Hell's Angels (Devil's Assistant Series Book2)

Hell's Angels [15] unedited

Chapter 15

As I followed my rather sparse directions to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere, I felt a shiver run down my spine. It was all too quiet. The speed limits had all dropped to around thirty and there were constant road signs warning me about tractors and sheep crossings. I felt like I was truly in the wild because the last time I had been anywhere near the countryside was as I passed by it on the motorway. It was quite lucky that the only reason I didn’t go there was my intense dislike for the smell of manure, it could have been rather problematic if I had had some kind of allergy to all things farmyard.  Then maybe this whole angel gig would have been a major issue, I thought to myself glumly.

Driving down the winding road, I felt a strange claustrophobia as I eyed the ridiculously high hedges on either side on the narrow road. There was barely enough space for one car to drive through let alone one and a tractor which made the predicament all the worse.

Still, it was to a slightly sunnier setting that I arrived in the small village of Angels Landing which quite literally was a small piece of heaven in the middle of nowhere.

From the brief glimpse I saw on my approach to the village, I noted a canvas of colour painted on either side of the valley, all of which led down to the river of green at the base within which this small village nestled. It would have been a comforting sight if it wasn’t for the insane urge plugging itself into my mind and insisting that I turn the car around. That added on to the fact that there hadn’t been a single road sign for the last five miles only heightened the unsettled feeling within me. Thus, I had been driving based on Angel HQ’s directions alone which gave me chills because in all of its beauty, there was just something wrong with the place.

Shaking my head, I slowed the car to a stop outside of a small corner shop. For a moment, I did nothing but peer though my bug smeared windscreen up at the idyllic little houses around me. But when I could put it off no more,  I finally pushed past the strange feeling and forced myself from the car with my papers fisted tightly within my hands.

Before I could reach the door however, a grizzly looking man with a beard and odd fierceness to his gaze caused me to freeze in mid-step. The man had taken a protective stance, his arms folded across his chest as he glared me down from his sentry position outside of the shop. Everything about the man meant business and I am woman enough to admit that I almost peed my pants at the sight of this man before me. Surprisingly, he was more terrifying than most of the demons and angels I had met in the past few years.

It’s probably because he won’t hesitate to kill you, I thought as I let out an audible gulp and remembered to put my foot on the ground when my balance started to falter.

Allowing my gaze to stray away from him for a brief second, I noted that curtains in several of the houses blew as if being unsettled by the wind. Yet, from the silhouettes behind the veiled windows, it made me realise that it was nothing more than the residents peeking out to see what the commotion wasCreepy, I thought to myself before remembering my mission.

I pulled my shoulders back, pocketed my papers and then put on the best smile that I could muster. Unfortunately, due to my nerves, the best that I could manage was a shaky grimace but that dropped too when the man actually growled at me like a grizzly bear he resembled so much.

“What do you want stranger?” He barked out.

Huffing at the rudeness of the man, I sucked in a breath and held out my hand to him in a gesture of formality and politeness. “Hi, my name is Savannah Holmes. I am part of the Big Sister programme sponsored by the government.” When the man seemed unmoved by my words I smiled and tried to pretend that his attitude did not bother me. “I am looking for a Miss Nicole Armstrong. I believe she resides close by but I have never been here before. Could you possibly point me in the right direction?”

The older man blew out an angry breath and brought one of his hands up to stroke his beard as he continued to stare me down. It was obvious from the way that he shifted on the balls of his feet and his eyes involuntarily glanced behind me that he knew the answer to the request but was less than willing to do it. There was the distinct air hanging around this place that had unnerved me since my approach and right now as I watched the guarded attitude of the man before me, like he had something to hide, it made me feel like I had stumbled into the middle of some cult or something equally eerie.

“Look Mr…?” I left the words trailing so that the man could fill them in.

“Mr Grayson.”

“Okay Mr Grayson, I am sure you understand that I have a job to do and I must follow procedure. I have been assigned a job by the government.” Yeah right, I added to myself. “And as such, I am not afraid to take legal action if you refuse to co-operate. I have come to understand that the young woman’s life is at threat and I would greatly appreciate your assistance.”

The man looked as if he would refuse, his fists bunching at his sides as he took a threatening step towards me. But then it happened. The strangely blue skies rumbled in angry protest before a flash of lightning darted from the sky and pierced the ground a few feet away from the pair of us. The sound as it shattered its way through the cobblestone into the earth reverberated within my ears over and over again, bouncing off the inside of my skull that for a while I was certain it would be the only thing I would hear for the rest of my life.

The man, Mr Grayson, paled and stumbled back a step at the sudden light show. Then when he raised his head to me, all of his fierceness was gone and all that remained was a scared old man playing a role too big for his boots. He nodded his head in acquiescence and then with a glare in my direction, he pointed his finger over my shoulder.

 I followed the line of his arm and looked directly behind me at the row of terraced houses sitting in red painted unison.  But more importantly, as I allowed my eyes to take in the rather ordinary looking house, I saw a twitch of curtain in the top floor window before a very familiar face appeared, metal smile and all.

Nodding my head at the girl in greeting and offering a smile, I glanced back to thank Mr Grayson for his co-operation only to note that he was no longer standing in front of the shop. He had completely vanished leaving on myself to disturb the quiet and solitude of the place.

Rubbing away the goosebumps that had formed on my arms, I turned and approached the house that I had seen young Nicole in. But anticipating my arrival, she was waiting for me with the door propped open with her hand. And as our eyes met, the young girl beamed at me like she didn’t have a care in the world, her braces flashing like her very own brand of lightning.

Smiling in return, I stepped closer with my hand outstretched towards her only to realise what I had missed on first perusal of the young teen. My mouth dropped open and I berated myself for missing it on first glance but completely unavoidable now that I was actually seeing the young girl.

“You’re pregnant?”

Sorry it's short. It's difficult getting back into writing after soo long away. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. You will find out a bit more about Angels' Landing in the next chapter.