Finding An Angel In Hell

Finding An Angel In Hell - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

'The world will not be destroyed by those that do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.'

- Albert Einstein

1 week later..

After that dreadful day I became a shell of my former self. The days passed by, one by one, like a never ending movie playing before my eyes. I don't speak, I rarely eat. I just don't do anything other than sit and stare at nothing.

The day Ajdin was murdered my aunt Dina (Dee-na) found me, brought me to her house and I've been in her care ever since.

Life right now is tense, after my arrival at my aunts candle lit house I was quickly attacked by the female members of my family. Each in turn making sure that I was okay, not that I responded to any of them. Soon enough my aunt came to my rescue and took me to a make-shift bed on the floor of her dinning room after getting me redressed from my clothes that were no doubt covered in dirt, puke and.. blood. I didn't question why there was a bed made out of several blankets on the floor, I just simply lay there emotionless whilst she placed a blanket over me and left. And that is where I have been pretty much ever since. I only ever move if I desperately need the toilet, but even those trips are far and few between considering the amount I eat and drink now.

Every second of every minute my mind relives that day. I rarely sleep; when I do I would wake up in a cold sweat, screaming my lungs out. Yet I still couldn't escape my nightmares even when I wasn't asleep, they now lived with me.

During my week I managed to catch snippets of various conversations on the few occasions when I wasn't reliving my nightmare. I discovered why there seemed to be so many people in the house. They were all evacuated from their homes. Whilst the woman were forced to find shelter somewhere else all the males aged 16 and over we're taken away by soldiers. Some were killed on their own doorsteps - just like Ajdin. No one knew of their final destination and no one dared ask either. There was a haunting danger in the air and a small spark was the only thing stopping god knows what from occurring.

I had no intentions that day of leaving the store cupboard but my aunt had other plans. I remember exactly the way she looked that day - as if she were standing right in front of me in person and not as a memory.

Her attire that day was simple; dark boot-cut jeans, a black v-neck 3/4 length sleeved top paired with black ballerina flats. Though there wasn't much thought to her outfit it still complimented her body well. Whilst she was not a size 0; she was neither excessively plump. She had the body of a woman and boy did she know how to flaunt her assets perfectly.

Her face for once didn't hold her signature smirk, nor her warming smile. Instead her expression was firm, depressing. Relief flooded her features from top to bottom when she found me in the store cupboard. That soon turned into one of pity and the dried up trails left by previous tears were quickly replaced by fresh drops.

It didn't take long for her mothering instincts to take over and she dropped to her knees in an instant. Grabbing me by my arms, she pulled me towards her in a tight embrace whilst rocking us back and forth, continuously repeating the words 'thank god you're safe'

I was yet to move voluntarily, my eyes fixed to the wall in front of me. I had no plans of return the same comfort towards my aunt.

'Arijana, what happened?' Dina questioned after she finally calmed herself down enough to notice I wasn't responding to her in any way.

She pulled herself away from my body in a bid to look into my eyes. Her wish was not granted. After asking a few more questions that met no answer she stopped. Instead she started looking around at our surroundings. Her face scrunched up at the sight of my puke. Registering the reason behind all of the bile spread across the floor a deeper sadness became evident within her eyes.

'Come on, hunny, I'm taking you to my house to get you cleaned up, okay?' As she said this she rose to her feet lifting me with her.

Once I was up Dina, wrapped me up in her arms, keeping me close to her whilst we walked through the house and to the front door.

Slowly we descended the three steps leading from the front door to the garden. For the second time that day time stretched out. I knew what sight was awaiting me when I got down the steps. Yet even knowing what was there couldn't prepare me enough for it.

Upon the black tiles of our patio that sat attached to the front of our house lay my brother in a pool of dark liquid. His shirt that was freshly washed and pure white this morning was now more red than white. The puddle that surrounded his torso and head was so dark and deep it was almost as black as the tiles his body lay upon. The horrid sight was taunting me.

My body took over and as a reflex I bent over and emptied the non-existent contents of my stomach once again. Unlike before, someone was attempting to comfort me through my throwing up, yet instead of bringing me comfort the rubbing of my back just made the feeling of guilt grow.

After experiencing another episode of bile leaving my internal organs. I slowly rose from my hunched over position and I travelled towards where my brother lay, stumbling several times across the short distance.

Once I was close enough to his lifeless body, little by little I lowered myself down onto my knees and as I did so my tears followed suit.

Looking at his face I could feel the beginnings of a sob grow from within my chest, battling it's way up my throat. Looking down at the three small holes in his torso I couldn't breath. My body shook from the entrapped sob and the battle my body put up to try and grasp a small about of oxygen.

I tried so hard to stay strong and to keep the sob within me from escaping but I failed, like I had been doing all day.

Finally the heart-wrenching sob succeeded its goal in escaping my body releasing a painful cry of heartbreak, pain and so much more. My body slumped over Ajdin's as wave after wave of pain took force and with each powerful tide came another soul shattering sob.

I lost track of time, not that I honestly cared, but soon enough Dina started to pull me away from Ajdin. Even with my struggles it still wasn't enough. Nothing I did was enough anymore, so once more I gave up.

The air was tense; so many emotions ran through the silence: anger, confusion, hatred, pain. All too soon the silence was shattered by Dina's quiet voice: 'come on Ari, we need to leave before someone sees us. It's already dark, we can't stay any longer. We'll come back soon, when it's safe, okay?'

Another sob raked through my body, quieter than the rest, but still with the same ache. My eyes couldn't leave my brother's face. If it weren't for all the blood I would have just thought he fell asleep on the patio again.

I wish he was just asleep on the patio.

I whimpered as Dina started walking me down the drive way, further and further away from the place I once called home, my eyes never leaving his body until it was no longer visible.

We stayed in the shadows, avoiding the light, pausing every so often when a sound was heard. There was an unknown tension in the air. Something dangerous was lurking out in the darkness, my gut was telling me it had something to do with the 'soldiers' that paid me.. us, a visit earlier today.

We finally reached my aunts home after god knows what length of time. The lights were all turned off and as we made our way towards the front door a rustle in the hedges made us freeze in our spots. My gut had an off feeling, making me feel uneasy. I turned my head to the direction of the noise but there was nothing there not that I could really make out anything in the darkness. After enough time had passed Dina pulled me along to the front door and knocked three times. Moments later the sounds of keys and bolts broke the silence before the door swung open and we both quickly stepped inside.

Before the door closed I turned once more to look at the hedges. And there in the darkness shone two bright green eyes that had been haunting me the whole day and I was sure they'd haunt me the rest of my life.