One
Tyar should have known something was amiss the minute he walked into the office room.
“Tyar?” Sylvia speaks as she stands up and moves around her desk toward him. He hasn't moved from his spot by the table on which the display of a smaller version of Tanah Merah sat. The way she walks is slightly different and how she is speaking pulls at something in the back of his mind. The atmosphere of the room changes from a quiet calm to a weird and strange one. When she stops in front of him, she reaches out slowly in what most would call a seductive way and pushes some of his hair back from his forehead before travelling down to cup his cheek briefly. “I am worried about you, Tyar.”
Her touch is gentle and in a roundabout way, loving. Tyar doesn't look away from her but when he speaks, his voice comes out as almost a whisper. “Me?”
“Yes,” Sylvia moves her hand away from his face and turns to rest one of her hands on the table beside them briefly before adding, “Well, you seem to take the worries of the world onto your shoulders, you know?” She smiles, but it's not a friendly smile. It's almost predatorial. Sylvia moves her hand to rest under his chin. “Stressful, isn't it?”
Tyar blinks and as she retracts her hand, he suddenly feels a wave of pure exhaustion and weariness wash over him. Eyes fluttering, he stumbles back a step, grabbing the table to keep his balance and he wonders why he feels like this all of a sudden. Exhaling as he leaned against the table, he was also hyperaware of Sylvia standing closer. Too close.
“Yes?” Her voice is soft and it's almost like she was waiting for him to tell her something.
The words leave his mouth before he can even think of anything else. “I'm tired.” Tyar’s breathing was becoming shallow as he exhaled again; it was like each time he drew breath it was draining him, making him more tired. “My friends. . . .” He was having a hard time forming thoughts but they were on his mind. They didn't have much time as it was before the Hutan Lahir escaped and Ling was gone forever. “Have to see my friends.”
“Ah, yes, your friends.” When Sylvia speaks again, her tone has gone from seraphic to sardonic. “Now where are your friends?”
Tyar knows something is not right but there's nothing he can do as he is now completely using the table for support as his legs were starting to give. Her words start to echo in his head and he feels his eyes burn with unshed tears as he knows that's a fear he has. He is terrified of being alone and abandoned by those who he called his friends, being left to fend for himself. His heart hurts but he knows he shouldn't let his fears get to him. Tyar can't do anything as Sylvia caresses the side of his face, her long nails gently scraping against his cheek and going through his hair. He gasps, trying to gather his footing and his senses so he can leave but to no avail. He stands there, shaking and feels panic start to creep in.
“Poor little Tyar.” Something in her voice is genuine care but he knows it's twisted. Her hand continues to stroke the back of his head gently as she continues to speak to him. “You cared for your friends so much, yet they've all left you.”
Tyar breathes harder and shakes his head slightly in denial. She’s lying. His friends wouldn't leave him, they promised.
“Nat doesn't want anything to do with you. And Zoe is leaving.” The more she talks, the more Tyar realizes that she was only trying to get under his skin. This couldn't be true. However, he still looks at her as she keeps talking, his mind telling him that maybe it was true. His heart knew the truth but the mind is a powerful place: what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way. “And Ling. . . . Ling has disappeared hasn't she? And you have no friends. You're all alone.”
Tyar shudders and clutches at the table, a single thought crossing his mind before it's gone. She shouldn't know that his best friend is missing; he hadn't even told Zoe yet nor Ben. So how could she have known? On the other hand, she was right. He didn't have his friends and he was alone and he was scared. So scared of what could happen. He continues to shudder, a small whimper-like sound escaping him as he turns away from the woman again. Nat really didn't want anything to do with him, Zoe was being sent home because of her ties to Mr. Midnight and Ling. . . Oh God Ling was mad at him. She probably resented him now, because he told her he couldn't tell if her mom was dead or not. Even with his powers, they didn't work that way. Not yet.
Everything that was going wrong was his fault. A quiet sob left his body in a shudder.
Then Sylvia was reaching for his face again, saying his name and trying to make him look at her. “Tyar, Tyar, Tyar. Come on, Tyar. Tyar.” He was trembling with fear as his suspicions of her were starting to come to light and it wasn't at all making him feel better. With her hands on both sides of his face, he was forced to look at her; as she stared deep into his eyes, he felt something inside him crack and his heart rate skyrocketed. She had two long incisors extending from the top row of her teeth, showing that she was not human at all. As her voice deepened, the teen felt a ripple of fear spread through him. “Perhaps I should be your friend.”
Sylvia stared at him for a while before she slowly let go of his face, her fingers lingering on his cheek, and walked away a few steps. Tyar was left trembling and shaken, still clutching the table for support as his legs were too weak to hold him up. He was weaker, now that she had moved away from him and he felt the fatigue hit him full force as his legs started to give. He could feel her eyes on him and he slowly turned his head, whimpering in fear as he met her eyes. She smiled at him and he finally speaks, his voice wavering.
“How did you know Ling was missing?”
Sylvia continues to smile for a few seconds, tilting her head to the side as her smile vanished. “Because she was with me.”
The words knocked the air from Tyar’s lungs and he turned away from her gasping as his heart beat faster. It was no surprise that he now knew who Sylvia truly was and he was in no position to defend himself. Pure terror wracked his body as he continued to gasp for air, the fear too primal to control. He struggled to get his bag off of his back, using one hand to slide off one strap and the other to hold onto the table. The strain of doing so only seemed to make him more tired, but he fought to stay on his feet and keep his eyes open. By this point he was only holding onto the table to keep himself up as the floor seemed to be almost drawing him down. He could feel her dark eyes watching him and he clawed at the table to keep himself from falling as he felt his legs give out from under him.
Tyar felt darkness circling him as he fell and as he hit the floor, he passed out. Unconscious and at the mercy of the very demon Uncle Tan and his mother had warned him about.
The demon witch just couldn't fathom that she had the grandson of the famous dukun Dimas at her mercy. He’d come to her alone believing that he could trust her and now she could take her revenge. After waiting so long for the right circumstances and the right time, the Hutan Lahir could take its revenge. Her revenge. The boy knew her as Sylvia, so she'd keep the name and the appearance to make him comfortable.
Make him comfortable? What was she talking about? She didn't actually care for the child, did she?
Sylvia stared at the teenager lying on the floor passed out from the spell she had put on him, his head tilted toward her and his face peaceful. She had little time to get back to the tomb where she'd left Ling and use her to break the protection seal inside. That action would then destroy the ones protecting the town and she would be able to finally proceed with her plan. All she needed to do was take the bag with the kris and leave. However, as she continued to observe the unconscious teen on the floor, she began to think about taking him with her.
The boy was Zihan’s offspring, he was the son of the very person who stopped her all those years ago and sealed her away. She should be ecstatic that she had Zihan’s son at her mercy; depriving that woman of ever seeing her son again, dead or alive, would be the perfect revenge for sealing her away. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to kill him. She couldn't bring herself to leave him either and the question was why? Why did she care about him when she's cared about nothing for decades and decades before this moment?
Sylvia sighed heavily and moved toward the unconscious teen, deftly grabbing the bag from the table he had been trying so hard to use to keep him awake. Looking upon his face at closer inspection, gave her pause. It was a fact that Tyar was handsome for his age and yes Sylvia had a slight interest in him when they’d first met, but by her age and standards, he was too young. Besides, he would never want her since she was planning on destroying the world starting with Tanah Merah. But maybe there was a way around that if she so wanted that.
Give him a choice.
And by doing so, she could have her revenge on Zihan and get something she wanted without the destruction of everything. Except Sylvia wasn't just any demon, she was a demon witch, the Hutan Lahir . . . She had a reputation to uphold. She could see Ling out of the corner of her eye, she could see her even if she was back at the cemetary. The girl stares at her before looking down at her friend lying on the ground and for a moment she's her normal self again.
"What are you doing?"
Sylvia doesn't answer her as she calls on one of her male spirits to help her get the boy to the cemetary. A spirit suddenly materializes from nowhere, roughly picking the child up and almost knocked his head against the table. It prompted Sylvia to give a warning to the spirit. "Careful with him, spirit. I will not tolerate such carelessness when it comes to the boy."
"Where are you taking him?!" Ling spoke louder, her eyes flashing.
"Ling, he's coming with me back to the cemetary. If you want to see your mom again, you will not question me." Sylvia says, looking her dead in the eyes. Just like that, the spell she had on the girl came back and she fell right back into a trance.
Sylvia had a lot of thinking to do before the night was over. Maybe she should pay a visit to Zihan, scare her a bit before telling her she had her precious son. Or maybe she'd wait a day or two.
Tyar awoke with a start to the sound of voices and hushed whispers around him. It was dark and cold wherever he was and he wasn't sure if it was spirits he was hearing or not. The last thing he remembered was Sylvia revealing who she really was and passing out on the floor at Jimmy K's place of residence. As he sits up, he notices that he's no longer in that office and instead he's in a room made of stone and clay with only one point of entrance and a small window high above where he could reach. He was currently sitting on a cot that was placed inside the room and from what he can tell the door is reinforced wood. He has a bad feeling about this.
Tyar stands and moves to the door, reaching out to turn the handle. The handle turns but the door won't budge. He tries again, this time pulling at it harder with all of his strength, but despite his best efforts, he can't open it. He feels his frustration rise and he kicks the door hard, his mind still reeling from the information he had learned today. The one person they had all trusted had turned out to be the one person that wanted them all dead. A demon witch. And now he was trapped, locked away somewhere no one would find him. Time was almost up. He had to get out of there and find his friends. He had to save the town and his family.
He looks around the small room, eying the window but it's not an option for salvation. He can't reach it and there is nothing in the room aside from the cot that he can use to stand on. Sylvia, no, the Hutan Lahir had thought of everything. Why she didn't kill him instead of locking him up, he didn't understand. After trying to find a way out for twenty minutes and not succeeding, Tyar sat back down on the cot in defeat. He was stuck here while his mom was out trying to do her part. How long had he been here? How long had he been unconscious? Did she know he was missing yet?
Oh man, this is not good. I failed . . . . I failed them all, Tyar thought to himself as he put his head in his hands. It was very well going to be the end of the world as they all knew it because the one person who can stop it from ever happening is locked up. Sylvia had taken his phone so he couldn't call for help or tell anyone what happened. He was startled from his thoughts by the sound of the lock clicking and stood up. Rather than feeling relief or hope that someone had found him, he was filled with dread when the door swung open to reveal the person standing behind it.
The hutan lahir was standing in the doorway a small smile on her face. "I wasn't expecting you to be awake so soon, Tyar.”
Tyar frowns at her. “Why did you bring me here?”
Sylvia enters the room slowly and the heavy feeling of dread thickens. “I figured the best way of getting revenge on Zihan was by taking her most prized possession: her son. And if I have you, she'll be too busy trying to find you to stop me.”
Tyar scoffs at her confidence that his mother would just let the townspeople die to find him. “You’re wrong. She wouldn't do that.”
Sylvia chuckles and suddenly she’s in front of him, barely a hairsbreadth away. She stares down at him and he looks up at her, wondering why she was so close this time. He knows better than to let her touch him again, that's how she placed the sleeping spell on him in the first place. Yet, he can't move away; he’s trapped between the cot and her and there's no way he can skirt around her to make a break for it. He would have to wait for a better opening.
“What if I told you that I was willing to make a deal with you, Tyar? One that I would have to uphold as long as you do your part.” Sylvia says, reaching up to caress his face again.
A deal? What's she playing at? "What are you talking about?"
Sylvia lowers her hand to rest on his chest and he feels his heart jump and as her hand lingers, he wonders what led him to this moment. "I want Zihan to know what it feels like to have her whole world taken away from her, like what she did to me. Stay with me, Tyar and I swear that Tanah Merah will be safe.”
Tyar didn't like where this was going. “Stay with you? I don't understand.”
Sylvia smiled at him almost fondly. “Of course, you don't. You're young so I'll show you.”
There’s no warning when she leans forward and captures his lips with hers. Tyar is confused and afraid and he is unable to think as she moves her hands to stroke the back of his head, much like she did earlier today. She runs her fingers through his dark curly hair and deepens the kiss as he stands frozen where he is. This is wrong. This would never work. She was an adult and he was still just a kid. A teenager. The thought of relationships and anything of the sort had never crossed his mind before. Even if it had, he would never want to be with someone much older than him. Especially someone who wanted to see the world burn.
Tyar gasps suddenly when her hands travel down and slip under his shirt. Startled and uncomfortable, Tyar leans back and away from her, breaking the kiss. Sylvia doesn't stop there and tries to push him down onto the cot as she angles her head and suddenly there are lips on his neck, teeth grazing his skin. A harsh breath escapes him as the action filled him with a sensation that could only ever be described as pleasure. His heart starts to beat faster and he unexpectedly finds it hard to speak. He wants to tell her to stop, not that she'd listen to him, but all thoughts have ceased. He doesn't know what to do but he does know that this goes against everything he ever stood for.
Everything the law stood for.
“Let me take care of you, Tyar,” Sylvia whispers against his ear, gently biting his earlobe. “You’re alone, I'm alone. Your friends have abandoned you and your mother kept secrets from you. Things you needed to know that would have prevented all of your pain, your suffering.”
Tyar felt his eyes burn and a tear rolls down his cheek as he listens to her. Sylvia was right. He was alone and this all could have been prevented had his mom trusted him enough to tell him everything from the beginning. The position he was in could have been prevented had she been honest. He wouldn't be trapped somewhere alone with the hutan lahir, being coerced to stay with her in order to save the town. It was egregious at best. Maybe it would be better to stay with her. She hasn't hurt him yet and maybe she would keep her word.
However, this was still wrong on so many levels and for so many reasons.
Sylvia bit down on the side of his neck particularly hard, eliciting a moan of pain and pleasure from him. His mind is swirling with pleasure and a euphoric feeling he's never experienced before. Tyar needs to stop this before it goes any further. With all of his strength, he pushes her off of himself and to the side before he shoots to his feet and makes a break for it. Right before he exits the room, the door slams closed on its own and he panics. He bangs on the door and pulls on the handle, yelling for someone to help him. Even though he knows there's no one here but the two of them.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Sylvia's voice filters through the roaring in his ears and he whirls around to face her. “That was very rude, Tyar. I'm almost hurt, but I expected this reaction.”
Tyar turns back to the door and bangs on it again, his fear of what she might do to him becoming more primal. He’s hoping that someone might pass by and hear him calling for help. Someone. Anyone. He senses when she comes up behind him and he moves away as far as he can to put some distance between them. “Stay away from me!”
Sylvia laughs and there is something in it that sparks an even deeper fear. “My dear Tyar, don't forget that I have your friend Ling. And that the fate of Tanah Merah rests in your hands.”
“Why me?” Tyar whispered, his eyes shining with tears as he stares at her.
“Because you're the whole package. I get my revenge on your mother and I get to dote on you and do whatever I like.” Sylvia says with a saccharine smile. “Oh, and you may have grown on me.”
Tyar exhales sharply upon hearing her response. To be more precise, the “do whatever I like” bit was a little scary because he knew what she was talking about. He didn't want this. And he was essentially not even being given a choice. It was either he take the deal or the whole town suffered for his refusal and he would still be stuck here with her. Ling’s spirit would be trapped in the world of spirits forever and his friends and his parents would suffer as well. No matter which option he chose, he was never going to be free of her. Only one option didn't result in the whole town being destroyed and people dying. As he looked at her, the smile on her face had dimmed a bit but she was watching him with a glint in her eyes. Like she knew he didn't really have much of a choice.
Tyar felt his mouth go dry as he spoke the words he knew she was waiting to hear. “I’ll stay. . . with you. On the condition, you release Ling’s spirit now and let her go home.”
Sylvia clapped her hands together and Tyar flinched at the sound. Her smile had returned, brighter than before and she bobs her head as the door opens again. Ling is standing at the door but her face is void of any emotion and her limbs are stiff. Sylvia says a few words moving her fingers toward Ling’s face and after a few moments, the young girl gasps and stumbles against the doorframe. When she regains her composure, she looks around and her eyed find Tyar, who is standing against the wall fresh tears in his eyes. He knows this will be the last time they see each other and it hurts.
“I will allow you five minutes to say goodbye.” Sylvia speaks, her eyes solely on the teenage boy. She leaves the room then and closes the door. Ling rushes over to him and hugs him briefly before she's asking him questions.
“Tyar? What are you doing here?! Sylvia--”
Tyar nods. “I know who she is.”
Ling frowns at him. “What did she mean by five minutes to say goodbye?”
Tyar feels his heart constrict because he knows telling her this will break her heart. “I made a deal with her. She’ll leave Tanah Merah alone and let you go home. . . on the condition that I stay with her.”
Ling’s eyes widen. “Stay with her? Tyar, are you nuts?!”
“What other choice did I have, Ling?” Tyar says quietly. It hurts too much to think that this is the last time they’d see each other. “Whichever option I chose, she never would have let me go. At least this way, Tanah Merah is safe and so are you.”
There are tears in Ling’s eyes as she realizes that this was a very difficult choice. “What about your parents? What about Zoe, Nat, and Ben?” Her voice drops to a whisper. “What about me?”
“I'm so sorry, Ling. This was the only way.” Tyar knows the five minutes are almost up and he pulls her into a deep embrace. “Tell my ibu that I love her and tell her that I'm sorry.”
The door opens and he pulls away from her quickly as Sylvia enters the room. Ling turns her head and begins shaking her head in denial. Sylvia grabs her and drags her out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind her leaving Tyar in darkness. He tries to block out Ling’s yells for him as he sinks to the cold ground, tears spilling down his cheeks. He pulls his knees up to his chest and rests his head on his knees as the world fell apart around him. He sobs as he realizes that Ling never would have abandoned him if given the choice.
And now, he was more alone than ever.
