Forest of the Angels

Back off, Bitch

"FUCK"

The girls leapt from their chairs. They fixed their eyes on the angel, which had now emerged from the photo.

"How did that get in here?" Rachel shouted to Ellie, as though it had somehow followed her in.

"That which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel." Ellie quoted from Jess' diary.

"What!?" Rachel yelled, panicking.

"Any picture of an angel becomes an angel" Ellie began to freak, flapping her hands through the endless sheets of paper.

"SO WHY DID SHE GIVE ONE TO US?" Rachel shrieked.

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW, JUST KEEP LOOKING AT IT." Ellie started to shove aside the coffee table, ripping through any envelopes she found.

"What are you doing?" Rachel whined, hoping that Ellie knew what to do, "I can't keep looking at it Ellie! I need to blink. Please!"

Ellie scrambled around the floor, looking for other photos, whilst Rachel's gaze was fixed on the angel. Her eyes were glued to its own blank, soulless eyes. Its stone face was crumbled, its wings were wrecked; the grey rock was smothered in lichen and grime.

"I don't want to die," Rachel pleaded.

"Rachel, this is the only photo, I'm going to get a lighter from the car, keep looking at it."

"Don't leave me here." Rachel begged.

Ellie sprinted out of the room. The door slammed behind her.

"ELLIE"

Silence. She couldn't hear her. Rachel swallowed and concentrated her gaze on the creature's hideous face. With each shallow breath her eyes burned more; urging her to blink. One blink couldn't hurt; it can't be that fast. The scratchy dryness was overwhelming. She tried shutting one eye at a time, but the need for comfort grew stronger. Her eyelids began to droop, she screamed at herself to stop.

Ellie raced back and crashed into the door. It was locked. "No! No not again." She searched desperately for the photo, lighter in hand. A thought crashed over her and she dropped it in shock.

"Rachel DO NOT LOOK AT IT IN THE EYES!" Ellie screamed.

"What?" Rachel's gaze was torn to the door. The angel lunged at her. Rachel shrieked, falling backwards, her head slammed back into the coffee table. The pain was shocking, every cell in her body wanted to shut down, black out, but the fear forced her eyes open. The lights flickered. Despite it being midday, the thick curtains were drawn, and so the room was plunged into darkness. Each flash showed the angel lurching closer. Just as Rachel's vision blurred, dark blotches creeping in from the corners of her eyes, the angel burst into roaring flames. She flung her arms up to shield herself. The lights shattered, shards sprinkled in her hair. The door swung open and Ellie raced over, coughing in the cloud of angel ash.

"What did you..." Slurred Rachel, her vision almost completely dark.

"Torched the photo, it was just an image, when the picture burned it burned with it"

"Oh." Rachel passed out, slumping on to the floor

~~~~

It didn't take long for Rachel to wake again. She hauled herself up, but her head span and she reeled in agony. The curtains were open now, the light pierced her eyes and she tried to focus, but all she could see was the dust swirling in the air.

"Lie down, you had a bad fall" Ellie muttered as she walked over to sit by Rachel.

Rachel inched herself back on to the bed.

"Wha-"

"We were attacked by an angel" Ellie said, slowly, as though Rachel had hit her head so hard that she magically regressed into a three year old.

"I know that, I remember, but what did you mean by don't look at it in the eye?"

Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but a harsh knock cut in. She dragged herself to the door, clambering over the mess. Rachel grabbed her arm.

"What if it's one of them?" She whispered, emphasizing the word 'them' melodramatically.

"Oh shit, yeah. Sorry, I forgot that the psycho stone angel monsters value their manners and want us to let them in to kill us, because, well, easily bursting down the door, that's just impertinent, isn't it?" Ellie snarked as she clambered over to the door.

"Shut up" Rachel snapped, coughing as she inhaled a cloud of ash.

Ellie swung open to three giants with FBI badges in her face.

"Hello, agents Bellamy, Howard and Wolstenholme. We're here to ask about the disappearance Jessica Wharton."