• Jane sighed and looked down. She hated opening up to people, but for once she would have time for questions afterwards. “I think,” she said, “we should try to get out. Yell for help.”
    “Why?” Kevin asked, “It isn’t like people aren’t going to notice and get help. People probably use these elevators a lot.” Jane sighed. Damn. He was right. Could an angel ever be wrong, though? She shifted feet uncomfortably. Instead of going on, she looked up and asked, “Angels are dead. They have no problems, right?” Kevin hesitated and nodded, “Nothing you would be able to comprehend.” She smiled, “So what about when you’re down here? Any predators or anything?” He laughed so hard the elevator shook.
    “Predators? No. Enemies, yes,” he answered after a minute of laughing hard. Jane seemed intrigued, “Like who?” Kevin kept his chuckles to himself as he replied, “Not who, love, but what.” Jane frowned, “Okay. What are your enemies?”
    “What happened to you and your boyfriend?” Kevin retorted. Jane grinned, “Why did you get your wings clipped?” Kevin grinned, “Are you sure you want to know?” For a minute, Jane hesitated. Really, what could an angel do to have his privileges taken away? His immortality? His being changed? “I,” Jane stuttered, “I… Yes, I’m sure.” Kevin sighed in defeat, “You are impossible. That usually gets people to stop interrogating me.”
    “Do people ask you a lot?” Jane asked surprised. Kevin shifted feet, “More than you’d think.” Jane looked up, “Have you ever told anyone?” He sighed, “Only you, and not even all that much.” She continued to query, “What is your enemy?” Kevin sighed, “I’d really rather-“ There was a loud ‘thunk’ on the elevator roof. The roof dented a bit and the elevator shook. Kevin’s eyes widened. He muttered, “Damn, this is why I hate my job.” Jane looked at him confused, “What? What is it?” Kevin put a finger to his lips to signal quiet. Jane closed her mouth. Cautiously, ever so cautiously, Kevin crouched slightly and stared at the ceiling. Thoughts were swirling in his mind. Maybe, Jane thought, he was thinking of a plan. But for what?
    Jane watched Kevin slowly begin to climb the wall of the elevator and reach the roof. And then she heard it. Slight sniffing coming from the roof. “Kevin,” she began, but found herself unable to speak anymore as he glanced at her. She felt as if she was mute. And she was. Kevin slowly began to reach for the deformity in the roof. Before he could reach it, there was a loud hiss and the roof was suddenly gone and Kevin was on his back on the floor. “Kevin?” Jane whispered. Faster than she thought possible, Kevin was back on his feet. His eyes were darker- not darker as if in fear or sadness, but the literal color was darker. They were glued to the roof. What could she do to help? Nothing. What did she need to help with? She didn’t know.
    “You asked,” Kevin said, breaking the eerie silence, “What my enemies were. You’re about to find out.” Her face paled. “They’re coming,” Kevin notified her. Without any warning whatsoever, he shouted, “Get down and close your eyes!” Her knees went out from under her and she closed her eyes. Something landed next to her, sniffing. It growled. She heard a voice in her head say, “You can open your eyes now… If you want to.” She opened her eyes, eager to see what was happening. In front of her was a normal guy. He looked vaguely familiar, like a guy she’d seen in passing on the street. He was normal. Brown hair. Chiseled jaw. Handsome, depending on your type. But his eyes- his eyes were a bright green. Not even. They were a lime green. Luminescent green. He emanated, out of all his normality, a wicked aura. Jane held her breath.
    “Fallen One,” he hissed, “I can smell you. Don’t try to hide.”
    “Why,” Kevin asked, suddenly appearing next to the man, “would I hide? You said so yourself you can smell me. It wouldn’t make any sense to hide.” The man sneered at Kevin, “You are a nuisance. You would be a help if you would actually-“
    “No,” Kevin interrupted, “I wouldn’t be anything but a useless mongrel. Now, haven’t you come to kill me- or at least try to?” The man grinned, “If you wish for death so quickly, I will be more than happy to oblige.”
    “Shut up and do it,” Kevin challenged. The man grinned wider- and wider and wider, until his mouth was literally an inch from his ears, while fangs slowly slid out from behind his canines. His face became a pale gray and his eyes became squinted and turned even brighter still. His back arched and through his black button-down shirt it was apparent that his back was misshapen as if his shoulder blades were sticking out a foot more. Kevin tensed as he saw this. He didn’t think he would actually transform.
    “You know who else is in here?” Kevin asked quietly. The so-recently-a-man grinned, “A human who will die when I find her.” His voice was cracked and harsh and it sounded as if he had two voices: a deep, menacing one and his ‘human’ voice which was the voice that was cracked and harsh. Jane couldn’t suppress a shiver. Kevin crouched low to the ground and snarled, “No!” In a flash, Kevin had tackled the so-recently-a-man and they were wrestling on the ground. The ‘man’ hissed, “Stop playing with me, Kevin!” His fangs neared Kevin’s leg, but Kevin stood soon enough. The ‘man’ stood also, grinning, “We need more room.” Kevin contradicted, “No, you need to go or die.” The ‘man’ laughed, “You know you cannot kill me, Fallen One.”
    “And a vampire as high and mighty as you can kill me?” Kevin scoffed, “I don’t think so.” The vampire crouched, “That was when you were one of Them.”
    “Are you aware a human is listening to us?” Kevin asked and then added, “And I will do anything to protect them.” The vampire hissed and sent a quick blow into Kevin’s stomach. Kevin narrowly dodged, and found his balance in time to aim his knee into the vampire’s face. The vampire dodged just as narrowly and growled, “Fine! I will not give up on you!” Kevin’s eyes widened in anger as he saw the vampire was preparing to flee, “No! Not this time!” He grabbed the vampire’s ankle and twisted it off with a snap. There was no blood- just an ear-piercing screech. The elevator lights turned back on and the music was playing again. It just didn’t move. The vampire thrashed around in the elevator, just barely missing Jane with his powerful flailing arms. Kevin held him down and hissed in his face, “You will not live after this. You will never harm another soul again! Especially not me and definitely not after you threaten to kill Jane!” The vampire began to shrivel up and its screams increased. Kevin went on, “Goodbye, you son of a b***h.” He allowed a small smile to cross his lips at his unexplained pun. The elevator began to smell like burning wood and fire. Within seconds, the vampire was reduced to the size of a bat. And a bat it was. It squeaked and flew away, leaving its clothes behind. Kevin collapsed in exhaustion. Jane moved and sat up, “Kevin? Are you okay? What just happened? I don’t think I understand.” He looked up at her, his eyes light again, but sunken in. Their eyes locked. “You aren’t okay,” Jane whispered. He nodded, and said in a raspy voice, “He was hard to deal with since it was such a surprise. They don’t like humans. I have to sleep.” Jane stood, “I’ll bring you to my room.” Kevin grasped her hand suddenly, “Thank you.” She blinked, unsure of why she was about to say so, but said it anyway, “I have a feeling I should be thanking you.” Kevin barked a short laugh and stood, leaning against the wall, letting go of her hand, “Well, yeah. He would’ve attacked me either way.” The elevator began to move. Jane pushed the button for her floor. What a day.