The Half-Angel Among Us

I was heading home after my shift at the library ended. If not for the fact that I did a lot of binge reading there since I was 18 and could legally leave the orphanage, I would've been a lot more worried than I am when it came to helping some of the visitors study for their finals. As I witnessed the sun setting on my way home, I took some deep breaths while remembering that the sky will turn dark, meaning the angels will appear in the skies seeming like stars. I'd been trying to improve on not being too concerned about a portion of the angels not approving of my existence.

Eventually, I passed a few other residents of town and immediately felt someone bump into my arm. My arm possessed a sensation that came from a sinner that's not as bad as a content explorer of the Dark Web, but worse than a person who would pocket an item from a gas station without paying. I turned around and decided to speed walk to find whoever bumped into me. Though it was crowded and I nearly tripped over my own feet several times, it wasn't too hard for me to locate the person.

By the time I felt that I was getting closer, I found myself in an area of town that wasn't heavily populated and I ducked behind a corner as I saw a man approach a boarded-up liquor store, take out a paper clip from his pocket, look both ways, and open the door. Once he closed the door behind him, I silently took two strides to the door and gave the door a hard shove before going in. I knew I was in the right place, but I had to look around quietly to be sure I wasn't caught. Once I reached the back of the store and peeked through the threshold while remaining hidden, I saw the man facing what looked like a scared 11-year-old boy. I didn't hear everything that was said, but from a little bit, I could understand.

"Will you please take me back to my mom?"

"This is your home now. Don't be scared."

"But she doesn't know I'm here."

"Just have a sip of this and I promise you won't have to worry anymore."

A strong scent of alcohol invaded my nostrils and I knew that the man was dishonest. I glanced at an empty beer bottle and threw it out the window by the front door. I heard the man say "Stay here, I'll be back" and ducked as I saw the man approach the door. I slouched down, called the police, and informed them about what was happening and where I was. By the time I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket, the man came back in and stared at me with wide eyes to match my stare toward him.

"Well, well, well, what's a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?" the man asked me in a flirty tone that made me flinch.

"The real question is what business do you have here," I retorted.

"We can discuss it in the back room, if you want," he claimed as he pointed behind me.

I pushed him away as he got closer.

"I'm taken and I have morals!" I said before I punched the man and left a burn mark where I punched him.

He head butted me and I slammed into the wall behind me. I reached for my forehead and felt that blood was coming down.

"I hope black, blue and red color that pale skin of yours right up!" the man growled.

I mumbled a bit of "Baby One More Time", felt my head, and didn't feel the gash there anymore. I approached the man and kneed him in the jaw twice before I punched him in the chest and sent him falling.

While he was down, I went to the back room and came across the young boy.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked me while looking at me with redness in his eyes.

"I'm Philly," I told him, using my gender-neutral nickname, "and I'm going to help you out of here."

"I'm Brado. Are you a cop?"

"No, but they're on the way," I told him while extending my hand to him. By the time he reached my hand, I quickly rushed him out of the room and brought him behind the counter. We both ducked down and I held him close hoping to comfort him.

"Listen, the cops will be on the way, but I need to handle that man first. I want you to stay behind here. When you hear sirens, wait a little while before poking your head out from behind here, okay?"

I felt Brado nod and I let go of him and walked out from behind the counter just as the man was struggling to get up. I gripped on to his wrists and pinned them to the floor while setting my hands on fire to burn his wrists. He kept kicking me in pain and I had tried to not focus on the pain from his kicking.

"GO TO HELL!" he shouted.

"Actually, that's where you'll be heading at this rate! I don't know about me," I responded.

He kicked me hard in the stomach and stood back up as I clutched my stomach. He had a horrible grin on his face as he stared me down and I was faintly singing again. Soon, we both heard sirens growing louder.

"Shit! I ain't going back!" the man said trying to run out the door. I pulled him back and slammed a bottle on his head. Once he fell, I checked his pulse and found out he was still alive while unconscious. I pulled an old pipe from the ground and wrapped it around the man's wrists before I rushed out the door.

While hiding behind the same corner I was hiding behind before, I saw two police cars park in front of the building. Two officers from one of the cars rushed in and pulled the unconscious man out of the building and into the back of the car while one officer with calming brown hair got out of the other car and went in the building, which led to him coming out with Brado in his presence. As the brown-haired officer placed Brado in his car, I smiled and eventually made eye contact with the officer, who gave me a smirk and a wink not long after.

Once the cars drove off, I went back to my original route home.

When I got home, I took off my jacket and my shoes and reached in the fridge for some leftover pizza to put in the microwave. By the time I had my plate on the couch with me and was scrolling through Netflix looking for some anime, the familiar officer with brown hair walked in the door and I smiled at him while he took off his uniform.

"Long night, Officer Howell?" I teased.

As he went to our room to put his uniform away, I heard him shout "Is there still pizza" and I shouted back to let him know there was. He came down after a while and warmed up his few slices of pizza and met me on the couch. I clicked on a random anime and we each took a few bites of our pizza slices before putting our plates on the table.

"So, what's the update?" I asked, pretty curious.

"That man you burned and knocked out has actually been arrested for kidnapping before. From what we could tell, he feigned moral behavior in order to be set free. Brado was actually a kid that was reported missing a month and a half ago."

He pulled me in his embrace and I rubbed his back while my head was resting on his chest.

"You know, none of us would've minded if you used more fatal attacks on the guy."

"But killing's a sin, Dan. Besides, at least a few of those sinners would think I'm a figment of their guilty conscience and would repent."

"You're too good natured for your own good, you know that, Philly?"

"Try convincing the angels who shun me and my mother."

"That's not going to change that you're one of them."

"Not completely, I'm not."

I turned my head as a tear formed in my eye. By the time it escaped and I faced the TV again, a flower was poking out of Dan's shirt and he was stroking my hair.

"No matter how much of you comes from Satan, you're still my angel, Philly," Dan stated.

"What if I hurt you?" I asked him while clinging on to his shirt.

"After all these years, Philly, you've had no desire to. Don't let the angels make you fear yourself."

He kissed my forehead and I held his hand close to my heart as a sign of thanks. Even though there have been those who have no idea of my heritage and those who know and don't acknowledge who I am as a person, I was more than happy that Dan has willingly stuck around for so long while we're both learning more about my capabilities.