The Forgotten Angel ✔️

Chapter 17: A Burning Joy

It was Father Matthew's groans that reminded Luke that he wasn't alone. He had to get up and help those who had fallen, so he pulled himself together, with his hand still blazing, and stumbled over to Father Matthew and knelt down towards him.

"We have to call an ambulance," Luke said. "You've lost a lot of blood."

Father Matthew grabbed Luke's right arm, still billowing with a flame, and Luke was taken by surprised, "Father what are you..."

Luke's words were interrupted by Father Matthew's cries as Luke's hand pressed against Father Matthew's wound, cauterizing it. Luke yanked his hand back and saw as the smoke billowed from Father Matthew's wound.

"And I thought putting out cigarettes on my skin was bad," Father Matthew panted.

"Why would you..."

"Sometimes I'm in a rush in California and don't have an ashtray. Can't start a forest fire..."

"No, why would you do that?" Luke pointed at the wound.

"Oh, I'll live. That flame keeps the wound clean and seals up the wound. I'll admit it won't look pretty in the summer if I wear short sleeves, but it's better than bleeding to death."

The flame in Luke's hand slowly began to fade, until his hand was just red like a hot poker. Soon, his dry skin returned, and he knew his hand had been rejuvenated to its normal color. His breathing came under control. He felt beat, but okay.

Slowly, his friends started to awaken.

Alex rubbed his head as he sat upright. "I think I have a concussion."

Gio sat up and rubbed his neck. "Me too, and I don't even play football."

Then Luke heard stirring behind him and he looked back to see Nellie moving. Luke was worried. The past two weeks—it was as if they didn't exist between the two of them. All this time he was dating Lilith. He got to know Lilith. He had a crush on Lilith.

He had no clue who Nellie was.

"Wa—where am I?" Nellie rubbed her eyes. She saw Luke's face and said, "Luke?"

She knows my name.

"Luke, where are we?"

"You remember?" Luke said.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Luke went on to explain what happened here, and that she was possessed by a demon named Lilith. He then turned to his two friends behind him and told them that they too were possessed by demons: Alex by a demon named Lahatiel, and Gio by a demon named Lahash. Gio shuddered, Alex was disappointed a girl bested him, and Nellie shook her head in shame.

But the surprising thing was, as Luke retold them what happened, the memories started to come back to them.

Gio thought back to the last time he was truly himself, the last time he wasn't possessed by a demon. "It had to be months ago, on Halloween. I was making a delivery run over to Caldwell to retrieve some old brochures from the basement. Then this long-haired lady hovered above me after I was attacked by some spidery-Gollum looking creature."

Nellie chimed in. "Spidery-Gollum? I think the same thing attacked me. Only, it was speaking too."

"And Lahash," Gio continued. "She wanted me to find another host for her sister."

"And of course, you'd bring her the best host of all," Alex said. "What demon wouldn't want to possess this," Alex forced a smile to hide his disgust at the fact that a foreign entity occupied his body.