envenoMATE

13. Darkness Came Again

 Thirteen.

Early, but not so bright, Becky drove Daniel back to Devil Den State Park to pick up his car.

Julius was left sleeping back at their place. He had not wanted to help, and Becky was all too eager just in case Adina was still somewhere in the woods.

Dorian was hiding beneath his thick covers and pitch black window curtains, hoping the darkness would settle the hammering inside his head, the result of too much alcohol the night before.

Becky wet her lips with a testing lick, attempting to hold her tongue and speech. She hated seeing her brother so tense. She knew nothing good would come of it.

If anything, Daniel would be drawn into further isolation within his heart and mind. Becky’s thoughts wandered through past and present, pain and pressure until she had to speak. 

“How,” she stopped and coughed, her unused voice breaking under her strain. Her nervousness combined with Daniel’s stress was not helping the situation. “How much do you like her, Daniel?”

Becky knew that the majority of Daniel’s anger was from his spat with Adina. He was still brooding over the outcome of the events. He knew his relationship was on the rocks, but did he know Becky’s friendship was also at stake?

The siblings rarely talked about feelings, thinking most deep emotions were best expressed with a pointed look, head nod, or perhaps a deep embrace. But not words. Never words.

Words and speech had died when their parents had. The young children had no words to express their anguish or grief at the time, so words of that kind were put away.

Why waste time trying to talk when weeping and holding each other would suffice?

So Becky had not told Dorian or Daniel of her fondness for Adina. Neither brother knew the extent of sisterly love that flowed from Becky’s heart toward Adina. She had preferred for her friend and brother to remain only as friends, but there had been no denying or quenching their desirous looks. 

As a friend, Becky could not sit passively by while her friend had such an obvious, strong crush. As a sister, she longed to see her oldest brother settle down and have a family. It could be a blessing if her friend and brother got together, but now, she also saw the curse.

Her friendship with Adina was suffering although the fight had not concerned her. If the romantic relationship fell apart, would Adina be able to remain friends with Becky or would she find it too painful and depart?

When Becky heard why the argument occurred, she understood exactly why Daniel reacted the way he had. Becky probably would have done the same thing. Still, seeing her friendship at stake, Becky grew angry at Daniel for what he had done. Fear caused her to blame him. Fear caused many a harmful thing. Stuck in a car ride looked like the perfect time to hash the problem out.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Becky,” Daniel said after he thought for a moment. “I love her. The end.”

“No, that can’t be the end. I love her, Daniel. She’s a little sister to me. If you two break up, I can’t have it hurt my friendship with her.”

Daniel’s stony face curled into a frown as he moved his blue-grey eyes from the window to Becky. “What do you mean if we break up? Have you talked to her?” he asked, his tone raising in fear that Adina had contacted Becky, using her as a messenger to end their relationship.

“No, I haven’t heard from her. Trust me, I would have told you she was all right.” Becky sighed. “I’m just worried. There’s a lot at stake here.”

Daniel nodded with a sad smile. Stretching out a brotherly arm, he gripped Becky’s shoulder and squeezed. 

“Don’t worry. Love always wins in the end. You’ll see. We’ll survive in one piece and make it through.” So he told himself anyway. His heart did not believe. Even his mind had doubts. 

Becky scoffed internally. ‘Our parents loved. That didn’t bring them through,’ she thought bitterly. 

She did not say it aloud. She would never say it aloud. One only had to look into Daniel’s navy eyes to know he bore their parents’ death harder than Becky or Dorian. Daniel never let the pain go, never allowed the wound to heal. He never forgave himself for not being able to save them.

He had committed himself to a life of vengeance, making sure he would hunt all of the kind that killed his parents. He would save the innocent people and keep them from harm and death not knowing that he was at the same time condemning himself to a life of anger and hurt. 

For several years, Daniel never smiled, never laughed. All joy and affection had been buried beneath six feet of hatred within his heart. Slowly, little pieces of happiness would grow like grass between cracks in a concrete sidewalk, but Daniel would be quick to pull them out like weeds. 

Only since Julius had arrived four years ago had Daniel begin softening. Now with Adina in their lives, Becky was astounded to watch her brother’s hardened heart literally begin to melt. She hoped they worked everything out, for her sake and his.

The siblings finally pulled into the park’s land, but Daniel pointed Becky down a path different from the one leading to where his car sat parked. 

“I want to see if Adina’s car is still here before we get mine,” he explained.

Ten minutes later, the two pulled into the semi-packed lot. The sun was fully visible now, rising as quickly as it had set the night before.

Still, there was a chill in the air that increased within Daniel’s bones as he saw Adina’s mini blue car still parked in the same location. He cursed as he stepped out and walked over to the vehicle.

No damaged was done.

Good.

But not a single thing had moved.

Not good. 

“Daniel, if she did go out and party, it’s likely she got a ride home with someone else. She may not be up yet. I’m sure she’s fine,” Becky consoled. “She might have found the party and fled with some friends with the rangers broke it up.”

Her mind fully agreed. Logically, there was no reason to worry, but her intuition did not agree. There was a swelling in her gut saying something was horribly, horribly wrong. Is this what Daniel had been feeling last night? Was he still feeling it?

Becky’s green eyes flicked to her brother quickly. With just a glance she could see his stiff jaw ticking. Yup. He was anxious too. Becky looked away with a tumbling mind. Every time she tried to rationalize her intuition away, another thought would quickly come, warning her she had every reason to be afraid.  

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Adina woke again, her body convulsing. She was still trapped, but this time it was a person holding her down. Or were there two persons? Fire was in her blood. Fire was in her bones. She was being burned alive. She was being consumed.

She wanted to scream, but her mouth was gagged. Her tongue was swollen, and she could only choke on the dry muscle. Her eyes were squeezed shut from the pain, and she had no energy to move. All movements were the body’s adjustments, trying to escape its torture. 

“Hold on, beautiful. Hold on,” a smooth voice called.

A hand wrapped around her neck, holding her securely as another hand firmly pressed her chest onto whatever she lay. More pressures were on her legs and arms, keeping the limbs relatively still. More words were whispered, but Adina could not make out their meaning through her inner wails. The pain was too much.

Darkness came again.