AngelRose

by Ash Night

  Before I drove away, I had an urge to flip through what I’d written. I picked up the notebook and started turning pages. I’d filled twenty pages. The black rose bracelet bit into my wrist. I yelped. When had it grown thorns? It only tightened for a moment then relaxed. I didn’t have time to think it over. A phrase caught my eye.

  I’ll be there as soon as I can, Zoe.

  I stared at the page as if it was tricking me. I don’t remember writing that. I’d been writing about Prince Ari and Princess Alexis. I combed through all twenty pages again and that was the only mention of my name.

  Eli had gotten my message.

  Racing home, hopefully without breaking too many traffic laws, I pulled into the driveway. I ran into the house and took the stairs two at a time. “What’s the hurry, dear? Do you need to talk?” My mom asked. She’d been extremely worried about me since Gwen’s death. She didn’t want me to get struck by the same fate.

  “Eli’s on the computer! He wants to chat!” I replied quickly. I flew down the hall to my room and flung open the door.

  “Wanna go to bed, Princess? You seem tired. I promise we’ll be quiet.” I whipped in the direction of his voice. Eli, in all his Gothic glory, was laying on his side, perfectly at home on my fluffy pink princess quilt. I practically tackled him.

  “Eli! I knew you’d come!” I was crying and hugging him, my emotions coming out all at once. Sadness for Gwen and not having his shoulder to cry on and happiness he was here and his sickness seemed to be truly gone.

  “Hey, hey, I didn’t know you wanted me that bad, my angel.” Eli chuckled, hugging me back. “Why the tears?”

  “Gwen’s dead,” I squeaked through fresh tears and proceeded to bawl in his lap. He rubbed my back gently, not saying a word. I rested my head on his chest when I could finally pull myself together.

  “Who. Did. It?” He asked, his jaw clenched so tight his mouth barely moved to form the words. I could feel his aura swell up like it had in the castle the time I almost froze to death.

  “It was…ruled a suicide, Eli. Abby had a dream about it the night it happened. She said she had a black aura with muddy orange stripes. That means-“ I stopped when I realized that faraway look in his eyes had come back. “What?”

  “AngelRose…It feeds on your biggest fear.”

  “Yeah, so?” I asked, not seeing the point.

  “When you jumped off the cliff to save me, when Elena…It was because you were afraid to be alone. I wanted to die and you didn’t want to be alone so you tried to save me even though, logically, you knew you’d drown too. AngelRose makes you act without thinking.”

  “Gwen had told me once she was afraid everybody thought she was fake…”

  Eli nodded grimly. “She thought her life was shallow and meant nothing.” I gasped sharply, trying very hard not to cry again. “She killed herself because the powers of AngelRose got to her. It’s all my fault…” I felt Eli’s aura fade slowly. “If I hadn’t come and fucked up your life when you were six…you’d never have come and you’d have a normal life now!” Eli shouted and stood up, looking as though he wanted to hit something. I shrank back against the wall. What if the monster came back? What if I lost Eli forever?

  “Eli! Calm down, please!” I begged. A faint line of his aura pulsed. He was so angry…

  He growled. “I’m a monster, Zoey! I ruined your life! I’m sorry,” he added softly.

  “It’s okay, Eli. People die. It was going to happen sooner or later. It wasn’t your fault.” I stood up slowly and wrapped my arms around him. “It’s going to be okay. We can fix this.”

  “Are you sure? I haven’t ever been very good at fixing things. I’m better at destroying them.” He looked down sadly and I hugged him tighter.

  “I’m sure, Eli. We can fix this. Although I honestly have no idea how.”

  Chapter 38

  She was so fragile yet so strong. I couldn’t believe she had gone through all this because of me and didn’t hate me for it. I felt horrible, but she wouldn’t let me apologize. Every time I tried as we walked to Abby’s house after school she would shush me and then after we picked up Abby, they both would shush me. It was a losing battle. I was losing. To two mortal girls.

  “Why can’t I apologize?” I pleaded.

  As if they’d rehearsed it, they both turned around and replied at the same time, “Because it’s not your fault.”

  I sighed. Entering Zoey’s house, I made myself invisible to Zoey’s mother. It still felt weird, like half of me was fading and blurring when I used this power. I was gaining a lot of new powers lately. My sickness seemed to have faded slightly after Zoey left and it was easier to act as if it were gone completely. A few days earlier, I was moping around and had the urge to vanish. Suddenly Sky was looking around wildly. I had the strange sensation that I was fading. Looking in the mirror, I saw I had no reflection. I quickly returned to normal and used the rest of my time alone to explore the new limits of my power. I also had the ability to hold my breath for over fifteen minutes, to run at blurring speed, and all five senses were sharpened to crystal clarity.

  “So what now?” Abby asked in the safety of Zoey’s room.

  Zoey took out a notebook. “I think AngelRose is making people sick. Today, the strange illness that came the day after Gwen died came back.” She flipped to a page where she’d drawn a very detailed picture of a student. “Most of the students looked like this. Jake, Kayla, Abby, and I weren’t affected. How about you, Eli?”

  “Everyone I met seemed perfectly healthy,” I replied. “It was like a normal day.”

  “That’s weird. I have a few kids in a class after you and they looked ready to keel over. “ Abby said. “Eli, do you think it’s because you live in AngelRose you're not affected and the kids around you feel better?"

  “It could be, but I wish I could stop the sickness entirely.” I replied, snapping a rubber band against my wrist. Zoey’s eyes met mine and I saw terror and worry in them that I didn’t deserve. I was ashamed. I wanted to cut, but was trying so hard to appear happy. But we both knew I wasn’t. We both knew I wanted to jump out of my own skin. We both knew it was killing me to be here. We both knew the monster wanted out.

  Zoey

  The rubber band had snapped by the end of the hour. Eli fidgeted nervously, his eyes flitted from the door to my face like a racehorse wanting to bolt from the starting gate. He was a caged tiger.

  “Eli, is everything okay?” Abby asked concerned.

  “Just need a drink,” he chuckled nervously. Abby looked mortified. As a girl with a very strict household, under-age drinking was one of the deadliest sins.

  I smiled weakly. “There’s some stuff in the fridge, Eli. Help yourself.” Eli was out the door before I even finished my sentence. Abby gaped at me. I shrugged. “Tough day,”

  "Eli, are you okay?" I asked later that night as we crawled into bed, my head against his chest. "You seem on edge. What's bothering you?" I hugged him. He’d gone to the club earlier. His skin smelled of smoke. Well, it was better than him reeking of alcohol.

  He flinched. "Nothing, Zoe."

  "You were snapping that rubber band awfully hard."

  "Again? Zoey, I swear, you and your hormones." Eli cracked a grin. I smiled, not even mad. At least he was smiling. After a long pause, he spoke again. "I love you. I'm glad I got to see you again." He kissed the top of my head.

  I cuddled closer. "I love you too, Eli. Are you sure you're okay?"

  "Yea, I'm fine. Nothing I can't live through. Are you okay to go to sleep? Did that nightmare come back at all?" I looked into his eyes and saw genuine terror.

  "Hold me while I sleep and I'll be okay." I said. As cheesy as that sounded, it made me feel safer. I prayed the nightmare would stay away. I wanted to enjoy my stolen time with Eli.

  He held me tightly. "I promise to never let you go, my princess. I would die for you."

  Suddenly those words made me more frightened than the dream.

  I w
oke up the next morning alone. Bolting out of bed, I cursed. Where was Eli? Then I heard voices.

  He was downstairs. With my father.

  Getting dressed quickly, I sprinted down the stairs, worrying about how much he had said. Had he told my dad that he slept in the same bed as me? Was my dad about to strangle him? Would I have to save him? I froze at the bottom of the stairs.

  My dad was pouring Eli orange juice. He smiled. "Good morning, sweetie. Want some breakfast?"

  "It's really good, love." Eli grinned, eliciting his English accent once again. He waved a bit of pancake on his fork. "Care for a bite?"

  "Eli and I were just talking about you." Dad said. "He told me he wants to take you back to London with him before you start college next fall. We were discussing it and I think it's a great idea, what with all that happened, for you to get away for a while. What do you think?"

  I looked at Eli. He grinned. Did he mean go back to AngelRose? But why? Just a few days ago, he'd barred me from going back. Why the sudden change of heart? Had he somehow made AngelRose safe again in the few days I was gone? My mind spun so fast I could almost barely reply. "Sure, Dad, I'd love that."

  "How about coming to check out the place next month over spring vacation? I can have you back in time for the turkey dinner thing, I promise, love."

  Blinking back tears, I swallowed. "Sure, Eli. Can I talk to you for a moment in my room?"

  "Of course, princess." Eli slid off the bar stool and followed me up the steps.

  "Door open," Dad winked at me. I nodded, a smile forming. Dad and Eli were finally getting along. Eli was finally a part of the family. That meant so much to me.

  "What's on your mind, Zoe?" Eli asked, dropping his accent, worry flooding his tone. "Do you not want to go to London?" A smirk lit up his face.

  "Why?" I asked. "Why did you kick me out before if I can go back now?"

  His smirk grew bigger. "The demons died off or something. I woke up one day and all the stronger ones were gone. The weak ones that are left won't bother us. We can finally be together."

  My eyes widened. After everything we'd been through, those last words were like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, a swimmer finally reaching the surface. I could finally breathe. Hugging Eli tight, I nodded. "You mean it this time, Eli? We can live together forever? No more leaving me?"

  He kissed me, warming me up from the inside. "Yes, Zoey. I mean it. It'll just be the two of us together. I promise."

  And there was one thing I knew about Eli. His promises were iron-clad.

  Chapter 39

  Zoey's father had the news on when we returned to the table. He was laughing. "Stations these days will do anything to get ratings. Listen to this." He turned the volume up as the screen cut to a picture of a giant dark blob-like monster crushing cars under its enormous weight. It was a Shadow. The biggest one I'd ever seen.

  "Reports of an enormous blob-like creature that looks like it just walked out of a Si-Fi movie have been popping up all over the state this morning. No eyewitnesses have stepped forward to comment on this strange phenomenon." The female news reporter looked grimly at the camera. "The creature has already caused hundreds of deaths. This thing, whatever it is, is strange indeed. The local police force has been alerted and is ready to deal with the situation. We will stick with this story as it progresses." The news switched to a story about a local adoption story.

  My stomach lurched. The demons in AngelRose didn't die off. They all morphed into one huge Shadow and somehow got into Zoey's world. The police were mortal, human. What could they possibly do against it? I clenched my fists so hard the bones cracked. Unclenching my fist, I saw that I'd drawn blood. The monster's dirty, sickly yellow-colored fingernails sprouted from my fingertips.

  "Am I?" I mouthed to Zoey, gesturing to my fingernails. Her eyes widened, but let out a sigh of relief as she looked at my face and shook her head. Her father was walking to his room to get ready for work when suddenly the breaking news signal flashed on screen. The same news lady as before appeared, her face even more distressed.

  "Breaking news! This creature we reported on earlier has just been spotted in the city limits. Everyone in the immediate viewing area is advised to lock their doors and stay inside. After a failed run-in with the beast, the police have called in a swat team. Residents are strongly cautioned to stay indoors. The creature is considered highly dangerous. We will keep you up to date as new information becomes available. This is Casey Tatum. Channel ten news."

  I was across the room before Zoey could react. "Stay here!" She hugged me as I placed my hand on the doorknob.

  "How are you going to take that thing on by yourself? We're not in AngelRose. You don't have any weapons!"

  "I'll be fine, Zoey. Trust me. We'll be in AngelRose before you know it, I promise." I hugged her tight and ran out the door. Legs burning, chest fighting for air, I ran full speed until I saw it. It was huge. The picture on the news didn't do it justice.

  Thirty feet wide, twelve feet across, and smelling of rotting garbage, this Shadow was the worst one I'd ever seen. Its hulking form blotted out the sky. "Hey, you overgrown jellyfish!" I threw a rock at it. The rock sunk into its skin with a squelch as if it was thrown into a swamp. Turning toward me, it opened its mouth and roared. The horrendous order brought me to my knees.

  Moving slowly toward me, the pavement underneath it ate away. Choking on bile, I tried to stand. My head couldn't stop spinning. The roar was so loud it'd shattered something in my ear. My left ear was ringing and when I moved, I could hear a liquid sloshing around inside my head. Shit.

  The Shadow's body rippled and shook like someone had thrown a pebble on the surface of a lake. It was laughing. "Elijah, you foolish boy. How do you plan to play the hero now? You're not in AngelRose. The rules of physics apply in this realm. No running up trees here."

  "You can talk?" I gaped at it. I'd never heard a Shadow speak before. Its voice was bubbly like it was speaking through water. The sound sent a chill down my spine. The monster growled within me, a dog pulling at its leash.

  The Shadow laughed again. "A select few of us can, yes. How little you actually know of our world, little boy. You thought you knew everything about AngelRose. How wrong you are."

  I choked and spat on the sidewalk. God that thing smelled awful. A spurt of energy tore through my body, forcing me to stand up straight as though I'd been shocked by lightening. A grin spread across my face.

  The monster was out.

  Chapter 40

  Not completely. I didn't see the slightest change, but I felt more powerful than I ever had, even more than that day when I was six. White hot lightening was zinging through my body a hundred miles a minute and I felt like I was going to burst from all that power inside me.

  The Shadow shot out in a grabbing motion. I barely slid past him, but it was as if I'd had all the time in the world to move. Grinning, I tossed it into a tree, my hands steaming from where I touched it. The burning sensation never came but I chalked that up to the monster's power flowing through me. An inhuman snarl ripped through my chest. I’d never felt so alive.

  Getting up, the Shadow let out a mighty roar. I roared back at it. My conscience told me to be careful, but I was having too much fun to listen to it. Knowing I could get hurt was making it more fun. This would test me.

  I lunged at the same time as the Shadow and I hit it head-on. My vision went black for a moment, only to return to a world of pain. The Shadow was sucking me in with a sick slurping sound. Pulling furiously, I tried to ignore the third-degree burning sensation in my limbs. The Shadow laughed. "How about now? You still think you can take me on?"

  "Of course I can!" I replied through gritted teeth. My arms and legs throbbed painfully and felt like they were going to rip out of their sockets. Giving one final tug, my arms and legs gave way. I flew backward and slammed hard into the pavement. I groaned as I heard a bone crack.

  Swelling up, the Shadow roared again. "I'm growing bored."
<
br />   "Just go away then," I suggested, grinning. The monster roared.

  "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the demon inside you. I guess killing it was unsuccessful, huh? Too bad." The Shadow wrapped itself around me before I could even react.

  My lungs screamed. It was suffocating me.

  I don’t know how long I blacked out for, but when I woke up, it felt as though thousands of needles were digging into my left arm. I couldn’t move it. I could barely take a breath. My ribs were on fire.

  “Hello, Eli. How are you feeling?” A kind woman in scrubs smiled at me. I tried to sit up, but that caused spots to dance before my eyes and my body to burst into flame. I cursed loudly. The woman adjusted a bag above my head and then wrote on a sheet attached to a clipboard. “You sure are a fighter, aren’t ya? Any more pain meds and you’ll overdose. Your vitals look normal now, but we’d like to keep you overnight just to make sure.”

  “Where am I?” I asked, feeling dizzy. The white walls wouldn’t be white for very long if my stomach had its way.

  “You’re at Harmony Hills Hospital. You’re lucky to be alive. The girl that found you carried you in half-dead. We had to shock you twice.”

  “Can you call the Lockharts? Zoey’s number-“

  The nurse’s face lit up. “No need, sweetheart. That Lockhart girl was the one that found you. Poor thing’s been waiting for you to wake up for three days now. I just wanted to make sure you were well enough to see her first.”

  “Get her in here, please!” I pleaded, lurching forward enough to ignite my body again. The nurse made me lay back down as she stuck her head out the door and called Zoey in. Zoey burst into tears as soon as she saw me. I gave her a lopsided grin. “Hey, I should be crying. I’m the one in pain.”