CHAPTER 6

For long hours the two angels in human form remained in silence in the middle of the desert, praying that the forces of the nature would spare them from any harm. That journey had turned into one more test for their courage and their love, and Monica and Andrew were determined to prove that they were deserving of those feelings. In each other's arms, they spoke very little while the storm made its way along those vast lands in full force.

Andrew remembered the summer days when quick and sounding storms would hit the mountains where he and Monica used to spend their free time and how he comforted her while the thunders echoed at a distance, or the times when assignments were so difficult to be accomplished that both angels found in each other the reassurance and faith to perform the Father's will.

The angel of death prayed that he would be able to put her heart at ease like he did in those occasions for the rest of his eternity.

Only at the end of the afternoon did the sky become slightly visible, but still filled with threatening clouds. Some thick raindrops fell against the windshield together with the sand and dust, announcing a very cold night at the desert.

"I guess it's finishing." He spoke, narrowing his eyes trying to see what was going on outside.

Monica wanted to look stronger, but she knew that he would never be convinced. Slightly tired, she nodded her head and sighed. "It's still a wee bit intimidating, though."

"I know, angel." He said, reaching out to stroke her hair. "We'll probably have to stay here until tomorrow."

"And if our friends hadn't helped us with food and water supply, we would have a serious problem."

"They're taking care of us… Because the Father is watching over us too." He said, moving to reach for their food. "Otherwise, I don't think they would be able to send us all this."

Still a little shaken, the Irish angel nodded while surveying the content. "Do you think that Tess would send us coffee too?"

Andrew laughed perhaps for the first time since they had taken their human forms. And what amused him was not only his sweetheart's words but also the seriousness with which she had said that. Noticing that she was staring at him with eyebrows raised and not finding any of that as much fun, he managed to control his chuckling while reaching for her hand. "Angel, if I knew that there was a coffee shop anywhere around, I swear I would go up there and bring you a cup of hot mocha."

That statement was a loving one to the coffee-drinking angel girl, who had been reprimanded so many times about that human habit. It placed a tiny smile back on her beautiful face and some of her natural cheerfulness became visible again. "I have no doubt that you would. You always did it, actually. Even when you shouldn't…"

The way she lowered her voice and blushed as she spoke the last sentence made him reach out and caress her cheek softly with the back of his fingers.

X

The transition from day to night, so intensely felt by any living creature who dared to cross the desert, was nearly non-existent this time. The heavy cloud of dust and sand that had settled on that region was slowly moving away, but still spreading coldness, fear and a sensation that the angel of death hadn't noticed before, but which his dearest friend was quick to pick.

"It's so lonely out here…" she said, lying in his arms and staring to a vast darkness that spread until the limits of the horizon. "…this silence, this emptiness… it's so sad, Andrew…"

Although he knew what she meant, he could not resist to tease her again. "Thank you."

Monica immediately raised her head and straightened her body so she could look at his face. "Oh, Andrew, I did not mean it, I-"

The blond angel kissed her temple before he spoke again. "I know, angel, I was just joking. I had noticed that a while ago, I just didn't know how to name it." He said, motioning for her to snuggle in his arms once again.

But before she did so, Monica searched for his eyes. "I'm so blessed that I have you."

Andrew cupped her cheek and held her gaze. "We'll make through this, Monica. I promise you."

"There's no need to promise, Andrew. I trust you with all my heart." She replied, accepting his long loving kiss afterwards, automatically forgetting – even if for only a fraction of seconds, the ordeal that they had been going through in the last few days.

X

The first sunrays gently touched the angel's face, almost like a caress that was trying to make up for all the tribulations she and her beloved soul mate had been through for nearly three days. The light slowly brought the heavenly being from a deep yet troubled sleep, which is so common to creatures like her whenever they spent so much time in human form.

Monica was slowly coming to her senses, but already feeling the consequences of nights confined in the back seat of Tess' car – her entire body ached and she was tired even before opening her eyes for a new day. Her worries, however, were even greater when she finally looked at her side and then outside, and registered something that she would never expect: Andrew wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Frowning with worry, the Irish angel got off the car and gave a few steps without a definite direction, wrapping herself with both arms as it was still too cold at that time of the morning. "Andrew?"

The wind blowing away her auburn hair was her only reply, and if on one side there was relief as the sandstorm had finally gone, on the other, she wondered what would have made her beloved friend leave their car.

Her unease eyes scanned the area, not missing that the road ahead of them was still covered with dust and could be barely be seen. Perhaps only the same howling wind that was constantly blowing would sweep the path ahead so that they could follow their way and finally find the nearest town.

"Andrew?" she raised her voice, such a lovely accent in a place that was far from being as pleasant.

And the angel of death would never ignore her calling – the way she pronounced his name was as unique as the feeling that brought them together.

"Here, angel!" he said, his voice coming from a certain distance.

Monica turned around and saw him coming towards her in between some of the many sand banks that had been formed after the storm. Only then did she notice that there was a small wooden construction not far from the road, unlikely to be noticed by any traveler that passed by. Andrew apparently was investigating the small hut and judging from the expression on his face, he seemed to bring some good news.

"There's a miner's shack over there, and it's in good condition." He quickly informed as he finally stood in front of her, aware of her inquisitive gaze.

"A miner's shack?"

"Yep. It's not rare one finds them along the desert up to Utah, angel. This region was quite explored in the past."

"You said it's in good condition…"

He placed both hands over her shoulders. "Yes, and what I mean is that there's an adjoined bathroom with running water."

"Really?" She spoke, sweet brown eyes suddenly brighter.

"It's quite cold, but still, there's a shower and we can fill in the empty bottles."

The interior of the small wooden hut did not bear any resemblance to the cabin up in the mountains. Their temporary shelter carried the signs of time and the effects of the dry and unstable weather. There were only two rooms – the smallest one had an improvised shower that still provided a very cold shower. The other room had nothing except the old wood floor and a small window, which probably had already served as a powerful protection against sand storms and many cold desert nights.

After they renewed their water supply, Monica grabbed a new change of clothes that had been left inside the car trunk the day before and headed to the shower under Andrew's teasing.

"I'll keep guard right here at the door and promise I won't look." He said, standing by the shack entrance door, and causing her to blush profusely with a totally shocked expression on her face.

"This is some thought for an angel of death!" She said, playfully nudging his arm before making her way inside the small shelter and its equally small bathroom.

Chuckling, Andrew sat down on the door step and contemplated the horizon ahead, his smile slowly fading as he finally spoke again – now to himself. "I'll always guard you, angel."

X

Once both angels had washed and had their breakfast, they returned to the long road that crossed the desert. They had been travelling for two days now and with a considerable delay due to the sandstorm that kept them for nearly twenty four hours. But according to Andrew's calculations, the nearest town was not too far – perhaps they would be able to get there at the end of the afternoon, and then find a place to stay until perhaps the message they had both been praying for was finally spoken to them.

And he hoped that journey would end soon as the weather started to take its effects on the angels more intensely than ever: Andrew was tired and sleepy and even considered making one more break for a while so he could rest a little.

Something totally unexpected, however, caused him to be fully alert again and deeply worried: a noise in the car engine was suddenly heard and became more and more audible as he drove, leaving him and Monica look at each other with concern.

"There must be sand in the engine. Yesterday's storm was too violent and it might have caused some damage." He said, sighing deeply as the strange sound in Tess' car only increased.

"Do you think it would be possible to keep on driving anyway?" Monica wanted to know, as she herself did not know much about cars.

"I'll try not to stop unless it's necessary. We're not too far from the town now and I believe we have to cover as many miles as we can."

Unfortunately to the angels, the miles covered were just a few after Andrew's words. The red Cadillac that had become not only their only transportation mean but also a safe shelter stopped under the midday sun and did not turn on again, despite the angel of death's attempts to fix it.

"Try turning it on now, angel." He said, with the hood lifted and overlooking the engine. Monica immediately did as he said, but the car did not show any response.

He heaved a frustrated sigh and put some more water inside the radiator. But after Monica tried to turn the motor on one more time and did not have any response, Andrew closed the hood and came back to the car.

"It's no use. There must be some parts to be changed and I don't think we can make it work again." He said, leaning on the window next to the driver's seat. His skin was reddish and sweat dripped from his forehead.

Monica noticed the great concern on the tone of his voice and in his green eyes. "There must be some other people driving along these roads… perhaps we can get some help from a passerby, Andrew."

He did not know what to say. The truth was that he did not believe help would come that fast. "The storm might have kept the travelers away, angel. I don't think we'll find someone driving along these roads so soon."

She let out a soft sigh and nodded her head, trying to put away the inch of fear that insisted on haunting her heart.

"We cannot stay in the car either, it's too hot at this time of the day." Andrew spoke, looking at his surroundings and noticing that there were some rock formations not too far from the road, where scarce vegetation would grow. Their shadows could be used as a shelter and despite the fact that they would stay outside, at least now the wind was blowing, bringing some relief.

"I… I suppose it is…" She said, causing Andrew to frown.

"Is there something wrong, angel?"

"I don't feel that warm, you see… In fact, I feel the wind quite cold right now…"

"Cold?" Andrew quickly opened the car door and placed his hand on her forehead. "Monica… you're running a low fever..."

With downcast eyes, she let out a small sigh."You might be right…"

"Staying exposed to this kind of weather is only doing us even more harm." He said, now terribly worried about his dearest friend's human form.

"I will be fine. There's much food for both of us in the back, Andrew, and I trust that there will be a car passing by sooner or later."

The blond angel let out another frustrated sigh and insisted that she would leave the vehicle so that they could make a campsite under the shadows of the rocky formations that were just a few feet away from them. They would work like small covers, protecting them from the unmerciful sun while they waited for help to cross those deserted roads heading to the nearest town.

"I can't believe something this would happen to my babies!" Tess watched with distress as her two dearest friends walked away from the red Cadillac. "My three babies!" She added, looking at her car with great concern.

"I wonder if there's a way to fix it, we can't leave them out here in the desert!" Adam spoke, not really as much worried with the Cadillac.

"We sure have to do something! There are no cars to pass here for the next two days, Tess! And they won't be able to wait that long!" Rafael pointed out, not missing how Andrew made Monica drink some more water and the way he placed both hands on her face to check on her temperature.

"She's falling ill," Adam observed, "and this is no good under the desert's weather."

"Can't we just fix this motor and make this car go again?"

The youngest angel's words were met with opposition from two of his co-workers.

"I'm afraid this won't happen."

Sam and Ruth were back at that spot and were determined to make Monica and Andrew face the consequences of their choice.

"You three have interfered too much so far," Ruth stared at them with a stern expression on her face. "Monica and Andrew made their choice and need to see where it'll lead them."

"Abandoning them here is cruelty!" Rafael spoke, hardly believing those words were coming from another angel.

Sam gave a step ahead. "You know well that they aren't abandoned here, Rafael."