When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

“Shoot.”

The waiter set her plate down and beamed expectantly. Val grinned. He was young, energetic and didn’t seem to be masking any bitterness at the crappy server life. A remarkable feat for someone who had fended off the dinner rush almost single-handedly. If it was a facade, he was a better actor than she had been in high school. Diner life was definitely not for her.

“This place is called Grizzly Tom’s Pancake House,” Val stated.

“Mmhmm. Tom retired years ago, but the place is exactly how he founded it.”

“Alright… But why is it called a pancake house if most of the menu items are burgers and lunch items?” She motioned to the next table where a couple was digging into a massive club and a buffalo burger.

The server laughed and shook his head. “My boss says that Tom had a weird sense of humor.”

Val found herself laughing along as she rose to her feet. She dug into her pocket and placed the rest of the money Vladimir had left her on the table. “Keep the change, okay?”

The waiter was in the process of thanking her when he glanced down and actually saw the amount printed on the bills. His eyes went wide. He was about to ask something starting with “are you—” but Val was already out the door.

She licked her lips and tried to savor the tangy barbeque sauce that still rested on her tongue.

Stupid.

She chided herself—her past self. Exercise had been religion; eating that much red meat, fries, and god knows what else was on that plate, without hitting the tracks after, would have been heresy. So much had been taken for granted. Obviously, if she got her humanity back, she had no intention of being a regular at Grizzly Tom’s. It was just sobering to realize just how much she had wasted of her past life.

She had been so careful about what she ate. Then the choice of food was stripped away for two years. She had sacrificed friendship and family for school and work. Now she had nothing. It didn’t hurt. Part of her wanted it to; she wanted to cry, to feel the weight of everything that had been done to her.

But she couldn’t.

Whether it was the Mark, or the fake elf attack, or Raven, something in her had changed. She looked at the past in the same way that her mother looked at California. Great times and a beautiful place, but not where she was destined to be. Maybe down the road, but for now, that door was closed.

Changeling.

Then again, Sherry wasn’t even her real mother.

The question left, then, was what doors were open. She paused. Looking around, the “pancake house” was now out of sight. She was the last of the foot traffic. With a sigh, Val turned at the next light and headed for the building that had caught her eye the day before. Last night, she’d gone people watching in the market square. Mothers held their children’s hands. Fathers attempted to corral the kids big enough to run ahead. Vendors tried to seduce patrons with “fresher goods,” though each had likely gotten their produce to the market at the same time.

Then there were the two muggers beating the shit out of a man in an alley. It had all been to get to his wallet. Val had made an effort to stop them, but they were already speeding away in a car before she could get close.

There was so much about mankind that was just fascinating. They were unlike any species on Earth. They could love and be loved, build and create. They could dream. But in the same breath, they could tear down everything. It was a kind of destruction that made Le Ciel look merciful.

Angels lie, and you are their fifth transgression.

No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t get the words out of her mind. A closed auction. Shattered glass. Rainbow mist. It was all a constant reminder of the choice she knew she had already made, even if she tried to run from it.

Val looked up at the breathtaking gold and blue fusion of glass and stone that was St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church. Its three doors and duel towers looked fantastical against the modern cityscape. She jokingly wondered if she’d somehow slid into Annwn, but a donut box peeking from a trashcan placed her firmly back into Earth Proper. As she ascended the stone steps, she couldn’t help but stare into the intricate maze of circles that made up the center window above the doors. It’d been years since she had last stepped foot in a church. She had gone regularly when she was little, but her mother’s work eventually shut out the option. At age six, she hadn’t cared enough to press.

The interior struck her like a wave. It took a moment to get bearings. Colorful tapestries, stained glass masterpieces, and the most intricately designed alter she’d ever seen greeted her in the dim light. Steeling herself against the hypnotizing patterns and arrangements, she exited the sanctuary. Thankfully, the confessional wasn’t too far away, and she found it before getting lost in the inevitable maze of hallways and stairwells.

“Father,” Val said, closing the door to the booth. It felt strange, talking to someone obstructed by a perforated wall. Perhaps, if her dad had stayed with the Catholic faith, she would have grown used to it.

“What is it, my child?” The priest’s voice was kind; fatherly. Though she should have expected that.

“I...” Val realized that she had no clue where to even begin. “I’ve recently started working with some people. People who believe they can change the world; make things better.”

“How so?”

Val paused. She hadn’t given much thought to what she would actually tell him. She cleared her throat,