Page 13 of The Devil You Know

“It makes sense,” Michael said stubbornly. “If there is a... a sign of God’s will for us to find, we need to find it. What if we are too late? I can’t lose a chance to make things better. To make things right.”

And here it was. The crux of the problem. Michael had to stubbornly cling to the notion of a literal Deus Ex Machina, a last miracle to save us all, because otherwise he would have to accept the harsh reality. I thought he had already worked through those emotions and was at the last stage of dealing with grief, acceptance, but apparently I had been mistaken and the issue had been simmering under the angel’s skin where I couldn’t see it. Or maybe he did accept that God was dead, but replaced one issue with another. Going on a wild goose chase was unlikely to solve our problems. Talking about the state of Heaven and Hell, plus the humans trapped between us, and making plans on how to deal with it had a greater probability of success.

And I could admit to myself I was a hypocrite who was avoiding this precise talk, not wanting to destroy the precarious equilibrium between us. I wanted to keep Michael by my side in this simplistic life for a little while longer. So, despite my doubts, I agreed to explore the island.

I threw a look over my shoulder at our cave with a bit of regret; we had to leave things we couldn’t carry, so the bedding and the improved fire pit had to stay behind. We covered the entrance as best as we could in case we needed to go back here, but we were essentially letting our temporary home go.

“Ready?” Michael smiled at me and I took a step towards the unknown.

Maybe my home was just with him by my side.

The exploration was grudging, especially considering Michael’s hurt leg, but each day we set our camp further, circling around the mountain in the middle of the island. I delighted in the new discoveries: different food to supplement our diet, unique rock formations, strange trees, and other curiosities. My previous experience with a bout of nausea made me more diligent about checking if the food was safe instead of just chomping on it, like I did that first day. My luck held then but it ran out at a later date, and a mildly poisonous berry made me regret my choices. We stuck to flora that looked familiar, but I knew even an innocent-looking apple could be one of the species that were harmful to humans.

“I want to eat them now,” I whined, eyeing the pears we collected in a basket. They looked mouthwateringly good.

“You just tested them on your skin. Give it at least a few hours. You know the drill,” Michael chastised me, but by the covert looks he was shooting at my catch, I knew he was secretly craving the forbidden fruit as well. “If you want a snack— hey! Look!”

I followed Michael’s finger and saw just the tip of a white tail vanishing among the trees.

“A white fox! It’s a sign! We have to follow it!” Michael cried out excitedly.

Did we suddenly change the genres from a survival game to RPG? A white animal? Really? It stank of a main quest. Of course, it could be just a coincidence, but Michael was too blindsided to even consider it, and I had to follow him to ensure he didn’t trip on a stray root and die.

Foxes were slippery beasts, and we ended our chase with nothing.

“It’s because of me,” Michael said miserably. “My stupid leg makes me feel like a human trying to chase after an airplane. I’m sure there is something special about that animal. We have seen birds, insects, and small critters, but it’s the first larger one we have spotted.”

“Would having that fox make you happy?” I asked.

“Yes!”

“Then I will catch it for you.”

This was a declaration of war. The fox was going down. It was going to be easy for me to get it when I could sprint full-on after it instead of worrying about my lover.

Three days later, I had to readjust my expectations.

“Just you wait,” I growled, stalking closer to the small, furry animal.

Like a true predator, I lunged at my prey, ready to bundle it up in my coat. At the last second the fox jumped and I flailed, losing my balance. The fox landed on my back. Then proceeded to lick its paw. I roared up and I swear I could see it in its cat-dog expression that it was laughing at me when it scurried away.

Once more, I returned to our camp with my tail between my legs.

“Next time we will try it my way,” Michael said sagely, trying to hide his mirth at my defeat.

It turned out the angel’s way was to set up a trap. While I was out scavenging, scouting, or running after the Bane of My Existence, Michael had made a net-like trap. The net was supposed to fall onto the fox when it went to the ambush spot, enticed there by a delicious morsel of fish. I added a few coconut shells to the trap, hoping they would make noise falling down and alert us when the trap was sprung. Later in the day, we heard a loud noise and hurried to the snare.

The net was empty. And there was no fish in sight.

I looked smugly at Michael, but he looked so disappointed I couldn’t bear to rub it in.

“Let’s go to the hot springs I found,” I offered, trying to take my lover’s mind off his failure. “The little demon will keep.”

“Oh? Demon? Are claiming it for your side?” Michael teased.

“Does the fox look like an angel to you?” I snorted.

“Well, it is white,” the angel pointed out and, by the way his shoulders moved unconsciously, I knew his wings would be out to illustrate the point if he still had the ability. “And it’s not like it did anything to us.”

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