Chapter 1

12:01

Angels and demons have fought an endless war ever since the Rebellion and the Fall, and always maintained a balance between good and evil. Now they are alarmed about a modern day prophecy, which foretells the coming of a young half-angel named Eden Arden who will disrupt the balance and ultimately threaten the existence of one side or the other.

Some say that Eden's story started with murder while others firmly believe that it all began with true love and the prophecy. No matter what they think, this is her story.

"Lies covering up lies..." Gabrielle Arden sighed. "Haven't we lied enough to Angel?"

Her husband, Ethan Arden, took a double take of his wife with a pained expression. He hadn't heard his daughter's birth name in quite some time.

"I just think we should finally tell Eden everything." She corrected herself. "We promised ourselves that we would not be swayed by the demons and the corrupted. But they still seem to have cornered us into making her life into one big lie anyway."

Ethan sat in his rugged, cherry red armchair. He removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "Those lies are her survival. We are only trying to keep her safe and alive." The cool summer breeze sailed in through the open window, soothing Ethan. The crickets hummed in the air as the streetlights flickered on and lit up the desert road of the slumbering neighbourhood. Ethan went over to close the window.

"I think she is old enough to know the truth."

"Damn it Gabby!" He shouted, frustrated.

Upstairs, nineteen year old Eden stirred. She did not wake, only rolled over to her side. Eleven thirty-seven glared a fierce glowing red on her digital clock.

Remembering Eden was asleep, Ethan lowered his voice but his frustration lingered once he turned to face Gabrielle. "We should at least wait until the whole transition is complete before we explain anything. It will be easier for her to understand and accept things as they are. You know how hard-headed she can get."

"Yeah, I wonder who she takes that after." Gabrielle raised a brow at her husband, crossing her arms.

Ethan sighed. "Sweetheart, we have been through this a thousand times. I think it would be best if we just drop it and go get some rest."

Gabrielle looked cross at him. "You stubborn man! You have always been too busy with work to notice anything that is going on around here. You have no idea what I have to go through. What I see. It may look like she is wearing the toughest social armour possible but it is beginning to crack. She is quite observant. I know that she knows that she is far from normal. Not to mention, when she attended school, her peers sensed her abnormalities."

"Of course they did. When she was younger, she was petting the class pet and the next minute it laid dead in its cage. It wasn't the only circumstance that something ended up dead too. Plus, when anything died, she happened to be nearby or had just had physical contact with it. If we were just as ignorant, we'd think there was something strange about her too."

Gabrielle sighed. "But, we mustn't forget that she has also brought things back to life like plants and a bird. Most of my kind are only privileged with one gift yet she appears to have gained two ─ even though she is a half-breed." She clicked her tongue for the distaste of the word. "I refuse to follow orders from the Council and moreover, I am definitely not letting any of those monstrous doctors touch her. From what I hear of the removal surgeries, it's absolutely barbaric and immoral."

Ethan bowed his head, exhaling. "Half-breed." He whispered to himself. "It just feels like no one is on our side, like we're completely alone in this. Either people don't want to get involved, want to get rid of her or find a solution in order to fix what they call our mistake."

Gabrielle frowned. "Ethan, dear, I know it feels like we're being backed into a corner." She lifted herself form her chair and knelt down in front of her husband, taking his hands into hers as she looked up at him. "But, we've been through enough rough patches to know that we are capable of getting through even this one."

Ethan lowered his head. "Nothing compares to this, Gabby. I have no idea how we'll get ourselves out of this one."

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh Ethan! Stop being so melodramatic!" Gabrielle's eyes then softened as she stood and reached down to take his face into her hands so that he would look at her. His eyes darted over to her face. "How I see it, is that it's better to acknowledge the darkness rather than to let it swallow you whole. As for Eden, we just have to take one day at a time and make due with what we, as a family, all have to face. We should remind ourselves that first and foremost, she is our daughter and anything that comes after that we should not let it diminish that fact."

Ethan gave in. He knew all too well that his wife was correct. She had always been the one to seep reason into his mind and heart. Gabrielle rose from her spot to lean down to kiss Ethan's cheek. "We have to tell her sooner or later before it's too late. " She whispered. They were engulfed in silence for only a moment, knowing how true the statement was.

"Well, let's go to bed for now. We can start telling her tomorrow morning." Ethan said. Gabrielle smiled as they began to head for the stairs, hand in hand.

A shattering clash hindered the moment. The window in the living room was broken into hundreds of pieces, glass flying into the house, glistening and sparkling on the wooden floor. A large stone laid in the middle of the sea of glass. Ethan went over to the rock, noticing a note attached to it and picked it up. It read:

Too Far from Heaven

For Them to Protect you

Tonight's the night

We'll take her life

Ethan clutched his fists, crumpling up the note in anger.

A scream cut through the air sharply from upstairs followed by a cheer from outside. Gabrielle ran upstairs and headed to her daughter's room. As for Ethan, he dashed outside catching a glimpse of the attackers. His eyes widened, they were only teenagers. It was not who he had expected.

They chanted repeatedly, "Death to the half-breed! Death to the half-breed!" They scattered back into their car. Laughter echoed through the night's air as the vehicle's tires screeched as they left the scene.

Gabrielle made it into her daughter's room. There was glass everywhere: covering the floor, the shelves and the sheet of Eden's bed. Gabrielle cried out. "Eden!" She hurried over to her daughter, looking for any signs of injury. "Sweetie! Are you hurt?"

"What's going on Mom?" A soft voice answered from the darkness. Her mother turned the light on, examining Eden frantically. Her daughter only blinked to adjust her eyes to the light. Gabrielle noticed only the slightest little cuts on her daughter's arms and face from the shards of glass. "I'm okay." Eden tried to calm her mother down.

"What's going on, Mom?" Eden asked again, seeing the fear in her mother's eyes. She leaped out of bed, only dressed in her pyjamas: boxer shorts and an old t-shirt.

"Watch your feet." Her mother reminded her.

Eden nodded and carefully stepped around all the glass. Standing before her mother, she awaited any explanation for her unanswered question.

"Come. We need to speak to your father." Gabrielle led Eden down the stairs.

Ethan turned to face them. His brows furrowed at the sight of his daughter. "Is she alright?" There was a mix of emotions in his voice; sorrow and anger rolled up into one.

His wife was quick to answer, trying to keep a calm mask on her face. "It's only a few cuts."

Ethan walked over and kissed Eden on the forehead. The couple looked to each other, reading each other's eyes in understanding of the circumstances. Finally, he scratched the back of his head. "Gabby, it's not safe here anymore. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Gabrielle nodded in reply. "Then I suggest we leave tonight and head to my sister's."

"All right." Ethan breathed out. "We have no time to pack. Their threats shouldn't be taken lightly."

Eden's eyes went back and forth from her parents' faces as if she were watching a tennis match. Her lips made a flat-line out of disapproval. "What's going on? What's all this and what aren't you telling me?" She demanded. Frustration won her over after each of her questions had been shot down and ignored. Her parents exchanged looks.

"There's no time for explanations now. We'll discuss this when we get to your Aunt Maggie's." She turned away to shield a tear from sight, wanting nothing more than to hide her heartbreak from her daughter. Meanwhile, her husband grabbed the keys and went over to Gabrielle. Eden crossed her arms, unmoving. Ethan noticed his daughter's movements. He motioned Gabrielle to head to the car and then he bent down in front of Eden.

"What you are you waiting for, kiddo?" He grinned up at her.

"Answers," she said sourly. Her arms were still crossed.

Ethan held her arms gently as he stood up in front of her. "In time. Be patient. I promise we'll discuss this when we reach Maggie's."

"Promise?" She double-checked.

"I promise. Cross my heart," he drew an invisible 'X' in front of his heart, "and hope to die."

Eden grimaced — never really liking the expression — placing a hand over her father's hand that hovered over his heart. "Your promise is enough for me." She smiled at him.

"Alright," he kissed her head. "…my angel." He took her by the hand and headed to the car.

Dark clouds began to roll in, claiming the skies. Once everyone was in, Ethan started up the car, bringing it to life and driving away from the life they knew. Eden sadly looked out of her window as her house passed before her eyes. She had a feeling this was final, saying goodbye to her home.

Rain began to fall, the water streaking down the window. Eden turned in place to look down at her hands. She didn't understand what was going on. She felt like it was some big secret she was not being let in on. But, she stayed silent, knowing her parents promised to explain anything to her once they reached her Aunt's.

The car ride was quiet as ever, no one spoke a word. They were all recovering from the event. The only thing that was heard was the repetitive pats of rain droplets hitting the roof of the car. It created a soothing sound, relaxing Eden as she watched the water glide down the glass of her window like tears streaking down someone's face. She loved the rain. Yet, her sad looking eyes stared out into the darkness of the night.

The car's clock read eleven fifty-three. Eden was too curious and bothered to fall asleep even though her eyes ordered her to close them. She refused. She shook her head lightly.

"Gabby…" Ethan quietly spoke, trying to hide the concern in his voice. "Look in the right view mirror." His wife's eyes scanned the reflection in the mirror. She noticed the two vehicles following them. There was only one lane for one way and the other lane was for cars heading up the road. However, both vehicles drove side by side, one taking the road behind the Arden's car and the other taking up the other lane.

"What does it mean?"

"They've been following us for quite some time. It doesn't look good." He began to speed up. What he feared had happened, the two cars echoed what he had done, travelling at a faster speed. Both cars trailed behind, getting closer and closer. Lightening flashed in the dark sky, illuminating the road only for a brief moment. In seconds, one of the cars bashed into the rear of the Arden's car, repeatedly hitting the rear, again and again.

Eden screamed.

Ethan pressed on the gas, moving faster. The second car manoeuvred to the left, hitting the Arden's car's side. It left a huge dent in it. Ethan swerved but gained control again. The cars' engines roared like one lion against two. Then, the unexpected happened, the two attacking cars braked, stopping in their tracks completely. The cars disappeared as more distance came between them and the darkness covered them.

Ethan released a heavy breath. "Is everyone ok?" He said in a hush tone.

"Yes." Gabrielle confirmed.

"I'm fine." Eden spoke in a whisper.

Ethan broke into a small, sad smile. He was grateful that his family was unharmed. He turned to his wife. "I don't think they'll be back."

His wife looked at him admiringly. "I think it's time to tell her, Ethan."

"Alright." He nodded, knowing that their tormentors had threatened them and didn't know what else they were capable of tonight. Ethan thought it was only fair to get the truth out in the open as soon as possible. He became silent and kept his eyes on the road.

Gabrielle turned in her seat to look at the matching pair of blue eyes from the back seat that stared back at the identical blue eyes she owned. She cleared her throat. "Eden."

"Yes?"

"I have something to tell you, honey. So I need you to listen and try to understand."

Eden nodded. "Okay…"

"For quite some time now, you may have realised that you became," Gabrielle tried to search for the right word, "…different from other people."

Eden nodded again.

"You have a gift, a certain power. You are quite special, Eden. We have noticed that you are capable of healing, or more extremely, bring life back into things. Meanwhile, we've also noticed that you have the ability to suck the life source out of things too, causing either physical pain to living things at will or killing them off completely. All of this is done by simply touching the object." She kept a calm expression on her face, showing her daughter that she was being serious and had an understanding of what was happening to her. "Do you remember that little bird that fell from its tree that one day? I watched you from the kitchen's window. You picked it up and fixed its broken wings with only a touch of your hand." She then added, "And at school," Gabrielle noticed Eden tense up, "The class pet."

Eden spoke up. "That was so long ago. But I didn't mean to kill it! It was sick. I was only trying to help. Something went wrong though and then a second later the hamster died in my hands." She looked down at her hands. "Mom. I'm a freak!" She narrowed her brows, contorting her face in order to keep the tears from falling.

Gabrielle pouted. "You're not a freak and you're not alone. You and I are the same." Eden looked up and was about to inquire what she meant but her mother kept speaking and so she made a mental note to ask her afterwards. "In today's world, people aren't so accepting. Some have the tendency to fear what they don't understand or even hate what they fear. But, tonight, these people who attacked us are far from human. They are part of a darker evil and will stop at nothing to have you dead."

Eden's eyes went wide at her mother's choice of words. She had never heard her mother speak so bluntly, without effort to edit or search for euphemisms.

"What?" Gabby glanced over at her husband.

Ethan narrowed his brows, annoyed. "Gabby," He said in a stern voice that meant that she probably went too far.

Gabrielle ignored it and continued. She had a certain authority in her voice that was far from motherly, as if she had a different part to play. "That is why there was an attack on the house and car tonight. There are some people who will hate you because of who you are but there are a worst kind of breed that don't want half-breeds to be living in this world or rather to even have an existence." She paused as if she was deliberating whether or not she should continue or if anything was already too much. Gabrielle waved the thought away and she willed herself on. "There is a prophecy about you, or at least, it points to you. It was created well before you were born and those people who want you dead don't want you to carry out what it deems that you will do."

So many questions were floating around in Eden's head. Questions like: Who exactly were these evil people? A half-breed of what? How do my parents know so much about this? What prophecy?

"But if it's not certain that it is not even about me then, why…" Eden was beginning to feel in more confused.

Her mother sighed. "These people do not care. They'll destroy anyone who may be a potential threat."

Eden had so many questions unravelling in her mind. Though, she tried to be patient with her questions. She couldn't help but think that her mother was still being cryptic about everything.

"No matter what, your father and I want you to remember to use your special abilities for good. We want to try and help you control those powers so that you are able to stay safe and keep the people around you safe too. And the most important thing is that your father and I want you to know that we love you the way you are. We love you very much Eden." She began to speak very fast, rushing it as it were.

Gabrielle paused. A soft red glow lit up her face then it faded. Reaching around her neck, she removed whatever it was and kept it in her fist. Angel's mother stretched out her arm in front of her daughter. She let the object drop, keeping the necklace chain laced around her fingers. In front of Eden daggled a sparkling small crystal figurine of a tiny angel, the crystal glistened beautifully, almost as if it winked at the young girl.

"Do you like it?" Eden's mother asked her.

"Yes. It's beautiful Mom."

"It's yours."

The young girl's eyes lit up at the words, watching as her mother dropped the necklace into her lap. Though, a part of Eden was certain that her mother was trying to distract her from asking any more questions. To please her mother for the time being, Eden picked up the tiny figurine in her hands as if it were the most precious thing in the world. She admired the little angel in the palm of her hand. Its sculpted, crystallised body was perfect. She traced its tiny body then it's wings with her finger. Eden tied the new necklace around her neck and it sparkled once it was in place.

The storm raged on, only getting worst. The lightening stuck every so often, having thunder accompanying it with every new slash that cut and scarred the sky. Rain poured down more violently, washing over the road. It was getting visibly harder to see the road so Ethan had to pay even closer attention to where he was going.

Gabrielle looked back at her daughter. "Eden, I want you to hold onto this." She handed her daughter a small white envelope. "When you see Aunt Maggie, I want you to give this to her."

Eden nodded. "Okay Mom."

Gabrielle smiled at her daughter, noticing that she was wearing the necklace. "It looks beautiful on you, baby love."

Ethan glanced up at his rear view mirror, sneaking a glance at Eden. "Prettier than any angel in the heavens."

Eden couldn't help but smile; a wide smile. It soon faded as she looked up front through the window. Two huge lights were heading in their direction. "Dad! Look out!" She shouted.

From that moment on, everything seemed to go into slow motion. Ethan's eyes scanned back to the road, the car being harder to control with the huge puddles on the road. He attempted to drive to the side of the street but the vehicle swerved, sliding forward. Ethan's switched his thoughts to try to somehow drive in reverse, not sure if time would permit it. However, he noticed the two black vehicles were back as if they had always been there in the shadows. They were trapped and he knew it.

Gabrielle had a fearful expression etched on her face. In that split second, the large truck came into view, the front lights blinding Ethan. The truck purposely dominated the road. The uncontrolled car moved headfirst into the massive vehicle. Both car and truck collided, crashing into one another. Glass exploded everywhere; the Arden's car was compressed at the head of it. All the passengers jerked forward in the momentum of the crash. Everything stopped as quickly as it started. It was silent, everything held still. Darkness engulfed the scene after the headlights were destroyed, killing all of the light that was once there.

Eden's closed eyes flickered before they began to gradually open. She moaned as the realisation of pain seeped in. She blinked, trying to remember where she was. She saw the car windows missing and the whole car was a wreck. It looked nothing like what it had been before. She tried to get up in her seat but she fell back into it. She was reminded of her seatbelt that held in her place. She struggled with it. She was stuck.

Eden gazed up to the front seat. Her parents did not move. Her father was mangled. Ethan laid over the steering wheel covered up in shards of glass his glasses too far from his face. As for Eden's mother, for an instance she did not move. However, a choke of breath escaped from her lips.

"Mom…" The girl spoke sadly. Eden's throat was raw from holding back her tears She finally let them fall down her face.

"Eden…" Her mother coughed.

"I'm here Mom."

"Keep strong for me. Remember you're special; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You are meant for great things." She coughed again. "We love you…" Eden's mother lost the light in her eyes as she took her last breath. She became motionless in her seat.

From the crash, the car's clock locked on 12:01.

Eden's eyes went wide in shock. She stuck out her hands but was still tied in her seat. "Mom! Wake-up! Dad, please open your eyes. I'll help you!" She groaned in frustration. Eden closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. This time the girl took her time to reach for the buckle. "Just a little closer." She gave it her all and tapped on the buckle, freeing herself. Eden sat up and went over to her parents. She touched her mother's face. "Wake-up, please. I can help you." She placed her tiny hand at her mother's heart. Nothing happened. Then Eden touched her father's back. "Why can't you come back to me? Breathe! Move!" She moved her hand to her father's head, touching his soft brown hair. "Open your eyes, Dad. Daddy, please?" Still nothing happened, both adults sat still without releasing a single breath of air.

The pain of all of this cut deep into her heart. "Mom and Dad, don't leave me here all alone." Eden pleaded. Her shoulders shook as she wailed. Knowing whatever power her mother claimed that she had, Eden felt it wasn't working. Now, her tears seemed to come at a never-ending pace.

When Eden couldn't take it anymore and needed to breathe, she pushed her door open and ran into the harsh rain, where the rain came beating down on her. The blonde haired girl ran onto the road and got soaking wet. Searching the road, she noticed the two black cars that had been tailing her family's car was nowhere in sight. Then, her eyes scanned over to the damaged truck. There was no driver. This confused her greatly. Nothing seemed to make any sense anymore.

The tears on her cheeks mingled among the droplets of the rain that fell onto her face. Eden was drained, worn out. The young girl collapsed to the ground into a puddle of water, covered up in blood and mud caked to the bottom of her shoes. Her necklace flashed a dark red light then the light morphed into a blue hue. Moments later, the light faded, leaving her absolutely alone.