Chapter 59- Despair (Part 1)
The sky was clear that night. No stars, occasional clouds floating above the ground, and the moon was nowhere to be seen that day. It was blindingly dark outside, even for people with strong eyesight.
However, surprisingly, even with the extrely cold temperatures, there was no wind. It was completely quiet, unnervingly so. Standing outside, one would be able to hear one’s own breathing and even faint sounds of one’s heart beating.
Being so far away from civilization, deep in the woods, there was a primal silence that only such natural places could generate. That silence, however, was not made for humans. Standing there for rely a few seconds could get the mind to panic and overthink. Anxiety will take over, and fear of the unknown becos a reality.
In that kind of atmosphere, a small gush of wind crept through the trees, rustling the branches and moving toward the cabin. Then, miraculously, the gush of wind swept through, entering the closed house silently. It moved through the lounge to the living room, then to the upper floor, where it entered Elio’s room.
The boy was covered and deep asleep, yet the gush of wind sent a chill down his spine and woke him up from his slumber. His eyes parted open slightly.
"Mmmm..." He groaned as he rubbed his eyes and rose up from the bed. ’I need so water... It’s so chilly outside.’ He muttered as he left the bed and walked out of his room. The entire place was blindingly dark, but luckily, his vision had improved quite a bit, making it possible for him to see way better in the darkness.
Still, he was drowsy and sleepy, so he was barely able to navigate his way to the kitchen, where he poured himself a cup of water. Standing next to the counter, he chugged it down.
After that, he put the cup away and turned around to walk back to his room. However, at that mont, he suddenly felt a gust of wind caress his body, sending a chill down his spine.
"Huh?" He turned around, a bit confused. "Where did that co from?"
Rubbing his eyes, he walked to the window to check if it was sealed properly. But, surprisingly, it was.
Rubbing his head, Elio thought for a mont. ’Hm, maybe it was my imagination.’
So, he decided to turn around and walk back to the room, only that... When his eyes fell on the outside world... Sothing happened.
***
*Unknown ti*
Fiona’s eyes slowly parted open. She had just fallen asleep a while ago and yet for so reason she had woken up again. The reason for that was the weird drop in temperature she felt in the room. Her body was familiar with the temperature inside the house and such a sharp drop was far too abnormal for her not to be awakened.
She looked around her, then she ran her hand through her hair and left the bed. The mont she walked out of the room, she felt the cold temperature of the house, as if it was completely open to the outside world.
’What is happening?’ She frowned as she walked down to the first floor. However, the mont she stepped down and looked at the other side, her eyes widened.
The door to the cabin... was completely open.
"..." The girl blinked before she realized the possibility. "Oh no."
Quickly, she turned around and rushed up the stairs toward Elio’s room. There, she peeked inside and much to her horror... Elio was nowhere to be seen.
Her heart stopped for a second. A million thoughts crossed her mind. But she regained her composure and ran down the stairs, heading out of the house.
"Elio! Where are you?!" She yelled, her voice echoing in the vast forest.
’Dammit. What happened? I have made sure to keep my senses active during sleep. I should’ve noticed any abnormality. Where did he go?’ She clenched her teeth before she stepped out of the cabin and looked around for any footsteps.
Luckily, she imdiately saw traces that led from the cabin deep into the forest. So, she turned her flashlight on and ran after the trails.
"Elio! Respond to if you hear !"
Her senses spread far and wide as she got deeper and deeper into the woods. She was covering kiloters worth of area around her as she ran. If Elio were nearby, she would be able to sense his presence no matter what.
But the problem was that she didn’t know when he left. It could’ve been a few minutes ago or a few hours ago. Whatever made him leave could’ve done it... far before she could make it in ti.
’No. Don’t think negatively. Elio will be fine. I will find him in ti. I will make sure of it.’ She told herself as she cast her light upon every area.
At the sa ti, Fiona ford several balls of energy in her hand and then threw them in many different directions to cover even more distance. These balls are linked back to her, so they will always send her information upon noticing anything out of the ordinary.
For almost 30 minutes, Fiona covered dozens and dozens of kiloters on her own. A distance that would take a group of humans hours to cover.
But there was no trace of Elio. It was as if the forest had swallowed him whole and left nothing of him.
Fiona... started panicking inside. How could he disappear suddenly? Where could he even go? Even with hours of running, he could not go far enough that she couldn’t find him quickly.
The only explanation for it all was sadly the worst possibility. The one that Fiona didn’t want to think about at all.
’No, no, no. He must be sowhere in the forest. Whatever dragged him out shouldn’t be able to do anything. This area is inside the barrier; they cannot do anything.’ She cursed before she started running again, continuing her search.
The more ti passed, the more defeated Fiona felt. She just couldn’t understand what happened. She felt desperate to the point where she couldn’t keep her facial expression from changing. The feeling she experienced during that ti was the worst she ever felt... A sense of dread so deep it threatened to swallow her.
But, whether it was sheer will or simply desperation, she didn’t stop looking, and for almost two whole hours, she kept searching.
Eventually, she ca to a stop, breathing a bit heavily. Each breath was cold and harsh, as if her lungs were getting frozen to death. The temperatures have dropped so much, and she couldn’t understand why.
What she was certain of was that this was the doing of sothing and not natural whatsoever.
Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath. An overwhelming bitterness filled her heart. She had failed... Failed miserably.
The idea of losing Elio started settling in, and she started to accept it.
"Goddamit... GODDAMIT!!"
*PUNCH* *BANG*
Her fist slamd into a tree nearby, splitting the tree in half and making it fall to the ground.
’I have failed... again... I have failed again!’ She rested her forehead against the tree, her teeth clenched to the extre.
As she was contemplating herself there, her senses suddenly picked up sothing a good distance away from her. A living being, moving through the forest.
That silhouette... was extrely familiar.
"Elio...?" Her eyes shot up, wide and in disbelief. There was no mistake, it was Elio, and he seed to be... running?
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