Chapter Nineteen
Facing a Monster?
Solomon again stared wordlessly at Diablo.
"Holy Moses…. Shalom…" he murmured.
Angela swallowed hard and Diablo could see how fearful she looked as he had listened to her words.
"You tortured people?" Solomon gasped "How…how could you?"
Diablo cocked his head on one side.
"Why not?" he asked.
"You hurt people; you did bad things to them!" Solomon demanded.
"They were sinners! Scratch that! They are sinners!" Diablo snarled "And they are not punished enough by the law, so I do it for them! Many of my followers had been treated with contempt and less than human, and they struck back at the ones who ruined them when they mutated, and now they follow me willingly."
Solomon swallowed again and looked at Angela.
"Are you hearing this Angie?" he asked "This…this…. mutant bird…"
"Raven!" Diablo corrected.
"Whatever!" Solomon spat "But aren't you afraid?"
Angela looked at Solomon and back at Diablo.
"I am.." she said "But…he…he's more than just… Just…."
She wasn't sure what words to use to describe the mutant Raven before her, when she met him at the Falls, she had been scared, as anyone would be to see a walking talking raven as tall as the average man, who attacked people (Or in Diablo's words, bad people) but there was something about him that made her want to know more about him, especially after she realised they had something in common.
"Just what?" Solomon asked.
"I don't know exactly." Angela replied "But I just want to know more…"
Diablo walked over.
"I hope I have gained your trust Angela." He said, "After all, I give you mine."
Solomon glared and placed his hand on Angela's shoulder protectively.
"I just want to make it clear Raven!" he said "Can you give me your word you won't hurt us? Or take advantage of us?"
Diablo frowned appalled but he did understand the young man's point and from what he saw, he was protective of Angela.
"I give you my word…" he paused as he gestured his hand to Solomon to address him, yet he remembered he hadn't learnt his name.
"Solomon…" Solomon said, "My name is Solomon Todros."
"Charmed." Diablo nodded his head.
Angela looked at Solomon who looked back at her.
"Might as well be polite." He mouthed.
"I give you my sincere promise, Solomon, Angela, that I am not here to hurt you, or anything like that, in fact, people like you, are people I wish to protect, from sinners, just like that night when you were almost mugged Angela, and you Solomon, I can see are part of the Jewish faith?"
"How do you know that?!" Solomon asked with shock but then he realised that Diablo saw the kippah he wore and assumed.
"Oh right…. yeah…" he placed a hand on his kippah and nodded and he then blinked and turned to Angela.
"You never told me that you were attacked!" he said.
Angela then remembered and she looked embarrassed.
"Oh…yes…" she said, "It was after we had dinner at the diner, I was around the corner from my house when you and I parted ways, and I was grabbed by a drug addict, and he demanded money from me."
"And you didn't tell me?" Solomon asked.
"Well, I didn't want to worry you!" Angela explained.
"It's understandable." Diablo agreed.
Angela then looked at Diablo.
"When I was being attacked." She said, "He swooped down and got the druggie off me, yet I was so overwhelmed I fainted."
"What she says is true." Diablo clarified "Though I would have liked to have done something about that thug that attacked you Angie, he deserved more than been scared off by me."
Solomon blinked at Angela.
"So, it wasn't the first time you encountered him?" he asked pointing at Diablo.
"It's Diablo!" Diablo snapped "And don't point at me!"
Solomon lowered his hand, but he continued to question Angela.
"You've encountered him twice?" he asked.
"In a way yes." Angela replied, "But the first time I wasn't sure what he saw at the time, I thought I was seeing things at first, but then the second time, I realised I wasn't mad, and he was real!"
Solomon looked between the two of them and shook his head.
"This is too much!" he cried "This is just too much!"
"Solomon?" Angela asked in confusion.
"I'm sorry Angie." Solomon said, "But I gotta go home, I don't think I can take anymore!" he stood up from the bleachers and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Angela cried grabbing Solomon's arm.
"I'm sorry Angela!" Solomon snapped as he pulled his arm free of Angela's "But this is just crazy! Truly crazy!"
"Hey! Hey!" Diablo said walking over "Come on Man! I get it, I felt the same when I encountered others after I was mutated!"
The Raven understood how Solomon felt, being overwhelmed with shock at being confronted by a mutant, though in this case it was just one mutant and not a whole city like in Mutopia.
"Look man!" Diablo reasoned "I know you're shocked, and wondering if you've gone insane, but I assure you, I may look like a monster, but I am not one you should fear, but if this is too much for you, you have my blessing to leave!"
He then turned to Angela.
"And if you want to join him, you're welcome to as well! I won't stop you!"
Angela looked at Diablo then at Solomon.
"I won't stop you either Angie." Solomon said, "But I suggest you be careful, and please text or call me alright?" he held up his phone.
Angela nodded at Solomon.
"I wish to talk to Diablo." She said, "After how we spoke at the falls."
Solomon sighed.
"Very well Angie." He said "But just…. just let me know you're okay? Alright?"
"I will!" Angela promised "I will."
She walked over to Solomon and faced him, placing her hands on his arms.
"I promise I will be okay." She said fervently "And will you let me know when your home?"
Solomon placed his hands on Angela's shoulders.
"I will." He promised.
Angela then hugged Solomon.
"Thank you for coming with me." She said, "You're a real friend."
Solomon hugged her back.
"Anything for you." He said giving her a weak smile.
He hugged Angela again then left the baseball field.
Angela watched him go then turned back to Diablo.
The Raven folded his arms.
"It's no surprise he cannot take what he has experienced just now." He said, "I doubt anyone could."
Angela said nothing as she watched Solomon leave.
"Why did you bring him here with you?" Diablo asked.
Angela turned to Diablo.
"I have always been taught when I meet strangers that I bring someone I trust so that I am safe, and Solomon is one I trust deeply."
"And how so?" Diablo asked.
Angela walked back to the bleachers and sat down and explained how she and Solomon had gotten through High School together after she had suffered her grief at losing Nigel.
"Solomon and I stuck by each other, mainly because he was a victim of bullying because of his Jewish faith and because I was hurting from losing my brother."
Diablo kept quiet as he listened.
"Shows how faithful a friend he is."
Angela nodded.
"He promised to look after me and help me move forward." She said, "After Nigel was gone."
Diablo sat next to Angela.
"Are you happy to talk about Nigel?" he asked, "After I told you about my sister?"
Angela looked up at Diablo.
Looking into the Raven's eyes, as much as she was still slightly scared of him, she could see some compassion, as well as a want to know and understand her pain, and in a way, she could see the same pain she felt reflected in him.
"Okay…" she said and took a deep breath.
Meanwhile, Solomon made it back to the town and he was almost at his house.
He looked around to make sure he wasn't being followed and he soon made it to the front gate of his house then crept around the back so he could sneak back to his room.
He hoped against hope that no-one had woken and realised he had been missing.
As quiet as a mouse he went to the back of the house where there was a conservatory, and he climbed the drainpipe onto the roof and to the open window that led to his bedroom.
Solomon climbed in and he saw his bed as well as the door closed, just like he had left it making him feel relieved.
"Thank goodness for that." He thought, then he sent a text to Angela saying he was home safe and that they would talk tomorrow after her shift.
Solomon then got back into his night clothes and got into bed, yet he lay awake for a long time, wondering if Angela was alright, or at least in her right mind to talk to Diablo.
"This is insane." He thought to himself, "A mutant raven, the very one the news was talking about, and we met him!"
He pinched the back of his hand wondering if all he had experienced was a bad dream, but he didn't seem to wake up from it.
He looked back at his phone.
"I'm not dreaming." He thought to himself "But I'm going to wait for Angela to text me saying she's safe before I go to sleep." He sighed and lay his head on the pillow staring at his phone.
Meanwhile, outside, a couple of male figures emerged from the shadows in an alleyway near Solomon's house.
"You saw him go in there?" the first voice asked.
"Ah huh!" the second voice said, "Dirty Jew! I betcha anything he's behind the attacks on our friends!"
"Well, he's gonna get it cumin' for sure!" the first one smirked as they both walked out of the shadows revealing themselves to be two men in blue jeans and black t-shirts sporting the Nazi symbol as well as wearing balaclavas and gloves.
"Right…I think we're safe to strike…."
So after meeting Diablo, Solomon felt he couldn't take anymore and left to go home, whilst Angela's decided to stay and talk to the Raven some more.
yet as Solomon has returned home, he's been spotted by some Neo Nazi's! What are they going to do?
Well find out in the next chapter!