PART 3

CHAPTER 3

One month had passed since the angels assignment had started. Monica and Andrew easily befriended the children and both seemed quite pleased with their tasks, trusting that their job was practically finished and well accomplished. It was Friday already and the clock ticked 2 AM. The three angels had gone to bed believing that would probably be the last day of their assignment, as Susan would take her leave and, very soon, the summer vacations would start and classes would be over.

Strangely, Andrew had woken up at about midnight and, try as he might, he couldn’t get back to sleep. The blond angel checked his pocket watch, which he had left on the small table beside the bed, and sighed, bothered with his unusual insomnia. Suddenly, he heard a low whimpering coming from another room and it took him just a second to recognise that voice. He jumped out of his bed and ran towards Monica’s bedroom: she was weeping softly and trembling.

He lit up the bedside lamp and placed a gentle hand on her cheek, “Monica... Wake up, Angel Girl! You’re having a bad dream...” as she didn’t respond to him, he put his other hand on her shoulder and shook her softly, “Monica, wake up, you’re in your bedroom and I’m here with you!”

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and gasped, desperately searching for air, “Andrew?” she spoke, with a puzzled expression on her face.

“It’s ok, it was just a dream, it’s over now, sweetie, you’re safe here! Come, I’ll help you.” Andrew helped her to sit down on her bed and took one of her hands, “Try to calm down and breathe.”

“It was all dark and... and suffocating... I wanted to scream but I couldn’t...” Monica spoke, after catching her breath again.

The blond angel sat right beside her and held her close to him, “Shh... It was just a bad dream, and it’s over now, so forget it!”

Gratefully, she held him back and rested her head on his chest, “I’m sorry I woke you up, but it was so scaring...”

“Monica, you don’t have to be sorry for that! You shouldn’t even think of it!” he admonished her, his voice always soothing and kind. Monica closed her eyes and focused on the sound of his heartbeats, wishing that her heart could follow the same rhythm of his. And, in fact, some minutes later, the blond angel’s loving presence managed to calm her down, “Feeling better now?”

She nodded her head without opening her eyes, clearing enjoying the movement of his fingers running through her hair, “So I’ll tell you what: you will lie down again and continue to sleep peacefully, like an obedient Angel Girl is supposed to!”

The Irish angel smiled at the mock serious tone in his voice and finally opened her eyes, shooting him a pleading look, “I’ll try but I don’t know if I can... Could... could you stay here, please?”

He kept a serious face, as if pretending to be pondering about her question, “I don’t know... It wasn’t my intention... Only if you promise you won’t snore!”

“I’m not the one who has to make that promise!” Monica replied, giggling, as he settled against her pillow. Then, she snuggled close to him and lay her head on his chest, feeling her eyes heavy with the constant movement of his fingers stroking her hair.

“Sleep now, my angel...” he chuckled at his own words, “Can I call you like that?”

The Irish angel giggled at the new term of endearment, “I love it...”

Andrew placed a tiny kiss on the top of her head, “You’ll only have sweet dreams now, I promise,” he whispered, and, a minute later, she fell asleep in his arms.

*

In the morning, the Irish angel stirred in her bed and woke up: Andrew had already left and was probably in the kitchen preparing breakfast. And now, a pair of tiny black eyes was quietly staring at her a few inches from her face.

“Hey wee one, what are you doing up so early, huh?”, she greeted, smiling at Joy with a sleepy face. But instead of jumping on her “mom” and covering her face with lots of tiny kisses, the little chubby dog remained still, staring at Monica without even blinking.

Finding all that seriousness rather funny, the Irish angel sat on her bed and gathered the animal in her arms, “You’re such a serious wee baby this morning, sweetheart! What’s the matter with you?”, she asked, kissing the top of Joy’s head. Only then, the puppy reached up and kissed the angel’s cheeks repeatedly.

“Oh, that’s my wee baby!”, she said, giggling at the animal’s action. And, a second later, Joy snuggled comfortably close to her mom’s neck, resting her head on Monica’s shoulder.

“Oh, honey, you’ve been missing me lately, haven’t you? I’m so sorry I’m not giving you enough attention at the moment! Can you forgive me?”

Joy raised her tiny head and placed some more kisses on Monica’s cheeks.

“Come with me, I’ll prepare you a delicious breakfast!,” The Irish angel got out of the bed and headed to the kitchen, with the little dog in her arms.

*

Andrew was finishing to prepare breakfast when Monica entered the kitchen carrying the little animal,  “Hey angel girl!” he greeted, walking over to his dearest friend and kissing the top of her head, “Feeling better?”

“Yes, thank you for staying with me!” she gazed at him with her eyes full of love.

“I’ll always be with you!” he replied, gently stroking her cheek, “And there was somebody else worried about you! I found this little one standing by your door when I woke up!”

“Yes, I guess I’ve been an absent mom lately, you know.”

“That’s nonsense. I bet she thinks you’re the best!”

Monica kneeled on the floor and placed a bowl full of dog food in front of Joy but, amazingly, the little animal didn’t eat its content. Instead, Joy continued to stare at her mom insistently.

“I think you must be ill, wee one…” Monica finally said, frowning with concern at that strange behaviour.

Andrew kneeled right beside her and patted Joy’s head, “Hey little one, looks like your day has started really well, huh?”

But the dog remained looking at her parents in silence.

“There’s something wrong with her, Andrew.” Monica said, and noticing the dog’s strange behaviour, he was also worried, 

“Our little one doesn’t want to eat? Wow! That’s disturbing!”

“I’ll take her to the doctor right now!” the Irish angel decided.

“Whoa, hold on, Angel Girl! I guess we can handle this!” Andrew stopped her, “Let’s see if milk can solve that problem!”

He stood up, took the carton of milk which was on the table and poured some in the animal’s bowl. Then, even though half heartedly, Joy started to eat, causing both angels to heave a sigh of relief.

“See? There it is! Our little one’s appetite is back again!”

“Oh, good Heaven, I’m so relieved!”

“With kids you just have to use psychology, my angel!” Andrew had a playful tone in his voice.

Letting go of her previous worry, his dearest friend tilted her head and smiled, “You’re such a good father, you know?”

“Yeah, I know!” he replied, causing her smile even more.

“But I guess you’ve also been conceited lately!”

“I disagree, I’m not conceited; I’m self conscious, that’s quite different!”

Finding his words, as well as his pose, rather funny, Monica bent to the side and placed a tiny kiss on his cheek, “You are conceited, but I love you just the same!” That’s when they heard another voice in the kitchen.

“I guess this time I’m the one who’s late!” Tess said, seeing that all her “babies” were up before her.

“Well, I woke up with our wee one watching over me but I have to confess that I didn’t sleep much this night, Tess. It is the last day of our assignment and I guess we could fulfil it perfectly!” Monica responded, taking Andrew’s proffered hand and standing up from the floor.

“Oh, yes, Monica’s right. Susan is having a calm pregnancy, she and her baby are fine, and Grace is delivered safely at her home!” the blond angel agreed, and it was possible to see a look of cheer satisfaction on both angel’s face.

The supervisor nodded her head, “Yes, that was an easy task, I must admit it. And now I understand why I was told to take care of Joy myself, as it wasn’t necessary to supervise you all the time. But the assignment is not finished yet and you have one more day ahead to keep things all set!”

“Yes, you’re right, Tess… But… as everything turned out fine and we’re almost finishing here… can I have some coffee?” Monica asked, somewhat sheepishly.

The expression on the supervisor’s face turned to a stern one, “In your dreams!”, was her reply. Monica was about to protest but Andrew quickly silenced her by squeezing her hand. With pleading eyes, the Irish angel looked at her dearest friend, who smiled and blinked mischievously at her. Immediately she understood what he was trying to say and, now with a pleased expression on her face, Monica silently nodded her head.

 “I’ll get ready…” Andrew said, placing a kiss on her hand and leaving the kitchen afterwards.

“Let me help ya, Tess,” the Irish angel offered, happy to know that, in probably an hour, she would be sitting at a table of the school canteen together with her dearest friend and savouring her favourite drink.

*

Time seemed to fly away on that day and soon classes came to an end. All the kids left the classrooms and headed to the front gate, some of them to wait for the bus school which would take them home.

That was also Susan’s last day at work. From that moment on, the teacher would take a leave and would only return in a few months. And, on that afternoon, she had to remain a little bit more at school to gather and pack all her material. Monica had offered to help her and both stayed there nearly one hour after the classes had finished. All the other teachers and students had already gone and the people who cleaned the building were about to finish their work.

“I guess it’s all set then!” the Irish angel said, as Susan finished to talk to her husband on her cell phone.

“Yes, Tom is coming to pick me up. Thank you so much for doing this, Monica. You’re such an angel!” the teacher said, with a grateful smile upon her face. And Monica couldn’t help but chuckle at those words, “I guess it would take me a lot more time to do it, considering that I’m not that fast anymore!”

“There’s no need to thank, Susan. I’m glad I could help ya and I hope everything goes fine for you and this wee one.”

“Now I’ll just have to wait for Tom. He’s so excited about the baby and, though I’m a bit sad to leave sooner than the usual, I get so happy whenever I see him smiling and making plans for this little one!”

Happiness quickly filled Monica’s soul when she heard the teacher’s words, as well as the look of contentment on her face. That was definitely a happy ending for such a joyous assignment.

*

The children were already set inside the bus, impatiently waiting to go to their homes and finding it strange that Andrew remained on the bus door, with a worried look at the school building. The ‘bus driver’ was already known for his efficiency in delivering the students quickly and safely at their houses, but on that day, the blond angel wasn’t willing to leave so soon, and, as the school inspector approached the gates, Andrew saw in him the opportunity he had been waiting for.

“Mr Davis, please, I need some help here…”

“Hey Andrew, weren’t you supposed to have left by now? It’s been about 40 minutes the bell rang.”

“Yeah, I know, but one of the kids is missing. Grace Turner didn’t come to the bus!”

The man frowned, “Hum… I’ve already checked the classrooms. All the classes have finished and the teachers have already left, with the exception of Mrs. Bale and Monica, and I’m about to close the school. But now that you’re saying that I’ll go back inside the building and check that out…”

“No, I’ll do it!” Andrew quickly replied, filled with worry for the little girl. Besides, he hadn’t missed the inspector’s last words: Monica was inside the school as well and it only reinforced his decision to go inside the building, “I guess I already know where to find the girl. Could you please take a look on the kids in the bus, I won’t be long.”

“Alright, I’ll be here…” Mr Davis agreed, but the blond angel left so quickly that he didn’t even listen to his words. A sudden and unexpected sensation of panic had crept over him; it wasn’t something he could explain, but he had to find Grace and Monica as soon as possible.

*

The laboratory where the children had their Science classes was located on the basement floor of the school building. By that time, almost 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the people in charge of cleaning the building had already finished their work and were getting ready to leave.

Due to the fact that they were inside the teacher’s room, Monica and Susan didn’t listen to Grace’s callings, coming from the basement floor, as the distance between the stairs that led to the laboratory and their room was a bit long. The girl was knocking on the door and turning the knob with all her strength, but it was locked and she had been forgotten inside, “Help somebody! I’m down here! Anybody!… I’m stuck here!…” she shouted, for the 100^th time, but, again, nobody heard her.

Andrew made his way through the building and, a minute later, the blond angel was in the corridor where the teacher’s room was. Monica and Susan were ready to leave when they heard a light knock on the door and it was opened a second later.

“Andrew?” although Monica was happy to see her dearest friend, she was also surprised that he was still there by that time, as she knew he should be driving the children to their homes.

“Hey, Monica, Mrs Bale…” he greeted, and now the Irish angel could notice the apprehension on his face.

“Why aren’t you in the bus with the children?”

“Because one of them is missing. Grace Turner didn’t show up until now and I’m looking for her!”

Now worry was also filling the two teachers’ hearts, though Monica was twice concerned, as she knew that her dearest friend’s job wasn’t only to take those children home, but also to watch over them, especially over the little girl, as now she was the one who needed him the most.

“We’ll help you to look for her!” Susan volunteered, “I’ll have to wait for Tom anyway.”

The 3 left the teacher’s room and walked through the long corridor, “Do you have any idea where she must be, Andrew?”

“I guess so, Monica. She told me she loves doing experiments at the laboratory and that she was still making some final adjustments on her Science project.”

“I doubt the projects are still there, I guess they were all taken to the University already...” Susan remembered. Suddenly, as they approached the stairs that led to the basement floor, they heard the girl’s cries for help coming from downstairs.

“It’s her!” Andrew walked faster ahead of Monica and Susan and was the first one to go downstairs. Due to the teacher’s condition, she and Monica slowed down the pace and climbed down the stairs a minute later.

“Thank God!” the Irish angel murmured, watching as Andrew walked along the long corridor over to the huge lab door.

But what seemed to be the end of a well succeeded assignment would turn into a terrifying nightmare. It was 5:14 PM and, at that exact moment, the group could feel the first tremor. The floor was trembling under their feet and soon the big clock hanging on the top of the wall fell. The crash that came from it was followed by the sound of breaking glasses and, suddenly, all the tables, desks and chairs were shaking with intensity. The earthquake hit the city in full force and, in a matter of seconds, entire buildings started to collapse, including that one.

“Oh God!… What’s happening?!” Susan cried, panic evident in the teacher’s eyes, as she placed protective hands over her belly while the walls inside the school started to crack.

“Come with me!” Monica said, quickly taking her by the hand and going back to the stairs to look for the exit. She looked back at the corridor for a second and felt her heart clench with fear, “Andrew… Grace…”

But a piece of concrete fell down inches from her, and the Irish angel knew that she had two lives that depended on her. She and Susan followed back the long corridor but before they could reach the stairs the worst happened: a big part of the ceiling collapsed, blocking the passage.

“Oh God! My baby! Please Monica, we have to get out of here!” Susan cried.

“Isn’t there any other passage?”

“No!... Just this one...”

Desperate, the Irish angel returned through the same corridor and seeing a small room, with a door open and a small table inside of it, she ordered, “Here, we have to stay under the table!”

Their only shelter was a small wooden table above which blocks of concrete started to fall. Teacher and angel held each other and closed their eyes, praying for the earthquake to be over soon.

Andrew’s heart nearly jumped with fear for the lives that were inside the building. With the tremor, the lab door was quickly removed and he managed to enter the laboratory.

“Andrew, what’s happening?!” Grace’s terrified voice echoed inside the large room. He wasted no time in gathering the girl in his arms, “It’s an earthquake, sweetie, we have to get outta here soon!” he said, crossing the entrance of the lab again to return to the corridor and finally reach the stairs. But before he could do so, a huge part of the ceiling fell a few steps ahead of them and blocked their way.

“God… please help us…” he whispered, and, without any other choice, the blond angel had to return to the lab, “We have to look for a shelter, Grace!”

“We can’t get out, Andrew…” the girl cried, completely in panic.

“Right now we have to protect ourselves from the blocks of concrete that are falling, sweetie…”

A huge board, where the experiments were done, became their shelter, and the angel held the frightened child tightly in his arms, constantly and desperately praying for her and Susan, and, wholeheartedly, for his dearest friend.

Chaos and destruction were spread all over the city, which, in less than 1 minute, was hit by the worst earthquake in its history. The school building where the angels had been assigned to had been one of the most seriously hit by the tremors, and now it was practically destroyed.