chapter 5

The old country house was full of other bedrooms, one of them right in front of Monica and Tess’ and similar to theirs, with two beds and an empty closet. As the rain poured down incessantly, the angels didn’t have any other option but to remain in the house, even under its precarious conditions. Adam lay down on his bed and tried to sleep, although for him it was quite difficult to fully relax once they were stuck in such a horrible place and with a dear friend really ill.

Nevertheless, they were also in human form and that was enough to make them feel exhaustion taking control over their bodies; one of the angels of death ended up drifting off to a light sleep, which was always interrupted by the loud noise of the thunders.

Andrew, for himself, was not able to do the same, as his worry about his dearest friend was growing stronger every second, as well as his wish for that terrible night to be over. He remained by the window, thoughtfully staring outside. Somehow, the blond angel felt tempted to place Monica and the others in the car found in the garage and go away from the mansion.

Seriously considering that possibility, he left the bedroom and went downstairs, following the corridor that led to the garage. The car was not new, it was true, but it was in good condition, being perfectly able to run a long distance. Most importantly: the tank was full, so it was possible to reach the next city, or to return to the one they had left hours before. Andrew checked the vehicle, but, after some minutes of reflection, the angel sighed heavily: it was too risky to face such horrible weather conditions carrying a very ill person, and if anything happened in the middle of the road, Monica would be the one to suffer the consequences more than the others.

He shook his head and decided to come back to the living room. There were leaks spread all over the way and the smell of mildew impregnated his lungs. Suddenly, his left foot sank in the wooden floor, up to his knee:

“Man! This house is falling to pieces!”, the angel grumbled.

*

A sequence of deafening thunders echoed through the skies, causing Tess to wake up from her light snooze; and the first thing that came to the supervisor’s mind was her charge. She immediately rested her eyes upon Monica and what she saw caused her heart to beat loudly in her chest and an expression of panic to appear on her already worried face: the Irish angel was curled up in her bed, with the blanket pulled up to her neck and trembling with cold. Tess quickly stood up from her bed and placed a hand on Monica’s forehead: the fever was much higher than before, causing even an experienced angel like her to be twice scared.

With an anguished heart, the supervisor left the bedroom and went downstairs, dropping into Andrew, who was coming in the opposite direction and immediately noticed the frightened expression on her face:

“Tess... What is it?... Is that Monica?”, he asked, though the question wasn’t really necessary, as he was already feeling in his own heart the aggravation in his dearest friend health condition.

“It’s the fever, Andrew. It’s getting worse every minute! That poor baby is so hot! I don’t know what else to do!”, she answered, with despair evident in her strong voice. And despair also flooded he blond angel’s soul when he heard that:

“...oh God...”

“Go and stay with her, baby. I’ll look for a cloth and some water to put on her forehead.”

He climbed the stairs in a quick rush, going straight to the Irish angel’s bedroom, and the image of the friend he loved so much seriously ill and trembling with cold was like a sharp pain right through his heart. Andrew quickly walked over to her bed and stroked her pale face:

“Angel Girl, wake up, please... Dear God, she’s so hot!...”, he frowned with concern at how pale and sick she looked:

“Monica, wake up, please... Tell me how you’re feeling...”

“...Andrew?...”

“I’m right here!”, he replied, taking her hand into both of his.

“...I’m cold... so cold...”

The blond angel helped her to sit on the bed and took off his jacket, placing it upon her. Then, he wrapped his arms around her and brought the ill angel close to him:

“Hang on in there, sweetie. Just a little longer until the weather gets better.”, he said, tenderly stroking her hair.

A minute later, Tess, followed by Adam (who had been woken up by their friends footsteps on the rotten wooden floor), entered the bedroom carrying a bowl with water and a humid cloth, which she immediately placed on Monica’s forehead:

“Here, baby. I know this isn’t the best solution, but I’m sure that it’ll make your fever break at least a little”, she said with worry, and the Irish angel flinched when she felt the cold fabric touch her skin:

“I know, baby, I know....”

Seeing the accelerated deterioration in the angel’s condition, and deeply fearing where it would lead, Adam sighed heavily:

“She needs proper treatment; she needs a doctor or at least some medicine! We can’t just stand here and wait, this thunderstorm may last for hours...”

“I agree with you, Adam, but we can’t risk taking her back to the city in such weather condition. Crossing these roads is risky even for a healthy person.”, Andrew said, “Monica is already too weak and although I don’t like this place at all, it is still a shelter and she’ll be safer here.”

One minute of disturbing silence passed by; until it was finally broken by Tess:

“Andrew is right.”, she suddenly stated, with a serious look.

“But Tess, Monica is very ill, she’s burning with fever!”, Adam  insisted.

“... I’ll be fine...”, the Irish angel said, not wanting her angelic friends to worry even more about her, “... we can wait for the storm to go and then we can go away...”, she added, still trembling with cold.

“That’s not what I have in mind, Angel Girl. I’ll get that car and I’ll come back. I know that the way to the city hospital is a long one, but I remember that, when we started to follow this road, there was a gas station and a drug store at its very beginning. I could buy some medicine and bring it to her.”

“Do you think it’s possible to come back?”, Andrew asked.

“Of course it is! There’s gas in the car and you said it’s in good condition!”

“Yes, it really is. I checked it out myself.”, the blond angel assured.

“So I believe there’s nothing else to discuss here! I’m gonna find help!”

“Tess, wouldn’t it be better if I went and you stayed here with Monica?”

“No, Angel Boy. You stay here and take care of her. I didn’t forget the conversation we had about this house and I do completely agree with everything you’ve said.”

“I’ll go with you Tess.”, Adam said.

“Good. I surely would like your company, baby.”

But, before they left the room, the 3 angels heard a weak and concerned voice:

“Tess, Adam, please, don’t go!...”, Monica pleaded, “It’s very dangerous out there, the storm won’t go away anytime soon and it’s a long way to the city... I’ll be fine while I wait here...”

“Of course you will! There’ll be an angel here to take good care of my precious Angel Girl!”, the supervisor gently ruffled her hair.

“I don’t wanna be a burden to you...”

“Hey! You’re not a burden to anyone!”, Adam said, and smiled, “And we’re glad we’re here to take care of you!”

Tess stood up and took Monica’s hand:

“I’m sure you’ll be in good hands, Angel Girl!”

“She will, Tess. I’ll take good care of her!”

The angels, with the exception of Monica, went to the garage and, as Tess and Adam got into the car, Andrew opened the garage door for them. Outside, the rain pelted down as intensely as before and showed no sign of abating:

“The Father will be with you two.”, he said.

“And with you and Monica too, Angel Boy. “, Tess replied.

“Be careful, ok?”

“We’ll be back soon!”, Adam assured.

The supervisor and the angel of death left the sombre old country house and went back to the road, facing the adversities of the weather to find healing for a dear friend.

Andrew shut the garage door and went back to Monica’s bedroom; his heart heavy with anguish about the Irish angel.

Under the blinking lights which showed the inefficiency of the electric system, he passed by the living room and quickly climbed the stairs, shutting the bedroom’s door seconds later. But what the blond angel didn’t notice was another presence in the house, most precisely, in that room: hidden in the shadows, Monique, the demon who looked exactly like Monica, had been observing the angels since they arrived at the house. With an evil smile upon her face, she gave some steps ahead and stood in the middle of the living room:

“It seems that, now, it’ll be just us...”, she stated, looking upstairs. But she was not alone: another figure emerged from the shadows of another corridor and joined her; he was tall, strong, had dark hair and dark evil eyes:

“I’m also in this, have you forgotten?”, he said, joining her.

“Gregory... you never know what kind of surprises a rough thunderstorm can bring!”

“Yes... Let’s say these angels have crossed my way too many times in the past...”, he stated,  “...And the last time, they stopped a practically perfect revenge plan to be accomplished, and that is unforgivable!”

Gregory, a demon the angels had faced so bravely on a dark stormy Halloween night, similar to that one, was back. On that occasion, Gregory tried to steal the soul of man named Lonnie; a soul he had been pursuing for years. But Monica, Andrew and Tess managed to stop him from doing more harm to the human and sent him back to the darkness where he belonged.

But that was not the last time the angels had crossed the 2 demons way. Some months earlier, in a dark cold night, when Monica and Andrew stopped a desperate man to accomplish a terrible revenge by committing a murder, they actually stopped Monique and Gregory from finishing their job.

“I do completely agree with you, Gregory. Stopping Steven Harris from killing that man was not... let’s say... ‘nice’!”, Monique added. Both looked upstairs and it was possible to see all the evilness in the world clearly written in the shining of their eyes:

“Now it’s our time to teach these angels a little lesson about revenge!”, she finally said.