Max was restless that night, twisting and turning in his bed non stop, his mind clouded, and full of possibilities, doubt, and anxiety. In all his years as an acolyte for the Archangels he''d never once made a mistake, and he had never failed in a mission. He intended to move up the chain, and after tomorrow''s assignment he''d be one step closer to achieving that goal.


    Feeling the need for fresh air Max got out of bed, and made his way to the glass window in his room, and pressed his fingers against it, the icy cold from the outside seeping into his finger tips. Max pushed the small window open, and peered out into the night air, but his senses seemed off, and the dreary town he saw in the distance was blackened by the night.


    Sometimes South Eden felt like its own small island cast adrift in an empty sea, and that''s because the stars up above weren''t polluted by the city''s lights, or neon bubble. It was one of the few things that made sense about his district, one of the only things worth looking up to, one of the only things worth believing in, for when he crossed those railroad tracks those stars would disappear.


    But something was wrong this time, something sinister had taken the stars. Up above, the sky was nothing but pitch black, no light could be seen, not even the faintness of moonlight casting through the invisible clouds, just complete emptiness. In a panic Max gripped the edges of the window, and peered outward looking for some sort of explanation, but all he saw was an unusually tall figure standing ominously in front of the orphanage. It was gangly, and long with arms that stretched to the ground, the top of its hands resting on the pavement.


    Max couldn''t make out who or what it was. They were hooded, their face covered with a mask, and they were standing inhumanly still. A chill began to wash over Max, he felt as though he somehow had done something wrong, but before he could pull himself away from the window, the being turned its head, and looked directly at him - their eyes meeting for a brief moment. Max''s breath had been caught in his throat, the boy was unable to breathe, paralyzed in fear, but then before Max could react further the being stepped onto the porch just outside the front door, its hands dragging up the steps with loud creaking clunks, then it raised its arms, and a moment later a loud knocking could be heard from down stairs. Max felt himself tripping on his own feet, his body crashing into the ground.


    Max quickly staggered to his feet, and began to hear movement from outside his door in the dormitory. Someone had just cut the light on because a radiant yellow beamed from under his door, so bright it almost hurt his eyes. Before Max could do anything more a white light began to shine from his bed, and he could hear a pearly, angelic voice emanate from it.


    "Come, you must not be awake when they let it in."


    Max did not know what that meant, nor did he care, he vaguely remembered this voice, and this light; it was as if it had called to him before, and so heading its words Max crawled back into bed embracing the voice, embracing the light as it cradled him back to sleep.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ***


    Luckily the next two days were much easier to handle for Max. Neither Rose, nor Kacey had reached out to him, so he finally had time to plan and strategize how to handle everything on his plate.


    Thursday morning, he met with Ava, and Draco in the same alley where he met them on the first day of school, just without Raguel this time.


    Ava was already there when Max arrived, back to her semi-formal attire, and her long black hair stretching down her back. After several minutes Draco could be heard entering the alley, and waving off a few of his new friends, letting them know he''d see them later.


    He greeted Max, and Ava with a carefree smile, his hands relaxed behind his head as usual.


    "You know Red, I think I''m getting used to this school thing, I''ve met a lot of like-minded people!"


    "I don''t care about that." Max said, "Listen, we have a job to do tomorrow."


    "Huh? Oh! You mean the robbery right? Finally! I was beginning to think you bitched out! Another day or two and I wouldn''t wanna be seen with you, just sayin''"


    "It''s not a robbery." Ava said correcting him. "We''re to trash the place, and hurt the owner – that''s all."


    "Hey Red I don''t speak bitch, do you?"


    Max ignored that, and took a deep breath, as if to hide his frustration. "If you want to steal from him I don''t care, just make sure the store is trashed, and he''s unconscious before you do."


    "Music to my ears Red." Draco said sneering at Ava.


    "Let''s just get on with the plan." She said.


    "A plan?" Draco laughed, "please have you seen the place? We could go and do the job right now. What''s stopping us, really?"


    "What''s stopping us is the fact that this is one of their busiest periods of the day – additionally the scouting I''ve done- "


    Draco closed his eyes, and began to make loud snoring noises, and every time Ava tried to interrupt him he got louder, and louder.


    Max saw Ava''s frustration boiling over as she moved towards Draco with clear intent to harm him, but Max swiftly stepped between them and delivered a sharp blow to the back of Draco''s head, snapping him out of his antics.


    "Hey what the hell was that for?!" He yelled.


    "That was nothing compared to what she was going to do to you." Max said nodding over to Ava, who''s glare could''ve frozen steel.


    Draco met Ava''s gaze, and started to say something else, but Max was quick to move the conversation along.


    "Ava, I assume there''s nothing new to report regrading the recon you''ve done?"


    "No, just like we discussed Tuesday, the store is slow in the evening."


    "Alright then, good." Max said leaning forward, his voice low and measured. "I''ll send you both details on where to get changed, later, but just know that we''ll be entering the store one at a time in two-minute intervals, and we''ll all approach from different directions." Max began. "Ava will be on lookout, I''ll handle the shop owner, and Draco you will handle trashing the place." Max paused to take a breath before continuing. "We shouldn''t be there any longer than five minutes. After we''re done we''ll head out the back. How does that sound to everyone?" Max asked, paying careful attention to Ava.


    The plan must''ve been solid because Ava nodded much sooner than Max had expected. Draco on the other hand, Max made repeat his instructions verbatim until Max was sure he understood them, and had them memorized.


    He considered what Ava''s version of the plan would''ve been. If it was just her and himself they''d either have to extend the time they planned on staying at the store or compromise the lookout position, which was vitally important. Either way his strategy seemed to earn him Ava''s trust, but how he executes that strategy would determine whether or not he kept it.


    Feeling confident the three made their way to school, and mentally prepared for the job the following day.