PART 3

CHAPTER 2

Andrew walked alone through the sand trail that crossed those barren wastelands. With a gas lamp in his hand, the only source of light in that place apart from the constant lightening that crossed the dark skies, the blond angel checked on his surroundings at every second to make sure that no evil creature was following him. Never had he felt surrounded by such void in his whole existence. Not even in his worst nightmare, had he imagined there could be such a frightening and dark place.

“Father, please, guide my footsteps so that I can find Your angel and be our shield so that we can leave this place in safety.” He prayed, almost in a whisper. Andrew’s anguish was evident on his face, as being apart from his dearest friend was his greatest fear. He had faced this possibility sometimes before, and was sure there couldn’t be a greater pain than knowing that Monica was suffering. Right at that moment, it was almost unbearable.

“Monica, please wait just a little more... I’m coming for you, my angel... I won’t let you down, I promise...” he spoke. Suddenly, a familiar sensation of panic crept over him, as if a warning that his beloved friend could be in great danger. “Monica!”

*

Monica heard footsteps coming closer to her in a fast and threatening march. The little angel stood up from the ground and looked around her, but darkness, which she hated so much, was all that she could see. Trembling and with her heartbeats accelerating, Monica realised that at that very moment, she would have to follow her own instincts in order to escape from any evil creature that could be hidden in the darkness.

The Irish angel started to run, desperately searching for any kind of shelter where she could hide form them. But all that she had to guide herself along the woods was the constant lightening that crossed the cloudy sky and, during some brief seconds, it allowed her to see what was ahead of her.

Nevertheless, the many stones and fallen trees along the way made her escape extremely difficult, and the little angel ended up stumbling and falling. She let out a small cry as her knees hit the hard ground and the palm of her hands touched the rough soil. But Monica couldn’t waste any second: she had to be as fast as she could. The Irish angel stood up and kept on running, feeling that now whoever was following her was closer than before.

And, less than a minute later, many creatures, like the one that had captured her, arrived at the exact point where she had fallen. With an incredible tracking capacity, they spotted Monica’s blood on the ground.

Monica continued to run and managed to move away from them just a few meters ahead. Breathing hard, she looked back, trying to see any sign of her pursuers and heard them coming closer. Suddenly, a ray crossed the sky, illuminating, for a few seconds, what was ahead of her: a huge oak tree. In its trunk, there was a narrow opening and Monica wasted no time in passing through it. Trembling and hurt, she closed her eyes and started to pray with all her faith not to be found.

Her stalkers arrived there a second later and stopped next to the big tree, looking for any trace of the escaping angel. Monica stood still, just listening to their steps close to her. And, some moments later, she heard them leaving.

“Father, I know You’re watching over me... I know I’m not alone... but please, comfort my heart... Turn all this into something good...”

*

Feeling his heart heavy with sorrow and deep anguish, Andrew looked around him desperately trying to spot any sign of his beloved friend. Frowning with concern, he realised Monica wasn’t anywhere around and there was only one thing to be done: he would have to leave the trail and enter the dark woods.

“I’m coming for you, my angel... Wait just a little bit more, I’ll find you!” he whispered, and left the relatively safe path to trail a dangerous track in order to find the little Irish angel.

*

Erika walked along the street in the same neighbourhood Monica had been kidnapped an hour earlier. Carrying a backpack, she stopped in front of a small house, climbed up the porch steps and knocked on the door. Soon, the young man who was together with her hours earlier, opened the door, “Hey.” He said, greeting her with a small kiss on the lips.

“Hey.” She replied, with a rather worried expression on her face; which David didn’t miss.

“What is it? Is there something wrong?”

“No... No, I was... I guess I’m just a bit nervous...” she replied, “Are you ready?”

“Well, yes... but I... I just can’t stop thinking about that man, Edward Evans...”

“David there’s nothing you can do; if you testify you will be arrested and may even be accused of killing those kids!”

“But... If I don’t say anything... An innocent man will die...”

“If you go to the police and tell them what happened you’ll be arrested and your life will be ruined forever! You robbed a bank! You were sentenced to years of imprisonment and your escape will only aggravate this sentence!”

Erika’s words had some effect on him and, realising this, she kept on talking, “We have to go away from here, David! We have to go far away from this place!” she took his hand and looked deep inside his eyes, “Let’s start our own life in another place! With these new ID cards we can find a job, rent a house, meet new people... David, we can even raise a family!”

The guy smiled softly and stroked her face, “What are you? Some kind of angel?”

A somewhat surprised smile appeared on her face, “An angel?”

“Yes. You came to me when I most needed, you helped me out of prison, then gave me these false IDs... you stood by my side even knowing that I’m a criminal...”

“You didn’t kill anybody, you didn’t do any harm to anybody; the bank was empty and I know that you regret what you did. That’s why I care about you! I care about you very much!”

“I know that now... And I really regret what I did in the past, Erika. I mean it when I saw I want to start a new life with you, from zero...”

With a cheerful smile, the young demon squeezed his hand, “C’mon, I’ll help you with the bags!”

They placed their luggage in the car trunk and entered the vehicle. But then another obstacle made them stop: the motor didn’t turn on.

“But what’s happening?!” she complained, visibly upset.

“I don’t know... it doesn’t seem to start...”

“I thought you had checked this car before!”

“I did! I... just don’t know what’s happening...”

Without any other option, David had to get out of the car and check what could be causing that problem. Half-hour later, he closed the hood and sighed deeply, “I can’t fix it!”

“But we have to get out of here tonight!” the girl replied, now nearly desperate.

“We can’t, Erika. We’ll have to wait for tomorrow so that I can call a mechanic and get this car checked!”

“But didn’t you do it yesterday?”

“Yes, but probably Andrew did something wrong, cause...” hearing that, Erika frowned with worry.

“Wait a minute! Andrew? That’s the mechanic’s name?”

“Yes... He and Rafael are the mechanics in the shop and Monica is the accountant... Why?”

The young demon sighed deeply, mentally scolding herself for not realising how close the angels had been during the time they were there. “It’s... nothing, nevermind...” she looked at the vehicle with totally disappointed eyes, “So, we’ll have to stay here, right?”

“Yes, at least until tomorrow...”

“Fine. Why don’t you take the bags from the trunk and take it to the house? I’ll go buy some food for us.”

“I can do that...”

“No, it’s ok. I’ll go. Be back soon.”

*

Monica remained inside the oak tree trunk, whispering her prayers for 20 minutes. And deep inside her kind and compassionate heart, she couldn’t stop worrying about Tess and Andrew. At the moment the demons kidnapped her, the blond angel was on the same dark alley and now she wondered what had happened to him, if he was ok. “Oh, Andrew... Tess... I miss you two so much... How I wish you were together, playing with our wee Joy...” the Irish angel whispered, whimpering softly.

But, all of a sudden, she heard a familiar male voice in between loud thunders and her heart jumped.

“Monica! Monica, it’s me, Andrew!”

Monica opened her eyes, a lump forming in her throat. “Andrew?”

“Monica! Where are you?!” the voice was now near.

The Irish angel came out of her hiding place and looked around her, desperately searching for her dearest friend. “Andrew?! Andrew, I’m here!”

Her callings produced a quick effect: a second later, a tall man, with blond hair and green eyes, holding a gas lamp, spotted her in between the darkness and quickly came into her direction. “Monica!”

“Andrew!”

The Irish angel wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck and both held each other in a tight embrace. “Oh Andrew! you shouldn’t have come here! It’s so dangerous!” she said, with tearful voice.

“Monica, I would never leave you here all alone, you know that!” he replied, softly stroking her hair.

“I know... And I cannot lie, I’m so happy you’re here...” she tightened her hold on him and shed some tears.

A minute later, he pulled away and stroked her cheek, “Shh... It’s gonna be ok now. Don’t cry, Monica...”

“I’m sorry... I know that the Father has sent you here and that He’s watching over us both... But I couldn’t help being afraid...”

“Don’t be; the worst is gone now, ok?”

She nodded her head and they held each other once again.

But what the little Irish angel didn’t see was the evil smile that appeared on the blond man’s face.