Guardian Angels 1 Sneak Peek

Silence, except for the hooting of an owl somewhere in the dark woods to the left. Kalin took in a deep breath of cool night air, holding it for a few seconds before slowly letting it out as she opened her eyes. The path stretched out in front of her, lit at intervals by the campus lights. Almost there, she told herself. Just two more years of hard studying, and she’d have her degree. She could take care of her sister and parents. She tilted her head back, looking up at the stars. Even with the campus lighting, she could see more stars here in the mountains than at home in the city. She tugged her hoodie closer around her, swallowing her nerves. It wasn’t like they weren’t supposed to be out at night, but something about the quiet made her feel out of place.

“I should be asleep anyway.” she muttered to herself, immediately regretting making any noise at all. She shook her head at her own foolishness, pulling her sleeves over her hands as she started walking again, changing direction away from the campus woods and back towards the dorms. She eyed the tall, stone buildings on either side uneasily as she passed, feeling like the windows were eyes watching her every move. She picked up her pace.

Darting across the street between the academic buildings and living quarters despite the lack of cars present, she slowed her pace on the far side, scanning the lawn for any other insomniac college students. Seeing none outside, she lifted her gaze to the buildings, where a few windows glowed various shades and intensities of light. Mostly, it looked like TV lights. She blinked and looked away when she noticed shadows against a window to her left, instead turning right to her own dorm. The lights in the room she shared with Anna were off, and she sighed. Anna didn’t deserve to have her rest disturbed just because she had an anxious roommate. Kalin frowned, pulling her ponytail over her shoulder before raising the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. One more lap around campus, then she’d go to bed.

She set off at an easy jog, only pausing to get a drink from a nearby water fountain as she passed back through the academic buildings, ducking along a path alongside the library that led into the woods. Her feet fell on the loose dirt of the rarely-used trail in a steady rhythm, her arms brushing leaves as she ducked between low-hanging branches.

Lost in the sound of her own footsteps and the feel of the cool autumn air against her cheeks, she drifted off into a quiet space in her mind, one free of worries of the future. Until her foot slipped against a damp tree root.. Her ankle twisted, sending her off the side of the path and down a small slope covered in brush. She grunted as she forced herself to sit up, shoving aside tangled branches so she could tuck her feet under her to stand. Her right ankle throbbed, and she leaned against the nearest tree trunk with a deep sigh. The last thing she needed was additional medical bills.

She carefully rooted around on the ground for a stick to lean on before glancing back up the slope. It wasn’t too high; she’d climbed worse, but the dirt was very unstable, and she didn’t want to risk injuring her ankle further. Instead she turned to walk a parallel line back towards the campus, following a winding, relatively clear route through the bushes.

After several minutes, she came upon an overgrown clearing, letting out a relieved breath as she saw signs of a building through the remaining trees. She hobbled a little faster, only to stop dead as she stepped into the open space.

Instead of the library, she was faced with a very old, crumbling stone building. In contrast to the sleek, modern look of the newer school buildings, this one had intricate carvings, columns, and stained glass windows depicting winged angels in various activities; from playing music to wielding weapons. Kalin stared wide-eyed at the building for a while before blinking. Had she crossed into the fey realm? She shook her head. Her ankle wobbled beneath her, and she took a deep breath, propping her foot up on a nearby rock as she looked around. Nothing moved, except the branches stirring in the breeze.

Kalin let herself rest for as long as she dared, eyeing the ruined building cautiously. It made no threatening movements or sounds. She backed away, into the trees, before turning and forcing herself to climb the now shallower slope back to the little trail she’d followed out here. She pointed herself in the direction of the campus and limped onwards, clutching her trusty stick.

By the time Kalin reached her dorm the second time, the sky to the east was starting to lighten. She suppressed a groan, seeing the athletes swarming out of the dorms and towards either the dining hall or the sports complex. She waved off concern from a few acquaintances. “Just a twisted ankle.” she said, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion.

The lights in her room were on when she pushed the door open, and Anna stood in the middle of the room with her phone held to her ear.

“Where have you been?” she exclaimed, moving towards Kalin. She stopped when she saw the stick, looking her friend over head to toe and noticing the dirt smeared on her clothes, and the way she favored her ankle. “You should have gone straight to the health center.” Anna shook her head.

Kalin dropped the stick as she sank into her desk chair. “You know I can’t afford that. It’s a bad twist, it’ll heal on its own, with time.” She winced as she pulled her shoe off the injured foot.

Anna sighed. “I’ll start the shower.” Still shaking her head, she made her way over to the bathroom. “Aren’t you glad we didn’t take the room that had communal showers?”

“Every day.” Kalin replied, pulling her hoodie over her head and yanking the scrunchie from her hair. She ran her fingers over her scalp, grimacing at herself in the little mirror on her desk, originally meant for her to do her makeup, which she ended up hardly ever doing.

“It’ll be warm by the time you make it in there.” Anna said, reappearing in the doorway. She moved aside, reaching out a hand to steady Kalin as the younger girl made her way towards the bathroom.

“Thanks.” Kalin grunted, closing the door behind her before she stripped off the rest of her clothes, sinking to the floor of the shower and lowering her head under the warm running water. “Going out was stupid.” she muttered, before rubbing at the dirt on her hands in an attempt to wash it off. Now she had to go in to her exam on the less than two hours of sleep she’d gotten before her strange dreams had woken her up and sent her seeking peace in the first place.

She’d take the weird dreams over the nightmares, though. At least they just didn’t make sense, instead of realistically outright terrifying her.

“Can I come in?” Anna called from the other side of the bathroom door.

“Sure,” Kalin replied, after checking to make sure the shower curtain was completely closed. She heard Anna enter the room and start rummaging around. “What are you looking for?”

“Everything.” Anna muttered. “Starting with my hairbrush.”

Kalin shrugged, then spoke up as she remembered Anna couldn’t see her. “I haven’t seen it. Did you brush your hair before bed and leave it on your nightstand?”

“Maybe.” Anna paused on her way out the door. “Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah.” Kalin replied quietly. She didn’t elaborate, and after a few moments, Anna stepped out of the bathroom.

By the time Kalin finished scrubbing the dirt off and limped out of the bathroom, Anna had left for breakfast. Kalin got dressed and packed her books as quickly as she could manage, barely remembering to lock the door behind her on her way out.

Aedan stood waiting at the entrance to the dining hall, tapping his foot and frowning at his phone. Kalin used the hand rail to pull herself up the steps towards him.

“Sorry I’m late.” she said, and he looked up from his phone, giving her a wry smile.

“I was about five minutes from actually worrying about you.” he chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair. She swatted his hand away, pulling an annoyed face before limping confidently into the dining hall.

“What happened to you?” Aedan asked, reaching around her to hold the door open for her.

“I slipped. Went on a night run last night when I couldn’t sleep.” Kalin admitted with a sigh. She heard Aedan’s tired sigh behind her. “I’ll be more careful.” she promised, looking back over her shoulder and reaching out to take his hand. “It’s not as bad as it looks, I swear.”

“I hope so.” he laced his fingers with hers, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. Kalin tilted her head back to smile up at him, meeting his brilliantly green gaze with her own brown one. He smiled back, kissing her lips before leading her over to get trays.

Kalin wiggled her pen between her fingers, gaze flickering between the half filled out exam sheet in front of her and the clock at the front of the classroom. Her eyelids might as well have been made from lead. She rubbed at her eyes, huffing a breath before trying to refocus on her work. Math had never been her best subject anyway, but she needed to pass this class to keep her scholarship. The cool surface of the desk against her forehead jolted her back awake. She frantically looked back up at the clock. Fifteen more minutes. She groaned inwardly, touching the tip of her pen back to the paper in front of her. Time to settle for best attempt.

“How’d it go?” Brianna asked, handing Kalin a white mocha. Kalin scrunched up her nose at her friend. “That bad, huh?”

“I couldn’t sleep last night, which didn’t help.” Kalin admitted, brushing her wavy red hair out of her face to take a drink.

Brianna hummed in sympathy, taking a gulp from her own gingerbread latte. “That’s always the worst.” she said after, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck. “Are you free the rest of the day?”

“Aedan and I are going to get dinner in town.” Kalin replied after thinking for a moment. “But he’s still in class ‘til six, so I have a few hours.”

“You should take a nap.” Brianna said matter-of-factly.

“You just gave me coffee, I’m not likely to fall asleep for a little while yet.” Kalin pointed out. “What did you want to do?”

“Can you help me study for my exam?” Brianna asked, clasping her hands in front of her chin. “Pretty please?”

“That’s what the coffee was for.” Kalin muttered. “Okay.” she agreed. “But only for three hours max, so I can have a nap before my date.”

“Thank you!” Brianna exclaimed, grabbing Kalin’s arm and leading her towards the student center.

Kalin stood before her mirror around five-thirty, turning from side to side to examine her outfit. Since it was chilly, she’d opted for a long-sleeved, simple dark red dress with black leggings and her black heeled boots, with her ankle securely wrapped in bandages beneath. She wrapped a music note patterned scarf around her neck and slipped her coat on over it. Her phone buzzed on the desk, and she picked it up to see a text from Aedan that he was waiting outside. She grabbed her gloves and purse, applying some of one of her favorite lipsticks before rushing out the door.

“Hey,” Aedan said as Kalin stepped out into the wind, her neatly done hair immediately ruined. She made a face. “How was the exam?” Aedan continued, reaching out to try to help her fix her hair with a laugh.

“I suppose it could have been worse. We’ll see on Monday.” Kalin muttered, giving up on her hair and taking his hand in hers.

“I suppose being out all night didn’t actually help?” Aedan asked.

“No,” Kalin hesitated. “But I did find something cool.” As she spoke, the campus bus pulled up, and they showed their IDs and found seats by the back door. Kalin spent the ride telling Aedan all about the old building she saw.

“That’s so cool.” Aedan said. “Any idea what it was?”

Kalin shook her head. “I mean, supposedly the school’s been around for ages, right? But all the buildings are pretty modern. Maybe it’s one of the original buildings.

“I heard there was an accident, a while ago for us, but to a school this old, not that long ago...anyway, most of the buildings were destroyed so they closed, razed the ruins, and rebuilt. There wouldn’t be anything left.” Aedan told her.

“How come I’ve never heard this?” Kalin asked, frowning at him.

Aedan shrugged. “Bit of a local legend, I guess. You’re from too far away.” he said in a teasing tone, draping an arm around her shoulders. Kalin shoved at him in mock annoyance.

“I’ll go check out the library over the weekend and see what I can find. It almost looked like it could’ve been a church? But not quite.”

“Just don’t forget to show up to class Monday.” Aedan laughed. The bus pulled up to the stop just a block away from their favorite local restaurant, and Aedan led the way off the bus, moving to shelter Kalin from the wind as much as he could.

Kalin took his hand again, pulling him down the street and in the front door, laughing the whole way as the wind whipped her hair about her face, obscuring her vision. Her ankle wobbled beneath her, but Aedan put an arm around her, holding her steady. She looked up in his direction, still laughing at the sight of him through her red hair streaking through her vision.

Aedan pulled her hair away from her face enough to kiss her, unable to completely stifle his own laughter. They stepped through the entryway and into the restaurant proper, greeting the host with smiles still lingering on their faces.