The Demon of Angels (Bk. 2) | ✓

Ⅷ

TIRES SCREECHED ACROSS the dry pavement. Evan's Jeep came to an abrupt halt a few feet to the right of us. Burnt rubber drifted through the night air, and I reached us and lightly pressed my fingers to the sore spot on my head. I winced upon contact, drawing my fingers back with blood coating the tips. My eardrums had popped, the white noise drowning any sort of sound around me. It was a ring I couldn't shake.

The glass from the windows and windshields was shattered everywhere, not a single shard where it should have been. The GT was nearly flattened, and I had no recollection of how many times we rolled. I only knew that my body felt paralyzed, unable to move my libs at will. I groaned, Zeke echoing me as he sat up in his seat.

The cool night air skimmed over my skin. I hissed as the breeze brushed against my exposed wounds.

Shit.

Another couple of groans sounded from somewhere outside, and I breathed a breath of relief. Evan and Noah were alive. Hopefully, they were in better shape than I was. They had been wearing their seatbelts.

"Celeste?" Zeke muttered, calling out to me. "Are you okay?"

I tried again to move, but a sharp pang exploded in my head and abdomen, stabbing me with throbs of pain everywhere. I halted my movements and winced. "Define 'okay'," I grumbled, squeezing my eyes shut.

Car doors opened to our right, my shoulders sagging upon Noah and Evan walking with minimal wounds on their bodies. Glass from Evan's Jeep had torn at their suits, a few cuts along their arms and chest. Noah's lip was bleeding, a small cut along his cheekbone. Evan had a small nosebleed, and besides a minimal tear on his chest with a small trickle of blood dotting his blue tie, he seemed alright.

Noah started calling my name. "Celeste?!" Noah's feet pounded against the cold ground as he ran to the car.

"Zeke!" Evan shouted, bolting to Zeke's side of the car. I could see Zeke struggling to open his door from the corner of my eye. Noah's feet planted themselves in front of the passenger door. He grasped onto the handle, ripping the door from its hinges in one fluid motion. I could hear Evan doing the same to Zeke's door. I would have found it hot if I wasn't writhing in pain.

Noah crouched down, peering into the car. He gave me a sympathetic smile. "Hey, Cupcake, you okay?" He tried to calm his voice, but the worry and fear were easily heard.

I gave the glass-covered pavement of the car– the only view I had at the moment– a hard scowl. "Peachy," I grumbled. Noah chuckled, relieving some of the tension off his shoulders at my dry humor.

Noah slowly reached inside the car, wrapping his hands gently under my upper back and legs. There was a deep grunt and a thud next to me. I assumed it was Evan pulling Zeke from the car and someone hitting their head on the frame. Noah grunted as he slowly pulled my dismantled form from the damaged car. My body had started going numb, slowly healing itself. There were already a few bones I hadn't realized were broken, snapping back together, my body mending itself slowly.

Once Noah had dragged me across the grass a few feet away from the car, he laid me down then squatted beside my head. His eyes scanned my body with concern, looking for anything major.

Letting another groan loose, I cupped my head with my hand, wincing upon contact. "What happened," I mumbled.

Noah frowned, his eyes not leaving my body as he continuously assessed me. "One moment, we were racing down the road, and the next three figures are standing in the roadway. We both rolled after hitting them, but you guys took the brunt of it." There was a hint of horror in his voice, his eyes distant like he was replaying the scene in his head.