Heavenly Hell (Heavenly Hell Book 1)

by Aria Williams

  “See ya later, losers, I’m winning today,” said Nate.

  “Bullshit Nate,” I said.

  “Try and stop me,” he replied.

  He sprinted off quickly. The area between us was becoming greater, and I yearned to beat his sorry arse.

  “Off you go. Flog that smart arse.”

  “Woohoo!” I hollered in Nate's direction.

  Breaking out of a jog and into a sprint, I chased after Nate. I was gaining ground quite quickly. I could see him five meters ahead, and we were already half way around. Putting my head down and willing my legs to go faster, I was on his heels in four quick strides. It felt like I was soaring on the clouds with my angel wings again. He was going as fast as he could, and I knew I could travel faster. I was now next to him as I darted to the side, and his face had taken on a demonic resemblance. The rage cascaded down his features. I was just about to add to that mood even more. I snaked my leg out, tripping him. He fell really hard in a heap. Laughter poured out of my mouth. I could see the finish line and the teachers' looks of concern. Obviously, he was still down, but then I noticed a large grin across Hopwood’s face. He was on his feet again plowing after me. His breathing was ragged, and he showed no signs of giving up. I was almost there with only the remaining five meters approaching fast. I pushed it with everything I could. My foot over shot the finish line by three meters in mid air. Both of us were flying through the air. We were a tangle of body parts. The stupid loser had to tackle me just short of the thick yellow line.

  The asphalt was approaching at insane speeds. I had a split second to react to the looming danger. I moved my legs and pushed his heavy body over, and we hit the ground with brutal force, avoiding the impending crunch of his neck breaking. I was unsure if he possessed any healing abilities of his own, but any mortal wouldn’t have walked away from that injury. For the first time, that question arose. Was he mortal or not?

  This wasn’t the time to ponder this thought anyway because the dumb arse was lying directly on top of me. The teachers came running over, panicking. I could feel scrapes all up the back of my arms, and my legs would be bruised tomorrow. We had slid just a little bit after landing.

  I leaned in toward his ear and yelled while gritting my teeth together producing a snarling tone, “Get the hell off me. Now.”

  I pushed at the same time, and he rolled off the side of me. He wasn’t moving at first, but came around when the teacher started to fuss over him. I stood up and shook it off, forcing myself not to laugh. I turned toward Connor who just crossed the line, as he threw himself at me, hugging me fiercely.

  “Oh God, when I saw how fast you two were falling, I had horrible images of you being taken away in an ambulance. Is he okay?” asked Connor.

  Nate stood up, disoriented for a brief few seconds, and finally composed himself. Come on, Nate, I took the brute of the force; you at least had a cushioning fall. He advanced in our direction, an unnerved expression painted on him. He leaned toward me, inches from my neck.

  “This changes nothing, Indy,” repulsive undertones rotted from his mouth, but something else was behind his voice. I thought he would have thanked me, but it just made him angrier.

  I was bleeding all over Connor, which didn’t seem to bother him. He accompanied me to first aid to clean up. I’m surprised that no teacher suggested we go and get checked out at the hospital for a possible concussion. Didn’t they see how hard we fell? It would have killed anyone else. I used the whole supply of Band-Aids to cover up my scratches. I would have to leave them on for a few days, even though I would heal by tomorrow—if not the end of the day.

  Lunch was next, and I was hungry from the exertion. I had heard from Brandon that our little race had broken some state record. Luckily, we were not racing from the start, or we could have broken some world record. Everyone at the table was talking about it, and as the story travelled, bits and pieces were changed. I didn’t really care at the moment about how good we were.

  “Indy, Nate’s looking at you,” said Nessa.

  “Yeah whatever, probably glaring, wishing he had laser beams for eyes so he could destroy me.” When I looked at him, he looked away, exactly as I thought he would—too ashamed after I saved his arse today.

  No plans were made after school today. We all had too much homework that I wasn’t going to complete, and the others were too tired. The cross country had wiped them out. It was only three little kilometers. I could run that in seven-inch heels and still lap them. For the rest of the day, everywhere I walked people asked me if I was okay. The story had changed to Nate and me going neck and neck for the finish line—I tripped, he assisted me, but we both went down. He was being hailed for his attempt in trying to prevent my fall, and not the arsehole who caused it on purpose. Funny. Hey, and he was going along with it. He thought it was hilarious looking me right in the face as he rode his gallant story. He could have played a role as a circus clown the way his smirk went from one ear to the other.

  He followed me wherever I went that afternoon—in the supermarket to grab a few items, and he followed close by; to the video shop returning my rentals; the bakery grabbing my multi-grain loaf. I thought he had given up when I was a block away from home. But unfortunately, anticipating my destination, I found him parked in my driveway. This was driving me crazy, and he knew that. As I walked past his Holden Commodore, I looked in the windows and found blankets, books, the new Nintendo Wii, and enough food to last him a few days. How long had he planning on stalking me? I had a job to do tomorrow, and I could not do it if he planned on trailing me everywhere. I had a plan if Nate was still being a jerk tomorrow. I doubted in the next twenty-four hours he was going to realize that angels were not evil creatures. I wasn’t exactly living to the code, but at least I didn’t kill people.

  Ailsa rang me to ask what my address was for the micro-chipping details for my new little mate. She was in Bathurst now and was picking up the little dog. She would be dropping off the puppy in the next two hours, and I was really excited. I had decided to call him Lucky, because he was exactly that. If we didn’t have the blackout, and the girls were not bored in class, the party would never have been organized, and we would have never gone over to Bathurst. Since meeting him, I had bought him a new dog bed, and an outside kennel. I didn’t think he will be outside much anyway, only while I was at school, and only ‘til he was toilet trained. Connor was stoked we were getting a dog and also couldn’t wait. I was introducing Connor to my fake mother today. I had to appear a little normal.

  An hour and a half later, I was clock watching, counting down the minutes ‘til I got my little baby. A silver Mercedes pulled up and a man exited holding my puppy. Ailsa came from the driver's side door. Who was this man? He had a handsome, angular face with extremely defined cheekbones. The clothing he wore made him look expensive. They would have come at a cost. Ailsa glided down the footpath, her turquoise summer dress floated behind her, and long platinum blonde hair framed her angelic face. Elle Macpherson was stunning, but Ailsa was in a whole new category. This pair could have been on a runway in an exotic country.

  Opening up my door, I squealed in excitement and shock. The man holding my little dog was Russ. He had traded in his long unkempt beard and outdated hippy clothes. He seemed to have thrown away his best friend also, the flagon of beer. Who knows what that gross beard was hiding?

  Taking my puppy from Russ, I cradled I him in my arms.

  “Oh, thank you so much, Ailsa,” I said.

  “No problem Indy, can you turn around? I want to examine your wings, ” her voice sounded like a lullaby. It was soft and sweet. Ailsa was the only angel who could see our wings. They were normally invisible, but Ailsa was a living connection straight to the big man upstairs.

  She ran her hands through the nothingness behind me.

  “Indy, are you still trying to fix the men of this world?” Ailsa asked with a worrying tone.

  “Yes, I am, why?” I responded slowly.

  “You
r wings are not the same color they normally are.”

  “What color are they?” I could not help but be inquisitive.

  “As you know, every angel's wings appear to me in a translucent pastel color. Your pink wings are now lined in a different color.”

  “Well, what color?” I asked again.

  “A darker color ...” Ailsa was trying to keep something from me. She was skating around the truth.

  “Ailsa! Cut the crap! What color are they?” I demanded. I wanted answers, and I didn’t like people avoiding my questions.

  “They're lined a dark grey. A few shades off black.” Worrying creases lined her forehead.

  “What does that mean?” I was confused and also worried.

  “I don’t know? Just like I don’t know what’s going on with Nardia. Things are changing.” She was becoming exasperated now.

  “Do me a favor, please, Indy, and stay out of trouble. No cases ‘til further notice. We have other angel business to deal with,” Ailsa was begging me.

  “Okay, I promise, no trouble.” I knew the watchers had a few things going on at the moment and now I was adding to their problems.”

  “Can I ask why Russ is here like this? This is not his usual attire,” I said. I was very curious why he was dressed like this.

  “I have been working with Russ for a while now, and he has offered to help,” said Ailsa.

  That was a little odd, but I had to be happy for him. I was wondering if he had a thing for Ailsa.

  I had lied a little about no cases because I had this last one tomorrow and had already committed myself to it. I could not pull out now. I would just be careful to not hurt him. All of this depended on my lovely friend, Nate, and if he was going to wake up and stay away from me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nate

  I was going to try and unravel all of the things that Indy excelled in. Sports were one of them. She was the most athletic girl in the school. I had heard many of the teachers complain about Indy’s lack of school spirit. At the swimming and sports' carnivals she won these events by meters, sometimes even lapping other students.

  The teachers had approached her on many occasions to represent the school at carnivals, as she would be a sure win, but she refused any involvement. She always claimed religious reasons prevented her participation outside school hours.

  I excelled at sports just as much as she did, and with her competitive nature, she would be outraged if I beat her at something as trivial as running. I had suggested cross-country as the sport for Recreational Studies today, but our teacher didn’t understand why. I let him in on my little plan, and he loved it. I hadn’t told him what Indy was, but only that I was here to make her leave town.

  Hopwood had become more confident in his teaching abilities again and was standing in front of the class in his element. He was also marking Indy's papers with honesty, giving her the marks she earned, and not just a pass because he was scared of her.

  This was the first day I had been following Indy around, and it was pretty boring. She didn't do anything special during the day, and I swear she started to talk about tampons and periods to piss me off. It did work, though, so I left her alone for a short time.

  We were heading to Recreational Studies now. I changed into my tank top and shorts. The class was instructed to start running, and I stayed back for a bit, giving everyone a head start. I didn’t want to create any suspicion with the teachers.

  I started the course about five minutes later, keeping to a fast jog. I passed many of the other runners and kept my steady pace. I could see Indy and Connor up ahead, so I started to sprint to catch up to them. When I was level with the pair, I mouthed off a rude comment and kept on going. I could hear the disappointment in Indy's voice as she talked to Connor.

  Looking behind me, I saw Indy trying to catch up. I pushed ahead farther. This was going to be a hard race if she is going as fast as she could. I was paying her no attention, and I had only the finish line on my mind. Like a sore sport, she shoved her leg out in front of me. I tried to gain my balance by rocking back and forth. I was just going too fast and slammed into the ground shoulder first; the pain was unbelievable as it shot up my arm. I had most likely broken my collarbone. Through the intense pain, I stood up—tapping into that connection I felt when demons were around. I used it to give myself the strength and will to chase after her. After a few strides, the pain was gone because pure adrenaline had taken over. It surged through my muscles, powering my legs faster. I had given up the idea of winning the race—now I just wanted to tackle her to the ground and make her crack open her pretty little head.

  I was directly behind her now, and the finish line was a few steps ahead of us. I jumped up, tackling her. We both glided through the air, and I was expecting an even harder fall this time. Indy started to fight me, pushing around for some reason. When I opened my eyes, I saw my head was going to hit the ground and I would possibly snap my neck. I wasn’t sure I could recover from this kind of injury. Indy was still fighting with me as I waited to hit the ground impatiently. My life flashed before my eyes—my horrible childhood played back to me too many times.

  I hit the ground, hard, but something was under me. Something warm, sending tingling feeling spasms through my body. The sensation wasn’t good nor bad ... it was somewhere in between.

  The spasm stopped as Indy told me to get off her, pushing me off at the same time. The strange awareness had disappeared. I felt all these eyes on me. Getting up, I felt very embarrassed that I needed a girl to cushion my fall. This was a low moment and one I wanted to forget fast. Hopwood approached me. He looked down at his stopwatch, and his mouth was gaping wide.

  “What’s up sir?” I choked out through the pain.

  “You pair just broke a state record that was set ten years ago,” said Mr. Hopwood in disbelief.

  “Oh, that can’t be good,” I said.

  It was now too late. The other teachers had heard the news and were now trying to recruit me for the cross-country team. I told them I would think about it.

  There was no chance I would be here when the next cross-country race took place. I would be leaving as soon as I was finished here. This town was boring and lacked the fun things that teenagers liked to do. The fact that they had a skate park was surprising.

  As we headed to lunch, many people patted me on the back. They must have felt sorry for me, also. This made me so annoyed and angry with myself. I felt like everyone was now watching me. I was no longer invisible. One of the girls in our year who I paid limited attention to came right up to me and gave me a hug. She threw her boobs in my face. I didn’t mind that part at all.

  “I wish I had a big strong man like you to look after me,” she pouted her lips giving me one of those duck faces.

  “Oh, ah, what for,” I stammered.

  “You saved Indy’s life today! Taking the fall for her ...” She now groped my biceps.

  Looking around at all of the seniors, they nodded their heads at me. I got a few more pats on the back. It was now looking up; karma was coming back to help me.

  Sitting through lunch, Indy was absolutely pissed that the story with us had changed. She was now known as the helpless damsel, and I was her knight in shining armor. As I watched her, I was laughing on the inside. My plan had worked even better than what I had thought it could.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Indiana

  I was right; Nate hadn’t come to his senses, and I didn’t have a moment to myself all day, except when I decided to test something out. I walked to the toilets and quickly ran into a stall. Grabbing my phone, I texted Connor with specific instructions for a small favor I needed him to do. Flushing the toilet then washing my hands, I walked out the door to where my shadow was waiting. I sat next to Connor, put my bag on the floor and pulled my food out. Nate was sitting on the far end of the table talking to the other boys. He wasn’t concerned with what I was doing now, which I had been hoping for. I opened up my chip packet, at
e a few, and then gave the rest to Connor. I did this every day, but this time I also handed my car key to him in my concealed hand.

  “So are you going to tell me why I am moving your car?” asked Connor.

  “No,” I replied.

  “Okay, why?” he pressed.

  “’Cause it’s none of your business … sorry I can’t.”

  I placed my hand on his arm and looked at him. I could not offer him anymore. I didn’t want to drag Connor into something he didn’t understand.

  Connor looked at me, assessing my face for any clues that he might be able to break me. He stared for a long time, too. Satisfied that I was unbreakable, he gave in.