Alex

As I pushed open the door, I could barely see even with the light that flooded in. But the smile that looked back at me from the darkness was undoubtedly the smile of none other than the Black Angel himself.

We rambled on. But finally he got so close my gun was pressed to his chest. I could feel through thin dark shirt. It felt like skin. No bullet proof vest. And that was what surprised me the most. "Aren't you going to shoot me?!" His words didn't tempt me. But rather they scared me. He was truly terrifying. I can't even begin to imagine the hideous face beneath his veil of darkness.

"Three," I knew this would be my only chance. "Two," I had too. He was a killer. "One" at the same moment he said one I pulled the trigger. But he dodged it.

Wait! He dodged an actual moving bullet. That he had no warning of being fired?! What the hell was this dude? Suddenly he was behind me. I can tell you this not because I saw him move behind me. In fact he just kinda disappeared. That's how quick he moved. But I knew he was behind me because I could feel his blade pressed tightly to my throat. This felt oddly familiar.

I awoke on the cold ground. The air itself was cooler. "Where am I?" I groaned. "Somewhere." His voice answered from somewhere around me I. I pushed open my eyes. The walls were rigid stone. We were in a cave. "What do you want?" I demanded an answer. I was tired of him playing whatever sick game this was.

"Well we both have the same goal," finally I spotted him. He was walking towards me in his cloak. I wanted to say something but I didn't know what I would say. "What is our goal then?" His mere voice made me fear for my life. He really lived up to his reputation. Once again faster than I could see. He was behind me. I figured out why this was familiar. Flynn. That must be why he took Flynn. He probably thought Flynn was the only one even close enough to being able to take him down.

"Well, I want to kill him and you want him arrested. But let's just say he won't be alive in that cell for long," he chuckled. He had pulled my hair down our of the ponytail. Finally I stood up. He was still behind me and I couldn't seem to move. Even as he fiddled with my hair. "Who?" I asked. "The boss." He answered quickly. "Like of S.W.O.R.D?" I asked. "Yes." I could feel his breath on my neck. "Why would I work with someone like you," I asked resisting the urge to smack him, as it could very possibly end in my death. Another thing said about this man was that he had a very, very short temper. And was easily angered. But I don't believe they truly understand what someone like him is like angry.

"Because I'm the only one beside your friend Flynn who knows anything about SWORD, that's willing to talk that is," his argument was compelling. But what the hell am I thinking?! He's a psychopath that's killed more people than I can count. But this sicko always leaves behind a black feather. Something that bothers me, something we found out when we first searched up what it could mean when we began looking into them. A black feather is a sign of a guardian angel, that something is there to protect you. Quite ironic as he does quite the opposite.

"Now if you decide to join me meet me at the overlook on main street. If your not there my midnight I will know you have decided not to join me. But I'd be cautious if you do take the ladder. It may break." He laughed. "If I'm going to work with you tell me who you are!" I demanded. Then he was in front of me. "Soon enough you will see the face behind this smile. Just you wait." Then bam. It was all black. He hit me over the head again. Did he really have to drag me all the way to his cave for that?!

I awoke in my house. At first I was relieved to awake in my bed, as maybe it was a dream. But I noticed a black feather next to me on my white sheets. This meant he knew where I lived. I looked over to my clock on the wall. Only 3:28pm. A sighed wishing I had gotten a better look around his cave. Goodness gracious who lives in a fucking cave? Well maybe he doesn't live there but like a cave seriously.

I took a deep breath and got my shit together. I drove down to the police station to get Flynn's address and drove there. He lived alone in an ordinary looking house. It was a plain white house with bushes lining it.

Knock knock.

I heard some noise. "Coming!" I heard a familiar voice. As the door opened I saw Flynn putting his glasses on his face adorned with messy hair. Had he just woken up? Was he knocked out the whole time Black took him?

"Oh, Murphy! What a nice surprise!" He smiled. "I'm making coffee if you'd like to come in," he offered. I smiled and nodded. As I entered the house I didn't see any decor or anything of the sort. He had a grey fabric couch and a small black coffee table in his living room. Not even a TV. The kitchen was equally plain. It had a sink that was empty and a coffee maker, and some boxes of tea, and some coffees. He had a large silver fridge. When he opened it to grab creamer the fridge looked mostly empty. The only thing that sat on the walls was a medium sized rustic looking clock.

"Did you just move here?" I asked as he set a cup of coffee in front of me on the black wooden dining table. That too sat in a very plain dining room. Only two chairs at the table, even though it looked like it should have four. "Not really. Truth be told I don't spend much time here." He shrugged taking a sip of his coffee. I did the same. I'm not picky with my coffee I like just about everything. But when I tasted this it was delicious!

"How long you lived in town for?" I asked. "About a year and a half. I moved from France after you know. All that went down." I knew what he meant. It must have been horrible. SWORD had slottered so much of France it was unreal.

"What about you Murphy?" He asked in return. "Ever since I was born," I nodded. His piercing blue eyes looked at me dancing with curiosity and excitement, both I could see he was trying to hide or diminish.

"Your parents live around here?" He asked. I didn't want to answer. And normally I would have lied or something. But I felt like I couldn't muster out a single lie as long as those shining blue eyes looked into mine. "They passed away a few years back." I said awkwardly taking another drink of my coffee. He didn't respond for a moment. "That must have been hard. My condolences." His answer made me smile. Most people say sorry like they could have done something.

"What about you? Parents? Any family?" I asked. The look in his eyes changed completely. I couldn't tell what emotion ran through him. "The family I grew up with here. Before I moved to France." He hesitated. "They were all the Black Angel's first victim." ....