Angel

Prologue

Every day, at 4:50 am she gets three shots of coffee in takeaway cups. It's tradition, when she can't sleep, she heads straight from her terror ridden bed and down three blocks, to Hell fire Diner.

And she sits her sweet little ass on the same seat. Every morning, she walks in and takes her rightful place at the window table, waiting for the same waiter to hand her the same sticky menu. It has a different tacky residue on it everyday. She guesses in her head what the new substance is while she sits there and looks at the menu, but always ends up ordering the same thing.

Today, was the millionth time she had run away from her nightmares. She lost count on how many times she had been to this same old diner. It wasn't modern, nor retro. Brand new and slightly uncomfortable 1950's diner stools, lounges and chairs were moved in about thirty years ago when this diner opened. The reason why it looks so brand new is because the manager of the place, Jesse Jackson, polishes it everyday just to keep the regular customers coming in.

The food is basic. The normal bacon and eggs with pancakes, steak and mushroom gravy with a serve of old fried chips, reheated with the greasy microwave that always get dirty again from the food exploding sometimes. The people that head in, are usually old folks and young workers in the morning for their daily watered down coffee.

Her shots of espresso had arrived ten minutes ago, the steam never caressing the air for more than five minutes since they were fresh. She hadn't touched them, because this time her worst fears had been accomplished. She didn't feel parched or hungry, but her forehead heated up and beads of sweat slid down, creating a clammy feel to her body. She didn't want to leave, because she knew that if she left, it would just become worse and it would never leave this world. She wanted to save the people, but she couldn't.

The sun was rising now, it's bright colour floating above the large high rises and buildings blocking the horizon from view. The frozen weather that had came with this sun, was biting at her skin, almost like the frost around the handle that nipped the flesh of her hands, when she turned the knob to the diner door. She forced herself to shoot down the first shot of coffee, it being slightly frozen. She couldn't stop herself from shaking, the caffeine hitting her skinny body. She had to try and stop it, but she couldn't figure out how.

She left the last two espresso shots on the diner table, moving herself towards the door, the little bell above it signalling her that this was the last time this diner would see her. "Miss," Jesse Jackson called out from behind the diner bench. "Your order?" He said and pointed to her table with the two coffees left on it. "Oh. Dont worry about them, it doesn't matter." And with that she was out the door, her skin cold and her body numb.

She pressed on, straight towards her apartment located on the 15th floor. It was on the far corner, and the rent every month was two thousand dollars, which isn't entirely bad for where she lived. She knew it was affordable, considering it was a first class place she lived in. She expected to pay more, but was surprised when she found out the price.

To kill time, she got off at the 6th floor and walked up the stairs. Her legs burned, the sensation of heat better than the numbness from the climate outside. She was lucky snow isn't falling yet. The vibe on the 15th floor was suspicious, a weird tension floating in between her and her apartment door. Then she quickly noticed that she didn't even need to pull the key from her pocket, the door was open, a small line of white from the door frame.

Her hands trembled, pushing the door and slowly stepping inside her apartment. Now the air around her was that thick, a knife would slice straight through like butter. This wasn't usual, and she knew what was coming next. So she did what any rational human would do, head straight to her kitchen. Pulling open the top drawer, she unearthed the largest stainless steel knife that was equipped in her kitchen.

A small sound came from the open plan living room. She was now again shaking with fear, but her heart beat was calm. She didn't feel all the too well safe, considering that someone might have broken in and they could be hiding anywhere...

This was frightening to her, her mind running thousands of scenarios. She could be freaking out for nothing, what if anyone wasn't even in her home? What if she forgot to close the door before she left for the diner? But then the dark side of her head came into play, a lot of the scenes maneuvering between good and bad. It could be a known serial killer.

She remembers watching on the channel 2 news that a prisoner escaped from jail a few weeks ago. What if it was the prisoner? She does recall the man being sentenced for murdering 5 young women and 2 men, and dissolving their rotten corpses in a car of acid.

She shuttered at the thought of it. Her mind really was filled with bad things. Her nightmares started to fill her head, the man in her dreams being so very surreal. It made tears leak from her eyes every morning she woke up from them. She could feel the bad presence in her apartment.

It was something to do with her nightmares, whoever broke in her home. She wasn't prepared, but her again she was never really prepared. Then her mind caught onto the last possible thing she dreaded.

The knife followed her to the living room, a strong feeling in her gut that something was about to happen. The pain bellowed in her chest, as the knife she held in her hand before now halfway through her right breast.

A cold, icy voice seeped into her ear. And she dreaded every moment that was about to take a hold. Her mind hazed and her vision blurred. "Good luck flying now, Angel."

The familiar voice she feared, was now laughing at her body that fell towards the yellow and bus ridden road. She knew exactly what was coming next. The loud crash of the glass smashing, her body cracking spilling blood from the impact. Her mother always told her when she was young to never give up on herself, but self destruction and inflicting torture gave her the most insane life.

This was bound to come, her death all over the news. She wanted to stop it, everything that created her. But she knew deep down in her bloody heart, that she couldn't. And that caused the worst possible thing to happen.