Forgiveness For My Dark Angel: Angels of the Apocalypse # 2

2: And Encounters With Demons

The next time I saw Amy, I was outside the colony with a group. Some hunters had set traps they were hoping had caught game, and the rest of us were out foraging. Or well, that’s what we were supposed to be doing.

I was out looking for Amy.

It was the first time I’d managed to get out of the Colony since I’d seen him. The guards had seen him disappear and automatically made the assumption he was a Demon, and therefore no good, despite my protests. So I’d been confined to the colony, along with all the other women, on the off chance Amy was scouting for Breeders, and the men only went out in groups of three or more. It was frustrating to say the least. After a few weeks of nothing happening, the colony relaxed a little though, so there I was, sneaking through the forest hoping to find him somewhere.

It was a disappointing search, to say the least, and when I reached the stream that ran sluggishly through a rather bare area, I decided to take a break with my shoes off and soak my feet in the stream. Maybe I’d find some fruit trees or bushes nearby, courtesy of local wildlife headed to the stream to drink. If not, I spotted a patch of wild carrots across the stream I could go after. They may be small and look weird, but they’d at least be something. On second thought, I might gather them anyway. If the colony kitchen didn’t want them, maybe I could make some soup.

“What are you so deep in thought about?” Amy’s voice made me jump so hard I nearly fell face forward into the water. If he hadn’t grabbed my wrist, I probably would have tumbled in. Electricity and warmth immediately shot through my body, possibly worse than the last time Amy and I had touched. The tingling sensation had a deep pull to it, which caused me to gasp and spin, at the same moment he released my wrist with a shocked expression. I slipped on the wet rocks beneath my feet and felt the world tilt. s**t, this was going to hurt. Scrunching my eyes, I braced for impact, but only heard Amy cursing instead, as his strong, warm fingers caught me and scooped me up.

“Damn, damn, damn. Why am I always saving you?” Amy complained wryly. My eyes popped open.

“Hey now, wait a minute, this time it was your fault buddy!” I accused as he set me down like I had the plague. His lips quirked and he ran a hand through that long hair I itched to play with.

“True. I suppose I owe you an apology.” He offered, then heaved a sigh and sat on the bank of the stream. “I don’t know why you’re such a temptation. Out of all of you. Is it because you don’t fear me like any of the others? What makes you different?” He muttered to himself.

“Maybe it’s love.” I blurted, and then sat quickly so I wouldn’t have to see him look at me.

“That.. can’t be. My kind is not allowed to be involved romantically with yours. I..have no such feelings.” Amy choked out.

“I didn’t say it was you.” I mumbled. “Besides, maybe it’s more infatuation or a crush. I’m sure I’ll get over it.” Even though I’d just sat, I forced myself to my feet and looked for my shoes. As I was about to fetch them, Amy caught my wrist again.

“Please, don’t go. I.. haven’t seen you in a while. I’m sorry for being rude. There are just things that make my life.. Difficult..” Amy murmured. With a hmph, I sat back down.

“If you mean being a Demon, I already figured that one out.” I crossed my arms, still refusing to look at him.

“Oh?” He teased, bumping me with his shoulder. “And what else did you figure out?” I hesitated. “Well come on, don’t be shy now, you almost never are!” He continued to taunt.

“I..” I gulped. “I don’t think you're like the others.” Rushed from me all at once. “You seem kinder, and you haven’t tried to hurt or kidnap me to use me as a slave or.. Anything. In fact, you saved me..” Amy was suddenly very close to me, his face mere inches from mine.

“Listen to me. Never be fooled by my kind. Some of us may act companionable, maybe even friendly, but never believe it is for anything more than our own purposes. We always have ulterior motives. They’re never good or honest or true. We will use you and spit out your remains without pity or a second thought, never forget that.” Amy spat the words at me almost venomously, and I pulled back from him, unable to hide my hurt feelings.

“Even you?” I asked as he backed away again, settling back down beside me. He ran a hand over his face.

“Especially me. I cannot return your affections. It’s forbidden. But I will lead you on because it’s in my nature, despite my warnings, and my best efforts not to. Because I don’t want to, it’s just not possible for me to prevent you from becoming enamored with this..” He waved a hand at his body. “..mirage.” I frowned harder.

“I’m not that shallow.” I pouted. Amy looked at me with a glimmer of surprise. “I mean don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful, and you smell like fall and campfires and you taste like s’mores and God knows I’m addicted to the way it feels when you touch me, but-” I huffed as Amy looked disturbed. “You used to come to the bookstore. I could never say your name quite right, but you laughed about it instead of getting angry. And oh God that laugh!” I looked off into the distance as memories slipped through my mind like mist, insubstantial, dreamlike. “And we used to talk about books.. You were on the waiting list of some garden club monthly issue, I thought it was funny and teased you, because you didn’t look like the type, so you showed me your garden-the butterflies and hummingbirds were everywhere, but also bees, and I’m accident prone, so I got stung and you felt guilty and, and-” Tears had started pooling in my eyes and I forced myself to my feet.

“I started falling in love with you then,but I forgot it all because that was almost fifteen years ago, and I was only seventeen, and you haven’t changed at all! Even if I thought I’d ever see you again, I never thought-” I crossed my arms and glared at him angrily through my tears. “You were my first big crush, and I don’t believe it! I don’t believe anything you’re saying!” I stomped my foot like a child, which earned an amused look from Amy. “Love can’t be illegal or forbidden, or it shouldn’t be! And you’re not evil! You’re good and kind and always have been! You were always so sweet to me, so gentlemanly. I thought you were an Angel that day in your garden!” My voice trailed off as Amy straightened with a start.

“I still do, actually..” I whispered, then turned to grab my basket and shoes, forgetting all about the wild carrots or any other foraging, and stumbled my way through the woods until I found the other humans. Amy didn’t show himself again that day, but I was certain I felt him hovering close by.

Our third meeting happened some time later. I’d had time to cool down, and had been hearing rumors of a fair, strawberry blond seen occasionally when people left the colony. It had caused increased security measures, though some laughed it off as ghost stories or superstitions. Especially since there was debate of whether it was a female or male, the person was said to be so beautiful, with long hair, and you didn’t always see more than a glimpse of them as they turned and ducked behind a tree, disappearing. I had a good idea who our ‘neighborhood haunt’ was, and decided to go out to warn Amy he was drawing too much attention. Putting the ‘locals’ on alert. Hopefully that way he could stay out of trouble, or harm’s way. Or at least out of sight.

Getting out of the colony without an escort took a little work, and I ended up sneaking out in the company of another group and slipping away when they weren’t looking. I felt I was getting better at that. I wandered aimlessly through the trees, figuring I would either encounter Amy, or encounter trouble, which would most surely lead to an encounter with Amy. So either way, he’d probably find me out here. I clutched my patched jacket tighter around me, bracing against a brisk autumn wind. When I turned around, there he was.

He looked a little wild, or troubled. More so than the last time I’d seen him, and he pulled me into a hug as soon as I noticed him.

“I was afraid.. You were avoiding me, or something had happened.. If you had gotten hurt I.. I’m such an idiot..” His head sank to my shoulder and I patted his back awkwardly. His nails dug into my coat, pulling the collar aside so he could nuzzle his nose against my neck. Something about the move set off warning bells in my head, particularly when his lips brushed my skin. It was an uncharacteristic move for Amy, and I jerked back, tearing out of his reach. I caught sight of completely black eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth before Amy covered his face with his hands and moaned, dropping to his knees.

“What-what were you going to do?” I breathed, my hand flying to my neck to check for blood.

“I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I thought selfishly, if I gave you my Mark.. I would always know where you were and it would keep me calm. I did not think to ask your permission or opinion, I just lost my head and reacted..” Amy’s voice was muffled through his palms. I stared at him for a few minutes.

“I think you should stay away from the colony for a while. People have been seeing you. They’re scared, and scared people do stupid things.” My hand still cupped my neck, and Amy didn't look at me while or after I spoke.

“Of course.” He replied mournfully. His hands fell to his lap. His face was turned downward, his long hair sweeping forward to hide his expression and appearance from me. “I have a friend who has asked me to come visit with him, this would be.. A good occasion for that. Until things.. Settle..”

“Right.” I answered, and there was a long, quiet pause where Amy, on his knees in front of me, stared at his hands in his lap. I rubbed my neck absently.

“Well, I should really go. I only came by to tell you that. About the colony. I had to sneak away. They’ll notice soon.. Probably..” I looked off in the direction of the colony.

“You mean.. You meant to tell me that before I.. angered you? That my mistake isn’t the reason you’re asking me to stay away?” Amy’s voice took on a hopeful note, and when I looked back he was staring up at me with an expression of relief that he quickly hid when he noticed me looking.

“No of course not. I just didn’t want anybody hurt is all.” I answered sharply, then sighed as he lowered his head further. “Look, I’m gonna go.” Turning on my heel, I only made it two steps before my wrist was captured.

“Wait!” Amy’s call was almost desperate, and I paused, not looking at him. “Will I.. see you again?” He echoed my words from before. I froze in place, hesitating, unsure how to answer. I rubbed my neck again, wondering if I was lucky to have just gotten away with the threat of being Marked. I looked back at Amy’s bowed head and defeated posture.

“Yeah well, I live around here, so you’ll probably see me around.” I murmured, and watched as he relaxed slightly before releasing me. Something in me felt pity for him, and I could feel my resolve softening. I hurried away before Amy could wring any more promises out of me.