Salutations everyone! I hope you're still reading and enjoying and you're all wonderful and well…you all know the drill…;)
Cassidy stared at the revolver that was levelled at her head- a predator with an iron hide with the ability to kill her in the blink of an eye. She stared right into the barrel but she did little to nothing else.
Perhaps that was because she had gotten so used to being within a single, short, terrified breath of such a creature.
Perhaps she was just so used to being frightened for her life that an added threat wasn't really much of a shock to her system.
For whatever reason, however, Cassidy simply stared at the weapon that was pointed at her- her eyes only swiftly dipping to skim the glossy, red fingernail that was currently hooked around the trigger.
The silence that hung between them was enough to perturb the shimmering stranger into being the first to speak.
"There is nothing to worry about, Cassidy my darling, I promise," she purred, almost soothingly. "But I am going to have to be quite insistent that you scream for me…" Her wrist flicked upward and her finger squeezed on the gun's firing mechanism. "…and if the next thing to come out of your pretty, little mouth isn't the loudest scream possible…things might just get a little bit messy…"
The (human) archaeologist automatically responded with the question that had been a weighty burden on her mind and upon her tongue, not quite paying heed to the stranger's threats and curiosity replaced caution.
"Who are you?"
Cassidy regretted these words almost as soon as they left her mouth and River Song tutted in response, shaking her head with a smile. "Sorry, Cass. Wrong answer."
She pulled the trigger.
The gun went off with a resounding bang, causing Cassidy to let out a long and shrill scream just as the bullet whistled past her face.
A split-second later, the deadly projectile embedded in the brick wall at her back, a frantically breathing Cassidy realised that firstly, she wasn't dead and secondly, the stranger- this "River"- was laughing.
"I'm sorry but it's always the stoic-looking ones that have the absolute best frightened screams and trust me, I would know," River informed her, grabbing her by the shoulder and taking full advantage of her shaken state by forcing her to turn on the spot. Now she was facing the open doorway with River at her back. "Nice big smile for your boyfriend then, sweetie. Judging by his size and speed, he should be with us soon…"
The lights above their heads flickered, briefly plunging the preparation room into darkness before the neon bulbs staggered back to life.
River smirked, keeping a tight grip on Cassidy's shoulder. "Ah, speaking of the devil…or should I say the Angel…"
Cassidy snapped from her state of shock, turning to look up at River. "What? You know about-? You're trying to get him to come here? No, don't do that…don't do that…you don't realise what he'll-…"
The electrics went down for the second time and this time, as light slowly flickered back into the room, River's finger was on Cassidy's lips, silencing her.
"I know exactly what I'm doing. If you haven't picked up on this already, I know all about your current living situation and believe it or not, I'm here to help…"
For the third time, the lights shuttered on and off.
"…and not a moment too soon, it would appear…"
Light poured across the small room, setting hulking, cinereal muscles agleam and casting ghastly shadows across the face of the Archangel. His frozen-in-stone brow was heavy with rage and his mouth was already half-open in an infuriated, terror-inspiring roar. Fangs and claws fully bared and his wings raised, Michael was only steps away from where River had positioned Cassidy.
It was unclear whether his sightless eyes were narrowed at the object of his obsession or her supposed assailant but the venom in his voice made it clear as to what his feelings towards the situation were.
"Relinquish her. Now," Michael growled, his stolen voice tinged with the grating harshness of a feral growl. "The speed at which you comply will determine the speed at which I end your worthless existence…"
"Wow," River applauded mockingly, keeping a firm grip on Cassidy's shoulder and replacing the barrel of the gun so that it was level with the young woman's throat. "One little scream from Miss Albright, amidst hundreds of other voices and you come running from your little hiding place, ignoring the risk of being spotted by other humans, without a single clue as to what the danger was, just to save her." She pressed the gun a little more deeply into the side of Cassidy's neck. "The damsel in distress." Professor Song shook her head, smirking. "You've certainly got it bad, haven't you, lover boy?"
"Give her to me. I will not ask again."
Michael's voice was becoming less and less human and more and more… demonic by the second.
Cassidy shuddered at the feeling of the gun's cold bite, sinking further into her skin.
Who was she supposed to trust here?
River Song- her mystery assailant- had told her that she would be safe. The scream was obviously just to bait the Weeping Archangel but why on earth did she want Michael's attention in the first place? The woman was also still holding a gun to her neck.
Michael, on the other hand, was all set to take her away from her would-be shooter.
But being "rescued" by the same alien monster who had kidnapped her, beat her, starved her, assaulted her and held her against her will…was that really much of an improvement?
The mental conflict, as always, was just as bad as the physical impediment.
"You're a big boy, aren't you?" River cooed patronisingly. "Not as big as you could be but you're definitely growing up nicely." She dropped her lips to Cassidy's ear. "If you think you've got your hands full now, wait until he reaches his full size. Males don't hit their full size until their later years of adulthood. Michael here is still quite young by their standards. And quite lippy for a Weeping Angel too." River raised her voice, unwavering. "Didn't your mummy ever teach you how to speak to a lady? And what makes you think you've got any hold over me whatsoever? I could pull the trigger right now and turn your girlfriend's throat into a flesh-flavoured smoothie and you can't do a thing to stop me…"
Cassidy's limbs went rigid.
She couldn't gauge how much bluffing River was doing and it was only a matter of time before a synchronised blink from the two of them would allow Michael to move.
The Archangel was surprisingly quiet for a moment.
"I missed the first time," River teased. "I don't intend to miss again."
Cassidy let out an involuntary whimper and the lights went out.
She felt herself being grabbed by the forearm and with extreme force, pulled forwards and flung away from River and towards the back of the room. She tripped over her own feet, falling to the tiled floor and rolling before her back smacked into a row of shelving.
When she looked up again, dazed and aching, the lights had flickered back on and Michael was in front of her.
His claws were fully extended, his wings spread to full span.
In a protective stance.
Cassidy couldn't see his facial expression but she could only guess from his voice that it was just as feral as ever.
River still looked surprisingly unshaken, despite the fact that the Angel was only one step away from her.
"One more drain and the power in this building will be gone entirely," the Archangel hissed. "Then, your head will be mine."
"Don't just throw her around like that," River said scoldingly, apparently more worried for Cassidy then she was for herself. "Her skin and bones are nowhere near as strong as a female Angel's." She frowned at Michael. "You could have seriously hurt her just now…"
"You are trying my patience," the Archangel snarled in return. "And delaying your inevitable fate. But indulge me. What did you hope to gain by murdering my Cassidy?"
The first row of lights in the room turned off.
"She's fine," River returned simply, taking a step backwards. "You wanted to know but you won't ask and you can't look behind you to check…but she's fine. She isn't hurt badly, this time. You need to be more careful with her though."
The second row of lights turned off.
Cassidy watched in numb disbelief as River folded her arms, not blinking, not moving, not even caring about the threat that she was currently faced with.
"And stop trying to act so tough," she went on. "You're half-starved; that's why you're so slow…" Her voice lowered, her tone staggering slightly. "...and you'd use what little energy you have to defend her rather than attacking me…what does that say about your priorities, Archangel?"
Michael simply roared in response, the last of the lights turning off completely and hurtling the room into darkness once more.
Cassidy pushed herself to sit up, staring ahead in the darkness in both confusion and anxiety. What was going on?
A strange clattering sound rang out through the room, followed by a loud, metallic crash. Before she could make a move to stand up, Cassidy found herself being hauled to her feet, two hands on both of her arms.
"Relax, Cass," she was shocked to hear Edmund Potter say, his voice at the back of her neck. "We've got this."
"Edmund?! What are you-?"
"How to trap a Weeping Angel!" a familiar voice called out of the darkness, a whirring noise accompanied by a bright white light suddenly joining its jovial tones. "Get it to reveal its plans to you in a heated moment. Get it all worked up and trap it while its going in for the kill. A few mirrors never go astray either. Say what you will about the Lonely Assassins, but they're a painfully honest bunch- it has to be said- ah! Who put that shelf there?!" There was a thudding noise, accompanied by some scuffling. "Ah! River! Lights! Now, please!"
A single click heralded the return of light to the room.
Clara and Edmund released Cassidy's arms, both looking quite content and quite relieved.
River stretched her arms out before tucking away her revolver and checking her reflection in the metallic underside of a nearby shelf.
"Alright there, sweetie?"
The Doctor was just getting to his feet, having obviously just spent a few seconds getting acquainted with the floor beneath him.
"Hmph," he pouted, composing himself with all the grace of an animated scarecrow. "Walking in the dark is lethal. I don't know why people insist that it's romantic. There's nothing romantic about not being able to see what's in front of you. Nothing at all. Unless your partner is particularly hideous, that is. In which case, walk in the dark all you like! Cass!" He clapped his hands and turned to her. "How have you been then? Not too shaken? Not too stirred, I hope?"
Cassidy looked around the room, her jaw falling slightly slack as she tried to remember how to speak. "I…" She blinked, realising something instantly. "Where is he? Where is Michael?"
The Archangel appeared to have vanished from the Preparation Room entirely.
"Right here!" River announced, tapping the side of the Mayan statue with the flat of her hand. "Just had to get him to stand in the right spot before the targeting device could suck him in." She heaved a sigh. "You have no idea how many times Eddie over there got stuck inside this when we were rehearsing it…"
Cassidy stared at the artefact, shaking her head. "I don't understand. Michael is…inside that statue?"
"It's not a statue, at all," Clara told her. "Rather fitting, if you think about it. It was River's idea to put the holographic cloaking around it. Couldn't risk some curious member of staff accidentally locking themselves inside."
"Plus you know yourself, Cass," Edmund added. "Tell people to stay away from a crumbling, dangerous looking statue and they'll do as they're told. Tell people to stay away from a box with a button and they'll only be tempted."
"Box with a button?"
Professor Song snapped her fingers and Cassidy watched in awe as the crude, stone cuttings of the Mayan statue melted away to reveal a tall, dark purple box of some kind, lined with metal reinforcements. A single, black keypad on one of the sides was the only indication that the box was anything more complicated that a magician's props crate but Cassidy still felt somewhat sceptical.
"So Michael is currently being held in this?"
"Yep. State-of-the-art, directly sent from StormCage Prison," the Doctor told her. "This a containment unit, usually used to transfer prisoners. This one's been customised though. The inside of the box is fully lit and the walls are lined with mirrors, just to make sure that our Archangel friend stays quantum-locked and unable to move…"
"It's also sound-proof," River explained, pre-empting Cassidy's next question. "So we don't have to put up with any more of our wordy friend's little speeches."
"So what now? Is he just going to be left in there or-?" Cassidy asked, her voice trailing away as the gravity of the situation slowly crashed over her.
"Not at all. He's going to be auctioned, Cass."
"Auctioned?!"
Cassidy turned around to face Edmund, who was now smiling smugly, his arms folded neatly across the front of his plaid dress shirt.
"That's right. Auctioned. See, technically, he's still property of the Museum until stated otherwise so if he did manage to get loose and he popped up anywhere in England again, he'd just be shipped back here. Giving him a free ticket back to you…" The archaeologist pushed his glasses up his nose with a wide grin. "So I let Stanford know that our disappearing angel statue had reappeared back up in the prep room and just as I thought, old Stanny-boy was livid. Purple in the face. Didn't want to know. He said the statue and all the "pranks" associated with it were just giving the Museum nothing but a bad reputation and apparently someone was going around and spreading rumours that it was really an alien with the power to move when no one's looking…" Edmund winked down at Clara. "So, with it attracting no one, Stanford said that he wanted it out of the Museum as soon as possible. It's going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder tomorrow evening and not a second later…"
Cassidy's stomach was bubbling with an odd concoction of varying emotions but she couldn't quite fathom any of them yet. Not while her mouth was still full of questions.
"B-But the buyer! Won't he or she be in great danger with Michael?"
"Oh the buyer won't be taking him out of the box," River explained. "We had the two art specialists from the Department for the Preservation of Art, Culture and History in the United Kingdom…" She nodded towards the Doctor and Clara. "…recommend that the statue be preserved in the specially heated box to prevent it from losing its shape but no worries to the buyer. They'll be able to view their statue through a specially rigged screen…" She prodded a tiny panel of mirrored glass just above the keypad. "Which of course depicts a digital rendering of an entirely different statue, created by yours truly…"
Cassidy continued to shake her head, walking around the slender box and frantically trying to make sense of the situation that she was faced with. "But…but…why would someone want to bid on a statue that they'll never be able to look at properly?"
"Oh, you know these artsy types," the Doctor orated, waving a hand dismissively. "They'll buy anything with an interesting back story and the more quirky it is, the better…" His face slowly became more serious as he continued to speak. "What matters is that sooner, rather than later, all of this will be over…" His eyes slowly ran from the top of the box to the bottom of it.
"But what if he escapes?" Cassidy demanded to know, whipping around to face the Doctor. "What if he manages to get free somehow? He's done it before. He's patient. He's resourceful. He lasted over two centuries in Sherwood Forest, just chained up and waiting for the chance to be freed. What makes you think this will all work out any better?"
"Because in two centuries, you, Cassidy Albright, will be long dead," the Doctor responded, his eyes locking on to hers. "And in less than two months, so will he. Two hundred years without eating has taken its toll on him. He's managed to keep himself sustained in this past while by feeding off small groups of humans and forcing you to aid his healing but a few more days of starvation will weaken him to the point of no return…"
"So he'll starve to death…?"
Cassidy looked at the box that now imprisoned the being that had once imprisoned her.
"Effectively, yes," River confirmed with a nod, looking sideways at Cassidy, studying her expression carefully.
"You do have our permission to be happy now, Cass," Edmund said with a wavering smile, looking to her. "It's all over now…I'm sorry we couldn't help you sooner…but…it's over now…you're free from him."
"Free," Cassidy repeated, suddenly nervous of how the word didn't quite ignite the same fire in her chest as she thought it would.
The first time that she had found herself "free" of Michael, she had felt a great weight lift from her body.
Now it felt as if she had a great weight lifted from her body but it had been replaced with a different sort of weight.
She felt Edmund's arm wrap around her shoulders, giving her a slight hug. "You look like you could use a hot chocolate. The good stuff. Now that I've got access to the private staff lounge, we can finally stop sipping that mud and lukewarm water that they serve in the canteen." He looked to the other three occupants of the room. "Maybe we could all use a hot chocolate?"
Clara coughed slightly to break the newly born silence, smiling a little awkwardly. "Sounds good to me. Where's that lounge then? I think we all deserve a coffee break and a snack…"
Edmund beckoned them to follow him, a slightly jaunty spring in his step as he walked. "We just successfully trapped a deadly alien from another dimension. How cool are we? In your face, Mythos Gamers Forum Boards!"
Clara raised an eyebrow at this statement as she followed him, only laughing slightly. "I remember my first time doing that…and I thought those forums were for teenagers…I stand corrected..."
"Let me just get my things," Cassidy said faintly, her eyes rather wide and her shoulders shaking slightly as she walked over to the shelf where she had dropped her satchel. Her eyes raised to look up at the purple box as she stooped.
"Make mine a double hot chocolate with triple cream, one shot of caramel, one shot of vanilla, stirred with a stick of celery and three slices of kiwi fruit on top," the Doctor called after Edmund, his eyes on the back of Cassidy's head. "I've got something to do first."
River placed a hand on his chest to stop him, halting him in his tracks and shouting her own message to Edmund. "Make mine a white latte Americano-style!" She raised an eyebrow up at the Doctor. "I'll take this one, sweetie."
The Doctor opened his mouth to respond and closed it again, with the air of a confused gold-fish. There was no point in arguing with her and he knew it.
"Alright."
He turned on heel, his jacket swishing outwards as he fell into step behind Clara.
"Is everything ok with…?" Clara let the question hang in the air, her voice quiet.
"Stockholm Syndrome is the best case scenario," the Doctor replied, his own voice equally low. "Considering that she could have ended up significantly worse…I can only say that we probably got her at the right time. Thankfully…and River knows what she's doing…"
"River," Clara echoed briefly, her brow-line drawing into a tight furrow before she spoke. "Doctor, you said that River Song is an old friend of yours and also someone from your future and the way she talks to you, the way she acts around you, the way she…looks at you…" His companion took a breath, partially dreading the answer that she was about to receive but knowing that she needed to hear it anyway. "Is River Song your-?"
"What's the point of that?!" the Doctor demanded to know, pointing downward furiously as he walked.
"What's the point of…what?" the Impossible Girl queried, following his gaze and quirking a bewildered eyebrow. "The skirting board?"
"No! That wooden thing that you human people put along the end of your walls…."
"Yes, that would be the skirting board."
"What's the point of it? Are you trying to stop your walls from escaping?"
"I suppose…it's just cosmetic. It hides the point where the wall meets the floor."
"Yes, but why?! Why do it? Why are humans so obsessed with hiding what's really there? With your walls and your skirting boards? And your windows and your curtains? And your face with your make-up?"
"…first of all, that's not what curtains are primarily used for and secondly, I'm not wearing any make up…"
"…are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Positive?"
"Yes!"
Edmund Potter listened on, deciding two things as he opened the door to the private lounge.
Number one, Miss Oswald was quite a beautiful woman.
Number two, as soon as he got home, he was going to google exactly what the point of skirting boards were.
Meanwhile, River Song approached Cassidy Albright from behind, lifting a hand to place on her shoulder.
The young woman jumped slightly, her shoulders jerking- prompting River to offer her an apologetic smile. "Didn't mean to frighten you just there. Didn't mean to frighten you earlier …well, I did… but that was only because I needed to make sure that you were genuinely afraid. If I told you what I was about to do and stone-boy happened to be eavesdropping or figured out that you were lying to him? Well, he wouldn't have been so easy to rile up."
Cassidy nodded, her eyes not leaving the box. "Yeah…yeah, I understand…"
River put her hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Cassidy…the Doctor would want me to ask you if everything's alright with you." She gave her shoulder a squeeze. "As alright as it possibly can be, anyway. The Archangel didn't cause you any major bodily harm…" River paused for a moment to turn her head, looking Cassidy in the eye. "…of any kind, did he?"
The young woman shook her head, speaking the truth in a voice that wavered. "No. No, he didn't."
"Do you mind if I do a bodily scan very quickly?" River asked her, producing what appeared to be a small, blue remote-control device. "It won't hurt. It's just to check that he hasn't done any major internal damage. Not every one of the Weeping Angels' defence mechanisms can be immediately physically felt."
Cassidy swallowed and nodded, watching as River delicately lifted the device to her throat, holding it (ironically, she would later note) as carefully as she had held the revolver.
She didn't quite know what to make of Professor River Song. The woman had proved herself a formidable threat with both mettle and wit to beware of…yet Cassidy couldn't quite bring herself to fear her. If anything, the woman's presence made her feel oddly safe.
In a similar manner to that of the Doctor with one resounding difference; the Doctor had the aura of one who had experience as his weapon whereas River Song radiated power.
Inexperienced or not, the woman was undeniably powerful.
A soft beeping sound brought Cassidy's thoughts back to room.
River inspected the screen on the device, pursing her lips.
"And he didn't starve you? Or keep you from sleeping? Those would be common weakening tactics…makes you easier to handle…"
"No…no…he let me eat. He actually offered to bring me food a few times…and he let me sleep too. Watching me sleep actually turned into a kind of…hobby for him…"
River was quiet for a moment, looking at the readings on the screen, her eyebrows slowly rising as she presumably listened to Cassidy.
For a brief moment, a look of a perplexed kind drifted over River's eyes, coaxing Cassidy to ask her: "Is everything…ok?"
"Hm?" River looked up, smiling quickly as she tucked the scanner away. "Oh yes, everything is fine. No major damage internally and your brain's all clean. Nothing."
"…that's good, then."
River nodded towards the box. "He was very protective of you. I didn't think honestly think he'd come as quickly as he did or risk as much as he risked just to make sure that you were alright."
The human woman's eyes lowered and she crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head with a sigh. "Just…protecting what he thinks is his. He was never protective of me. Just possessive."
"It's not in their nature to show concern for those outside their species," River noted offhandedly. "Even if he was worried for you, I doubt he'd understand the emotion enough to count it as worry. If anything, he'd just confuse it with greed…"
Cassidy continued to look downwards. "So you've…encountered the Weeping Angels before?"
River nodded with a slightly wider smile, taking Cassidy's hand and shaking it. "I believe proper introductions are in order…Professor River Song. Professor of Archaeology."
The word "archaeology" perked Cassidy up immediately, her eyes lighting up slightly as she looked up. "You're an archaeologist? So am I…well, I'm still in the middle of my training but after the end of the year, I'll be fully registered and qualified."
"What's your speciality?"
"Restoration and repair, early Grecian era mainly…and yours?"
"Excavation and field-dating, fifty-second century, third cyber renaissance and first inter-galactic war…"
Cassidy's eyes widened slightly, smiling with genuine amusement for the first time. "Wow…you make my field sound positively obsolete. Then again, the whole time-travel thing is still…relatively new to me. The fifty-second century," she breathed. "I've been to the past but not to the future…that must be…all kinds of…"
"Bizarre? Wonderful? Crazy? Scary? Magical? It's all that and a lot else but in a lot of ways, it's not too different from what's all been around before," River told her, adjusting the shoulder strap on Cassidy's satchel. "But the best of the best universities for historical study sprung up around the fifty-third century so that's where I found myself getting my degrees…"
Cassidy took a breath. "Time travel…I still can't believe it exists."
River brushed a loose sliver of Cassidy's fringe from her eyes. "If you hang around the gangly fellow with the police box often enough, you get used to it."
"I can imagine. How exactly do you know the Doctor?"
River paused for a moment, smiling in a bemused way as though she was considering her answer before responding. "…he's an old friend of my parents."
She gestured to the door. "And if I know him well enough, he'll have taken apart the vending machine in that staff-lounge of yours by now. We'd best check on him. There's only so long poor Clara can keep him on a short leash…"
The Professor started to leave, only to notice that the human woman seemed rather reluctant to follow. She to instinctively move closer to the prison that held the Angel yet at the same time, she seemed afraid to move closer. Like a wandering pilgrim at the borders of a bonfire, she was drawn to the heat of the conflagration but afraid of the fire all the same.
"He can't hurt you now, you know," River said a little more quietly. "He's all locked up in there and he's not getting out."
Cassidy nodded slowly, about to turn away before she stopped, considering something for the first time. "Can he…hear us? Even though, we can't hear him?"
River's eyes flicked between the box and the young woman. "Would it matter if he could?" She took a waning step towards Cassidy. "Is there something you'd want to say to him?"
Cassidy stood, silent as stone, for a moment before speaking aloud and louder than she had originally intended. "Just that…I had nothing to do with this plan. I didn't know that this was going to happen…I really didn't…"
If River Song found anything strange or unsettling about her choice of words, she certainly hid it well because when Cassidy turned back to the older woman- River was smiling.
"Like I said, Cass. He's not getting out any time soon. Not unless someone taps the key-code five, three, seven, eight into the keypad…but the buyer won't have that key-code and as added security, you have to swipe your thumb across the top of the screen- without any prompt to do so… so everything's alright." She winked. "No worries."
For a brief moment, River's eyes held Cassidy's.
A silent, barely conceivable but definitely present, understanding seemed to pass between them.
Then Cassidy began to walk to the door. "So, have you had a good look around the Museum yet?"
"Not quite. I wouldn't mind a tour, though."
A loud crashing sound resounded in the distance, followed by the Doctor's shouting, Edmund's howling and Clara's shrieking.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO USE THAT SODDING SCREWDRIVER!"
River and Cassidy exchanged a look of an entirely different kind.
"First we go to the lounge?"
"First we go to the lounge."
A little under an hour later, Cassidy was under a bus shelter, waiting for what had begun as a light shower to cease. In just a few seconds, her supposed "little fall of rain" was starting to turn to a full-scale torrential squall.
She sighed, stepping back against the Perspex wall and leaning against a peeling Tesco advertisement. The Doctor had offered her a flight back in the TARDIS but she had politely declined. Firstly, as not to inconvenience her two-time saviour and secondly because of the memories that stepping from the fated blue box on to her front lawn would evoke.
Cassidy squinted at the bus time-table, silently cursing at the teenagers who had scrawled their lewd Sharpie pen messages all over it. The next bus to Oakside should have arrived fifteen minutes ago.
She internally prayed that there had been some kind of drastic shift in the schedules.
Then again, she mused upon reflection, it wasn't as though she was in any kind of rush to get home.
"After all," Cassidy exhaled aloud, unsure of how she currently felt. "I'll be coming home to an empty house…" A weight grew in her chest, spreading outward to the rest of her body in a slow and grating pace.
In a vain attempt to distract herself from the storm that was going on inside her mind- a storm, that was beginning to rival the one that was brewing above her head, Cassidy pulled her mobile phone for a quick game of Snake.
However, when the screen flashed to life, Cassidy's eyes just about popped out of her head.
Thirty-two missed calls.
"From who?!" Cassidy questioned aloud, not recognising the number at all and frantically, hitting the re-dial button.
When the ringing ceased on the other line and the phone clicked through, the young woman's blood turned to ice in her veins, her skin instantly taut with revulsion.
Slow terror began to seep from her lungs outward, her breath turning to sharp, quivering pants.
"C-Cassy? Cassy? Are you there?"
"Abbie! Abbie, what's the matter?! Are you ok?"
"Leon…L-Leon is gone…gone a-away…and…"
"Shh, Abbie, calm down…what's wrong? Just take a deep breath and-!"
"Cassy, th-there's an angel in my house!"
Thanks for reading (^-^)