PART 5

CHAPTER 4

Andrew let Monica cry in his arms for some time and his heart ached with every sob she let out and every tear she shed.

“Monica, my angel, try to calm down, please...”

“He was equal to you, Andrew...”

Her tearful words made him pull away and look into her eyes, “Who, sweetie?”

“There was another... A demon, he took your form...” Monica placed the palm of her hand on his cheek and tenderly stroked his face, “... I thought he was you and I trusted him... God! How could I trust him?”

Knowing that only made him twice sadder, “Oh Monica...”

“He took me to the woods, through a dark path and, even though I had told him I was hurt he kept on dragging me along with him. It was then that I realised he wasn’t you... He... hit me and tried to strangle me...”

Andrew compassionate heart was immediately filled with deep sorrow and his eyes with sad tears. Carefully, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her forehead repeatedly, “I’m sorry, my angel! I’m sorry it took me so long to find you! Please, forgive me!” the blond angel spoke, feeling his heart heavy with guilt.

“Oh, you don’t have to apologise, Andrew. You have no idea what it’s like to be with you again!”

“You’re hurt...” he said, now making her sit down on the stony ground and taking a closer look at her wounds. Biting her lower lip, she nodded, “I didn’t want you to come, you know... I was afraid for you... afraid that you would be hurt too...”

He cupped her chin and lifted her head up, “But you knew I would come for you anyway, didn’t you?”

“Yes...” she replied, with a slight smile forming on the corner of her lips. Andrew tenderly stroked her cheek and took her hand into his, making her stretch her left arm. What he saw caused his heart to ache: Monica’s delicate skin now had a long cut, which was dirty and would become even worse if it wasn’t treated properly and fast.

“The creature that took me away did this...” she said, noticing all the worry evident on his face.

“You said your back is hurt too...” Andrew was trying to focus on the Irish angel in order to control the anger he felt rising in his heart.

“Yes...” she knew him well enough to see he was angry not only about that situation but also with himself for not being able to avoid it. “My body aches because of the impact as the threw me against that tree...”

“Oh Monica... I’m so sorry, angel girl. I wish I had brought medicine and clean clothes for you but...”

Monica reached for his hand and made him inch closer to her, “Your presence here is the best medicine to heal these wounds, Andrew,” she spoke, “I love you.”

Always carefully, Andrew gathered her in his arms once again and placed a loving kiss on her forehead, “Pretty angel girl... I love you too...”

“I’m afraid I’m not that pretty right now...”

“You are! So pretty to my eyes and my heart you’ll can never imagine!” he spoke, kissing the tip of her nose and causing her to smile again.

“Do you know how to get out of here?”

“Yes. There’s a small trail that crosses the woods. I came here following this path and that’s how we’ll escape. But we’ll have to walk fast to get there and it’s a bit distant from here.”

“And how did you find me here, Andrew?”

“I followed my heart, Monica, and asked the Father to guide my steps. He knows you’re a part of me.”

Still holding his hand, she inched even closer and kissed his cheek.

“Can you do me a favour?”

“You know the answer for that,” the blond angel replied, gently caressing her hair.

“My feet... I guess there are some small sticks pieces on gravel in the soles of my feet... Do you think you could...”

She didn’t even have to finish: Andrew was already moving to take care of her hurt feet.

*

Monique was standing on the top of a mountain, in the same dark lands, and it didn’t take too long before Erika went to meet her.

“Something happened...” the young demon said.

“I knew it... This assignment couldn’t be that easy... what is it?”

“The car broke down, we’ll have to stay for the night.”

“Damn it!” the demon grumbled, with her voice slightly different from Monica’s.

“Apparently Dave had taken the car to a mechanic whose name was Andrew. He works at the mechanic shop, together with Monica and Rafael.”

“So our angels were closer than we thought.” Monique gave a few steps and spoke again, “Well... they won’t stay in our way anymore... our servants won’t let them get out of here...”

“ ‘Them’? You mean Andrew is here?”

“Yes... I told you he wouldn’t think twice before coming after his dearest friend.”

Erika shook her head, still not believing how an angel could sacrifice himself up to the point of going to a place like that in order to find another angel, even knowing how dangerous it could be. “These angels... They’re intriguing creatures, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“How can they give up on themselves in order to help others?”

“I told you, it’s part of their pathetic nature!” Monique sighed and faced the young demon, “Still, there’ll be a little change in our plans...” she took Erika’s hand and placed a small bottle of medicine in her palm, “Mix it in water and give it to David.”

“What is it?”

“A tranquilliser. I told you, he can’t be in contact with TV or the radio. That guy is close to go to the police and tell the truth, and now that you’re telling me about this repair shop he’s been going to, I can understand why so much regret!”

“Yes, I see. Tomorrow by morning I’ll call a mechanic to fix the car and we’ll elope as soon as he wakes up!” Erika spoke, disappearing through the shadows.

Monique nodded and smiled evilly, “Yeah, right...”

*

Andrew was almost finishing to remove most of the gavels from Monica’s feet and, though he could notice how hurtful it was for her, he was also proud to see she could bear the pain without complaining.

“I’m almost finishing, angel.”

“That’s ok. So, this is all part of a plan to stop David from testifying?”

“Yes. Somehow the demons knew that he could elope tonight and that we would be there to try to stop him.” Andrew replied, carefully holding Monica’s foot but doing his task as fast as he could.

“What I can’t understand is how did Monique know that? From what I’ve heard, David doesn’t have any family.”

“Well, David and I talked sometimes, since the day he arrived here. He has a girlfriend; her name is Erika...” the blond angel looked at her for a moment, and she immediately understood what he was trying to say.

“You mean his girlfriend, Erika, she can be...”

“A demon, yes.”

“But if this is true then he is in great danger!” the Irish angel concluded.

“Yes, and this is another reason why we should get out of here fast.” He said, finally finishing his task, “I guess it’s over. But we should put some alcohol and...”

“When we get out of here I’ll do it...” she interrupted him, and then smiled slightly, “I mean... I’ll let you do it for me...”

A smile also appeared on the blond angel’s face, “You can be sure I will!” then, his face turned into a serious one again, “But I still need to find something to protect your feet, angel, otherwise you’ll get hurt again.”

“Well I.. I don’t know what we can do... I lost my shoes somewhere in the woods and I don’t think your shoes would suit me...” she said, happy to see the smile back on his face.

Andrew tenderly stroked her hurt feet, trying to come up with a solution to that problem.

“I never thought that being the angel who likes walking around barefoot would become such a problem.”

The blond angel looked at her and was going to say something but an idea suddenly crossed his mind. “Your long sleeves...” he said, moving to sit next to her.

“What?”

“I have an idea, Monica. I’ll tear up those long sleeves of your dress and wrap them around your feet.”

The Irish angel chuckled, “Yes. After all I don’t think I’ll be wearing it again...” she joked, looking at the outfit, which was dirty with mud.

*

Erika had come back to David’s house and after they had a snack, which she prepared, the young man fell into a restless sleep on the couch. The demon watched him for some time and after headed to the kitchen, to throw the tranquilliser bottle, now empty, in the dustbin. Joy immediately stood up and started to watch her with questioning eyes.

“Hey, you didn’t eat your lunch! What’s the matter with you, black spot?” Erika said, noticing that the puppy had barely touched her food, which, in fact, was something strange.

She knelt in front of the little dog and looked at the bowl, “Well, it doesn’t look very good anyway...”

Joy remained still, just staring at her in the most absolute silence, which made Erika scoop her in her hands, “Where did you come from after all, huh? You don’t seem like a dog that lives in the streets, judging by your appearance. And judging by your weight, you’re surely well fed!”

The chubby little dog tilted her head, as if she could really understand what Erika was saying. “Hey, don’t you look at me that way! It was for his own protection! If David stays up he’ll keep on thinking about that trial and may end up doing something stupid! I’m saving you too! If he goes to jail, where are you going to live, huh?”

Suddenly, Joy started to weep, which caused Erika to frown with surprise and concern, “Hey! What’s it? Oh please, it’s not gonna hurt him, he’ll sleep, that’s all! You’re too sensitive, black spot! You have to learn how to be a tough girl!”

*

Andrew ripped off the 2 long sleeves of Monica’s dress and carefully wrapped them around her hurt small feet.

“Well, I guess it’ll protect the soles until we get to the trail that crosses the woods.”

“Thank you, Andrew. And...” she reached out for his hand, “Please, forgive me...”

“Forgive you for what?”

“For the way I treated you when you found me...” she lowered her head, slightly blushed and embarrassed.

Despite the dramatic situation, Andrew couldn’t help chuckling and, sitting right beside her, he wrapped his arm around her small shoulders, “Well, I have to confess that I had no idea you could be so strong, angel girl!” he joked, brushing a gentle kiss on her temple.

Blushing even more, and still embarrassed, she raised her head and looked at him, “Can you forgive me?”

“Hum... I don’t know... It really hurt, you know!”

The little giggle she let out was like music to his ears, “Oh, Andrew...” she raised her hand and placed it on his face, so that he could bent his head, and then she placed a loving kiss on his cheek, “I love you so much!”

“You know something? I was going to say that you shouldn’t even think of apologising for that and that I love you very, very much too, but now... I’m kinda enjoying your apologies! Could you please continue?”

With a cheerful smile, the Irish angel held him in a tight embrace and the only thing he resented was the fact that he couldn’t return the embrace, at least for a while, due to her aching body. Nevertheless, Andrew gently ran his fingers through her hair, and kissed the side of her head repeatedly.

Then, still grabbing her face with both hands, he pulled away, “Are you ready to go?”

She nodded her head, “Yes!”

But, before they could stand up, the noise of steps was brought by the wind to their ears: somebody was coming closer to the cave and they were more than one. Andrew quickly put out the flame that was burning inside the gas lamp and both angels remained in the most absolute silence. Feeling the fear that was flowing from Monica’s heart to his, he reached out and took her hand in both of his. After kissing her palm, he placed her hand over his heart and the 2 angels lifted a silent prayer for help.