• The next time I saw Derek, the angel of death, was outside the orphanage. It was free-time and I noticed him immediately. Although I hadn't seen him in over 2 years, I recognized him right away and needed to get something off my chest that I couldn't say the last time I'd seen him. The age gap between five and seven-and-a-half had done wonders to my appearence and confidence level.

    I opened the gate from the yard to the street outside. I had been outside on my own plenty times before to head to the supermarket, but this street seemed to be more silent and sinister as even. I took an uncertain and fearful step towards the man with purple eyes. Taking a large breath, I walked the rest of the way to the man and stopped within a foot of him. He towered over me, a sneer marking his handsome face.

    "Who are you and how dare you come so close to my home? After what you did to me...did you know I was traumatized?! How dare you! I should get the-" I exploded with fear and rage. I couldn't stop until he place a long and surprisingly gentle finger across my lips to silence me.

    "Miss Spellman, I presume? You certainly have grown," he mocked, a smile spreading across his face from a joke that only he knew, "Now, I know you're angry, but I have a proposition to make it up to you. Are you willing to hear?"

    Uncertain if he was actually asking me to answer, I nodded slowly, suspicious of his every word.

    "Great to hear. I'm willing to offer you fame, fourtune, and glory. Everything you could ever want and need. All you have to do is come with me and do everything I say. Is that simple enough?" he posed the question as if he already knew the answer. But none of that sounded appealing to me.

    "All I want is a family," I said, bluntly. I was casually aware of how stupid I must sound to this man. I was afraid he would strike me, or worse.

    "And, of course, you'll have one. I can be your family. I'll take care of you and love you better than any mortal father or mother can do. And better yet, I can give you all you could ever want," his smirk staying on his face so long, looking like it was painted on.

    He knew what I wanted. I knew what I wanted. And he was offering it to me. And yet, I couldn't take it. The solid mass laying at the pit of my stomach lurched, and I felt like I would be sick. I shook my head, my long blonde braid scratching my face lightly. I stepped back, and his face showed how used to being rejected he was.

    "Oh, really? No? This is what I say to that," he sneered as he gazed up. I followed his gaze to Nikki, a fellow orphan and new found friend. A loud sound of squealing tires came from down the block and the car that was coming was moving fast. I could hear it approaching and Nikki didn't move.

    I knew what was coming, but I had no chance to prevent it. The car crashed straight through the gate of the orphanage yard, pinning Nikki to the wall of the orphanage. The remaining orphans in the yard screamed, fleeing either for their lives or to Nikki's side. The shock of the situation grasped me, and I screamed as deep and loud as I could. Turning to the man, I noticed the smirk had not left his face.

    "I recommend you reconsider your choice to join me, or another "accident" like this will occur," and with that comment, he was gone.

    The next few days after Nikki's death were difficult. My friends' and disfunctional family's lives depended on my decision. I would lay on my bed at night, knowing it was my fault for Nikki's premature death, and knew that if the man would come back, more death would follow.

    So I fled. Left for nowhere. Anywhere near the people I had learned to love. And I knew that for them to live, I could never see them again. I left the town I'd grown up in and all I'd ever known.

    Unfourunately, I was unaware of the pair of purple eyes following my every move. If I had thought I could simply run from him, I was very wrong.