Keep Safe

Keep Safe

-Book II-

Dust to Flesh Series

by

RL Stoll

http://rlstolltheauthor.weebly.com/

Copyright © 2014 by RL Stoll

Cover Picture by © Lady Pirotessa of Blue Rose Creations

Edited by Megan Harper

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious.

First Edition 2014

ISBN: 1499504527

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments:

First and foremost, I need to give credit to my Heavenly Father for giving me the ideas and time to continue this series. Book II never would have made it into publication without Him. I would also like to thank my family for giving me the time, unconditional love, and support I needed to get this novel done on time. Thank you Brian (my husband) for always backing me up and encouraging me to follow my dreams. Thank you girls (my daughters) for continuously making me laugh and reminding me to write from the heart. Megan, I would also like to acknowledge you. You are an amazing editor and know exactly how to polish my mistakes into a bed of roses- Only you know what this really means. And lastly, I would like to thank my readers for supporting me by buying and lending out my books. If it wasn’t for your favorable reviews and positive endorsements, I wouldn’t be the author I am today.

There shall Always Be The Church

by T.S. Eliot

There shall always be the Church and the World

And the Heart of Man

Shivering and fluttering between them, choosing and chosen,

Valiant, ignoble, dark and full of light

Swinging between Hell Gate and Heaven Gate.

And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail

Chapter 1- Arrival

Stepping off the long, narrow connector ramp, linking the cramped 747-400 to Cologne Bonn Airport, Noelle turned her hot-pink cell phone back on and translated restroom into German. She needed to use the bathroom - fast! After drinking 32 ounces of mocha latte on her two - hour layover in Munich, her bladder felt like it would burst at any moment.

Noelle immediately scanned the overhead signs mounted lengthwise down the brightly lit terminal and sprinted to the glossy metal door labeled, damentoilette.

There was something about using the plane’s restroom that distressed Noelle. For some reason, she just couldn’t relieve herself in the claustrophobic lavatory no matter how hard she tried. The idea of passengers seated in the last three rows listening to her go made her feel uneasy. Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t balance herself on the minuscule toilet seat as the aircraft bounced up and down and shuffled side to side, even though she held onto the plastic safety bar for dear life.

After blow - drying her hands under the powerful air vent in the airport lavatory, Noelle quickly exited the restroom in search of an ATM. She needed to withdraw money for her taxi ride to the University of Cologne, as well as the rest of her meals for the week.

Before leaving home, she was told by Dagmar Bauer, the director of the KARIBOU program at the University of Cologne, that many of the smaller businesses in Germany despised credit cards because of the extra costs to their businesses. She was advised to have cash on hand at all times, just in case.

After punching her PIN and the amount she wished to withdraw onto the screen, Noelle extracted a quarter of her savings and placed half of it in her wallet. She stashed the rest of it in her bra strap for safekeeping. Looking up, she followed the signs, labeled in German, towards baggage claim where Swen, her international liaison, was scheduled to meet her.

When Noelle got word of her acceptance into the program at the University of Cologne last Christmas Break, she immediately contacted Dagmar Bauer, the director, and requested a mentor who had already traveled overseas. She did not want to be partnered with someone who’d never voyaged out of the country before; she needed to be paired with someone who understood the difference in cultural differences and who could sympathize with her feelings of nervousness and anxiety that accompanied a journey to a new country.

When she first discovered her mentor was a male surfer who had studied his sophomore year at Seabreeze High School in Daytona, Florida, she was thrown. It wasn’t the exactly the match she had anticipated - nor one that she wanted.

Not only was she being paired with someone of the opposite sex, but she was stuck with somebody who loved a sport which she couldn’t even begin to understand the appeal, mainly because it involved threatening sea creatures and treacherous waves. Noelle hated jellyfish and sharks and was certain they’d attack her if she even went into the ocean past her knees.

Noelle spotted the sign Gepäckausgabe, and turned right. She knew her luggage was being unloaded from the aircraft carrier. She had seen baggage handlers and belt loaders emptying cargo from the hold of the plane through the wall-to-wall windows lining the terminals.

Noelle hurried on her way. On her short jaunt down the brightly-lit corridor towards baggage claim, thoughts of her boyfriend Brett immediately surfaced to the forefront of her mind. She wondered how he was doing. He had been anxious about her moving so far from home. In fact, when she arrived at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, she wasn’t sure, once they embraced, if he’d ever let her go.

Brett, it’s time for me to board the plane, Noelle whispered sweetly into his ear.

I know, Brett whispered back. Just a few more minutes, okay. They still need to board families with small children and those in wheelchairs.

Noelle chuckled as she glanced over Brett’s shoulder. There was only one family with two little kids and as far as she could see no handicap passengers. Okay. I’m seated in the back though, so I can’t wait too much longer.

Noelle smiled as she pulled her cell phone out of her leather satchel strapped across her chest and dialed Brett’s number. She wanted to call him as soon as possible so she could inform him that she had landed safely, even though he probably already knew; Brett had saved an app on his phone prior to her leaving Chicago that alerted him the minute her plane touched down in Cologne, just in case something happened.

Hey, babe. Sorry to wake you, she whispered into the receiver. I know it’s still early morning there, but I figured you’d want to hear my voice, instead of the app’s alarm. So how are you doing? she asked, nervous he might still be disheartened about her leaving the country. After a few seconds, she replied, I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better…Oh, that’s funny, she said, chuckling. You’ll have to tell your mom I said hello when she wakes up… uhhh huh… Yeah, the flight was a bit shaky at first, but things eventually smoothed out once we got midway across the Atlantic…Yup, I slept the last half of the trip, thanks to your brilliant suggestion, she said, thinking of the melatonin pills she had taken before boarding the plane. Hopefully I won’t feel jetlagged later. It’s weird to think I left Chicago late yesterday afternoon and it’s already early morning here in Cologne.

I miss you, he said.

I know. I miss you too. I promise these 10 weeks will fly by and we’ll be back together in no time. We just need to keep busy. The busier we are, the quicker time will pass.

I know. It just going to be tough without you here this semester.

I promise I’ll call you every day and we can video chat every night.

Alright, he said, begrudgingly.

Noelle saw the final sign for luggage claim after walking past an overpriced tourist shop, and said, I have to go, but I promise I’ll call you once I get settled into my new place. I just wanted to tell you I love you and that I arrived safely. Talk to you soon. Love you.

Noelle hung up right before entering luggage and passenger control. She didn’t want Brett learning about Swen. If he discovered that she had been partnered with a male liaison who could pass as an underwear model, she knew he’d overreact.

Noelle had decided over New Year’s Eve weekend to wait until she was in-country before breaking the news to him. She hadn’t wanted to ruin their last moments together alone by igniting a potentially heated argument. Besides, Brett had already been upset about her moving so far from home after being separated from one another for a month. The last thing she wanted to do was drop a bomb on him that she would be spending gobs of time with a gorgeous male for ten weeks.

In the end, Noelle decided it would be best to postpone telling him about Swen until she was settled into life at the University of Cologne. That way, he’d have time to deal with the situation and, hopefully, get over it before she returned home in the late spring.

I’ll tell him in a couple of days… perhaps even next weekend… or maybe next month, she thought, kicking herself for not having told him sooner and gotten it out of the way. The anxiety of keeping a secret from him was making her TMJ flare up at night. She would wake up in the morning with a migraine and an aching jaw. At the moment, she felt sick to her stomach, hiding the truth from him, especially since it wasn’t the first time she’d kept a secret from him in the past few months. It probably wouldn’t be the last either, considering her circumstances.

Noelle swerved around an older couple and group of students headed in the opposite direction. He knows how much I love him, she reasoned with herself, spotting a six-foot-tall slender brunette standing amongst other tourists in the rear of the room.

Swen had a scruffy beard and untamed russet hair, just like the picture she had copied off from home and had brought along with her. She wanted to make sure she could spot him out of the multitude of people at the airport. When she glanced around the room, however, she quickly realized he would have easily stood out in any crowd.

Noelle waved at the handsome male, who was smiling and signaling for her to come over.

Noelle? he said in his thick German accent once Noelle reached him.

Yes, she said, smiling. That’s me. And you must be Swen.

"Ja! Nett, Sie kennen zu lernen," he replied.

Noelle’s eyebrows immediately shot up.

That means, ‘Yes. It’s nice to meet you,’ Swen said with a devilish grin.

Noelle looked into his impenetrable eyes. "Oh, right. It’s nice to meet you, too, she said. Sorry, I don’t speak much German. Actually, I don’t speak any German," she said sheepishly, glancing down at her feet so she could hide her flushed cheeks.

Don’t worry. By the end of your ten-week study in Cologne, you’ll speak fluent German, he reassured her.

Noelle’s previous thoughts of him resembling a fashion model were immediately affirmed when he flashed his irresistible dimples on both sides of his chiseled face. She nodded, her cheeks still aglow.

How about we get your bags? he said, pointing to the conveyer belt, which had begun to move.

Just above the digital sign with Noelle’s flight information, the light had flickered red to green, followed by a long blast and two short blares. Bags were spilling forth from the tiny opening in the rear wall as thick, black rubber panels swished back and forth along the tops of passengers’ bags, which were circulating on the conveyor belt in the middle of the cramped room.

Noelle stared at the overstuffed bags swirling past her as they approached the revolving black strap and said, It shouldn’t take long to find my stuff. She eyed the suitcases departing the hole. I only have two duffel bags and a pink suitcase, she assured him.

Wow. That’s impressive, Swen interjected. Most females I pick up from the airport bring at least four or five suitcases, and that’s just their clothing, he said, chuckling. I’ve carried a lot of luggage out of this airport as a liaison for the KARIBOU Program, he said, grinning.

Noelle nodded, unsure why he felt the need to tell her this. I just didn’t want to pay the extra luggage fees, she said, shrugging.

Swen laughed. Would you like me to get a cart to carry your luggage outside? he asked, pointing to the cart corral behind them.

Figuring they could manage on their own, Noelle politely declined. The less she had to shell out in money this semester, the better. She was intent on being as frugal as possible, as her parents would be unable to pay for additional expenses she incurred along the way.

Noelle quickly spotted her luggage and moved forward to grab the bags, but Swen jumped in front of her and hauled them off the belt before she had a chance to get them herself.

Thanks, she said. But I could have gotten them.

No problem, he said, throwing her duffle bags over his shoulder. It’s just quicker if I do it, he said.

Okay, Noelle said, visibly offended, even though Swen didn’t seem to notice.

Swen offered Noelle the handle of her hot pink suitcase and led the way through the glass doors on the other side of the room. Upon reaching the outside of the departure wing, Noelle felt a rush of frigid winter air and the uncomfortable sensation of her feet stumbling into slush.

Swen immediately hailed for a taxi by whistling with his free hand. Once a taxi driver swerved over to the curbside, they jumped into the backseat and began to warm themselves up. Swen gave directions to the driver in German, and Noelle held onto the plastic safety handle attached to her door as they jolted towards the exit ramp leading to downtown Cologne.

Noelle stared through the tinted rear window as delicate snowflakes gently melted on the glass beside her. Along the eleven mile commute from Bonn airport to downtown, Noelle witnessed withered fields and barren trees covered in frost on either side of Autobahn 59. Several neighborhoods and commercial businesses sprinkled the route, and Swen pointed out a Walmart early on in the trip. Overall, Noelle thought it appeared the same as Michigan, until they merged onto Autobahn 599 and drove over a long bridge covering an inlet into the city.

The taxi driver arrived at Noelle’s flat in less than twenty minutes, for which Noelle was thankful; she had longed to get out of the car the moment they had left the airport. It seemed to her that Cologne drivers were even crazier than Chicago cabbies!

Noelle handed the driver her Euros before hastily stepping out of the backseat and onto the snowy sidewalk. The hostel, as the University of Cologne referred to their residence halls, was much loftier than the one she had lived in at the University of Chicago - twelve stories higher, to be exact.

Swen got out of the cab and looked at Noelle. I can’t believe it snowed today. We never get this much snow, he said, shaking his head. Hopefully, it’ll stick around before turning into mud again. Shuffling through the wet slush on the cement, he walked to the rear of the car.

Noelle fluttered her long eyelashes and wiped the flakes from them with her left hand. She couldn’t see the concrete tower before her with snowflakes accumulating so quickly.

Noelle was excited for the view she’d have at night. She had hoped to see the Rhine River from her bedroom window on the fifteenth floor, but on the car ride over, she soon realized her dormitory was much farther away than she had originally thought. She guessed it was about a mile from the renowned river.

The one downside to living on the east side of the Rhine was that she was on the opposite side of where the University’s main campus was located. This meant she would need to take public transportation to school every day, which was fine with Noelle. She would much rather ride the bus every day than live with ten or fifteen other girls she barely knew on the same floor, which was the setup of the dormitories on campus. Noelle detested the idea of sharing a kitchen and a bathroom with that many people, especially females. Getting ready in the morning would be an all-out war.

Swen pulled Noelle’s suitcase out of the cramped trunk and handed it to her before throwing both of her duffel bags over his shoulder. He dismissed the taxi driver in German and led Noelle past several metal racks full of bicycles on their way to the main entrance. After swiping his university card through the narrow slit in the campus security box, Swen waited for the light on the side to turn green. He pushed the glass door open after getting clearance and led Noelle to the front desk to check in.

Anja, a petite, redheaded junior with freckles peppering her face, looked up from her paperwork and smiled. She was the student attendant for the day, and it was apparent she enjoyed her job. She smiled and welcomed every student by their first names as soon as they stepped foot into the building after Noelle and Swen.

Swen introduced Noelle to Anja and explained how she knew very little about the culture or the language. He then asked Anja if she would be willing to assist Noelle from time to time when he was unavailable to help her himself.

"Ja, natürlich, Anja said cheerfully to Swen. Anja then turned to Noelle, and in her choppiest English said, Nice meet you. Hope stay here in Cologne nice for you."

Thank you, Noelle replied, taking the welcome folder from her speckled hand. Noelle smiled, relieved someone other than Swen spoke English - or at least partial English. It was good enough for her to understand, anyway. She needed someone other than Swen to rely on for help, especially if female issues arose during the semester. Even though Noelle knew the Guardians could help answer any of her questions at night, she needed humans to rely on during the day to assist with directions and cultural differences.

Anja slid Noelle’s worn brass key across the scratched-up counter and said something in German to Swen.

Swen laughed and looked at the doorway to the left of him.

Noelle noticed the only thing along the white brick wall was a metal door to a stairwell.

Noelle slipped the room key in her front pocket and said, Thank you, forgetting how to say it in German.

Anja smiled and replied, "Willkommens."

Noelle smiled back and nodded, figuring she’d said, You’re welcome, since the phrases sounded so much alike.

Swen turned to Noelle and explained that the elevator was broken again, and that they would have to hike up the fourteen flights of stairs to her room.

Noelle nodded, not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t like she could refuse and stay in the lobby until it was fixed. She had to get up to her room somehow, even if her legs might give out on the way up. She had been sitting on the airplane for