~ Angels Among Us ~

by

Catherine Greenfeder

“Baxter, slow down this instant!” Kay pulled back on the leash as the yellow Lab led a mad pace toward the moonlit lake. Darkened trees circled the silver-hued waters. Bramble spikes nicked at Kay’s shins as she ran to maintain command of the dog.

Like most Labrador retrievers, Baxter had no fear of the water. “Bax, I’m too tired to hose you down. Stop now before you pull us both in, you idiot!”

With a sudden jolt, Baxter stopped, sniffed the ground around a row of hedges, and emitted a mournful bark. “What’s wrong, boy?” Kay put her hand down to the ground and felt a sticky substance. She looked at it under the streetlight. “Blood?”

“Who the hell are you?” a voice bellowed from the bushes.

The dark hairs on the nape of Kay’s neck stood up. She leaned down and grabbed the dog’s collar. “Let’s get out of here, Bax.”

“What’s the hurry?” A man in his mid-twenties stepped out. Slight of build, with rough-hewn features and a shock of slick, black hair, the man moved toward her. “The party’s only begun!”

At that Baxter growled and pulled on the leash so hard it yielded from Kay’s slippery hold. In two seconds, the man lay sprawled on the ground with a ninety-pound dog on his chest. “Get him off o’ me! I’ll leave ya alone.”

“Come here, Baxter,” Kay called the dog. He obeyed, but stood between her and the man.

A red mark glistened across the ridge of the man’s nose. “Yeah, that’s right,” the stranger said as he rubbed the blood from his face, “got this for grabbing this.” He held up a handbag. “It ain’t worth it anymore.”

“Good for her,” Kay said, “Teach you to stop robbing women and scaring them half to death.” She stepped further away.

“Right. So you ain’t scared of this?” A flash of silver cut the air as the man wielded the knife toward Kay. “Now throw down your jewelry... that gold watch and that gold thing on your neck.”

Kay felt her turquoise-studded silver watch, pulled it from her wrist, and threw it down. “Here.”

“And that too.”

“No!” Kay touched the gold cross, an heirloom from her grandmother.

“I guess I’ll have to take it from you then.”

Kay stepped back. She fell over a tree branch. The man’s knife glinted dangerously above her. “Is it worth your life?” She inhaled the rank smell of tobacco and stale wine. Before she could respond, a mist descended on them, its intensity covering the stranger.

The flutter of wind chimes tingled her ears. Kay sat up. Bewilderment replaced fear. Out of the mist stepped a man in a white suit. An aura of violet and gold surrounded him. His soft features reddened with an intense fury as he turned from her to the thief. Anger lit the emerald of his eyes. Words bellowed like the force of a cyclone from his lips and made the thief crunch down with fear. “Leave her be! Leave her and never come back!”

The thief pocketed the knife and took off before Kay’s astonishment faded, and she rose. Baxter hid behind her knees as this interloper closed the gap between them. A smile crinkled the edges of his thin lips, and his palms flew up in a gesture of peace. “Be not afraid, Kay.”

She stood immobile then backed away. “Who... who the devil are you?”

Hurt creased his brow and his glow flickered a moment then resumed its appearance. “Do not be ungrateful, Kay.”

“I am getting out of here,” she said. “First the thief, then you! This must be some kind of a nightmare.” She turned to run, but a firm and gentle hand held her in place.

“No, please listen to me, Kay.”

“Who are you?”

“Suffice it to say that I am one who has known you a long time. And I know your gift did not protect you tonight.” He stared a moment at her neckline. “But this did. A gift too, I see.”

“Gift?”

“Why is it you mortals forget that which is precious within, the precious gift God gave you? It is there, Kay. Yet you neglect it.”

“First a thief, now a lunatic! I should have listened to my brother and stayed out of the woods at night. What do you want?”

“Kay, I’m not here for material rewards.”

She stared hard at him. “You’re not getting that either, bud.”

Laughter shook his being. “Oh, Kay, is that what you think? Here, come away, the danger is not over. Hold my hand, let the Lab go. He will follow.”

For some reason, Kay allowed the being to take her hand. His touch felt like a feather yet carried strength beyond hers. She looked down at Baxter. “Follow me, boy,” she called. All at once, Kay’s feet lifted from the ground. “Oh, no!”

“Hold on, Kay!”

As they rose above the earth, Kay cringed. “Don’t worry, I won’t let go.”

Over treetops and past the empty playground toward the opening to the park they flew while Baxter, a dot below, followed them through and out of the park. “Please,” Kay begged when they reached its outskirts, “please put me down!”

In an instant her feet touched a soft patch of grass. “Whoa!” The only word she could speak echoed several times until the sensation of dizziness left her. She panted until her breathing became normal. “Are you an alien?”

“No, Kay. Don’t go in the park so late.” He handed her a silver whistle on a black nylon cord. “Here, if you need me again.”

“A whistle? I can whistle for you?” She examined the tiny instrument with its indecipherable scrawl of calligraphy. “Your name?” She looked up to find no one there. Baxter nuzzled her hand, and she hooked the leash back on his collar. “Come on, boy, we won’t tell anyone about this!”