HER KIND

Man in the Woods

'Chapter 36'

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

At first, all that could be seen was darkness as the group descended stairs hidden behind Seraphine's kitchen pantry.

"Now, for this to work, all of you must be quiet and listen to my instructions very carefully," her voice echoed in the darkness.

The lack of light in the narrow hallway, with what seemed to be stone walls, echoed a tinge of fear in Dria's heart. However, in all that fear, she found some comfort in the warmth of the cave.

The hallway appeared endless as they walked for what seemed like hours without any sign of its conclusion. But before she knew it, the narrow hall began to broaden until finally, they stood in what felt like a huge open space.

A click echoed, and suddenly spears of light from candles in the cave flickered on. Dria turned around as each one lit up. The cave was indeed a cave, its dark black stone encircling them. On one side, there was a big shelf with different types of herbs and other curious items. On the opposite side, there was a small pond with a sort of stream running into it, from which she could hear the trickle of water.

They stood in the center of a giant circle that seemed to glisten with a white substance."Now, everyone else stands outside the circle while you, Kane, get right in the middle there," said Seraphine, pointing to the middle of the floor.

Everyone followed the simple instructions. The sound of shuffling feet could be heard, and they all turned to look at Seraphine for further instructions while Dria exchanged a glance with Kane, giving him a small nod of encouragement.

"Now, Kane, I'm going to give you a small mixture of particular ingredients to make this work, and it's nasty, I won't lie to you one bit. You will experience pain and relive the worst memory or pain you have ever experienced. Allow it to flow through you; don't fight against it, okay?"

"Okay." Kane's response was quiet, but everyone could hear it—they could especially hear the fear and apprehension in his voice.

One last look was cast toward Dria, and she all but smiled, knowing that Kane could see the worry in her eyes. In a way, he amused her and mimicked her tight-lipped smile.

Dria wondered what kind of pain he would experience, what thoughts or memories this mixture would flood through his mind, and all she could hope was that it wasn't the memory of the day he lost everything.

Seraphine approached Kane with a small pottery bowl with a yellow liquid inside and passed it to him. Without a second thought, he gulped it down.

For a moment, everyone seemed to hold their breaths, and Dria, sweating with nerves, clutched Price's hand. He looked down at their joined hands before glancing up, seeing her face so focused on Kane.

"When will we know it's working?" Nathaniel asked, but a second later, Kane shrieked in pain and fell to the ground.

Dria moved toward him, but Seraphine shouted for everyone to stay back, to not cross over into the circle.

Dria took a step back, slightly leaning into the warmth Price gave but still reaching out to Kane in spirit.

He whimpered in pain, his eyes clenched shut as he mumbled under his breath. Seraphine circled him, making sure not to step on the white barrier, while also mumbling chants under her breath.

Kane twitched, his lean frame contorting with each pain, his whimpering getting louder—and then suddenly he stopped. Although he stayed crouched, as if hiding himself, he was quiet, not a whimper.

A sniffle could be heard from across the room, and all heads turned to Seraphine, who was on her knees looking at Kane with tears running down her face.

Nathaniel moved toward her. "Sera, are you okay?"

She looked up at him and quickly wiped away her tears before standing up straight. "I knew the kid was in pain, but he hid it so well. His family..." her voice trailed off.

Dria felt Price squeeze her hand and she looked up at him; his eyes conveyed the same question her father had asked Seraphine, and she gave him a subtle nod.

"Okay, he's finished. Let's begin."

Seraphine entered the circle with Kane before placing her hand on him. She turned to Dria and reached out her hand for her to grab.

"I am going to need to use you as an anchor. Kane has attached himself greatly to you, and you will be able to lure him back, or I fear the worst," Seraphine said.

Dria held her hand and put her other hand on Kane. "Now close your eyes."

Seraphine started chanting again under her breath. "Whatever you do, don't pay attention to anything else. Focus on Kane and the boys."

Seraphine's chant grew softer, almost like a whisper in Dria's ear. Suddenly, the warmth of the cave faded, replaced by a gust of icy wind against her face and the feeling of snowflakes landing on her skin. When Dria opened her eyes, the cave was gone.

Around her, a thick forest stretched out, dusted in white, snowflakes swirling in the bitter wind. She blinked, clutching Seraphine's hand, still feeling the faint warmth from the cave lingering in her fingertips, but here they were in a shadowed, snow-covered forest.

"We need to find Kane; he will be able to find the boys," Seraphine started. "You can feel him out like that game, hot and cold. Focus on Kane and follow the heat like a beacon."

Dria nodded and focused on Kane, the image of the boy who had landed on her doorstep with fear etched on his face, and she started walking.

They hadn't walked long before stumbling upon a crouched Kane.

Mumbling his name under her breath, she ran toward him and brushed the snow out of his fiery hair. He jumped slightly at the touch before calming when he met her eyes.

"I don't know where I am. I heard my mom and my dad. I tried following their voices, but I lost them. I have to find them," Kane mumbled, hysterical.

"They are not real, Kane. Focus on us—we are real. Focus on Dria; she's real, and she needs your help to find the twins," Seraphine said, standing behind Dria.

"But I heard them..." his voice trailed off.

"I know, but it's not them, okay? Focus on my touch, hold my hand, and let's find the boys," Dria said, helping him up.

"Focus on the boys and find them," Dria said to him.

Time seemed to pass quickly in the world they were in, because soon enough, it was getting dark, and they had been walking for hours.

"Are we close?" Dria asked.

"Yes, very. I can feel them, just a few more steps," Kane said.

They walked into what seemed like an open field, a field that was familiar to Dria, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. There, in the center, Marcelo and Elliam stood with a man in a long robe that reached his knees and pants that went to his ankles. He had his hands on the boys, and he turned to look at them as if sensing their arrival.

The man's eyes met Dria's, and she felt an unease but also a familiarity run through her. The man had golden eyes that glowed in the snowstorm, and his hair was as black as night, flowing as the wind blew harshly against him.

"Marcelo, Elliam, let's go home." The boys turned to her voice and smiled. The man crouched down to the boys, whispering something to them before standing straight and smiling at her.

She watched as they ran across the field toward her, all the while her eyes stayed on the man.

Marcelo threw himself into her arms while Elliam ran into Kane's.

"He said you would come," Marcelo said, smiling up at her.

Dria, stunned, immediately looked down at him, perplexed by his statement, before looking back at the man, who smiled again as if he had heard what Marcelo said.

He turned to leave, but not before mouthing words to her, "We will meet soon."

And like that, everything was dark again. Dria looked all around her and suddenly found herself back in the cave.

Price stepped forward, his hand touching her elbow slightly, her eyes locked with his.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his grey eyes filled with worry.

She breathed in heavily and nodded her head.

She heard a thud and looked to her right; Seraphine was on the ground. Her father rushed toward her in a fuss.

"What's wrong?"

She laughed lightly. "Seems I overdid it," she said, trying to get back up but falling down again. This time her father caught her, and Dria watched as he pulled Seraphine close to his chest.

"Let's get you rested."

"The boys should wake up soon," Seraphine mumbled against his chest.

Kane stood from the circle with the help of Edrick, and they trailed behind Nathaniel while Dria stood staring at the center, her thoughts still on the man.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Price asked her again, holding both her hands and closing the gap slightly.

She smiled up at him. "Yeah, I am, just worried about the boys. I am okay; let's go."

She tried walking away, but his hands didn't let go. She looked at him, his eyes meeting the floor before looking up at her again. "You're a terrible liar."

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑒𝓃𝒿𝑜𝓎𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓋𝑜𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇'𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀. 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉!