Angel

An introductory chapter where Mia meets Angel, a mysterious girl who not only has wings but can also smile at the end of the world.

CLARA

It wasn�t possible to see someone like that now. She seemed almost like an angel. On the back of her coat sprouted tiny, what was once white, angel wings. They were just as ratty and tattered as her clothes, but they were wings none the less. Something beautiful.

Her hair was shoulder length, and a blonde colour that was almost white. Her body was small. She looked no more then 12 or 13 years old. The clothes she wore hung loosely off her painfully thin frame. She probably hadn�t found food in days, like so many others.

The girl hummed as she skated around, seeming to drink up the blue sky hanging over her head and the sunshine that once seemed so beautiful to me also. She was on roller blades, which was a luxury I�d forgotten. She also smiled brightly. The type of smile that let you see through to the person�s innermost thoughts. The type of smile that let you believe they have every reason to be smiling. Because even their heart is filling with joy. If there was any of the now universally required sadness in her heart I didn�t see it. For that is what I could do. I could see into a person�s heart. See their love, see their pain, see their joy. She was happy. An emotion I didn�t even know existed anymore. I couldn�t envision anything else about this girl. It was like she�d built a wall against my newly acquired powers. I only saw her happiness now. Her joy that was only affected by this small pleasure of skating around one of the many abandoned buildings without a care in the world.

Suddenly I sneezed.

�����Shut up. She�s going to hear you!� Randy, my only companion now, hissed at me, covering my mouth with his gloved hand.

We were hiding behind a bush watching this girl, mesmerized by how carefree she seemed. Or at least I was. Randy seemed angry, or jealous. I could never tell with him.

�It�s OK. She seems harmless.� I said pushing away his hand. It smelled of smoke and blood.

�She�s skating around a hospital. She could have the Virus, or worse.�

The Virus� I couldn�t imagine something worse. Yet, there was no way this girl could have the Virus. Not someone so happy. Not someone with wings.

�You�re paranoid.� I finally snapped at him. Not that I could blame him for being paranoid. We all were paranoid now.

�Yeah, and what if she�s a Dictator? What if she takes us away and brainwashes us? What would you do then?� he demanded, his low voice just above a whisper.

The answer to that question was obvious-nothing. No one could escape the Dictators. Once they had you, you were theirs. Not even this girl with wings could escape them.

�Dictators don�t usually skate around hospitals with smiles plastered on their face.� I whispered. I was tired of Randy�s mistrust of everyone. Yes, I knew we couldn�t trust everyone anymore, but I had a gift, and right now that gift was telling me that this girl was not someone we had to avoid. We would probably be doing her a favour by finding her here. She looked like she was in dyer need of some food. That was one thing we could help even an angel with.

�She looks so young. She probably hasn�t left this hospital since her parents were�infected. We should at least give her some food� and compassion.�

Suddenly my heart ached for this girl. She could be wearing the wings to imagine away the ugliness of the world now. She could be smiling because she was in so much grief she had cried all her tears. She could be skating because the endorphins released by exercise could give you a temporary high. We could help her.

�Alright, alright, we�ll approach her. But first, do you want to tell me why the hell she has wings?� Randy asked, standing up and brushing himself off.

�Maybe she�s an angel.� I smiled, getting up myself and crossing the deserted street to where the strange girl still was skating around. Still smiling.

��When she spotted us, she momentarily frowned, and moved away. I guess weeks of living on the street had made even her cautious.

�Its OK. We�re um�friends.� I stumbled over the words. I didn�t know how to introduce myself anymore. Randy just stood behind me with his arms crossed, and looking wary. The girl with wings put her fingers to her lips, like a nervous habit, but had a slight smile on her face, as she greeted us.

�Hi.� She said, shyly.

�Hey there. Are you all alone?� I asked her. Randy groaned, and I glared at him.

Then the girl giggled.

�Yeah. I�m alone.� She replied, without a hint of sadness in her voice.

A sharp pain always pierced my stomach whenever I spoke of being alone. How could she stand it?

�You�re the first people my age I�ve seen since�.� She trailed off. �Well, you know.�

�Correction, little girl. We�re not your age.� Randy, scowled, coming closer now. I flushed, feeling guilty for his hostile ways. Angel girl looked down, puzzled, then up again at Randy.

�You�re not sixteen? You look it. Or are you� no� you can�t be older�.�

�You mean you�re sixteen?!� I couldn�t help shouting. She didn�t look it. Not at all. Her face, now that I saw it up close, was that of a little girl. Her eyes were large, and her skin was fair and unblemished. She stood a little over 5 feet, and this was probably only because of her roller blades.

�There is no way that you�re sixteen. No way. You�re lying kid, and lying doesn�t go over well with me. So tell us your real age or we�re leaving.� Randy threatened, his eyes narrowed and untrusting.

The-girl-who-didn�t-look-sixteen turned around and sighed, putting her two palms together behind her back.

�No one believes me. So all I can say is what reason do I have to lie to you. No one wants to be sixteen now�� then she turned to us, and her eyes held sadness in them, but her smile remained. ��Right? So why would I make that up?�

I wanted to hug her then. Take away all the sadness in those usually happy eyes. I wanted to take her to my old house and cook her a feast. Nurse her back to a healthy state. I didn�t care what Randy said now, we were taking her with us. I could use another girl for company anyway. This girl was special. Angel or not.

�I believe you. You�re right. No one would lie about being sixteen now.� I said, shaking my head. She smiled again.

�So what�s your name, anyway?� I asked.

She seemed to think a minute before answering.

�Angel. Just call me angel.�

Again, Randy groaned. It wasn�t like Angel wasn�t a real name. He was such a critic.

�It�s not my real name, but that�s a thing of the past now. Could you just call me Angel?� she continued.

�Sure.� I said.

�No way. That�s stupid. You�re no angel, you�re just a kid with fake wings. Give us your real name be�� Randy started to protest, but I�d had enough, and put my hand over his mouth as he had done earlier.

�Enough, Randy. We thought about choosing codenames too. You know that.� I shouted, fed up with him now.

�Yeah, so what�s yours going to be? Clairvoyant?� he demanded, shoving me away.

�No. What kind of �� I started, but was cut off.

�Clara!� Angel shouted, suddenly.

�Clara?� Both Randy and I asked.

�You�re clairvoyant, right? I knew you were. I could see it in your eyes. Make your code name Clairvoyant, but Clara for short.� She exclaimed excitedly.

I stopped, and looked down at her. It sounded like a real name. Like Angel did too. If the Dictators were looking for us by our real names but found 3 people with code names much like a real name, maybe we�d have a better chance.

�Alright then. Clara it is.� I said, stashing my old name in my memories and hoping I could hold on to it for as long as I could survive this world.

�What about him?� Angel said, pointing to Randy.

Randy put his palms up and shook his head.

�Oh no. You�re not giving me some sissy name. Forget it Mi-� but he stopped in all respects for me at least. My real name hadn�t come out yet. Clara was my name now. He�d have to get used to that.

�Hey, R-randy is it?� Angel suddenly came over to him.

�Yeah?� he muttered, turning away from her.

�When�s your birthday?� she eagerly asked. Her body seemed to shake with excitement. I didn�t know how she did it.

�What the hell does that have to do with anything?� Randy demanded, his face turning red.

�Just tell me.� Angel insisted, stubbornness replacing her excitement.

�July. Now quit bugging me.�

�Hah! February!� she exclaimed, pointing her finger at Randy and grinning triumphantly. Her wings shook as she hopped up and down on the skates.

�What?! You�re older then me??!� he cried, jumping back from her. �You can�t be serious. You�re older then� then.. all of us!� he stated.

Angel stopped hopping and looked over at me. I hung my head, blushing a bit.

�You mean that�� Angel started.

�Clara is only fifteen.� Randy muttered, accenting too heavily on the name Clara. Angel stopped for a minute, then grinned from ear to ear.

�Wow, that�s kinda cool.� She said.

But it wasn�t. Being sixteen meant you only had a few months. A few months until you were no longer immune to the virus. If something wasn�t done soon, Angel would be the first of us to��.

I stopped thinking then. It was too painful.

�Well, since you�re younger then me I get to�give you a codename.� She smiled, eyeing Randy, slyly.

�Yeah, so get on with it.� He said, crossing his arms.

�Nikko.� She said.

�What?� Randy demanded

�Nikko. Your name is Nikko. And don�t complain, cuz that�s just what its gonna be.�

�What the-? No. What the hell is a Nikko? And who said you could take over me. You little-�

Angel shrugged, and I looked over at Randy, pleading him with my eyes to just cooperate.

�It suits you.� I replied, solemnly.

�Nikko is the name of someone who was very special to me. Although you�ve been nothing but cruel to me, I know you�ll live up to it.� Angel said, smiling. Then unbelievably, I saw Randy blush a bit. It was only a little, and he tried to hide it, but I saw it.

�Yeah well. At least its not based on wings or whatever�� he muttered, hiding his face.

Angel beamed.

�So what are you two doing? Are you two tragic lovers who are wondering our dying world together just appreciating each other?� she then asked, clasping her hands together as if in romantic bliss.

�No!� Ra- I mean Nikko and I shouted in unison, turning away from each other, and felt redness creep to my face too.

Angel giggled again. Her laugh was beautiful. It sounded like music to my music starved ears.

�If you must know, we�re on a quest.� Nikko said.

I face faulted. What was he saying? We weren�t on a quest. We were on the run. Running from them. Pain pierced my heart as I thought about what we were doing, and how hopeless it seemed.

�I know Clara from school. We ran with different crowds, but a world in chaos brings different people together.� He continued.

Angel watched him, her eyes widening.

�Oooh a quest. What kind of a quest?� she asked, excitedly.

�It doesn�t matter what kind of a quest, because you�re not coming. So forget it.� He answered, coldly, looking over at me.

Angel squinted her eyes, as if trying to look inside Randy to see if he was telling the truth.

�Well, I guess that�s OK then. It was sure nice to meet some people my age again though�� she stopped.

I couldn�t bare it. Angel had to come. She just had to.

�Hey, I don�t know what it is either. Mia- I mean Clara�s the only one. So go find some food. You�re skin and bones for god�s s-�

�Randy!� I shouted, turning around and glaring at him, my eyes wild with determination. �Let her come. We need her.� I clenched my hands tightly so that my nails dug into them making them bleed. Some how I�d always been the head of this operation. Randy never questioned me. He knew a bit more then this new angel girl did. But not much. He just knew that I had an answer to our problems. Somewhere I knew there was a resolution. My powers could help us. In some way. Because a Dictator wasn�t pure of heart, like what I saw in Angel.

I reached into my back pack and pulled out one of my last pieces of bread, and bottle of water, then walked over to the girl and handed them to her looking into her deep blue eyes, and covering her hands with mine.

�Will you come with us, Angel? Even if you don�t know where we�re going. What dangers we could face. Will you join us?�

Even though she looked starved, she didn�t devour the food as I found myself doing after days without that simple necessity. Instead she looked back into my eyes and nodded.

�Yes. I�ll join you.�

I smiled. We finally had someone else with us. Someone agreeable, another girl.

Randy was indeed a blessing to me when I was alone, but I longed for another girl to just be a girl with. Like my best friends from school. Wherever they were now. Like my older sister. Angel would bring light to our operation. Having a girl who always smiled could brighten our spirits I hoped. And maybe even she�d be less lonely. What ever had happened to her before could be put behind her for now.

�If you�re done now�� Randy started, and I realized I was still holding the girl�s hands. She probably couldn�t even eat the food I�d given her. I quickly let go of her. I was getting overly emotional. This wasn�t good.

�We should probably find shelter. Its getting late.� He continued, watching us, his green eyes wary and was it jealously I saw there?

�Shelter!� Angel exclaimed, jumping up again. We both looked at her. �You can come stay at my old place. It�s a mansion!� she grinned.

A mansion� wow. A bed with clean sheets, maybe even a shower. Randy was so wrong to ever doubt this girl.

Angel began to skate across the street in the direction of the wealthy district of our town. I eagerly followed her, and even Randy seemed intrigued.

�When we get there�I.. can ..give you some roller blades of your own. It�sure�makes things.. faster.� Angel said, turning to us as we followed her. She seemed really out of breath. This girl really needed some fuel.

By nightfall we�d reached Angel�s old home. She was right. It really was a mansion. It stood three stories high, and had a separate bedroom for both Randy, Angel and I. Plus two more. It was dark when we arrived, and I couldn�t see the gardens or the many trees around the house very well. But I knew they were there.

The house smelled musty but also clean. Like moth balls and lemons in a way. I wondered how it managed to stay clean.

We had stopped off at one of the many abandoned convenience stores on the way, and stuffed ourselves with what little was left. This included some chocolate bars, chips, flat colas, and instant noodles that we managed to cook on Angel�s portable stove. As far as I was concerned this was a feast. After days and days of stale bread, and sweets that made my teeth hurt and bleed, a hot ramen meal filled my stomach and left me feeling comfortable. I hoped the same went for Angel, who, although she looked starved, didn�t eat much.

Although there were separate bedrooms for all of us, the house seemed too large for me, and I asked if I could stay in Angel�s bedroom with her. She agreed, and didn�t seem too familiar with the surroundings either. This was what loneliness did. Everything we found familiar once wasn�t so anymore.

We lay in the same, large canopy bed--something I would have loved to own in my former way of life--- and barely spoke. Angel�s wings and back pack hung on a hook by the bed. I now knew that the wings were attached to the backpack, and not her coat. She could take them on and off. I lay awake, unable to sleep, and wondering if Angel was asleep yet. We�d been out so late, and walked so much that we were all so tired we could barely walk up the stairs to the bedroom. But still I couldn�t sleep.

�Clara, are you awake?� Angel asked me suddenly.

�Yeah.� I muttered, still having trouble getting used to the new name.

�Can I ask you something?� she asked. I cringed. I hoped she wasn�t asking about the where we were going. I couldn�t get into it now. Not yet.

�What is it?� I asked, turning to her. She looked pale laying in that huge bed with the moonlight shining on her fair features. She seemed fragile in every way possible, but on the outside I could believe she was probably stronger then me.

�What is your real name?�

I breathed a sigh of relief. So that was all.

�It�s Mia.� I replied.

�Mia�� she whispered. �That�s a beautiful name.� Her vibrancy and childishness didn�t seem to be with her at night. Or she really was tired.

�What about you?� I asked her.

�I�ll tell you one day.� She smiled.

�You tricked me.� I said, not really caring. Angel suited her. I couldn�t imagine her with another name.

�Mia, thank you for asking me to come with you. I�m glad I came.� She continued, her tone more serious. �Even if I don�t know where we�re going.� She giggled.

�I�ll tell you one day.� I said, smiling. She laughed again.

�Goodnight.� She said.

�Goodnight.�

I snuggled down into the warm blankets, and felt comfortable in the pajamas I�d borrowed. The sheets were clean and smelled like vanilla. They reminded me of my mother, and I breathed them in as if she were in this very room with me. Tears came to my eyes as I remembered her. I saw her face in front of me. Felt her hands brush my forehead. I felt guilty for feeling that way. After all every other kid in the world had to feel the same. All our parents were gone. All of them. And we only had a few months until it would be our turn. I had a year.

Our world was dying. This winter a mysterious virus had attacked everyone over 16. People would drop in the streets from fevers that raged over 108 degrees in less then a few hours. It would creep up on people in the night like a demon. You might find someone you knew dead the next day in their beds. Sometimes symptoms would warn people of the impending illness. Like coughing up blood for one thing, but it was always too late. Doctors could do nothing, and before they could even start working on some sort of cure they would be wiped out too. The entire world shut down in only 4 weeks. All that was left were children. Somehow children somewhere in their young stages of age 16 and under were spared. This wasn�t exact though. I could prove that. Because my one year older sister was the first of my family to go. She was almost seventeen. But she was still sixteen. So were the other students in my high school.

My sister�. I loved her. She was the first person I knew who got the illness. Then my mom. I lost everything in only 2 days. Just two days�..

Suddenly I felt warm hands on my cheeks that I now noticed had tears on them. I looked over, and there was Angel wiping away my tears. She had a warm smile on her face, and her eyes were creased with concern.

�Its hard being alone, isn�t it?� she asked, sympathetically, still brushing my cheek with her soft fingers. All I could do was curl myself up into a little ball and nod.

�How many were in your family?� she asked.

�Two.� I replied curling further under the blanket wishing this could help me escape my pain. �My mother and older sister. S-she was one of the rare people who were sixteen.� I stammered, wondering why I was even telling her all this.

�Hmm�sixteen�� she said, but her eyes still showed sympathy.

I liked that. Saying �sorry� just didn�t mean anything in a world like this. If that was the case, all we�d ever say was sorry.

�What about you?� I asked her after a long pause.

�Oh, I didn�t lose my parents that way. They were gone before the virus.� She stated.

�So you�ve always been�.� I started.

��.been alone? No. I�ve had my friends, and my aunt and uncle. Although they perished from the virus also, I know they�re with me still.� She replied, her tone solemn and sure.

�How do you do that?� I asked her, weakly.

�How do I do what?� she replied, sounding as if she really had no clue.

�How can you be so happy and carefree? There�s nothing good left in this world. Nothing.� I breathed a heavy sigh, and clutched the blanket tightly, as if I were a little girl again.

�Don�t say that, Mia. There�s always something good in the world. You�ll see.� She smiled.

I just gave her a puzzled and exasperated look.

�There�s still us. Randy and I. Nothing�s ever final.�

I looked over at her then, and found real wisdom in her statement. It might be something I could hold on to.

That night I thought about this as I gazed at those wings enshrouded in moonlight, and drifted off to sleep.

�They�re yours.� Angel said the next day, handing me a hardly worn pair of roller blades. I took the skates and admired their smooth surface, and unscratched wheels. She handed a pair to Randy also, but he seemed reluctant.

�Here Nikko. Take these. They�ll make the journey much easier, and quicker too.� She smiled, still coaxing the stubborn boy to take them.

Randy was just impossible.

�No way are you getting me on those stupid things. No one roller blades. They drive cars.� He said, and crossed his arms across his chest.

�Cars�� Angel said, thoughtfully.

�Randy, why do you have to be so damn stubborn?� I shouted at him.

�I don�t know, Claravoyient why don�t you figure it out if you�re so smart.� He shouted back.

�Cars�� was all Angel said.

�Just grow up. She�s trying to help us. Who cares what was cool and what wasn�t. It doesn�t matter anymore.� I retorted.

�Yeah? Is that why you have your nose pierced?�

�What does that have to do with anything? I got that before this all happened!�

�Cars�� Angel repeated.

Finally we noticed that this was all Angel was saying, and turned to her.

�Why do you keep saying that?� I asked; Randy shouted at her.

�Cars!� she shouted, and then turned and ran off.

Randy and I watched her in shock, and after a long pause he said, �She�s cracked.�

�God!� I screamed, and stormed off away from him. He was such a pain sometimes. I wondered where Angel had run off to, but was too mad to go looking for her.

We continued to sulk like this for a few minutes, until I heard a sound that was so familiar I didn�t even believe it. An engine. I turned around and there, coming straight toward us, was a car. A blue Honda civic to be exact, with a racing stripe on the side, and in the driver�s seat was Angel.

�Angel!� I shouted, running up to the car. She rolled down the window and smiled at me.

�Pretty cool huh?�

�Uh huh�� I nodded, a little too shocked to believe it. �Where did you get this car?�

�My twenty-something neighbour owned it. He was into racing and stuff. I guessed he wouldn�t mind if we borrowed it. Especially since we�re on a quest.� She winked at me.

This was amazing. We had a car! And a nice car at that. We could get places that normally would take us days. We might make it.

�Hey Nikko!� I shouted, forgetting how angry I was with him. �Come see this.�

In seconds he was by my side admiring the car.

�Whoa, is this for real? It looks like the cars in The Fast and the Furious!� he mused, stroking the car�s front hood, as if it were his very own toy.

Boys.

Angel smiled at him, and somehow he calmed down then.

This car has tamed the wild Nikko. I thought, wondering again, what a Nikko was exactly.

We both got in, and with no belongings to pack (except, of course, our backpacks and Angel�s wings) we were on our way.

�Hey, does anyone here actually have their license?� Randy asked.

I looked over at Angel and sighed. He really was clueless.

We drove through our once large city with virtually no traffic to contend with. The buildings looked like ghosts as we went by them without seeing anyone walking inside with a suit and brief case in hand. Papers littered the streets, and occasionally we came across a victim of the virus. The sight was a person who lay face first on the pavement with a blanket usually covering them, put there by someone roaming the city, who had no real connection to the person, but a desire to hide the reality of death from others. Whoever this person was, they had no one to give them a proper burial, or to even say goodbye to them it seemed. It saddened me more then I could bare, and I turned away from the street, staring at Angel who was driving slowly through the quiet, but chaotic to our eyes, streets. Her eyes were transfixed on the road, and I hadn�t the heart to say anything to her. Even Randy was being quiet now.

We pressed on through a city none of us wanted to or would ever see again.

Author's Note

I wrote this before 'Ethereal' and so the character 'Angel' is in fact Angela Michelli. Ethereal was the back-story of this character.
I also wrote this story before 'Maximum Ride' (the Angel character in that is quite similar) and 'Gone' which is a similar story and I wish I had gotten this published first :P

Reviews

[Emily Elizabeth]

This is utterly amazing! I loved every second of it! I can see how Ethereal came from it. I think they're both as good, but too different to compare. Very imaginative, I love the whole Virus thing, about how when you're sixteen you get it. Very scary! And I love Nikko, or Randy. He's rude but funny. Will definitely read more!

[obsidianxv]

This is really good! It's quite eeiry, but very touching throughout, and I've taken to the three characters already. I'm intrigued to want to know who or what Angel really is and what the secret is behind the strange mind-reading powers that she and Clara both have. The descriptions are really good too and I love the emotional content that you manage to weave throughout your writing so well. Brilliant! Let me know when you've done more!!