ONE
“Angel, don’t! Don’t!” The new man shouted at some point.
Stop.
Stop. So loud.
“Kill this man!”
Do it. Stop. Now!
“Go!” Keith shouted. “Go!”
“Angel!” Some man shouted.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
Hurt!
Burn. Burn. Burn. Now!
Boom!
“Angel, it’s me—It’s dad!”
“Keith!’ Angel cried. “Keith!” He didn’t know when he cried. He didn’t know what he said. He didn’t know what was happening. It was too loud, too scary. It was all too much.
“You couldn’t just let go!” Keith shouted.
Now? Minutes ago? Years?
Angel couldn’t remember.
His head started to hurt.
“Pick up the gun,” Keith said.
To him, Angel saw. Keith wanted him to pick up the gun.
Keith wanted him to kill the weird man.
Like the cat.
This wasn’t real.
Wasn’t real.
No one was real.
Only Keith.
Only Keith.
Stop. Stop. Just be dark.
Just be dark.
Too loud.
Angel cried.
“Drop your fucking Pengie and hold the gun!” He shouted.
Angel dropped the penguin. He wanted to pick it back up, he wanted to let go of this gun. He wanted to go over to Keith. He wanted to make him stop yelling at him. He wanted whatever that other thing was to leave so all of this could stop.
Stop. Stop.
Stop it.
Burn.
Loud.
Now burn.
Kill.
“Angel, it’s me!” The weird man yelled.. “It’s dad! It’s your dad!”
“I love you, Angel and I’m sorry!”
“Angel, it’s me!” The weird man said, but his voice was distorted. Scary. “It’s dad! It’s your—”
“I love you, Angel and— sorry!”
“I love you! I care for you! I’ve kept— ” Keith. Keith. Keith.
Only Keith.
Come back.
Stay.
I’m scared.
Scared.
Burn. Burn. Burn!
Angel hunched forward, he almost fell. His body felt wobbly and the want to turn into the darkness was urgent. But he couldn’t. He knew he couldn’t. Keith would be mad at him, would hurt him. Keith would leave him in the darkness. Keith would leave him alone and maybe this time forever.
Stay, please.
I’m scared. I’m scared.
It’s loud!
It’s loud!
Burn!
The weird man and Keith were moving closer to him. They were both looking scary, looking loud. They were both covered in blood, both dripping in sweat, both looking at him. They wanted him to do something. They were going after him.
They were fighting.
Stop it. Stop it. Please.
“He hurt you!” The weird man screamed at the same time as Keith seemed to say, “I love you! I — you! I’ve kept you with me!”
“He’s the bad guy!” the weird man shouted.
The bad guy.
Bad guy.
Bad.
Bad.
Guy.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
Keith!
Keith’s voice pushed through. Angel turned to him and he didn’t leave him. He didn’t look at Pengie. He didn’t look at the weird man.
Only Keith.
Only Keith.
He didn’t let the horrible thoughts and the loud noises knock him over. He wanted to. He wanted so badly. He wanted everything to be dark again. He wanted Keith to hold him and tell him it was alright. He wanted everything to stop and go back to how it was.
He wanted the pain in his back to stop.
“—Want me to be with you?” Keith had shouted at some time. “You shoot that man if— I’ll stay in the darkness forever!”
Forever?
I like forever. Forever, nice.
Forever, please, forever, stay.
Stay. Stay.
Warm.
Hug.
Pengie.
Stay. Stay. Stay with me.
“Shoot the man!”
“Shoot the man!”
“Shoot the man!”
“You kill him! Shoot him!” Keith demanded him, his voice becoming angry again or louder or too much, Angel couldn’t tell. “Do not make me hurt you!”
“Don’t make me hurt you!”
Burn?
Burn. Not burn. Burn.
Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.
Blood.
Meow. Meow. Stop meowing.
Like that day.
Crush. Crush. Snap.
It stopped meowing.
Keith smiled then.
Would Keith smile now?
If it stops meowing?
Stop meowing.
Angel cried. He pointed the gun up a little higher. He looked at the man who stared at him like he was going to come after him. The weird man had tears in his eyes. The weird man hurt Keith and grabbed him. Held him tight and said words. So many words Angel didn’t know—Didn’t want to know.
Words he hadn’t heard before.
Words that made his insides crawl.
“Me, you and Pengie will play cards,” Keith said. His words came out too quick, almost too fast for Angel, but his attention turned to Keith and only Keith. Angel looked at him, wide eyes and hope.
“Me, You, and Pengie will play cards.”
“Me, you and Pengie.”
“Me and you.”
“Me and you.”
“Me.”
Angel didn’t let the warmth take over him. He didn’t run over to Keith. He didn’t drop the gun. He didn’t smile. The weird man still shouted, or he stopped shouting. Angel didn’t know, but Keith was still yelling at him. He still held the gun. He still felt the metal digging into his skin and the fear of burning was still there.
“Forever?” Keith asked.
Forever.
Forever.
Burn. Burn. Burn. Burn.
I want forever.
“Fo-Forever,” Angel said.
His eyes squeezed shut as he pulled the trigger.
This is the first chapter to the second book in The Missing Angel Series. I hope you like this chapter and the many to come!
