Waking

  Angel tried to scream but no sound could be heard as she spiraled downward. She reached out for something to hold onto, maybe something to slow her descent, but her hands found nothing. Surrounded by darkness she could not see what was ahead or behind. She could not even see herself. She could do no more than continue to plunge deeper into the abyss. Her heart sank. Each second was an eternity spent waiting for the inevitable end, for no pit was truly bottomless. She closed her eyes. 

A howl so loud it sounded as though it may have come from within her resounded all around Angel. She opened her eyes again and could see. Everything was still dark but she could see now that she was spiraling down the middle of what made her think of catacombs. There were openings in the walls resembling doors but only about the size of a window. Tombs, perhaps? But there was more. She could see eyes watching her from nearly every opening; glowing yellow eyes. 

Within her rose a feeling of anger strong enough to overcome all other emotions. These burning eyes belonged to something unbearable, something she felt compelled to destroy. She could explain nothing of this but her sudden compulsion was motivation enough to reach out once more. 

An unfamiliar sight stretched before Angel as she attempted to grab hold of the ledge of one of the openings and caused her to draw back her arm. She stretched it forward again. It was not her arm moving at her command but rather a massive, furry leg. The howl sounded again. 

There was no time to waste contemplating what was going on. Angel reached out with two paws now and tried to grab hold. The walls crumbled beneath her grasp but her descent began to slow with her claws dug into the side. Her back end lowered as she slowed from a free fall and Angel dug into the walls with her back paws as well as soon as they could make contact. She finally caught on to an edge that did not give way. 

Hanging from this precarious ledge Angel looked down to see that she had stopped just a few feet from the ground. Gaining resolve, she let go of the ledge and landed swiftly on her feet. No; not on her feet but on her paws. What a strange thing this was and yet it somehow felt perfectly natural to her.

Looking up, Angel could see the eyes that had watched her fall no more. The air grew heavy with the scent of blood. The smell grew stronger still as Angel began to hear feet shuffling ever so quietly toward her. Suddenly something burst forth from the darkness, straight towards her throat. 

  Angel woke with a start. Each time she had this dream it seemed to progress further and this was unpleasant, to say the least. But she had bigger concerns at this moment. Sitting up so quickly had made her dizzy. She sat still and regained her composure before looking around and taking in her surroundings. 

  In her left hand she discovered an IV needle and her heart jumped. 

  What happened..? 

  She was in her own bed, this much was obvious. There was a bandage around her head. She touched it gingerly, expecting terrible pain. There was no pain where she touched but she became aware of pain emanating from the back of her head. 

  A man in a lab coat walked into the room. He was reading something on a clipboard and did not even glance up at Angel. 

  “Excuse me… Who are you?” As Angel spoke the man jumped a little, clearly startled. 

  “Ms. Cadle! You’re awake! My, you recover quickly. Your concussion was quite severe, young lady.” The man replied. “As for who I am, my name is Dr. Sowa. A friend of mine called me here to treat your wounds.” 

  “A friend of yours? Who might that be?” 

  “The father of the boy who found you. His name is Caleb. He and his son were taking an early morning hike when his boy spotted you at the bottom of a steep incline. Good thing you were wearing white!” 

  Angel blushed at the thought of a boy seeing her in her nightgown. She hoped it had covered what she would not want revealed despite the fact that she had apparently tumbled down some hill. Then she noticed that she was no longer in her nightgown but was wearing a hospital gown instead. Suddenly realizing she had to have been naked at some point, her eyes grew wide. 

  “Relax. I contacted your local doctor, a Ms. Simmons, as soon as I received a call. She was the one who cleaned you up and dressed you. Then I contacted your father and received instructions to bring you back here for monitoring.” 

  Angel did relax a bit. “The boy and his father; are they still in town?” 

  “As a matter of fact, they are. Caleb is looking into buying property here and his boy insisted on staying until you recovered. Ya know, I’ve never seen him so worried about anything and I’ve known that boy since he was just a pup.” 

  “What’s this boy’s name?” 

  “Malak.” 

  “And where is Malak now?” 

  “He’s in your shower.” 

  “He’s… What..?” Angel was tense once more and, of course, now she took notice of the sound of running water. He was literally in her shower. 

  “I insisted. He carried you a long way through the woods and was covered in mud and blood. I didn’t think waking up to a grimy stranger would have been the best thing. He should be out momentarily.” 

  Angel heard the water shut off and did not know what to do so she pulled her blanket up and dropped back, pretending asleep. The doctor chuckled but she ignored him. 

  Malak exited the shower and soon discovered that he had forgotten to bring his bag, which contained his change of clothes, into the bathroom with him. Luckily there was a towel hanging on the towel rack behind him. He wrapped the towel around his waist, cracked open the door and peered through. 

  Seeing that the beauty whose name he had recently learned was Angel still sleeping, he opened the door further and stepped out. 

  “Hey. How is she?” Malak paused to question. 

  “Oh, she’s doing great.” The doctor was smiling from ear to ear and did not look up from the clipboard he held. 

  “Something I’m missing here..?” Smirking while being asked about an unconscious patient was not something one would expect. 

  “Yea; your clothes.” Dr. Sowa chuckled. 

  “Ha ha. Seriously, old man. Any change?” 

  “I’m just going to ignore that ‘old man’ remark and help you out here. She’s awake.” 

  Malak bolted from the room at a speed faster than Dr. Sowa imagined he had ever moved before, nearly losing his towel. 

  At hearing the boy flee from the room, Angel opened her eyes again and let out a sigh of relief. She did not want to face anyone in her current condition and was glad she had a moment to get herself together. 

  “I’m not feeling very sociable, doctor. Would you excuse me for a bit?” 

  “Of course. I’ll be right down the hall, should you need me.” With that, the doctor turned and left the room. 

  Angel quickly removed the IV and moved her hand around a bit. It was slightly sore where the puncture mark was, but otherwise felt normal. Aside from being a little disoriented, clearly due to her head injury, she felt okay. Her back was a little stiff but that was nothing compared to the pain she had expected from a fall that would cause a severe concussion so she stood, taking a moment to gain her balance, and walked to the bathroom attached to her room.

  “You couldn’t tell me she was awake when I came out?!” Malak’s face was flushed as he addressed Dr. Sowa. He had quickly put on some black jeans and now pulled a black t-shirt down over his head. 

  “You should have seen your face, boy.” The doctor laughed. 

  “That’s not funny.” Malak shot him an angry look. 

  “Lighten up! It’s not like she saw anything anyway.” 

  “You are such an a*s.” Malak turned away to shove the remainder of the clothes he had pulled out in search of his black shirt back into his bag. 

  “Oh grow up. It’s not that serious. I have information that is though.” 

  “Oh? Is it about what she is?” Malak knew Angel could not be human after her display of strength in the fight against the vampire that had attacked her the night before. 

  “Indeed.” Dr. Sowa had run a few tests, upon Malak’s request.

  “Well..?” 

  “She’s one of us.” 

  “So… What do we do? She doesn’t know.” 

  “We monitor her while we wait for Caleb’s instructions, of course.” 

  “Well, I suspect she’ll be hungry after sleeping so long. Should we order food?” 

  “Malak, I know you’re hungry. You lost a lot of blood, you pushed yourself and you haven’t rested. Even you have limits. I’ll fix something in the kitchen though. This small of a town, everyone tends to know everyone and do you really want the attention that would surely come along with strangers suddenly in the home of a neighbor?” 

  “Good point.” 

  “You’re usually the first one to mention caution; you’re clearly not in your right mind.” 

  “I’m fine. When should we expect to hear from Caleb?” 

  “Come to the kitchen with me, we have to discuss the cover story.” 

  “Cover story? But she’s one of us; do we really have to lie to her?” Malak questioned as he walked alongside the doctor. 

  “Of course we do. How would you react, as an eighteen year old girl, to waking with a head injury and having a couple of strangers tell you that you’re a werewolf that hasn’t awakened to her ‘power’?” 

  “Another good point.” Malak sighed. He didn’t like the idea of being dishonest with anyone, let alone this woman. She had risked her life for the sake of his. 

  “The story is this: You and your father were hiking, checking out the land in the area because you’re one of those nature loving kind of guys and you wanted a feel for the place before moving here. You found her and you carried her here, to the nearest town. Your father called me but he didn’t want to miss his meeting with a property owner so that’s where he is. You stayed here to keep an eye on her while she recovered.” 

  “Simple enough.” 

  “Indeed. Now I want to know more than ‘she was caught in the middle of a fight between me and a vampire.’ What made you think she was more than human?” 

  The doctor had found fresh everything in the kitchen; fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, even fresh herbs. But no meat was thawed out and there were no quick fix meals such as frozen chicken nuggets. Then he opened a drawer in the fridge and was happy to find lunchmeats and cheese. He pulled these out along with eggs and began cutting potatoes for home fries to go with the omelets he was going to make while he waited for Malak to tell him what he wanted to know. 

  “She… She fought the vampire hand to hand.” Malak began to explain. 

  “She did what?”  Dr. Sowa actually turned to look at Malak, surprised. 

  Malak explained everything that had happened the previous night to the doctor as he prepped and cooked the food. 

  Angel showered and donned her favorite dress; a forest-green sundress with a golden hem and floral design on the right side of it starting just above that hem. She wanted to look presentable upon meeting those who had brought her home and possibly saved her life. 

  When the door opened Angel saw a young man she knew must be Malak. He was somewhere around average height, maybe a little taller, and had and athletic build. His face was handsome, despite a scar by his right eye. His hair, as black as night and mid-length for a male, was unkempt. He wore loose fitting black jeans and a black t-shirt to match. And in his hands he held a tray with two plates of food. 

  Momentarily turning her attention from the food, she looked to his eyes. They were a rare shade of blue, appearing cerulean. Then she realized he was looking directly back at her and she felt her cheeks flush red.

  “So, you must be Malak.” 

  “And you’re Angel.” 

  Both paused, obviously feeling a little awkward. 

  “I hear you saved my life,” she said nervously. 

  “I hear you like to go walking in the woods at night,” he replied casually. 

  “It’s peaceful.” The nervousness had faded quickly. 

  “It’s dangerous.” His voice was firm. 

  “Everything in life has some level of danger or risk.” She spoke now as if they were friends.  

  “Some things more than others. What if you’d stumbled across a hungry cougar?” 

  “I’d send her your way. What interest would she have in me anyhow?” She smiled as she teased him and he couldn’t help but smile with her.  

  “You’re a strange girl, you know that?” He was still smiling an awkward smile. It seemed to Angel that smiling wasn’t something he did often. 

  “That’s what they say. But coming from a scruffy looking, possibly gothic boy that goes hiking with his dad super early in the morning? You’re one to talk.” Her smile never faded. 

  “Scruffy? I have never once been called scruffy. Merely using the word makes you stranger than me.”  

  “What? Scruffy is a commonly used word!”

“When referring to stray dogs, maybe.”

“Maybe you remind me of a stray dog.”

“Now that’s just mean. Stray is such a crude sounding word. I like to think of myself as more of a free-spirited dog.”

Both laughed, and then Angel motioned for him to come over and sit on the bed by her.

“You don’t have to stand in the doorway, you know.”

“We free spirits like to stay by the exit.” 

“Well then, I guess you don’t enjoy witty conversation with ‘strange girls’. Because this one is over unless you bring me that food.” 

“Very well. You win this one.” Malak walked over, sat on the edge of the bed by Angel’s feet, gave her the tray, and took a plate from it for himself. 

  After finishing their meal the two sat and talked for quite some time.

Malak was enjoying the company of the girl he had first envisioned as an angel (which he found ironic upon learning her name). They sat together and talked about everything that came to mind. He learned that she was an only child, born May 6th, and had just turned eighteen years old. Her father was a businessman but she made no mention of her mother, which led him to believe something unfortunate must have happened so he did not question. He did not wish to drag up painful memories. Continuing conversation he learned that she often walked in the woods at night, as well as during the day, because she found nature to be calming and loved everything about it. She did not take to beekeeping, as most of her community did, but preferred gardening. And Malak also learned that Angel was trained to fight from a very young age, which surprised him, especially when coupled with the previously mentioned information as well as her beauty. She was certainly different. And he liked different. 

Angel could not help but enjoy Malak’s company. She found him charming in an odd sort of way. And she learned a number of things about him. He was adopted by a man named Caleb when he was seven years old. She did not question why, as parents could be quite the touchy subject. He was a little over a month younger than she, born June 20th. He was an only child by birth but had an adopted brother as well as an adopted sister. He enjoyed anything outside and was well trained in martial arts. She thought he might be fun to spar. And though he was clearly what many would call rough around the edges, she found him intriguing. 

It was evening before either of the pair realized how long they had been sitting and chatting and they only realized this because the doctor walked in with a tray of food for dinner. 

  “I hope you don’t mind that I thawed some chicken to cook for dinner, Ms. Cadle. I thought you might be hungry. Hope your jaws aren’t too tired from all the jibber jabber to chew,” he joked. 

  “Food!” Both lit up when they saw the tray. 

  Malak stood quickly, to fetch the tray from Dr. Sowa, and fell to the floor. Angel was next to him in an instant and Dr. Sowa was not far behind. He sat upright quickly, embarrassed. 

  “Are you okay?” Angel was concerned. 

  “I’m fine. Stood up too fast and my leg’s asleep.” He laughed. 

  “That and the stubborn boy hasn’t rested after this whole ordeal.” Dr. Sowa was scolding Malak in an almost teasing way. 

  “Well, why don’t you stay here for the night?” Angel offered. “There are a few other rooms, all with beds as comfy as this one.” 

  “I wouldn’t want to trouble you or get you in trouble but I thank you for the offer.” Malak politely declined, despite his desire not to. 

  “You’re no trouble and I would be in no trouble. I’m fairly sure my father has forgotten my existence in his wedding planning so ever-“ 

  “Angel! Oh thank goodness you’re okay!” 

  A blonde woman rushed into the room, her fancy high heels clicking noisily. She was wearing an expensive looking red dress to match those heels as well as diamonds set in gold in her ears, around her wrist and hanging from her neck. Malak took one look at her and her and scoffed, disgusted. 

“Yea, yea. I’m fine.” Angel was openly annoyed at this woman’s presence.

“Oh, we were so worried!” The woman continued to act as though she was truly concerned but Malak could see as well as Angel could that she was merely acting. When she leaned down to hug Angel, Angel leaned away from her and tensed. Seeing this, Malak intervened by offering his hand to shake.

“Hello there. My name is Malak.” He smiled as convincingly as he could and she looked at his hand and stood back up.

“Well, Malak, I don’t care who you are to Angel; you should not be in her room under any circumstances. You need to leave.” Her voice was cold.

“I asked him to stay here with me, Katherine. This is the man who saved my life.”

“As I understand it, this boy simply found you unconscious in the woods. I don’t see how that constitutes saving one’s life.” It wasn’t her voice; this woman was cold.

“I dressed her bleeding head wound and carried her here on my back.” Malak replied in a tone that sounded as though he was challenging her to question him further.

“Be that as it may, this is highly inappropriate, you being in a young lady’s room. And you’re a very rude boy.” He had insulted her and changed her tone from cold to bitter.

“Katherine, lea-“

“Angel, you need to st-“ Katherine interrupted Angel but was interrupted by Malak before she could complete her remark.

“Hey. Bitter old woman. Bite your tongue. She needs only to recover and being disturbed by the likes of you isn’t helping.” Malak spoke in a way that commanded one listened.

Katherine’s eyes grew wide and her face twisted into something hideous. “What did you ju-“ She sounded as though she was growling through clenched teeth but could not finish her sentence before being interrupted by a man’s voice.

“Angel!” 

A man in your standard black business suit walked into the room. To many, he didn’t appear any different from any other suit in Portland. Malak, however, noted his movement and appearance and came to the conclusion that he was ex-military. 

  This was Angel’s father. 

“What the hell were you doing out in the woods, girl?” He grabbed her and pulled her up from her kneeling position to hold her in a bear hug for a moment. It was clear he was both concerned and angry.

“Dad, don’t spaz. I’m fine.”

“You’re fine. And why is that? Luck. You could have died, girl. Don’t you ever go wandering the woods again! Especially not at night!” This man’s voice was stern, demanding.

  Malak got to his feet.

“Dad. Seriously. Calm down. It was-“

“And you must be the boy that saved my little girl.” He acted as though he had not heard her trying to argue as he addressed Malak. 

“Little girl? Really, dad?”

“My name is Malak, sir.” Malak stood and offered his hand to shake. The man took it and shook firmly.

“Lawrence.”

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise, young man. But please, call me Larry.”

“Would Mr. Cadle be acceptable? I’m accustomed to addressing superiors in a formal fashion, as this is respectful.”

“Military family?”

“Something like it, sir.”

“Mr. Cadle then. Sir makes me feel old.” Mr. Cadle smiled. Malak smiled in return. Angel looked on, surprised. 

“Mr. Cadle then. Lovely home you have here.”

“Angel has a knack for design. This is her home more than mine. The girl’s too stubborn to move to the city with her father.”

“She has a strong spirit, sir.” Malak paused. “I mean, Mr. Cadle. Apologies. I think it’s programmed.”

Both men laughed and then Mr. Cadle returned his attention to his daughter, his demeanor serious once again. “You know… This could be a sign saying you should give in and come to Portland with your old man…” He was hopeful.

“Not a chance. Nice try though.”

“Look, I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here.” His voice reflected little of the hope it had conveyed with the first attempt and was now that of a frustrated father. “Especially after this. Like I didn’t have enough worries about you being up here all alone, you had to go an-“

“Dad. Stop. I’m not leaving this house. I don’t care what you say.” Angel didn’t want to hear him plead. She had lost her patience with this man years ago.

“Angel, you’ll leave this house if I tell you to. This is my house.” Now he was angry. The room fell silent and the air grew tense. The two were staring at one another as if doing so would make the other back down.

“Mr. Cadle?” Malak figured interrupting was a bad idea but he couldn’t help himself. “What if someone in the area was around to check on her regularly, sir? Someone who could report back to you?”

“What are you suggesting?” He turned to face Malak as he spoke.

“I was hiking with my father to better learn the lay of the land. I’m looking to move somewhere nearby. I could keep an eye on her, sir. I honestly don’t see her giving in and moving to the city.”

“I’m eighteen; you can’t just order me to do as you want me to. I’ll just find a place in the area. Hell, I’d happily live in the forest over ‘your house’.”

“Why must you be so difficult? Do I not do everything I can for you?”

“You walked away and left me here to look after myself! While I was still torn up over my mother’s disappearance, you were planning to build a damn golf course on land you inherited years before and never touched! Then, not even getting into all the bullshit in between, you decided it was okay to bring home this money hungry w***e!” Angel stopped as her father’s hand swung toward her and cringed, bracing for impact.

Thwap

Angel opened her eyes hesitantly to see that Malak had caught her father’s arm just before his hand would have struck her and she froze like a deer caught in headlights. It didn’t seem like something like this could ever end well. Her father had about the same shocked look on his face. 

  Malak’s smile had faded and his expression was blank. This was unsettling.

“I’ll have to ask you not to do that, sir.” He spoke calmly but it was not difficult to tell he was less than happy. He paused and then let go of Mr. Cadle’s arm almost reluctantly, leaving a red print behind. 

Mr. Cadle regained composure and turned to face Malak, who did not so much as glance away from his cold stare.

“I suppose I did overreact. But it’s not you’re place to intervene, boy.” Anger was apparent in his voice, as well as in his posture. He stood with his fists clenched, as though he wished to strike Malak for his interference. 

“You suppose? You almost struck your little girl in anger. And if not my place, whose is it? I don’t see your bride to be speaking up. In fact, all she’s done throughout this entire exchange is smirk.” 

Lawrence turned to look at his fiancé, who had already corrected her expression from amused to horrified. He turned back to Malak, who still stood calmly before him. Then he came to face Angel, who sat as still as a statue. 

“I’m sorry, Angel. But do you understand that you were out of line?” His hands now hung at his side and his eyes had gone from piercing to sorrowful. 

“No.” Her voice was stern and her demeanor changed completely. “You come around once every couple of weeks, if that, and then go back to your cozy home with some tramp you picked up in the city and her two equally snotty daughters. And you leave me here for how long before you even start talking about me being a part of your ‘new life’? If anyone is out of line, it’s you. But you can’t understand anything, you won’t even try. And you have the audacity to raise your hand to me? To Hell with this house. And to Hell with you. It’s no wonder mother vanished. I wouldn’t stick around with someone like you either.” 

Angel flung the blankets aside and placed her feet on the floor. She was still a little unsteady but she walked to her closet as though nothing was wrong. There she retrieved a suitcase. Everyone in the room watched silently for a moment as she began to pack her clothing.

Mr. Cadle began to tear up. He clenched his fists and put his head down as a stubborn individual might upon being defeated. He could say nothing.

“Angel? Please sit down. You have a head injury, you’re not thinking straight.” Katherine spoke up.

Angel spun around to face her and the anger seething from her was almost palpable.

“F**k yourself.” The words were laced with hatred but were the only words she spoke. Angel could think of far worse, of course, but bit her tongue.

She returned to packing her favorite outfits while Katherine stood in shock at having been spoken to in such a manner. 

“Angel?” Malak was the one to address her this time.

“What?” She snapped back.

“This is too much. You’re in no state to go storming out of here with no real destination.”

“I don’t care about my ‘state’. This is a matter of principle.” She went on stuffing things into the suitcase.

“Please listen to reason. At least stay until you’ve recovered your strength.”

“You heard the man, it’s his house.” She paused for only a moment to glare at her father, and then made her way back to her closet for another suitcase. 

“Angel. Please. I only want what’s best for you.” These words were strained, as her father was experiencing a mixture of sadness and anger.

“You’ve had nearly ten years to worry about that. And this is where you brought us.” Angel wiped tears from her eyes and slammed down the next bag to be filled.

“Just stay. I’ll put the house in your name; it won’t be ‘my house’ any more. And you won’t have to listen to me. I only want to know my little girl is safe…”

“You’re going to give in because she’s threatening to run away? Larry th-“ Katherine had the nerve to try and interject but was once again cut off by Malak.

“Excuse me, but you have no place in this.”

“As Larry’s fiancé I h-“

“You are not family and this is a family issue.”

“How dare you speak to me that way?! You stupid little son of a-“

  “I suggest you stop there.” Malak’s expression now would make the very bravest of men think to choose their next words very carefully. 

“Katherine?” Her husband to be looked directly at her as he spoke. “Shut up.”

At this, Angel threw herself into her father’s arms. She cried as he hugged her close to him and a single tear fell from his eye. The corners of Malak’s mouth rose for a fraction of a second, briefly showing his satisfaction. This was a good thing. 

  Katherine, however, looked on in horror. This was not supposed to happen. And how dare he speak to her that way? She would not forgive him.