Gray Clouds

Chapter 7 - Going Home.

The room was dark. So dark. Eli had to take a moment to adjust to the darkness.

Eli could barely make out the silhouette of a chair in the centre of the room. It was a big, wooden one, and it looked unassuming enough. He glanced at his father, who said nothing. He took that as an order to sit down on the chair, since there wasn't really anything else left to do.

The chair felt extremely uncomfortable to Eli, the wood splintered and digging into the underside of his bare legs and back each time they moved, making the scars sting. Gray leaned on the side of the armchair, inspecting it.

"It doesn't seem like it's anything suspicious." Gray commented, his fingers playing with one of the strips of wood poking out from the seat. "I kinda suspected it to be an electric chair."

Eli gulped, his hands balled into fists and gripping his skirt with dread.

His voice escaped in a tiny whisper. "...Dad, what's happening?"

Eli's father shook his head, and Eli felt a hand on his head, patting it softly. "Nothing serious."

He could see his father walking around the chair, stopping just behind Eli. Eli was as good as blind in this room, and the feeling of being shrouded in the unknown gave his heart a painful tug. Gray was the only person he could see clearly in the dark, but even his highlighted figure couldn't illuminate the darkness. He suddenly felt something move in his pocket, writhing itself free.

Rune popped out of his skirt's tiny pocket and smacked onto the ground with a squeak, scurrying out of the room. His tiny rat body was also glowing in the dark like Gray's, only knowing that he had slipped through the door when he could no longer see him. Gray's eyes were trained on Eli's father, and his eyes widened, his teeth suddenly bared.

"Oh, no, you fucking don't."

Eli suddenly felt a feathery wing shove him out of the chair, hitting the cobblestone ground so hard, his hands started to sting. His father's voice echoed in the near-empty room, and he heard something metal clatter onto the floor.

"What the- Why is there a bird in here?!"

Eli stumbled on his feet as he stood up, feeling for the walls. He was blinded when the Church's bright light filled the room like a flashbang as the door slammed open with a 'bang', and Sky entered the room with a gun in his hands, pointing downwards on the floor. Rune was perched on Sky's shoulder.

"Eli! Hurry, no time to explain!" Sky called out, his voice echoing loudly in The Church, and Eli wasted no time running over to Sky, out of the room.

The Church, once filled with the members of The Community for today's Ceremony, was now empty as they had all left to return back home. Empty, except for Sky, Eli and Rune. Sky pushed Eli forwards with urgency, running out of The Church. Eli turned back at the entrance, his heart racing in his chest.

"What... What about Gray?" Eli asked, his voice strained in between pants.

"He's fine." Rune answered. "For now, we need to leave. We're getting you out of here."

"Huh- What?" Eli stammered. "But I can't leave Ramora Lane! Not without me getting in serious trouble!"

"We'll keep you safe." Sky reassured, gently but firmly grasping Eli's sleeve and not letting up on walking further and further away from The Church, away from home. "Now that we know what happens in Condemnation, we cannot afford for you to return here again."

Eli bit his tongue, his breaths shallow as Sky led him out of Ramora Lane. He had so much stuff back home, his entire livelihood including his computer, all of his music projects, his clothes. But he knew that Condemnation had something to do with never returning back to The Community, and he with how Gray and Rune reacted in that room, Eli wouldn't be surprised if Condemnation meant death. His stuff didn't matter right now if his life was in danger.

But that would've meant that his father was trying to kill him. The thought stung his entire being, like the tears that began welling in his eyes. He knew that his father was quite condescending when it came to Eli's identity, but he genuinely thought he had a little bit of love in him. But it turns out, his father was the same as everyone else in The Community, willing to let him go when he proved himself to be a failure, a heretic.

Eli and Sky kept running until they reached unfamiliar territory, completely alien to Eli. He had never been outside of Ramora Lane before, he never even dared approach the other streets. In the distance, Sky led him to a black car. It appeared to be relatively new, its paint sleek and shiny. Sky opened the passenger's seat and helped him inside before jumping into the driver's seat, starting the car. Eli jumped in fright when he heard a tapping on his window. At first he thought it was his father again, but it was just from a magpie knocking its beak on the glass.

Rune's attention was caught by the bird, and he sighed. He jumped from Sky's shoulder and onto Eli's lap, pouncing upwards to open the window, letting the magpie inside.

"Why did you-?"

"Relax, Starboy, it's me." Eli turned to look behind him at the backseats, realising that the magpie was gone. Instead, Gray took its place, lounging lazily on all three of the seats with his wings folded on his sides and his legs crossed. Eli's mouth hung open in shock and utter confusion.

"I- Since when-?"

"Since forever." Gray answered simply, yawning. "Anyone have a cigarette? It took me all my resolve to stop myself from plucking that man's eyes out."

"No." Sky answered, focused on the road as he drove away. Gray groaned in response as Sky took out a walkie-talkie from his pocket, holding it in front of his mouth. "Returning from the location of Case 0193. Bringing a victim of 0193, please provide him a room when we arrive, over."

Rune propped himself on Sky's leg, his body curved as it laid on the detective's thigh. "Us Guardian Angels have animal forms, which are actually seen by anyone... I assume Gray hasn't told you all of this before?"

"No!" Eli shot Gray a glare, and the angel shrugged begrudgingly.

"Since when would I want to reveal that I can turn into a bird?" Gray rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't that mean Rune has an angel form, too?" Eli asked Sky curiously.

"Yes, but he doesn't show it often." Sky answered. "For good reason, too."

"Better than having to crouch if I don't want to smack my head against the top of a doorframe." Rune huffed, his fuzzy rat ears twitching from the aircon, before Sky turned it down a little. "I'm a little faster as a rat, anyway."

"...Where exactly are we going, by the way?" Eli asked, his focus now outside.

"Delafield." Sky replied, pointing out to the distance. "The city just over there."

Eli stared out at the window, taking in the unfamiliar sights. He found it difficult to comprehend that he was out of Ramora Lane, when all he's been was in Ramora Lane. He looked up from the houses to see the city, the beacon of hope he'd always hoped to escape to one day. He suddenly wanted to leap out of his seat in excitement.

He was finally going home.