Chapter Five: Is She An Angel?

That was about seven weeks ago and is the last of the nightmares that I could remember, the rest are gone, I fear, forever, like so much other things. They've all pretty much stopped for some reason. Everything, the nightmares, hallucinations, no more. It seems I'm finally normal. But that doesn't stop them. They still put me down and criticize me for they remember what I was, it isn't easy forgetting something like that.

It was them who put me in the hospital. They beat the hell out of me as I was on my way to pick up m sister for her school play. Her first one, and she didn't get to go to it because of me. I don't remember too much of what happened, it was all so fast. I can still see the flash of metal, their delightful faces, the blood, the pain. It never leaves my memory. This is something, I fear, that will stay with me forever.

Ever since I was little it was like this, I never once had what closely resembles the definition of a friend. Sure, I may have thought so back then in my ignorance, but now I know better. I see through that fallacy now but back then it was different. Still though it happens, although they mostly avoid me, there are times every now and then when they feel the need to act violence out on me. But it has happened recently. When I got out of the hospital, I gave my little sister one last kiss goodbye and I left this place. Upon looking back everything is unclear even to me so in an effort to truly understanding my past I will start from here.

First of all, I lived in a small town in New York, I forget the name. It was a small peaceful little hell hole surrounded by luscious valleys and hills. A perfect little community which didn't accept outsiders. We moved in after our father died, just my mother and my sister and me. A normal white house in your average normal neighborhood. A small house, we didn't have very much money. My mother felt she was above having a job. The people in this town were absolute horrid trash. Not so much the way they lived but their views and opinions. Sure my mother and sister were well accepted by them but me, well that's just another story. They treated me like an animal, everyone, except for my sister. There's only been two people that have ever treated me like a human and she was one of them.

We moved in around the end of August. School began just a few weeks afterward at the beginning of autumn. A beautiful place it was too, but the people ruined it. These people knew nothing of empathy or sympathy hell even kindness, these lay in the dirt. Too them the most important values were criticism, hate, and anger. This community existed as its own world, and the rest of the population were aliens to them. When school started I thought that I would never be happy again. From the moment I set foot in that hell I was constantly put down and hurt by the other students while the teachers gave an apathetic glance.

Life at home wasn't too much of a walk in the park either. From the minute I walked through that damn door to the minute I went to bed I was constantly harassed and hounded by my mother. The only happiness and pity I got was from my sister, who was only a few years younger than me. I must've been about eleven at the time so she was around eight or so. My room was void of any pleasurable items save for a small lamp and makeshift bed on the floor, it was a bunch of boxes put together with blankets over them. My mother said since I was barely a person I didn't need stuff that any other kids did.

That was what life was like for the next seven years, the same old crap. Hell, I'm surprised I was even allowed to live with my mother and she wasn't thrown in jail for neglect, but hey, who's going to turn her in in this town, they saw her as a God for the way she dealt with me.

But on that night, I met someone who changed my life drastically forever. An angel, that was my first thought upon seeing her. She had to have been an angel. She was absolutely beautiful. Bright golden hair descended down to her shoulders, odd, lovely green eyes, pure perfection. She seemed out of place in this world. This fake world. That's what it is, the so called real world isn't real at all. I saw her there as I was walking home to take Addie back to school. She was on the opposite side of the road as me but walking in the same direction. She was floating, an aura of goodness surrounding her. She had on a pink blouse and a white skirt.

I saw her looking at me constantly, trying to get my attention, but I was too embarrassed to even look her way, save for the brief glances out of the corner of my eye. It was getting dark out, the sun began to hide from the darkness. The crickets began their nightly song and she faded away in the darkness, disappeared. It was then that I began hitting myself because I assumed that it was once again another hallucination. I began to walk home, disappointed. That's when a large truck passed, windows down, hip hop music blaring, packed to the rim with high school students. The truck slowed as it passed me, the people inside pointed and said something. It passed, I was relieved. And then without warning I heard the screeching of tires behind me as the truck did a U turn and drove at me. I looked back just in time as I saw that it was driving on the shoulder of the road towards me. Just in time, I dove into the grass and dirt besides me, cracking my nose a large, sharp rock.

The truck stopped right beside me and the people flooded out in swarms, yelling and screaming delightfully. I was their pray, fresh food for the evening darling. It's been so long since I've tasted flesh so nice and juicy. Perfection, sweetheart we ought to have some to-morrow night as well. I didn't even want to see what they were going to do. I dived my head into the dirt and covered it with my hands, bracing myself for their most brutal desires. They finally got me.

It was terrible, they hit me with everything they had, fists pummeling into my back, feet kicking at my head and ribs, metal pipes waling on me, cutting into my flesh. They came down on me over and over again. Stopping only once they thought I was dead. To them I was the monster. My whole body ached, cuts and bruises everywhere, in my leg I could feel a bone penetrating through my skin. And the blood flowed. I lay there for God knows how much time. Every time I inhaled and exhaled, sharp pains pierced throughout my body. This was pain. This is what animals must feel like as they're being torn to pieces to meet the greedy desires of the disgusting humans. Night came, the null moon in full glow. I lay there crying to myself as I was dying inside. It was then that I left my body, never to return again. Reborn, my delusions overdosed and finally withdrawing away. I don't even remember when or even how it was that I got to the hospital, a miracle if I must say so.

The next thing I remember was awakening in the hospital to my vile mother and sweet sister. That was the last time I saw her, and I felt guilt as hell for leaving her. I left the only good thing left in the world in the grip of that town and its hellish inhabitants. I sure hope she's all right.

What prompted me to leave the safety of the hospital was the appearance of that girl again. This time I was sure that she was real and not just another delusion. Feeling empowered with my new body, I set out after her. She seemed to notice me thought, and she ran, not for fright though, but rather playfully, daring me to catch her. I ran after her through the hallways, knocking nurses and carts over, sending the floor into disarray but I didn't care. The only thing I cared about was meeting that angel.

I followed her straight to the exit, not even caring that I was half naked in a hospital gown. It was nighttime, peacefully cool, the stars bright in the sky. A perfect night. This was the only time that I ever felt safe in the darkness. She disappeared again. I was left there alone in the darkness, dishearten again. As I was dying in despair in the bench just near the hospital entrance she appeared again, right in front of me. She stood there for a second looking at me smiling and then she bent over.

"Hi there! What's wrong?" She asked in the most absolute cutest voice, smiling. I stood there staring at her for the longest time. She didn't seem to notice it though, thank God.

"Hello, are you going to talk?" She asked, still smiling as cute as ever. My face turned red and warm.

"Umm, I'm sorry. I'm fine." I said avoiding her eyes. She frowned and sat down besides me.

"Isn't it beautiful out. I haven't seen so many stars out in years. It's very pretty." She said. I love this girl.

"Yea, neither have I, the only other time was…" I didn't dare go on. The other time the night was as pretty as this was when I saw her last that night on the side of the road. Does she remember? I looked over at her. Still looking up at the stars, the glow of the light brightening her face, giving it a bluish tint. I'm at a loss for words. I've never seen anyone so pretty in my life. She looked over at me, smiling. Instantly I threw my face downward and started to look at the ground.

"By the way, I never got your name." She said.

"Umm it's Darren." I said nervously. I was never particularly good at talking to people, seeing as I didn't do it much, especially a girl. I once read somewhere that on average someone speaks about fifty thousand words in one day. Hell, for me that would be like twenty words a week, ha ha.

She stuck her hand out towards me as she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Darren, my name is Kara." I stood there for a brief moment, not sure of what to do. I'm not used to this, kindness.

"Well are you going to take my hand?" she said to me. I grabbed it without saying a word. The minute our hands touched, she grabbed me up on my feet. I frantically tried to wrap the robe around me. She saw that and giggled.

"Oops, I'm sorry, I've forgotten." She said smiling and giggling as she grabbed from under the bench a pile of clothes, my clothes.

"Where did you..?" The words barely left my mouth when she put her finger over my lips and said "Shhh, just get dressed already." She turned around, her hair hitting me the face. I wasted no time and inhaled deeply, it smelled of heavenly lilacs. She went around the corner as I got dressed. I wonder how she got these? They should have been at home. Heh, these were the clothes I bought with the money I saved up. Good clothes. The whole lot of them nearing six hundred dollars. Nice brown dress pants, a very light gray dress shirt, a white undershirt, and the pair of expensive black glossy dress shoes. Heh, I like dressing like this, I don't know why. A sense of normalcy I guess, away from the rags my mother made me wear while I lived with her. As I was putting my pants on I noticed something in my pocket. A necklace came out in my hands. Silver chain and a golden heart. Wait a minute. Is this….. Yes, this is the necklace that man was wearing in my dream. How did it get here?

Just as I threw my hair out from behind my collar, Kara came around the corner smiling

"All ready." She said playfully. I smiled, she's so cute. It's those eyes. An unnatural color.

"Yea." I said smiling looking into her eyes. She walked over and grabbed my hand again.

"Come on, lets' go." She said. I followed her without hesitation.

We walked out onto the road leading away from the hospital in the mystic nighttime. I wasn't sure where she was leading me and when I asked her she wouldn't answer me. She would just smile and say hold on. Eventually we came to a street corner, completely littered with bums and graffiti, too think, I was treated worse than these drug addict losers. It was then that a feeling of protection for her urged throughout my body. This place was dangerous, obviously. I tugged at her hand in an effort to slow her down.

"Wait a minute Kara, this road isn't safe." I said as she looked over her shoulder, trying to figure out what was wrong. After I said that she laughed and smiled.

"Ohhh, you don't need to worry at all bout me." She said reassuringly. Not worry about her? How the hell could I not worry about her.

"What do you mean, look at the street we're on." I said a little more urgently. She didn't respond though. And later I realized that nothing was going to happen. No one even noticed us. We turned down another street, the same as before, dirty and disgusting. Why are we in this part of town? I was about to ask her when she stopped walking and my question was answered. A bus station, she was taking me somewhere away from here, an angel she was indeed.