Angel sat across from Derrick, who suggested they sit away from the other sports kids. He sat looking at the older boy, and sharing his attention with the clock that hung above the double doors of the cafeteria. Fifty students exchanged banter amongst themselves, but Angel found it difficult to care about what Derrick spoke of; considering none of it had anything to do with shared interests.
“So?” Derrick asked
“So, what?”
Sighing, Derrick leaned back in his chair, “You weren’t listening.”
“Yeah, I was, but I had to take it all in.” Angel was a horrible liar, but had a habit of being in his own head when he lacked interest.
“Look, I know you don’t like me, but-“ Angel raised an eyebrow at that, an assumption that rang true to the boy who just wanted to be left alone, “I just want you to see that I’m not some idiot sports guy.”
“Okay.” Humoring the notion that it wasn’t something material that Derrick wanted from him, Angel nodded, “Why should I not think that?”
“I know it’s what you might have thought before, and still think now, but I don’t always party and stuff. I like having intelligent conversations, and I’m tired of talking with kids who don’t know anything. You just seem different.”
Angel didn’t say anything; he just starred as a way to let him continue his sob story.
“Have you ever had something happen that made you think… differently about your life? Like, if you almost died or something?” Derrick asked, he breathed slower so he could articulate as Angel continued to stare, “I just want to get to know you, that’s all.”
He’d heard enough. It was bad enough that they hadn’t know each other for seven years, but to want to be friends now was suspicious as hell. It bothered Angel, and it wasn’t in his nature just to trust anyone right off the bat. If Derrick wanted his friendship, he’d have to earn it. Standing, Angel began to walk away, rolling his eyes. He felt a hand grip his wrist, “Just think about it, okay?”
Not only did Angel feel Derrick holding his wrist, but a rising of sorts. It was small at first, but it struck his stomach hard before spreading to the rest of his body as an overwhelming sensation. He ripped his arm away and turned to the double doors. Angel made his way out, still feeling the sudden nausea. He pushed the door open and rounded the corned into the hallway, but was stopped. He’d made contact with someone since he hadn’t been paying attention.
It seemed to be an accident as she stepped back, lightly touching his forearm, “Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
The words ‘Not a problem’ were natural for him, and he would have spoke those words, but a wave of disorientation gripped him. Other people in the hall went around him, but he hadn’t noticed. For a short moment, a rising clasped his stomach and made him stop completely. The hall spun faster with each step, which sparked his immense confusion, as he felt fine a moment ago. Dizzy, he managed to catch another glimpse of the girl he’d run into.
It was the same girl from before; the one who he’d seen in the hall, but wasn’t sure if she was real. She looked concerned, but not for him. Her concerned eyes seem to linger on what would come from his ailment. In the midst of his sudden illness, he stumbled away from her since she didn’t seem to want to help him.
The girl, a black-haired angel in her own right, stepped away from him. She stared at him, almost as if she knew what was happening; her blue eyes studying him as he moved. Angel slowed to a stop, the dizziness too intense to continue on. Other students seemed to think he was just fooling around, laughter turned to dull tones in his ears, and the girl he’d run into disappeared in a sea of teenagers watching his misery. He fell to one knee and felt a slew of vomit erupt from his throat. He heaved as more came up and splattered on the floor in front of him.
Angel shut his eyes hoping to quell his tipsy-turning hell, longing for it to stop. Bodies continued to pass by; just bodies in a sea of shifting colors that turned to a black abyss. Lights diminished and the churning of the environment began to slow, but the rising feeling increased as Angel let it take him.
“You-“ A gurgle of a voice bubbled up at him. The falling shifted to sinking as Angel was being held by something. But who or what? The only thing that was certain was that the boy only wanted to escape back to his bed where he would awake from an obvious dream.
“You-“ The gurgle was a bit louder now, an echo of the voice he wasn’t sure he heard the first time. Opening his eyes, the only thing he saw was more black, which was somehow darker than when his eyes were closed.
Then, an orange hue came into view. It was small at first, and seemed quite far away, but that quickly change as the hue grew into a tsunami of vibrant, orange flames that surrounded him, as he lay suspended above nothing. The vision was quite vivid; the heat was almost too much to bear.
The voice boomed, unfamiliar, but still authoritative and eerie as it croaked on, “I will swallow your soul when I find you.”
This was unlike any dream the boy could have imagined. A shiver coursed up his spine, then through his body. Why could he not break the grip of this dream? As Angel’s thoughts began to shift to fearful dreading, a light burned his eyes.
A repeating tone rang in his ear. It took Angel a minute; slowly opening his eyes, the boy caught the sight of a bright ceiling light above his bed. The sting forced him to shut his eyes and groan at the uncomfortable effect. A hospital? From the flat bed to the IV in his arm, he’d realized why it felt like he’s been asleep for a long time. Groggy, Angel sat up, "What's going on?"
