Ever since the message in his room, Injun had been even more restless than before, which his two friends noticed. They were beginning to get worried about him. The guy that always kept his grades up no matter what was now spacing out during almost every class, fidgeting incessantly as he walked down the halls, and most of all, not seeming to be doing any of his schoolwork. All of these were such strange things for Injun to be doing that Ashley was a little stunned when suddenly came up to her and asked to meet after school. Injun hadn't felt like himself in a while, and he was beginning to go mad, if he wasn't already.

While before, Injun had tried to keep private all this business of the angels and demons, he was about to snap. He handled being into this world pretty well, and he felt he didn't do too bad finding out about his biological father, but this was the last straw. Up until then, he had been banishing demons left and right, but Jin never warned him that they could come after him for a change. Then again, even the angel seemed shocked that this was happening as well. And on top of it all, Mika had visited him again, concerning the message Injun had received. The angel explained that they would have prevented it if they could, and all the boy could think about was the angel's interaction with the demon, wondering even more if he was behind this one as well. He was going to explode soon.

For Injun, the rest of the school day passed with almost more tension than he could almost bear. The slightest movements in the corners of his eyes was an impending attack, or so his paranoia told him. His classes all blurred together into a mess of fidgeting and imagining the worst way to die at the hands of demons. Jin had appeared to him, trying to be a comfort, but it of no use for Injun; the boy was shook up more than he ever had been. And so the angel let him be, afraid to worsen his condition.

To say that the end of Injun's last class was welcome would be a severe understatement. He practically dashed out of the building to go wait under a tree, looking through the crowd of students for that one familiar face. When Ashley finally appeared, almost with as much worry in her face as Injun, the boy shot up and waved hyterically. Ashley acknowledged him with a nod of her head a forced smile and jogged over.

"I'm sorry," Injun began. "I've been a mess the past few days."

"Yeah," Ashley nodded nervously, "so I've seen."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about...if you're willing to listen."

The tension between the two became a lot thicker with that one sentence, but Ashley wasn't about to give up on her friend, not now, not ever.

"Okay, Injun," she sat down with her back to her tree and heaved a sigh. "I'm ready."

"Do you remember the first time we met?" The question drew a nostalgic smile on Injun's lips. "It was on the bus, and I happened to glance into your notebook and saw what you were drawing."

"Yes, my angel...or, so I think he is."

"Actually, you draw him very well. It looks exactly like him."

"Thank y--wait, what do you mean by that?"

"The truth is, Ashley, that I can see angels, even your guardian angel. He's been with you for a long time, I'd say since you were born, and I can tell how much he cares about you."

"Hold on," Ashley held up her hands. "Do you need to go get checked? I mean, for your head?"

"I'm being serious, Ashley."

The two held each other's gazes for a long moment, Injun's dead serious, and Ashley's confused bordering on scared. Finally, the girl let out a sigh and opened her notebook, recalling how their first conversation started out, with her telling him about her dreaming of an angel. One little detail jumped out at her: he believed her. Could this be the reason why?

"I..." Ashley stumbled on her words. "I'm not sure what to say, Injun. I mean, I know what I said to you back in the bus, but it's probably just wishful thinking. Besides, it's not like I ever--"

"Please," Injun hung his head and obviously teared up. "That's just the beginning. I can see demons too, and I have the power to banish them into hell."

"Injun, you really should get yourself to a--"

"Because I'm the Seed of Evil."

"The...Seed of Evil? Injun, get a grip. Am I supposed to believe that you here are the son of Satan? You have nothing satanic about you."

"That's my human part," Injun finally looked up, desperation radiating from his eyes. "My own guardian angel says there's no one else who is or has been like me. That's not all, Ashley. There was a--"

"Injun," Ashley ordered firmly, "stop."

The boy sat shocked into silence, disappointment washing over his face.

"Do you know how you sound right now?" she continued. "It's clear that you've gone through a lot in your life, but I think this is the toll it's taking on you."

Injun remained silent.

"If anything, you need to go to a counsellor and possibly get some medication. What you're talking about here isn't healthy, especially with you claiming to be the Seed of Evil. No human should have to be called something like that. Believe me, I know what it's like to nearly go crazy because of life, but I can't help you any more than you could help me. Please, Injun, get some help. I care about you too much to have you stay like this."

After what felt like a really long time, Injun nodded in defeat and stood up, apologizing for troubling his friend. Ashley stood up as well and told him goodbye. Injun's heart was too broken for him to say an enthusiastic "see you tomorrow," so he just nodded and waved. He stood there until he was sure that Ashley was gone far away by then. But as he began to go, he saw a demon standing to the right of the school gates. It had a look in its eyes that said that he had been watching and listening. There was something else in its eyes as well, something dangerous.

I've got you now.

After their talk, Ashley ran for her life. She went back home as fast she could, honestly hoping that Injun wasn't following her. At first, she was inclined to believe what Injun was saying about all this angel business, but things took a darker turn with the demons. He was obviously going crazy from his home life...wasn't he? I mean, no sane human would ever consider himself to be a son of pure evil, and yet Injun had claimed to be exactly that. And yet, there was something nagging at her heart, telling her that she was doing the wrong thing. A part of her thought it was actually her guardian angel poking at her heart, but she dismissed it easily as concern for her friend. And yet...

That night, however, as Ashley wrapped her blankets about herself to sleep, there was definitely a presence in the room. There was something comforting about this presence, it made her feel safe. Once again, Injun's talk of guardian angels came to mind, and she absolutely could not shake off those thoughts, hard as she tried. She had pangs of guilt for how readily she dismissed Injun, especially seeing how vulnerably he put himself out there. But there wasn't really any other way to react to such words, were there? With such thoughts as these, she finally fell asleep.

In her sleep, Ashley say her angel as she had done many times before, usually when her father was beating her. He would always be there to comfort her no matter what was going on, but this time was different. Now, he looked as if he were very disappointed, and kept his gaze downward. Ashley asked what was the matter with him, but he didn't answer. All he did was wave his hand to show an image of Injun, sad and alone. But what surprised her was that he was keeping her company as she was crying, while he himself looked desolate and hopeless. Once Injun was gone, Ashley saw herself reverting to how she was before they had met, as lonely and broken as Injun looked. She shot up from her bed, breathing heavily and realized that she had shed tears during her sleep. The clock beside her showed that it was well past four. Ashley calmed herself down and lay again.

It's only a dream, she kept telling herself. It's only a dream.