V A L E R I A
This school has a serial killer.
As I fly through the night, I can still feel them tucking some hair behind my ear. But now my hair is back in a braid so that it does not get ruined by the windy night.
I land, the building appearing before my eyes, I retract my wings and enter.
"Gabriel?" I call out. He steps into view, he sees the look on my face.
"It's happened again," he says. "Hasn't it?"
I nod. I rush over to him and give him a big hug. He hugs me back tightly.
"I saw them," I tell him as I pull away. "They had no face. It was pure darkness."
Gabriel nods. He says, the words feeling gross for him to say, "That's a demon."
It was no longer speculation. A demon was at school, targeting the angels, trying to wipe us out. But they spared me. They don't think I'm an angel. I felt good that I was doing such a good job, but felt nauseous from anxiety knowing the others had been getting found out.
"I've been seeing things in my dreams, Gabriel," I tell him. "I don't know how to explain it. It feels like an impending doom - I see darkness, corruption, I see demons walking this Earth in our blood."
Gabriel places his hands on my face, my facial expression strained from worry. He says calmly, "That will not happen, Valeria. The demons will never walk this Earth. We're safe here - you need to figure out which student it is."
I nod. I need to do it for all of them, and the ones who have been killed. What I see in my head, all the death, all the screams,
I must prevent it.
𓆩♡𓆪
It's hard to focus as I sit in class. I haven't said what I saw last night because I don't want to become a target. The faceless killer already spared me once, but I worried that if I went around confirming the rumors, I would make myself a target.
"It's time for everybody's favorite part of school....working in pairs!" the teacher exclaims, and everybody starts to groan.
"But, I want the witches to use certain liquids..." the teacher looks at who was sitting closest to the door. Me. "Valeria and Mr. Priest, can you guys please go to the supply closet and grab some Rosemary bottles?"
I nod. I look over at Adonis, he doesn't nod, but he stands up.
I haven't spoken to him in a few days, not since we were on the school trip. It felt a little awkward as he walked behind me.
We step into the closet together. I look around for the rosemary, while Adonis just stands there, leaning against the door.
I grunt after a while of not being able to find it. I say, "Are you gonna help me look for it? Or just stand there?"
"Just stand here," he replied. I rolled my eyes. I nearly forgot how frustrating he was over the past few days.
"Come on, Valeria, you're a smart girl. You'll find it," he says.
"It's literally not in here!" I say. "But you admit that I'm smart?"
He points to the top shelf. I look up and see the rosemary. He says sarcastically, "Yes, Valeria, so smart."
I roll my eyes again. I try and reach it, but I can't. After a few tries, Adonis asks me, "Do you want me to get it?"
"No, I'll get it," I say, trying to jump up and grab it, but I miss it again.
He sighs, "Come on, Valeria, this is pathetic."
He steps forward, and I say, "No, stop it, I can get it."
"You clearly can't."
"I clearly can."
"God, you're so stubborn."
"Wow, you can say God's name without catching on fire?"
He's about to reach the jar while I'm stopping him, trying to prove I don't need to help, we're basically wrestling at this point.
A loud announcement suddenly comes through the speaker, "All students are to remain exactly where they are. All doors will be locked. Another student has been found deceased."
Another? I wondered which other angel it was this time. Other than me, there were only 7 left.
"Stuck in a closet with you," he nearly mutters. "How fun."
"No way, I'm not staying in here," I say. I go to the door and try to open it, but it's been spelled shut. I let out a sigh.
"Great," I say.
I stand, leaning against the shelf in silence, waiting for the door to finally be unlocked.
One full hour passed without either of us saying a word, all that could be heard was the old air conditioning system. I wondered what was taking so long.
"Stop doing that," he says at the sound of me playing with my bracelet.
"Or else?" I tilt my head.
His dark eyebrows lower. He says, "You know, Valeria, if anybody else talked to me the way you did they would've been dead long ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry I don't talk to you like other girls as if you're royalty," I say sarcastically. "I know that's what you're used to."
"Royalty in one way or another," he says, making my eyebrows lower.
I started thinking about last night. The faceless killer. The one that I know is going around with a mission to wipe my species out. I didn't notice it showed on my face until Adonis asked me, "What's wrong?"
My relationship with Adonis was strange. I couldn't tell if I hated him or considered him a friend. He has helped me, multiple times, and despite the things he says to me I find myself trusting him. Maybe I truly could. Or maybe it's the clouded judgment from being an angel.
"Can I trust you with something, Adonis?" I asked him.
He nodded. This time he wasn't sarcastic. I swallow.
"I saw the killer without a face last night," I tell him. "The other guy was telling the truth."
Adonis doesn't react much. That didn't surprise me, of course he wouldn't be scared, I was sure he could hold his own against a demon.
"So there's a serial killer," he says. I nod. I don't mention anything about them being a demon or targetting angels. "Who do you think it is?"
I didn't know. I didn't suspect anybody yet suspected everybody at the same time.
"I don't know," I sigh. "Maybe you?"
It was a joke. I didn't believe it to be Adonis. I had been around him so much, if he was a demon, he would've figured me out by now. He takes a step toward me, my back hits the wall behind me as he towers over me, looking down as a black strand of hair falls onto his forehead.
The air suddenly felt so difficult to breathe.
"If I was the serial killer, I would've killed you by now," he says. His voice is so deep, so calm. "Maybe it's you."
The front of his body is nearly touching mine. I wished for once to see emotion on his face, but as usual, there was nothing to be seen.
"Maybe," I say. "Think I'm capable of that?"
I wasn't one to usually feel intimidated. But as an emotionless man who is nearly a foot taller than me has me stuck in this closet with my back against the wall, I did feel it. With his veiny hands with silver rings, I knew he could rip me apart, and from stories I've heard he has. Yet all his hands have done is heal me.
"I think you're too kind," he says. "That's what makes you weak."
"Weak?" I question.
"Yes, weak," he nods. "Kindness is weakness and selfishness is the key to survival."
I knew he was selfish. Didn't care about anybody besides himself. People speak about him as if he were an urban legend, I know that typically it's the selfish who survive, as the selfless get walked on.
Whoever the demon is, I'm not going to slip up, I'm not going to make it that easy for them. Angels, while pure, can also be very deceptive. It's what has kept us alive, the ability to lie.
I suddenly didn't remember how he got so close to me. I wondered if his eyes moved toward my lips or if I had just imagined that.
"The doors are now unlocked," the principal says over the announcement, and Adonis takes a step back, I feel as if I can breathe again.
But then my breath is quickly taken from me again as I hear, "The victim was Aaron Johnson. There has been a memorial at his door for anybody who wants to leave flowers."
Aaron? He wasn't an angel, but he was my friend. Tears wanted to burn my eyes. I fought them back although I knew they'd come out later. First angels, now one of my closest friends? Why was I losing so many people? I wondered if I was the target, I was the one they wanted to hurt, or maybe my thoughts were just self-absorbed.
"I'm sorry, Valeria," Adonis says. "I know he was your friend."
I nod, it's hard to mumble a 'thank you,' but I do. I exit the closet, the hallway air feeling so much fresher, as I had now lost another friend.
Word Count: 1549