Preface
The night sky hid those who dwell in the dark, those who feed on sadness, fear, despair. The shadows surrounded Joseph as he disposed of pellets after pellets that glowed each time the shadows were hit, disappearing only for a moment before returning once again. Joseph pushed back Annabelle, Ylana and Elisana to the room behind them. He had hit one of the shadows that were near them, turning to Annabelle before they returned.
“Stay here for a bit. I’ll stand guard.” “Jo--” He closed the door just in time to block the shadows that had gotten to them. The sound of a gun going off filling the silent room. Fear and anxiety filled their hearts and Annabelle had made her choice.
Annabelle let her tears fall as she held her only daughter in her arms. Turning to look up to her little sister that was pacing the room. Noticing her sister’s eyes on her, Elisana stopped to glance at her. Annabelle got up and walked towards her, handing out Ylana towards her. Tears welled up in her eyes,
“Take her, please, watch her for me.”
Elisana’s eyes grew wide, tears falling from her eyes as her head shook with urgency, “Anna, No. She needs you, we can get through this. We need to find a way for us to get out of here. If we both leave now you can still be there for her. Please, let’s just find another way to get out of this.”
Anna shook her head with a sad smile, she looked back down to a sleeping Ylana “No, she will be here soon. I can’t lose anyone else. Especially not you two.” She handed her to Elisana making sure the last bit of magic that she had enveloped them.
Tears kept rolling down her cheek as she looked down at her daughter in her sister’s arms, for the last time.
“I love you, my sweet Ylana. You will be safe and sound with your aunt and uncle. Don’t forget we will always love you, and we will find you soon.”
With a loud crash from outside of the room, Annabelle pushed her sister towards the lightest part of the room as she began to chant under her breath, leaving her only daughter in Elisana’s arms, she took a few steps back placing distance between them. Elisana looked over at her sister with tears in her eyes.
“I will protect her, I promise. We will wait for you. You two better come back.”
Anabelle nodded her eyes, glowing a hue of gold. As she continued to chant under her breath, she set her intention. “Joseph and I were killed here, you and your twin daughter Ylana were able to escape with minimum injuries. Everyone will be happy to have your daughters safe and sound.”
The door to the room burst open and the shadows filled the dark spaces surrounding them. A bright golden light shone from Annabelle blinding them. Their surroundings changed as the light faded away. Elisana glances around as her family comes into view. She holds Ylana closer to her chest as she makes her way to them. Tears running down her face, as she collapsed on the floor.
Voices surrounded her as she held Ylana in her hands. A pain in her heart almost consumed her last bit of energy that she had left. Glancing around to see her husband, parents and her younger sister crowding her and the baby.
“Els, are you okay? What happened? One second we’re waiting for you outside in the car and the next the house goes up in flames. How did you get out? ” Her mother gave her a worried look, scanning her daughter’s face. “Where’s Anna and Joe? Did they make it out too?” Her mothers voice trembled in fear of what the silence was for.
“No, this can’t be. They can’t be gone!” She collapsed beside Elisana hugging herself in pain. Her husband ran towards her trying to pick her up again. Everyone crowded around them trying to pull them farther away from the burning house. Voices surrounded their small world as the effects of the damage set in. Cries filled their group as they made their way to safety. Elisana’s voice broke the sound as she tried to explain what had happened.
“As soon as the fire started Anna and I ran to grab Ylana and lost sight of Joe from the inside trying to come out. I kept running to find our way out of the house. We barely made it out. Burning wood from the ceiling fell and almost trapped us inside but Anna pushed me out of the house. It fell on top of her. We’re safe now because of her. My other half. If only I could have--” She held Ylana closer to her chest as if in fear that it was all a dream.
Xavier handed Elissa to his mother in law and grabbed Ylana.
“My sweet child,” Glancing at Elisana, he kisses her temple “I’m so glad you both are okay. Let’s get you two checked out and we can plan what to do next.” Placing a hand on the small of Elisana’s back, he helped her up and guided them to the ambulance parked outside near their driveway. The crowd of neighbors separated as they walked further away from the brightly burning house.
In the darkest parts of the scene, a pair of eyes watched them and their exchanges from a distance. He stood focused as another figure appeared behind him.
“Guess we came too late, what should we do?” The tall dark shadow standing behind him stood still, its head facing down to the street. Silence filled their exchange, “Nothing. We’ll leave them be for now. We at least got rid of those two.” turning his back to the exchange as he started to walk away.
“Keep an eye on them, we know where they are. We need to find her first and then we can deal with what’s next.”
