DESCENDED

DINNER GUESTS

I don't know how long I'm out before I feel drops of something cold and wet on my face. So, I open my eyes. All around me black soot falls from the sky, and I'm covered in it. Sitting up, I instinctively reach for my head which is throbbing.

I really, really hate being subdued.

Standing, I look around for familiar faces. Only, the world seems like it was spinning, and I lose my balance. Falling to my knees. Strong arms steady me on my feet, and I swing around to see who it is.

It's Samuel.

No... it's Sebastian.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Where's Samuel?"

"Behind you," Sam calls out from behind me.

Sebastian doesn't have a scratch on him, but Samuel... his face is bloody.

And he's bruised.

I look around at Malachi and he looks as if he's suffered the same fate as Samuel. Yet neither Sebastian nor his friends have so much as a hair out of place.

What the heck did I miss?

Grabbing a napkin from one of the tables, I blot Samuel's wounds. And he doesn't wince or move. He keeps his eyes locked on Sebastian.

"He'll be okay. His wounds will heal in about a minute," Sebastian tells me.

Studying Samuel's face, I watch in awe as he heals right before my eyes. Like nothing ever happened. I wonder if that's why Sebastian and his friends look so well put together.

"Look, enough fighting," I tell them. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if any of you got hurt because of me."

"What makes you think this is all about you?" Sebastian asks. "This is bigger than you Angelique. And he knows this."

"Well, why don't you enlighten me.'

"All I can tell you is everything I love and hold dear... including my friends, is in your hands. And I'm worried you can't handle the weight of what's been placed on your shoulders. Whether you're mature enough and strong enough to handle it."

Narrowing my eyes at Sebastian, I'm startled when he drops to his knees. Screaming and holding his head.

"I'm sorry Sebastian," I apologize to him. Rushing over to see if he's okay. "Are you okay?"

When he removes his hands from his ears, his hands are covered in blood.

His ears are bleeding.

"Just go... you've done enough damage for today," Liz shouts at me.

Feeling guilty and ashamed for what I've done, I back away from him and watch as he continues to writhe in pain until it stops. He stands moments later, and the amount of anger I see his eyes cuts like a knife.

I want to disappear...

"Don't worry about Sebastian, he'll live," Samuel chuckles.

"That's not funny, I hurt him."

"Yes, but he deserved it for what he said to you."

Rolling my eyes, I head to my favorite place of solitude.

The gym.

I finish my lunch there, then head to fifth period knowing I'm going to run into Sebastian.