16 July 2012
Ryan I arrived home, feeling glad that Anna hadn't had to walk home in the rain. For the past week, Anna had been staying with us, as mom hadn't figured out where she lived or anything because of the amnesia. Mom even spent about half an hour a day last week searching through missing teenager files, to see if anyone had a picture of Anna that would tell us who she is. Unfortunately, so far she'd found nothing like that. After hearing what Anna had said about angels, I doubted she would find anything. I finished my history and maths homework, and watched television for a while. But after a few hours I became worried. Mom and Anna hadn't come home yet, and it was now 7:00. They should have been home at 5:00, or mum would've called me. It always worked like that. Any later than 5:00 and she would update me with a different time. It was almost as though she couldn't relax until she'd told me. So when she didn't call, I was worried. At 7:30, when I was considering walking the five miles to her work - my bike was currently at the garage, out of action - her car pulled up on the drive. She flung open the door and raced into the house, shouting "Ryan!" at the top of her lungs as she came in. When she saw me, looking completely bemused, she hugged me. Which simply made me even more bemused. "Mom, what's wrong?" I asked. I paused, thinking for a moment. "And where's Anna?" She took in a deep breath, before sitting down. I sat beside her. I had no idea what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what she came out with. "Ryan, I don't know what happened. I thought something might have happened to you, too. She'd been sat there, calming the patients, until everyone was gone. I went to close everything up when there was a loud noise and clattering. I went to see what it was and found Tina, the receptionist, lying unconscious among the glass from her office. Anna was gone." She choked out. My eyes widened as my jaw lowered slightly in an expression of surprise. That was the last thing I'd been expecting - Anna kidnapped. But she'd fought off that HellHound! She couldn't have been kidnapped. Could she? "All that was left behind was this note. It was by Tina's foot." She passed me the note. It read: "We have taken 2. You will not get her back. But, it may please you to know that she healed the human woman. Then she came with us, willingly. The angel has returned home." Taped to the back of the note was a pale blonde - maybe closer to a light golden colour - feather. /Anna's feather./ I stared at it. "But if they hurt Tina, surely she wouldn't have gone with them willingly." "I've just finished calming Tina down, she was so distressed. Apparently she saw the whole thing from where she was, but fell unconscious after they left. That was all I could understand, as she was distraught and talking quickly and making no sense. Maybe you could talk to her tomorrow, see if you can understand her. Or cheer her up." She said. She looked sad. Even more sad than when a patient dies for no apparent reason. But maybe that was because mom knew this patient.
Mom and the two other doctors had the next day off, as the clinic was closed for repairs. Mom also got the day of school for me, saying something about family problems and me 'having trouble coping'. I went down to the clinic briefly with mom when she'd went to pick up a medical journal, and there were shards of glass everywhere. The wood that had been below the glass - where Tina normally stood - had been dented with a Tina-sized-shape. The door lay crumpled on the floor, with a boot mark in the middle of it. 'Must've been a pretty strong demon to be able to kick the door down.' I thought. 'Especially from the inside.' When we'd come back, I began to wonder what Tina had seen. Would she know something? "Mom, could we check on Tina later? See how she's holding up, emotionally?" I asked. Mom thought. "Ask her some questions about what happened yesterday?" She continued. I shrugged. "Well, if we happened to be over there..." She smiled. "Your a sneaky one, Ryan. You'd make a good lawyer." We reached Tina's house fairly quickly, and knocked timidly on the door. I hoped she was okay. I also hoped she knew where Anna was. "Harriet!" Tina cried as she swung open the door, racing forward and embracing her. Tina's brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, and it bounced around as she hugged mom. When she turned to me, her amber coloured eyes brimming with tears as she hugged me. "I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm so sorry." She whispered in my ear. I hugged her back, but I felt emotionless. Empty. She released me, and we went into her house. She brought tea and coffee as we sat on various armchairs and sofas in her house. "I presume you want to know what happened yesterday?" Tina asked me, taking a big glug of coffee. Feeling guilty about it, I nodded. She smiled sadly. "I liked Anna. She had this calming affect. When the old one, Maria, touched Anna's hand she calmed right down. As did the other patients, even a rowdier one. She was likeable. Nice." She paused, swallowing. "Then a man came in, just as we were closing. He froze when he saw Anna, of at least I heard his feet stop moving. Then they fought. But I didn't even notice, because I was reading an email from one of our patients. I did look up when Anna thumped the door, though. Then I realised what was going on. She looked terrified." Tina's voice caught. "So I went and stood in front of her. To protect her." She uttered a harsh laugh, devoid of emotion. Humourless. "Fat lot of good that did her. The man knocked me aside easily, saying 'Get out of my way or feel pain, human.'" She shook her head, as though that would dislodge the memory. "My memories are a bit fuzzy after that." She paused, thinking. " I remember Anna pulling glass out of my arm. I remember Anna stood above me, with her hands on my head. I remember my cuts disappearing, but she started bleeding instead. I think I imagined that bit, but it seemed so real. I even felt warmth when the cuts were disappearing." She shrugged. "I suppose I did imagine it." She took a sip of coffee, shakily, and continued "Then he dragged her out, but she didn't really get dragged. It was like she went willingly. She walked in front of him, one hand behind her back, as though he'd handcuffed her or something." I stared at her. "That's what you remember?" I asked. She nodded. "Yes. Barely anything else though, I fell unconscious shortly after." I thought briefly. "What did this man look like?" I thought of Uro. "He had dark blue eyes, and a black cloak. He had dark skin, because I saw flashes of it from under the cloak, and part of it looked burned or singed as though he'd been in a fire. It was strange. He also had a gravelly voice, a deep laugh, and smelt like rot." Her nose crumpled at the thought. "Rot...." I whispered. Rotting smell. Dark eyes. Demon. A demon had taken Anna. I'd already guessed this though. That wasn't the most important question. Why had he taken her?
Just occured to me that if he's American, Ryan would refer to his mother as 'mom' instead of 'mum'. Wierd to have to think about, but still - as you can most likely tell, I'm English through and through. Edited to suit this realisation.
Crossfire.12 • Opuss № I