The Angel's War

Prologue

                                                              Aerie

I am the fire. I was passionate; I was all- powerful. I was tamed.

Prologue

I slowly opened my eyes, the memories of last night escaping me. I could remember up until I met my dealer behind his apartment, but after then I had no recollection of what had happened. I looked around the white-washed room, but it held no clues towards my situation. It looked familiar in the same way a taxi is familiar- once you've been in one, you've seen them all.

The smells, however, I could easily place, even if I had just woke up from a late night of running from the people I had freed myself from a few years ago. I could feel my body reacting to the touchy memories- my eyes watered, but my heart hardened over- and I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, and focused on remembering. The strongest smells were the alcohol, vomit, and drugs- the smells that I had been waking up to for years. I took a moment to feel the sheets I was lying on- a habit I had quickly picked up, for it was an easy way of figuring out where I had been sleeping- thin, like they always were. That was, if I could get a bed.

"You're awake." I rolled onto my side once I heard the voice. I couldn't place it, though I knew that I should. I looked at the chair on the other side of the otherwise empty room. In it sat a boy. He had long black hair, and striking emerald eyes. I immediately recognized the eyes. Although no one knew the real names of anybody, we still had names for each other. This was Wicked, and although I had never met him, I knew everything there was to know about him. He was, after all, my biggest competitor. I nodded, wishing he would come over to me.

As if hearing my thoughts, he slowly sauntered over to me, taking his time. I smiled, knowing what he was doing. I watched him, begging with my eyes for him to come, as he took off his shirt. Even at 15, we were both well-known on the streets for being good at what we did.

He walked around to the other side of the bed, and sat down. I rose up to meet him, but fell back in shock once I realized that the painkillers had worn off, and the feeling that someone was twisting a knife through my stomach. As if he knew, he lay down beside me, and put his arm around me. I knew what it meant- go to sleep. We can do this later. Deep down, I was thankful. The only reason I had come to him was protection. Most people around here weren't on the streets by choice- they were orphans, or homeless. I, however, was one of the few who ran away. I don't regret running away, but still. I had more than most people here. At least I had a roof over my head. But I had an abusive father- that's why I ran away. That's why I'll stay away. And, that's why I'll always be hunted. All because I saw an opportunity, and I took it.

"Just relax, Kesi. You'll never sleep if your mind is that confused," The boy said. He didn't use my real name either, but that didn't matter. He twirled a lock of my hair on his finger. I took in a deep breath, halting everything in my mind. I slowly let the breath out, letting myself sink into him. "Kesi. I'll always be here for you. Always," he said. He kissed the top of my head, and finally let me settle.

I jerked away from the memory, snapping my eyes open. I rolled over the thin mattress, expecting to run into the boy from my memory. Instead, I found only thin air. I groaned, realizing just how involved I had gotten with him. Rule one, Aerie. Don't get involved. And what had I done? Become so involved that I was actually hoping he would still be there when I woke up.

I had just come here for protection. I was jerked from my thoughts by the door to the empty room being jerked open. "Get out- now!" I lept up, hearing the truthfulness in the boy's voice as he rushed into the room. I heard a car screech to a stop outside, and I swore, knowing what the familiarity meant. For a brief second, I stared into to young boy's eyes. They said what he could not: I'm sorry it had to end this way.

I rushed down the stairs, but by then I knew there was no point. I was sick of running, of hiding from my problems. I stood at the bottom of the stairs, just inside the door, as I made up my mind. I stood perfectly sill as the door banged open, and the rough hands grabbed me. I didn't flinch as the hand slapped me, for I had felt much worse than this man could ever do to me. As I was dragged to the car, I could feel the eyes trained on my back of a man who realized he had just made his biggest mistake.