Hours had passed.

Hours since Daniel had told Adelina the news.

Hours since her heart was ripped out of her chest.

Emotions poured out of her like water rushing down a stream.

She cried. She cried for her parents. She cried for her sisters. She cried for Tessa.

Her eyes were bloodshot and not a single tear would escape by the time she was done. The energy had been drained out of her body.

Daniel had fallen asleep shortly after he broke the news. He had looked exhausted, so Adelina couldn't fault him for it.

Adelina sat there listening to his steady breathing and starring into the darkness that enveloped them. In the dark, her eyes kept playing tricks on her and she would see the faces of her loved ones. Tessa smiling down on Adelina and the glint in her eye when she would wake her up in the mornings. Her mother giving her a smile after telling her that she had a good heart and how special she was. Her father trying to give her a fake scowl after Tessa and her poked fun of his mustache. She reached out for them only to be faced with the reality that they weren't there.

Adelina could feel an emptiness seeping it's way into her heart. One she had never felt before.

All she could do was stare into that void, the nothingness that was all around her. Soon she let that darkness lull her into a dreamless sleep.

Adelina awoke a few hours later with a jolt. She looked down at her skin and rubbed her arms. She had never felt anything like that before. The feeling was not painful, but the jolt felt odd.

Adelina looked around but can only see darkness. She began to feel around and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Daniel still sleeping peacefully next to her. She curled up close to him and listened to his heart drumming in his chest. She smiled before closing her eyes and falling back into a peaceful slumber.

The colors around her swirled and she realized the dreams had come back. She could see Daniel fighting off demons and her Dad was there too. She watched in horror as this creature with red horns and black claws crawled out of the woods. As the demon faced her, she saw that its eyes were black endless voids. The demon smirked at her before sneaking upon her father and Daniel. Adelina tried to scream but no sound came out. The demon grabbed both of them and began a streak of awful carnage by ripping their bodies apart, limb by limb.

Adelina woke up with a gasp. The dream had felt real and was vivid. She could still see the demons razor teeth as it smirked at her before killing her father. She wondered if her father was alive still somewhere out there.

Maybe Daniel had been wrong about him?

Thoughts began to swim through her head and she wondered if she had stayed and said no to her mother, would things be different? If Daniel had fought back instead of hiding, could they have saved them?

Her thoughts began to drift to her family. Memories began to play in her head on repeat. She was thinking about the last time her entire family was together. It had been the week before her birthday. Her sisters had come over and they had all played games into the wee hours of the night. They had laughed until Adelina's sides hurt so bad and she had snorted out her drink more than once.

Tessa's smile and carefree laugh flashed through Adelina's thoughts. They way her brown eyes would light up when she laughed. The crinkles on her nose when she smiled wildly. Her eyes had this sparkle to them like a cloudless night where all the stars shine. Sometimes when she laughed too hard she would snort and make this pig-like sound upon inhaling. Adelina laughed at the memory, but her smile faded.

She would give anything to hear that awful laugh right now.

She deeply missed her.

This distance between them felt awful. They had never been apart like this and it was taking its toll on her.

She said a silent prayer in that moment. Praying that her sister was somewhere safe and hidden, like she had been.

She laid back down and closed her eyes. She felt herself drifting off again and hoped the nightmares wouldn't come back.

Adelina woke up the next day and Daniel had turned in his sleep to face her. He had his arms twisted around her body holding her close to him. He was sleeping and she loved the peaceful look on his face. She took a moment to listen to the sound of him breathing and traced her fingertips around his face. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Adelina carefully wiggled out of his embrace and reached the cave until she felt one of the flashlights. She turned it on careful not to light up Daniels face and wake him up. She realized he probably could use some sleep.

Adelina stands up and stretches out a bit. As she looks around she began to feel trapped. The walls started to feel closer and she knew she had to get out. Adelina looked back at Daniel wondering if she should wake him but decided against it.

Adelina began to make her way down the narrow path that lead out of the cave. She stumbled a few times over her own feet as she saw came upon the exit. As soon as the sunlight hit her face she stopped and lifted her face up towards the sky. Even though the day was chilly, the sun felt wonderful on her skin. She realized just how much she had missed the sun. She silently promised the sun that she would never take it for granted again.

Adelina stands there a bit longer basking in the rays washing her over her body. She takes a few deep breaths letting the cold crisp air into her lungs.

Shortly after she decided it was best if she went to clean herself up, Adelina makes her way to the stream nearby.

As she walked up to the stream an image popped into her head. One of when Daniel, Tessa and her had been small. They used to come down to this same stream to fish and swim. Adelina loved to just watch the fish as they swam in a beautiful pattern.

A tear streaked down her cheek as she remembered and all the happy summers the three of them had down here. They had all been inseparable growing up. The memory squeezes at her heart and she feels more tears pour down her face.

"They are all gone. Why are they all gone?" She stared into the water seeing her own reflection. The fish swam around.

Adelina let out a shriek of rage.

"I have to quit crying. I need to be strong for them and for myself."

Adelina leaned down and splashed the cold water on her face, rinsing away the tears. She grabs a handful of water and throws it into her mouth. The water was cold as it slid down her throat and helped her gain control. She had to stop pitying herself. She couldn't just pretend like her family was through the woods and waiting for her at home. They were gone.

Daniel had woken up in that dark cave. He kept reliving what had happened in his dreams, but with Adelina being close to him he had felt calmer than he had in a while. This time when he woke up he reached around for her only to realize she was gone. His heart began to beat rapidly and he reached around for the light.

Surely she hadn't gone out without him, right?

Daniel grasped onto the walls and hoisted himself up. He walked towards the entrance and exits the cave. He sighed in relief as he saw Adelina sauntering up to the cave.

"Adelina, where have you been? I thought something had happened to you! You left without saying anything!"

"I didn't mean to worry you, but I went to get some water."

"You don't know what could be out there. You shouldn't be wandering alone." He ran a hand through his tangled hair. She looked up at him with innocence in her eyes.

Adelina broke the silence as they make it back to where their belongings were.

"Daniel, you said 'they' took people. Who are they? Do you have any idea what they want from us? Illysia is a small town and I think we leave everyone alone, don't we? So why now and why the entire town?"

Daniel kept his eyes distant as Adelina asked questions that he had been dreading.

"Your parents should have told you more Adelina. I can't understand why they kept you and Tessa in the dark for so long. Your older sisters even know."

Adelina's mouth dropped.

"What do you mean everyone knows but Tessa and me?"

Adelina's heart thumped in her chest with a rapid beat. She could feel the blood rushing through her body as she leaned into the damp cave walls.

"You remember our parents always telling us life for them was different before Illysia? My mom always reminded me of this and made sure to tell me stories of my father. She wanted me to know he died a hero and had died to protect us. He did this so that our family and other families could have a better and safe life."

Adelina nodded. She had never asked many questions about the world before. She had no desire to hear about the horrible things that happened.

"Illysia was built with some sort of 'magical' barrier or something around it. Bare with me, it sounds unbelievable at first, but the elders are comprised of witches. They are the ones responsible for keeping the barrier up at all times. This barrier was supposed to be impenetrable and keep all the other beings outside and away from us."

"I've never heard of magic being used. Witches? We have witches in our town Daniel?"

"My mom was one of the witches here. She helped keep the barrier up and keep our town safe. I was raised from a young age to keep this a secret. I hope you aren't upset with me.That night when everything happened was the same night you left town early sick and without me. I was walking home when I began to hear screams coming from town. I had no idea what was going on and the first thing I did was run home."

Daniel had tears in his dark brown eyes. He felt like a coward, but he knew Adelina deserved to hear the truth. He already held on to too many secrets from her, but not this one.

Not anymore.

"You need to hear this Adelina as much as I'd love to go on and pretend this didn't happen, you have to know. I got home and that is when I saw them. I didn't even realize what I was seeing at first. I kept pinching myself thinking I must be dreaming. This has to be a bad dream. Soon I realized this was no dream and I realized exactly what I was looking at. Demons, awful looking demons and other creatures, even some human looking. They were at my house and they had my mom. I watched them slowly haul her away into a truck that had an a metal cage attached to it. Soon after, I watched as they set the house on fire. I stayed in the forest and just watched. I didn't know what to do. I could clearly see that I was outnumbered. I couldn't fight them as much as I wanted to. I was helpless. I ran to your house to look for you. I immediately saw your mom, but I was too late. I watched her, though, as she tried to fight them. She fought them with every single step of the way. I couldn't help her. I COULDN'T HELP ANY OF THEM" Daniel is now pacing through the small corridor in the cave.

"I wanted to help them. I wish I could kill all of those awful creatures for what they've done to our town and to our families."

"Daniel, do you know where they are? Did you see where they took them?"

Hope was a dangerous thing, but Adelina knew she wouldn't give up. She had to find her family and she was hopeful that they would be okay. She had decided early by the stream that she was ready to fight for what she loved.

"I don't know Adelina, but I've been in these woods. There are still plenty of demons scouring the village and going through the remains of the houses."

"I'm done being safe Daniel! I can't just sit inside this cave while people I love are out there and god knows what is happening to them. I have depended on them my entire life. Why can't they depend on me this one time? We have to find a way, Daniel." She pleaded with him. She needed him.

"If we can make it back to that shelter I stayed in for a few weeks, there were weapons down there. Plus we both know these woods better than any demon or whatever else there might be out there. We can use the night as our cover."

Daniel didn't like this idea. He knew it was dangerous. He had this ominous feeling inside his gut. As he looked into her eyes, he realized he couldn't tell her no.

He had already failed her once. He wouldn't fail her this time, even if it meant dying to protect her. He would do whatever it took.

Adelina could tell by the way he looked at her that he thought they would fail.

"I'm doing this with or without you. As I said before I will not sit here in this damn cave waiting it out. If we did that we would never see our family again. Can you live with yourself if we never see our family again, Daniel? I know I sure can't."

Adelina began to pick up the water bottles that surrounded them and a few of her personal belongings she had taken from the shelter. The owl dropped out of her coat and she starred at it. She had to find them. She would do whatever it took.

"Are you coming?" She said as she began to head to entrance for the last time.

Daniel didn't respond, but he picked his body up and followed Adelina.

She had to believe they could save their families.

She had to be the one to protect them this time.

She would fight and she would win. There was no other choice or fate that would befall her.

That was the thing about hope, when you have hope you feel as though the world was yours to conquer.

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness---Desmund Tutu.

And Adelina could see that light. She would be the light needed to guard them all out darkness, no matter what it took.

Little did she know the darkness was coming and would swallow them whole.