A shot.

A piercing scream.

Aishah's weight pulling him to the ground with her.

Blood. So much blood.

Sirens.

Screaming. And tears. And flashing lights.

More sirens, people yelling, someone running up and hugging him.

Warmth.

Ringing in his ears, he couldn't hear anything.

"-el. -ngel! Angel!!" Someone was calling his name. Who? Everything felt numb. He felt someone gripping his shoulders tightly. Why couldn't he see anything?

That voice again, "Angel, can you hear me?" Angel only groaned, he couldn't do much more than that.

"Can you open your eyes?" The voice asked Angel was confused. Aren't my eyes open? I...I guess not.

He slowly managed to open his eyes, not much, but enough to see the blood staining his driveway. That's not mine, is it? No. That wasn't right, he wasn't in any pain. Then it hit him. He shot up from the ground, his eyes going wide, adrenaline suddenly coursing through his veins.

"MOM!" He screamed it. The voice, who he could now identify as a paramedic, tried to calm him down. "Angel, look at me. Your mom is perfectly fine."

Angel was too concerned to filter what came out of his mouth. "Bullshit! She couldn't possibly be okay because I watched her fall, I heard her scream. She was in pain and possibly dying and you tell me she is perfectly fine!" By now he was screaming, tears pouring down his face.

The paramedic didn't know what to do - a first for him - he had a screaming teenager, who was half in shock and half ready to kill him. So he did the first thing he could think of, "Officer Clarke! Your son needs you!"

When Joan saw her son, breaking down and screaming, she shoved past the person questioning her and sprinted toward him. When she made it there she wrapped him up in her arms and started singing a Latin lullaby.

"Somne, veni; tibi Luciolus blanditur ocellis:

somne, veni, venias, blandule somne, veni.

Luciolus tibi dulce canit, somne, optime somne:

somne, veni, venias, blandule somne, veni.

Luciolus vocat in thalamos te, blandule somne,

somnule dulcicule, blandule somnicule,

Ad cunas te Luciolus vocat: huc, age, somne,

somne, veni ad cunas, somne, age, somne, veni.

Accubitum te Luciolus vocat, eia age, somne,

eia age, somne, veni, noctis amice, veni.

Luciolus te ad pulvinum vocat, instat ocellis:

somne, veni, venias, eia age, somne, veni.

Luciolus te in complexum vocat, innuit ipse,

innuit: en venias, en modo, somne veni.

Venisti, bone somne, boni pater alme soporis,

qui curas hominum corporaque aegra levas."

After she had sung it a few times he had calmed down enough to fall asleep. Though it was anything but fitful.

A/N ~ Okay, this is like the fourth chapter I've published today, I feel accomplished. But I cannot rest until this angsty shit has been resolved. To console you while I write another chapter have some happy memes.

Word Count: 448

Original: ?

Edited: 5.18.19