Fallen Identity

I hadn't thought of Zach having a 'past' really. I mean, I thought there was something between Iofiel and him before but nothing else really. It started to make me wonder what happened that got him sent down here. Great, this is going to bug me until I figure out what it is.. Like an annoying song that you can't remember the name to.

On top of that, I had to worry about my secret. Should I tell everyone I'm a girl and that I'm Iofiel's daughter? It only seems logical now that everyone is going to go out looking for me.

Just then, I heard a Xaphan's voice boom through the halls, telling everyone to meet them in the main room. Oh great, they have an intercom system, and I just found my room too.

I groaned and started to head back. I didn't even know what time it was but I was really tired.

"Xaphan, what do you want?" I heard Cameal yawn as I entered the room.

"I found out who the girl is," Xaphan replied.

"Really? So quickly? How?" Munkir and Nakir exclaimed at the same time. I bet they do that all the time. The creepy twin abilities. I saw Ecanus fidget since he wasn't able to figure it out first.

"Well I tracked down old orphan and foster home records and found tons on days that were around the time Iofiel probably abandoned her child. I then looked up any weird misshappenings and found this one little girl who's foster home was burnt down at the age of three. It was demons. I then just followed that particular girl's records up till today," he explained all in one breath. I had to fight the urge to shiver when he talked about the house burning and the demons who caused it.

"Ok so what's the girl's name?" Lailah asked.

"Her name is Carly Andrews," he stated. All of the guys, meaning Raz, Elijah, Gabriel, and Cameal, groaned.

"What?" Xaphan asked.

"Carly Andrews is the name of the girl that went missing a couple months ago and she hasn't been found since," Elijah answered.

"This is bad. The demons might've gotten her, we're going to have to set up a search party. We'll start in Chicago and work our way out and-"

"No!" I yelled cutting Lailah off. When she
started talking about running a whole search party to look for someone that was standing right under their noses, I guess I just thought enough was enough. Maybe I've been hiding this whole time because it felt safe.

"Carter, what's wrong?" Cameal asked me.

"Um, I, uh, just think you should go get the Demons first. I know where they are and we would have the element of surprise on our side," I said instead of what I really wanted to say. I'm such an idiot. I'm probably going to be mentally hit to a bloody pulp by my concious.

"I guess that seems logical," Lailah said, tapping her chin for a couple minutes.

"Plus, you said the girl might've been captured by the demons.We might find her in there hideout," I added, since she was wasn't saying anything.

"He's right you know," Zach stated since Lailah was still contemplating the situation in her head. "The girl is most likely either being held by the Demons or is already dead."

Everyone thought about that for a second until Lailah spoke up first, "Alright, tomorrow we'll start packing and planning. Let's all go get some rest first."

For the second time that night, everyone got up and headed back to their rooms. Lailah passed me and said in a low voice so only I could hear, "I only hope you're right about this."

I didn't reply. I just stood there until she walked off.I realized I was standing in the room alone until I head Zach's voice from behind me.

"You were going to tell them, weren't you?" he asked.

"I was about to but then this overwhelming urge to keep it a secret came over me," I replied honestly. "I think you should tell me."

"Tell you what?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

"The reason you were sent here," I stated. He looked down and I could see a sort of embarassment and guilt mixed in his eyes. Now I felt guilty for asking him this.

"Well, it a year before I was actually sent here. Iofiel was the Angel of Beauty and I became infatuated with her. So did my brother. My brother and I were constantly argueing over who she would pick. Iofiel would flirt with each of us, making our hate for eachother rise even more.
One day, we both just snapped and fought with fists instead of words. The Higher Angels were sick of our fighting and decided to banish us. It wasn't till our wings were clipped that we found out that Iofiel was just playing with our emotions."

"You must hate me," I muttered.

"Why would I hate you?" he asked.

"I'm her daughter and after the horrible thing she did to you. I can't imagine you liking anyone who was related to her," I said. I looked down at the floor, expecting him to agree. Instead, he kissed my forehead gently and then said, "You're nothing like her."

He then walked away toward his room, leaving me stunned. I decided I need to clear my head and think so I walked over to the staircase and left. I welcomed the fresh air that greeted my face comfortably. It felt nice to have clean air in my system again.

I started strolling down the Paris street, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. I felt myself being hurdled to the ground when it was just because my shoelaces came undone. I noticed people walking around me. Rude much?

I picked myself up and then went over to the side so I could re-tie my shoe. I then felt a large hand cover my mouth and pull my into the alleyway that was right behind me. I tried to scream but the hand was practically choking me. I looked around frantically for the face of my kidnapper but could only see the dark.

"Hey Carter, long time no see," came that hauntingly familiar voice. Then the darkness consumed me.

_________

Why am I always blacking out? Where am I? Why does my head feel like a ton of bricks smacked against it? The questions kept pouring into my head but unfortunately, no answers came. I finally managed to open my eyes and I saw that I was laying on a bed in a hotel room. This hotel room looke familiar and then I realized where I was. I was in the hotel where Mr. Berings was staying. The thought of his name triggered a memory of what happened last night. He was the one who kidnapped me.

I started panicing. Iknew he was out to get me. I got up and noticed I wasn't dressed. I tried to scream but nothing escaped my lips, because duct tape was taped there. I pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it a million times around my body. I then heard the shower turn off. I hadn't noticed that it was on until then.

Mr. Berings came out of the bathroom door a couple minutes later, wearing a suit and whistling to himself.

"Oh. Hello Carter dear. I didn't know you were awake," he gave me a wide smile and came toward me. I backed up into a wall, trying to get as far from him as possible. It was no use.

"We sure had fun last night, didn't we?" he laughed and grabbed my face with his grubby fingers and kissed my forehead the exact same spot where Zach kissed me last night. Was it only last night? It feels like ages ago.

I pulled my face away, feeling the hot tears start to stream down my cheeks. He just chuckled and said, "Now don't be like that. I'm here to take you home, where we can do this all the time."

He then told me he had to go do some business and left. He made sure to bring all the card keys with him and to lock the door with a lock he bought himself. Just to make sure I didn't run away again.

I fell to the floor and cried. Why does he have to come back and ruin everything?!

I then decided that crying hopelessly isn't going to help me out. I looked out the window only to see that I was really high up. I guess jumping out the window isn't an option.

I tried finding a key or code to unlock the door or just anything to help me out. I didn't find anything except my clothes. I slipped them on quickly. My body was already violated enough and my clothes seemed to make me feel better. I tried calling the hotel front desk butMr. Berings disconnected the phone and cut the wire.

I now felt truly helpless. I was going to have to go back to that horrible house with this sick man. I never thought I could actually hate someone, but at this moment, I hated Mr. Berings. I hated every aspect of him.

I paced around the room, waiting for him to get back. Something dark was growing inside of me and it was just screaming to get out.

My ears twitched toward the door like a cat's when I heard the swipe of the card and the turning of the lock on the otherside of the door. I felt a sinister smile grow on my face. When the door swung open, Mr. Berings walked in and set his suitcase down. He then qickly shut the door behind him and locked it from the inside. Like that would help.

He turned toward me. I was sitting neatly in a chair, staring at him with a blank expression.

"Hey Carter honey. I'm home," he said and immediately advanced toward me. I lashed out at him, scratching his face and pushed him to the ground. I kicked his stomach and then started to kick his head until I could see the red liquid pouring out of him. I smiled wickedly at him as I saw his life fade from his eyes.

"Welcome home," I whispered.