Guardian Angel

I was waiting tables at Johnny’s Diner when he arrived. He surveyed the room with his eyes, completely skipping over me. I remembered seeing his face somewhere before, but I couldn’t seem to pinpoint the location. He sat in a corner booth and read the menu.

I took in his appearance before going over to take his order. His dark brown hair was shaggy and unbrushed, it looked like he’d just gotten out of bed. He had a bit of stubble and was in need of a shave. In his grey T-shirt and faded jeans, he looked worn out and tired.

“How can I help you sir?” I questioned, posing my pen to take his order.

“Coffee please,” he ordered before looking up at me. My bangs fell from behind my ear as I tilted my head down to take the rest of his order.

I looked through my bangs at him after a few seconds of silence. He was staring at me with his eyes wide. His menu was still in his hands, but he paid no attention to it, his attention was on me. His eyes roamed my body, taking in my posture and seeming to pick up even the smallest detail.

“Sir?” I attempted to snap him out of his daze.

“Do you have a pen?” he asked. I nodded, holding out the pen I was using. He unfolded a napkin and began to draw. The pen flew, creating the images his green eyes observed. He drew me, standing in front of him, appearing to be taking his order as he searched through the menu. It was a rough sketch, but it was beautiful.

It must have taken him a while to finish because by the time he was done, I had my hand on the table next to his left arm. I was peering over his shoulder at his work, both of us admiring it. We were both awestruck, his sketch had amazing depth. He put down the pen and leaned back, his hands still on the table.

“So, you’re an artist,” I stated, both of us still gazing at the napkin.

“Yeah…” he exhaled. There was a few seconds of silence before he spoke again.

“Can I draw you?” he whispered while brushing my bangs out of my eyes so he could look into them. I stood up and looked away to avoid eye contact. The eyes truly are windows to the soul.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said, “Now, what can I get you?” I picked up my pen and note pad, awaiting his answer.

“Just coffee, thanks…” he looked at my name badge, “Ember.” I nodded and went to make his coffee, putting my note pad and pen in my pocket along the way.

When I returned to his table, he was sketching something new on another napkin, having found another pen. I placed his coffee on the table and peeked at the new drawing. It was of the lions at the zoo. One was staring into a girl’s eyes while the crowd seemed to be moving around her. A man was sitting on the other side of their enclosure with a pad of paper on his knee and a pencil in his hand. I remember that day, I was the girl in the drawing.

I was transfixed, I hadn’t realized that anyone had seen that. This is bad, this is very bad… If anyone finds out what really happened that day, I’m doomed.

“Please tell me you’re the only one who saw that,” I begged, sitting down across from him in the booth.

“So it was you,” he confirmed. He put his pen down and slid the napkin toward me. “I’m the only one who noticed you that day, but some people have seen the picture I drew of it.”

I put my head down on the left arm and slid the napkin away with my right. What am I going to do now? They have to have seen it already, they’re probably on their way right now!

“When did you release the picture for others to see?” I asked as I lifted my head.

“Just a month ago, I spent a lot of time perfecting it.”

I was in the middle of a thought when the bell above the door rang, signaling a new customer. I looked up, only to be gazing into the eyes of evil. They’re here. My face paled a few shades and my muscles locked. A shiver ran down my spine as ‘it’ smiled devilishly.

“Who’s that?” the artist questioned. I didn’t dare take my eyes off of the monster, even for a second, as I answered.

“The devil.”

The bell rang again as two more people entered. They stood behind the first man and whispered something to him. He frowned and replied before making his way over to our booth. I had to strain to keep my composure with every step he took.

“Ember,” he stated, flicking his black hair out of his equally black eyes. He stood in front of the booth with his two goons flanking him. They were blocking the only way out.

“Daemon,” I replied. I was barely able to contain a growl. His close proximity was agitating me, it’s against my instincts to do nothing when I’m in danger.

“Who’s the boy?” Daemon asked while looking at the artist.

“Leave him out of this,” I growled. Everyone has their breaking point, I couldn’t hold that growl in
anymore.

“Aiden,” the artist said, looking like he was creeped out that I growled.

Daemon hummed and turned his attention back to me. My attention had never left him, due to lack of trust.

“So, feel like going for a walk?” he asked with that evil glint in his eyes. By that, he means “walk with me or your friend won’t live long enough to sketch another line.” I ground my teeth together, wishing I could decline, but my conscience wouldn’t let me do that to Aiden. My mind was running a mile a second trying to come up with a way to get us both out of this situation safely.

“At least let me take him to thank the chef for his meal,” I attempted to weasel a few more minutes away from him. Aiden opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced with a glare.

“Fine, but take Lucas with you,” Daemon motioned to one of his goons. I nodded and grabbed Aiden’s upper arm. It took all of my willpower to turn my back on Daemon was the three of us walked through the door to the kitchen. The door closed behind us, blocking Daemon’s cautious gaze. I made sure the chef couldn’t see anything before jumping into action.

I turned to Lucas and slammed his head against the wall to knock him out. His body fell limply to the floor after a loud thump. I grabbed Aiden’s arm again and dragged him out the back way. Footsteps could be heard behind us, the chase had begun.

The kitchen door opened just as the back door closed. I pulled Aiden into a run out of the alley behind Johnny’s Diner. Daemon and his other goon were slowly gaining on us as we weaved through the people.

“Why are we running? And I never ate anything at the diner!” Aiden shouted above the crowd. I looked back at him for a second and grabbed his hand to pull him along faster.

“I had to get us out of there somehow!” I replied. We escaped the crowd and I pulled him into another alley. I knew this alley, the other alleys connected to it would give us a sure route of escape.
I continued navigating us through the alleyways until we came to a door. I barged in, pulling Aiden with me, and bolted the door behind us. I gave a relieved sigh and leaned against it.

The room was small, illuminated solely by an oil lamp. There were no windows, just two beds and a fully stocked bookshelf. On one of the beds was a laptop, on the other was a child.

“Emma, pack your things, we have to go,” I ordered. Emma is my little sister, our parents were murdered a while back and I’ve been her guardian ever since. She nodded and pointed to Aiden.

“Who’s he?” she questioned in her childish voice. A small smile formed on my lips before I answered.

“His name’s Aiden, he’s coming with us.”

“No he isn’t,” Aiden argued, looking at me like I was crazy. I sighed and stepped closer to him. He began to back away but I stopped him by taking gold of his arm.

“If you don’t come with us now, you won’t have another chance. Those men that chased us will kill you, but only after they’ve tortured you in an attempt to get you to tell them where I went. Now, you can either take your chances with them, which will be nearly impossible, or you can come with us, which has much better odds of you coming out alive,” I whispered in his ear so that Emma wouldn’t hear, “Which will it be?”

“Fine, I’ll go with you, it’s not like I have any ties to this place anyway,” he answered reluctantly. I nodded and packed my own bag, a few pairs of clothes, my laptop, a couple snacks, my trusty compound bow, and arrows. I filled a couple water bottles for us and put them in there as well.

“Let’s go get your stuff, we’ll be back in a few Em,” I said.

When we returned, Emma was asleep in her bed. I told Aiden to take my bed as I set up a blanket and pillow on the floor. He tried to deny, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“It’s your last time in civilization, enjoy it while it lasts.”

I turned the oil lamp off and crawled under my blanket on the floor. I closed my eyes with a sigh. I hated running all the time, it wasn’t fair to Emma either. We run so much that she doesn’t have any time to make friends and be a kid. I wish I could do more for her, give her a normal life, but I know that’s not possible. With that last thought, I fell asleep, giving my mind a much needed rest.