𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄, ERIK LEHNSHERR

𝑺𝑰𝑿𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵

Listening as the rubber tires crunched along the gravel roads while the wind greedily blew against the dark blue Cadillac of Kara's, her eyes held steadily on the road in front of her. A few hours prior, she had arrived at the lab that belonged to both Charles and her but not but a mere ten minutes ago, she left with a few boxes of their belongings.

She volunteered after Charles had received a call from the university telling him that they needed the lab for new students and so Kara left shortly after, knowing Kit needed a few hours to prepare for his training later that day.

It'd been a few weeks since her birthday and everything went back to normal routined days. She hadn't yet had a talk with Charles about the thing her grandfather had spoken to her about, which was still bothering her if she were being honest.

Her headaches came regularly now and it was a bit embarrassing to admit to herself that she felt restless every night, which wouldn't have been a major problem if it weren't for the flashing of images in her mind. It wasn't like the nightmares she had nor was it like the burning mansion flickering when she closed her eyes, it was something completely different and nothing she had experienced before.

Blinking the distance from her eyes, she took a turn on the wrong road after previously scrounging around in her head. The gravel road wasn't unfamiliar but it had been years since traveling down the path.

Letting a string of curses spill from her lips, she knew there wasn't any way of turning around due to the narrow road and trees surrounding the gravel. It was designed like that for a reason, which was to keep outsiders out.

She held her breath, not knowing what to expect as she pushed her foot on the brake upon seeing the tall black gate with the name WILDER on top of it, marking its territory.

She shielded the sun from her eyes as she gazed up at the gate, her feet moving her out of the car against her will. She stopped once her hand came in contact with the rusted bars, a sinking feeling embracing her gut.

She pondered whether to push it open and begin walking, knowing it would only make her suffer further. Deciding what could go wrong?, she pushed the gate open with all of the strength she could muster and she listened as the rusted bars creaked once they began moving.

She let out a huff once her body was able to maneuver between the crack, her feet pushing her up the short driveway and to the property. There was nothing there besides multiple acres of grass and trees, which she expected.

After a few weeks of living with Charles, he had been her messenger with everything surrounding their family. The newspaper had made a big statement about the Wilder family.

Wilder Estate burned to the ground. Eva Wilder, wife to Mack Wikder, was found dead. Missing children escaped house fire. Mack Wilder, missing.

The case was open for three years before it was closed due to not being able to find anything much after what the newspaper had stated. The police had shown up to Charles' after the accident, having known Mack and Charles' father were good friends.

They were denied any information, Charles' father having told them that he hadn't seen the twins. In truth, they were both living there, hidden and clutching each other as they knew the police could raid the Xavier estate if they chose to, leading to finding the twins and putting them in an orphanage.

Kara stopped as her eyes wandered the property, memories flooding back to her and making her head pulsate. She clutched her temples as she walked further, her feet slowing as she trailed along where the mansion stood.

A harsh breath escaped her mouth, her head spinning as she tried to stabilize herself. The sky had grown darker and thunder roared above her, her eyes catching sight of a lightning strike between the opening and closing of her eyelids.