CHAPTERS 13 & 14

Chapter 13

            The darkness formed a veil around her to which there was no end and she felt rooted to the spot in which she stood, fear making it impossible for her to move.  The sound of her own heart pounding loudly in her ears deafened her as she looked around, searching for some light, but there was none to be found.

            “I’m afraid!” She called out, her voice echoing all around her through the void as her breath began to come in short gasps of fear, the panic rising up within her.  She had been here before in this darkness to which there was no end.

            Hesitantly, she took a step forward, but then froze as she heard a voice from far off in the distance calling to her.  The voice was laced with pain and tears filled her eyes as she recognized it instantly.  Andrew! 

            “Andrew!  I’m here!  I’m here!” She cried out, venturing another few steps in the direction from which his voice had come.

            “Monica!  Help me!  Please, help me!”

            She spun around as his voice now seemed to be somewhere behind her,

            “Where are you?  I can’t see you!” She heard him cry out in pain, and she ran through the blackness towards him, but the further she went; the further away the cries seemed to move,

            “Andrew!  Where are you?  I want to help you!  Please, tell me where you are!”

            “You can’t help him!”

            The voice in her ear, caused her to whirl around,

            “Kathleen, what have you done to him?  Where is he?”

            The dark angel laughed, her laughter echoing through the darkness,

            “You can’t help him anymore than you could have helped me!  It was your fault I chose the darkness and it is your fault you are going to lose Andrew to the darkness, because you wouldn’t make the choice!”

            “No!” She cried out, Kathleen’s words piercing her heart,

            “I won’t allow that to happen!  Andrew is of the Light and he would never make that choice!”

            “He made it because you wouldn’t.  He belongs with me now, Monica.  It’s too late for you to help him as the decision has already been made.  See for yourself.”

            The angel looked as Andrew, her beloved friend appeared beside of Kathleen, both of whom she could now see.  His eyes were vacant and sad and he shook his head,

            “I’m sorry, Monica.  I had to go.  I had to protect you.”

            “Andrew, no.  Please no.  You weren’t supposed to protect me!  I can’t lose you, I can’t!”  Tears spilled from her eyes as they pleaded with him,

            “Please don’t leave me!  You’re my best friend!” She reached out for him, but he backed away.

            “I’m sorry, Angel Girl,” He whispered before he disappeared from her sight.

            “Andrew!!” She screamed, falling to her knees as the sobs tore through her.  How could she lose again?

            “Because that is what you do, Monica,” Kathleen taunted her,

            “You lose because you don’t try hard enough.  You don’t care enough!  You were a mistake and because of you now both Andrew and I are in the darkness for all eternity.  How does that feel, Angel Girl?  Knowing you caused your two best friends to suffer so?  Is Tess next, Monica?  See what you’ve done?  See what you’ve done?”

            “NO!” Monica cried out, bolting upright in bed, her forehead bathed in feverish sweat as she struggled to catch her breath.

            “Hey, hey, hey,” Andrew uttered softly, seeing the wild panic in her eyes.  He sat down on the bed, feeling alarmed by her short raspy breathes.

            “What happened, baby?” Tess asked, coming out of the other room where she and Stacey had been sleeping.

            “A nightmare, I think,” Andrew replied quietly, not wanting to frighten his friend who wasn’t showing any sign of being totally awake yet.  Carefully, he took Monica’s face into his hands,

            “It’s okay, Angel Girl,” He said softly, trying to meet her eyes,

            “Calm down.  You’re fine,” He spoke soothingly to her until her breathing returned to normal as she began to come out of the dark recesses of her mind.  He watched as her eyes immediately clouded with tears as they met with his.

            “You’re still here,” She whispered, tears sliding down her pale cheeks.

            A gentle smile crossed Andrew’s face as he brushed a stray stand of hair from her eyes,

            “Of course I am, sweetie.  I’m not going anywhere.”

            “Promise me,” Monica’s voice trembled as she grasped his hands tightly in her own,

            “Promise me you won’t ever go with her, no matter what.  I can’t lose you too…I can’t.” Without another word, she laid her head against his shoulder and wept.

Chapter 14

            Andrew held the sobbing angel tightly in his arms as he exchanged a look with Tess, both of them now knowing what the nightmare had been about,

            “You’re not going to lose me, Angel Girl,” He replied softly, his voice husky with emotion at her words that had touched him deeply.  He rested his chin on top of her head as he looked at Tess helplessly, not knowing what else to tell her to calm her fears.

            Tess got up and got Monica a glass of juice,

            “C’mon baby, drink some of this and calm down.  You need to rest, Monica and these tears aren’t doing you any good at all, baby.”

            Tess helped Monica bring the glass to her lips and the younger angel drank thirstily as she tried to stop crying.  The dream was still so vivid in her mind and as she finished the juice and lay back, she reached out for Andrew’s hand.

            Andrew took her hand into both of his and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently,

            “I’m right here, sweetie.  Try to sleep, okay? “ He watched as she nodded her head, and he reached down to stroke her hair until she drifted back off to sleep.

            Andrew drew in a deep breath as he looked at Tess,

            “I’m starting to feel angry again, Tess.  I’m trying not to, but it isn’t working.”

            “Anger at Kathleen,” Tess replied knowingly, as she nodded her head in understanding,

            “I know it’s hard, baby, but remember that anger is what got you both into this mess.”

            “I know, Tess, but when will Kathleen stop?  She almost destroyed Monica the last time and she has barely had time to recover from that. Now Kathleen is back at it again and it’s really starting to get to me.”

            “I know how protective you are of our Angel Girl, baby, but something is telling me that this is her fight.  We can’t fight it for her.” Tess reached down to feel Monica’s forehead with her hand, shaking her head when she still felt the fever raging.

            “Then Kathleen needs to play fair. I know that this isn’t a game, but she always does this kind of thing to Monica when she is the most vulnerable.” Andrew frowned, thinking about the dark angel and trying to get a grip on his emotions.

            “Because she knows she cannot win any other way, Andrew,” She pointed out,

            “Monica is a very strong angel, even when she doesn’t feel she is.  But this time, Kathleen is playing with her emotions and that has me worried.  Monica won’t gamble with your life, Angel Boy.  There is no doubt in my mind, and if Kathleen puts her between a rock and a hard place, I’m worried about what our girl will chose.”

            “She has to chose God, Tess.  That is the only answer,” He replied softly, gazing tenderly at the sleeping angel.

            “Friendship is a powerful thing, Andrew, and she loves you with her whole heart, and she remembers all too well, her friendship with Kathleen and what happened to it.  Yes, God is the issue here, but then again, there is something more at stake.  You.  Kathleen knows better than to ask Monica to chose herself or God, so what she is going to ask is for Monica to chose herself over you.”

            “I cannot allow her to do that, Tess.  I have to make her understand that I can fight my own fight with Kathleen, I don’t want her making that choice.”  Andrew replied, sighing softly.  This would be so much easier if they were not in human form, but he knew that if they were, then there was a reason for it.

            “That’s all well and good, baby, but the fight isn’t about you at all, for Kathleen.  For Monica, yes.  That’s where we have to be very careful.  Kathleen is confusing the issue for her, through her words and through Monica’s dreams,” Tess looked at her Angel Boy, wanting to make sure he was understanding what it was she was saying,

            “Kathleen is in Monica’s head right now, baby, trying to push her as hard as she can so that when the time comes, Monica will feel desperate enough to make the decision that Kathleen wants.  That is why the Father told her she would have to fight harder than she ever has before—she has to hang onto her faith, Andrew, because if she doesn’t…”

            Andrew wondered if God had told Tess all of this.  He had a feeling that He had, and he was beginning to feel more alarmed.  He watched Monica as she slept, unable to help smiling at little at the innocence that was on her face in sleep,

            “Maybe I shouldn’t be here, Tess,” He remarked sadly,

            “Maybe I’m confusing things for her.”

            No, baby,” Tess shook her head firmly,

            “What happens when she wakes up and you aren’t here?  You need to look at things like maybe you are doing exactly the opposite for her.  You are keeping things clear.  She has to do this, Andrew, but it isn’t going to work if you aren’t here for her.  I have that on the highest authority, baby.  You are to stay close to Monica, as the Father says she needs you now more than she ever has before.  I can’t explain it, but you need to trust God.”

            Andrew nodded his head, feeling that what Tess was saying was true.  But now he felt more confused than ever.  What was going to happen and why was Monica going to have to fight so hard?  What did Kathleen have up her sleeve for the gentle Irish-tongued angel, who slept soundly next to him?  Would he even be allowed to protect her if it came to that?  He had so many questions, but he knew he would not get answers to them tonight.

            Once Tess had gone back to bed, Andrew bowed his head, as he sat next to the sleeping angel,

            “Oh Father, please, please keep her safe…