The clouds are gathering for this winter, and boy huddles up on the corner of the street waiting for some parent to come for him. Los Angeles children are very unfortunate when the winter comes, not having been exposed to the colder weather. Fifty degrees is freezing to them, and this boy is freezing.
He passes the time trying to take his mind off things. He looks to the ground, trying not to look up, fearing what he may see. And he tries to forget things by being entertained by the fact he can see his own breath.
He wonders for a moment where mom or dad is. They didn't say they were going to be late, although they never do. Maybe they're just scared of him. Scared of what he'll say to them. He should really stop telling them everything…
Then he glances up to see a man across the street smoking a cigarette and coughing into his hand. The man seems to be resting after some work. But there is more that the boy sees. Horrible things…hideous things crawling around the man…
Monsters.
The boy quickly returns to staring at the ground, biting his lower lip. He doesn't want the monsters to see him. He doesn't want the monsters to notice him. Just look away he tells himself. Look like you don't see them.
So the boy grabs his backpack that leans on his side, and opens it, trying to look like he's looking for something, trying not to look up. He grabs some papers, moves them, gets his math book, and puts it back in. Just trying not to…
Not to…
"Hello Jonathon."
Jonathon jumps as he looks up to see a smiling young girl.
A sudden draft flies by, and makes the boy huddle up for a moment and shiver. The girl just smiles at him.
"Did it get colder all of the sudden?" He asks.
The girl shakes her head.
"I didn't notice." She says.
Jonathon shivers, and rubs his hands over his arms. He shakes his head and glances up at the girl, who still holds a smile.
"Do…I know you?" He asks.
Still smiling, the girl shakes her head.
"No, you wouldn't. But I know a lot about you."
Jonathon squints his eyes.
"Kids tell you at school or something?" He mumbles.
"Something like that." She smiles.
Jonathon frowns as he remains sitting on the curb, rubbing his arms. He thinks the girl will just go away like everyone else, just go away when he ignores her.
Go away, he thinks, go away before the monsters get you too.
But she doesn't leave. In fact she doesn't even move, still she smiles staring at him. He glances up at her once, her eerie smile. She doesn't seem familiar, he hasn't seen her at school before. Though he doesn't see a lot of people at school. She seems taller than him, but that's only because of the giant boots she's wearing. Creepy he thinks as he stares at the boots that are right next to him. They have the design of the pentagon at the toe. She wears all black clothing, a jacket that ends at her knees. Her pants have little strands that are tied together. Her skin is as pale as his, her hair short and curled at the end.
And her blue eyes are staring at him.
Then he notices something strange. She's holding some kind of stick to her left that stands even taller than her. Like a walking stick. It's smooth and long, with a bit of a curve at the end. The wood is pure black, and she holds it firmly as if fearing what would happen if she would let go of it.
He finally looks up and matches with her eyes. Her smile grows larger.
"Jonathon Constantine." She says.
"…Yeah…." He nods.
"So you're him, huh? You don't seem like much."
"Hey! What are you talking about?"
The girl just smiles as she sits down next to him. She still grips her stick firmly, just holding it by the base now. She looks at John, scanning him from head to toe. He stares at her strangely, wishing she'd go away.
"You know I shouldn't even be here right now." She says.
Jonathon's eyes stray towards the man and the monsters, and quickly he turns back to her.
"It's against the rules. But I was here, and you were here, and I though 'what the hell?'" She laughs to herself.
"Yeah…so what the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh…"
She turns towards the man, and stares dreamingly at him.
"Nothing that would concern you for a while." She says.
She stares at the man with the monsters around him with great intent, as if she sees the monsters herself.
"So…who are you, and what are you doing here?" John asks.
She laughs.
"Don't be so cruel, Johnny! You should be thankful I've finally gotten to meet you!"
"Don't ever call me Johnny." He frowns.
"All right. Jonathon Constantine then."
"And why should I be so happy to meet you. You haven't even told me your name."
She smiles, and bites her lower lip.
"You can call me Azra. And I am here for the same reason as you. I am waiting." She finally says.
"Azra? What kind of name is that?"
"What kind of name is Constantine?"
Jonathon squints his eyes in anger. He merely turns his head to the right, away from her and the man with the monsters crawling around him. Just go away already, he thinks to himself. Just go away. Go away, you're not wanted here. Go away before you start mocking him, go away before he makes you, go away before the monsters notice you.
John's eyes look over towards the man. He's coughing more violently now, and the monsters gather around him, and they're jumping with excitement with each cough. They throw their arms up, and scream horrible shrieks. Pale creatures, monsters that look like their decomposing. Monsters that are missing half their face. Monsters…
Monsters that follow him around.
Azra stares at the preoccupied Constantine, then she looks over in the same direction he's staring at, then back to him. She grips her stick firmly, and moves slightly to a more comfortable position.
"What's with the stick?" Jonathon asks without even looking at her.
"Hm?"
She looks at her stick.
"Oh, nothing. I just…like it. Plus it's sort of my job." She says.
"Job, with a stick?"
"Yup."
"Can I see it?"
He reaches over it, and she pushes him away by his ribs and pulls her stick away.
"No!" She snaps. "I mean…no, please. It's against the rules."
"Rules?"
She nods.
"What are you talking about?"
Azra sighs, and lays her stick in her lap. She closes her eyes, and John stares at her.
"You are so young, Jonathon Constantine. There is such a grand plan for you. Please don't misunderstand this plan. You are strong, Jonathon, you can endure the pain…"
Her voice is soft and dreamy, as she still closes her eyes. Her hands grip on her stick tightly, and she pulls her sleeves back to look at her watch. She frowns at it.
"What do you see when you look at that man?" She asks.
Jonathon's mouth is slightly open. She opens one eye to look at him.
"Well?" She asks.
"Monsters." He whispers.
"Yes. That's right. They're missing this part of their face aren't they?"
She points at her forehead.
"Yes." He nods.
"Do you know what part of the brain that is?"
He shakes his head.
"It's the part of the brain that allows you to feel emotions. They loose that after a while you know. They forget."
Jonathon looks over at the monsters with half their heads gone.
"They want to hurt you John." She says.
"I know."
"But they can't. That's against the rules. They can try and try, but they'll never really hurt you. At least for now, at this age."
"Can you see them? Have you always seen them?" He whispers, afraid the monsters will hear them.
Azra nods.
"Do not fear them." She instructs him.
She opens her eyes and looks over at the man with the monsters.
"He's dying you know." She nods towards the coughing man. "Heart disease I'm afraid. The monsters are waiting for him to finally die. These are his last moment on this earth, Jonathon Constantine." She says.
The man is coughing in his hand, until he finally starts coughing up blood.
"There are great plans for you Jonathon." She says. "Don't let anyone tell you they're not there, Jonathon. They're blind that's all. Everyone is blind to them. Don't let anyone tell you you're insane, they're real. Do not loose sight of the path that has been laid in front of you."
She places her hand on his shoulder.
"They said I was condemned you know, but then I got this job."
"What are you?" He asks her.
She smiles and looks as if she's thinking.
"Think of me as a little grim reaper. Little Angel of Death." She comes up with.
Then she finally rises to her feet, and slams her stick into the ground.
"I am very glad we were able to meet. I'm afraid it will be very difficult to meet again. But perhaps someday." She smiles that eerie smile again. "I must go now, my time is up."
"Wait! You can't go!" John yells.
"I have to, or I'd be breaking the rules. I'm sorry, Jonathon."
"No!"
John rises to his feet, and walks towards Azra.
"Get back John! Or else they'll see you!" She yells.
John freezes.
Then Azra smiles again, and begins walking across the street to the monsters and the dying man.
The man is still coughing up blood as he keels over and closes his eyes one last time. The monster cheer in victory, and start running towards the dead man. They jump in triumph and scream again and again.
Then Azra pulls out her stick.
"Back Demons!" She screams.
The monsters turn their head and roar at her.
That is when Azra grows wings. Pitch black wings that she flaps in response to the monsters' screams. She holds out her stick and swings it at the monsters. And the stick grows a blade. A long and curved blade. Sharp enough to stab a soul. She swings the newly made scythe at the monsters.
Azra flaps her wings and glides over to the body of the dead man.
"I have been sent by Azrael the Angel of Death! This soul does not belong to you but the lord! Now get back!" She yells.
The monsters do not.
"Fine! I condemn you back to the realm of which you came!"
She swings her mighty scythe, and slices a demon in half, the remains of the body burn into ashes that fly out into the sky. Then another demon to the left is gone in a flash of ash and fire. The other monsters scream and roar, trying to gain up on the Angel of Death, the Grim Reaper, as two attack at one. Azra slices through the air and a light comes from the scythe. And then the monsters are gone.
Jonathon sits on his curb and is watching.
Azra smiles to herself, and she leans down to the dead man's body, and pulls out a soul in the form of the man. She smiles at the man, and tells him what has happened, but Jonathon can't hear exactly what she's saying. Her black wings flap a little, and her scythe becomes a stick again.
Azra holds the man by the hand, and waves at Jonathon. He faintly waves back. Then with two great flaps she off into the sky with the soul of the dead man.
Then Jonathon's mom finally pulls up to pick him up.
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Jonathon Constantine is busy having a nightmare. He's shaking in his sleep. He was too tired to even take off his shoes before he went to sleep from condemning another demon out of some person earlier today. The monsters are getting harder these days, most sent by Mammon out of revenge. He's still shaking.
The monsters are coming. They're going to get him. They're going to drag Angela to hell….
Knock, knock.
And he jumps awake.
"Jonathon Constantine!" Someone yells from the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
It sounds like someone is kicking his door.
Groggy he shakes his head, and stumbles as he makes his way to the door. For a moment he grabs the doorknob and leans on the door, closing his eyes. He shakes his eyes open and finally opens his door.
And there stands a young teenaged girl dressed in all black, and carrying a stick.
"I need a place to stay for the night." She says.
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I may do a sequel, if I feel up to it, and if you guys like it.