Chapter 5

"Martha, please explain what you mean," Alex asked for the tenth, "I already told you I can't read the writing."

"Of course you can't," Max said as he dropped his bag on the floor and flopped himself on the sofa in the same manner Sam does. "Emma can."

He said so matter of fact that it took her a minute for the news to register.

"What!" Alex and Sam exclaimed together, "What do you mean she can read it."

"Well, seeing as she is one of us," Max said, "She should have the brain of the intellectual being too."

"Oh really, "Sam said getting agitated. "And what does that make us?"

"Below average," He smiled, "Like sewer rats. I would've said pigs but that would be insulting to the pigs."

"Excuse me, but back to business here," Alex exclaimed. She was barely holding in her temper and with every word that escaped from that foul mouth of Max's it didn't make her temper calm down. She was literally crossing her arms and legs to stop her from launching at him.

"Yes, I have to agree with Alexis here," Martha said as she sat down next to her. She opened the book and on its first page was another symbol similar to the one Alex saw on her wall and next to it was more of the weird unreadable language.

"Alex, can I call you that? Okay," Martha said answering her own question, "Try and read it, focus on it and try forcing yourself to read it."

"How?" she asked.

"Just try and stop being so damn lazy," Max muttered. Alex pursed her lips together in annoyance. She decided to start with an easy one, so shutting the book she stared at the front text but her eyes kept drifting towards the symbol. It was so exactly like hers but different from the one on the wall. She couldn't exactly figure out why. She moved her eyes back to the text, her mind set on figuring it out. The harder Alex stared at it, the more familiar it seemed. It was like she had known it before but now it was evading her memory. She breathed out in frustration.

"Damn it!" she growled, "I know I know this, but it just won't come back to mind."

"Keep trying, "Sam encouraged.

"Don't bother; it's impossible for someone with your intelligence," Max smirked as he got up, "I'm going to change."

Alex was relieved when he walked out of the door. She could finally focus. She squint her eyes as she tried to remember what the ruins meant.

"C-ro-l" she stammered as she tried to say it. It was slowly coming back. She bit her bottom lip as she peered at the peculiar language trying to remember something. There was not a sound in the room that she could hear. Everything was still. She took a deep breath and looked at the writing. She ran her index finger over it, following the lines and curves it created. It was engraved onto the hard cover.

"Cro-lon-ian, Crolonian?" she said hopefully.

"Yes, now there's a good girl, keep going," Martha said encouragingly. Alex didn't like the fact that she used the terminology one would use for a dog, it seemed like she was belittling her, although Alex knew she meant no harm, just praise. She just had a funny way of showing it. Alex smiled and returned to the writing, now that she had figured out the first word; it all seemed doable, not easy, but not impossible either. She used her finger to trace the loopy weird writing again repeatedly until she seemed to get somewhere. It was as if they were speaking to her, trying to tell her something. Now, she'd always been told that she was not very open minded with things, and although she was not especially smart, she knew that she had to try and open her mind to the book in front of her, as crazy as that sounded. She breathed in a deep breath of air and cleared her mind, tracing the writing and waiting.

"Hj-his -sto- history of..." she said, her eyes still screwed shut. She was barely breathing now. She could sense everyone's deep anticipation and she hated letting people down. "Of tr-the an-gs ang...angels? History of the angles?"

When she didn't get replies she opened her eyes and saw Martha beaming at her with a hand on her cheek. Sam looked at her in amazement, and maybe she was exaggerating but she thought she saw Max look at her with a new found respect in his eyes. Maybe, but not likely.

"Crolonian- History of the angels!" Alex repeated in pure bliss."

"Why? How can you read it?" Sam and Max asked in complete unison, the only difference was Sam was asking in amazement and Max was asking in spitefulness. But it didn't really matter because the same question was running though Alex's head too.

"Yeah, Martha, why can I read it?" she asked, "You're not going to say I already died and became an angel are you because that would make you crazy."

"Don't worry, your every bit as alive as me and Max," she chuckled, "But you're also every bit Angel like us too."

Alex couldn't help it then. She couldn't suppress her laughter any longer. She was laughing so hard; tears were forming around her eyes and slipping down her face.

"I'm sorry but Max? An Angel?" she smirked as she wiped her dried her wet face, "I'm sorry, if you had said, two faced, pile of dog dung, I would've believed you but Angel? Now I know you're pulling my hair."

"Well, I know Max isn't the nicest person to know at times," Martha said, that got a snort of agreement out of both Alex and Sam, "But pile of dog dung, really?"

"No offence," Alex added in no way planning on changing her statement.

"Anyway," Martha sighed as she re-opened the book, "This is book that contains the history of our people. Through many centuries, High Angels, Dark angels all have helped store our history in books similar to this, although there are only 3 out there in the world."

"What do you mean our kind, you mean you're kind," Alex said, "and why do you have one if there are only three? How big is this civilization anyway?"

Several more questions raced through her head like, "what does this have to do with me?" that was a really important question that she wanted to get answers to. Alex didn't want to get sucked into something that had absolutely nothing to do with her. She remember that she used to dream about living some kind of awesome exciting life when she grew up, but that was when she was younger. That was before she knew better, before she knew simple was always better. But still, although she knew that, part of her still felt a tingle at the prospect of living a life full of adventure.

"It's a really big civilization, almost as big as humanity," She beamed. This took Alex by surprise; she didn't know how Angels could live undetected by humans for so long.

"Where do you all live?" she asked dumbfounded.

"What? Please don't tell me you actually believe them," Sam asked in disbelief, "You don't actually believe all this Angel crap do you? It's probably a prank of some sort."

"Yeah, but what if it isn't, I want to make sure," Alex said awkwardly as the prospect of what he said hit her. He was probably right as well. "I just want to know how to get rid of the kid."

"Yes, and your so gullible like that," Sam urged, he had always been headstrong and hated being wrong.

"She's always like that," Max chipped in.

"But we've come this far already, there would be no point in turning back now, plus my mum isn't expecting me home till tomorrow and I haven't got the keys," she said, deciding to ignore Max's snide remark.

"Wait- What!" Max cried suddenly alert, "What do you mean, she isn't expecting you back till tomorrow?"

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, they are staying the night," Martha said, "Now stop distracting me."