Tainted Bloodline...🩸

1.

In this same quaint town of Ashwood,lived a boy named Asher. His life, a tangled web of sorrow and hardship, was woven into the very fabric of his existence.

With each passing day, the walls of his foster home seemed to close in around him, suffocating the last vestiges of hope. The Smiths, his caregivers, had long since forgotten the meaning of kindness, leaving Asher to face the darkness alone.

His foster father, James, stumbled through life, addicted to the very substances that had destroyed his own. Asher's foster mother, Sarah, was now just a memory, a fleeting glimpse of warmth in an otherwise cold and unforgiving world.

Asher's foster siblings,Rave and Ryan, treated him with contempt, their cruelty and disdain etched on their faces like scars. The boy's heart, once full of laughter and promise, had slowly withered, leaving behind a hollow shell.

Yet, on this fateful evening, something stirred within Asher. A spark, long dormant, flickered to life, illuminating a path he had never dared to tread.

As night descended upon Ashwood, casting the town in a shroud of shadows, Asher made a decision. He would flee, escaping the toxic world that had consumed his childhood.

With a deep breath, he rose from his bed,made sure everyone including his drunken foster father had gone to bed,his eyes scanning his small room one last time. The clock on the mantle ticked away, counting down the seconds until his departure.

Asher moved swiftly, gathering his meager belongings in a worn backpack. A few clothes, a book, and a handful of mementos were all he had to his name. But among these sparse possessions, two items held immense sentimental value.

His foster mother, Sarah, had given them to him before her passing. A soft, golden pendant rested against his chest, its crescent moon symbol intertwined with strange, markings of different symbols. Asher never took it off, cherishing the memories of the only person who had shown him kindness.

Sarah's gentle touch, her warm smile, and her soothing words still lingered in his mind. She had been his refuge, his sanctuary. Now, she was gone, leaving him to face the world alone.

As Asher fastened the backpack, his fingers brushed against a small, leather-bound journal. Sarah had given it to him on his 12th birthday, the pages were blank because there was nothing good about the world to be written down

As the night settled Asher slipped out...

As Asher walked, the darkness seemed to swallow him whole. The trees loomed above, their branches like skeletal fingers reaching for him. He had no destination in mind, no refuge to seek. The desperation that had driven him to flee now gave way to doubt.

"Where will I go now?"
Asher wondered, his thoughts tangled in fear and uncertainty.

The more he walked, the more the woods seemed to shift and twist around him. The silence was oppressive, punctuated only by the crunch of leaves and snapping of twigs beneath his feet.

Suddenly, a twig snapped behind him like someone ran past him

Asher spun around, his heart racing, and shone his torchlight into the darkness. The beam danced across the trees, illuminating nothing..

"Must be a rabbit" he muttered, trying to calm his racing heart.

But the feeling of being watched persisted.

Asher quickened his pace, his senses on high alert. The trees seemed to close in around him, their branches tangling above his head.

Suddenly, a force slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground. His belongings scattered everywhere, and his torchlight flew from his grasp.

Asher tried to scream, but his voice was trapped in his throat. A hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him.

Panic set in as he struggled to break free, but his body felt heavy, weighed down by an unseen force.

And then, darkness enveloped him like a sweet slumber.

Asher's world went black.

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To be continued...