“Get out!” Jerome roared. He didn’t want to wait for the intruder to make the first move. He wanted to have the upper hand. He already had the element of surprise, he needed to capitalize on it.
The man didn’t move, he just kept staring at Jerome. The look in his eyes told him he was torn. He had come there for a purpose and now he wasn’t sure whether he should just run or not.
Jerome took a step forward, trying to look as menacing as possible. He gritted his teeth, sneering and growling at the man. He took another step, reaching punching distance if he needed to get his point across further.
“Get out and don’t come back!”
For the first time, the man spoke. “Dude, what are you?”
Jerome took a deep breath, ready to end the conversation. He yelled as loud as he could manage: “Get out!”
This time, the young man didn’t hesitate. He ran for the door and headed down the corridor as fast as his feet could take him. He didn’t stop until he was well out of sight.
Jerome was shaking, his arms and legs feeling like jelly. The encounter was frightening, even though he had won and probably had the upper hand the whole time. He didn’t like frightening humans, nor wishing them ill will. But he had no choice, right? He had to protect his human, he had to keep her away from harm. No matter what.
“You can come out now,” he said to the bathroom door. It opened only moments after, Leila peeking her head out.
“Is everything okay?”
“He’s gone.”
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Leila crossed the room and looked him over from head to toe, searching for any damage he may have suffered. “You sounded hurt.”
“I did?”
“You were scary.”
Jerome was hurt, but not physically. He didn’t want to be scary and, above all, he didn’t want Leila to think he was scary. It was the last thing he wanted. He didn’t know what to say, how do you convince someone you could never hurt them? He couldn’t say it with words.
He took her hands in his, holding them tightly and wishing he wasn’t shaking so bad. He looked into her eyes, forcing himself to calm down. He couldn’t convince her of his intentions if he didn’t convince himself first.
“Leila, I’m never going to hurt you. It’s not even possible, I’m here to protect you. I live purely to protect.”
“It’s okay, Jerome,” Leila smiled. “It just surprises me sometimes. I keep forgetting you’re not human.”
“The wings don’t give it away?”
“I barely notice them.”
Jerome had never heard such beautiful words. He didn’t know why it pleased him so much, but it did. She didn’t see the wings, she thought he was just like her. He wanted to tell her how happy she had made him but he couldn’t. It was stupid feeling so sentimental over a human. His kind were there to serve and protect humans, not build relationships with them. If there wasn’t a war going on around them, she wouldn’t even know he existed.
He let her hands go, taking a step backwards. It was dangerous talking so opening with a human, he had to remember there was a line between them and he shouldn’t cross it. He was only on Earth long enough to find the answers to end the war. He couldn’t divert from the mission.
“Did I say something wrong?” Leila asked after his abrupt movement.
“No, it’s just that we have work to do,” Jerome tried to make his voice sound normal. She couldn’t know how much she meant to him. It was wrong. He wouldn’t do it again. “You have to move. We can’t stay here any longer, your apartment has been broken into twice now. The guy might come back if he knows I’m here.”
“But this is my home,” Leila protested. It may not have been much, but it was still hers, the only home she had known in a long time. “I don’t want to leave.”
“You want to be killed instead?” He knew the words were harsh but they had to be said. He had to convince her to leave and she didn’t normally listen to reason.
“No. But there’s no saying they’ll come back.”
“They might not but somebody else might. When that guy goes back to his friends and he tells them about the big guy with wings, their curiosity might get the best of them. They might come looking and they might not be alone.”
Leila resigned herself to the fact he was probably right. The doorknob to the apartment was completely broken and they would never be able to repair it. Without a doorknob, there was absolutely nothing keeping the outside out and the inside in. It was no longer feasible staying there if it wasn’t safe.
“Fine, we’ll move.”
It didn’t take them long to pack. The food and the few bathroom supplies were all they needed to take. They could come back for the bed if they needed to, but they weren’t prepared to carry it around while they searched for a new home. It would only attract even more attention than they wanted.
Their options for a new residence were limited. With each building they entered, there was a risk they would find people already living there. People were prepared to fight to the death for their few possessions and their shelter was their most coveted. Running into other people was a hazard, there was no certainty how they would react. They had to tread carefully.
Leila was surprised to encounter so many people. She would see them often in the street but there were still more than she expected. She had thought the population had at least halved since the war started and the violence erupted, but she had overestimated the number of casualties. People were resilient, proven fighters if they were still alive after having gone through so much.
“Perhaps we should try a house,” Jerome suggested after leaving the thirteenth apartment building they had traipsed through. They had randomly tried different doors and they were all occupied by at least one haggard looking person who wasn’t happy to see them. They definitely weren’t making any friends.
“I guess it would give us more privacy,” Leila agreed. “There will be less people around to see you.”
“Maybe some more room too, somewhere I can spread my wings.”
“Does it hurt, having them folded?” She asked, purely out of curiosity but would hate to think he was in pain too.
“Not so much hurt, they just get uncomfortable if they’re folded for a long time. They like to be stretched out now and then,” Jerome explained, wondering how he could put it into human terms. “It’s like sitting with your legs crossed for too long. You need to straighten them after a while.”
Leila nodded, understanding. They headed for the outskirts of the city and into the suburbs, Jerome trying to walk slower to match Leila’s pace. It seemed to take them forever, but they made it eventually.
It was easier determining which of the houses were occupied and which weren’t, but it was still just a guess. Some windows with heavy drapes and curtains or a lone light shining in the window betrayed a resident. They targeted the ones that looked the most neglected and decrepit. If half the roof had fallen in or the front door was off its hinges, then it was a possibility they were looking at their new home.
Leila couldn’t understand why someone would make it so obvious that they lived in one of the houses. They may as well paint a large red target on the walls. The minute someone knew you were there, the minute they could decide to attack. Whether they hurt you for your shelter, food, or supplies, it didn’t matter. They probably wouldn’t even get much, but you were managing to survive there and that meant you had more than they did. It was one of the reasons why Leila had chosen an apartment to live in, you could hide your existence so much better from the outside world. All you had to do was put up a dark sheet across the window, be quiet, and nobody would even know you were there.
She did understand, however, the desire to make your life seem as normal as possible. The people that stayed in their house and refused to lower their standards of living were the ones stubbornly refusing to adapt to change. Most of them would have been wiped out by now, but some were still lucky. Perhaps they had it right,
live as normal until someone kills you for what you have. At least you didn’t have to live in hell in the meantime.
“How about this one?” Jerome asked as they stepped into another house. It was the sixth one they had toured and Leila had found something wrong with them all.
“It’s too big,” she commented, standing in the large living room.
The truth was, the house was nice. Half of it was destroyed and lying on the ground, but there were a few rooms that would be suitable – including a bathroom and three quarters of a kitchen. What was left of the house was furnished and they could be comfortable there. Lying in the ruins were linens, including sheets and blankets. They wouldn’t have to search for much to live there.
The problem was it reminded Leila too much of her family’s home. The four bedrooms, single level home she used to share with her two sisters and parents held too many memories – both good and bad. Everything she remembered about her family was tainted with the last time she had seen them. She couldn’t recall them without thinking about their deaths. It was still so very painful.
“It’s fine,” Jerome sighed. “Let’s just give it a shot. If we don’t like it here, we can find somewhere else.”
“I don’t want to stay,” Leila walked into the sunshine outside, not arguing the point. She wanted to be away from the house and away from the memories it provoked.
Jerome turned and followed her, giving up. He could sense something was wrong with her but couldn’t put his finger on exactly what. They walked for a block before finding another house that was suitably ruined.
The door was ajar, covered in lime green graffiti. Leila pushed it open, the place was in darkness. It was a good sign, they did a silent walk around. Most of the two bedroom duplex was intact except for the back of the house. They could only assume a small bomb had been exploded in the backyard, causing the back wall to cave in. It was probably a homemade device, used to scare people so they would flee in terror. It was what most of the low level criminals were using these days.
“How about this one?” Jerome quietly crossed his fingers, hoping she wouldn’t find fault with it. He was tired of searching, any of the houses they had gone through would have been suitable in his opinion. Either humans were fussy, or there was something he couldn’t see.
Leila finally – seemingly miraculously – nodded in agreement. “This will be fine. We should block out all the windows at the front and check the locks all work. We’ll board up and reinforce anything that can’t be locked.”
They got to work, moving in harmony with each other. Most of the windows at the front and side of the house were largely intact, the back ones were all blown out. Someone, or several people more likely, had gone through the house and stripped it of anything valuable. They left a few linens, a bed, a lounge, and a coffee table. Everything else had been pillaged and long gone. It wasn’t nearly as well equipped as the last house, but it didn’t remind Leila of her family. To her, that made it far more comfortable.
She checked the bathroom, there was running water but it wasn’t hot. The electricity had probably been turned off months ago. Still, running water would be a help. If they could heat it with gas then she could cook and she was used to taking cold showers by now.
“I think the safest room is going to be the garage,” Jerome commented, returning inside. “There’s only a small window and it’s up high. We can lock the door and wedge it closed. It’s noisy to open so if anyone tries to get in, we’ll be given plenty of warning.”
“We’ll need to move the furniture in there. Will it be big enough for your wings?”
“It’s bigger than the other rooms, there’s plenty of space to stretch.”
They spent the next hour making the house into their home. They arranged the few items of furniture around the garage. The bed was a double, at least they wouldn’t have to squish together just to sleep. The house was definitely an improvement from the tiny apartment, even if it was literally a bomb site.
As they worked, Jerome couldn’t help but notice Leila’s quietness. He sensed there was something wrong and took the opportunity to delve a little deeper while their hands were busy.
“We looked at a lot of houses today,” he started casually. “Were you holding out for a duplex, or was there something you didn’t like about the others?”
For a moment, Leila thought about lying. However, she didn’t think she would be able to. Jerome had a way of looking at her and she just knew he knew everything that was really going on in her mind. She decided to stick to the truth, it was safer even if more painful. “The other houses were like the one I used to live in.”
Jerome nodded, understanding. Not just imagining what it must feel like, but actually knowing what it felt like. He was grateful the houses in his village were so different from those on Earth. At least there were no reminders here for him.
“I’m sorry,” he replied, simply. There didn’t seem to be any other words that could heal the wound. He wasn’t going to be able to take away the pain, despite how much he wanted to. And he really wanted to.
Leila unfolded a sheet she had found and tucked it into the mattress on the bed. “Do angels have families?”
“We do.”
“You never talk about them.”
Now it was Jerome’s turn to feel the pull of the bandages over his heart. “They were killed by demons.”
“Oh.”
“It’s okay, it was a while ago now.”
Leila sat on the freshly made bed, watching him put away the small amount of food she possessed. She didn’t have any superpowers, but she knew he was lying too. “I’m sorry. What were they like?”
Jerome focused on making sure the potatoes were perfectly aligned. Where did he even start? His family were wonderful. They were loving and supportive, they made him laugh and comforted him when he cried. They were the centre of his universe and he felt like he had been spinning out of control ever since they died. Up until he had fallen to Earth and met Leila, anyway.
“I had a mother and a father that were really great. I also had a younger sister, she annoyed me most of the time, but she was funny and sweet. You remind me of her sometimes.”
“What was her name?”
“Breeanna.”
“I’m sure you miss her every day,” Leila said as Jerome sat on the bed next to her. He was heavier than her, she had to stop herself rolling straight into his lap.
“Every minute of every day. Did you have any sisters?”
“Two. Emily and Kate,” Leila chuckled to herself, remembering them and how much time they spent fighting over the smallest things. It all seemed so stupid. “They were really annoying too. We fought all the time.”
“I think that’s normal. At least, it is in the angel world.”
“On Earth too.”
Jerome wove his fingers through hers, a silent attempt at comfort. “I think our families would be proud of us and what we’re trying to do here. They would be happy we were doing something to help.”
“Yeah, I think so too.” She squeezed his hand, it was comforting having him there. And she was sure her parents would be proud of her. They would probably be happy too that she had Jerome to help fight with her. Not many people got to have a real guardian angel around to protect them. And if they did, they didn’t get to know about it.
“I should probably get back to the food,” Jerome said, extracting his hands and standing. “It’s not going to stack itself.”
“Yeah,” Leila took a deep breath, trying to focus again. “You know, there are lots of orphans now. At least we know we’re not alone.”
“I don’t know how comforting that is,” he grinned, teasing.
“Even the mortal who is going to save the world is an orphan. Yet an orphan they will be. Tiresias said so.” She thought back to the prophecy. It would probably be harder to find someone who wasn’t an orphan these days.
“I guess that’s not going to narrow down the list then.”
&n
bsp; “Nope. I’m going to check the house and see if I can find a pillow for the bed.” Leila stood and left him to the food. At least she knew she could trust him with it, there was no way he would sneak a few bites here and there. He was the ideal housemate, really. He looked after her, didn’t need to eat, he could fly, and he kept her warm. She got along with him much better than her sisters.
She did a methodical and thorough search through the house, this time including the area covered in rubble. Her target was a pillow but it seemed like it was a luxury long lost to the past. She hadn’t slept with one for months, not since her last one was stolen from the shelter she had briefly stayed in. That was the first time she had realized that she was alone in the world and needed to step up or she would become another victim too. Everything changed that day.
Bricks were laying everywhere, concrete dust settling on every available countertop. It was difficult to breathe through it, but Leila wasn’t going to give up. She delved deep into the rubble, keeping her eyes open for anything that might be useful.
Then she saw it. Something she had not been expecting but was more than welcome. Something that was going to make her life so much easier.
CHAPTER 8
Leila couldn’t believe she held a laptop computer in her hands. She hadn’t seen one for over a year. She completely forgot about the pillow and moved the bricks away. Blowing the dust off the lid, Leila opened the laptop. It had a dint in the lid but the screen was intact and it didn’t look in too bad condition. The electrical cord was still plugged in, like it had been charging when the bomb went off. If they could find a power supply, she would be able to test it to see if it still worked. It was a long shot, but it was a start.
“Jerome, I found a computer,” Leila yelled excitedly.
“A what?”
She forget he was a technophobe. Standing, she went to show him what she meant. He took the black rectangular box from her and examined it, opening the lid several times to work it out.
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