Of Angels and Demons

Chapter 4

When Richie came to,  he was greeted by darkness.

He closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping that would clear his vision.

Still darkness.

It was then that he realized that it was night.

He couldn't see clearly, but he could hear crickets, and he could see bits and pieces of the night sky through the holes in the ceiling. The stars were glowing clearly, which relieved him because he hadn't seen them since he came to earth.

After a few more minutes of admiring the night sky, he took in his surroundings.

He was in a dark room, surrounded by worn down walls.

The surface was hard too, and he wasn't sure he wanted to move.

His body felt numb, but he was sure it was just an illusion.

He turned his head slightly, noticing that his wings were still out.

They lay limp, but he didn't dare try to test its state.

"Hey." A voice brought him out of his reverie, focusing on the source.

A figure sat against the wall of the building a couple feet away from him.

"E-Eddie?" He managed in a croak.

"Yep. It's me." He smiled.

Richie stared at him for a few more seconds before focusing back onto the ceiling, groaning as he felt an intense headache coming on.

He heard Eddie shuffling, and he soon stood next to him.

"How are you?" He asked.

Richie scoffed, "How do you think?"

Eddie gave him a look of sympathy, "Well. I thought I'd wait until you woke up before going back into town, if there's any left of it, and get some first-aid stuff."

Richie turned to look at him again, brows furrowed, "No."

Eddie stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a breathy laugh, "Richie. You're in pretty bad shape, your wounds are gonna need proper care, until you're able to heal yourself."

"You can't go back there." Richie persisted.

"Well, I wasn't asking permission." Eddie smiled.

Richie rolled his eyes, glancing up at the sky for a few seconds.

Finally, he carefully lifted his arm, slowly reaching for his battered coat.

Thank god it was still there.

"Here. Take this." Richie finally said, handing him the dagger he had threatened him with just days ago.

Eddie stared at Richie's hand like it was a foreign object, glancing at the knife, then to Richie.

"Take it. If you're gonna go do something stupid, at least with this you'll stand a chance." Richie insisted, stretching his arm further to him.

It was then that the pain started to bloom.

Holy fuck!

He fought off showing any sign of pain.

Eddie slowly edged toward him, eyes focused on his, clearly scanning him for any signs of a trick.

Slowly, he took the dagger from his hand.

Richie let his arm rest back onto the ground, hoping that if he went still again, the pain would cease.