PART 4

CHAPTER 3

Monica held her dearest friend for a few seconds more and then she gently pulled away, “Do you know the way to get out of here?”

“Yes, I do,” he replied, and stood up, “Come, follow me.”

The Irish angel took his proffered hand and both started to walk through the dead vegetation; the noise of breaking twigs was constant and it caused Monica to be twice worried. “We have to be careful, Andrew. There are evil creatures in the woods, like the one who captured me...” she whispered, feeling a bit better when he tightened the hold on her hand.

“Don’t worry, I know where I’m going...”

“Are you alone? Where is Tess? Does she know that? Is she ok?”

“Yes... Tess is fine; she’s waiting for us. That’s why we have to walk faster...”

“I am...” she said, trying to catch up with his pace, which was rather difficult, as he was walking really fast and the obstacles on the ground were many. Besides, he was pulling her along with him in a great hurry, which made her imagine how scared he should also be.

At a certain point, Monica stumbled on a rock and, if it hadn’t been for his firm grip in her hand, she would have fallen on the ground. One of her shoes, however, was left behind.

“Andrew... Please, wait...”

“We can’t wait, Monica!” he replied, practically dragging her along with him.

“I hurt my foot...” she said, hardly managing to follow him.

“Honey, we must keep walking, I take care of your foot later, I promise.” He spoke, and those words suddenly caused a sensation of great panic to creep over her.

“Andrew?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure this is the right way?”

“Yes, yes, Monica...This is the right way!”

All of a sudden, the Irish angel got rid of his grip and gave a few steps back, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. “No...”

“Monica? What is it?” he asked, frowning and a bit confused.

She shook her head, “You’re not him!”

“What?”

“You’re not Andrew!”

“What are you talking about, sweetie? It’s me, Andrew!” he replied, coming closer to her.

But now the angel was terrified. “Stay away from me!” she shouted, ready to run.

“Monica?” he said, walking towards her.

“Go away!”

Monica started to run away from him but he was faster and much stronger: a few steps were enough for him to grab her arm, “Hold it there, angel!” he spoke, now with a different tone in his voice.

“No! let me go!” she fought to get rid of his grip but it was practically impossible.

“I have to admit that you angels have great sensibility!”

The cold and evil look in those green eyes only confirmed what Monica already feared: that wasn’t her dearest friend.

“Let me go, in the name of God!” she said, still fighting. But he let go of the gas lamp and took her other arm, “You have nowhere to go now, little angel! You’ll be trapped here forever!” he smiled and faced her really close, “And I have to warn you: you’ll only find eternal suffering in this place!”

“I’m not afraid of you nor of who you serve... I have a loving Father Who is always protecting me!”

“Oh really? Well, let’s see...”

With violence, he grabbed her arm, which had been previously hurt by another evil creature, and threw her against a tree. The angel’s terrified cry filled the air and she felt her back and her head aching due to the impact, and the gold necklace with a small angel pendant, Andrew’s Christmas present to her, soon called his attention, “Hum... What we have here?” he said, taking the shining object in his hand, “You know something, angel? You won’t need this anymore!”

“No!” she cried, as the sentimental value of the small object was immeasurable. The demon ripped the necklace from the neck – the gold chain cutting the soft skin in there, and tossed it on the muddy ground.

“That would be a real pity to destroy such an enchanting creature like you, you know...” he said, once again, standing face to face with her, “But I have my orders. Besides, I was told you’d never be able to do any harm to any creature in this world, so you’d never be one of us!”

Ignoring his words, Monica closed her eyes and started praying.

“Hey! Look at me when I talk to you, angel!” the creature shouted, shaking her by the shoulders. But Monica kept on praying, “You’re asking for it, dear...” he spoke, with a threatening expression on his face, and placed one of his hands on her neck and squeezing it. Monica’s soul was filled with great fear and her heart beat faster each and every minute. Suddenly, before the demon could hurt her even more, a ray crossed the sky and hit one of the longest branches of that same tree, and if fell right on him.

The evil creature let out a cry and let go of the angel’s neck for a moment, and she took the opportunity to try to escape from him.

Weak and hurt, Monica started a desperate run in between the dry and dead vegetation, and surrounded by total darkness. She could listen to the evil creature’s steps right behind her and the possibility of finding another one like him scared her deeply.

But, besides those evil creatures, the woods hid another danger: Monica didn’t see an inclined slope a few steps from where she was standing. The angel stumbled and fell once more time.

“Oh Father, please, help me...” she begged, after rolling down the slope. Hurt and scared, with her dress completely dirty and now without both shoes, she thought it was her end, as she heard the demon coming after her. But a lightening crossed the sky again and she could see, hidden by the stones and the dense and dry vegetation, an narrow opening in the rocks. She quickly crawled to it and managed to pass through the narrow passage just a few seconds before Andrew’s look alike demon arrived at the same spot.

“Hey, angel! You know I’ll find you, don’t you? It’s useless to run away! In a place like this, all the paths lead to destruction, you should know this!” he said, giving a few steps closer to the cave, “Why don’t you show up and maybe I can be a little merciful to you...”

Monica listened in the most absolute silence as he walked outside, and even her breath was caught not to call his attention.

A minute later, she heard as he finally walked away and, only then, she closed her eyes and cried helplessly.

*

Half hour after Monica had found a relatively safe shelter in that small and dark cave, the pain caused by the wounds on her arm and back started to become more intense. Besides, she had lost her shoes during the desperate escape and now her feet were also hurting and bleeding.

Since she had arrived there, the little Irish angel hadn’t interrupted her prayers and kept on asking for guidance until a small noise made her stop. With her heart beating faster once again, she soon realised some steps coming closer to the cave and a voice made her freeze with fear.

“Monica! Monica, are you some place near? It’s me, angel, please, answer to me!”

Monica kept an attentive eye on the entrance of the cave and saw when a light of a gas lamp illuminated its surroundings.

“Monica, it’s me, Andrew! Please, answer to me!” the voice spoke again, and as the person came closer, the light illuminated the entrance of the cave even more. Realising she would be found soon, Monica let out an involuntary and terrified sob, which immediately reached the person’s ears and guided him to the interior of the small cave.

“Monica!” Andrew spoke, a mix of relief for finding her and also sadness for seeing how hurt she was.

But Monica instinctively backed away from him. “No! Go away! Stay away from me!” she shouted.

“Monica... it’s me, Andrew!” he replied, now extremely surprised.

But the Irish angel continued to shout, “Stay away from me and go back to the darkness where you belong!”

Andrew placed the gas lamp on the ground and came closer to her, in an attempt to calm her down, but Monica’s reaction to his presence was twice worse: she stood up, took a stone on the ground and threw it into his direction. Fortunately, the blond angel’s reflex was quick and he managed to move before it hit him.

“Monica, try to stay calm, it’s me!” he quickly walked over to her and grabbed her arm.

Now the little Irish angel fought to get rid of his hold, “No! leave me alone! Leave me alone!” she cried, and with her fists, she hit his chest and arm.

Without much choice, he grabbed her other arm and made her look at him, “Monica, angel, I found your necklace; the necklace I gave you!”

Hearing that, she immediately stopped struggling and finally stared at his face. “I found it on the ground...” Andrew let go of her arms and took the gold necklace the demon had ripped from her neck inside his pocket, “I gave it to you on Christmas night! It has an angel pendant because I told you you’re an angel to my existence!”

Now shedding fresh tears, she covered her mouth with her hand in surprise, “Andrew?”

“It’s me, Monica... I was so desperate looking for you, my angel!”

His final words were the confirmation she needed: that was really her dearest friend.

“Oh God! Andrew!” Monica murmured, and then burst into tears. Andrew’s heart broke to see her so scared and he loathed to imagine what had caused her to act like that. He wasted no time in holding her tight, but, as he wrapped his arms around her, the little Irish angel winced with pain, which scared him deeply, and made him quickly pull away.

“I’m hurt...” she spoke, noticing the immediate guilt on his questioning face.

“Oh God! Angel, I’m sorry! Please forgive me...” he took her hand into both of his.

“It’s ok...” Monica let go of his hand and held him tightly, burying her face on his chest and lifting her prayers of thanks for having her dearest friend with her.

As much as he wanted to hold her tightly, the blond angel couldn’t even think of hurting her more than he already had when he grabbed her arms. So, gently and tenderly, he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head repeatedly, also thankful and deeply relieved to have found her in that dreadful place, at the darkest of the nights.