Chapter Text
Chapter 02: Taste of Paradise
Heaven
Now that he was standing next to her, the Wanderer was surprised Emily was about the same height as him, a little over six feet. "I guess I should thank you for finding me, Emily." It was hard to believe a seraph like the one from Isaiah was in front of him now.
"Yup! You can call me Em! Emmy, E, whatever you want, I go by whatever." She giggled. "Again, Welcome to Heaven!"
"Yeah, that... I am drawing a blank on what I'm supposed to do now."
Emily waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. It's normal to feel that way after crossing over." She looked over his attire once more. 'A lot of leather padding.' Emily then noticed the bracer-like object on his left arm. "Oo. What's that?"
Jordan looked down at his armored vault suit and noticed his Pip-Boy. "Yeah, that's my Pip-Boy."
Emily tilted her head with a giggle. "Cute name. Can't say I'm familiar with most human devices."
The man brushed his fingers along the bracer. It was cleaner than he remembered. It even had a polished shine to it. "It's a portable computer my dad gave me." As usual, he turned on the screen and was greeted with the familiar status screen. It seemed to be working normally. He decided to check if his notes and recordings were preserved later. "These were also uncommon, as far as I could tell. I'm surprised I have it with my clothes, considering I'm in Heaven." 'I wonder what happened to my T-51.' "I would have expected to be in a white robe or something."
Emily shrugged. "Clothes can vary." She gestured to the Silver City. "Once we get to the Promenade, you'll see what I mean."
"Alright. Jordan walked to a tree and felt its trunk. "Where in Heaven are we anyways?"
Emily beamed. "Oh, we're in the garden."
Jordan paused. "As in the Garden of Eden? I thought that was supposed to be hidden on Earth."
Emily got down on one knee and caressed a flower. "It used to be. After Adam and Eve left and humanity grew, we moved it to Heaven."
Jordan stared back at the greenery and thought about the state of his wartorn home. "I suppose that's for the best."
"In any case, let's get going." Emily grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him toward the city with a bright smile. "You have the rest of your afterlife to wander."
Jordan chuckled at her positive attitude. It was refreshing. "I guess you're right."
The Promenade
As the pair entered the city, Jordan's stomach bubbled with anticipation. It was like every building was made with gold, marble, and pristine glass. He spent 19 years in the Vault before another few years in the Capital Wasteland. The surface world was just the ruins of the Pre-War era. Even that paled in comparison to Heaven. It was all so colorful compared to the dreary landscape he was familiar with. The architecture seemed so foreign, yet mesmerizing. His words could barely describe the contrast. "It's beautiful."
Emily jumped for joy. "I knew you would say that! You're going to love it here. Usually, we would have this whole song, but we'll save that for later."
Jordan quirked a brow at that. "Song?"
Emily waved it off. "You'll know soon enough. I don't want to ruin the surprise."
Before the Wanderer could say anything else, his eyes were drawn to the other angels in the city. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "That angel is a dog person... That other one looks like a Mirelurk." He had heard rumors of lizard people in a place called Portland, but those were just rumors. He looked around more. "A good chunk of the angels here are animal-like or have multiple eyes."
Emily chuckled. "That's just how your bodies in Heaven are. They are shaped by your soul, among other factors. It can get real introspective if you think about it long enough."
Jordan nodded dumbly as he remembered what he had read growing up until one passage clicked. 'Corinthians 15:40 - There are also heavenly bodies, and there are earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.' "Heaven bodies certainly are a different splendor."
"Exactly!"
As they approached the center square, a few illuminated signs were meant for newcomers.
Welcome to HEAVEN!
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME
LIVIN' LAUGHIN' LOVIN' 4EVAH!
"This is the Promenade. It's the center hub where all angels commute. All of Heaven's administration centers are here." Emily tapped his shoulder, and he was shown a directory screen. His eyes widened when she used her fingers to zoom in and out on the map. It seemed to make sense that things in Heaven were better.
"The first thing you should know is that Heaven doesn't have the typical directions the Earthly Plane has. We don't have a magnetic north, but we still use the directions for their familiarity."
Jordan swiped the screen in one direction, and it didn't seem to end. "Wow. I know Heaven has all the good souls of humanity, but how big is this place?"
Emily grinned. "It's infinite. The benefits of angelic magic! The beach is to the East. The weather is always perfect there."
It was hard to imagine walking along the beach with clean water and no irradiated monsters trying to kill him.
She pointed to a pair of golden doors. "To the proverbial South are Heaven's gates. You met Saint Peter, right?"
Jordan nodded dumbly once more. He was in the book, right? He hadn't gone through the gates.
"The Cherub Towne is to the South East."
"Cherubs? Those are like Cupid, right? Mini angels?" They looked like kids in his picture books as a kid. 'Genesis 3:24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.'
Emily smiled. "Something like that. The Cherub have two goals. The first is to protect the living on behalf of souls in Heaven. The second is to shower the downtrodden with love to give them a reason to continue to live."
Jordan's mood dipped. "Oh..." Memories drifted back to Harold. "Not everyone can be helped, right?"
The seraph noticed his shift in demeanor and gave him a comforting hug. "No, not always. They try their best, but it still comes down to the soul to accept the help. Did you know someone who went through dark times?"
"Yeah. I helped him as best I could. The rest is up to him now." Jordan stared down at her inquisitive look. "A story for another time, I suppose."
"Hey..." Emily reached up and placed a soft hand on his cheek. "I'll have faith he's doing well."
He grew a smile and chuckled. On instinct, a hand came up and ruffled her feathers a bit.
She let out her laugh. "Come on. Stop it!"
"Sorry. They just seem so... fluffy?"
"In that case, I can't wait to show you the petting zoo. All the animals from Eden are there. We've got dodos, koalas -"
Jordan clicked on the name. "Huh. I've read about koalas before but never seen one in person."
She jumped in excitement. "Then we have to go!"
Just as The Wanderer was about to reply, he licked his lips on habit, and a thought occurred. "Before we do, is food and water still a thing in Heaven? It's been a while since I last ate before I died." 'I wonder what the waters of life taste like in Heaven?'
"Of course! The food emporium has every dish in human history, all you can eat!"
Jordan knew this was Heaven, but his eyes nearly popped at the mention. "Seriously? The food is limitless here?" It sounded too good to be true.
"How else would heaven satisfy all the souls here?" With that, Emily dragged Jordan to another building in the Promenade, one of many that served food.
Jordan saw tables and tables of food with many angels grabbing their plates. A glance at his Pip-boy showed that everything here was clean. Was it possible that it was poisoned? Maybe, but everyone else was eating it. Besides, he developed aLead Bellyin the wasteland. He had eaten worse and lived. Jordan picked up a plate, not knowing where to start. He felt a cloth wipe against his mouth.
Emily chuckled and pulled the napkin away. "You were drooling."
The man rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry. It all smells so good!" Ultimately, he started with what he was familiar with, choosing deviled eggs, sweet rolls, salisbury steak, noodles, and fresh fruit.
Emily had her small plate of fruit. When the two looked for seating, Emily spoke up. "Oh, there's Adam in his usual eating spot. He loves his ribs."
Jordan blinked and saw an angel in white and yellow robes. What threw him off was the black skin and horns. "Wait. Adam? As in the one from Eden?" He seemed less angelic than he expected.
"Yup!" She gestured in his direction. "Let's say hello."
"Are you sure?" Jordan looked back at Adam's table and the angel sitting beside him. She was a white-skinned angel with pale yellow eyes and a white asymmetrical bob cut. Her black halo was a stark contrast to everyone else. "I think his friend is glaring at me."
"Oh, that's Lute. She's his lieutenant in the angelic legion. She's like that with everyone."
Considering what was supposed to happen in the rapture, he supposed it made sense for heaven to have an army. 'Even in death, I can't escape war.' The two walked toward their table and took a seat without any issue.
"Sup, Ems." Adam took another bite from his plate of ribs. "Sera's not calling me for me, yeah?"
Emily shook her head. "Nope. Just showing a new angel around."
Jordan gave a light wave to both. "It's an honor to meet the first man."
Adam laughed. "I know. Always good to see another winner." He turned to Jordan. "Sup, man, welcome to f*cking heaven."
Jordan seemed to lean back a bit in surprise. "Uh, what did you say?"
Adam grinned at the familiar reaction. "Welcome to f*cking heaven!"
"You can swear?"
"f*ck yeah! It's f*cking heaven!" Adam turned to his lieutenant. "Ain't that right, Lute?"
With a neutral expression, Lute nodded.
Jordan blinked and thought back to his childhood. "Sorry, I was raised never to swear."
Adam cackled. "Where in the Bible does it say you can't f*cking swear?"
The Wanderer had to think about that. There were passages about how using words to belittle, demean, or attack someone is a sin. As for casual swearing... "Huh."
Seeing the realization on the new guy's face, Adam nodded. "Yeah, and now you're getting it. You aren't the first to be surprised by that. By the way, I saw some slu*tty bitches by the yogurt machine." He gestured to somewhere else in the room. "Since you just got here, wanna go tap that?"
That threw Jordan for another loop. "I... What? Tap?" Before he could say anything else, his guide intervened.
Emily rolled her eyes, used to the first man's eccentricities. "It's his first day, Adam. I want to settle him before he thinks about... indulging himself like you do."
"Oh, relax, Em. The dude's in heaven. Let him enjoy himself." He grew a smirk. "Unless you want to help him with that too?"
Jordan saw the seraph cough and hide a little bit of a blush of embarrassment.
"Come on, Adam. We're more professional than that." Emily glanced at her new friend before biting a pear.
Adam shrugged with a smile as he picked up another rib. "So, kid. I have time to spare. What was life like before you kicked the bucket?"
Jordan opened his mouth before closing it. Where to even start?
