The Angel Awakens

Chapter 14: The Shadow Figure

Owen was lost. And to make it worse it was in the haunted part of the city.

He'd followed Daryl after he left the locker room to make sure he was alright and, judging by his tottering, he wasn't. When Daryl fell to his knees on an area nobody used near the gym he was going to get Mr. Crawford, or the nurse. But then something weird happened.

Wings grew from Daryl's back.

At first they were just stubs but in the blink of an eye they became full sized wings. They were covered in white feathers and were so large that they practically hid Daryl.

Owen nearly doubled over in shock. He had no idea if what he was seeing was real or some exhaustion induced hallucination. Owen wasn't sure if he should've went to check if Daryl was alright, if he called Mr. Crawford, or called a priest.

He didn't have time to do anything as a winged figure landed near Daryl. Owen hid behind the corner of the gym and watched.
The figure had long blond hair and was shirtless, with a soccer uniform in his hands. Owen realized with a shock that it was Lucas.

They seemed to talk talk about something, but Owen couldn't hear what. He tried to lean closer to listen, but almost fell and found no difference.

Lucas looked in his direction and he quickly hid around he corner. Owen waited a few seconds before looking again. When he did they were flying off. Owen pondered if he should try and follow them and his curiosity got the better of him.

And that was how Owen ended up lost, by looking at the flying teenagers and not where he was going.

After Daryl and Lucas disappeared behind some buildings, Owen wandered around, looking either for where they went or a way out.
He turned a corner and found another block of burned buildings.

"This is what you get for following your old best friend who suddenly gets wings and the second best player of the soccer team." Owen said to himself in a single breath.

He reached the end of the sidewalk and turned another corner. Owen hoped for something different but found everything the same. The same brown buildings with scorch marks on the sides, the same moss growing on the buildings and the same fire hydrant that he was certain he passed a dozen times.

"Oh my gosh!" He yelled, "This place is a maze."
He walked some more until, finally, he found something different.

A run down church.

Owen observed the grey walls, oddly without any scorch marks. There were some damaged statues near its door, one of them lost an arm while the other one had half a body and wings. The bushes were wilted and the flowers drooped, which Owen found odd since they should've been ashes. Oddly enough Owen realized that the church had no signs that a fire had burned it, like it was the only building the fire hadn't affected.

Owen inched forward, the church beckoning him, but then he saw something move in the shadows. He looked around, trying to find what moved, and saw something move again.

Owen started to panic and to remember all the rumors about this part of the city. Like how they say the spirits of the people who burned are still haunting the homes they lived in, or the howls that sometimes come from here, or how the people who entered the area were never seen again.

All that popped into his head as he followed the figure's movements. Finally it stopped in an alley and red eyes appeared in the darkest of shadows. Owen's blood froze and he let out a scream, he didn't care if it was high pitched.

The figure chased after him and Owen ran. He didn't know what it was that was chasing him but he didn't have the courage to look back and find out.
He turned a corner and started repeatedly pleading, "Oh God please help me."

Owen kept running, reluctant to looking back, but his curiosity won and he looked. His chaser had red eyes, that he saw well, and Owen guessed it must have been human, but wasn't sure since his legs sometimes disappeared. It's body was pitch black and he couldn't make out any other features except for the long pointed tail. It let out a screech and Owen ran faster, mentally thanking coach for making them run laps every week during gym.

Owen ran into an alley, hoping it would throw his chaser off his track, but it ended in a dead end.
"No no no." Owen exclaimed, pounding the wall as if it would fall.
He turned around and saw the figure approach the alley's entrance, and only exit.

The figure inched closer, increasing Owen's suspense. Owen looked at the figure and tried to make out its features, but couldn't, it was only a shadow with glowing red eyes.

The shadow was now only a few feet away and Owen fell back on the wall, trying to get as far away from the creature as he could. It loomed over him and Owen started crying, praying to God for help.

The shadow smiled, revealing sharp, white teeth.
"Are you sure God will help you?" The shadow asked, his voice chilling Owen's spine, "Why would he save you?"
"Because, because." Owen said, not sure what to say.
*He's right,* Owen thought, *Why would God help me?*

The shadow smile turned sinister.
"You'll make a perfect host." It said.

It reached for Owen, it's pitch black hand outstretched. Owen stared at it's open hand, almost touching his face. He wasn't sure what the shadow was, but Owen knew this was the end.

That's when a bright light appeared between them. It was so bright Owen could barely look at it.

The shadow let out a bloodcurdling scream before pulling its hand back. The hand was brighter than the rest of the shadow's body, like it was burned, and some of his fingers were shorter.

The figure looked down and Owen followed its gaze. On Owen chest was a light, like the one that protected him, only smaller, and it seemed to be exactly where the cross of his rosary stayed.

"Damn holy object." It said, clutching on to his hand.
Owen had an idea, he quickly held his rosary and moved it closer to the shadow. It hissed and backed up.
"Not so scary now, huh." Owen said, his wobbly knees betraying the confidence in his voice.

The shadow grew wings and Owen stepped back, surprised.
"I may not have possessed you, but I will posses someone, then we'll test your faith." The figure said, it's body disappearing into the shadows.
"I'm not afraid of you." Owen said, trying his best to steady his legs.
As its head dispersed into the shadows the figure let out one last sentence, "You should be."

As soon as Owen was sure it was gone, his legs finally gave out and he fell. He breathed heavy, trying to recollect himself and make sense of what happened. He looked down at his hand, still firmly holding the cross. The light from it had diminished, leaving no evidence that it once shone, but Owen remembered what he saw.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Owen said, holding the rosary close to his mouth.

Owen stood up, holding onto the wall for support, questions swimming around in his head.
What was that thing? He mentally asked himself, Was it a demon?

He guessed it must've been, considering the way he was hurt because of his rosary.
And what's Daryl?
"I don't know," Owen thought out loud, silencing his mind, "But there's one place I might find out."

He ran to the alleys entrance and looked out, seeing if there were any other shadows. When he didn't see any he took a deep breath and took off running, somehow knowing exactly how to get out of there.

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