Chapter 12

I woke up. My eyes stung from being forced shut, and the large scratches on my torso burned whenever I breathed. Audrey entered the room holding a glass of water. She was startled to see me awake and almost dropped the glass on the ground.

“Vita!” she yelled

She hushed herself and turned her head suspiciously.  

“Where?” I began before I burst out in a coughing fit.

Audrey quickly rushed to my aid and made me down a glass of water. 

“This is special water from the river of fire. It will heal you. There’s a lot going on right now. Luckily Jayin let me take care of you. He’s out at the moment, ordering my troops around, I’m pretty sure he’s going to start a war against the Overworld.”

I didn’t even know where to begin to think, this whole situation was completely out of my understanding. I tried to sit up more comfortably, but I could not. My hands were chained to the wall. 

“Audrey. Can you let me out?” I said with eyes of pity.

Audrey’s face grew depressed, and she slowly backed away. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t, Jayin will kill me. He’ll kill everyone I have ever known!” Audrey spoke as she teared up.

She walked closer and closer to the door.

“Audrey, wait! Don’t leave me alone!” I yelled a little too hard.

I coughed violently, then the door slammed shut. It was silent for a long time, I could only hear my heavy breathing. I thought about Andrew and where he might be. I wondered how I got here, and I remembered the eyes that watched me that night. Jayin must have been planning this all along, though it was strange. Why did he need my curse to become more powerful? 

“Do you miss your bunny?” A whisper of a child spoke out from all around me. 

I jumped and swore, “What the fuck?! Who are you?”

I had a coughing fit once more, and I caught sight of a shadow in the dark room. The only source of light came from under the steel door, and the shadow reflecting off the ground looked like a vine. A cold shiver spread up and down my whole body.

“Who's here?” I asked once more.

My eyes adjusted to my surroundings, and all around me were vines made of thorns. They were increasing in size and coming closer to me by the second, yet I could not scream for help, my mouth was already covered by the vines. My whole body became wrapped tightly by the vines, and soon enough, I lost sight of everything. 

Andrew stood outside the cave for a long time. He became cold, and then he realised that he was naked. He screamed in terror, then shut up abruptly. He looked around in embarrassment, in fear that someone would come wandering around near him. He looked for maybe a leaf at most to cover his lower area, but sadly, the trees were only giant spruce trees. He was filled with so much anger. I was taken away by the man who killed and tortured me, and he was useless against him. He wished internally that maybe, at least once, he could save me. His hair had become way longer than before, that must have had something to do with him being a rabbit for so long. He also reflected on his speed within the cave, he thought that maybe the abilities of a rabbit had applied to his human form. Maybe he wasn’t completely human anymore. Andrew became frustrated and took his anger out on a spruce tree by punching it. The tree toppled over, roots and all. The roots of that spruce had been tangled up with the other trees in the area, and at once all of the trees in the surrounding area toppled over like a tsunami hitting shore. Andrew couldn’t believe his eyes. 

“What the?!” He asked, astonished.

“Surely a bunny couldn't even do this? What’s wrong with me?!” 

Yet what Andrew hadn’t known was that all along, what he perceived to be a curse, might have been a blessing in disguise. 

Andrew sped down the mountain into a thick, lush area, away from the avalanche that he just caused. He sped so fast that he lost control multiple times, often crashing into trees, boulders, and small animals. He dashed down the mountain without the ability to stop. Ahead of him was the cliff I had brought him to before, and he remembered how angry I had gotten. He sighed when recalling his own actions, and when he blinked again, he was almost to the cliff. He tried to turn to the side, but it was impossible, a bear stood in the way. The fluffy brown bear looked at Andrew bulleting down the mountain in total shock. The brown bear couldn’t do anything to defend itself, but luckily Andrew managed to leap above the bear. Yet Andrew wasn’t so lucky, he had jumped so strongly that he caused a permanent dent in the mountain, and he rocketed into the sky. He managed to completely jump over the cliff edge, and he was soaring in the sky above all the tiny colourful houses down below. Yet he did not fly, he tumbled to the ground. He didn’t know what to do, he was going to die.

“Shit!” Andrew yelled.

There was white for a moment, and then he was on the ground. He checked all around his freckle-covered body. He was perfectly fine, despite the fact that he was still very much naked. He had landed on the edge of a forest. Once again, he was struck with luck, there were clothes hanging to dry in the wind. Andrew quickly took the underwear, pants, and shirt and fled the area. He dashed out of Aramore and continued down the old dirt path. After only a short while he managed to arrive at the old wooden shed. He grabbed his messenger bag and placed a fresh sunflower at the ghost's grave. He stared for a long time at the last name Hale. He looked at all the graves around him, they were so worn down that it made him mad. He grabbed flowers from the area and placed one on each moss ridden grave. He left with a slight smile and ran quickly back south. At this point, he couldn’t help but scream with delight as he soared. He began to love his speed, and sometimes he would decide to try jumping into the air. After jumping though, he would regret it. He had to learn how to land properly, but that was incredibly hard to do when you were travelling over two hundred kilometres per hour. He thought of the white light that he saw before he landed on the ground, and something came to him. He recalled the time when I said that I thought Will might be an angel, and he immediately developed a plan. 

The sun set in the horizon, and Andrew’s face had become sore from the wind hitting it. Luckily he had made it back to Rome. He stormed into his apartment and quickly called his office. He fabricated a story about why he was gone, saying that his grandma died and he became incredibly depressed. His company explained that if he ever were to pull that stunt again he wouldn’t be let off so easily. He said that he would be gone for a couple months, and he asked them to give him the vacation break he had been saving up for. They agreed, and Andrew called Will soon after.

“Andrew!” Will said immediately.

“Meet me at Coco-Cafe.” Andrew said bluntly, then he hung up.

Andrew had a shower, and upon exiting he caught the sight of a tattoo of a waterlily on his shoulder blade. Andrew re-dressed in clothes that fit him better. He brushed his very knotted hair, that was now past his armpits. He looked at his acne ridden face, and he turned to the many makeup products sitting in a basket by the sink. He frowned and said, “Vita can’t wait.”

He slammed his door and listened to the lock automatically turn. Will had lied to him all his life, or perhaps it was more of an act than lying. Andrew speed walked all the way to Coco-Cafe. He opened the glass front door, and a welcoming ring echoed through the shop.

“Welcome.” One of the female employees cheered. 

Andrew ignored her presence and stormed toward the cardigan-wearing curly-haired man sitting alone at a table.

“Will!” Andrew screamed.

“Woah! Calm down buddy, don’t be so loud!”

“Why can’t I be loud? Afraid that people might think I'm insane?!”

Will looked at him, astonished.

“You made me look like a madman! Making me look like I'm having a conversation with myself whenever we walked down the street together.” After a long sigh he continued, “Why did you do this? You were watching me run around naked on a fucking mountain! I bet you were laughing your little fucking face off, you motherfucker!” 

Will didn’t know what to say. His face grew red.

“I thought that the demon wouldn't know I was an angel!” Will let out after a minute of hesitation. 

“That’s a horrible excuse!” Andrew yelled loudly.

Andrew was suddenly hit with flashbacks of me and his bickering and he became more serious. 

“Tell me who you are, and why could I see you before I was cursed.” 

Will welcomed Andrew to sit across from him and he avoided looking him in the eyes, he looked out the window instead. The Coco-Cafe was a cat cafe. Thus, there were dozens of cats wandering about. The cats came to hang out with Andrew, but they only stared at Will anxiously. 

“My mother died when she gave birth to me, and I joined her in death as well. I grew up in the Overworld with my mom, and she always made sure that I knew that we died together. The queen of the Overworld had a program where all of the children who died at a young age could become guardian angels of a human kid. My mom, of course, was super excited about this, so she signed me up. When I arrived at the training school, I learned all about how to use my powers to protect a human. After a few days of endless training, I managed to achieve a letter. In this letter it explained that a child who died many times when he was a baby from a condition that hindered his breathing was having difficulties with his health as he was growing older. This kid was you, Andrew. I came to earth, and I was surprised that you could see me. I decided to be your friend because, why not? That’s about it. I really just wanted to protect you while living a life like a human.” Will spoke with sincerity.

Andrew didn’t know how to respond. He smiled from Will’s explanation and knew that his intentions were indeed to be friends with him. Andrew got out of his chair and hugged Will tightly. A clerk looked at the strange sight with pure confusion.

“You alright over there?” She asked.

Andrew quickly sat back down and responded by saying, “Just calling my friend with my earpods.”

That explanation still wouldn’t solve the sight the clerk had just witnessed, but she shrugged it off and returned to talking with her co-workers.

“So why would you leave me with Vita?” Andrew asked.

Will looked Andrew straight in the eyes. “I can sense things. Most angels and demons can. Though the way a guardian angel can sense is different from the rest. I can sense whether something or someone will hurt you in the future. Like precognition. Vita felt so trustworthy of your safety, it looked like he was basking in a ray of light. Though I always watched you guys on your journey, I am able to completely hide my presence from anyone I desire on Earth, it was a skill that I learned a long time after meeting you.” Will spoke earnestly. 

With this, Andrew knew it was time to tell Will what his plan was.

“I want you to bring me to the Underworld! You probably saw Vita get taken, right? He’s in danger! I need to save him!” 

Will looked shocked at Andrew’s sudden mood change. He looked behind Andrew at the clerks whispering at each other. Will grabbed Andrew’s hand and dragged him out of the shop all the way to a park. 

“I can’t bring you there.” Will confessed.

Andrew’s expression immediately became grim and Will panicked, “Wait, calm down! I know someone who can.”