PART 1

PROLOGUE

A young couple walked along the sidewalk of a small town in the state of Utah on that cloudy morning. The young man, apparently in his twenties, had a pensive and worried expression on his face, which was quite evident by the frown on his forehead. His girl friend, who was wearing black clothes and dark lipstick, had a hint of anxiety in her eyes and walked a bit faster than him, perhaps a bit eager to get to wherever they were heading to. But, on their way, a group of people gathered in front of a newsstand called their attention and made them stop. They were attentively reading the headlines of the main newspapers, which contained basically the same news:

[i]“Edward Evans in the death row. His appealing was denied once again, as the defence could not find a witness to prove that Edward Evans is innocent, and now nothing can avoid his execution today, at midnight.”[/i]

Much to the young man’s insistence, the couple stopped to read these lines and ended up listening to the comments of the crowd.

“I doubt he is innocent! You can see his story is totally fake. I bet he killed those 2 children in the Halloween night, exactly a year ago!” a man spoke, and the others nodded.

“Yes! This guy isn’t a human being; he’s a beast and will have what he deserves!”

“No witness to prove his innocence, nobody who can confirm his story! Justice was finally done!”

“Dave, why don’t you go to the store and buy the food? I’ll wait here.” the girl who was together with the young man said. Seeing his hesitance in leaving the place, she insisted, “David? Please, we can’t waste time... Don’t forget we’re leaving tonight!”

“Ok...” he finally said, and entered the small grocery store just a few steps from them, while the discussion about the headlines continued.

“But that won’t bring those children back...” an old woman spoke, calling the other’s attention.

“Yeah, but at least Edward Evans won’t be here either!”

Everybody turned their eyes to the young lady who had just arrived, not missing her dark clothes and make up.

“How can we possibly compensate a person’s death with another death?” the old woman insisted.

“It is not about compensating, madam; it’s about preventing!” the girl replied, “By excluding this man from the world we’ll be protecting our children and every good citizen! Tell me, how would you feel if these children were your grandson and granddaughter?”

“I... I don’t know...” the woman was a bit hesitant.

“Well, I do know: you would want this man to be dead! And this doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person at all! We’re all human beings and decent human beings, so this is part of our sense of justice!” she made a brief pause, as if waiting anxiously to see if her arguments had been accepted.

“I guess the young lady is right!” a man said, and all the others agreed.

With a pensive look in her eyes, the old woman ended up nodding her head, “Well... I... I hadn’t thought about it in this way... I guess you may be right, young lady!”

Somewhat surprised herself, the girl gave a short smile and it was then that the guy who was together with her came out of the grocery store, and, besides the two bags containing food, he was also carrying a roundish black spaniel puppy.

“Dave? What’s this?!” she asked, slightly confused.

He smiled and showed her the puppy, who was looking at them with eager eyes, “Isn’t she pretty?”

“Well... yes, but...”

“I found her right there, near the shop entrance and she was staring at the candies inside that big jar like a kid! So I inserted a coin, took some of them and gave her one: she seemed to like it!”

The young woman chuckled and studied the animal, “Are you gonna keep her?”

“She doesn’t look like a bad girl, does she? Besides, she has no collar, it’s impossible to identify her or to know if she has an owner...”

Sighing deeply, his friend nodded her head, “Fine. It’ll be more company for the trip anyway...”

Her last words seemed to bring some memories to his mind and, still with a look of indecision, he gave one last look at the newspapers headlines. But, before he could say something, she placed her hand on his arm, “Let’s go?”

“Yes...”

*

A disturbing silence filled the chilly air on that cold and dark night. There were no moon or stars in the sky; they had been replaced by dark clouds heavy with rain. A cold, howling wind was constantly blowing and a strong gust put off the light of a candle that was burning inside a pumpkin, placed on the porch of a house in a silent and deserted neighbourhood. That wasn’t exactly a residential area, as there weren’t many houses there, only some small buildings – most of them abandoned, and deteriorated.

And that wasn’t a common night. It was almost 9 PM on October 31^st and, while for most of human beings it was a day meant to have fun and go ‘trick or treating’, for the heavenly beings created to accomplish God’s work, it was the darkest of the nights. The angels knew that every Halloween brought evil closer to Earth and, therefore, it was when they were most needed. Despite God’s presence and His infinite power, evil was lurking around, it was for sure, and any creature that would dare to walk along those empty streets would certainly feel it and tremble with fear.

Suddenly, footsteps broke the annoying silence, as a tall man, with short blond hair and green eyes, walked along an alley in a hurry. He had a worried expression on his face, frowning with concern every time he looked at his surroundings and ascertained he was alone. Sighing heavily, he took his pocket watch and checked it for the 100^th time.

“Monica... where are you?” he spoke, an anguished tone in his voice. Despite his angelic status, it was not wrong to say that Andrew hated the Halloween, and it was not just because of all the mockery concerning death. What caused him so much disgust about the date was the danger it represented. As a heavenly being, he knew evil was lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to take any poor soul who committed the terrible mistake to cross its path. But if it was his assignment to be there at that exact time, it meant his Almighty Father had a greater plan in His mind, and the blond angel was ready to accomplish it wholeheartedly.

However, something else was troubling the blond angel besides that somber atmosphere: why was his dearest friend late to meet him? Both had been assigned together for the same mission and he had his orders to meet her at that exact place, in that deserted neighbourhood. Andrew ran his fingers through his hair and looked around again, his heart clenching and full of apprehension with her delay.

*

A beautiful young lady, with long reddish hair and brown eyes, walked fast along the street, and the confused look in her eyes was evidence that she was a bit lost. “Andrew?” she called, but no reply was heard. Looking around her, Monica sighed deeply. She knew that was the place where she was supposed to be, but why wasn’t her dearest friend there? The Irish angel kept on walking against the wind, closing her overcoat and rubbing her hands, trying to protect herself from the cold night air.

All of a sudden, the little angel heard a small noise, coming from somewhere in the dark corners of that somber neighbourhood. A chill run down her spine and she felt her heart beating faster with fear. Monica knew that God was watching over her, that she had been sent to that place to help one of His children. But being afraid in such a dreadful atmosphere was something she could not avoid.

Quickening her pace, the Irish angel turned around a corner and found herself in a dead end alley. “Father, please, show me the right way... Show me where Andrew is...”

She looked around her and, sighing deeply, decided to come back through the same path. But the same noise was heard again and now the little Irish angel had no doubt: somebody was following her. Monica started to walk twice faster, practically running from her invisible stalker.

“Andrew! Where are you?” she shouted; her voice filled with fear.

Not far from there, Andrew checked his pocket watch again, now with a terrible sensation of panic creeping over him. “Monica!” he shouted, “Monica, where are you?!”

Having no reply made him twice scared, “Father, please, guide her footsteps... Please, keep her safe...”

He had hardly said that when a familiar voice reached his ears. “Andrew! Can you hear me?”

A flood of relief immediately filled his heart. “Monica! I’m here!”

The Irish angel opened a broad smile when she heard her dearest friend’s voice and she wasted no time in rushing towards it.

“Please, keep talking, Monica! I’m coming!” he said, following the street to reach the corner.

“I’m here Andrew!” she replied, appearing at the same corner a second later. The image of his dearest friend just a few steps form him was like a breath of fresh air in that dark and frightening night.

“Oh, Monica! You have no idea who happy I am to see you, my angel!” he exclaimed, and, although he had stopped running, he kept a quick pace in her direction.

“Andrew!” She lifted her eyes up to the sky, “Thank You, Father!” and then, looked at the blond angel with a broad smile and sparking brown eyes, “Yes, I think I have! It’s the same feeling I...”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence: suddenly, a very tall creature, with its body involved in a black cloak, which was covering inclusive its face, emerged from the shadows and grabbed the little Irish angel by the waist.

“Andrew!!!” her terrified cry was like a punch in his stomach.

“Monica!!!” he tried to run after her, but the creature was faster and, dragging the angel with it, it disappeared through the same darkness where it had come from.

“Monica!!! Monica!!!” Andrew shouted, but it was too late: his dearest and beloved friend had vanished into thin air.

However, the blond angel didn’t stay alone for a long time: a malign presence invaded that dark alley a second later and, feeling it, he turned around to face Monique, Monica’s look alike demon. She was staring at him with an evil look and an ironic smile upon her face and, although she was wearing the same clothes as his friend’s, he immediately knew who she was.

“Well, well, well... It’s a pity that your friend has such a poor sense of direction... I mean, it’s a pity for you and lucky for me!”

“Bring her back!” Andrew roared, clenching his jaw and his fists with anger.

“Me? Why don’t you ask the ‘Almighty’ to bring the little angel back? After all, you both kept on asking Him to find each other in this little corner of the town and... isn’t He the... ‘Almighty’?” she replied, defiantly.

“In the name of God, bring His angel back and leave!”

“Humm... ok, I’ll grant one of your wishes and go away...”

“I want Monica back!”

“Well, you can wait for your ‘Father’ to bring her back or... you can come and bring her back all by yourself. It’s up to you!”

And, saying no more, she disappeared through the shadows, leaving a desperate Andrew behind.