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Angel
Posted by Hannah, Jul 3. 59 views. ID = 1453
This post was written in 0 minutes.
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 | This post has been awarded 26 stars by 6 readers. |  | This post is Part 2 of a writing series titled Pearl's Story. |
Zane sighed as he stumbled out of the small, dirty building. He was, as always, dead tired. He walked to his beat-up old, blue Chevy truck. He shoved one of his dirty boots into the car and pulled himself into it, shaking the old car. He put the key in the ignition and turned it, cringing as it made loud whirring, banging, and clanking noises as it tiredly started up. He realized with a grimace that he would need a new car...soon. He had no idea how he would pay for it, but he couldn't walk the fifteen miles to work.
He looked down at the steering wheel and the impossible urge to lie down and sleep right in the car overwhelmed him. He sighed and pressed on the gas pedal. Dhelyla needed him. She needed him to come home. Home. Zane rolled his eyes as he remembered falling to sleep before he even got dressed for bed. He had had to pull himself to bed in his dirty and holey jeans and work shirt. His black-dirt-streaked hands made dark marks on his face as he slept. The small house that he shared with his ten-year-old sister Dhelyla was a mess with dishes and pots all over the counter and papers from Dhelyla's homework covering the floor. Zane thanked God that it was Friday.
Zane passed through the southern edge of Oceanside city without seeing anything. After twenty minutes he reached the coast line. Five more minutes of driving and he arrived at the small dirt road and wooded area that led to his small home.
As he pulled up to the small, four-room house he could see his sister bouncing out the door to him. Her usual smiling face was beaming from ear to ear. He couldn't help but laugh at her eagerness as she reached his car before he had turned off the ignition. She opened the car door and yanked him out. He barely had time to unbuckle the belt before she was pulling him to the door. Her curly, long, white-blonde hair that always surrounded her face like a halo paraded down her back in a loose braid. Her small, piercing green eyes and large lips concluded the Angel effect that her halo-hair produced. The fading sun danced off of her eyes as she laughed.
"Zane, I have something to show you! Hurry, I'm so excited for you to see it!" Dhelyla pulled him into the small house and he gasped. Just inside the house was the small living room that immediately turned into the smaller kitchen. The kitchen consisted of one counter, a sink, a stove, a small oven, and a miniature refrigerator. The whole house that had looked as though a tornado had gone through it the night before was now perfectly clean. The now-clean dishes sat drying on the counter next to the sink, and two plates of spaghetti sat steaming on the stove.
"This looks incredible, Angel." Dhelyla smiled at her big brother's pet name. "I can't believe it, this house looks better than ever!" He smiled and reached down to ruffle her beautiful hair that she inherited from their mother. She smiled and ducked out of the way.
She ran over to the stove as he slumped down on the couch. She brought back both plates, but forgot the forks. He started to stand but she jumped up before he could. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed two forks and quickly brought them to Zane.
They ate as she told him of her day at school. The bully who didn't like her, the teacher who liked to pick on the kids, and her friends having a party on Saturday and could she please, please go to it? He smiled and nodded as she talked into silence. He ate a few small bites but could eat no more. His long work schedule was tiring him out fast, and he knew it. When they were finished eating, they shoved their dishes into the sink unwashed, which he would regret the next day, and headed to their different rooms. He went into the bathroom to take a long, warm shower, and she went into her tiny bedroom to get ready for bed.
When he was done in the shower, Zane got into his night clothes and tucked Dhelyla into bed. After turning off her light he stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the overflowing trash can. He unlocked the bolt and stepped outside quickly.
He emptied the smelly trash into the large trash can in the back yard and took a deep breath of the salty beach air. He planned an outing with Dhelyla at the beach for the next day as he sat there and then he turned to go back into the house.
A small noise made him jump and spin around quickly. The darkness covered his eyes like a blanket as he looked blindly into the woods around him. He was about to chalk the noise up to a small animal or the wind when he heard it again. It sounded like movement or someone...crying? He stepped further towards where he thought the noise had come from and cocked his head to listen. He heard the noise again.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" He half-whispered.
"Here," Zane heard a quiet voice gasp. It sounded like the person was in pain. He stumbled towards the voice, his eyes and ears pricked for danger. He had lived in California his entire life and the one thing he had learned was to always be ready for anything. He saw a small form laying next to the large boulder that Dhelyla often played on and walked quickly over to it, his large feet cracking sticks and dead leaves under his feet. The noise made him cringe.
"Are you all right? What are you doing?" He asked hesitantly, looking down at the...woman lying on the ground below him.
"I'm hurt. I need help. Please help me." She whispered quietly. She had a strange accent that Zane couldn't place. She looked up at him and he gasped as he met her eyes. They were incredibly large and shining blue in the moonlight that creaked through the small opening in the trees above them. Large necklaces laced her long, brown hair and pearls were stuck in her matted hair all around her head.
He kneeled next to her, and gasped loudly as he saw the large cut through her legs. He barely even noticed that all she was wearing was a small pair of underwear. The cut looked infected and he could feel her fever from a foot away.
"It's going to be OK, I'll get you out of here, we’re gonna get you to a hospital." He whispered quietly. He gently put his arms under her knees and across her back.
"No, no hospital!" The young girl started to say, struggling against him, but when he lifted her up in his arms, she blacked out. He looked down at her frightened and pain-stricken face and frowned. He ignored her fevered words and stepped away from the boulder.
Zane rushed back into the house and set her gently onto the couch. He grabbed his phone and dialed 9-1-1. He hoped they would be here soon. The girl was dying.
Copyright 2008 Hannah. All rights reserved. FifteenMinutesOfFiction.com has been granted non-exclusive rights to display this work. For permission to reprint this item, please contact the author.
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