Dark Angel

chapter 8

I woke up from a nightmare hot and sweaty. Blue was sat at the foot of my bed, growling. Michael was at the door peering in, though the dim light made it hard for me to see. "Are you ok?" he asked. I pulled myself up against the headboard, Blue still at guard.

"Blue," I called. He slowly backed into me, still staring at Michael.

"What happened?" Michael asked again, this time a bit more urgent.

"I just had a nightmare, I'm fine," I quipped, though my voice quavered a bit.

"Oh, I thought that something was happening. I forgot that humans dream," Michael answered, shaking his head. "You were screaming," he added. Embarrassment flushed my face and I looked away.

"No I'm fine, it's ok," I quietly answered. I don't even remember my dream, though I'm sure it had to do with angels. That's what they all were now. It also didn't help that I'd seen them in their full glory during the day. "Ok, I'll leave you alone," Michael murmured, closing the door behind him. Blue finally laid down at my side and I checked my watch. It was 4 in the morning. Closing my eyes, I fell back to sleep, this time blessed with no dreams.

-

The door of the bedroom wouldn't open as something was blocking the way. Or more like somebody. I glanced down in the crack I'd opened to see Michael slumped over on the ground. "Michael," I hissed. He groggily woke up, looking up at me. Realizing where he was, he darted up off the ground so that I could open the door all the way.

"Did you sleep there?" I asked, furrowing my brows. How strange.

"Yeah I did." I looked for more of an explanation that he didn't give.

"Why?" I questioned, looking up at him. He was taller than I realized and I unconsciously took a step back.

"I uh, I wanted to make sure that you rested," he answered, though it sounded like there was more to it.

"How could you help with that?" I implored, trying to keep hostility out of my voice. I didn't think he'd answer, but he finally spoke up.

"I can help with painful memories, thoughts, and feelings. It also can help when it comes to nightmares, so I made sure that you're sleep was free of the nightmares," he answered.

"Does that mean you get to see what I dream of?" I cooly asked. He didn't answer, telling me all I needed to know. "I don't want you doing it again if you see what I see when I dream. I'd rather not have you know what goes through my mind." He nodded like a scolded child, an odd picture for someone so strong.

Michael walked away and opened the fridge, pulling out the leftovers. He made himself and me a plate before sitting down at the table. I debated going back and eating in the bedroom but decided against it. I wanted to ask him what else he could do.

I'd eaten most of the meat before I finally spoke up. "What else can you do?" He looked up at me, furrowing his brows.

"What do you mean?" he asked in-between bites.

"You said you could do the memory thing and with the dreams, what else can you do?"

"If I tell you, you'll freak out," was all he said. I angrily took a few bites before he sighed. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you." I looked up at him.

"Tell me."

"With minds I can control them, give others thoughts that aren't their own, know what others are thinking, and drive them into insanity. I have heavenly fires, which is essentially fire that is nearly impossible to get rid of and is what destroyed most of the major cities when the angels first landed. I'm stronger than humans by a lot, think of superman. That's his name right? Superman?" he paused for a second before nodding to himself and continuing. "I can reach into thin air and pull out various weapons that I store in a portal of sorts I guess. I have heightened senses, like right now I can hear your heartbeat picking up and your wolf that you have doesn't appreciate it, so try to stay calm so he doesn't take off my face. I have healing capabilities that I can also use on others which also comes with being immortal I guess. And finally, I have wings, which you probably assumed."

I took a second to absorb it before I spoke. "Wolf?" He laughed and I tried to take offense but I couldn't. That was the only thing I could comment on without getting in over my head.

"Yeah, a wolf. He's definitely not a dog. I'm guessing that you found him outside of Philadelphia? There was a forest that the angels burned down and it displaced and killed a lot of wildlife. It was an attempt to eradicate an outpost of humans they found who were planning on attacking the angels. It didn't go as planned though and mainly just killed everything else in the forest," Michael explained.

"Why is a wolf all the way in Pennsylvania though? They don't live here anymore. And also, he had a collar on him, how do you explain that?" I asked.

"He could have been a domesticated wolf, though I doubt it. More than likely a family found him and put an old dog collar on him so they could keep him on a leash and bring him with them. My guess is he didn't like that and snuck away somehow where he found you. Wolves are pack animals. His pack most likely died in the forest, so he went out looking for a new pack," Michael stated. I looked over at Blue and his yellow eyes.

"How do you know he's not a dog?"

"Because he's much too big, he has the anatomy of a wolf, and his teeth are most definitely sharper than a dogs. I found that out playing with him last night, he drew a bit of blood. And if you haven't heard him howl yet, I'm sure you will," Michael explained a bit more. I called Blue over and he approached. I gently lifted up his lip, looking at his canines. I'd never seen a dog with those.

Turning my focus back on Michael, I spoke again. "As to the other things you told me, if you so much as touch my mind without my permission, I'll kill you, or I'll have Blue do it for me," I warned, though he and I both knew it was an empty threat. I didn't stand a chance against him, and we both pretended that I did.

"I'll do my best," he responded. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What do you mean you'll do your best?" I growled. Blue mimicked me, which I found a bit enduring.

"I mean that if you're worried about something enough, or thinking about it too loudly, I can't help but hear it. That's why I was so worried when you had a nightmare because what you were seeing was being broadcasted in my head," Michael retorted. "I'm not pleased about it either, but I can't help it."

"So you saw my nightmare?"

"Yes." I was tempted to ask what it was, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to know. "I'll tell you."

"Get out of my head," I snapped. His eyebrows shot up, and he started to laugh.

"I wasn't in your head, I could just see the question on your face," Michael promised. "You were dreaming about the angels and them finding the cabin and killing you. I'd told them where you were and watched as they killed you." My blood ran cold. I was glad I didn't remember the dream, I wouldn't have been able to stay around him. 

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Here's chapter 8! Finally picking up the pace of the story, and the next few chapters are going to be good (I think). Hope you like this chapter and vote for it if you love it! thank you to everyone who's reading and keeping up with the story, it means a lot to me! :)

-Olivia