If It Makes You Less Sad, I Will Die By Your Hand

  Chapter 1

      She wandered for almost three hours. Running away from her parents wasn’t the answer, she knew that. But they were always fighting, she often felt like she couldn’t take it anymore. She knew she had to go home soon. It must be almost midnight, her parents would probably have called the police by now, if not to report her missing then surely to report each other over there latest argument.
      Rory started to walk home, she knew that if she cut through the cemetery she could get home much quicker, but she was reluctant to do so. She had always been freaked out by the cemetery at night. Too many horror movies when she was a child had taught her that when the lead female in the movie walked into the cemetery, she didn’t walk out again. Although Rory didn’t really believe in Ghosts or Vampires or any of those types of things, she was still skeptical about walking into a cemetery alone at night.
      Rory stood looking at the cemetery gates. It was starting to get cold and she hadn’t thought to bring a jumper with her. Although she really didn’t want to walk through the cemetery, she really did want to get home to the warmth of her bed. She decided she would brave the dark, haunting cemetery.
      She walked up to the gates and slowly walked in. She jumped when she heard an owl hooting in the tree above her. She started to walk faster and noticed in the distance the mausoleum door swinging open in the wind. She started to walk even faster. She wanted to get out of the cemetery, quickly.
      She tripped on a plaque and bit back a scream, she was scared but she didn’t want to alert anyone who could be lingering in the cemetery to her presents. She quickly got up and started to walk again. She started to hear music.
      She stopped walking and tried to hear the song.



And now that I'm strong I have figured out/ How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul / and I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one.



      She started to walk towards the music unable to stop herself. She didn’t want to keep walking towards the music, but it was like her body was a paperclip being pulled towards a magnet. She was scared, but continued to walk.
      The music was coming from inside the mausoleum, Rory stopped at the entrance, she didn’t want to walk in, she knew that. It was dark and scary in there. But that’s where the music was coming from. That’s where she needed to be.
      Rory pushed the door open and stepped into the darkness. She heard the music getting louder.



        Seasons are changing / and waves are crashing / and stars are falling all for us / Days grow longer and nights grow shorter / I can show you I'll be the one.



      The song was pulling her towards it, she had to follow. She had a memory of a story her mother once read to her about The Pied Piper playing his flute to lure out all the rats. She felt like she was being lured. She knew it made no sense, but she could not stop herself.
      ‘What am I doing?’ She whispered.
      She continued to walk down the mausoleum stairs. She was almost at the bottom. The music was getting louder. She reached the bottom. It was dark, there were no lights. Not that she had expected any. It was, after all, a mausoleum. She looked around unable to see anything.
      Where is the music coming from? She thought. She could hear the music all around her. It was like being in a cinema. Surround sound. The music was everywhere. It wasn't coming from any one specific place that she could identify. She walked further into the mausoleum and suddenly a flame flickered to life on the wall. It was an old oil lantern. The room was suddenly bathed in light. She looked around. There were tombs spread around the room. There was an old, tattered doll sitting on top of the tomb closest to her. She tried to stop her hand as it reached out to touch the ancient looking object.
      Just before her fingertips brushed the fabric of the tattered dolls dress, the music suddenly stopped. Rory quickly dropped her hand away. She felt like she had been slapped. She was suddenly awoken form the trance and she knew she couldn’t bite back the scream building in her throat. 
      Just before she opened her mouth to release the scream, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and she was grabbed by the waist and picked up off the ground.







  Chapter 2

      Rory struggled in the persons arms to no avail. She couldn’t escape the grasp. The lantern went out and she tried to scream but the hand covering her mouth made that impossible. She felt herself being carried further into the mausoleum. What was happening? Finally the hand around her waist eased and she was placed on the ground.
      ‘If you promise not to scream I’ll take away my hand.’ The man holding her spoke.
      She nodded her head signaling that she would not scream. He removed his hand from her mouth. Rory didn’t scream, though she thought about it. When she was sure that he had moved a little away from her she spun around hoping to see him. She strained her eyes in the darkness, but couldn’t see a thing.
      ‘W-Who are you? Why d-did you b-bring me here?’ Rory was afraid now. She knew that nothing good would come of being dragged into a mausoleum in the middle of the night by a strange man. She was shivering, not only from the cold but from the fear of the man standing in the dark as well.
      ‘My name is Micah. I brought you here because you heard my song.’
      Rory looked around, her eyes could not adjust to the darkness, she could see nothing around her.
      ‘Of course I heard your song, you had i-it turned up loud enough, I’m s-sure anyone else walking past would have heard it too.’ Rory said trying to sound dignified even though her voice broke several times.
      ‘No, you do not understand, you heard my song. It is the song that comes from deep within my soul.’ Rory started moving slowly backwards, she wanted to get out of here. She wanted to run back to the warmth of her bedroom and her blankets, her nice warm bed and her cat Elliot. She kept edging slowly backwards hoping that she was going in the direction of the exit. She felt herself crash into something hard.
      ‘Oh,’ she said. She jumped a few steps forward. She felt a hand grab her wrist.
      ‘Please, do not be afraid of me. I mean you no harm.’ He spoke so sweetly. Rory wanted to believe him, she felt herself trusting this man, even though her better judgment was telling her not to.
      ‘Please let me g-go. I just want to go home.’ Rory begged.
      ‘I promise to let you leave once I have spoken with you. I will not harm you. I simply wish to speak with you. That is all, I promise.’
      ‘Okay, I... I’ll listen to you. I’ll hear whatever you want me to hear or whatever as long as you turn on a light in here. I really don’t like the dark.’ Half a second after the words left Rory’s mouth the room was filled with light from lanterns that were spread out around the room. Rory looked around realizing that she was deep inside some form of crypt. She knew, though she wasn’t sure how she knew, that she was deep underground.
      She looked around the room she was in, it was a stone room, it wasn’t painted but tapestry’s hung on the walls. There was an ancient three seater lounge against one wall and a single lounge against the other.
      ‘Would you like to take a seat?’ Micah offered, gesturing to the lounges against the wall. Rory slowly walked over to the single lounge never taking her eyes off of Micah. Once she looked at him, really looked at him, she realized she couldn’t stop looking at him. He was beautiful. He had long black curly hair, blacker than the deepest night and eyes as blue as the daylight sky. His skin was pale. He was much taller than Rory. He was at least six foot tall. She knew she was staring, she hoped he didn’t notice. She slowly sunk into the lounge pulling her legs up to her chest. Micah sat on the three seater lounge near her.
      ‘So why did you... kidnap me?’ Rory asked after she could no longer take the silence.
      ‘I’m sorry if that is your interpretation of what I have done. I have not kidnapped you. You came to me, you heard my song and you came.’ He looked at her, his eyes seaming to bore into her soul. ‘You felt it call you, did you not?’
      Rory looked at her feet. She knew she was a bad liar, but she didn’t want to tell him how she had felt when she heard the music. How she had likened it to The Pied Piper luring the rats from the town. She had felt drawn to the song, so drawn that she could not stop herself from following its sound. Not even her own fear was enough to stop her.
      She looked up at him.
      ‘Why? Why did it make me come to you? What was it?’ She asked.







  Chapter 3

      ‘I didn’t make you come to me. I will try to explain. You heard my song, not music on a stereo, music from my soul. You came to me because you were drawn here.’
      Rory looked at his face again. He was beautiful, she knew she was once again staring but she couldn’t avert her eyes. It was like the trance was starting again.
      ‘I don’t understand what you mean.’ She said.
      ‘I am sorry, it must of course, be hard for you to understand. I wish not to scare you, but I fear telling you this all at once may do just that.’
      Rory was starting to think that Micah was a little crazy. She was already scared out of her mind; nothing he could say would make her more so.
      ‘I am not like you.’ Micah said. ‘I am... not from your world.’ Rory felt herself pull back into the chair as far as possible.
      He really is crazy. Rory thought.
      ‘I am fallen. I was banished to earth as punishment for disobeying The Lord. I was sent here to protect the human race until such time as that I redeem myself and can be taken back into the arms of my Lord and Saviour.’
      Rory couldn’t believe what she was hearing, she wasn’t much of a believer in God or Jesus or any of the other things religious people were often preaching. She was a person who liked hard facts. She believed in things she could see and touch. Not make believe things like Ghosts and Angels and Vampires. Rory had thought that listening to him couldn’t make her anymore scared than she already was, she was wrong. She was sure that he was a recent escapee from a nearby mental institution. Rory started to realize that it was unlikely she would leave this crypt.
      Why didn’t I just take the long way home? Rory thought to herself. I could be back asleep in my nice warm bed right now.
      ‘Right,’ Rory said sceptically. ‘Well now that I’ve listened to everything you’ve told me, can I leave?’ Rory knew he would say no, but she had to try.
      ‘Not quite yet. I have not finished. But soon, I promise.’ Micah shifted in his seat. He looked nervous. Rory probably looked nervous too.
      ‘I will continue now. As I said, I am fallen. I am an Angel fallen from the graces of God. I understand that this may be hard for you to hear, of even to believe. But I ashore you, it is the truth. I will prove to you what I am.’
      Before Rory had time to stop him, he stood from his seat. Rory sat in astonishment as black wings suddenly appeared and unfurled from his shoulder blades. Her jaw almost hit the ground.
      How can this be real?  She thought. Her hand reached out to touch the feathers on the tips of his wings. They were real. She could see little flecks of silver in the feathers. Suddenly she heard the song starting to play again.



      When I see your smile/Tears run down my face, I can't replace/and now that I'm strong I have figured out/How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul/and I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one.



      ‘It’s so beautiful,’ she whispered. Rory couldn’t believe she was standing in a crypt under the ground of a cemetery looking at an Angel. Nothing seemed real anymore. ‘I don’t understand.’ Rory said, looking again at Micah’s beautiful face.
      ‘Do you hear my song?’ He asked.
     


      I will never let you fall/I'll stand up with you forever/I'll be there for you through it all/Even if saving you sends me to hell.



      ‘Yes, I hear it. It’s beautiful. I’ve never heard anything so beautiful in my life.’ She admitted.
      ‘You have no idea what this means.’
      ‘What?’ Rory said only moments before Micah grabbed her.





  Chapter 4

      After a few seconds of Rory thinking she was surely about to die, she realized that Micah had grabbed her and flown out of the crypt. She was flying in his arms high above the cemetery. The world seemed to be passing her by in a blur.
      I’m flying. Rory thought.
      The beautiful song continued in the background. Rory had her eyes shut tight. She had seen the first few moments of flying over the cemetery and then she had decided that she would be sick if the world kept passing her by so quickly and irrationally.
      She felt the world slowing, then she felt her feet touch the hard ground.
      ‘You may open your eyes now.’ Micah said.
      Rory wasn’t sure how he knew her eyes were closed. She tried not to think about anything too much, other than trying to keep her dinner safely in her stomach.
      Rory slowly opened her eyes. It took her a few moments to realize where she was.
      ‘This is my house,’ she whispered. ‘My roof.’ She was well and truly scared now. Rory grabbed hold of Micah’s arms. She was afraid of heights, especially rooftops.
      ‘It’s okay Rory, I will never let you fall.’
      Why was that so comforting to her? How did he know her name? How did he know where she lived? Sure, he was a fallen angel, he’d proven that bit. But was he also a stalker? That explained how he knew where she lived.
      ‘Please don’t be frightened.’ He whispered in her ear.
      Rory hadn’t realized that she had tensed up. She forced herself to relax a little.
      ‘Okay.’ Was all she said, while she was trying to take deep calming breaths.
      ‘I must leave you now.’
      Rory began to hyperventilate. ‘N-n-no, you can’t leave me here. Please don’t leave me here.’ She begged in a voice just above a whisper.
      ‘Rory, Rory’ he said comfortingly. ‘Relax, I’m not going to leave you on the roof.’
      Rory started to relax slightly, though she noticed that her hands were wrapped in Micah’s shirt. She must have grabbed him without noticing in her panic.
      ‘I did not mean that I would leave you here, just that I must leave now. You need sleep and I too must go home. I will come back to see you tomorrow night, if you wish.’
      Rory looked into his eyes, this man had scared her only a short time ago, she had been convinced he would kill her, now... now she found that not only did she want him to come back tomorrow night, she didn’t want him to leave.
      She continued to look into his eyes, they appeared to be getting a darker and darker shade of blue by the second.
      Before she even knew what was happening she was once again in the air, Micah flew her to the balcony outside of her room and placed her on the ground.
      ‘Wow. I will never get used to that.’ Rory said catching her breath.
      ‘In time you will, I ashore you.’ Micah leaned down and kissed Rory on the cheek. 
      ‘I must leave now though. I’ll see you tomorrow night, I hope.’
      Rory didn’t get a chance to say goodbye before he was flying high into the night, she saw his winged body flying away. When she could no longer see him she quietly opened her balcony door and walked into her room.






  Chapter 5

      Rory lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn’t sleep; her mind would not let her. She had to process all the things that had happened today.
      Micah, the fallen angel. How could he be real? But he was, she had seen him, she had flown in his arms. He had to be real, but at the same time her mind could not believe it. He was beautiful. He was an angel.
      Rory laid there willing her mind to shut down. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn’t stop thinking about all the events that had happened over the last few hours.
      Finally after what seemed like a lifetime of lying on her bed thinking Rory fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

      Rory had woken up in the morning and done all the things her usual routine consisted of. She had breakfast, got showered and dressed. She was ready for school before she had to leave so she decided to brave walking past the cemetery and taking the long way around to school.
      She walked past the cemetery gates and towards the mausoleum that she had heard the music coming from the night before.
      She couldn’t hear the music now. Did that mean that Micah wasn’t here? What would happen if she walked into the mausoleum?
      Before she could stop herself she was walking towards the mausoleum door, pushing it open. She didn’t know what to expect, but she kept walking.
      She saw the tattered doll sitting on the ancient tomb. She didn’t feel as compelled to touch the doll now as she had the night before, but she picked the doll up any way. She looked closely at the tattered dress. She noticed that the eyes opened and closed if you laid it down or sat it up. She laid the doll back on the ancient tomb and was about to turn when she saw the dolls eyes fly open.












  Chapter 6

      Rory slowly backed away; she was sure she saw the dolls eyes open. She needed to get away from the mausoleum. Rory had the strong feeling that something bad was going to happen if she didn’t get out of here now. Just as she thought it, she realized that tonight would be Halloween.
      She slowly backed up until her back hit the wall, she knew it was insane to be scared of a doll, but Rory knew it wasn’t an ordinary doll. She made a run for the door but just as she reached it she was grabbed from behind, Rory wasn’t sure how, but she knew that it wasn’t Micah who had hold of her.
      Rory struggled though she knew it would do her no good. Her life had turned into turmoil in the space of less than twenty-four hours. Rory was being carried into the mausoleum just like the previous night. Rory was as scared now as she had been then, though she got the distinct feeling that this would not end the same way.
      Rory felt her face being smashed into the hard stone wall and she fell to the floor. She felt the blood running from her skull and knew that it wasn’t good.
      Rory tried to stand when she felt the arm of her captor release, but she found that her body wouldn’t work the way she willed it too.
      ‘If you have any sense you will not try to stand or fight me off. You will never win.’ Rory heard his hard, cold voice timber around the room. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew that he would have a cold hard face to match the voice.
      Rory stayed on the ground, she prayed that someone would come to save her. She longed to her the song she knew was in Micah’s very soul. She longed to hear the sweet melody, knowing that it would mean her rescue.
      No such sound came, but what did come was much worse than Rory could ever have imagined.
      She didn’t struggle, for she knew it would do her no good. She knew that he was going to kill her, she didn’t know why, but she knew it was coming. Rory decided that since she already knew what this day had install for her, she would rather die knowing who it was that killed her and why they should want too? What had she done?
      With all the energy she had left in her small body she stood and faced the man who was about to kill her...
      When Rory faced the man who stood before her she he lunged with a knife that went straight to her heart. She looked up with every ounce of strength she had left to see the man that had done this to her. Rory could not have been more hurt or astonished by what she saw.
      All the breath left in her body went out in a whoosh. The man standing before her smirked, the man holding the bloody knife was... Micah.