The Angel of Death

Spite

    My walkie beeps on my hip and I hear Blue on the other end.

    “Aura please,” he says, audibly worried, “come back and we can deal with them another time.” I grab the walkie right as a loud crack of thunder echoes through the sky above.

    “This won’t take long,” I say after pushing the button, “I’ll be back in ten minutes.” I release the button and switch the walkie off. I don’t need any distractions.

    Finally making it back to the warehouse door I lean my back against it and peak in. The men from before are still on the top floor but there’s no sign of Peter. I take a moment to count everyone that’s left, only five, this will be way too easy. I take one of my knives out of my pocket and enter the warehouse, only aiming for a split second I impale a man right in the temple and he instantly drops to the floor, turning the attention of the others towards me. As they raise their guns, I quickly duck back behind the pillar I was using for cover before and they begin firing at me. Four left, but I need one alive.

    I take a deep breath and peak out from behind the pillar, shooting another man in the forehead. The three other men shout to each other and back away from the edge so I can no longer see them. After I can no longer see them, I make my way quickly across the room to the stairs. A man runs to the top and begins to aim, I quickly take a knife and use my entire bodies force to send it right into his throat. He gurgles and steps back, collapsing as he does so and I make my way to the top of the stairs. Only two left.

    I hide behind a wall and peak out from behind it to see another man do the same. I lean back in time to dodge his bullets and take a deep breath before full on sprinting in his direction. He looks around the corner again, gun raised as I reach him. I grab his arm and pull it under mine so he can’t shoot me and send my palm right into his nose, breaking it. He stumbles back and I get his gun out of his hand and toss it away, raising mine and shooting him in the head. One left.

    I begin to walk and look behind some walls when I find him, sitting on the floor, hands raised, with panic in his eyes.

    “Please don’t kill me!” He begs, terrified. He seems to only be a bit younger than me. I raise my gun and shoot him in the knee. He lets out a blood curdling scream and collapses the rest of the way onto the floor. I calmly kneel down next to him as he screams and cries.

    “You’re going to tell me everything I want to know. Got it?” I tell him commandingly. He looks up at me and nods. I press my gun to his chest, right over his heart.

    “Good”, I say, “now, that man earlier, he’s the boss right?” I ask him, already knowing the answer. He nods and continues to whimper on the floor. I sigh, he probably won’t talk much.

    “He’s new, isn’t he? Where did he come from?” I ask him. He takes a big gulp and tries to steady his breathing.

    “I-I don’t know. He showed up like a month back with some guys a-and killed our boss. He took over.” He stammers and tries to tell me as fast as possible. I nod, I can tell he’s telling the truth.

    “What do you know about him?” I ask. The man shakes his head, obviously flustered.

    “N-not much. H-he’s quiet, keeps to himself. If w-we don’t do what he asks he k-kills us.” He blabbers some more. I sigh again, that definitely sounds like Peter. Feeling that that’s all the information I’m going to get out of him I pull my gun away and stand up, still looking down at him.

    “You tell Peter that I’m coming for him.” I say menacingly. His eyes grow wide and he nods at me. I stand there for just another second before walking away, back down the stairs and back outside of the warehouse.

    By now its pouring rain and lightning flashes in the distance. Unable to even hear my thoughts I raise my head to the sky and scream. I scream, not in any physical pain, but mental and emotional turmoil. My beautiful boy, the absolute love of my life, who I thought was dead has been alive this whole time. Why didn’t he come to find me? Hell, he didn’t even try and send me a letter. The hot tears mix with the rain dripping down my face as I begin to slowly walk back to the SUV’s.

    In the distance I hear footsteps in the rain, looking up I see Blue, soaking wet and running full speed towards me. I stop walking and watch him, running straight into me and engulfing me in a warm hug. Startled, I try and step back but he holds me tightly, gripping onto my shirt and entangling his fingers in my hair as if he was holding on for dear life. He buries his head in my shoulder, crouching over as he does.

    “Dammit Aura, are you ok?” He asks me, his voice wavering. My eyes widen, I wrap my arms around him and hold on tightly. I realize in this moment that I have never felt safer with anyone else, not even Peter.

    “I’m fine, Blue.” I mumble softly in his ear. This only makes him hold me tighter. After a moment he pulls back and places his hands on either side of my face, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. He lets out a sigh of relief and closes his eyes.

    “Ok,” he says, “let’s go home.” I nod in agreement and he takes my hand, leading me back to the vehicles. Waiting for him to let go of me once we’re in sight I gently try to pull my hand away, but he only holds on tighter. I’m too exhausted to protest but he finally lets go when we start to climb into the car.

    I take my seat next to Andrew who looks over to me and smirks.

    “I like angry Aura.” He tells me chuckling. I smile back and elbow him jokingly. Turning to Blue he still looks overly concerned, I try and smile at him but he just leans his head back and groans.

    “Blue, I’m fine.” I tell him with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. He sighs and finally returns my smile.

    “I’m glad you’re ok, you gave me a goddamn heart attack.” He says.

    “It’s true,” Andrew chimes in, “he kept trying to get out of the car to go after you. I didn’t let him though.” I giggle, the thought of Andrew holding Blue in here is hilarious to me.

    “Thanks A, I appreciate you.” I tell Andrew, nudging him with my shoulder. He smiles at me.

    “Of course,” Andrew leans over to look at Blue, “she doesn’t need protecting, you know.” He tells him. Blue just rolls his eyes and leans back in his seat.

    The drive home seems shorter than the drive there, and with my adrenaline dying down I feel absolutely exhausted. We pull up to the house and its finally stopped raining. Everyone exits the cars and groans ring out across the parking lot as well as an air of sadness. We lost five men, although I believe they were just hired guns it was still a blow either way.

    We walk through the doors of the house I see John standing at the top of the grand staircase looking mildly irritated but relieved to see the rest of us. He walks down the stairs and pulls Blue into a large hug. Pulling back, he looks at the rest of the group.

    “We lost more than anticipated.” He mumbles to himself. Waving his hand, he dismisses them and that only leaves himself, Blue, and I.

    “We found their boss.” Blue blurts out. John raises an eyebrow and looks to me, I nod at him.

    “Yes, we did,” I start out, hesitant to tell them who he is, “I know him, sir.” I tell John. A small smile grows on his face.

    “Excellent work my dear. However, this can wait until the morning. The two of you head upstairs and get some sleep.” He tells us. Blue and I nod sleepily and head to the elevator. Once inside Blue rubs his hands on his eyes and lets out a groan.

    “I’m tired, but after that I don’t know if I can sleep.” He tells me. I chuckle.

    “Yeah, me too.” I say. The elevator dings and we exit into the dome shaped room, separately heading for our doors.

    “Goodnight, Blue.” I tell him softly. Just as I’m about to open my door I feel a hand on my waist, turning me around. He pulls me close and gently grabs my chin with his hand, pulling my face to his and gently kisses me. I tense up for a moment, but begin to relax as I feel as if I’m melting into Blue.

    He pulls away with a serious look on his face and stares into my eyes as if he’s looking for something.

    “Don’t scare me like that again.” He tells me sternly, making my knees go weak. I giggle and smile up at him.

    “This is all I’ve ever known, Blue. I can take care of myself.” I tell him confidently. That doesn’t seem to ease his mind, instead he sighs and pulls me into his torso, holding me tightly. After a moment of silence, he pulls away and blushes.

    “Come sleep with me?” He mumbles, almost quiet enough to where I can’t hear it. Before I can even think of a proper response my mouth blurts out.

    “Ok.” I tell him. His eyes widen and a beautiful smile creeps onto his face.

    He takes my hand and pulls me into his room, it looks identical to mine and a fire is already roaring in the fireplace. He walks into his closet and takes off his shirt as he does so. He comes back out wearing a black t-shirt and grey joggers. Walking over to me he hands me a large white t-shirt, I take it and walk hesitantly into his bathroom. Undressing I look at myself in the mirror, I look like an absolute disaster. I decided to take a quick shower so I hop inside and scrub myself down with Blue’s soaps, smelling like pine and cedar when I’m done. I get out and pull on my underwear and the white t-shirt after I rub myself down with a towel. I quickly wash the makeup remnants off of my face and head back out to his room. He’s already in bed and pulls the covers away to make room for me. I crawl in and he pulls me close to him, almost completely on top and begins to stroke my head. I rest my head on his chest and can feel my heart pounding. I haven’t slept with another person in years.

    “So, who was that?” He asks me, breaking the silence. I sigh, unable to avoid the question now.

    “That,” I begin, “was Peter. I thought he’s been dead since I was seventeen.” He stays silent for a minute, probably trying to figure out how to approach the situation delicately.

    “How do you know him?” He asks me. I hesitate, unsure of what exactly to say.

    “We grew up together at the academy. The older we got the more we realized we were more than just friends. We fell in love. He’s the only person I’ve ever been with.” I say. Blue shifts a bit under me, almost as if me telling him this upsets him.

    “I wouldn’t tell my dad that if I were you,” he says, “I’m not sure how he would take that information.” He’s right. If John knew that Peter and I had been together he might question my loyalty, and that could be bad news for me. I nod in agreement and shut my eyes, finally growing tired enough to fall asleep.

    “Ok, one last question and I’ll let you sleep.” He blurts out. I laugh quietly and look up at him.

    “Alright, what’s the question?” I ask him, he smiles down at me.

    “How do you feel about me?” He asks me. My face grows hot and I bury my face into his chest. Sighing, I lift my face up enough to answer him.

    “I like you.” I mumble softly to him. He chuckles and squeezes me gently.

    “I like you too, angel.” He tells me. My heart skips a beat at the nickname. I set my head down in the crook of his neck and take in the moment. Never did I think I would be able to be like this with someone again, it’s the most beautiful feeling I’ve ever felt. Blue is so much more different than Peter. Where Peter was cruel, Blue is kind, where Peter was unfeeling or unbothered, Blue is caring and considerate. I’m falling for this man fast, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.