Angel Dust - Terry Kuder III (best classic books txt) 📗

be those such as myself and Dan who will take a stand against him, but, honestly, I feel that we don't stand a chance. He will kill us. As for the others who will do the same, they will have much worse deaths than we will. We will only be the first casualties in this impending war that he will wage on this planet. In all honesty, that's the least of my worries. I wanted to become an Angel to defend those that I love, not destroy them and I will be fucking damned if I let that monstrosity of a human being lay a fucking finger on my Azalia. Nineteen days, Tyson! Nineteen! Nineteen and he will either be one step closer to achieving his goal or he will be a lifeless corpse. I may not be able to defeat him, but I have to try. I have to try so that my daughter can live an innocent life. I have to try so that she can grow up to be beautiful and happy. I have to try so that this...this..." She paused, looking for the words to say. Her eyes were beginning to swell, but she held her tears back. She cared about her daughter to the point that it was going to take her life. Before continuing she regained her composure. "So, that her father doesn't take his own child and mutilate her beyond all reason just for his own selfish pride. So, when you ask us if we're going to start practicing now at six o'clock in the morning, I say hell fucking yes we will because if we don't then we are signing a death warrant not only for us, but for entire world."
I was too stunned to say anything. What had the world come to? Growing up, the word "Angels" always meant protectors for us kids. Now, it was some nightmare that made even adults scared to sleep at night. The worst part about it was that the world didn't know. As far as they were concerned, they were as naive as Lily was when she first arrived at the Angelic Sanctuary. They believed that Angels were here to save us from harm, from the evil that lurked in the dark. What fools we all were; what terrible fools. Even knowing the truth, there was nothing I could do. I was powerless and even someone normal like Dan was willing to do something about it. What could I do though? The first thought that came to mind was to run and hide, but that was too cowardice of me. I sighed at the frailty of my situation in comparison to the one I was witnessing. Yet, something jarred my memory. Dan had brought me here for a reason. Dan told Lily that it was important for me to know, but why? Maybe there was something I could do, but what?
"I was brought here for a reason." I finally managed out. "What is it?"
"We need you to take care of Azalia when this whole ordeal falls out." Dan said, standing up and walking towards us.
"Me? B...but why? Why me? Surely there's someone better. I haven't even known the girl but a few months."
"You've noticed that she's not too friendly with the rest of the town, haven't you?" I nodded. "Yet, when we first found you she took some sort of interest in you and it's beyond me why she did."
"So, you guys are going on a suicide mission and you're going to leave me with an eight year old girl? What am I suppose to do with that?"
"Need I remind you that "that" is my daughter." Lily said raising an eyebrow.
I sunk down a little bit. "I'm sorry, but seriously, what am I supposed to do? I haven't gotten the slightest clue about what to do.”
“Yet, you have more experience than you think.” Dan replied. I thought about it for a moment before it dawned on me. I had been slowly taking over the responsibility of Azalia. When Dan was gone, I was cleaning the house, making sure she was fed; I was the one who was taking care of her. How could I have been so blind? How could I not see that? Dan had set me up for this. He did have some sort of plan no matter how frivolous it was. I didn’t have any more arguments. I had lost. I sighed, straightening myself up.
“Can you at least let me think about it?” I finally whispered.
After a brief pause, Dan said: “Sure. Sleep on it, ok? But, Tyson? We don’t have very many options here. Please keep that in mind.”
I nodded and began to walk off. I was walking down the pebble path where the stream once flowed when water hit my feet going towards where I had just left. I stepped out of the flow and watched it go by. What was happening now? I looked back and I was still far enough to make out what was happening. The water ran up Lily’s legs, along her thighs, and followed through up the rest of her body. Lily had a strange affect on me because before I knew it, I was walking towards the scene without thinking again. The water completely covered her naked body and flowed over her like a stream in constant motion. The liquid began thickening, darkening over her flesh. I blinked a few times to see if my eyes were deceiving me. Lines began running through the water, etching it with shapes and designs, handing it more life than the once solid form. Varied patterns started to change color, shimmering and glazing without a particular set in mind. I was finally at the edge of the gap when the water that came rushing towards her became an outfit. My mouth was agape as I struggled to understand how water had become a fabric, but my mind couldn’t wrap itself around the entirety of the idea. Something about molecules, but that was the extent of it.
Lily was now clothed in a blue wardrobe. Her top was a sleeveless shirt with a wavy pattern on it. The colors altered from a light blue to a dark blue. Below that hung a pair of dark blue slacks. They were cut short of her ankles and were baggy enough to allow her to move with ease and speed. Around her feet were a pair of what looked to be lightweight shoes. They didn’t carry any particular significance for them except that they would allow her to move with precision. The water from the stream continued on the other side of her, flowing into the forest once again. From what I could guess, the death of Lily had meant the death of the little creek. It was somehow connected to her in ways that I couldn’t even begin to imagine. I stood there for a moment as she checked herself out.
She looked up at me. “Can I help you?” She smirked.
I had zoned out, unaware that she was speaking to me. I looked up and started to blush. “Oh....sorry.” I said looking down at the ground.
She chuckled. “It’s alright. I’m somehow still amazed that I can do some of this stuff too.”
“Yeah. Um...” I hesitated. “Di...did you want to see your daughter before you started all this?” I waved my hands around illustrating “all of this.”
She looked up to look at the sky and placed her hands on her hips. A light breeze picked up, blowing her dark teal hair behind her. “No, no. That’s quite alright.” She breathed out. She didn’t want to see Azalia? It was confusing. She loved her so much that she was going to risk her life for her, but after three years of not seeing her, she didn’t want to?
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because she’ll know that I’m alive soon enough.” She said, tilting her head and winking at me.




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Text: All characters and events belong to Terry Kuder III
Publication Date: 01-31-2011

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