Fallen

Chapter 35. The Park [Caleb]

The sun is brightly burning.

Thick rays of light seep through the forest's dense ceiling. The trees, standing tall, still have their hide. Yet, the pines are not able to hold off the invasion. Not fully.

We're walking down the dirt trail. It's next to the long road of asphalt stretching through the forest. One I've driven down numerous times, fearing for my life.

There's a continuous crunch of gravel, dirt, and dead leaves beneath our feet. All mixed in with birds chipping and other small critters chirping.

It's peaceful or as peaceful as it can get when the door to the supernatural has shown itself. Or well, it hasn't, not really. But I would like to imagine that if angels are real and growling monsters are too. Then there has to be more.

You never know what could pop out next. Honestly, I'm still waiting for the next big surprise. The next big bad. Maybe flying pigs, sparkling evil vampires, or even growling bunnies with tophats. As much as I'm joking about it, nothing really seems out of the equation anymore.

Either way, I would love to never meet anything remotely evil again, ever.

I guess you can blame it on the poor introduction, the near-death experience. It's not fun seeing my life flash before my eyes. Seeing my absolutely horrified reflection reflected in the sharp teeth of a vicious beast ready to tear me into tiny little pieces like confetti on the ground.

I shake the gross image out of my head. I'm sure this walk will do us all some good. Both Lucy and M agreed with me that venturing back to the park would be safest out in bright daylight. So that's exactly what we're doing. It's a necessary measure to keep us all safe and sound.

I scoff.

What has my life come to? I can't help but ask myself that question for the tenth-thousand time. And still, I keep going. I must be dumb. I guess it's true what the movies say: You really do foolish things for the people you care about.

Taking in the fresh breeze, I make a long exhale. The air is squeezing itself out of my lungs. A cloud forms past my lips, soaring up into the air.

I feel a little push at my side, a shoulder bumping into mine. I look up at the one responsible. It's M, and he's smiling down at me, his dimples showing.

My eyes grace over his tall body. Wings, hiding under a soft sweater and thin coat. He looks very mundane. Like there's nothing there to hide in the first place. No one would bat an eye at him. Well, at least not in a suspicious kind of way. And more in the direction of, wow, he's hot with his tallness and incredible bone structure.

I can't help but blush at the thought. I'm such a stupidly hormonal teenager, one with a huge crush. It's still hard to admit sometimes. Me crushing on him. And there are times where it still feels like a dream, M and I, our kiss. Everything is just too complicated. But still. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's really no other person I would share my personal space with other than him. Even with his wings smacking me in the face every time I try to fall asleep.

"You alright?" He asks with a raised brow, and if you look close enough, the small scar above it is still slightly visible. "You're staring."

Clearing my throat. I laugh it off awkwardly.

Still, he takes my hand in his. It's warm, and it feels nice. The way it envelops my own.

"I'm sorry, I just got caught thinking about the probable state of my phone," I lie, then pause, remembering the already poor state it was in, in the first place. "It can't be much worse."

"I'm sure the box of yours is fine," M says.

"You can always just get a new one," Lucy pops in from beside M. His tall frame almost masking hers as she's trying to keep up. "You've had that phone for years now."

"I might have to," I say.

We continue to walk. Lucy and M, making small talk as we go. Our hands are still connected, swinging between our bodies. Before I know it, we have already reached the park.

Everything looks normal. Nothing is out of place from what I can see so far. It's as if nothing has ever happened.

The grass is still dewy from the chilly weather. Leaves tickle the ground, and the few trees that there are, are all untouched. There's even the occasional high pitch scream of laughter from a child playing on the nearby playground.

"Where did you guys fight the monsters?" Lucy asks the million-dollar question.

"It was further down there," I say and point to the gravely trail leading into the park.

Things begin to lodge in place the further inwards we go. The grass is dented from where I face planted, mud and grass blocks littering the ground. The large log with a huge chunk missing is a bit further up the patch of green. Although, there are no signs of the beasts. The ash of their remains, gone with the wind.

If I let my eyes slide a bit further down the park's long gravel trail, the bench comes into vision. The place I got my first kiss before I was so rudely interrupted.

"It all happened right here," I find M telling Lucy. "The lights began to flicker, then they died, and the beasts appeared."

"They surrounded us," I add. "That's when M became a literal flashlight and saved us." I might be joking a bit, but I will be forever grateful that he stopped the beast from making me into a beast-kebab.

"Can't you just say superpowers like a normal person?" Lucy asks with an eye roll.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I bite back sarcastically. "That's when M used his superpowers."

"See, that wasn't so hard," Lucy huffs. Her annoyed glare drifts off of me. Instead, her eyes land on the log with the missing chunk. "Woah, what happened there." She goes over to spectate it further. Pushing it aside with her foot.

"That was my desperate attempt to not get eaten alive," I reply.

"Found it!" M hollers before Lucy can ask any more questions.

I turn and walk over to M. I take my phone out of his extended hand.

"My savior," I say humorously, brushing the mud off of the cracked screen. I wince at the sight. It's even more cracked than it was before. If that is even possible. I press the home button several times without anything happening. Hopefully, it's because of the battery.

"Now that we have what we came for, we should probably just head straight back," I tell them.

"Actually," Lucy jumps in. "I think I'm deserving of some ice cream for my hard work, M too. Don't you think so?"

I glare at Lucy.

"Oh, do you now?" I ask, not one bit surprised.

She smiles at me innocently, "Yeah, we should get some on our way back, don't you think so, M?"

"Ice cream?" M ponders. "I'd love to try it."

Lucy fistbumps the air. "As a wise person once said, it's never smart to train on an empty stomach," Lucy points out, looking over at M, who nods his head, not fully following. "The body needs ice cream."

"I'm sure yours does," I grumble to myself. But my stance doesn't hold as long as I would have liked it to. Actually, I fold pretty quickly. But how can I say no when both M and Lucy are giving me puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine," I roll my eyes. "We'll stop by Mrs. Flores before we go back."

Lucy high fives M. I'm seriously starting to dislike those two.