Dark Angel

Dark Angel Part 5

I was nearing the end of my run through the city. It was much later than I was expecting to stay out and the streets were almost bare. Homeless people were scattered along the edges, asleep on the ground. Dark corners, just out of reach of the lanterns, held creatures hiding in the shadows.

I looked at my watch and read the data that it gave me. Heart rate. Distance. Time. Everything was good.

I leaned up against a wall to tie my shoe and I looked around at the surroundings scene. Shop owners were closing up and heading home. The occasional cat would disappear around a corner to go hunt for dinner; the norm for the city at this time of night.

The night city was my favorite. I got to take in all its beauty without all the business and crowding of the day. Although I was usually running at this time, it still made for a relieving scene.

I placed my foot back down onto the pavement, shoe laces tied. I tightened my ponytail, full of my long, smooth hair. Turning back to the sidewalk, I pushed off and began running.

But I was stopped after only a couple steps. A familiar face and a familiar figure stepped into an alley about a block down and I paused, confused. I looked around me to see if anyone else was around, which no one was, then I rushed forward into the alley.

There was only a short distance between the opening of the alley to the next corner but I had gotten there quick enough to clearly see the face that looked back at me before rounding the corner.

"Jungkook?" My trained legs propelled me forward as I sprinted down the alley in hopes of catching him. I rounded the corner Jungkook had gone around and I was shocked with surprise to see him already fifty yards down at the next corner. How could he be that fast? But that wasn't what made me stumble on me feet. It was when he went around the corner. He stood in plain view and stared at me, worried and almost scared-looking. Although I didn't know him that well, I could tell it wasn't something he expressed often. I felt my heart reach out for him, confused and worried.

Although his pained look wasn't what shocked me so much. When he disappeared behind the corner he was followed by a dark trail. The dark trail shimmered in the moonlight and reflected streaks of light back at me. The trail was huge and long but before the word could leave my lips, they disappeared along with Jungkook.

"Wings." It came as almost a whisper. My senses came back to me and I broke out into a sprint. "Jungkook!" No response came. I approached the turn and I cut the corner tight, trained to do so. Immediately after rounding the corner though, I had to stop myself. It was either that or run into a brick wall which blocked my path. It wasn't so much as a wall as much as it was the side of a building. I looked up at the top, almost blinded by the moon. It was too high to climb. "Jungkook!" I yelled again as I spun around hoping to see him.

I ran my hand over my slicked back hair and sighed. I started back the way I had come, exiting the alley, still confused. Am I dehydrated? Is it just in my head?

A police car zoomed past me, lights flashing and sirens wailing, and it caught my attention. My eyes followed it to where it stopped only a few blocks down. Although it was somewhat far away, I could still see what was happening. An ambulance sat with its back doors open and they slowly loaded the gurney into it. I was expecting to see a patient in need of care on the gurney but I was shocked to see something else; a limp form laying under a white sheet. My hand made its way to my mouth as stared on in shock. This night was getting crazier and crazier.

I found myself wondering around the streets, no longer running or watching where I was going. Time to me became an nonexistent detail. My head was buzzing but was empty at the same time.

The sight of death affected me in different ways. Sometimes is was just sad. Sometimes is was washed off. Other times, it affected me in more ways that could imagine.

Lately, I was more upset and shocked by death. After the passing of my grandmother, sad things made me cry more. I'm, in a way, just a tiny bit emotionally unstable. Before, nothing made me cry. Not even pain. Although, now, small things can make me cry.

I sat down against a brick wall with my knees pulled up to my chest. My arms covered my head as it leaned against my knees. I cried. My chest shook as sobs took over me and tears fell off my cheeks.

The sight of death sent images and thoughts through my head of my grandmother. She was a small old lady who was stern but still loved me, even though she didn't always show it. She got sick and then she got worse, really quickly. The day before she died, my mother and I drove to go see her, my father already at her side.

We spent the day with her in the ICU. We broke the rules for when we were allowed to visit and how many people were allowed in the room. But the nurses and doctors allowed it since they knew she was going to die. Although she was asleep most of the time, and couldn't see or hear us, we sat by her side. The staff brought us food, drinks and blankets.

I remember sitting against the plain white wall of the hospital room, a warm, ruff blanket wrapped around my shoulders. My grandfather sat in a chair beside the bed, holding my grandmother's hand, making sure she knew that he was there for her.

Although he knew she was going to leave us, his mind denied it. He sat there with hope, that she would return to her normal self, and not the curled up ball of wrinkles that sat on the bed, in pain.

It was a scary sight to see, her small form curled over. When I first stepped in the door, the word 'monster' popped into my head. She sat straight up, her head dangling down. Her eyes stood half open even though she was asleep majority of the time. It was scary to see her that way, painful even.

My last goodbye was a hard one for me. I had skipped school that day and my father was forcing me to return home so I could attend the next day. At this time, my grandmother was awake. And as we said we were leaving and told her that we were thankful for everything she had given us, she cried. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, but she could cry. I squeezed her hand, telling her I was here.

As I said my final goodbye, I held onto her hand. She no longer looked like a monster to me. She looked like the beautiful grandmother I had loved.

"I love you Grandma." The words didn't all make it out, the last ones coming out in a gasp. My hand left hers and that was the last moment I ever saw her. I regret that moment. I wish I hadn't given up on my sentence. I feel now that I could scream the words a million times.

The day after that, I returned home with my mother, my father staying behind. The next morning, I went to school but only after a couple hours, my mother came and picked me up. My grandmother had died that morning. My father had left her side for only a moment to go home and take a shower, but he was called shortly after by my grandfather to inform that his mother was gone.

As I sat on the cold ground, I was overtaken by the built up emotions and the pain. Tears fell uncontrollably and the world around me seemed to be nonexistent.

At least until I was picked up into the air. Two hands gripped my arms and threw me into an alley. The ground was cold and wet. I rubbed at my eyes, forcing the tears away. I searched around, looking for the person that had easily picked me up and thrown me. My heart was racing, confused and upset.

As I looked around, my eyes settled on a dark figure. His face was pale and his hair was dark as night. His eyes were black holes and he felt, to me, like a creature of the night. His dark clothes added to the eeriness and his low voice sent shockwaves through me as he laughed at my shocked gaze. His features built a puzzle of a face, known to me only by the name of Jungkook.

"What are you?" I questioned, staring in awe as dark, black wings protruded from his back. He looked like a dark angel.

"I'm exactly that," he said, reading my mind. "I take lives. I turn light into darkness. I turn happiness into sorrow." He paused, staring me in the eye. The full moon was blocked by his figure, creating a silhouette of light around darkness.

"I am a dark angel."