes again. Never hear him laugh at his own punchlines that nobody else found funny.
I would never taste my mom's cooking again. The way she always made my favorite foods when I had a bad day. The love she put into every meal.
I would never hold my baby sister again. Never put her to sleep when there was a thunderstorm outside and she was scared. Never hear her call me Artie in that way only she could.
I never realized I would be unable to ever do these things. Feel these things.
The regret was overwhelming.
And Katie. Our last conversation had been me breaking up with her over the phone. She'd wanted to talk face-to-face. She'd been crying. And I'd just... hung up.
I guess I spared her some pain in the long run. Better a clean break than dragging it out, right?
At least that's what I told myself.
Am I going to heaven? Or hell?
Did it even matter?
If only there was a second chance. If I could go back, I would spend more time with them. I would tell them every day how much I cherished them. I would hug Dad more, even when he made bad jokes. I would help Mom in the kitchen instead of just eating the results. I would play more games with Dawn, even the stupid ones.
But I would never get that chance.
The dead don't get second chances.
The void pressed in around me.
Then suddenly, everything changed.
I was hurled through space. Reality bent and twisted around me. The colors intensified. The sounds became sharper. Everything was moving, shifting, breaking apart and reforming.
I wanted to scream but I had no mouth.
I closed my eyes—or whatever passed for eyes in this state,hoping this would be the end. Hoping I would just cease to exist. Stop thinking. Stop feeling. Stop remembering.
Please, just let it end.
But fate had a twisted sense of humor.
The sensation of movement stopped abruptly. The chaos calmed. The void receded.
With a blinding flash of light that burned even through my closed eyes, I felt something solid beneath me. Around me. Inside me.
Weight. Substance. Form.
I had a body again.
But it didn't feel like my body. It felt... different.
Sounds reached me. Real sounds. Voices speaking in a language I didn't know but somehow understood.
"The stars shine bright tonight."
"A new archangel is born."
"Welcome, brother."
Heaven?
I forced my eyes open.
Light. Blinding, pure light everywhere. But not harsh. It was Warm, welcoming.
Figures stood around me. Tall, impossibly beautiful figures with wings of pure light extending from their backs.
Angels.
Holy shit, those were actual angels.
One of them leaned down. His face was kind. "Can you hear me, brother?"
I tried to speak but only a confused sound came out.
Wait. That wasn't my voice. It was higher. more mature.
I looked down at myself.
I was an adult now, wearing white robes.
And behind me, I could feel them. Weight on my back that shouldn't be there but felt natural.
I had wings.
"He seems disoriented," another angel said. Female, with golden hair. "Perhaps the awakening was too sudden."
"Give him some time," the male angel said. "He'll adjust. Father said he is special."
What the hell was happening?
No, I was in Heaven, apparently.
But why? How?
The last thing I remembered was dying. Bleeding out on a highway. Telling Dawn to look at the stars.
The stars.
"Always watching over you, like a star."
That's what I'd said.
And now I was... what? An angel?
"What is your name, brother?" the male angel asked gently.
My name. Arthur. Arthur Morgan.
But when I opened my mouth, a different name came out. A name I somehow knew was mine, even though I'd never heard it before.
"Kokabiel. The angel of stars."
The angels smiled.
"Welcome, brother Kokabiel, angel of the stars. Welcome to Heaven."
And so, in a world of angels and devils, in a time before the great war, a certain Angel of the Stars opened his eyes for the very first time.
Or perhaps the second time.
Depending on how you counted.