Angel in the Shadows, Book 1 by Lisa Grace (Angel Series) (12 page)

Carrie says, “So how do you two know each
other?” I just look at Johnny. I don’t know what to say.

He pipes up, “I’m in band, next to the drama
classroom,” Johnny says. He takes a bite out of his sandwich.

The answer seems to satisfy Carrie’s curiosity.
I ask Carrie, “How are your classes?”

“Fine,” she says, “Only one teacher I don’t
like. Mr. B. I’m going to try and transfer out of his class into an
easier one.”

I turn to Johnny and say, “You must be new here
this year. If you need help with anything just let me know,” I
realize that must sound somewhat ridiculous to an angel since he
can probably pretty much help himself.

“Thanks Megan and Carrie. It’s nice to know I
have a couple of friends I can talk to,” we all keep stuffing our
faces.

“So where did you transfer from? Out of state?”
Carrie asks.

Johnny barely looks up from his food, “Yes.”

It’s obvious he doesn’t want to answer any more
questions about his past.

Carrie takes the hint. Too bad. I was kind of
interested in how he was going to answer.

I ask Carrie, “Have you seen Mandy or Alex?”

“They probably left campus to get burgers at
McDonalds or something,” Carrie suggests.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I guess Mandy forgot she’d
said she’d meet up with me at lunch. I’ll have to wait for her to
text or call me later. I saw on a poster board when I came into the
school that the cheerleading tryouts are later this week so Mandy
might be tied up until then. It looks like we won’t be spending
much time together this year after all.

Before lunch ends I tell Johnny, “If you need
anything, I hang out in the auditorium or the TV production
classroom. Also, here’s my cell number.” I write it down for him.
“Here write down your cell,” I say.

He looks at me funny, “I don’t need one.”

“Oh, yeah,” I say. I’m still getting used to
this whole angel thing. Besides, except for the glowing, he seems
so normal. I know I can’t really talk to him in front of Carrie.
Also, you never know who might be listening here in the lunchroom.
The bell rings and we each head off to our next class. My next
three classes are IB English, Algebra, and TV Production/ Social
Studies. The rest of the day flies by with no surprises.

***

I see Mandy briefly as I’m switching to my last
class. She has TV production the class before me. “Hi Mandy.”

“Oh Megan!” She meets me in the hall, both of us
carrying new textbooks from previous classes. “I’m sorry I missed
you at lunch. It’s kind of been a whirlwind. Alex has so many new
people he wants me to meet. I’ll call you later.” She half skips
and waltzes down the hall.

I try to not let it get to me. She
is
busy.

As I leave my last class, my cell vibrates. The
window just says private so I have no idea who’s calling. I answer
my cell. It’s Johnny. Later, when I take it off vibrate and he
calls it rings to the tune of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” I guess
he has a sense of humor since that’s not even a ring tone available
from my carrier.

“Hi, meet me over by the auditorium front doors.
We can wait for your dad there and talk. He’s running a half-hour
late,” Johnny hangs up before I can even answer.

After class, I walk over to the benches and sit
down next to him. Kids are still getting on the buses. The ones who
drive are milling about planning what they’re going to do next.
“Hi, Johnny. I’m glad you’re here even if I’m not the reason you
are here.”

He looks at me and says, “you’re not.”

My face must of registered a hint of hurt
because he quickly adds, “You are right. You’re not the reason I’ve
been sent. I’m sorry I was so blunt. I’m not used to this human
form yet. It’s been a long time for me—since I was called to serve
on Earth. I’m used to warring—elsewhere. Many battles are about to
happen and this is ground zero for one of them. I can use your
help. No—I need your help.”

“What do you mean?” I’m beginning to lose that
happy feeling that Johnny’s around. Maybe it would be better if he
weren’t.

“I have experience on the front lines with this
evil. I’ve followed it here. I don’t have much experience with
humans. This evil I’ve managed to keep out of the earthly realm of
what humans can see, for ages.” Johnny continues, “Then I lost
track of him before you were even born. It’s taken me awhile to
track him down. Let me explain better. It’s like a killer who’s
been trapped by the police. Except he’s been trapped in a crowded
place. Pretend he has a machine gun and he’s in a tower where the
police can’t reach him for a little while. He knows he has lost. It
is just a matter of time before he is handcuffed. Not much time is
left before they reach him and stop him. But the gunman is mad. He
is going to unload that gun and shoot and kill as many people as he
can before they get to him,” Johnny turns to look me in the eye.
“That is what is about to happen here. I’ve trapped him. I can’t
take him out yet. It is so hard to put spiritual things into this
world, having to use words that can’t quite get the right, true
meaning across. We angels exist outside time. Time is part of your
creation. What is happening here is really happening outside
‘time’. Time is like an iceberg, you can only see what is above the
surface, but there is so much more below. Megan, you can help by
keeping people out of harms way. Steer them to what is right, if
you can. Keep them out of his line of fire. The devil is a roaring
lion seeking whom he may devour. Keep them away from the lion,
Megan.”

My dad pulls up front to pick me up, “Who’s
that?” he nods towards Johnny.

“Oh, that’s Johnny. He’s new,” I say.

“Should Seth be worried?” My dad winks at
me.

“Dad, no. Johnny has someone like I do. We’re
just friends.”

“Where’s Mandy?” My dad is used to the two of us
hanging together so he notices when she’s not with me.

“She’s driving now. And she has a boyfriend
named Alex. He’s one of the most popular boys in school. She’s
trying out for the cheerleading team. I probably won’t get to see
her as much this year,” I say. I try not to sound too sad. I’m
happy for her. I’m just blue that our interests are pulling us
apart. The rest of the ride home I pull out my phone and text Seth
about my day. I ask how his day went. We spend the hours before
dinner talking the whole time. All in all, it was a good first day
of school.

***

The next few days go fast as I get into a
routine. Carrie, Johnny, and I continue to meet for lunch everyday.
I get a role in a play and have after school rehearsals for that
and our weekly TV production show.

At first, I keep looking around for the evil
Johnny was talking about, but I can’t see where it’s coming from
yet. I have no idea what I can do to protect others. I pray about
it too, but nothing seems to be happening. That’s what makes what
happened next so surprising.

***

The next week Mandy makes the cheering squad. I
give her a big hug and congratulate her. A few days later, Mandy
runs up to me in the hall on the way to math class and says, “Guess
what?”

“What?”

“Remember that Goth that got arrested for
shoplifting?”

I look at her dumbly for a minute. Not expecting
that kind of a question.

“The one arrested right in front of us at the
mall the week before school? Remember?”

“Oh yeah,” I say. Remembering the glimpse I had
of the dark angel.

“He committed suicide last night!”

“No!” I say. My stomach sinks to my shoes.

“Yeah, he left a note and everything. He posted
it online. He blames some guy named Judas for ruining his life. How
wild is that?”

I knew about the dark angel. I had
glimpsed him. I had even heard the Goth kid blame him, but I had
done
nothing
. I should have
tried to find out who the dark angel was. I could have talked to
the Goth kid, tried to help him. Instead, I hadn’t even given him a
second thought. I’m sure this is what Johnny was talking
about.
Keep them away from the
lion.

I feel sick to my stomach. I’ve already failed.
I’ll have to keep my eyes open so I don’t fail again.

***

Two days later, there is a memorial service for
Jordan, the Goth kid. Johnny picks me up first, then Carrie. When I
get in the car I can’t resist asking Johnny, “How long have you
been driving?”

Johnny just looks at me. Johnny’s personality is
so different from Zadok’s.

Zadok had a sense of humor and gave off warm
fuzzies. I don’t know if Johnny is more serious or if being human
is so alien to him he hasn’t had a chance to learn how to interact.
I decide to keep up the repartee to amuse myself since it’s not in
my nature to be serious all the time.

“Couldn’t you have asked God for a nicer car to
drive?” I ask to tease him. It’s an older blue model. I don’t know
enough about cars to even know what kind it is.

He answers, “Yes.” He waits a minute then
explains, “I don’t think it’s important what kind of car I
drive.”

“I know. I was just teasing you. You really
haven’t picked up on the humor thing yet, have you? Knowing about
sarcasm is kind of important if you’re going to be dealing with
teens.”

He keeps his eyes on the road as he
answers, “Not really. I can see the truth behind the words. The
words themselves aren’t very important. Most teens lie to
themselves about what they’re feeling.
That
I have noticed.”

We pull up at Carrie’s house and she gets in,
“I’m not even sure I should be going. I didn’t know Jordan well or
any of the Goths.”

I say, “We’re going to show our respect. He was
a classmate.”

Of course, the other reason Johnny and I are
going is to see if we can catch the dark angel before he does
anymore damage.

***

When we get to the memorial service there must
be around five hundred kids milling about. Some of the Goth girls
are crying and hugging each other. I go up to them and tell them
how sorry I am and just listen. “I told Jordan to stay away from
Judas, but he was just so fascinated by him. I could tell Judas was
bad, really bad, not just pretending, and he could do some really
creepy things.”

I ask, “What kind of creepy things?”

She just stares at me then her face crumples,
“Scary things, like hold his hand in a flame for a long time and
not even get burned. Sometimes he would talk in more than one
voice, like he was possessed. Judas could drink a whole bottle of
whiskey and not even get drunk. And move fast, like on the dance
floor. I mean the strobes were going, but still to move that fast—I
don’t even want to think about it. I’m glad he’s not here today.
Maybe the cops will arrest him. I’m sure he killed Jordan somehow.”
She starts crying again.

Johnny and I look for this mysterious Judas.
He’s not here today.

Johnny looks at me and says, “The battle has
begun.”

I know one thing for sure. Evil is here in
Clearwater, Florida.

CHAPTER 6 - THE BATTLE HAS BEGUN

Mandy and Alex have been dating now for almost a
month. She’s been so busy with practice and him that we haven’t had
a chance to hang out. This coming week starts football season so
I’ll get to see even less of her. So when she calls and suggests we
spend the day together, and asks if she can spend the night, I jump
at the chance. When she comes over I say, “So tell me all about
Alex.”

“I can’t wait to tell you! I know I’ve been all
wrapped up in cheerleading and spending time with Alex. I’ve never
been in love before. Now I know how you and Seth feel about each
other.”

“So where is Alex this weekend?” I ask.

“Alex and his parents went to visit his
grandparents. He’ll be back on Monday,” Mandy says.

I can tell she wants to say something so I just
keep quiet.

“Megan, you and Seth have liked each other a
long time, right?”

“Well, we only made it official at camp, that’s
when he asked me to be his girlfriend and not date others.
Why?”

“What do you guys do? I mean—do you let him
touch you? How far would you guys go? You know what I mean.”

I show Mandy the ring Seth gave me. “I don’t
know if you know what this means.”

“That’s the ring Seth gave you, it means he
loves you. It’s a promise ring.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s more than that. It’s a
purity ring. The most Seth and I will ever do before we get married
is kiss and hug, or hold hands, that’s it. Seth took a vow last
year that he would save himself for marriage as a sign of respect
to his bride. I get dizzy when I kiss him and I want to do a lot
more than kiss him. We have to stop ourselves from you know—it’s
not easy.”

“Did you give him a ring?” Mandy asks.

“My church doesn’t give rings or do a ceremony,
but I feel the same way. The great thing is, Seth and I can have so
much fun together and not worry about our future. I know it’ll be
great when we finally do ‘do it’. We don’t have to rush. I look
Mandy in the eye, “Is Alex asking you to have sex?” I ask.

Mandy blushes, “We’re waiting too. He wants to
hold off until homecoming so it’s special. He’s asked me to get on
the pill. He says he has needs. And if I love him, I will”

I’m not sure what to say. To me it sounds like a
come-on line and not romantic at all.

“It sounds like he wants to use you,” I say.

Mandy’s eyes widen in shock. I guess she just
wanted me to say okay or ooh and ah at how great it was that Alex
wants her in that way.

“Alex loves me! I’m sure he wasn’t thinking
through what he said.”

“I know how you can tell if he really loves
you,” I say.

Mandy looks at me eagerly, “How?”