by Alex Apostol
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Tom smiled, showing off his perfectly whitened teeth.
At least he was in a better mood than yesterday I thought as I lowered the knife. My heart felt like it was going to pound straight through my ribcage. There was no worse feeling than being caught unprepared. Keeping my guard up wasn’t really helping to make myself seem sane to Cara’s fiancé, though. He opened the fridge and grabbed a beer as he looked at me with confusion.
“Is Cara already at work?” he asked as he popped the top off the bottle and leaned on the counter.
I’d never seen him act so casual before. It was actually kind of refreshing. I grabbed my sandwich and took a big bite. It was nice to eat fresh deli meat for once. I almost forgot how good food was when it wasn’t prepackaged or served at a gas station.
I turned to set my lunch on the counter so I could make some headway with Tom when I felt something gently touch my waist. I spun back around and came face to face with Tom, who was standing too close for my comfort. I hadn’t heard a sound as he snuck up behind me. I guess that was the advantage of being so lean and average in height. He didn’t turn any heads with extraordinary features, but he sure could move undetected, like a lion stalking its prey in the tall grass.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I blurted out as I tried to back away, bumping into the counter.
“You know, I never really thought much of you,” he began as he took another step closer. “But something’s different now.” He brushed a stray hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “It’s enticing,” he whispered.
He leaned his face in close, nuzzling my neck and taking in a deep breath. It became apparent that Tom wasn’t going to quit as he pressed his lips to the tender part of my neck. Without thinking I brought my knee up as hard as I could. While he hunched over in pain, I swung my fist, causing him to fall back onto the hard linoleum floor. I looked down at him with disgust as he groaned and curled up into a ball.
“Oh my gosh, Kamlyn, what’d you do?” Cara shouted as she stood frozen in the doorway.
I had no idea what to say. How could I tell her what her fiancé had just done? I stammered a few times, trying to gather my thoughts, when Tom pulled himself up by the countertop. Narrowing his eyes, he glared at me as he wiped the blood from his bottom lip with the back of his hand. A malicious smile spread slowly across his face, quickly turning to his usual fake plastered grin as he turned to face Cara. She tapped her saddle shoe with impatience, sending the bright red poodle skirt she was wearing bouncing around her.
“I must’ve snuck up behind Kamlyn here and spooked her, hunny,” he chuckled half heartedly. “Your girl’s got quite a punch,” he added as he spit into the sink.
I hated the fact that he lied to her more than what he actually did. I knew if I didn’t come forward with what really happened, it would eventually come back to bite me in the ass. But I decided to let it go for now. I would sit down with her later tonight to explain everything…or maybe tomorrow morning. As much as I didn’t want her to marry a sleaze ball, I wasn’t in a big hurry to break her heart either. I plastered a smile on my face and shrugged my shoulders as Cara looked at me for confirmation.
“Okay…” she said still looking confused and unconvinced. “Want to watch a movie with us tonight, Kamlyn?”
I couldn’t stand to be in the same house with Tom, let alone the same room. I told her I had promised to spend the evening with Don. That one was a lie I could live with. I grabbed my coat and left in a hurry. When I got to Don’s he was sitting outside on his porch swing reading. We took a long walk around the neighborhood as I told him about what had just happened with Tom. The air was chilly and the leaves were beautiful shades of orange. I zipped up my jacket as a breeze blew past us. Don pulled at the sleeves of his grey ribbed shirt, trying to cover his arms before the goose bumps settled in.
“Well, can you blame the boy?” he joked once I was done.
He gave a playful growl as he pinched my sides, causing me to squirm and giggle.
“Give me a break, old man.”
Laughing together eased my tension a bit. Don had always been good at cheering me up when I was down and making a horrible situation seem not so bad. He was like the older brother I never had. Of course he looked out for me and taught me how to protect myself, but we could also talk to each other and joke around.
“Just think about what you’re going to say, sleep on it, and tell her in the morning,” he advised as he put his arm around my shoulder.
I decided that was best. After all, Don had never steered me wrong yet. When I got back to the house Cara and Tom were curled up on the couch together. I slowly closed the door behind me, not wanting them to know I was back. I went straight to my room to go to sleep. There was nothing I wanted more than to slip into a dreamless slumber and forget about the whole day. I took three sleeping pills instead of the recommended one and crawled into bed.
7
“Who would’ve thought forever could be severed by the sharp knife of a short life.”
– The Band Perry
Like clockwork, my eyes popped open at 3 am just as they had the night before. Whenever I made the poor choice of taking too many sleeping pills I would wake up in the middle of the night and my entire body would still be asleep, unable to move; a harmless side effect, or so the bottle says. I tried, with what seemed like all the effort I had, to roll over onto my side, but gave up. I knew if I stayed awake long enough the rest of my body would wake up as well and then I could get comfortable again. It’d happened to me many times before and there was nothing to do but wait it out or fall back asleep. I felt a kink forming in my neck so I rolled my head to the side, embracing the cold part of the pillow on my warm face.
“Hello, Kammy,” said a voice coming from the darkness of my room.
I took a deep breath as Tom emerged from the shadows and knelt down just inches from my face. I struggled to move, but still felt dead below the neck.
“Shhh…” he hissed as he held one of his fingers up to my lips.
His hands were as cold as ice. As my eyes started to adjust to the dark they focused on Tom’s malevolent grin. He stood up, leering over me like a cat spotting a tasty defenseless mouse.
“Can’t fight this time, huh?” he said, cocking his head to the side as he stared down into my panic stricken face. He bent over at the waist, putting his lips next to my ear. “How does it feel?”
His hot breath covered my neck and the smell of rotten decaying eggs overwhelmed me. He backed away slowly, continuing to smile. I stared at him as he shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them again I saw nothing but black emptiness.
“You’re not Tom,” I gasped as I took in a shallow breath and tried to back away.
He walked around to the end of the bed and gave a deep, echoing laugh that was unnatural and cold.
“Oh, he’s in here somewhere with me,” he said as he leaned over the edge of the bed, resting his hands on the soft mattress. “And the lucky man gets a front row seat.”
I let out a yelp, wishing I had the strength to really belt out as he yanked the blankets off of me and threw them onto the floor in one swift motion. I tossed my head back and forth as I tried my hardest to move the rest of my body. My arms and legs convulsed slightly from my efforts, but not enough to stop what was about to happen.
“Relax…” he whispered as he crawled on all fours onto the bed.
He placed his lips right below my knee and kissed, moving up inch by inch. Stretching his arms above his head, he grabbed the bottom of my nightgown and tossed it upwards. He lifted his head, taking his mouth away from my thigh and pulled himself up so that his face was level with mine. The enormous weight of his body settled on my chest and I struggled to breathe. It was the first time since I began hunting that I felt utterly helpless.
“Please…don’t,” I begged as tears slid down my cheek.
I knew I had no choice. I had to try to e
xorcise the demon from Tom’s body. Even though most people did not survive the procedure when done right, it was my last option. I hated to admit it, but if it was going to come down to me or him that lived, I was going to pick me. One of the first things Don taught me about the job was that sometimes innocent people died. There was nothing any of us could do to stop that.
“Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde,” I recited quickly from memory in a whisper.
The demon’s hallow, black eyes narrowed as he slapped Tom’s hand forcefully over my mouth.
“Clever little bitch,” he growled.
He reached his free hand down and fumbled with the expensive leather belt on Tom’s gray slacks. I let out a muffled cry, knowing there was now nothing I could do to stop him. I regained most of my strength back, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the demon inside Tom. I feared for my life as he grinned at me.
Just as he unhooked the sleek belt, his body flew off of mine and slammed into the wall. I grabbed the gun from my nightstand and ran to the opposite side of the room. Another man was struggling against the demon evenly as I watched from the shadows in shock. I was sure Don wasn’t strong enough to take on a demon with his bare hands, but who else could it be. As I watched horrified, a blinding white light ran through Tom’s body, shooting out of his eyes and mouth as the demon inside screamed. The tall man held both of his hands on Tom’s head until the light inside died and he let the lifeless body fall to the floor. He knelt down for a moment in silence before turning towards me. As he stood up, a car’s headlights ran across the room, shining on my savior.
“Sari?” I squinted and took a step forward.
I stared into his deep eyes as he brushed his hair aside. He made his way towards me and embraced me in his arms as I rested my head against his warm, bare chest.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” he apologized as he rested his hand on my head, holding me closer to him.
I felt a brief moment of peace and calm before snapping back to reality. I pulled away, wanting answers to what had just happened.
“How are you here? How did you know where I was? Are you following me?” I asked frantically.
I raised my gun in front of me, aiming right between his beautiful eyes. The sides of his lips curled upward when I clicked back the hammer, as if the site of a gun being pointed at him was a joke.
“It’s not what you think,” he started to explain, trying to step closer to me as I backed away. “My name is Sariel. I’m an angel and I’ve been sent here to watch over you.”
I looked at him in disbelief as I laughed nervously. I wasn’t even sure I believed in angels, but there he was; a gorgeous man standing in front of me in nothing but jeans, claiming to be one. I continued to stare at him with confusion on my face.
“It’s my job to protect you,” he added in short as he nodded his head towards me, smiling.
Another headlight cast its lights inside my window as it drove by the house, shining directly onto Sari. Behind his muscular body, which seemed to be chiseled meticulously from marble, a large pair of black transparent wings appeared on the wall, attached to the shadow of him. I stared at him in awe. In all the pictures I’d seen, angels were portrayed with big white feathered wings, but his were nothing more than the shadow of wings that were not even there. The headlights passed and the room fell dark once more. I reached for the wall switch behind me. As the soft light filled the room, my eyes searched for what I had just seen, but there was no one there. Sari was gone. Without hesitation, I ran over to the other side of my bed and reached for my phone.
“I need an ambulance right away. My friend’s had a heart attack,” I said as calmly as I could.
There was no other way to explain what had happened to Tom that would be plausible. I hung up the phone after giving them my address and went to wake Cara up. I needed to brace her for this. She had always slept with her headphones in and I knew if she had heard what went on, she would have come running. I would tell her the truth of how her fiancé died once we were alone again, but for now she needed to believe it was a heart attack. So much for not breaking her heart…
8
“Heaven’s gates won’t open up for me. With these broken wings, I’ve fallen.”
– Nickleback
Cara and I sat in the living room with coffee mugs steaming in our hands. The sun crept across the pale yellow walls as we sat in silence. I knew it was time to tell her how Tom had really died. As I explained, Cara’s brilliant brown eyes widened and tears streamed down her face. Rarely did she ever cry, but when it happened it was extremely disheartening to see. I put my arm around her shoulder, pulling her in. She turned and cried into my shirt while I did my best to comfort her. It was the first time I got to be there for Cara. Whenever there was a loss, it was usually mine and she was always there to pull me together. Now it was my turn.
“Tom didn’t really have any family, so I have a lot I need to do for the funeral,” she said, trying to compose herself.
She stood up, taking a deep breath as she pulled her fuzzy pink robe around her.
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” I asked.
She looked down at me and gave a weak-hearted smile. Once again she was trying to be strong. I wanted to tell her it was okay to be sad and show it, but instead I kept my mouth shut. This was her way of dealing with the pain.
“More than ever I want you out there hunting,” she said softly.
I understood what she was feeling. The minute someone is taken from you by evil, the thought of revenge consumes you. Not knowing what else to do, I went upstairs to pack my things. Cara was right. I needed to be out there searching for my own demon. As I shoved my clothes into the raggedy duffel bag, I wondered if Cara would be able to handle this hardship on her own.
I gave Cara a long hug before I left, taking in one last breath of her lavender scent. Who knew how long it would be till I saw her again. I expected after the trip I just had, I’d want to stay as far away from here for as long as possible. I was beginning to think it was cursed. Too many people had died in there and I was now convinced it was my fault. Maybe I was the one who was cursed.
“Call me if you need anything,” I reminded Cara once more before leaving.
I tossed my belongings into the bed of my truck and turned around to wave goodbye. Cara waved back to me from the doorway with a blank stare on her face. I was scared for her. The minute I backed out of the driveway, she would be left alone with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. I decided to stop by Don’s as well. Neither of us was good at saying goodbye, but I wanted to remind him to check in on Cara daily till the funeral was over. Knowing someone would be there to look after her would put my mind at ease.
When I pulled up in front of his house, I saw him sitting in his favorite spot, one leg crossed over the other.
“Thought we weren’t saying goodbye,” he said as I walked up the steps and sat next to him.
I told him my concerns for Cara and he nodded in agreement to my suggestion that he check in often. I was grateful to have someone I could truly count on for anything in my life. No matter what the favor was Don was always willing to do it. I leaned my head onto his broad shoulder as he put his arm around me. We swung back and forth in silence, savoring our last moments with the only family we had left. The birds were chirping, singing a song all their own, and for a moment I let myself believe that my life was here. No more hunting, no more nightmares to chase, just life here with Don and Cara. I closed my eyes, letting the silence consume me.
“So, who’s the hunk in your truck?” Don asked, breaking my peacefulness.
I lifted my head and stared forward at the shaggy-haired man sitting in my passenger seat. Sari gave me a widespread grin as he waved his fingers. Of course I expected he would find me again to explain more, but couldn’t it have waited till I was alone? I was tired of lying to everyone. I promised myself to tell the truth from then on and if someone had a problem with it,
then it was up to them to deal with it. I shouldn’t have to hide things from my fellow hunters, I thought before taking my own advice.
“Oh, that’s Sari. Would you believe me if I told you he’s an angel sent here to watch after me?” I responded, lowering my head back onto Don’s shoulder.
“Not the way he’s waggling his eyebrows at you,” he said.
“Well then, he’s just some guy who followed me here from Nebraska.”
That was still the truth. Close enough, at least.
“Want me to take care of him for you?” Don asked as we resumed swinging back and forth.
I raised my eyes in thought, staring into the bright blue sky. It would be amusing, but after seeing Sari battle with that demon, I was positive the brawl would end with Don getting his ass handed to him.
“That’s okay, I’ll handle it myself,” I said as I sat up and stretched my arms over my head.
It was time for me to head out and receive explanations from my vanishing angel. Don and I stood up and hugged each other tightly. He was just about to let go when I pulled him back in, burying my face into the collar of his shirt. I wished desperately that we could go back to hunting together. He was right when he said we’d defeat more by splitting up, but I missed his company so much. He rested his head on top of mine, letting me hold him as long as I wanted.
Once I finally backed away I stared up at him, smiling. It didn’t matter how run down and cynical he was from the job, he was always going to be one hell of a man to me. I walked down to the truck and stared into Sari’s eyes as I moved around to the driver’s side. If I wasn’t mistaken, I saw a hint of jealousy in them. I had to be imagining things. He should know Don and I never had anything romantic between us. For some reason, I felt the urge to tell him not to worry, but realized I was being silly. Why would he care if I was dating someone or not?
“We need to talk,” I said as I started the engine, deciding not to waste any time with senseless chit chat.