Chapter I

Cold.

That was all fourteen year old Kali could feel. She knew where she was; lying on a dreadfully cold sidewalk near a road. She also knew that it was the morning of March first. Opening her bloodshot eyes, Kali sat up. Her head was spinning and a fierce pain ricocheted through her left eye. Raising a shivering finger to her eye, she gingerly poked the tender skin around her eye socket. A black and purple bruise had obviously replaced the inflamed skin that was there the previous night because of her father.

My father… Kali thought, feeling icy despair stab her heart. She never told anyone about her father, no one she knew was trustworthy enough. Dropping her hand back to the ground, Kali laid her palms flat on the cement. She watched cars fly by and on the tenth one, a black BMW; she forcefully pushed on the ground to attempt a standing position. Flaming agony shot through her left arm like fifty volts of electricity. Kali screamed and jerked her arm back, tears rolling down her cheeks. Biting down hard on her lip, she pushed herself up with only her right arm and stood up. Glancing down at her outfit, Kali remembered where she had been; a black polo shirt with a velvet-red undershirt and dark skinny jeans.

I just got home from school…but how did I get here…? She wondered.

Go, walk, hurry. Find him, find your Angel, go. Hurry! A voice echoed throughout Kali's mind. When it had said "angel" it sounded like the Spanish name, not the being. It sounded like a male's voice, though it was sweet and reminded her almost of honey. Kali thought for a moment, and then looked up at the sky as a cloud's shadow passed over her. Heart sinking to the pit of her stomach, she whimpered softly. The sky was darkening, menacingly grey clouds looming overhead, threatening to spill rain.

"Please don't rain," she begged quietly. Gazing around in search of some sort of shelter, she sighed as she spotted a Wal-Mart. A harsh wind blew around Kali, chilling her to the bone and causing her to involuntarily shiver. Exhaustion was screaming in every muscle of her body as she forced her icy legs to move. Stopping at a crosswalk, she pressed the silver button with a trembling finger on her good hand. As the sign flashed with the green letters "WALK", Kali crossed the street as fast as she could manage. Another freezing wind knocked into Kali, she shivered and coughed. Coughing repeatedly, a terrible ripping and wet sound from deep in her chest, she walked into the Wal-Mart.

* * *

Angel sighed and walked aimlessly along the cash registers in Wal-Mart. His deep brown eyes glancing around with utter boredom. A voice surged through Angel's mind; one that he could merely tell that it was male and very rough.

Find her. Hurry, going to die, hurry. Go, go, go. It commanded. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Angel gazed straight down from where he was walking. He saw someone sitting on one of the metal benches. It was a girl, he noticed, with long brown hair and no shoes. A smile cracked Angel's face. Walking over to her, he sat down and put his arm around the back of the bench. Opening his mouth to say something, Angel realized something; the girl was crying. Tears were rolling down her face, which was awfully dirty, and she was biting her lip hard enough for a thin trail of blood to trickle down her chin.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Angel asked with his voice even and calm although panic was slowly beginning to rise inside of him. The girl looked at him, her eyes the brightest green Angel had ever seen. Without answering, she sharply looked away like she was embarrassed to cry. Angel put a hand gently on her shoulder and felt her muscles tense under his palm. Within a second, the girl had jumped up and was looking at him.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled, seriousness carrying on her tone.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I just," Angel began but she cut him off. Her left arm limply at her side as her other hand balled up into a tight fist.

"I'm not scared, just don't…don't touch me!" she said, almost sounding disgusted by human contact. Angel looked at her, his eyes showing honest concern.

"My name is Angel, 'AHN-HEL', you know; Spanish. What is your name?" Angel asked, trying to keep his tone even and calm. He stood up, careful not to touch the girl, afraid of another outburst.

"My name…?" she asked, as if she didn't know it. Angel watched her for a moment until she seemed to recall it.

"What's your name?" he repeated kindly.

"Kali," She replied confidently. Angel nodded and smiled coolly, reaching out a gentle hand.

"I want to help you. Can you just come with me?" he asked, trying to be convincing while still soothing. Kali slowly reached her hand toward Angel but immediately pulled it back and ran. She ran to the door and outside. Angel watched, his eyes growing dull with regret.

Follow her! Hurry! Not much time, important! Go! The voice yelled in Angel's head.

Why should I listen to you? She seemed fine on her own. Who are you anyway? Angel yelled back in his mind.

Unimportant! Call me whatever you want. I could care less. The voice growled. Angel sighed in aggravation and ran out the door.