Protector

"Aziel?" Aziel stared down at her hands, twisting them back and forth as if something had changed. Alexander gently nudged her shoulder, causing her to finally acknowledge that he was there. "Aziel, what is wrong with you?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "I really just don't know." Then she turned around and slammed her face in his chest. Alex gently wrapped his arms around her and just held her.

He eventually pulled back and asked her," Where are your parents by the way? When I walked in, the TV was on but the only person that seemed to be here was you."

Aziel pulled away, horrified. "Oh, no." She frantically searched around the house, opening every door. They were gone. Her parents were missing. "Oh, no. This can't be happening." Her fist tightened against her side. " This can not be happening."

Alexander asked her softly, as if not to startle her even more than she already was. "What are you talking about?"

She exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are going to think that I am absolutely crazy." She blinked and then put her hands up as if she surrendered to the fact it was going to sound nuts no matter how she said it. "Today, I saw the Devil. It was like I had stepped into a completely different world. He was sitting on a throne talking to these, these things. Demons, I guess you would call them. But they were all different shapes and sizes. They were talking about me. They want me 'chained to hell'. So they decided to send a demon called Legion after me."

He interrupted her sharply. "You fell into hell and listened on a convo with the Devil and his goons."

She glared at him. "Believe me or not, but that's exactly what happened. It doesn't even stop there. There was an angel in my freaking room when I got home!"

He choked back a laugh. "Where is this angel at then?"

Her forehead crinkled as she tried to remember the encounter. It was if her memories had been blocked. All she could remember is the blinding white light and a voice. "I don't know. I can't remember." She gently rubbed her temples as she felt a sharp pain every time she tried to reach the memory.

Alex took her hand and pulled her toward her bedroom. " I think you need to sleep. I'm sure your parents just went out and they will be back soon." Aziel lied down on the soft black comforter of her bed. "Just get some sleep." Alex closed the door, and she was left to her own thoughts. Was it possible that she had dreamed this whole thing up? Was she crazy? Her thoughts swam around frantically as she slowly fell into a deep sleep.

"AZIEL. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER? IF YOU'VE HURT HER, I SWEAR I WILL TORTURE YOU." A voice that was motherly in nature, sounded like a bear about to attack. Aziel's eyes flicked open as she tried to distinguish whose voice she was hearing. It was like knowing who exactly it was but being so shocked that you can't comprehend what's going on.

All Aziel could see was some deep red clay walls. The air was shallow making it hard to breath. Where was the woman who screamed her name? She trudged forward and used her hands to find the small entrance to crawl through. As she crouched down, her knees felt like they were being sun burnt. "AZIEL!" The voice overshadowed any uncertainty about crawling. Before Aziel even knew what she was doing, she was on all fours half way through the small tunnel.

On either side of Aziel were small holes cut out of the clay walls, showing big fires. A lot of people's voices were wailing constantly. Aziel crawled faster, trying to get away from the desperate intruders. Finally she made it to the end of the fire tunnel. The low light of the next room showed two people in a metal cage. The glow of the bars were the only thing lighting the room.

"Shush, honey. It's okay. She's okay, our little girl is strong." Aziel's dad crooned to his wife. Aziel gasped and ran to the cage, burning her hands on the metal. The two people who she loved the most were here.

"MOM, DAD! I'M HERE. I'M RIGHT HERE WHY CAN'T YOU SEE ME?" Aziel screamed at the top of her lungs. She banged her fist against the cage, the blisters already forming from the white hot metal. It was no use, they obviously couldn't hear her. She wept and scooped her knees to her chest.

"Aziel." A golden voice called to her. "This is why you must awaken. You are the only person who could possibly save your parents and the world. Please try to understand."

Aziel cried," I am just a teenage girl, how am I suppose to save anyone? I'm helpless."

"You are only as helpless as you let yourself be. Look deep in your heart, and you will find the answers you seek." The voice brought on a sense of peace to Aziel.

Aziel shook her head," I don't understand."

"Listen to me, Aziel. Right now, you are asleep in your bed. But because you knew something was wrong with your parents, you subconsciously searched for them. Not only did you do that, you found them. Can a normal person do such a thing?" Aziel shook her head. "It's time you accepted that there is something different about you. It's time to take that journey to do so." A light started to shine where the voice was coming from. "Come here, your destiny awaits."

Aziel slowly stood to her feet, her hair slowly scrapping the floor. With nothing else to do, she walked into the light. The brightness made her put one hand over her brow to stop the assault on her eyes. She started to feel the sand between her toes and the heat on her skin. It was a different heat the crawl through the tunnels with the low light.

"So you've finally come?" A woman's soft voice floated to Aziel's ears like a current to the sand. Aziel stared at her, the woman was small with long white hair covered by a large sun hat. The woman gestured for her to come closer. "Don't worry, child. You have known me since the beginning of time."

Aziel asked," Who are you?"

The woman smiled gently although her eyes were sad. "Aziel, I am your mother."