Chapter 18
A/N
Hey guys! Happy New Year and Valentine's Day (A.K.A. Singles Awareness Day, as some of the kids at my school call it)! Well, it's been several months since I last updated, and I'm really sorry about that, it has been really crazy around here for the last couple of months. Thanks for your patience and all the reviews! I know I left you all off in a cliffy and you are all probably cursing the name Wander for that. Sorry! *nervous smile* Truth be told, I really didn't mean for the suspense to be drawn out so long. I'm going to try to write some more over Spring Break.
Good news, I recently received new that my cousin is on his way to recovery! It's been a difficult journey for him, but he's been a little trooper the whole way through, every day with a smile on his face. Thank you so much for your prayers, your thoughts, and the time you guys took, even just a moment, to wish and pray that he would beat this sickness, because he is winning this battle. He survived, and he is beating back this disease. Please, help me in praying and wishing for my cousin to continue to have the strength to win against this sickness and that it will not come to haunt him again in the future. Thank you guys, thank you so much.
On another note, I'm a year older now, my birthday was last week. Yippee!
Well, I am sure you guys are more interested in how the next chapter of this story will unfold, so, without further ado I present to you, Chapter 18.
Max's POV
I didn't realize I was awake at first. I was in that place between consciousness and unconsciousness, where dreams enter into reality but fade as quick as a whisp of smoke.
There was a faint dripping of water, or at least I hoped that it was water and not something else. The sound echoed throughout the space, constant, faint, and incredibly irritating. It was a familiar sound and confused my clouded mind, dragging me down into a haunting memory, a living, breathing night terror.
Drip.
Drip.
Scrape.
Drag.
Thump.
Eyes open.
Sam, dead. Again. Only it wasn't Sam, it was Fang.
I screamed out loud, jolting violently from the nightmare. My eyes were open wide, this time in reality. Coming to my senses, I realized with horror that I was not in Fang's warm, comfortable bedroom, but rather in dank, dark room that smelled of mold, bleach, and—
Oh, mother of all zebras, what was that smell?
I gagged, trying to expel the foul air from my ghostly lungs, wondering why I had that awful human habit of breathing. It's not like I had to, I'm an angel, I didn't need oxygen, or any other gaseous, liquid, or solid substance, just the Light.
Once I had heaved up enough of my lungs so as to not have the involuntary urge to upchuck all the non-existent food from my purposeless stomach, I took another look around at my surroundings.
The walls were concrete, as was the floor of the room. It appeared to be a basement, and the smell confirmed it. I was tied to a chair, my hands and ankles bound tightly. I wiggled my wrist around, trying to phase through the rope, but my hands stayed in place. Again, I tried to free myself, tugging at the ropes around my wrists and ankles to no avail. Leaning forward, I tried to capture a glance of what held me in place.
Wrapped around my ankles was a piece of cloth and over it, a band of pure darkness. The Dark. The lifeblood of the demons and their weapon to command, it thrived in the dark of the night and shriveled in the light of the sun. With its absence, demons were less powerful during the daytime hours, but no less dangerous or deadly.
I felt a burst of panic and thrashed about in a another futile attempt to free myself, as I struggled, the Dark became agitated and expanded, growing whip-like tassels along its outer rim. The ends just barely made contact with my skin, immediately I seized up, my mouth open wide with a silent scream. I couldn't feel the pain, my brain could not comprehend it, but my body most certainly felt its effects.
Falling, boneless against the back of my chair, I breathed in heavily the noxious air, no longer caring about the smell. Finally, the pain came, as excruciating aftershocks that slowly, ever so slowly, faded with each wave.
Then a creaking sound filled the room. My eyes followed the disturbance to a door, and a monster leaning against its frame, playing with the black knife in his hand.
"Sam."
"That's my name, don't wear it out." He said without care.
I gave him an incredulous look.
He put forth a thoughtful expression at my reaction. "Eh, guess that phrase isn't really my style. What about—" He drew the words out as he approached me, twirling the knife around. "I'm thinking about becoming a carpenter," Sam spoke, placing the knife against my check as I leaned as far from the evil blade and its owner as possible. "What to help me practice my carving skill?"
The demon then slashed my cheek with the dark blade, I gave a short yelp, and almost instantaneously dribbles of Light escaped from my body, luminescent in the dim room as they leaked onto the ground.
"Hmm, much better." Sam said with a grin. I glared at him.
"Isn't it a demon's job to lure souls into Hell, not torture demons? If so, you make a terrible demon, what have you done for the last century? Searched for me endlessly in hopes of vengeance? You're so pathetic and petty as demon, Sam." I spat at the monster.
Without warning, he cut another slash across my skin, this time against my thigh.
"Shut up, you are the reason why I am a demon. If I am pathetic and petty, it is only because you made me so." Sam yelled, anger seeping into his voice.
Clenching my teeth to distract myself from the pain of my lifeblood leaving my body, I tilted my head back and met the eyes of the body in which my friend had once inhabited.
"I didn't make you choose the life of a demon, Sam. You gave up. You didn't trust our Father or us to find and save you. I know you remember the knife, how we cried and screamed for you when we thought you were dead. You gave up on us, Sam, and put your trust in the devils that damned and destroyed you, and gave only the offer of a half-life as a return." Compassion and despair filled my voice.
"I may be damned to Hell, but I'm not the only one living a half-life. I've watched you Maxi, when you're with that boy, when you're alone. I've seen that look in your eye. You hate this life and long for life as a human." His voice took on an alluring charm, sickening and sweet as poison. He was trying to tempt me, in the most blatant way. It disgusted me, but I couldn't help but listen as my body weakened little by little, the Light gathering in pools on the stained concrete.
"What if I told you there was a way you could become human?"
My ears perked up.
Become human? Be able to feel, touch, love—no, he's lying don't listen to him. He is Mephistopheles now, the tempter. He is just trying to trick you into selling yourself to those he serves.
"Oh, Max, don't you want to make your fantasy a reality? Don't you want to know the secret to becoming human?" The monster whispered in my ear, I shook my head, trying to lean away, but the bands of the dark substance held me still.
"No? Oh, surely that is a lie. Angels aren't supposed to lie, Maxi, you should be ashamed." The demon chided, circling me like a vulture. "I've seen how you look at that boy; you want to be with him so badly."
My breath caught and I jerked to look up at Sam.
"What are you talking about, what do you mean? Angels don't love like humans do, they can't." I sputtered out the words. "I'm just very overprotective of him, that's all. He's my responsibility and he is a good boy—man—whatever!"
He squatted down in front of me with a look of pity that made me feel small, inadequate, and uninformed. Stop it! Stop! Don't let him affect you, he is a demon, he is trying to make you doubt.
"Is that the lie they told you in Heaven, little spirit? Angels love deeply and intensely with every fiber of their being, how do you think so many have taken the plunge, becoming Fallen and demons?" He spoke with such conviction that I almost believed him, or maybe I did. Maybe I was just trying to be the good little angel I always failed to be? I always failed, I always failed. Maybe that's why they told me that angels couldn't love as humans loved, because they knew I would fail in that too if I tried?
"No!" I screamed at him. "I won't believe your lies! We are not human—" My voice cracked at the fact. "We were not meant for this world." I blinked back tears. Funny how I had not shed one tear for the gashes on my face and thigh that throbbed with pain, or when the ropes of darkness grazed my skin, but at the realization of this simple truth, I had steams of tears run like rivers down my cheeks. The salty water flooded my face and stung the gash that broke the skin of my face.
"How do you know?" Sam tried again to tempt me into doubt.
"This world belongs to man, and I will do everything that I can do to help humanity and my ward." Lifting my chin up, I spoke with conviction.
"Even at the expense of your own desires, the cost of possible love?"
I nodded, my heart ached quietly.
"I've met your ward, spoken to him." I stiffened at his announcement. "He isn't much, hardly put together at all and so gullible." My eyes blazed with fury, how dare this demon go near my ward? If he laid one finger on him, I'll—argh! My anger was so great I could not even think of what horrible deed I would unleash upon Sam if he had harmed Fang. "Is all this pain you endure for this human, your ward, really worth it?"
I did not answer, but rather concentrated on gathering the fallen Light to use as a tool to free myself. Slowly, it formed into two sharp blades and began to saw away at the dark bonds that entrapped me.
"You know he won't last long, eventually he will destroy himself. By the blade or by the bottle, it doesn't matter. You will fail, Max, as you always do. You are the weak link that will cause Heaven to fall. The souls will belong to Hell, you cannot save them all. I plan on your ward's soul joining me there soon, and I will torture him with you. Slowly, each day in Hell, your Light will dim and exhaust itself, and in that moment that the Light dies within you, I will cut out your heart. Then I will pour the dark lifeblood of Hell into the empty vessel you leave behind as you fade into nothing. I will turn you into the thing you hate the most, and make your ward, your love, watch in horror." He vowed menacingly, the darkness writhing around his body like a snake.
I felt my bonds loosen and fall away. Immediately I leapt from the chair, gathering the Light I threw it with all my might at the monster. The ball of energy hit him square in the chest, causing him to be catapulted into the concrete wall behind him. I raced through the door and walls of the abandoned house above, hobbling and phasing the entire time, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling the phasing left me with and the pain from my thigh.
Suddenly I was greeted with the warm rays of the sun. I paused, but only for a short moment, to take in the wonderful smell of fresh air before I thrust myself into the air.
A/N
Me: So what do you guys think? Do you think Sam will fulfill his vow to turn Max into a demon? What about Fang, how do you think he has been fairing since Sam told him Max was dead? Will Max ever realize that she actually does love Fang? Tell me your thoughts, I'm begging to know! *puppy dog face* Review and tell me what you think pretty, preeeeeeeeeetty please!
BFF: I wanna know what's going on with Faaaaaaaannnnnnggggg!
Me: Why don't you ask him?
*Fang appears out of thin air*
BFF: OH MY GOSH! FANG!
Fang: *slowly uncovers ears* Ouch.
BFF: Oops! Sorry, I just got excited! Sooooooo what's going on with you?
Fang: Same old, same old.
BFF: So, like you went back to drinking and cutting?
Fang: Whoa wait, what? I don't cut, and I'd like to drink a beer every once in a while, but Max is all against it, saying that "we need to be good examples to the younger kids" and everything—
BFF: Huh? What are you talking about? You're supposed to be giving me the inside scoop on Wander's story.
Me: *checks portable teleporting device* Whoops, looks like I grabbed the wrong Fang. This one is the original Fang.
Fang: Original? Wait, Wander, did you write another story about Max and me?
Me: Yeah, I've been working on this story for some time.
BFF: So if he's the original, he can't tell us whether or not story Fang has gone back to cutting and drinking, gone off the deep end, or is currently kissing some random girl to drown his sorrows?
Fang: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wander! What have you done to me? BFF made story me sound extremely messed up!
Me: Well, you kind of are a bit out-of-control, depressed, and self-destructive in this story—
BFF: —on account of your girlfriend having died in a car wreck that you both were in.
Fang: WHAT?
Me: Yeah, story you has survivor's guilt because of it.
Fang: YOU KILLED OFF MY GIRLFRIEND IN YOUR STORY?
Me: Yeah.
BFF: You two were at a red light and she unbuckled her seatbelt so she could kiss you, and ka-blam! Truck hits the car and dead girlfriend.
Me: You know, BFF, you're not very sensitive at the moment. I mean this was Fang's girlfriend, how do you think he feels about you talking about her death like that?
Fang: YOU KILLED OFF MAX?
BFF: *laughs hysterically*
Me: What? No. Your girlfriend was Maya.
Fang: What. The. Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppp! (Due to the vulgarity of this word, it has been removed, enjoy your censorship! LOL)
Me: But in the story Maya was a great person, you met her before you met Max in this story and you loved her.
Fang: *repeatedly says his previous statement (censorship included)*
BFF: Sheesh, Fang! Calm it down, there might be children reading!
Me: One of my biggest fears is that my future children will not like to read. I think I would be absolutely heartbroken if that happened.
Fang: Back on topic! Where does Max come in this story?
BFF: She's your guardian angel.
Me: And Sam is an evil demon.
Fang: Nice, now that I like.
Me: Good, now let's— *teleport device malfunctions and blows up in a puff of smoke*
BFF: Well isn't that just wonderful.