Chapter 18

                            A smell all of a sudden jerking Monica out of her deep and restless sleep, the tired and weak angel opened her

                            weary, brown eyes and the first thing she noticed was that Andrew was no longer by her side.

                            Forcing herself to sit up, despite her hurting ankle, Monica’s heart pounded loudly in her chest and tears once

                            again filled her eyes as she searched the dark attic for her friend…and finding him pacing not that far from the

                            locked door. Andrew was running his hands through his short, blonde hair and his footsteps quickened each

                            time he turned around to pace in the other direction. Even from where she sat on the ground, Monica was

                            able to see the look of absolute horror in his green eyes.

                            “Andrew?” she weakly called out, struggling to sit up even more to get a better look at his face. “Andrew,

                            what is it?”

                            Her soft, tired voice breaking him from his pacing, the older angel stopped in his tracks and turned his eyes on

                            his best friend. Tears filled his own eyes as he looked into her pained eyes. How was he ever going to tell her

                            that the house was on fire and he was now stuck in human form??

                            Sucking in a deep, shaky breath, Andrew walked quickly over to his best friend and sat down beside her on

                            the ground once again, immediately taking her into his arms, as if somehow he would be able to stop her from

                            getting hurt when the fire reached the attic…

                            Struggling to gain control of his emotions as he held the other angel tightly, Andrew searched for his voice as

                            he prepared to inform his dear friend what was now happening…and what was going to happen to them if they

                            didn’t get out soon…

                            “Monica…” he started, fear etched in his voice.

                            “Andrew…What’s that smell?” Monica interrupted, tightening her arms around her friend as she leaned closer to

                            him in exhaustion and pain. “What’s going on here…”

                            Gulping loudly and feeling the tears trail down his pale cheeks, the Search and Rescue angel, now in human

                            form, gently and lovingly rubbed Monica’s shoulders as he finally allowed himself to speak the whole truth in his

                            friend’s ear.

                            “Angel Girl…The house is on fire…” he slowly and quietly uttered, waiting for her reaction. Finding that his

                            whole body was shaking, he forced himself to continue. “And—I’m in human form, sweetheart…Kathleen and

                            Denise were up here not that long ago and they noticed me…and—and I noticed them…”

                            “What??” Monica cried out, lifting her head off of Andrew’s chest and staring into his eyes, horrorstruck.

                            “What do you mean that ‘the house is on fire’, Andrew?! And—what do you mean that you’re in ‘human

                            form’??”

                            Tears flowing from her brown eyes now faster than ever before as she took in her best friend’s few words,

                            Monica felt herself trembling with terror, her mind screaming out that this couldn’t be happening…Denise and

                            Kathleen wouldn’t do this to them.

                            They couldn’t!

                            “I mean the house is on fire, Monica,” Andrew repeated, his voice deadly quiet and filled with fear as he

                            turned his head and gulped as he noticed that the shadows of the orange flames through the door. Smoke

                            continued to flow through the door as the fire only came closer and closer…

                            Noticing her friend’s reaction, the Irish angel turned to gaze at what her friend was staring at and screamed,

                            nearly causing Andrew to jump out of his skin at the shrill of her voice.

                            “Andrew, we have to do something!” she cried out, struggling to stand to her feet, but only letting out a cry

                            of pain as she put her full weight on her ankle. Nearly falling to the ground, she suddenly felt Andrew’s arm

                            wrap tightly around her waist, catching her before she hit the hard, unforgiving floor. Feeling herself lowered

                            back to the floor, the two angels sat down beside one another, each one taking in what was happening to

                            them.

                            Feeling all of her composure slipping away from her, Monica felt her body go limp against Andrew’s as she

                            sobbed at the thought that they were both now human and trapped in this dark attic…and the fire was quickly

                            coming their way…

                            “I know that we have to do something, Monica!” Andrew cried out, his voice loud and shrill. “But we’re not

                            magic; I’m not in angelic form anymore, and—and I don’t know what the Father wants us to do…I don’t know

                            what He wants us to do…”

                            His voice now getting choked up, Andrew only tightened his arms around his friend’s frail shoulders and buried

                            his face in her hair, trying to stop himself from looking over at the door, which the flames were now slowly

                            starting to burn through…

                            Turning her fearful eyes towards the door, Monica tightly held onto her friend for dear life as she watched

                            each flame slowly lap at the door…one by one…

                            *****

                            “…So, what do you say, Denise?” Kathleen calmly looked down at the caseworker as the flames continued to

                            lap deliciously at the house before them. The fire had finally made its way up to the attic, which made

                            Kathleen smile at the very thought of those two pitiful angels locked in there. Snickering to herself, she kept

                            her dark, demonic eyes planted on Denise’s face.

                            “You mean, I don’t have to do anything to join you?” Denise questioned, incredulous at the revelation that all

                            she had to do was say that word that she wanted to join. “All I have to do is ask??”

                            “All you have to do is ask, honey,” Kathleen confirmed, smirking at the burning house before them in the dark,

                            starless night. Her eyes flashing sparks, the demon turned back to Denise, continuing to stare at her as she

                            waited for her answer.

                            Turning to face her new friend, the dark-haired caseworker returned the smile that was offered her way. Her

                            smile slowly turning to a smirk of her own, Denise slowly nodded her head and met Kathleen’s eyes, her heart

                            jumping at the thought of finally being able to work with this dark angel forever.

                            “I want to go with you then,” she quietly answered finally, her eyes taking on an evil look of their own. “I

                            don’t know why I didn’t decide this sooner, Kathleen…”

                            “Better late than never, my dear,” Kathleen replied, smiling at the thought of having finally caught her victim

                            hook, line and sinker. This was too much fun! “Better late than never…”

                            All of a sudden, before Denise’s eyes, she was transformed. Her long, beautiful, black hair was now chopped

                            to her shoulders and died a reddish color. Her blue eyes held an evil that only she was able to pull off and her

                            clothing transformed into an all-black outfit, similar to the one that Kathleen was now wearing, too. A black

                            tank top and a knee-length black skirt covered their demonic forms and each one wore black nylons, covered

                            with made-for-holes, and 1-inch sandles on their feet.

                            Smiling wickedly at the thought that her Master would be so proud of her, and that she had passed her

                            assignment, Kathleen wrapped an arm around her new friend and the two dark angels walked off together into

                            the night…and disappeared from sight as if neither of them were ever there…