EARTH ANGEL

CHAPTER FIVE : THE WARNING

Elena did not tell anyone about the voice.

Not her mother.

Not her father.

Not even Maya.

Especially not Maya.

There were some things that sounded ridiculous the moment they were spoken aloud.

I saw a woman with six wings in an old photograph.

The lights keep reacting to me.

A strange man appeared inside my house and my father knew him.

Someone told me not to trust the angels.

Elena wasn't even sure angels existed.

So she kept quiet.

For the next three days, she tried to return to normal.

She went to work.

She answered emails.

She sat through meetings.

She laughed when Maya complained about her dating life.

She bought coffee every morning from the same café.

She came home before dark.

She slept with the lights on.

Everything looked normal.

But Elena knew better.

Something had changed.

And it wasn't only her.

Her parents had become different too.

Daniel had started checking the locks every night.

Miriam had stopped leaving the house alone.

They whispered whenever Elena entered a room.

And sometimes, when they thought she wasn't looking, her father would stare at her as though he were trying to memorize her face.

It frightened her.

But she didn't ask.

Not yet.

She was afraid of what the answer might be.

---

On Friday afternoon, Maya dragged Elena into a small bookstore on the edge of the city.

"You need this."

Elena looked at the book Maya was holding.

It was enormous.

Old.

Black leather cover.

No title.

"What is it?"

"A book."

"I can see that."

"Then we're making progress."

Elena laughed.

"Why do I need it?"

"Because you haven't been yourself."

Maya placed the book into her hands.

"Read."

Elena opened it.

It was filled with photographs of ancient paintings.

Angels.

Demons.

Ancient cities.

Strange symbols.

Elena flipped through several pages.

Then she stopped.

Her heart dropped.

There it was.

The symbol.

A circle surrounded by six wings.

The same symbol she had seen in her bedroom.

The same one that had appeared after the strange man attacked her.

Elena stared at the page.

"What is this?"

Maya leaned over.

"I don't know. I thought you might."

"Why?"

"Because you've been acting like you're secretly possessed."

Elena forced a laugh.

"Very funny."

Maya studied her.

"You recognize it."

"No."

It was a lie.

A bad one.

Maya knew immediately.

"Elena."

"I've seen something similar."

"Where?"

Elena closed the book.

"Nowhere."

Maya sighed.

"You're impossible."

"I know."

She handed the book back.

"We should go."

Maya looked at her.

"Why?"

"I don't feel good."

"Again?"

"Just tired."

Maya reluctantly put the book down.

Neither of them noticed the old man sitting at the far end of the bookstore.

He had been watching Elena since she entered.

His fingers slowly tightened around the silver pendant hanging around his neck.

Then he whispered:

"Impossible."

---

That evening, Elena returned home to find the front door unlocked.

She stopped.

Her parents never left it unlocked.

Not ever.

She pushed it open.

"Dad?"

No answer.

"Mom?"

Silence.

She stepped inside.

The house felt different.

Too quiet.

Elena placed her bag down.

"Mom?"

Nothing.

She checked the kitchen.

Empty.

Living room.

Empty.

Study.

Empty.

Her father's office door was open.

Elena walked toward it.

The room was in complete disarray.

Books were scattered across the floor.

Drawers had been emptied.

Papers covered the desk.

The wooden box was gone.

Her stomach tightened.

"Dad?"

A sound came from upstairs.

Elena froze.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Heavy.

Someone was walking across the hallway.

She grabbed her phone.

"Dad?"

The footsteps stopped.

Elena climbed the stairs.

One step.

Then another.

Her heartbeat became louder with every step.

She reached the top.

The hallway was empty.

Her parents' bedroom door was open.

Elena pushed it wider.

Miriam was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Alone.

Her hands were trembling.

"Mom?"

Miriam looked up.

"Where were you?"

"At the bookstore."

"You shouldn't have gone."

Elena frowned.

"What happened?"

Miriam looked toward the window.

"Your father went out."

"Why?"

"He didn't tell me."

Elena stepped into the room.

"What happened to the study?"

Miriam didn't answer.

"Mom."

She looked at Elena.

"We need to leave."

Elena blinked.

"What?"

"Tonight."

"Why?"

"Because this house isn't safe anymore."

Elena stared at her.

"Safe from what?"

Miriam stood.

"I don't know."

"You do know something."

Miriam looked away.

"Mom."

"I wish I could tell you."

"You can."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because knowing can be dangerous."

Elena's frustration grew.

"You keep saying things like that, but nobody will actually tell me what's happening!"

Miriam flinched.

"I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?"

"From the truth."

Elena went silent.

Miriam immediately looked regretful.

The words had slipped out.

"What truth?"

Miriam didn't answer.

Elena stepped closer.

"Mom."

Miriam's eyes filled with tears.

"I promised your father."

"Promised him what?"

"That we'd let you live."

Elena's face changed.

"Let me live?"

Miriam covered her mouth.

She realized what she'd said.

Elena stared at her.

"What does that mean?"

Before Miriam could answer, the front door downstairs slammed shut.

Both women froze.

Daniel.

A moment later, footsteps entered the house.

Fast.

Heavy.

"Stay here," Miriam whispered.

"No."

"Elena."

"I'm not a child."

Miriam grabbed her arm.

"Please."

Elena had never heard her mother sound so frightened.

They remained in the bedroom.

The footsteps stopped outside.

Daniel appeared in the doorway.

His shirt was torn.

There was blood on his forehead.

Elena rushed toward him.

"Dad!"

"I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

"It's not mine."

She stopped.

"What?"

Daniel looked at Miriam.

"Did they come?"

Miriam shook her head.

"Not yet."

Daniel closed the door.

"They know."

Elena's heart sank.

"Who knows?"

Neither answered.

She stepped between them.

"Who knows what?"

Daniel looked at her.

For a moment, he seemed about to tell her everything.

Then something struck the window.

All three turned.

A black feather lay against the glass.

Then another.

Then another.

Miriam whispered:

"No."

Daniel grabbed Elena.

"Downstairs. Now."

"What is happening?"

"Move!"

They rushed toward the staircase.

The moment they reached it, every light in the house went out.

Darkness swallowed them.

Elena heard her mother's gasp.

Then Daniel shouted:

"Don't look outside!"

Naturally, Elena looked.

The window at the end of the hallway had become covered in shadows.

Not one.

Dozens.

Figures stood outside.

Watching.

Elena couldn't see their faces.

Only their silhouettes.

Some appeared human.

Others didn't.

One figure had enormous wings.

Another had horns.

Another appeared impossibly tall.

Elena stared.

"What are they?"

Daniel pulled her away from the window.

"Don't look."

"Who are they?"

"Elena!"

His voice cracked.

She had never heard fear in it before.

Then the shadows disappeared.

Everything went silent.

The lights came back on.

The house was empty.

No broken windows.

No footprints.

No feathers.

Nothing.

Elena looked at her father.

"You saw them."

Daniel didn't answer.

"You saw them too."

Miriam began crying.

Daniel closed his eyes.

Then he said the words Elena had been waiting to hear.

"There are things in this world that you don't know about."

Elena's heart pounded.

"Like what?"

Daniel looked at Miriam.

Then at his daughter.

"Things that aren't human."

---

Later that night, Elena sat in the study.

Daniel had finally gone to bed.

Miriam had locked herself in her room.

Elena couldn't sleep.

She opened the old folder again.

This time, she found something she hadn't noticed before.

A second photograph.

It was taken on the day she was born.

Her parents stood outside the hospital.

But behind them was a woman.

The same silver-haired woman.

The same golden eyes.

Except this time, Elena could see her clearly.

There were no wings.

She looked completely human.

The woman was holding something.

A small white feather.

Elena turned the photograph over.

There was writing.

Different handwriting this time.

She must remain unaware until the signs begin.

Elena's hands trembled.

Below it was another sentence.

When the mark returns, they will come.

Elena slowly looked at her wrist.

The symbol beneath her skin was glowing.

She whispered:

"What are you?"

The symbol pulsed once.

Then twice.

And somewhere far beyond Blackthorn City, a bell rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

In a place Elena had never seen, hundreds of people lifted their heads toward the sound.

Some wore white.

Some wore black.

And one man stood at the edge of an enormous golden balcony, looking toward Earth.

His eyes burned with golden light.

"She has been marked."

Another figure approached him.

"Then it's begun."

The man looked toward the distant mortal world.

"No."

His voice was quiet.

"It's already too late."

---

Elena woke at 3:17 the following morning.

But this time, she wasn't dreaming.

She was standing.

Barefoot.

In the middle of her bedroom.

Her eyes were open.

Her hands were glowing faintly.

And she was staring at the wall.

Written across it in golden light were four words:

THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU.

Elena stepped backward.

The letters disappeared.

Her bedroom returned to normal.

She stood frozen.

Then she heard a whisper from behind her.

A voice she recognized.

The woman's voice.

The one from her dreams.

The one from the photograph.

The one who had warned her not to trust the angels.

This time, she spoke only one sentence.

"Find the truth before they do."

Then Elena heard wings.

Not outside.

Not in the distance.

Behind her.

She turned.

There was nothing there.

But on the floor lay a single white feather.

And beneath it was a small golden key.