Crystal Shards: Malady

Chapter 3: A Reason To Be

 A few hours have passed. Elliot and Annabelle have stopped to rest their feet, sitting on a bench at a train station just outside of Soalistan.

"You never did tell me where exactly we were going," Annabelle reminds Elliot, looking up to him.

"Well, first I'm going to visit my sister. After that... well... we're going to meet my friend and help her investigate the vampires," He tells her. Instead of being afraid, Annabelle pumps one of her arms.

"Good! I want to know why they're after me!" She seems fired up at the thought and Elliot laughs a bit under his breath.

"Well, I'm glad you're excited. Are you okay to get moving again?" He asks, standing up.

"Yeah, I think so," She confirms, hoping down from the bench.

"We're almost to my sisters house anyway according to my dad. Probably just about another hour or so," He informs her as they start walking. Elliot stops however and looks over his shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" Annabelle asks. He waits a moment before giving an answer, turning back to face forward.

"No, just my imagination," He says as he starts to walk. "It's that feeling of being watched once again," He thinks. "It feels like eyes are always on me," The two continue to walk, reaching a more forested area. Elliot once again stops, this time in front of a large tree. Despite most of the other trees around it being normal, this one has distinct red leaves year round. Annabelle isn't sure why, but Elliot seems completely locked up upon glancing at it.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, snapping him out of it.

"We're... going to make a detour, okay?" He tells Annabelle as he takes a left from the tree and picks up the pace.

"Um, okay, but wait up!" She shouts, running to catch up to him. He leads them through the forest, going off the trial. They push through a massive thicket, Annabelle staying close to Elliot as he pries the pathway open. After several minutes of pushing through, they step into a secluded meadow, the trees blocking out most of the sunlight from overhead, but rays of light do leak through the thick trees. At the back of the meadow is a small house, Elliot instantly recognizing it. The house is a wooden cabin, a porch surrounding roughly half of the exterior and a small balcony sits above. He approaches it slowly as memories begin rushing back to him, a collection of phrases and voices surging through his mind quicker than he can decipher. Annabelle is captivated by the meadow around them, noticing a small flowerbed near the house that is fenced off. She walks over to the fence and gets a better view of the flowers. Elliot approaches the house and steps onto the porch, knocking at the door. He gets no response, so he knocks once again. After another minute, he hears an unlocking sound and the door opens about an inch.

"Hello?" A female voice calls from behind the door.

"Terra?" Elliot asks. The door opens all the way and standing on the other side is a girl standing about five foot four with long blonde hair and deep green eyes. She has a solemn expression on her face, but upon seeing Elliot, she brightens up. She is dressed in a white tank top and a pair of beige pants.

"Elliot?" She looks him over, but is certain it is him. "I heard that you um... well...," He shakes his head.

"I'm very much still alive," He corrects her. "Well, as much as I have been since the last time I died," He jokes. "So um... how are you?"

"About the same as usual," She responds, her happiness seems to fade as she grabs her right arm with her left. She coughs and quickly covers her mouth before crossing her arms behind her back. "How have you been? It's been a long time,"