Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Legends Academy ❯ Guardian Angel ( Chapter 3 )

 

 

Begin Chapter three…

Guardian Angel

 

“So, tell me about yourself, Angel. I'm dying to know more about you.” I said, stuffing the last of the ramen into my mouth. She looked at the rapidly diminishing sun, considering her answer. She just sat there for a while, looking into the sun…

 

“Well, where to start? I don't really have much of a beginning.” She said eventually, not looking at me. I shrugged, then, realizing she wasn't looking at me, said, “Well, start where the beginning ends, I guess…I've never met a person without a beginning. How about this, I ask you a question and you answer it. Minimal thinking involved on your part” She nodded, still looking away.

 

“Ok, where do you live?” I asked first, genuinely curious. She shrugged, saying, “I don't really have a home…”

 

“Ok then, how about: How old are you? When's your birthday?” I asked next. She hardly waited for me to finish asking before saying, “My birthday is on Valentines Day and I'm thirteen years old.” I gaped at her.

 

“You're kidding. That's my birthday too! And I'm thirteen years old too!”

 

She didn't look back, but she said, “Really? I've never met someone with the same birthday as me. Strange. But good.”

 

“Now what? I know, how about your family? You know, your last name, your heritage, stuff like that.” I said vaguely, also staring off into the sun.

 

I heard her answer, “Well, my last name is Parakai , and I didn't really know my parents. I grew up without them…”

 

“Angel? Are you alright?” I asked, trying to figure out why she was acting so strange. Angel dropped her gaze and I saw her shake her head the tiniest bit. I got up from where I was, stepping around the fire and crouching beside her.

 

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder and used my other hand to lift up her chin.

 

“Hey, come on, what's wrong?” I asked, moving forward to give her a hug. I felt her shoulders jerk up a few times and I realized she was starting to cry.

 

“Angel, please tell me what's wrong. I can't help if I don't know.” I said, pulling away. Angel wiped the tears from her face, shaking her head.

 

“You wouldn't understand it, nobody does.” I searched for a loophole, something to prove her wrong, but found none. I dropped the subject, and we were silent for a while, watching the last of the suns rays disappear.

 

“We should get some sleep. Do you want to go inside?” I asked, wondering why were out so late anyways. Angel, on he other hand seemed to have calmed down with the disappearance of the sun.

”Would you like to camp out? I have a spare sleeping bag, if you want.” I looked at her for a moment. Then, deeming her trustworthy, I smiled and nodded, but my smile quickly turned into a long yawn. She tossed a large, fluffy sleeping bag at me and it bounced off my head, nearly rolling off the stone. I grabbed it before it could, though, nearly falling off myself.

 

“Hey, can I have a little help here? You saved me once, can you do it again?!” I asked in a cocky voice, hanging over the edge. Only my legs were still on the stone, while the rest of me was hanging over fifty feet of air.

 

Stars danced before my eyes as the blood rushed to my head. I felt myself growing woozy, and nauseous too. My vision was ebbed with black when I felt strong hands grab my waist and pull me up, successfully dragging me away from an imminent death.

 

“Thanks Angel, I thought-“ I started to say, but I was abruptly cut off with a hand over my mouth. That's right, not to my mouth, over my mouth. I thought to look up after a moment. What I saw haunted me many a night. I saw a teenage girl unconscious a few feet away. Angel! I mentally cried, shaking my head and trying to free myself.

 

I promptly stopped when I heard a male voice say, “You're not going anywhere Artemis. It's time for a little payback, and this time you don't have your little “Guardian Angel” with you. This time you're really gonna pay!”

 

I bit his hand, and my mouth was free from his grip Scowling, I said, “What? Are you kidding? You've had your butt handed to you, wrapped in a bow, three times in the last twelve hours! Do you think you can beat me? Honestly! What are you, stupid or something? The last thing I will EVER do is be beaten by you!” I cried, struggling to break free.

 

“And how the hell do you know my NAME?” I screamed as I finally broke free of his grip. My mom would probably kill me if she found out that I swore, but I didn't exactly care at the moment.

 

As I landed with a thump on the ground, which REALLY hurt my butt, I felt him grab my ankle, pulling me towards the edge again.

 

“Dammit! How many times are you gonna do that?!” I cried, kicking his hand with my unoccupied foot. He let go, also letting out a small cry of pain.

 

I scrambled toward Angel, crying out, “ANGEL! GOD DARN IT! WAKE UP!” Once I finally reached her I started slapping her face, trying to get her to show some sign of life.

 

I heard a hoarse cry behind me and I twirled around, coming face-to-face, of should I say, forehead-to-forehead with Markarov. Again his egotistically overlarge head smacked strait into mine, making the edge of my sight go black. But this time that wouldn't work, because I threw a punch at him, right in the gut. He hit the ground moaning. Now I could barely see, on account of his “head-on” attack. Grrrr. I hate puns...

 

As I let myself fall to my knees I felt strong hands wrap around my neck and a voice cry, “NO!”

 

The hands went as suddenly as they came, and I heard the sound of a body hitting stone.

 

“Artemis? Can you hear me? Say something!” I heard a voice, Angel's, say. I, on the other hand, said nothing, falling face first onto the stone. I felt her turn me over so she could see my face. Even though I couldn't see her, as my eyes were closed, I could tell there was a worried look on her face.

 

“Artemis, wake up, gosh darn it!” She said, shaking my shoulder.

 

I groaned, opening my eyes.

 

“You know, you are very loud sometimes.” I pointed out, sitting up and looking around. I saw Markarov unconscious a couple yards away. I turned to Angel, “I don't know how you do it. I can hardly land a punch on the guy and you can do that.”

 

She held out her hand and I grabbed it. She pulled me up effortlessly, strong enough to make me nearly fall foreword on my face again. She steadied me though, helping me back to my sleeping bag. I didn't go to sleep, only sat there and stared at the unconscious boy.

 

Markarov. My mind supplied. He stirred and, thinking he was waking up, I froze. After a moment he stopped and I relaxed. Angel looked up from what she was doing, which was cooking on the fire, and said, “Don't worry. He's in so much pain that he won't wake up for a while now.”

 

At this I looked at her in shock.

 

“And you're just sitting there? Even he's not that cruel!” I said, hurriedly getting up and rooting through her stuff.

 

After a moment, I found another sleeping bag.

 

“Aha!” I cried, turning and sprinting over to Markarov. I nearly stepped on him, but I managed to jump over him and then turn and crouch next to him.

 

I unfolded the spare sleeping bag and placed it next to him. I then reached over and gently picked him up. There was a little strain on my arms, but he was really only average sized, so the stress must have been fatigue.

 

With only a little struggle I laid him down on the sleeping bag and went back to Angel's bag. Again I rooted through her various items until I found a water bottle and a rag and walked back to him again.

 

I crouched and felt his forehead for a fever. As soon as I felt his forehead I made an “eep!” sound, withdrawing my hand immediately. He was burning up! I tipped the open water bottle over the rag and drenched the rag with cool water. I folded it up neatly and gently placed it on Markarov's head.

 

I turned to Angel, face solemn.

 

“You really did a number on him. By the looks of it, he's not going to be very happy when he wakes up.”

 

I stood up and walked over to her, sitting down on her sleeping bag with a faint thump. I grabbed the plate she offered and picked at the hotdogs she had prepared hastily.

 

After a moment I asked, “Inconsequently, what did you do to him?”

 

She shrugged, muttering something about not thinking. After a moment of silence, she said, “I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late.”

 

I nodded an affirmative, looking at the sky. The stars twinkled back at me and the full moon glowed magnificently. It was a sort of blue-purple color, the kind you can only see with perfect conditions.

 

I heard Angel snore lightly, so I knew she was asleep. I decided to lie down and stargaze in a more comfortable position. I walked back to my sleeping bag, but stopped mid-step when I heard a groan. After a moment, I just returned to my current objective and sat then lay down on my sleeping bag, avoiding the gaze I knew was following me.

 

Finally I dozed off, not even covered up by anything other than my clothes.

 

About a half hour later, I woke with a start. I took a fast breath, trying to observe my surroundings. But, for some reason, I couldn't see anything other than a span of dark blue with twinkling white spots.

 

It took me a moment to realize that I was outside and that it was probably near ten or eleven o' clock. My eyes adjusted to the darkness that the moonlight didn't wash away.

 

I nearly fell asleep again before I heard a soft grunt, followed by the rustle of fabric.

 

“Awake then?” I asked softly to the world in general. But the world didn't answer back; instead I heard the soft voice of a Russian teenager.

 

“Why? Why didn't she finish me off? She had every reason to…” It took me a moment to realize that he meant Angel.

 

“I expect that she didn't think it was necessary.” I answered, just as quietly as he had. We were silent for a while, both laying still.

 

“And what about you? You could have very well killed me as well.” He said eventually.

 

I only shrugged, saying, “I couldn't have killed you if I wanted to. After that little “head-on” collision we had, I nearly blacked out.” We were both quiet for a while, wondering what was coming next.

 

I heard another rustle and looked over at Markarov. He was trying to sit up, but wasn't succeeding. He barley made it three inches off of the ground. I got up and walked over to him. He froze, probably expecting me to sink so low as to injure him while he was incapable of defending himself.

 

When I reached him I placed a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him back onto the sleeping bag. I looked at his shocked face and smiled. Just a flicker.

 

“I wouldn't move if I were you.” I pointed out, removing my hand. I walked back to my sleeping bag before he could think of anything to say. I was asleep before he said it.

 

I heard a gasp and instantly shot bolt upright, worried. Markarov was clutching his right shoulder, face screwed up in pain. I jumped up and ran to Markarov's side, asking him what was wrong. He didn't answer, only grabbing his shoulder tighter.

 

After a few minutes he went limp, only moving enough to show that he was breathing. I reached a hand out slowly, gently shaking his unoccupied shoulder. After I received no response, I stopped.

 

“Markarov, are you alright? Please answer me. Markarov!” I said softly, gently tapping his face. After a moment he opened his eyes.

 

“How do you know my name?” He asked softly, looking at me. But not in an angry way, like I expected. He looked like he was perfectly calm, and maybe a little curious. And a small part of my brain noticed that his accent had practically disappeared.

 

“Huh? Oh, Angel told me a while ago.” I replied, removing my hand. He nodded, closing his eyes again. “How do you know Angel?” I asked, realizing he had not questioned her name. He let out a soft chortle.

 

“Let's just say we have met before.” He said vaguely. I smirked. “Meaning she kicked your butt?” I asked devilishly.

 

He blushed, quickly hiding it by turning away.

 

“Um…” He said, “I-well…yeah, pretty much. Please don't tell anyone. Seriously. I have a reputation to uphold.” He said, showing his face again. My eyes closed by reflex and I laughed loudly, but soon was silenced by his hand to my mouth.

 

“And you might want to be quiet too. If she wakes up I'll never hear the end of it.” Markarov said, removing his hand. “And I'll probably get a good beating too.” He added as an afterthought. I nodded, still doubled up with silent giggles.

 

Finally I stopped, serious again. When I opened my eyes, I saw him staring up at the sky. It was just about one or two `o clock in the morning by now.

 

“We should get some sleep.” I said quietly. He nodded, saying a quick “goodnight” and rolling over. I stayed by his side for a moment, hardly noticing that the three of us weren't alone…

 

I was about to get up when I heard the rustle of pine branches not a few feet away. My breath caught and I dropped as low as possible without disturbing Markarov.

 

“Markarov, wake up. I heard something.” I said in an urgent whisper. I received no reply. He was already asleep! Who falls asleep that fast? I wondered, prodding his shoulder softly. Still nothing.

 

“Okay. I'll have to deal with this alone. I can handle it. I think.” I said, voice steadily growing meeker with each statement. But the next time I spoke, it was filled with confidence only I knew was fake.

 

“Show yourself. If you tell me who you are now, maybe I won't kill you!” I cried, clenching my hands into fists to stop then from shaking. “I mean it! If you come out now maybe I'll let you live.”

 

This time it was behind me that I heard it. Well, not exactly. I really felt it more that I heard it. Like the echo of a sound. I turned quickly, but not quick enough.

 

Pain erupted in the back of my neck and my vision immediately faded. I still could tell what was going on though, even though I couldn't see it. I felt myself land on something soft. That soft thing proved to be alive too, because it shot up, and I was caught by the creature's arms in moments. Then I heard it's, or rather his voice.

 

“Artemis, what's wrong?” I heard Markarov say, voice urgent and worried. I tried to say something, anything, but my mouth refused to work. Then I heard him gasp.

 

“What are you doing here?” I heard him ask, voice booming with hatred. I could feel him shaking, but whether from fury, hatred, or fright I probably wasn't about to find out.

 

I heard a strange, unfamiliar language. It was garbled and quick, but at the same time, crystal clear. I didn't understand it, but I could tell that each syllable was pronounced with exact precision. The next thing I knew, I was on the hard ground and Markarov wasn't moving at all. As suddenly as it had disappeared, the feeling was returned to my limbs.

 

My eyes fluttered open of their own accord. I instantly shot upright, completely at loss for thought. I looked around, trying to take everything in.

 

Okay, more point assessing:

Point one: I have no idea what just happened. That's definitely bad.

Point two: Markarov's out cold. Also definitely bad.

Point three: I gotta wake Angel!

 

I shot up and ran to where Angel was. I screamed, shook her shoulder, everything! She just wouldn't wake up. I swore again, turning back to Markarov. What I saw was worse than any nightmare. He had woken up alright, but that might not be a good thing. He was held from behind by someone in a large cloak. I couldn't see his face, only Markarov's face directly in front of the strangers. I tried to move forward, hand outstretched, but I stopped abruptly when the strangers voice rang thought the campsite.

 

“Stop! Don't move and maybe I'll let you three live!” I slowly walked up to the person, tears streaming down my face.

 

“Please, please let us go. We didn't do anything.”

 

Once I was only inches from Markarov I stopped, reaching a hand up to his face. I let my fingers caress his face for a moment, his warm skin giving me a small, but helpful burst of strength.

 

“I'm sorry.” I said quietly, blinking away more tears yet. I stepped slightly to the side, so that I had a near-clear shot at the stranger. “I trust you.” I said with one last look at Markarov, who looked back at me, understanding what I was about to do.

 

That made one of us.

 

I looked back at the stranger, closed my eyes, and dived forward. It was the only way. If I wanted them to live, I had to do it…

 

End Chapter three…

 

 

Well, how was chapter three? A little long, perhaps, but I think it was worth it. But I gotta tell ya, one of these days my hand is gonna kill me for all these cramps…

All due respect,

-AnimeGirl214