The Pain Read online

  “What’s the problem?” I asked. “Demons are all around the house.” He replied, “And a lot of them.” I looked out the window and saw about ten demons. “That’s not a lot. You guys get the Demons, I got Lucifer.” They just stared at me so I yelled, “Go!”

  They killed the Demons in what seemed like twenty minutes while I went out looking for Lucifer. I found him. “Anna. I was wondering when you would show up.” I looked him in the eyes and said, “It’s time for you to die, like this.” Before he knew it, I stabbed him with my knife, the only knife with the power to kill Angels. I watched as the light died out in his eyes and they rolled back in his head. It was done.

  By the time I got back, every demon was dead. “The deed isn’t done yet.” I said. They looked confused so I led them to Hell’s Gate. “We have to shut the doors, permanently. It’s the only thing that will save the world.”

  I went up to the Gate, gathered some leaves, and got my blade out. I slashed my hand with it while I watched them (Taylor, Charly, and Blake) look on in horror. I locked them in hard, plastic, bubbles (literally) and locked them inside until I was done. I dripped my blood onto the leaves and pressed them against the door. It shut and now only I had the power to open it. I wouldn’t let anyone in or anything out.to keep this promise, I could do only one thing. I let them out of the bubbles and then took the blade. I shouted to them, “No one goes in, nothing comes out!” after that I slashed my throat open and fell to the floor. It was done.

  “How could we let this happen?” Charly cried as she looked at my limp body. “It wasn’t your fault-“Blake stopped short as he saw something he never thought he’d see again. I breathed in sharply and jumped up as I came back to life. Now the apocalypse will begin.

  I'm falling. I'm falling into endless darkness and I don't know if I'll make it out. Wait, I see a light, but it's closing, closing on me. I'm all alone. Is this what death feels like? Is it just endless nothingness? I'm dead and I don't care.

  I jolted up in bed, gasping for air as I woke up from my crazy nightmare, yet again. Ever since that fateful night, when I killed my father, I've been having that same nightmare. You'd think after six months I'd get over it, but I haven't. It's always the same and it never changes.

  I glanced at the mirror, just for a second, and gasped. The dark circles under my eyes were darker than ever. My face was pale, as if I'd seen a ghost. In a way I have. They visit me, haunting my dreams, every night. My ruby red hair was tangled and unkempt. I looked like I was anorexic and, to be honest, I just looked like a walking corpse.

  I rarely talked to anyone and those who tried to get me to, I pushed away and eventually left me alone, all except Charly. She wouldn't give up on me so I tried to avoid her. That didn't work either. She was determined and doesn't give up very easily. She's a fighter and means well, in her own way.

  "Oh, come on. Can't I hear just one word, Anna?" Charly begged me. For those who didn't read the first part of my story, my name is Anna Gordon and I killed my father. I've lost everything. Charly is the only one who believes in me. Even the love of my life, Blake, gave up on me and left.

  "Charly." I said to appease her. She clapped her hands and whooped with a joyous tone. "Yes! Finally!" she screamed. I laughed. All of a sudden, she got serious. "Anna, I'm sorry about what you had to do to your dad, but you can't keep pushing people away. People need to get through to you. You should know this. Blake didn't give up. He thought you'd be better off without him, but he didn’t leave. He would never leave you. He loves you."

  I started crying and said, "Then where is he?" She paused and said in a small voice, "The bushes behind you. My mouth opened in surprise and, for once, I showed emotion. I looked behind me and he was standing right there. I jumped at least ten feet in the air. "Where have you been?" I asked in a shaky voice.

  He seemed a little nervous which immediately made me nervous. I wasn't going to speak to him. I was going to continue my silence. He finally spoke after a long awkward silence and said, "Okay, look, Anna. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you had to kill your father. I'm sorry for not being here for you. I'm sorry for everything."

  I didn't speak, just nodded, saying that I understood with my actions. "I just want to hear your voice," he said. "I understand. I just don’t know why you're still here. I've given you every right to leave. You should forget me." I said to him. “I will never give up on you, ever. You are the love of my life. Taylor only left because he had no other choice. Charly even made him leave after he was going to stay against your wishes." Blake told me.

  My cell phone vibrated and I picked it up. It was an unknown number. "Hello?" I called. "You are to do exactly as I say. Do not hang up." a voice said, over the phone. "And why would I do what you say?" I asked. The voice laughed. Blake had a questioning look in his eyes and Charly looked worried. "Because," the voice said, "If you don't, your brother will die and Blake and Charly will be soon to follow. I need you to tell Blake and Charly that everything is fine. Say it now and make it sincere."

  I swallowed, looked at Blake and Charly, and said, "Everything is fine. You have nothing to worry about." The voice seemed pleased with my answer as they said, "Good, that's very good. I need you to go home. Do nothing else until I arrive." I heard the faint click of them hanging up and hit the 'end' button. "I have to go." I said as I rushed off. "Wait,” Charly said, "I'm your ride! You can't walk home." She ran up to me as did Blake. "What's going on?" He asked. "Nothing," I lied. "I can tell when you're lying, Anna. Just like I knew you were lying when you said everything was fine. Something happened. Who was that?" Charly asked.

  "I don't know, okay? I don't know. All I know is they have my brother. They said "You must go home now" and they also said "If I don't they'll take you two too and kill Taylor." I may have exaggerated that last part a little bit. Their eyes widened and I started walking. "Wait! I'll drive you," Charly said. "Okay, it may be faster." We left. I hoped I didn't regret it. I really did.

  We got there and I found that somebody was already there. "Thanks for the ride." I told Charly and she drove off. I walked inside to find that there were three Fallen Angels. I knew them. "Must we do this now?" I asked them. "Yes, we must. He betrayed Lucifer, your father." Rebekah, the first one, said. Of all the three, she was my least favorite. She was a snob.

  She had blonde curly, silky waves that reached down to the middle of her back. Clad in all black, she was a mini devil. She was one of my father's favorites. She had black skinny jeans, black leather boots, a black t-shirt, and black leather jacket that smelled new. Her eyes were black and cruel and her complexion was pale and cold as ice.

  "You actually think you can tell me what to do? You think it was easy to kill my father? Afterwards, yeah I closed the Gate, but when I woke up I was in unbearable pain of the loss. I loved him." I lectured. They shifted their heels awkwardly. Lauren, the second one, was the complete opposite of Rebekah. She always wore light-colored clothing.

  Lauren was the nicest of the three. She didn't try to provoke you to anger like Rebekah did. She saw no need to. She had jet black hair down to her waist that was always straight. She had on a white sweater, black jeans, and black converse. Her eyes were blue and open, much like a sky, and her skin tone was dark and her skin was warm. In many ways, she was like a high school student. She definitely looked like one.

  They say the eyes are the windows to the soul so Lauren was kind and Rebekah was just, NOT. They also say opposites attract so I guess that's why Rebecca and Lauren were best friends. The third one, however, was not like either of them. His name was Jayden and he hated both darkness and light. He preferred twilight. His clothing always compromised. His shirt was white, his jeans were black, and his Nike's were black spotted with white.

  He didn't like discipline. He shifted on topics a lot and didn't seem to care what damage he did. Of all the three, in my opinion, he was the most dangerous. You didn't know whether to trust him or not. He was more dangerous than Rebekah and that was saying some
thing.

  Rebekah looked down. "We know you did. It's just...he was like a father to us and you killed him." I looked away. "Then are we done here?" She laughed and her mask of evil came back on. "Well, of course not. We have to kill you before we leave." Before I could run or heck, even shout for help, Jayden had me pinned against the wall with his hand squeezing my neck, choking me and Rebekah had her hand over my mouth.

  Right when I thought I was going to choke to death, Kira busted my door open and threw them off of me. I quickly grabbed my Angel-killing blade and tried to kill Rebekah and Jayden, but they moved too quickly and retreated out the door. We looked at each other and hugged. "Oh my goodness, Kira, you are here!” I exclaimed, "What the heck are you doing here?" She looked at me and said, "Saving you. Wasn't that Rebekah?"

  "Yes it was. She was seeking vengeance because I killed her Master."

  "You're the one that killed Lucifer?"

  "You mean my father? Yes, it was me."

  "Annabelle, you get yourself into lots of trouble."

  I smiled. "Not as much as you, Kirabear"

  "And we're done."

  We left the building, but as soon as we walked out, she was being choked by...Blake! "Get off of her!" I cried as I pulled him off. "Who's this?" he asked. "You don't remember her? This is my cousin, Kira. She's the "Good Witch of the Land". Seriously she's not into voodoo. She's an actual witch. Where is Charly?" I asked him. "She's-", he started. "I’m right here!" Charly jumped up beside us and finished for him.

  "Hey, Kira, I thought you'd be here soon. Is something upsetting the balance?" Charly asked. "Yes," Kira replied, "There is more Fallen Angels showing up everywhere. It's tipping the balance between the good and evil towards the evil. We need to figure out why." Suddenly I knew what was happening. "I know what's going on. They're building an army. They found a new leader."

  Chapter 4

  We all got into our cars and drove to my house. We had to come up with a plan. We walked into my living room, which was much cluttered. There were postcards, bills, and magazines on the brown coffee table in the middle of the room and the golden covered couch had college applications strewn about it. The green chair in the corner was, for once, clean. "Sorry about the mess. I've just been really stressed out." I began to pick up the college applications, but one of them fell.

  Blake bent down to pick it up. "College applications?" he asked. I stacked them all up and began gathering all of the bills, postcards, and magazines and set them on the marble kitchen counter. "Uh, yeah, I hadn't expected to deal with anything so soon. I at least wanted to try to be normal." I said and sat down on the couch. They did the same.

  "You knew that they would eventually come after you, didn't you?" Charly asked. I looked at her and said, "Yes, I knew. I don't know what they're up to, but I intend to find out. There were three of them in the building. Only two tried to kill me because one of the girls, Lauren, is lighter than anything else. She hates pain and suffering."

  "Is there such thing as a light Angel?" Charly asked.

  "Yes, there most definitely is. I used to be one. When my father fell, so did I. He forced me to and it was...excruciating.

  "Don't you choose though?" Blake asked.

  "No, it was impossible for me to choose. I had my father's blood and that was good enough for Joshua."

  "Joshua?" Kira asked, confused.

  "He is otherwise known as God. I like to think of him as my real Dad. Lucifer, my blood father, was never my dad, only Him. I love him too. I wish I could just see Him, just once more. I miss Him. I didn't want to Fall. I don't know why I've been so sad about my father's death. Perhaps, it's because I have no other father now. Joshua disowned me when I fell."

  Everyone gasped, as if they thought He would never go there. Anna, a voice said. "Do you guys hear that?" I asked. "Hear what?" Kira asked. I laughed weakly. "I could have sworn I heard my name." Anna, the voice said again. I looked up and down, left and right, and every direction I could think of to find the source. My daughter, Anna, the voice said again. I jumped up, flying up the stairs trying to find out who it was.

  Once I got to my bedroom, I saw Him. "Joshua?" I cried, hoping it was really him. "It is me, my child. I heard what you said when you were talking to Kira, Charly, and Blake. I did not do that. You are not cast out of Heaven. You never fell. You were taken by Lucifer as a child." He said to me.

  "But how is it possible? And why did you just choose now to show up in my life?" I asked. He looked upon me with love and compassion and said, "Perhaps, I can show you what happened." He held out his hand and I immediately took it. I saw a flash of light and then I was sprawled across the floor in a pearly white Mansion. There was a golden fountain and mahogany tables and chairs.

  The floor was made of the finest of silvers and above a pure white mantel over a warm fireplace was a picture of me. I didn't really remember much, just that I lived here until I was eight and then my father was cast out of Heaven and he took me with him. I originally thought that I had been cast out too. I gathered up my skirts, just then noticing my silver dress that was corseted from the waist up, was strapless, and the skirt was really big, like the women wore in the 1800s on the Earth Plane.

  I ascended the pearly white staircase and came across a door. My bedroom, I suddenly remembered. I walked inside and saw my pale pink walls, watermelon colored bed, and silver dresser. My closet was a walk-in closet and was filled with every article of clothing and shoe known to Angels. In the middle of the room sat Joshua.

  "You needed to see what it looked like before it all happened," He said. I looked around and then looked at the silver dress I was currently wearing. "Why was I wearing this?" I asked. Pure pain was etched into his eyes and they were shining, as if He were about to cry. "The day he fell, and took you with him, was the day of your eighth birthday. You had your party that day and that was the dress you had been wearing.

  "You should know something. You're not like the other Angels. You never knew your mother, because you were up in Heaven. Your mother is human. That's how you didn't fall like your father did. You can visit and live on Earth while the other Angels cannot. Because your father kidnapped you, and took you to Hell, you can go there too. You can go to all three places. You're the leader. You're the One that everyone has been waiting for." Joshua finished.

  I sat on the bed, with my skirts laying neatly on the bed and floor. "What do you mean I'm the 'One'?" I asked, putting my hand against my forehead. He sighed and sat gently next to me. "The Fallen Angels and Heavenly Angels are going to war. Rebekah and Jayden were trying to capture you, to take you back to Hell to be there leader. It's your choice, not mine. You must choose now. Who is your army? Do you choose Heaven or Hell?"

  I started breathing rapidly in and out of my mouth, which I do when I am in fear. I arose and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I looked into my eyes and I remembered. I remembered everything. Every last detail flashed before my eyes.

  I was being rushed out of the ballroom by my father, saying we had we had to leave. "But, father! I don't want to leave!" I cried. He dragged me along anyways and when I dug my heels into the ground, he slapped me across the face, leaving a handprint. "Listen to me, Anna! If you don't come with me now, you will die." Tears rolled down my face and I was dragged off into the night, without Joshua.

  I gasped as this all flashed through my mind. I walked over to Joshua. "I choose Heaven. So are we going to save the world or what?" I said and we flashed back to my bedroom with me sprawled across the floor, in the silver dress.

  Chapter 5

  "Wake up! Wake up! Anna, wake up!" Kira kept repeating over and over while my head was in her lap and her hands were cradling it. I blinked up in surprise and sat up. "What's wrong?" I asked as I stood up and they did too. "What's wrong?" Kira exclaimed in an are-you-kidding-me tone. "What? I told you I heard something." I said.

  They all looked at me strangely; like they thought I was crazy. "Why are you in that dress anyways?" Charly
asked. I looked down at my black stilettos. "It's kind of a long story, one that you wouldn't really believe so I'm going now. Bye guys." I left hoping I would see Joshua again.

  "Anyone else think she's acting strange?" Blake asked. Everyone nodded their heads. Kira jumped up, for some weird reason, and took off down the stairs. "What are you doing?" Charly called as she ran down the stairs after her with Blake close behind. Kira found her bag and took out what seemed to be a photo album. She started flipping through it and pulled one out. "Aha! I knew I had seen that dress before." She yelled.

  "What are you talking about?" Charly asked. Kira handed her the photo. "Oh my God," she exclaimed, "When was this taken?" She looked at the photo and couldn't believe that it was that dress. "It was taken eight years ago." Kira said.

  "I've only known her for three years. When was this taken?" Charly asked.

  "I think it was taken in her Mansion." Kira told her.

  "Where is her Mansion?" Blake asked.

  "It’s in Heaven." Kira answered.

  Charly and Blake's jaws dropped. "Close your mouths. You'll catch flies." Kira lectured. They immediately closed them. When Charly found her ability to speak, she stuttered, "H-H-Heaven? But-But-But she's from Hell." Kira sighed, as if she were lecturing a child. "She was originally from Heaven. Her father, Lucifer, kidnapped her when she was eight, on her birthday, and that was the dress she was wearing."

  Charly was still confused. "But how can she be on Earth, or rather, how can we be on Earth? Angels, Fallen Angels, are the only ones who can be on Earth. I know I'm not an Angel and Anna isn't either." Kira shook her head and said, "That is completely incorrect. You're and Angel and so is Anna, well kind of. Anna is not a full-blooded Angel, but you are." Kira started to pick up her stuff, but Charly stopped her.