The Pearly Gates

A Story by NutrientPolecat

There they stood, the pearly gates. It was a sight to behold. The top of the gate vanished in the wisps of clouds several stories above me. Pearly was an appropriate adjective, off white with swirls of purples and blues bolstered by immaculate gold framing. As I drew closer walls running off in either direction from the gate came into focus. These, however were not as pristine.

Reaching three quarters to the "ceiling" of clouds, these walls were more like what I was used to on Earth. They looked to be made of cement that had long ago been dyed or painted white. The coloring had long since faded leaving patches of unpainted wall. I finally reach the gates and am greeted.

"Welcome to heaven, I would like to thank you for living a virtuous life. It's with a warm heart I grant you entrance through the gates." A formality it seems as the man did not move to show me through, just gestured for me to enter. Hesitation festering now, I walk through. Where I am greeted by a second man. This one in what could only be described as plated armor. Matching the gates in color but not material.

"Welcome. I would like to thank you for living a virtuous life." That sounds familiar. "My name is Peter, and it is my honor to inform those worthy and capable that they have been recruited to fight in the holiest of wars." With that Peter held out his gauntlet, in it a hair thin silver chain with a pendant adorned by a singular pearl. "You have been selected as our newest angel. Should you accept, you will help me and mine protect the walls of heaven from the armies of hell."

Heart pounding, I accept the pendant. Sliding it over my head peter is now leading me to a nearby building jutting out from the wall. It's doors open as he approaches and he beckons me to follow him inside. Sconces along the walls light as he walks to the back of the room which is empty aside from a set of wardrobes and a large foot chest between them. Standing next to the first wardrobe he speaks.

"Come, you must gather your equipment." I walk through the rest of the room to the composed Peter. He nods to the first wardrobe. "Open it." My hand begins to tremble, clenching it into a fist then opening again, I reach for the wardrobe. The red cedar door opens with ease. A blinding light emanates from within. Eyes focusing, a set of armor similar to that of peters sits on shelves inside. Gauntlets, chain-mail as light as a feather and sections of plating to cover my entire body.

Peter patiently guides me through clothing myself in the armor. Quietly reciting, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Last buckle tightened, he looks up seemingly satisfied. He now gestures to the foot chest. I kneel down and open it. My initial anxiety melting away into anticipation. I'm met once more with that same blinding light.

Inside the chest lay a sword. Not one with ornate frill or of cartoonish size, a modest sword, visibly crafted with perfection and care. Reaching down I take the sword in my hand, it's hilt fitting snugly in my gauntlet. Precision has gone into preparing the armor and weapon to fit together seamlessly.

"The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." continued Peter. His smile growing. He gestures now to the final wardrobe. In my eagerness to see what other treasures I'd be given I was already reaching for it.

In the final chest lay a shield and a helmet. The shield had a centered golden cross and golden vines running along it's border. I take it up in my left arm, sliding my armored hand into the straps. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.. he trailed off.

I take the helmet from it's shelf and lift it over my head. "and take the helmet of salvation". It slides over my head without much effort. Peter takes a step back, scanning for any imperfections. Satisfied he places a hand on my shoulder.

“Lets take a look around shall we?” Peter leads out of the barracks at a brisk pace, pausing in the middle of the courtyard. I hadn’t noticed the splendor of it all earlier in my haste to follow him, but now it was truly breathtaking. A pale gold path continued through the gate and wound around a fountain central to the courtyard we were in. Off to the west I could see homes in uniform rows, each more beautiful than the last. The sloshing of the water cascading down the fountain was met with a choir of birds as they flew overhead. So this is Heaven. Peter seemed to notice my day dreaming and gave a soft pat on my back.

“This is truly amazi..” A deafening boom caught me mid-sentence followed by a piercing screech. Peter’s eyes focused to the gates as he drew his sword. I followed suit. Those that were in the street fled to their homes. Another boom echoed through the courtyard followed by a cackling of howls and other nightmarish utterings. Streets now empty of civilians I see others leaving homes and buildings dressed as I am. Peter turns toward me not taking his eyes from the gate.

“We need to go, it’s time you learn to fly.” Two outlines of wings form on Peter’s back. Like the veins of a wing, no feathers just the pale blue outline. With a bend of one knee Peter shoots 20 feet into the sky. His wings beating slowly like a swimmer staying afloat in a pool. “No time for practice, just do it.” His tone was grave, there was little time for trial and error.

I focus on my back, thinking of what Peter had just done. I feel a tingling sensation bordering on pain right below my shoulder blades, slowly getting worse. I wince and continue to focus. Another bang, several of the other angels have made their ways to the wall. The pain stops, they must be full grown, step two. I bend my knee as I just saw peter, as if I were to tie my shoe, breath in, and push up with all my strength. Launching skyward I stop beside Peter. The slightest glimpse of satisfaction in his face, but I know we have work to do. Before he needs to tell me, I fly toward the wall.

The closer I get to the wall the louder the chaos gets. Metal meeting metal, cries in pain. Peter lands before I and starts shouting orders. Groupings of angels dart in and out of the fray, covering their armor in the ashen blood of our demonic threat. I touchdown next to him and as I do he is already speaking to me.

“The forces of hell are upon us. I will not force you to help, do as you will, but stand by me and I guarantee your safety.” He looks to me, his gentle smile replaced by the fiery determination to cleanse his home of this scourge.

“I want to help.” Peter grabs the back of my helmet and pulls my head to his, touching his forhead to mine. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes". With that he falls backwards off the wall and towards the army before us. Filling my lungs with one last focused breath, I follow.

The air outside the walls was warm from the heat of death. Countless demons lay dismembered on top of one another. Horned and clawed malformations of horrific imagination. Peter 15 yards ahead of me meets the forces first. With a surgically precise blow he severs the head from a charging beast, letting the momentum of his swing send him spinning into his next victim which met the same fate. He danced through their forces painting the clouds with their flesh and blood.

A monstrous beast charged me, hind legs hooved, front legs taloned like that of an eagle. Scales adorned it’s massive red body. Gripping my sword, I measured the best place to strike. Diving onto it like a bird of prey, I cross my sword over my body and back behind me, gaining speed as I bring it back over my head, splitting the creature’s skull in two. My first kill. I feel something approach from behind so I dart into the sky. Back down again, same technique met with the same results.

The fight rages for hours. The stench of burning flesh and blood moistens the air. The angels now regrouped in the courtyard hardly look worse for ware, Peter least of all. I fly to join them and Peter introduces me to the rest.

“Congratulations to our newest recruit who on his first day willingly joined a battle and survived.” A brief pause for a courteous round of applause. “I look forward to your future with us brother. It was an honor fighting alongside you.”

With that, the rest of the Angels and Peter parted ways, leaving me standing alone in the courtyard. I looked down at my hands, the blood soaked gauntlets protecting them shining in the afternoons glow. I guess living a good life has it’s perks. A small chuckle escapes as I drift through the streets, glancing over at the walls I now have the honor of protecting. I think I can get used to this.