Blink {Featured}

Chapter Thirty Two

'Why are mortals so fucking heavy,' she growled under her breath, her arms tucked under John's slack ones. She dragged him nearer to the bed, snarled at the reek of his sticky armpits. With one last heave, she hefted John onto the bed and threw in a swear word for good measure. 'God, would you look at this human fate has shat on.' Of course God wasn't answering, but he couldn't stop her talking to him. She noticed John's hair had been cut and he'd shaved. Even his clothes had changed--he now wore ragged jeans and a white t-shirt. Seems he'd been in the Blink longer than she'd thought. 'Why John, you're such a handsome fellow under all that hair.' She stroked his face. Fate had been cruel, but she could be kind. The angel laid her hands on John's wound and prayed.

John murmured at her touch.

'Wake up,' she whispered in his ear when she had finished. His eyes fluttered open.

'How has he learned to Blink Sem? How?' John croaked in the dark, his eyes searching for her face and not finding it.

She shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see her. 'I have no fucking clue whatsoever John. I don't even know how you do it. But we need to stop him, I have contacted Marty. He's coming over now, so you can tell him who this bastard is.'

Semila sat on the carpet, closed her eyes, crossed her legs, thought about soft, fluffy clouds and flower petals raining around her. A light shone from the other side of her eyelids and spoiled her escape plan. John must have switched on the light. She sighed again through her nose as water tinkled into a glass and she heard John slurping at the liquid. Soon he'd come to the inevitable conclusion that they needed help, they had to wait for Marty.

'It won't save Charlie will it?' John said.

Semila opened her eyes.

'I need to go back and stop him, Sem, I have to save Charlie.' The glass clacked on the table and John swung his legs over the bed, grasping the support rail. As he stood up he flexed his toes and raised an eyebrow. 'Thanks for the help with the leg.'

Surely he was about to sigh, confess that they couldn't do this without help.

She sat unmoving, waiting for him to say it. John picked up the photograph he'd entered earlier that day and sat beside her.

'Give me your hand Sem,' he said, 'The Collector told me not to bring you along.'

His palms felt clammy, but then hers did too. She looked at him, at the photo. She opened her mouth to speak but found herself hurtling through the darkness chased by evil.

JOHN FINNIE

'Fucking imps!' Semila screamed, kicked. 'I fucking hate imps! Bloody demon wannabes!'

John guided them towards the photograph. A long clawed hand grabbed at Semila's face as they rocketed forwards, but it retracted fast as Semila transformed into a beacon of light. They streaked, a bright comet hurtling to the photo, but the dark bled closer and closer like a dark tide of shadow devouring their hopes. Was the evil in the darkness too much for one angel to push back?

John said nothing, he just concentrated as hard as he could as they weaved and bobbed their way past things he didn't have time to look at. Shapes, things gone as soon as they'd appeared. Semila held on tight, dragged along like a flag in the wind.

The photo loomed ahead almost catching John unaware, and so he punched out hard as they neared it. The sudden stop almost wrenched his arm from its socket as he rolled head over heels down a grassed bank. John was through but only Sem's arm was in, and he could see the hoard of evil behind her closing in fast.

He could see her face squashed up against an invisible barrier. 'Leave me,' she mouthed as he ran back to her and tugged at her arm.

The veins on his forehead popped out as he heaved with all his might, but she didn't budge. He looked up again and they locked eyes, Sem's voice flowed into his mind.