chapters 9 and 10

CHAPTER 9

 The heavy rain poured down incessantly, and, together with the strong wind and deafening thunders, it hit the old country house unmercifully. In one of its rooms, with no furniture and only one window, Monica was lying down on the dirty wooden floor, making an extra effort to see something in the dark place. Her heart was beating fast and fear took control over her spirit now that she knew what was behind those macabre incidents since she and her friends had arrived at the house.

 With a puzzled expression on her pale face, she raised her head and tried to sit down. But her illness seemed to stop her from moving and her entire body was aching and burning with fever.

 Suddenly, the constant lightening illuminated the room and she saw, in one of its corners, a tall and dark haired man, who stepped forward and smiled at her. She knew him; they had met before, in a dark night like that one.

 “Monica! It’s always a pleasure to see you! It’s a pity I can’t stay for too long, I’m afraid I have an issue to discuss with your friend, Andrew, and I’ll have to leave in a few minutes...”

 “What do you want from us?”

“Well, I don’t actually want anything from you two. In fact, I will give you something... A lesson, on how angels should mind their own business and not mess with other people’s assignments! And with the help of Monique, my co-worker. I believe you already know her; she’s as enchanting as you are, I might say!”, he walked over to her, “It’s a pity that, after this night, there’ll be only one of you two left... And I’m gonna miss you, dear, I swear. Andrew is another story – I never liked this angel of death very much! He stares, and that’s very rude! It’ll be a relief when he’s gone!”

 “God will never allow this to happen!”, she replied. He shook his head disapprovingly:

 “You know what your problem is, Monica? You trust too much!”

 “That’s because I can always put my faith in one loving Almighty Father!”

 “That’s your big mistake! When darkness falls, there’s nothing you can do but to surrender to it...”

 “That’s not true! He will always hold my hand and guide me through the darkness!”

 *

 Not having his dearest friend together with him and not knowing where to find her was filling Andrew’s heart with deep anguish, and panic took control over his soul:

 “This night, Gregory and I will finally finish with a problem that has been torturing us for a long time!”, Monique stated, with a cold look in her eyes. Andrew faced her:

 “I’m not afraid of your threats and I’m not afraid of who you represent. And I’m not gonna stay here listening to you anymore, I’ll go find Monica!”

 But before the blond angel could leave the room, the door was shut violently:

 “I’m sorry, but you’re not going anywhere! There’s someone here who wants to have a little talk with you, and I wouldn’t dream of being in the way. About your friend, don’t worry; she won’t be alone. I’ll go and make her some company!”

 Saying that, the demon disappeared through the shadows, reappearing in the room where Monica and Gregory were:

 “You can go now, I’ll take care of her!”, she said, looking with delight at the miserable angel fallen on the floor.

 “Well, I’d love to stay and discuss existential matters with you, Monica, dear. But duty is calling and I got to go!”, he said, and came closer to her, “It was wonderful to meet you again. It’s a pity that it’s the last time!”

 He left the place and, once more, Monica and Monique were face to face. But this time, the Irish angel was in an apparent disadvantage, as she was weak and could barely keep her head up. Monique faced her with an ironic smile:

 “That’s an image I’ve always longed for!”

 “I’m not surprised... Misery, destruction and chaos are everything you’re always looking for!”

 Monique nodded her head:

 “As a matter of fact, yes, you’re right. And what really makes me mad are the ones who insist on standing in my way and don’t let me finish what I begin!”

 “Be sure that there’ll always be messengers of God to bring hope and comfort to those you threaten!”

 “Oh, really? Isn’t it a coincidence that you and that little group you hang around with are the ones being threatened now?”, the demon kneeled in front of the angel:

 “I haven’t seen anybody around to bring ‘hope and comfort’ to you!”

 “That’s because all you see is evil!”

 Monique stood up and looked through the window at the heavy rain pouring down:

 “You know something? Since you’ve mentioned it, I’ll show you some comfort!”

 They disappeared from the dark bedroom and, in a matter of seconds, reappeared in one of the balconies of the old mansion. The pouring rain immediately soaked the Irish angel, aggravating even more her health condition:

 “It is really comfortable, or should I say ‘comforting’ to watch this!”, Monique said, smiling with delight and without being hit by the rain, “You know something? You and your friends should have never trusted on the attendant at the bowling alley... I think she gave... I mean... I think ‘I’ gave you wrong instructions about the best road to get out of the city and to escape from the storm. Look at all this rain!”

 Monica was trembling with cold, which was even more intense due to the strong wind that was blowing against her, and the pain in her head and all over her human body were severer than never:

 “...I’m feeling so cold...”, she whispered to herself, her lower lip trembling.

 “You see? That’s what you have for being such an intruder!”

 *

 Try as he might, the blond angel couldn’t open the door of the bedroom he was in and he was trying to put it down when Gregory appeared in the room:

“Having problems with the house, Andrew?”, he asked, “Yes, I know it can be really inconvenient being in human form sometimes, it makes you prone to little accidents...”

 “...Father, please, help us...”, the blond angel whispered, trying to ignore the evil presence.

 “Oh, I can help you!”, the demon said, and, all of a sudden, the bedroom door was ripped from its hinges and flew right against Andrew, hitting the angel in full force and knocking him down on the floor:

 “This house is really full of tricks. And, being an angel of death, you should know how dangerous it can be!”

 Suddenly, the shutters of the only wooden window in the bedroom were opened by the wind and flew right into Andrew’s head. Although he protected himself from it, it hurt his forehead, which started to bleed.

 “You want a good advice, Andrew? Those of you should avoid going around in human form in nights like this. It’s not safe at all...”

 At that moment, Andrew was dragged along the floor by an invisible force and hit the wall violently.

 “You and your friend should’ve thought twice before interfering with our job. I mean, the guy killed the man’s wife; he was a little useless thief! You stopped that man from doing the humanity a favour!”

 “You’ve lost two souls, didn’t you?”, the blond angel replied, pain was evident in his voice, “Be sure this number will be multiplied many times!”

 Despite the pain, there was a little bit of pleasure in his green eyes when he said that. The demon came closer to him:

 “And who is going to do that? You? I don’t think so...”

This time, the angel was raised up to the ceiling and thrown into the floor again, with more violence. With the impact, his ankle was hurt and his nose started to bleed. Gregory sighed with delight and glanced at his watch:

 “I could stay here and do it for hours, but in a night like this, there can be a lot to do outside, if you know what I mean. So, I’m afraid I’ll have to say goodbye sooner than I expected...”

 *

 That terrible dark night had become a nightmare to the four angels, who were now trapped in the hands of evil forces that claimed for revenge. There was no place to run, and, even if there were, Andrew was badly hurt now - probably with some bones broken - and couldn’t even stand on his feet anymore. Monica was no different. The fever that consumed her body was so high that she was about to faint at any moment. And, like her dearest friend, the Irish angel remained lying on the floor, unable to move.

 “I thought it would take more time, you know. But you’re so ill that I didn’t even have to make any effort in order to hurt you; just stand here, watching you fade...”, Monique stated, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her evil voice was even more distant to Monica’s ears: she was losing her conscience.

 “But it’s good! Soon it’ll all be over and maybe I can even enjoy the night! I just hope Gregory is having the same success with your friend!”

 At the mention of her dearest friend, Monica opened her tired brown eyes and whispered a single word:

 “...Andrew...”

 Deep in her heart, she knew he was in great pain; she could feel his suffering and that caused a sensation of panic that maybe she had never experienced before.

 “Your friend is with Gregory, but I don’t think they’ll stay together for a very long time. To tell you the truth, Gregory doesn’t like him very much, you already know that, and I have a slight impression that he’ll finish this little issue with him earlier than what we expect...”, seeing the panic in Monica’s eyes, Monique came closer to her and stood face to face with the Irish angel:

 “... I even think that he’s already finished it!”

 For a brief moment, Monica closed her eyes; fear and despair filling her heart:

 “Father... please... help him... Help Andrew, Tess and Adam... Send Your love and healing for I can feel they’re in great pain...”

 “Praying is not gonna help you, dear!”, the demon said, with total disregard. But the angel ignored her words:

 “... And keep them safe from all the evil that has been threatening them all through this night, I ask you. Please, dear Almighty God, listen to my plea, come and see them through this difficult hour...”

 Monique looked around them with irony in her smile:

 “I guess you’ll have to speak a little louder, there’s no one listening to you!”

 “God is listening! I’m His child!”

 “Well, and where is He now? I guess when He arrives here, to help you and your friends, that’ll be too late!”

 At that moment, Monica, with great effort, raised her head and looked up to the dark sky. It was all covered with thunderclouds and rain was falling upon her pale skin. But, much to the demon’s surprise, she smiled:

 “... He won’t arrive here... He IS already here!...”

 “I cannot see anybody around!”

 “… He lives within me, inside my heart and guiding my soul through the darkness you insist to bring to this world!”

 Suddenly, a splendid glow started to surround the Irish angel and, slowly, she stood up from the dirty stone floor. Her clothes were dry again and so was she, as the rain that was falling incessantly could not hit her anymore. The fever and the pain in her body ceased and the angel walked over to Monique:

 “But He created this world, and He has the power to shine His light wherever there’s one of His children in danger, no matter how dark it is, because the light of God’s love can penetrate any darkness!”

 The glow surrounding Monica shone more incessantly than before, causing the demon to cover her eyes and step back:

 “And I’m ordering you, in His name, leave this place and His children alone!”

 Desperate, as that image caused her a great discomfort and panic, Monique ran away from Monica, and disappeared through the shadows of the house. But the Irish angel’s assignment was not finished: there was somebody who needed her desperately:

 “Andrew!”

*

 In the dark room where Andrew was being cruelly tortured, Gregory stopped smiling all of a sudden:

 “Oh no... not now!”, he exclaimed, a tense expression on his face. He came closer to the blond angel, who was badly hurt and lying unconscious on the dirty floor:

 “I guess you and I will have to finish our little talk in another place, maybe outside this house!”

 Then, both disappeared from the old mansion.

 CHAPTER 10

 Desperately, Monica ran along the rooms of the old country house in search of her dearest friend. The darkness inside the huge building was not a problem for her anymore: there was a light illuminating her way wherever she went to. Besides, outside, the rain and the storm had finally moved on and a new day was about to start.

 But the search didn’t last for long, as, suddenly, the Irish angel stopped walking and placed her hand in her heart. A second later, she looked outside through a window, and immediately ran downstairs.

 The front door, in the living room, was blocked with a bookshelf, and the water, up to one’s knees, flooded the entire place. Using her strength, which was now greater than the usual, Monica removed the heavy furniture away and opened the door, finally leaving the sombre country house where she and her friend spent some hours of terror and despair.

 But those feelings hadn’t abandoned her completely, as something was telling her that Andrew was still in great danger. The Irish angel ran through the woods, facing the thick mist that was now covering the area and blocking the day light. To guide her, there was nothing but her heart, as the blond angel was unable to cry for help or to utter any sound at all. Some minutes later, Monica arrived at the bank of a big lake and stopped running to look around her:

“Andrew? Can you hear me?...”, she called, her heart beating faster and faster. At that moment, she looked at the lake, through the intense fog, and her blood ran cold when she saw Gregory and an almost unconscious Andrew inside a small boat. The demon was quickly rowing towards the centre of the lake:

 “Oh no!...”, she whispered, her face now pale with fear.

 Suddenly, he stopped rowing and, to Monica’s despair, grabbed Andrew by the arm and threw him in the water.

“No!!!”, the Irish angel cried, calling Gregory’s attention and when he saw Monica standing at the bank, the demon vanished into thin air.

 Andrew splashed his arms in the water in a desperate search for air and it wouldn’t take too long before he got drowned, as he was extremely hurt:

 “Oh Father, please, help me! I have to go to him as fast as possible!”, Monica pleaded, tears falling down on her face. At that moment, another boat miraculously appeared by the bank of the lake and she rushed to it.

 Monica rowed as fast as she could into Andrew’s direction, but, when she was coming close to him, the blond angel submerged in the water and didn’t return anymore:

 “Andrew! No! Hold on, please!”, she cried, but, realising that he wouldn’t come back anymore, she stopped rowing and jumped into the water and swam to the exact point where Andrew had drowned, diving in the dark water.

 Some seconds later, both angels returned: Monica was holding her friend in her arms, as he was already unconscious. With effort, and fighting not to get drowned herself, as swimming had never been easy for her and Andrew’s weight was twice hers, Monica managed to reach the boat, not far from where they were.

 Grabbing the board of the boat, she turned to him:

 “Andrew? Can you hear me?...”, the angel asked, but he never answered to her calling. Holding his arm, so that he wouldn’t submerge in the water again, Monica managed to climb into the boat and, using all her strength, she pulled him inside. She felt so sorry for her dearest friend, as she could see how hurt he was. Andrew had nasty cuts on his forehead and on his eyebrow, and probably some broken bones, not to mention his the blood in his nose, and all that movement only increased his pain. Besides, he seemed to be lifeless, and it scared her so much that now the little Irish angel trembled not with cold, but with fear:

 “Andrew? Andrew, answer to me, please!...”, she cried, and only then she realised another horrible thing: he was not breathing. Monica turned his head up and gently pinched his nose closed. Then, she held his jaw and, taking a deep breath, she started to mouth-to-mouth him, in a desperate attempt to make him breath again.

 Monica administered CPR for some minutes, which seemed to be an eternity, either giving full breaths or pressing her hands into his abdomen, while watching for his chest to rise and fall and feeling for air to escape during exhalation:

 “Please, Andrew, please, come back!...”, she was already getting tired when, suddenly, he began to cough and the Irish angel immediately turned his head so that he could expel the water that was inside his lungs:

 “Andrew? Can you hear me? Can you listen to what I say?”

 “... hurt...”, that was the only word he could utter.

 Quickly, Monica started to row back to the bank of the lake, and, some minutes later, she stopped the boat and held his head:

 “Andrew, we’ll have to walk up to the road, otherwise nobody’s going to find us here...”, her voice trailed off when she noticed that he didn’t reply to her, “... Andrew? Please, talk to me!... Don’t do this to me!...”

 He was extremely hurt and fell unconscious again. Completely desperate, Monica gathered him in her arms and rested her forehead on his, crying helplessly. They were in the middle of nowhere, lost in the woods and the thunderstorm had surely kept away the very few drivers who used the only road that crossed the region.

 But a minute later, she raised her head and looked around them: although there wasn’t help nearby, she had to try and go to the road; her dearest friend depended on that and she would never disappoint the one who had always been there for her, in difficult moments like that one. She stood up and, once again, making a great effort, held him under arms and dragged him a few steps away from the banks of the lake. Then, she lay him on the muddy ground and gathered him in her arms again, stroking his damp blond hair for a few moments:

 “I took you out of water... And you’re breathing again... Now... I’ll go and find some help, ok? Please, hang on in there just a wee bit long... Please, do it for me... I’ll be right back...”

 Placing a kiss on his forehead, Monica left him lying on the ground and ran desperately towards the road, not distant from where they were. But her fear were confirmed when she got there: there was not a single soul within reach. No cars and no one around who could help her. The tears falling from her eyes were so many that she never cared to wipe them anymore; all the Irish angel could do was to pray and wait desperately for a sign of hope, no matter how unlikely that could be.

 But, suddenly, the impossible happened: Monica heard the noise of an engine and, a second later, a car showed up from behind a nearby bend. She started to wave nervously, trying to call the driver’s attention and the car, which was in a low speed, stopped right in front of her.

 The driver opened the door and got out of the vehicle and, as soon as she saw him, the expression on her face turned into a surprised one: the driver was the man who had almost been killed some days earlier, part of a desperate man’s revenge plan. The same plan she and Andrew had stopped to be accomplished, raising the anger of evil forces that had attacked them over the previous night.

 “You?...”, the driver said, recognising the Irish angel, who stared at him back in surprise:

 “Oh Father... Thank you...”, she whispered. And the man was not alone: Adam got out of the car right after him:

 “Monica? We were going to the country house, I thought you were in there!”

 “No, we left it... Please, you have to help me, Andrew is badly hurt!”

 The 3 ran to the place where Andrew was and Adam and the man took hold of him and carried the blond angel to the car, placing him in the back seat, together with Monica, who held his head in her arms all the way back to the hospital and prayed for him unceasingly.

 *

 Arriving at the city hospital, Andrew was immediately placed in a stretcher and carried through a large corridor, and the doctor that came to meet them in the way stared at Monica and Andrew with surprised eyes: Doctor Steven Harris – the author of the revenge plan the two angels had stopped from succeeding:

 “God... I never knew I would see you again and least in such circumstances!”, the man exclaimed, with haunted eyes.

 “Please help him, Mr Harris! Please, take care of him!...”

 “I’ll do my best, Monica, I promise!”

 Monica and Adam were together with their angelic friend all the way, but, when they crossed two large doors, Mr Harris stopped the two angels from going on:

 “We’ll take care of him now, ok? You wait here.”, he said, disappearing through the same doors afterwards.

 “Monica, what was all that? How did that happen to him?”, Adam wanted to know.

 “Monique and Gregory, two demons, were in that house all the time, Adam. It was all a revenge plan, they wanted to destroy all of us, specially Andrew and me.”, the Irish angel explained, still crying.

 “I should have known that! Now everything makes perfect sense!”, the angel of death said, “The car Tess and I used to call for help – its brakes didn’t work on the road and we had an accident on the way!”

 Hearing that, Monica’s heart nearly jumped out of her mouth:

 “Oh, my goodness, where’s Tess?! How is she?!”

 “I’m right here, baby!”, came the sudden and all too familiar voice. Monica turned around and wasted no time in holding the supervisor tightly:

 “Oh Tess!...”, she whispered, and burst into tears on the older angel’s shoulder.

 *

 Monica cried incessantly for some minutes and when she finally started to calm herself down, Tess pulled away and looked at her face:

 “Angel Girl, you have to come with me, you have to change these wet clothes!”

 “Are you ok?”, she asked, noticing the bandage around Tess’ hand and some bruises on her face.

 “Yes, baby, it’s just some scratches, I’m fine.”

 “It was a revenge plan, Tess! Monique and Gregory were behind it all the time!”

 “I know that. I suspected that when we had the accident and I confirmed it at the moment you all arrived here carrying Angel Boy.”

 “He’s so hurt, Tess...”

 Monica noticed when the supervisor and the angel of death exchanged a look full of worry and stared at them even more distressed:

 “What is it?...”, she asked, but none of the angels knew how to start:

 “Tess, Adam, what is it?!”

 “Well baby... We’ll have to be strong. And pray...”

 Desperately, the Irish angel looked at Adam, who placed his hand on her shoulder:

 “I was told to stay around...”, he spoke, distress all over his face. Fresh tears rolled down on her cheeks, and Tess held her tighter than before.

 “But the doctor is taking care of our Angel Boy now and the best we can do is to ask the Father to be with him through this difficult hour.”

 “Excuse me...”

 The man who had brought Andrew and the other angels to the hospital (and whose life had been saved a few days ago), interrupted that conversation:

 “I’d like to stay, but I can’t. and I think now it’s up to the doctors, I can’t help very much.”

 “You’ve already helped a lot, believe me!”, Adam said, and turned to Monica, “He was the only one driving along that desert road when our car crashed in the tree. As soon as he saw it, he helped us to get out and took us to this hospital.”

 “Yes, that’s true. If it hadn’t been for him, we would still be there, on that road, and nobody would’ve found you and Andrew.”, Tess concluded. The angel of death nodded:

 “We have a lot to thank you.”

 “Oh no, you don’t. I am the one who should be grateful for having the opportunity to help.”, he replied, “And considering that the ones who were helped were you, it makes this occasion even more special.”

 Monica nodded her head:

 “Thank you.”

 “I’m sure your friend will be fine. And I mean it not because of what he is but because there’s Someone who is taking care of him now, the same way He took care of me when I most needed it.”

*

The hours ticked slowly on that day. Doctor Steven Harris worked on Andrew the entire morning and part of the afternoon. The injuries in his human body had been severe and his left arm had been broken, together with some ribs. Not to mention the cuts on his forehead, which were extremely serious.

 By 3 PM, Dr Harris came to talk to the 3 angels who waited outside, and, when they saw him, they stood up nervously:

 “How is he, doctor?”, Tess asked.

 “Well, we did everything we could. Now he’ll be under observation for the next 48 hours, which will be decisive for his recovery.

 “Can we see him?”, Monica wanted to know.

 “Yes, sure. Follow me.”

 They entered the room at the end of the ICU corridor and surrounded their friend’s bed. Monica touched his blond hair:

 “You’ll be ok, Andrew. Your friends will be praying for you...”, she whispered.

 “She’s right, Angel Boy. We are all here, at your side.”, Tess agreed.

 “We’ll stay here until you get better, buddy!”, Adam completed, and the 3 angels started to pray.

 *

 Two days passed by and the angels stood in the hospital together with Andrew, taking turns of 8 hours each. Monica had spent the first 4 hours of that day watching over him, and she hadn’t slept that much since they arrived there. Sitting on a chair, right beside the bed, the Irish angel’s eyes insisted on closing, no matter how much she tried to keep them open. But, finally beaten by exhaustion, she leaned her head on Andrew’s shoulder and fell asleep, holding his hand.

 Some time later, Andrew opened his green eyes for the first time since that terrible night, and waited to get accustomed to the morning sunlight, which was now entering through the window. Suddenly, when he regained full conscience, the memories of what had happened 2 days earlier came back to his mind and the blond angel’s heart started to beat fast, causing him to nearly sit down on his bed. He only calmed down when he saw his dearest friend sleeping, sitting on a chair and resting her head on his pillow. He also placed his head on the pillow again and let go a sigh of relief at the confirmation that the nightmare had finally come to an end:

 “Thank you, Father!”, were his first words. Only then, Monica stirred and opened her eyes, slowly raising her head:

 “G’morning, sleepyhead!”, Andrew greeted, with a smile upon his face. And when she saw that her dearest friend was conscious again, tears of happiness quickly filled her brown eyes and started to roll down on her cheeks a second later:

 “Andrew!”, she whispered, smiling broadly at him, and immediately, though carefully, hugged him tightly: “You woke up! You’re back!”

 He let her cry for some minutes and, with his good hand, he stroked her hair and chuckled:

 “Of course I woke up... You were snoring away in my ear! How could I possibly sleep with all that noise?!”

 Both angels laughed at that joke, and she pulled away from him, taking his hand in both of hers:

 “Are you feeling anything? Should I call the doctor?”

 “No, I’m fine. To wake up and see your face in front of me is enough to make anyone feel better!”

 Still sobbing, the Irish angel shed more tears:

 “I was so afraid, Andrew. I prayed so much! We all, Tess, Adam and I, we all prayed for you!”

 He reached up and wiped the tears from her face:

 “I know that. And I’m ok now, so I’ll ask you to please, stop crying and let me see this beautiful smile of yours again; I missed it a lot, and it sure does wonders in anyone’s recovery!”

 She was already smiling, but, with that request, her smile became wider, and she bent down and placed a loving kiss on his cheek, resting her head on his chest and hugging him tightly again afterwards.