Word Count: 1868

Dawn Turner

"You fucking monster. What did you do to him?" I yelled at Alexander as I pushed him away from Zach's unconscious body.

A wave of fury crashed through me when I saw Zach in that condition and I instantly forgot all about being so close to dying just a few seconds ago.

Zach was lying on the floor, slightly grimacing in pain. He seemed to be struggling for air as his eyes were tightly shut and his breathing was heavy. It was very cold in the tunnel but his skin looked like it was burning and I could feel the heat leaving his body.

I've never been stabbed before so I can't tell exactly how painful it is but after seeing the way Zach was struggling, I don't think I ever want to know.

His face was drenched in sweat, going all the way down to his neck. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to get up but I quickly pushed him against me instead. "Don't move, it'll hurt more." I tried comforting him.

"There's something on the knife. I have to-"

"Just rest, I'll take care of it." I assured him.

"No, Dawn. You don't get it-" He tried to speak again but was cut off by Alexander pushing me away, causing me to fall to the ground.

I stood up, shaking with rage.

How does he even still have the nerve to be standing here when he just stabbed his own brother? I get him wanting me dead and I get him fighting Zach to be able to get to me but stabbing him is too far. Even for him.

He completely ignored me standing there glaring at him and kneeled down beside Zach. I tried to walk towards Zach again but Alexander held me back with one hand. He grabbed the knife that was buried in Zach's shoulder and pulled it out swiftly.

My eyes widened when Zach started shaking painfully on the ground and screaming out in agony. He screamed so much that his voice began to quiver and fade away. I could see the tears falling down from his now closed eyes as he gripped Alexander's hand tightly.

It was so painful to watch.

"I told you to stay away! What the hell did you do to him?" I tried to slap Alexander but he grabbed my hand before I could. He then placed the knife that he took out of Zach's shoulder in front of my face. "Oh so you're going to stab me now?" I asked him in disbelief.

Zach was still shaking in pain in the background.

Alexander returned my glare and was hesitant to say anything. I raised my brows at him so he dropped his gaze back to Zach and scoffed. "There's poison on the knife. That's what he was trying to tell you."

Oh.

My bad.

I quickly shook my head before I could start feeling guilty for yelling at him. He's still the one that stabbed him. Why is he acting like he cares about him now?

I stood up straight and raised my head to make direct eye contact with Alexander. "Heal him, it's the least you can do." We were both very stubborn so I can tell it annoyed him every time I ordered him around.

Zach let out another painful scream which made us both divert our attention back to him.

Alexander went back to holding Zach. He pressed hard on his wound, causing him to squirm in pain. I watched as he closed his eyes and started muttering words in a language I could not understand.

Latin, if I had to guess.

The more words he whispered, the darker the tunnel got. It felt like the light coming from the exit was slowly fading away.

A breeze of cold air caressed my arm harshly. I looked around me to see where it was coming from and I saw that black shadows were now circling the three of us.

What if it's a trap?

"Stop tapping your foot on the ground. You're annoying me." Alexander commented without even looking at me.

I scoffed at him.

The dark shadows were now circling around us faster. I got closer to Zach and Alexander in fear of getting caught up in the shadows. They continued circling around us for a few more seconds until Zach's screaming became merely a whisper. I can also see that he is breathing at a slower pace now.

I looked back at Alexander, watching him grimace uncomfortably. Sweat was running down his face and even though it was dark, I could see his chest heaving as he struggled to calm his breathing. He was still whispering foreign words and it seemed to be working.

He looked like he was in pain but still continued to do whatever he was doing without arguing and it confused me. Everything about him confused me.

I don't get why he stabbed Zach in the first place if he was going to end up helping him anyway. It made no sense for him to do something that would end up causing him more pain while trying to fix it. Nothing about any of this made sense at all.

I noticed that every time Zach and Alexander saw each other around me, they were always fighting. I also noticed that Alexander always makes it seem like he hates Zach and wants nothing more than to get rid of him but this isn't what I'm seeing right now.

It makes me wonder exactly how much more I don't know about their past.

The only thing I know about their relationship is that Zach was Alexander's mentor before he fell. Even though they very were clear about not wanting me to know the reason of why he became a fallen angel in the first place, I can't help but be curious about it.

What sin did he commit that made him get cast out of heaven all the way to hell and then had him get tortured every single year by the memory of it? And if Alexander knew he couldn't commit that sin, why did he do it anyways? What drove him to give up on his seemingly perfect life?

I had so many questions and barely any answers.

My train of thoughts were cut off when I saw Alexander lay an unconscious Zach on the ground.

He stood back up with difficulty from whatever magic he just did and before I could say anything, he pointed his finger at me. "Before you say anything, he's asleep. He's not dead."

"This doesn't change the fact that you stabbed him, you-"

"Monster? Yes, I know." He let out a dark chuckle.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Well, explain yourself then."

"What's the point in explaining myself if you're not going to believe me anyway?"

"Try me." I nodded at him.

He stared at me blankly. "I didn't stab him."

I let out a dry laugh. "Do you think I'm dumb?"

"I do, actually." He shot back.

I went to slap him again but he held my hand tightly. I made eye contact with him before speaking, "You know what? You're right. I don't believe you." He let go of my hand.

"Then tell me. What's the point of explaining anything? " I don't know what game he's playing at but I'm not buying any of it.

"The three of us are the only ones here. I fell to the ground and it was just the two of you fighting. Suddenly, Zach gets stabbed by the knife that you're still holding, by the way. And you want me to believe that it wasn't you who stabbed him?" I asked him in disbelief.

My fist tightened when he nodded.

He's unbelievable.

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on the wall behind him. "I stabbed him, but it wasn't me."

The way he said this like it made perfect sense made me want to punch him even more.

"You're clearly not making any sense. Excuse me while I take Zach with me and leave. You can go to hell or whatever." I walked back to Zach who was still lying on the floor. How the hell am I going to carry him when he is twice my size?

"Let me take him home. I won't hurt him." Alexander said. He's actually crazy if he thinks I will let him do that.

"Stay out of this. You did your job and you're done. You can go now." I grabbed Zach's arm and tried to drag him across the floor but I couldn't even do that properly. Out of all the times to look like an idiot in front of Alexander, now is not the time.

"I need you to fucking trust me, Dawn. Just this once for Zach's sake." I saw his eyes turn red again, from anger probably.

"You know, you've said so many dumb things in your life so far but this has to be the dumbest one yet." I finally let go of Zach's arm and gave Alexander my full attention.

I walked up to him and made sure to stand straight so that I hopefully looked taller and more scary. I doubt it worked.

We were now standing face to face. I could literally hear him breathing and it made me nervous, unlike what I hoped for.

"I was holding the knife over Zach to threaten him into leaving but I didn't stab him." He told me calmly. I continued giving him a cold stare to show him that I'm not buying anything he's saying.

"Who stabbed him then? Because it sure as hell wasn't me and it's definitely not Zach stabbing himself. Not to mention, the knife you were carrying when you were trying to kill me literally still has his blood on it." My voiced echoed in the dark and empty tunnel.

I pointed at the knife that was now sitting on the floor and he followed my gaze.

"Let him go, Dawn." I heard Zach mutter from behind me. I turned around to see him sitting up straight.

I felt relief surge through my body at the sight of him. He looked like he was fine.

"He stabbed you, Zach-"

"It wasn't him." Zack looked at Alexander, then me, and shook his head.

I was so confused and Zach seemed to notice my confusion. "What do you mean it wasn't him?"

Who else would it be?

Zach shook his head in worry. "I saw a hand grab Alexander's hand and push the knife right into my shoulder." He nodded at Alexander. "It was dark though and it disappeared the moment Alexander turned around to look at it."

"It?" I asked in confusion.

Zach nodded at me.

"It wasn't human."