Angels in Hiding

I have to save them.

“Andy, fly away! You have to get out of here,” a winged boy yells at me, wielding a giant golden spear.

“No I’m not leaving you,” I grunt as I fend off my attacker. Where her fingernails should have been were razor sharp talons which left deep gashes in my arms. I punch her in the mouth, cutting my knuckles open to the bone. She shrieks as she’s knocked backwards. Before I can decapitate her with my sword, I’m tackled to the ground, teeth biting into my shoulder. I cry out in pain and flip the new attacker over my shoulder and take my knife out of the hilt on my thigh. Just as I’m about to bring my arm down I realize a young girl attacked me. She couldn’t be much older than ten with long brown hair, soft features. What stops me is her ebony black eyes, staring into mine. I feel like they can see right through me and I’m mesmerized, captivated by how deep they seem to look into my soul.

She screams as a spear is driven through her neck, her blood spurting all over my chest and arms, staining my white gossamer dress. I look up, hair in my face as the boy pulls me up by my arm. He holds my face between his rough hands, making me stare into his violet eyes.

“Why did you hesitate? You can’t hesitate in battle Andy. You can and will get yourself and the rest of us killed.” He kisses me, making my head spin. His lips are sweet and tender...familiar. It’s over too soon. He grabs my hand and guides me into the blood red sky above the dark, bloody battlefield. As we evaluate the c*****e, a scream erupts from my chest. So many bodies...so much blood!

“Andy,” I hear a faint voice on the wind. I turn my head, trying to make out where it came from.

“Andy,” it comes again, louder this time. I feel a force driving me away from the boy, sucking me into a whirlwind with the voice calling my name louder and louder...

“Andy!” I gasp and open my eyes, sitting up. As I struggle to catch my breath I realize that the sky is turning colour in the west. My best friend Emily stood beside me, hands on her hips.

“Honestly I thought you were dead for a minute there,” She went on about how I scared her half to death herself. I didn’t pay much attention to her. I was so lost in thought. That dream had been so vivid, so real, familiar like déjà vu.

“Andy, are you even listening?” Em interrupts my thoughts

“Of course I am. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I speak quietly, fiddling with the necklace around my neck. It was a tiny diamond on a thin, gold chain that ends at mid-chest. I don’t know why I wear it all the time, I don’t even remember where it came from! Whenever I ask my mom she just shrugs it off which is weird. She doesn’t usually do that.

“Apology accepted. Now come on, it’s going to be dark soon we should get home,” I do as I’m told and we start the long walk home. She tries to strike up a conversation while I pretend to follow along. Instead I get lost in my own thoughts, unable to stop thinking about the dream I had.

I’ve been having dreams like this ever since the accident five years ago. I had almost drowned in the lake by our house and when I was finally pulled out I was pronounced dead on scene. They were transporting me to the morgue when I sat up in the body bag coughing up water. They rushed me to the hospital instead where I fell into a coma for the next two years and they had to put me on life support. During that time I had dreams like that and to be honest, I thought I had died or something and this was my punishment. When I woke up, they were about to pull the plug. I couldn’t remember a thing about what had happened and felt like I was missing something. The doctors told me that was normal and my memory would come back in time. I spent another few weeks there before they deemed it okay for me to go home. After that, I felt drawn to the lake. I didn’t go in but I would sit out on the dock for hours, drawing the dreams I had. They were scenes of war, blood, destruction, pain, suffering. Why? Why was I having these dreams?

“Andy! For god sakes I’m talking to you!” Em seems rather annoyed so I apologize, again, and do my best to concentrate on the conversation. Me and I have been best friends since, well, forever. She even lived with me and my mom after her parents died in a house fire. She was like a sister to me. I’d do anything for her.

When I walk up to our front door, I hold it open for Em and she slips inside first. I let the door shut behind us, slipping my shoes off and walking into the kitchen.

Home is in the middle of the Redwood forest. It’s a small, two-storey house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, the kitchen with the joined dining room and the living room. We turned the basement into our workout room. Em and I have a joined Jack and Jill suite while my mom occupies the master bedroom. My dad used to live with us as well but he disappeared some years ago. One night he was there and when I woke up the next morning he was gone. I was thirteen when he left. He was my best friend, someone I could confide in and talk to, other than Em of course. He was the reason I went into the lake the day I had my accident. Swimming was what I used to do when I needed to clear my head. Not anymore.

“Andrea where were you? I’ve been worried sick,” Mom comes rushing up to me, squeezing me tightly,

“I was just sitting by the dock Mom, it’s my favorite spot. You know that,” I hug her back. After a few more seconds she lets go of me. I see the worry lines on her forehead and at the corners of her delicate lips. I give her an encouraging smile, reassuring her I’m fine before going upstairs to our room.

I flop down on my bed, pulling my long hair in the process. I groan and sit up, pulling it into a bun. At that moment Em walks through the door and frowns at me.

“Get over here,” She said, sitting me down at her vanity. Every night since we could remember, we braid each others hair so it doesn’t get so tangled during the night.

As she uses her skilled fingers to plait my long thick hair, I take the time to study myself in the mirror. My skin is lightly tanned from being out in the sun. My hair goes down to my ribs and is a soft black colour. Those combined with my hourglass figure and long legs make me look like I could have come off the front page of a magazine.

My face consists of a straight nose with a slight turn up at the end, naturally pink cheeks and perfectly shaped lips. My eyes are bright blue, so blue that Dad used to say they looked like they were made from the water in Lake Louise. My eyes are framed with thick, dark eyelashes. I’m athletic and stand just under five foot one.

Then there’s Mom. Her sun-kissed skin, chin length, curly, brown hair that bounced with every step, and an hourglass figure. Straight nose, thin lips, brown eyes that I always thought could see into the depths of my soul. She was beautiful and My mom was taller than me, standing at five foot three. She was always saying that I reminded her of my father and when looking in the mirror, I saw his features in me. He had been a very tall man, well over six feet and his dark brown hair was always cut short. His eyes had been blue, but they had been a pale, icy blue. I used to joke that he was an alien because no one could have eyes that blue. Whenever I made comments like that he would laugh, a big contagious laugh and he would scoop me up in his arms and say, “If I’m an alien that makes you my alien princess,” this caused me to giggle uncontrollably.

I fiddle with my necklace for a bit before tearing my eyes away from myself and studying Emily. Fair skin, straight, shoulder length red hair and a boy figure. Her nose is crooked from the time I broke it playing basketball with her when we were twelve. Outgoing, smart, funny, the very definition of perfect. She could get any guy she wanted and typically did. Em is constantly bringing home a new boyfriend while Mom’s at work and I usually go down to the dock when that happened. I don’t want to get caught up in all of that. Besides, I had a boyfriend, Chris.

We’ve been going out for five years. He was there every day in the hospital. According to the nurses he always made sure I had fresh flowers for when I woke up. God he’s so fucking...perfect! He’s beautiful with his chocolate brown hair, sculpted features, deliciously tall at six foot three and his deep violet eyes have always hypnotized me. He always smells like pine and cinnamon which makes me absolutely melt!

“There you go sweetie,” Em finishes the braid. I quickly do hers and then we get into bed. Saying goodnight I turn off my bedside lamp and roll over, falling into a deep sleep.

I wake up next to the boy in a familiar bed. He looks down at me, smiling.

“Good morning beautiful, how was your sleep?” I rub my eyes sleepily and smile back at him.

“It was amazing with you by my side,” he gently presses his lips to mine, one hand on my waist, drawing me closer. I knot my fingers in his hair, melting into the kiss. Once again, he fills my senses, blocking all other thought out. Our kisses get more and more desperate when we are interrupted by blood curdling screams. He breaks away and grabs the spear from beneath the bed. I can’t help but notice it’s the same one he used to murder the little girl. I follow him, making sure my knife is secured on my thigh. I pause for a second, wondering why on earth would I sleep with a knife but more screams halt all thought.

We run outside to find c*****e. People are being pulled out of their homes by those things and being slaughtered. The boy and I run to the aid of a mother who tries so desperately to protect her children. One of the things, a man, slashes her to ribbons. Her young children scream as their beloved mother falls to the ground in a bloody mess. They scream even louder when the man advances on them.

I rush to their aid, pulling my knife from its sheath, driving it into his chest. He screeches as I twist it deeper before pulling it out again. He falls, blood pouring from his mouth, to the ground in a lifeless heap. I sheath my knife once again and usher the children to safety.

“You’ll be safe here I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you,” I tell them in a calm voice. I go back out, fighting back to back with the boy. His violet eyes are blazing with an inner fire as he fights and kills these things. He moves with a fluid grace, like he rehearsed the movements. As I stand mesmerized I don’t notice the thing behind me. When the boy looks over, his face twists in terror.

“Andy look out,” he says, too late. The thing drives its talons into me, stealing my breath away. I look down and see the tips sticking out of my abdomen, blood spurting out of my wounds. My vision turns red and I whirl on the creature and shriek, a bright light exploding from my eyes and mouth. It turns to ash before me but I can’t stop to admire my handiwork. I have to save them. I have to save them all.

I sit up in bed, gasping for air. I’m drenched in sweat, heart racing. I lift my shirt to reveal my stomach, revealing flawless skin. I sigh and swing my legs over the edge of my bed, dropping my head into my hands.

Once I have my breathing under control, I sigh, looking over at my clock. The glowing face tells me it’s four in the morning. I groan as I pull myself out of bed. I stagger to the bathroom and splash cool water at my face. When I look up at my reflection I gasp. My skin is alabaster white, dark circles ring my puffy eyes and my lips are raw and swollen from biting them in my sleep but that’s not what made me cry out. My eyes were pitch black! I rub them and look again. They’re back to normal. I grip the edge of the sink, breathing hard. I close my eyes and calm myself before turning the shower on. I strip naked and step into the steaming water. As it runs over my body I can feel my muscles relaxing, my mind at ease. Once the water starts getting cold I turn it off, getting out and drying my body. I get dressed in a grey tank top and black leggings. I pull a black sweatshirt on and pile my hair into a bun before grabbing my art supplies and slipping out of the room. I stop in the kitchen and grab a muffin before heading out the door.

I walk down the dewy path to the dock when I hear a twig snap. I whip my head around, trying to discern where the sound is coming from but all I see is fog and tree trunks until I see movement. I hold my breath as a tall figure comes out of the fog. As it gets closer, I note that the figure has messy chocolate brown hair. I let out a sigh of relief when I realize it’s Chris.

“I’m sorry if I scared you. I wanted to surprise you today,” he says, his voice so deep it resonates inside his chest and sends shivers of delight up my spine.

“You didn’t scare me,” I smile, wrapping my arms around his neck. He smiles back, pulling me closer to him. He presses his lips to mine, flooding my consciousness with the smell of pine and cinnamon.

“What are you doing up so early?” he inquires. We start walking towards the dock, hand in hand.

“Just got that drawing itch,”

“Are you ever going to show me these drawings?” I fiddle with my necklace and try to think of what to say. We arrive at the dock just then and sit on the edge as I set up my notebook and pencils.

“Andy,” he sits so his body is turned towards me where he studies me with those beautiful eyes.

“Chris you wouldn’t want to see them,” I just didn’t want him to get angry about the fact that I was having those dreams and how real they felt.

He arches one of his eyebrows at me, shaking his head and staring across the lake. I hate keeping things from him but it was for the best. I stare across the lake for a while before gazing at him. He really was beautiful, especially with the rising sun dancing across his thoughtful features. I sigh and turn to him slowly.

“I draw my dreams,” I utter the words softly, looking down into the clear, blue water.

“I don’t see why you needed to keep that secret from me,” he doesn’t look at me. I feel tears well up in my eyes. I hate it when he puts on that stone cold mask.

“I did because of how gruesome they are,” I carefully avoid eye contact as he slowly turns to look at me.

“Talk to me,” I shrug, still not looking at him, “Andy. Please.” I look at him and see the sadness in his eyes. I sigh and describe to him what happens, in detail. I tell him everything including the boy, all the while watching his expression change from sadness to fear to something I can’t quite put my finger on. When I finish, he reaches up and gently turns my face towards him.

“Andy, I’m here for you. No matter what,” he says gently, his expression warm and comforting. I briefly catch a glimpse of worry but it fades as quickly as it came. As I gaze into his eyes and as he leans in closer, I realize something, letting out a small gasp.

“It’s you,” I whisper against his lips. I break the space between us and brush my lips against his. I smile when I pull away slightly, knowing it drives him crazy. He smiles back and holds my face with both hands, kissing me deeply. I wrap my arms around him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. He knows what I want and wraps his arms around my waist, holding me tight. When we break away I lean my forehead against his, gazing deep into his eyes.

“I love you Andrea,” he says out of the blue, shocking me to the core. He’s never said that before. Could he possibly mean it? Has he ever said it to anyone else?

“I love you too Christopher,” I whispered back. He softly caresses my lips with his, cradling me in his arms as if I were a tiny, newborn baby. I let my hands rest on his cheeks and when I pulled away he was smiling. It wasn’t cocky or anything like that, it was the kind of smile that makes your toes curl, your cheeks heat up, and warms you from the inside out. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. We sit there for what feels like forever, watching the sunrise and holding each other, not wanting the moment to end.

“Oh and by the way,” he pulls a small box out of his pocket. I look at him, brows furrowed.

“What’s this?” I ask, studying the box. It’s black with a blue ribbon that matches my eyes.

“Happy birthday,” he blushes slightly. I smile and carefully undo the ribbon. I open the box and my jaw falls open. It’s a beautiful ring. It’s thin gold, diamond embedded band shines in the morning light. I can’t help but stare in awe as he slips it into my right ring finger.

“My god it’s beautiful! I love it!” I wrap my arms around his neck.

“I knew you would,” he laughs and kisses my cheek. It matches my necklace perfectly. So small and delicate. We spend the rest of the morning there, laughing and talking while I draw.

Later that day as Chris and I are walking through the trees, I see something, high above our heads. I stop walking and squint at it but can’t seem to make it out.

“What is that,” I ask myself aloud. I walk around the tree, searching for a way up.

“Andy what are you doing?” Chris comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing his lips to my neck. I giggle a little and lean into him.

“I see something up there,” He cranes his neck to try and see where I’m pointing.

“I don’t see anything babe. Could be another branch,” He spins me around, pressing me against the massive trunk. Placing his hands on either side of me, he gazes lovingly at me. I set my hands on his waist, trying to refrain myself from pouncing on him and rolling in the moss.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are,” he says softly. His fingertips delicately trace my lips, along my jaw and down my neck, dipping lower.

“Many times,” I giggle and blush before realizing he’s holding the pendant between his fingers. He studies it, his expression turning sad before hastily dropping the diamond and smiling.

“Come on, we should get back before Amelia starts to worry,” he gives me a peck before grabbing my hand. I pull him back, grinning mischievously. He gives me a puzzled look.

“What’s that for?” he holds me tight in his embrace. I can feel the heat of his body against me, the beating of his heart, and his every breath. I run my hands up his chest and wrap them around his neck.

“Nothing special,” I grin and give him a peck. I turn to keep walking but he stops me. Before I can even blink, his fingers are knotting in my hair and he’s kissing me with an intensity like I’ve never felt before. It’s like an electrical current passed through into my lips, shocking me awake. I can’t help but press myself against him, kissing him back.

Suddenly we’re interrupted by a blood curdling shriek. We stop and crouch down, almost by instinct. I study our surroundings, trying to discern the direction of the shriek. We hear it again, this time in the direction of-

“Mom!” I take off running as hard and fast as I can. Chris is close behind me, ready for action. Somehow this feels oddly familiar, hearing a scream and then rushing to the rescue. I shake my head, clearing my thoughts. I need to get to help them.

I stop running as soon as I see my house. The things from my nightmares are rushing it. They’re even more terrible in person, as if they are made out of shadows. I can see their gruesome teeth and claws as they frantically try to get in. My vision goes red and my hands ball into fists. I charge them but Chris hauls me back behind a tree, pushing me towards the branches before I get very far. When we get high enough to get a clear view, he keeps me in his grasp.

“What are those things? Those were in my nightmares, they aren’t supposed to be real, what's going on?” I demand angrily, tears running down my face. He holds me, murmuring reassuring words in my ear. I don’t even hear what he’s saying, I’m too focused on those things.

“No! No! You will never find her,” my mother screams. The things are grabbing at her arms, dragging her away. Blood is pouring out of the lacerations on her arms and her clothes are ripped, hanging off of her. I instinctively go to climb down but his hand stops me.

“No Andy, they will kill you. Your mother is tough and it’s not the first time it’s happened to her,” I whip my head around.

“What did you just say,” I ask, my eyes flashing. He falters and sighs.

“I will have that conversation with you later but for right now, I have to get you out of here,” taking my hand, he leads me higher up. We find the place where the trees start to grow their branches together and escape into the Redwoods.