Author's Note: I had to add in this part so that way I could have a proper epilogue. The epilogue is next week, so I hope you enjoy reading this part as much as I enjoyed writing it. However, I hope you don't expect my next series to have Monique and Adrian the way they are now, I've lost the inspiration for this series, but I'll have it just as good as this, regardless.
I skidded to a halt in front of my home. Vanity stood there, glaring at me while Adrian took a protective stance in front of our home. "Don't you dare go any closer to him," I hissed angrily, not saying 'them' so she wouldn't guess about Alice. She walked towards me, hatred and anger in her eyes. "You're exactly what I want out of this world, the Living Dead," she accused, pointing a tanned finger at me. I laughed as I got in her face. "And I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be. Save yourself the trouble and leave."
She lifted a large rosary and hit me in the chest. Pain shot through my whole upper body, but I had to get her away from Adrian and Alice, even if it was the last thing I'd ever do. I turned and ran into the woods. She followed after me, running just behind me. "What are you?" I hissed, not daring to turn around. "A fallen angel." She was in spitting distance of me. I pumped my arms, trying to get as far as possible so Adrian could get Alice away. "Adrian, get Alice away from here!" I thought as I desperately tried to fly for my life. The rosary collided with my head and I fell to the ground. "I wouldn't have come for you if you didn't take away Marina," Vanity whispered as she slammed the rosary into my chest again. I screamed at the top of my lungs. A long, ear shattering scream. She flinched and covered her ears. That was all I had left in me.
"Shut up!" She kicked me in my side and I couldn't breathe. I could go without air for about ten minutes, but I had to have a sense of smell to know where Adrian and Alice were. "Adrian!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I needed to be saved, badly, or she would slaughter me. I heard him whipping through the trees before I saw him. Vanity had to act fast if she wanted me gone. And she did. "Quiet!" She screamed as she threw the rosary down on my chest. She mumbled something in some foreign language and it started to burn. She kept muttering, bowing her head and falling to her knees as she did so. "Get it off! Get it off!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. She muttered faster, louder. Everything was fading away, my limbs were becoming dead weight. Was this dying? Before my arms were limp, I reached for the rosary. I grasped it and tore it away, throwing it into Vanity's head. "You idiot!" Adrian screamed, running full speed at her. He snatched her by her arm and dragged her far enough away from me for him to come running back.
"Monique, what was the point in this? She nearly killed you!" Adrian asked me as he pulled me off of the ground and motioned towards her. "I had to save Alice. I live for you two," I whispered. The rosary flew across the distance and collided with me. Instead of falling to the ground, it dug into me. I screamed louder than a banshee at that moment and fell to the ground. My ribs. I knew they were all broken. Adrian ripped the rosary off of me, which shot another flash of pain and screaming through me. "I'm sorry," He whispered as he kissed my forehead. He ran at Vanity, holding out the rosary so it would collide with her chest.
"How many times did she hit you, Monique?" He asked me as he circled her with the rosary. "I can't count . . . three?" I muttered. The pain was killing me. He struck her with it four times and then flew with it. It combusted and fell to the ground in flames. "Adrian, I love you. Alice!" I screamed, "I love you. You're more than anything I could have wished for." My face collided with the ground. Everything stopped. I knew I was dying and Adrian couldn't possibly save me.
Adrian
Vanity killed Monique. My Monique. Blind rage flew over me as I watched her die, knowing this was all my fault. If I had just left her the day she came back to me, she wouldn't be this way. She would be perfectly fine, she could have a husband that everybody would remember, not someone like me that the world would never care for. All of her ribs were broken, she was burned and bruised horribly for someone who was and had been dead for months.
"You killed her!" I yelled angrily as I dashed into Vanity. Something cracked, and she flew into a tree. She stared up at me in horror, she had never seen something like me when I was angry. "It's one thing to go after me, but when you go after Monique and Alice, it's too far," I spat. She flinched at my words as I snatched her off of the ground by her arm. She screamed in pain. She looked over my shoulder at something, and smiled. She threw another rosary and I heard it hit something. I whipped around, still holding her.
"Alice!"
I threw Vanity across the clearing. "Alice, what were you doing?" I asked her. The rosary had severely damaged her entire body, which was already small and fragile as things were. "Mama needed me. I have to save her . . ." Alice's voice trailed off. Suddenly, Monique was floating. "Get her away from here, Alice. Go as fast as you can." I gave her a small shove and turned back to Vanity. I picked up her rosary and burned it in my hand. "Where do you keep on getting these?" I asked her. "I'm an Angel, where do you think?" She spat weakly.
I grabbed her and dragged her to the cliff. "Does this exact spot ring a bell to you?" I asked her angrily. She gulped. "It's where Marina killed you," She whispered. "It should mean more than that to you," I said angrily. She looked up at me, confused. "It's where you're going to die." I pushed her over the cliff and walked away, not daring to look back or even listen to her silent screams of horror.
"Alice! Where are you?" I called out. She rose in the air. "Here. Mama's not doing well, Dad," She called back. I flew to them, staring at Monique. Why did she look so perfect all the time? A bruise covered her right cheek and another one covered the back of her head. "I'm sorry, Alice. I didn't mean to--" Alice cut me off. "No, Dad, it's fine. I'm fine. I'm not leaving. You should worry about Mama. She's not as, well, dead like us, to put it lightly." I sighed as I stroked Monique's cheek. Her heart was beating, slowly as usual, but it was beating. It was slowing down more and more with every interval, and I knew that she was dying. I knew what I had to do. "I know what you're thinking about doing. Don't. Just let her die," Alice grabbed my hand and snatched it away from Monique's cheek. I would have pulled away and healed her, but Alice was right. When Monique is dead, things will be somewhat perfect. Alice will have her mother and her father, she'll have the perfect childhood. Monique's heart stopped. Alice smiled softly as I jumped up and ran away. "Don't go far, she'll want to see us both," Alice called. I groaned at the thought of Monique without a beating heart, or even her not being alive.
"Adrian Brown, you come back here right this instant!" I whipped around and ran immediately. Monique's arms wrapped around me, reminding me of the fact that I needed her just to be sane. Alice ran up behind her and Monique snatched her up in her arms. Now we were a family like Monique wanted. Now Monique could be mine forever, and Alice could have the perfect family.
