Angels

Chapter 9- Lessons

"Hey Damien," Sam asked.

"Yeah?" the pink-haired dork replied.

"Do you know what happens when Angels die? Is it like when humans die? My grandma'a journal didn't say," he asked. Looking up from the journal and over at his friend.

"I can ask my Dad to tell you, he knows better than me, I think he was talking about teaching Amanda sometime," Damien explained.

"That's pretty young to be learning about Angels," Sam replied.

"Really?" Damien asked. "My family assumes the sooner you know the better."

"Huh," Sam replied. "Well I'd be interested to know, then. You think Marc will want to come along?"

"You can ask him, I'll call my dad," Damien said before heading outside.

Sam walked over to his and Marc's room and heard extremely loud music playing.

He pushed the door open to see Marc's phone hooked up to speakers playing music Sam didn't recognize.

Marcus was sat on his bed playing some video game.

"Hey Marc, Damien's dad is going to explain Angel deaths for me, I think. Want to come along?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Marc replied, closing the game. "There's a difference between Angel and human deaths?"

"Yeah and it's apparently too complicated for Damien to explain," Sam replied.

"Let's go then," Marc replied, grabbing his phone from the docking station.

"We're headed to Damien's!" Sam shouted to his Mom as they passed the living room.

"Alright!" his mom shouted back.

They got outside and Damien was leaning on his car taking on the phone but hung up as they walked over.

"Hey guys, my dad said he's good to give a lesson, Amanda's out with some friends, though," Damien explained, walking around his car. Marcus claimed the passenger seat as Sam got in the back.

"So your dad knows a lot about Angels?" Marc asked.

"Yeah. He spent a while studying Angels, I guess more than Sam's grandma," Damien explained.

They got to the house and Sam had to take a deep breath to prepare himself.

Damien pushed open the door and the house was oddly quiet, and for some reason the usual stench of burnt food was gone, but Sam didn't feel like complaining.

"The tale of Angels started long, long ago," a voice said from behind them, Sam felt himself being gently pushed towards the living room along with the others.

"We aren't getting a simple reason, are we?" Sam asked.

"You're pretty overdue for any sort of History lessons," Damien's dad replied.

"Roger don't terrorize the poor boys, now!" his mom shouted from somewhere else in the house.

"Don't worry!" he called back. "Take a seat."

Sam sat on the side of a couch, Marc sat in an arm chair, and Damien took the other side of the couch.

"As I was saying, the tale of Angels started a long time ago. At first, they were peaceful, blending in among humans and living human lives. Eventually the first Angel got bored, and they decided to try something else, eventually, other Angels joined in and it became nearly all of the Angel population just messing with human lives for their fun. The other percent, are the Angels that had human interaction and decided, you know what, they're pretty good!" he explained. "This event was known, by me at least, as Angel Apocalypse I!"

"Shouldn't it still be pronounced as one? It's not literally the letter I, it's meant to be the Roman Numeral for one," Sam explained. Damien and his dad looked over at Sam like he'd just cured cancer or something.

"Roman Numerals...?" his dad asked. "But Angels aren't Roman."

"They don't have to be..." Marc replied.

"Whatever, Angel Apocalypse one," his dad replied. "The Angel Apocalypse double- I mean two... is rumoured to be when Angels start targeting, and killing, Angels. There's no guessing how bad that'll get."

"So what happens when an Angel dies?" Sam asked. Hoping to get right to the point.

"What stage of death are we talking?" Damien's dad asked.

"Stages? There are stages of death?" Marc asked.

"Only two, really. There's the stage of Shadowed Angels, and then they're gone forever if they die as a Shadowed Angel," he explained.

"Oh, what does it mean when an Angel is 'Shadowed'?" Sam asked.

"Well, everything of them becomes a dark, midnight black colour, and all Angels can see their wings. Unlike how usually Angels have to choose to show their wings to other Angels. It's very uncommon though because if an Angel's wings are removed, not only does it inflict a pain worse than death, it makes them go completely human, with no way of ever going back. So they tend to keep them private," he explained.

Damien's dad continued explained everything about Angels, repeating all of the obvious facts, like the unchangeable, bright or neon eyes, and the sometimes coloured hair, to a fact that their canines are actually slightly sharper than those of humans, and that Angels learn everything faster and easier than humans, things Sam nor Marcus had known.

It must have been a few hours before they were headed back to the door.

"I can't believe he gave me homework," Sam complained, looking at the sheet of paper he'd been handed.

"Eh, he went easy on you," Damien replied. They stepped outside, Damien saying he'd drive them home because of his dad's forced lesson.

"Marcus!!" a high-pitched voice shouted.

"Hey Amanda," Marc said as Damien's 8 year-old sister ran over to hug him.

"Aww," Sam teased. Marc sent him a glare as Amanda stepped away.

"Bye Marcus!" Amanda said before running inside, Marc waved and caught up with the others.

"You're so adorable, Marc," Sam said, it was one of the only few chances he got to tease him, he always took it.

"Shut up!" Marc shouted back.

"You're like a cotton ball, Marc," Damien replied.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Marc asked.