Katrina House rock and roll pop star.
One and a half years ago.
Katrina House... Kat to everyone who knew and loved her, drove the fellowship van to the top of Devil's Wing Hill, renamed Joshua Hill by Ballinger University founders twenty years ago. Ballinger University was the number one Evangelical university in the country so it was understandable why it had to rename the hill. Devil's Wing stuck with the locals though. She had read somewhere that the local Indians had a name for the hill that translated into God's Wing. How the early settlers got Devil's Wing from God's Wing was beyond her.
She parked the van in the graveled parking area and walked to the overlook. It was ten in the morning, a few clouds dotted the sky but it was generally clear and breezy. The wind whipped her dark brown hair around her heavily freckled face. Bellow and five miles away was the Ballinger campus and beyond the minor sprawl of Ballinger proper. Ballinger University was her destiny. At Ballinger she was expected to keep up her grades, major in something useless, be courted by a young up and coming minister, (Ballinger produced them by the train load) marry him and have babies.
Kat House was pipping mad. Not because of her coming destiny, although she wasn't so hot on that either but she had long ago accepted Ballinger as her lot. What got her so mad was her parents forbidding her to participate in the All Evangelical Singing Competition or the AESC. She had been denied entering other competitions by her parents before. When American Idol rolled through Wisconsin, Kat wanted to tryout. Of course her Evangelical grounded parents said that the show as a roving Sodom and Gomorrah. Kat couldn't argue with that, the show was nothing but pure vanity. But the AESC? A Christian competition run by Christians FOR Christians! Kat uncharacteristically blew up at her parents and demanded to know what the objection was. They had none, all they said was a good daughter would not question her parents in such a way. She stormed out mad, took the van and came to Joshua Hill.
The tears started to flow and that angered her even more. "I'm over eighteen! I should leave this stupid town!" Even as she said it she knew she wouldn't... her parents had her pegged... she was an obedient daughter. Her teary eyes rolled up to the sky. "Please?" she asked softly.
The last time she had pleaded to God she was just five years old. She had begged God to spare her ailing beloved grandfather. He died on the night of her prayer. Her five year old mind had concluded she hadn't been a good enough Christian to get through to God. After that she worked hard at being the best little Christian possible but the first seeds of doubt were planted in her mind all those years ago and had been growing ever since.
"I'm just a lousy Christian," she said. Then anger flaring again. "Or you're just not there," she accused. Guilt closed in fast. She knew it was the anger talking. Normally she would give a prayer of apology... but not today. She pulled at her hair and screamed loud and long. Then she dropped to her knees on the grassy overlook and sat quiet for a long time.
Just as she was about to go back to the van, a loud rustle off to her right in a clump of threes caught her attention. A large animal moved in the shadows. Had to be a deer, they were all over the place at this time of year. Then she saw that the creature was walking on two legs. Was it a bear? She had never seen one in all the years since her family had moved from Tennessee to Wisconsin. And to be honest, she had no idea if there were bears in this part of the country. She worked her way get back to the van not quite running but faster than walking. One more quick look over her shoulder made her stop. It wasn't an animal, it was a person... a man and he was carrying something on his back that looked like a kite. Was he one of those hang gliders? Hang gliders used the lookout as a launch pad all the time. The man stumbled and fell to his knees, clearly he was hurt. Without thinking, young Kat rushed in to help.
"You hurt mister?" she asked. Then she stopped abruptly when she saw that he was naked. It was a little shocking but she knew that young men did all kinds of stupid things when it came to extreme sports. He wouldn't be the first to hang glide naked down Joshua. The guy struggled to get to his feet. It wasn't a hang glider, he wore a costume with wings. And oddly, the wings seemed to be changing color from a deep red to pink. Confused, Kat debated what to do. Help this man who appeared in distress? Or run to the van to escape possible danger? She chose flight and sprinted to the van. As she turned the key to start the engine, her Christian side made her pause.
"He could be seriously hurt," she said aloud. She look up the hill. He hadn't followed her down so that could mean that he didn't mean her harm. "He's hurt," she said as she turned off the engine, got out, ran to the back door of the van and threw it open. In the back were several boxes of donation clothes her mom had loaded to take to the church donation box. Almost all of the clothes were from her older brothers now off to college. In one box she found a Ballinger High School tracksuit and ran it up the hill.
The man was still on his knees looking dazed and confused. Head injury... or was he on drugs? That thought put the scare back in her again. Her practical side urged her to throw the tracksuit at him, run back to the van, drive back to town and call the sheriff.
"Did you see a woman?" the man asked.
"Only you," Kat said.
Was this some sorted love affair? A kinky sex rendezvous gone wrong?
"Did someone leave you here?" she asked tentatively. She had drove up the only road that led to the overlook and hadn't encountered another car. Just as she was about to listen to her practical side and head for town, an odd feeling enveloped her. All of a sudden, the fact that he was naked seemed the most interesting thing in the world. From her safe distance she gave the guy the once over. He had long blond hair and a nicely developed upper body, his legs looked good too. He was handsome REALLY handsome in that Brad Pitt from that old movie 'Troy' kind of way. She couldn't see his manhood from her angle and was surprised at how interested she was in beholding all of him. The wings on his back had faded to white. How were they doing that?
Stop gawking! She scolded herself and tossed him the tracksuit. But instead of running for the van as planned, she watched him stand up and pull on the the tracksuit bottom. Showing he was modest with manners, he turned his back to her. She frowned at her deep disappointment. His costume wings obscured his backside and that was disappointing too. He was tall, six feet at least. She had a clear view of the costume wings from behind. It made him look like an angel from heaven.
"My lord," she whispered as the wings flexed like they were real... like they were a part of him. He turned to face her. "My Lord," she repeated as this impossibly beautiful man looked at her with alarming blue eyes that were wide open in surprise.
"Is that you Kat?" he asked softly.
He knows my name! This was crazy!
The man turned in a slow circle to take in the surroundings. "Were am I?" he asked.
"Joshua Hill," she said softly, seconds from bolting again.
"Tell Joshua that I'm in no shape to wrestle," he said.
She made a squeaky sound in the back of her throat. When she spoke, her voice was a little shaky. "The locals call it by it's old name, Devil's Wing. The Indians called it God's Wing."
"All apt names," the man said. "Where is this hill exactly?"
"Ballinger, Wisconsin."
"Your old home town where you won that Christian singing contest," he said absently like he had had a conversation with her about it.
"No... I'm not in the contest," Kat whispered. RUN TO THE VAN! Her practical brain screamed at her.
The man looked at her with a frown. "Your song was playing in the background in Chicago... and I was thinking about you now here I am."
She looked at him blankly.
"You don't know me, do you," he said gently.
Kat shook her head. A confusing combination of fear and total fascination washed over her.
"My name is Ethan... I'm not going to hurt you."
For some reason... mostly because she was young and inexperienced... she believed him. "What are the wings made of?" was the only stupid question she could conger at the moment.
"Me," he said with a half smile. He turned so that he was sideways to her and flexed his wings back exposing the section were his flesh met the wing. From where she stood it looked like wing and skin were one. "Feel," he said.
"I'm expected back in town," she said as a weak warning. Tentatively, she approached, reached and touched were the wings and his back connected. "Lord Jesus my savior," she whispered. To Ethan's shock and surprise Kat dropped to her knees before him and bowed her head. "Forgive me for ever doubting."
"Whoa kid... this is not... I'm not..." He dropped to his knees to face her, gently gripped her chin and tilted her head up to look into her eyes. She was crying. "No matter how this looks, I'm not an angel from heaven... although appearing to you on a hill Named after Joshua a dude that wrestled with an angel in the bible isn't helping my case much is it?"
She shook her head but she did manage a tiny smile at his attempted joke.
"I'm just a dude with wings is all, Kat."
"How do you know my name?"
"Boy, this is complicated," he said. "Okay I'm gonna give it to you straight. I'm from the future. And in the future you and I become close friends."
"Friends? How?"
"You become lead singer in my rock and roll band."
"I join a rock and roll band?" she asked sounding incredulous. It was easier to believe that he was an Angel from the future than her being in a rock band.
"God's honest truth," he said and quickly amended, "Just a figure of speech. I don't have conversations with God."
"You use a time machine like in the movies?" Kat asked.
"No... I use these," he said spreading his wings up high. "I don't know how it works but my wings allows me to travel in time."
"You decide you wanna go somewhere and just like that you're there?" Kat asked.
"Nothing like that," he said. "I'm just kind of figuring this out. It seems that I appear to people that I have a special connection with. You're one of those people. I was thinking of you and now here I am."
She eyed up his wings. She just couldn't believe he wasn't an angel... he was so beautiful. "The wings were a bright red when I first saw you. They're white now." She wanted to touch them but stayed her hand.
"Um... when I'm emotionally distraught they go pink and red."
"The other name of this hill is Devil's Wing," Kat said.
"Not an angel... not a devil I promise."
She wasn't sure about that either for there was no denying the fact that he was turning her on something awful. A favorite quote from one of her Sunday school teachers floated to the front of her mind. 'Angels don't make girls steamy, the devil does.'
Ethan suddenly frowned, got up and started to looking around frantically. "A bag! I had a bag! A paper bag with a handle! He went in the wrong direction to look for it. He might be an angel from heaven but he had no sense of direction. Kat got up and headed for the clump of trees she saw him walk out of. She immediately saw the paper bag with the Trader Joe's logo on it and picked it up. The bag was filled with money. An angel wouldn't need money... would the devil?
"Thank goodness, I thought I lost it," he said taking charge of the money.
"What are you gonna do?" Kat asked.
"I don't wanna cause a stir. Wait till dark, find a cheap motel in town," he said with a shrug.
"You can't go to Ballinger everyone knows everyone there... and you kind of stick out."
He looked down the hill at the fellowship van. "Give me a ride to the nearest town?"
"That's an hour away... I'd be missed." Angel or not, she didn't feel comfortable being alone with him in the van.
"Local motel?"
"There's just one and again no way to sneak you in."
He reached into the paper sack, pulled out a brick of hundred dollar bills and peeled off five. "I know I'm asking a lot but can you buy me a disposable cell with all the fixings and bring it back here?"
