Chapter One

The rumbling thunder awakened her from the slumber she'd sworn never to take. She shot up, feeling the tension build in her body as her pulse echoed in her ears. The whispers were back as if she'd resurrected them directly from the pits of hell. The beating of her heart increased in volume, drowning the sounds of the outside world so much until the only thing she heard was the beat. She tried to scream as loud as she could but it rung among deaf ears. They were used to her nightly panic attacks by now...

Annella Jackson was never an easy child to accommodate. Her constant nightmares left children scared at night and adults annoyed to have been shoved out of bed, only to have it be yet another false alarm. The first nights at the foster house were.....different. The night terrors had just evolved and the adults in charge had rushed to her room faster than an Olympic medallist.....every adult.....all at once. They cared more then but now all she was......was a midnight false alarm they took turns attending to.

The door flew open as Sister Mari-Anne entered. She rushed to Annella's side, holding her steady in a warm embrace and whispering calming words in her ear. They rocked back and forth until the normality of sounds resurfaced and the voices shimmered down. Sister Mari-Anne had been the only one who understood recently and Annella was grateful for her assistance. When Mari-Anne was sure that her breathing began to steady, she released her of their embrace.

"Would you like a cup of chocolate milk, Anna?" she asked shortly after, the nickname she'd given her still fresh on her tongue. Anna nodded. They made it to the kitchen almost immediately. Anna crashed down onto the stool next to the stove and watched the Sister at work. She grabbed a pan, milk and chocolate ready to create magic. She'd always had a peculiar way of doing things especially when it came to chocolate milk. First she'd boil the milk in a pan then break pieces of hard chocolate into a cup. The milk would go directly in the cup after the chocolate and they'd stir until satisfied.

They sat across from each other in silence. The only sound throughout the room was that of the sipping of the warm, chocolatey liquid.

"So....tell me about your dream", Mari-Anne broke the ice. Anna stared at her, wondering where to start.

"I'd never seen it before......millions of angels flying through the sky....flying towards me. Millions of angels....turning black at my touch. I saw angel after angel becoming as fallen as Lucifer himself. Each collapsing onto the ground and instantly withering away. One of them managed to pierce his spear through my abdomen. I felt nothing......it didn't hurt at all.....as if he'd hurt himself in trying to hurt me....and instead of me collapsing....he did. He turned cold right in front of my eyes and as I pulled that spear out of my body...I started to bleed blood as black as tar...yet I still felt nothing..."