Don't Fall Asleep

Angel of Death

“You’re kidding me,” said a blonde haired cop. He was young, and more interested in the young girl sitting off to the side, surrounded by other cops.

“Look at me Andy!” the older cop said forcefully. “That girl over there,” he subtly pointed a finger at the same girl he was just looking at, “She might look beautiful, she may seem weak, but she is the Angel of Death.”

Andy fell silent, scratching his back, a habit for when he became unsure or embarrassed. “Was it really her?” The older cop nodded.

“We have been keeping an eye on her. This isn’t the first one either. Actually, we suspected this would happen.”

“What? Then why isn’t she in jail? Or at least a mental hospital?” The other cop just shook his head.

“It’s not the simple. Most of the time, she is perfectly fine, normal, whatever you like. She never remembers her…actions. So, if we were to hold her up somewhere she would only become confused, or even angry. That could make it even worse. Besides, we don’t even know if we could hold her.”

“Has anyone ever tried? I mean, we have to do something!” Andy said, beginning to get frustrated.

He only shook his head once again. “Didn’t you ever hear of the fire of Horner about twelve years ago?”

Andy nodded, he had been young but he remembered. Horner was a small town a few states over. Twelve years ago a fire had broken out in the hospital, killing everyone inside. “Was that…?”

The older cop took a deep breath, “Yes and no. The first thing you have to know is that there was no fire of Horner. Oh, the place burned all right, but not for what you think. The papers said there was just an accident that caught. However, what really happened was this.

“Katie Loft, yes that same girl you were looking at, was a child at the time. She had been found many nights in a row in her room flailing her arms around. One night, she grabbed a kitchen knife, and walked into her parent’s room. Her mother said she was just lying there when she saw her daughter enter. She thought Katie had just had a bad dream, but then she saw the knife.

“No one was injured, but that was when her parents realized she was still asleep. They were confused and worried, as any parent would be. When they tried to ignore it, it only happened again. The next time they had locked the white double doors to their room. Then she came, Katie had ripped the lock from the knife cupboard, and began to stab it into the door. All night long, stab, stab, stabbing at the door. And in the morning, she woke up at their door, knife in her hand, and no memory at all.

“Terrified now, her parents took her to the hospital, and left her there overnight, warning the nurses who simply dismissed them. Katie’s room was on the top floor, her door left open that night. Silently, she slipped out and began her bloody tour of the hospital. Everyone was killed by her small hand, armed with only a scalpel. From the full grown men and women who worked there, to sick helpless patients, all dead. No one knows exactly how she did it, there aren’t any witnesses. When her parents returned the next day, they found their daughter was the only one left. They phoned the police. Baffled, not to mention scared out of their wits, they burned the place, not that they could never explain the deaths.

“Now, she’s kept here, miles from anyone else. The only company she has is prisoners who think they are on parole, like Roger. (We’ve already tired the physiatrists, they’re useless.)The only communication is the red phone in the kitchen that connects to the station. Every while she will call, sobbing, “They’re dead! Blood, everywhere, the blood… It’s horrible, please, please make it stop.” Every time we come, we promise her never again, not ever again. The only difference is that there is no body this time.

Andy looked again to the young girl, now in a different light. He could almost see her, eyes closed, hands bloody. Angel of Death.