By the time we reached the city, it was getting brighter, so we no longer needed our flashlights. Most of the journey was quiet, with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Sarah asked about Dorian once, but I told her we'd talk about it later and asked her to leave me alone for a bit. I didn't want to be the one to reveal who Dorian really was; that would be Daniel's job.
The city was silent. We expected there wouldn't be any people in the city, but we believed the Dark Ones had completely taken over the cities. The sign also suggested that we should stay away from cities because they weren't safe.
But seemingly, it was completely empty so far.
As we followed Alex and Sarah, a realization washed over me. Twice.
I saw this city in my dream with that man.
That's how I know I used to live in this city. The house where I saw him was my home. It's where I had to escape from three years ago.
"I heard that people from the Camp are sent out to search the cities every month. Lately, they even leave traces so that we can find them if we need help. We have no idea where the Camp is from here, so I suggest we stay in the city and look for clues," Sarah suggested.
"And where do we stay? Where can we set up camp?" Luna asked.
"Truthfully, we could stay in any of the houses. They're all empty," Alex replied.
"You can't know that. There might still be someone living in one of them; they're just not here right now," Lisa interjected.
"Let's go to my house," I said firmly, before Alex or anyone else could respond to Lisa's comment. "I lived in this city... If they know me in the Camp, they might also know where my family's house is. We might find a message or a clue there. Or even people. In my dream, a man was at my house one day."
"Good idea," Daniel said as he approached me, but his gaze avoided mine.
"We also live nearby. I was going to suggest that we could stay at our place, but you're right. We have a better chance of finding something at your house. But if you don't mind, I'd like to make a quick visit to my home," Sarah looked around, waiting to see if anyone would object to her request.
"I think it's better to check both houses. One of them might be in better condition, and it's also possible that there are still people from the Camp in the city. If we're lucky, we might run into them," Daniel suggested. "Let's split up. One group goes to Ana's house, the other to Sarah and Alex's home."
Everyone nodded.
"Where should we meet afterward? Which group should head to the other?" Sarah asked.
"First, let's form the teams. I'll stay with Ana." - said Daniel.
"Could I go alone? I just... I'd like to—"
"You absolutely cannot go alone," Alex interrupted, surprising me with the seriousness in his voice. And the fact that he was the one to oppose the idea the fastest.
Here he goes again. Playing games with me once more. Now he wants to make me believe he cares, but later, he won't want to hear a word about me. No, he's not worried. He's only concerned about Sarah. He probably wants me to stay with them for safety.
"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Alex sighed. "Neither of you knows where our house is, just as we don't know where your house is. I'll go with you, check your home, and leave a message for the Camp's residents in case they're still here and looking for you. That way, they'll be able to find us. Afterward, we'll join the others waiting for us with Sarah at our place."
"Why can't I go with you?" Daniel asked irritably.
"I'd appreciate it if, for once, you didn't just think about yourself and Ana," Alex replied. "I want you to stay with my sister. Ana can defend herself against anything. It's enough if I go with her to accompany her to our house after she's finished checking. And I'll feel much more at ease leaving them alone if you go and watch over them," Alex paused, then reluctantly added, "Please."
Daniel's defiant look shifted to understanding. He didn't expect Alex to say what he did.
"Take care of each other," Alex looked deeply into Daniel's eyes.
"You too," Daniel replied, holding his head high. He seemed to want to do or say something to me for a moment, but he changed his mind. He met my gaze for a brief moment, then turned around and joined Sarah, who was currently hugging Alex. Something was whispered into her brother's ear by the girl, causing him to shake his head, but a faint smile appeared on his face. However, when he turned to face me, the smile had already vanished.
Sarah headed straight ahead, while Daniel and the two girls followed her. The boy didn't look back, despite my belief that he would give me an encouraging smile before disappearing from view.
Sarah, on the other hand, turned around, her gaze meeting mine, and she started waving with a smile. I waved back with a smile on my face.
"Let's go," the boy said, waiting for me to show him the way.
We walked in silence side by side. Sadness filled me as I took in the sight of the city. The familiar streets where the laughter of children had always accompanied me on the way home were now just a foggy memory among everything else. Wrecked cars lined the road, some with motionless figures inside. These figures reminded me of that day again.
Dad. Mom. Both dead.
I felt something cold running down my face, and at first, I thought they were my own tears. But when I looked up at my forehead, I felt them there too. Raindrops.
"Ana?" Alex looked back at me from a bit further ahead. I hadn't even noticed that I had fallen behind. All he could see was me standing still, staring up at the sky.
"I'm coming," I jogged to catch up with him, and we continued walking. "We're not far now."
At first, it was just a drizzle, but after a while, the rain started pouring. My entire outfit was soaked, clinging uncomfortably to my body, and it was incredibly cold.
"Follow me!" Alex suddenly said beside me, diverting from the road and running towards one of the houses. He tried to open the gate, but it was locked. He began climbing it, and then easily landed on the other side. He turned towards me, gesturing for me to follow. I climbed onto the gate, swung my legs over to the other side, and then pushed off. When I landed on the ground, Alex was already there. He reached his hands towards me uncertainly, but as soon as I stood up straight, he lowered his arms to his sides and nodded toward the veranda. We both sprinted for cover under the roof.
We were thoroughly soaked. The boy's wet hair clung to the nape of his neck as he rummaged through his equally wet backpack for something. Meanwhile, I examined the windows of the house. All the glass was shattered, but someone had boarded them up. I peered through the holes into the rooms, but all I could see were ruins, nothing else.
I didn't notice any sounds or movements from inside, so I turned back to the boy, who was now wiping his face with a towel. After he was done, he handed it to me.
I gratefully accepted the towel from him, dried my face, and then wrung out my hair.
"Are you cold?" Alex asked.
I was obviously shivering, so I nodded in response.
"Let's go inside and change into dry clothes. We'll stay here until the rain eases up a bit," he said, walking to the door and reaching for the handle. However, the door didn't open. It was locked, just like the gate.
"Maybe—" I started to say.
Alex kicked the door, and it swung open before him.
"What were you going to say?" he asked, grinning.
"Never mind. It's not important," I replied, stepping into the house, with the boy following.
In the middle of the room, there was a chair. Everything else was shattered, except for that one chair and the fireplace. Debris littered the floor, and I noticed muddy footprints beside the torn-up carpet, leading towards another door. A piece of paper was attached to the chair.
"If you're reading this, I'm dead. I'm sorry, Lily. If somehow you survived, if you managed to escape and returned here, you won't find me alive. I've been bitten. Slowly, I will become one of those monsters. I'll try to prevent it. I don't want to be a monster, I don't want to hurt and kill others. What you did to divert their attention was incredibly brave. I'm sorry it was all in vain. Your sacrifice was futile. You're an amazing person, and I'm grateful I met you that day. Thank you for everything I received from you over these three years.
Laura."
"What's written on the paper?" Alex asked. I turned back to him, but I immediately averted my gaze. The boy was now completely naked from the top down, having already discarded his shoes, and he was starting to unbutton his pants.
"You could have warned me, like, 'Hey, Ana, I'm going to undress, don't look this way!'" I exclaimed.
"Hey, Ana, I'm going to undress, look this way!" he replied with a smirk. "Just turn around, I promise you'll like the view."
"Dream on!" I retorted, while pulling off my sweater, leaving me with just a strappy top. "The woman who lived here left a message for someone. She's dead."
I wanted to glance back again, especially to see if the boy was looking at me. But if I turned around...
"You should also get rid of those wet clothes you're wearing," I heard his steps getting closer. Then suddenly, his face appeared in front of me, holding a towel that he extended towards me.
Luckily, he wasn't completely naked; he had wrapped a towel around his waist. Though I could tell that he wouldn't mind standing in front of me fully naked.
I accepted the towel from him. "Could you at least turn around while I undress and put on the towel? Keep yourself occupied with something."
"If I have to..."
I quickly got rid of the wet clothing and wrapped the towel around myself. I turned around, and I saw that Alex had successfully made a fire.
"We're in the best situation now," he said while tossing a log onto the fire.
"That would be the best situation if you weren't here, and I didn't have to look at that insolent..."
"Do you think I'm enjoying this, Ana?" he interrupted me. He sat down by the fire.
His skin glistened in the firelight.
I took a seat next to him. The warmth slowly spread through my body, bringing life back to my frozen limbs.
We sat in an awkward silence, tension hanging in the air between us.
"Don't think that I enjoy our situation just because I make jokes. I'd rather be anywhere else than here, with you," he said coldly.
"I didn't ask you to come with me," I retorted angrily.
"But you didn't object either. Sarah could have come with you. If you didn't want me to come as much as you're trying to show, you wouldn't have agreed so easily to have me with you. You would have asked for Sarah, but you didn't," he replied with a smug smile on his face.
"What about you? You say you'd rather be anywhere else, yet you wanted to come with me. You didn't send her with me, despite the fact that she would be the safest with me. Why is that, Alex?" I looked at him, and seeing his angry expression, an equally smug smile appeared on my face.
"You don't see the situation clearly, Ana. Currently, she is not safe with you. Dorian found you once, and he can track you down. If he finds you now, and my sister is with you, you wouldn't be able to protect her in any way," he said, leaning closer to my face, and I froze, sitting there like a statue. "You wouldn't be able to do anything against him. That's why I came with you, nothing else. Don't read into it. However, you..." He slowly lifted his hand, brought it closer to my face, and gently traced it along my cheek, almost making me think I had imagined the whole thing. "You wanted me here and not Daniel."
I turned my head away from the boy's hand, quickly got up, and, feeling angry and embarrassed, headed toward the door, following the muddy footprints. Along the way, I picked up my backpack from the ground.
"You're wrong," I declared, then entered the next room and closed the door behind me.
The other room was just as empty as the previous one. I put my backpack on the floor and started rummaging through it to find dry clothes. I was about to head back to Alex in the previous room when I noticed a door that was slightly ajar. I heard a faint sound coming from it. It was so quiet that I might have imagined it.
I approached the door cautiously and pushed it open slightly. A flight of stairs led downward into darkness.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Not just a little. By the time I reached the bottom, I could see as if there was no pitch-black darkness in the room.
The room, which seemed to be a basement, was empty.
Or not entirely.
A person—or more precisely, a woman—lay on the ground, softly groaning, with one hand shackled, its other end disappearing into the wall.
How long had she been here?
I approached cautiously, kneeling down.
"Ma'am?"
I waited for a response, but the woman just lay there, her eyes closed, with black marks on her body.
This woman must be Laura, the one who wrote the letter.
There was a bite mark on Laura's leg, surrounded by black blood.
"Laura?" I tried her name again, hoping for a reaction, but there was still nothing.
Perhaps I could still heal her. She couldn't be dead; I had just heard her groaning moments ago.
The woman suddenly sprang to her feet. It was so unexpected that I lost my balance and fell backward. However, I acted as quickly as I could, immediately getting back on my feet, but the woman was fast too. She managed to catch my wrist, and her sharp claws cut into my hand.
"Let go!" I yelled, staring into her eyes. Empty, black eyes stared back at me.
Laura was in the midst of transformation. She was no longer fully human, yet not entirely a Dark One either.
She didn't release her grip; her claws dug deeper into my flesh. She yanked her other arm violently, trying to break free. She succeeded in tearing the chain from the wall. The force with which she attacked sent me stumbling backward, my back hitting the wall. She pinned my other arm as well. I tried to concentrate on the Light, but the urgency of the situation, the tension, made it impossible.
I attempted to kick her, but it seemed unnecessary. A knife was thrust into her head, and her black blood splattered onto my face. In disgust, I pushed her body away from me. The woman's grip had left marks on my wrist, but the scratches disappeared instantly.
Alex stood in front of me where the woman had been just moments ago. He had also changed into clean clothes, a few stray hairs hung in his face. Gently, he took my hand and raised it to get a better look.
"Are you okay?" he asked, devoid of any emotion.
"I'm fine," I replied, withdrawing my hand from his warm grasp.
"Ana... Why didn't you tell me before coming down here alone? I thought you were still getting dressed."
"Why should I have told you? Supposedly, I can protect myself from anything, isn't that what you told Daniel?"
"Ana..."
"I asked you to stop. Don't play games with me. So, do you care about me, or not? Are you worried about me, or not? Do you hate me, or not?"
Alex didn't answer any of my questions. His gaze turned to the woman lying on the ground instead.
"You're welcome," he said and then bent down to remove the knife from Laura's head. He headed back up the stairs, and the sound of his footsteps quickly receded. I remained in the empty, silent basement with my thoughts and Laura's spirit.
Sarah
"I have a bad feeling," Lisa announced. Until now, no one had spoken a word as we walked in the drizzling rain.
"Why?" Daniel asked.
He received an immediate answer. The glass in one of the house's windows shattered, and Dark Ones leaped out of it. Everyone pulled out their weapons simultaneously.
I didn't have time to count them; they appeared rapidly, one after another. I threw my chakram, but the Dark One evaded it with a quick movement. Daniel took advantage of the Dark One's attention being on me. He stabbed the creature from behind with his sword. I pulled a knife from my belt and aimed it at the approaching legs, throwing it. The knife plunged into the Dark One's leg, causing it to stumble. I hurled the chakram again, slicing through the Dark One's neck, separating its head from its body. There were so many of them, and I had no idea how they had all emerged from a single house. Lisa and Luna, protecting each other, took turns striking the Dark Ones, Luna with a sword in her hand and Lisa with a dagger.
I searched for Daniel with my gaze, who had just impaled his sword into a Dark One's head. Then another one leaped behind him. I didn't notice in time, and neither did Daniel. Despite my cries and my quick throw of the chakram, it was too late.
The Dark One lunged at Daniel, who hadn't expected the attack from behind and couldn't defend himself against hitting the ground. The monster pinned him to the ground with one arm and struck Daniel's back with the other in lightning speed. Daniel let out a massive scream of pain. I tossed the other chakram, and this time, it hit the Dark One restraining Daniel to the ground.
I couldn't keep my focus on Daniel any longer. More Dark Ones appeared in front of me, obscuring my view of Daniel. Their claws reached out towards me, so I ducked and plunged the daggers in my hands into their legs. They both dropped to their knees, giving me an opportunity to target their chests.
As soon as I finished with them, another Dark One appeared in front of me, but before I could react, it collapsed. An arrow protruded from its chest.
Daniel stood behind it... or at least he tried to stand. He held his crossbow in one hand and used the other to prop himself up against the wall while leaning over. He looked terrible. Blood and raindrops dripped from his face, and the blood soaking his pants and sweater came from his back.
I quickly looked around for more Dark Ones, but fortunately, I didn't see any. The two girls were surrounded by many lifeless bodies, and they looked at Daniel in horror.
"Are you okay?" I began to ask, but Daniel collapsed to his knees, unable to support himself. He leaned forward, face down on the ground.
I immediately started running towards him. His sweater on his back was torn to shreds, and there were three deep gashes oozing red blood. My gaze shifted to his shoulder, which was also bleeding, but there were not the marks of claws there, but rather bite marks.
"Oh God, this doesn't look good," I whispered as I lifted Daniel's face. His eyes were swollen, his face covered in dirt, blood, and water. At least he was conscious and breathing steadily.
"Don't... worry," he murmured weakly, barely understandable.
"Luna, help me get him up! We're not far from our house."
"Don't worry, Daniel. You'll be fine. We'll get you to safety," I assured him. With Luna's assistance, we managed to help him stand, and the support of all three of us aided him in walking.
Ana, please hurry!
Ana
I never thought that the sight of my house would terrify me this much. As I stood in front of the gate, all my courage disappeared. It was painful just to look at it.
The house hadn't changed much. Long claw marks marred the wooden gate, and the green house's windows were also boarded up. The door was closed.
I took a deep breath, and as I exhaled, I took a hesitant step toward the gate, then another, and when I was close enough, I tremblingly opened it. I tried to control my thoughts, to hold them back, but the events of three years ago suddenly flooded back all at once. Tears welled up in my eyes.
I glanced back at Alex over my shoulder. He was watching me, but he wasn't rushing me, which I was grateful for. I wanted to say something, but my throat constricted.
What could he be thinking about this situation? Here I am, standing in front of my own house, the place I wanted to come to, but I can't bring myself to go inside.
"You're not alone, Ana. I know what it feels like," he said softly, sympathetically.
My body was tensed up. He's being kind to me again. I hate it so much.
"You can do this. Don't let your own house intimidate you in this world."
He was right.
I opened the gate and quickly stepped into the yard before I could change my mind. Alex wanted to follow, but I closed the gate in front of his face.
"You stay here," I said.
"Why?" Alex asked, looking confused, his eyebrows furrowing.
"For several reasons, and I don't owe you any explanation," I replied sternly.
"I don't have to listen to you either," he said, his expression icy.
I sighed in frustration. "Just stay outside in case someone or something comes this way. If we both get trapped inside the house and something goes wrong, it will be difficult for us to get out without injuries. And I want... to say goodbye. I couldn't on that day."
Alex nodded slowly, then turned his back to me and surveyed the surrounding street. I walked to the door and opened it.
To my surprise, all the rooms were in order. Everything was roughly as I remembered it from that last day in my memories, perhaps with a few things slightly moved. On the table in the living room, there were papers, including several maps and pens. I picked up one of the papers.
There were dates and possibly house numbers on it. I also saw names, each name highlighted with a different color, and these colors corresponded to places marked on the map. It wasn't a conventional map; someone had drawn it by hand. It depicted the silhouette of the city, with mainly houses and other buildings marked. Some of them had checkmarks next to them, while others had exclamation marks.
Lucas, Richard, Blake, Thomas, Morgan...
I read the names one by one, but none of them sounded familiar.
These papers are here for a reason. They must be from the Camp. Perhaps they are still looking for me in this city. Or it's possible that they are still in the house.
"Is there anyone here?" I asked, hoping for an answer. "I'm Ana."
It might have been a reckless move because if there were Dark Ones in the house, they would now know of my presence. However, I didn't need to worry. There was no response, no human voices, and no ear-piercing screams.
I continued toward the stairs, where a picture on the wall in front of the stairs caught my attention. It was taken shortly before my thirteenth birthday. In the picture, it's me, my parents, and Chris. My parents took us to the local spa, and we asked someone to take a picture of us by the fountain at the entrance. However, we only thought of it on our way out, so our hair was all wet.
But that didn't matter. Everyone loved the photo, and my parents surprised us one day with it. Chris looked so bright, he was so happy.
Suddenly, a feeling as if my heart were being torn apart washed over me. I quickly ran up the stairs, unable to bear looking at the picture any longer. I rushed all the way to my father's study, and at least the sight that greeted me there managed to dispel my previous thoughts and the feeling that had engulfed me.
The door to the room was wide open. Although it was the darkest room in the house, my eyes still adjusted to the relative darkness, allowing me to see much more clearly than before.
The room was also completely clean, with no sign of my mother's body waiting for me or anything even more dreadful. There were only two backpacks on the table, alongside a note on a piece of paper.
"Please stay home," the note read.
Then I heard the hurried steps approaching from the hallway.
I quickly turned towards the door, where I saw a man holding a pistol, and behind him, a younger boy appeared, a few years younger. Then, I noticed Alex being dragged along. The boy's mouth was taped shut, and his hands were tied behind his back. But what was even worse, the other boy held a knife to Alex's throat.
I raised my hands towards my head and took a step back.
"I've had enough of you. You could have had safety, food, and a comfortable bed at the Camp, but instead, you ruin people's lives by stealing from others," the man said angrily.
"What?" I asked, not understanding the situation we were in.
"Your weapons. Get rid of all your weapons slowly," he ordered threateningly.
"I don't want to hurt anyone, just like he doesn't!" I said to them, obediently following the order. I placed my backpack and my bow on the ground and dropped my weapons from my belt.
"The person you're with just attacked us earlier, but you're saying you don't want to hurt anyone?" said the boy who had the knife at Alex's throat. His voice sounded familiar. And his blonde hair...
"What did he do?" I asked angrily, looking at Alex. The boy mumbled something, but the tape over his mouth made it impossible to understand him.
"I asked you to keep watch while I was in my house, but you probably attacked someone again for no reason. What the hell is wrong with you?" I questioned him.
"In your house? " the two strangers asked in unison, looking shocked, and I felt a shift in the atmosphere.
"We're not thieves. The boy is just... different. Would you please remove the tape from his mouth so he can apologize or explain? I'd like to hear it too," I requested.
The man closer to me nodded to his companion, who then removed the tape from Alex's mouth.
"You could let go now," Alex immediately said, his voice filled with anger. However, they paid no attention to Alex's request. The brown-haired man took a step closer to me.
"You live here?" he asked hopefully.
I nodded. "I've lived here," I replied. As I said this, the blonde boy suddenly released Alex and quickly closed the distance between us.
I recognized him now. His nearly white hair had grown significantly over the years, but his gaze, as he looked into my eyes with his hazel ones, was still filled with the same kindness and love.
"Oh my God... Ana!" he exclaimed with relief.
Alex began, "Do you know-," but he immediately fell silent as I threw myself into the arms of the blonde boy standing in front of me. He held me so tightly... One of his hands rested on my back, while the other cupped my head.
I tasted the salty tears in my mouth, and warmth spread deep in my heart as I rested in the embrace of my long-lost friend.
"Chris! Oh, Chris, I'm so happy to see you!" Relief washed over me at the sight of the boy, and I forgot everything else, too overwhelmed with joy. But at the same time, I feared it might be a dream, and that he wasn't really here. " I knew you were alive, I knew you survived somehow..."
"I promised you, Ana. You know I keep my promises. I missed you so much!" he replied as he wiped away the tears from my face with his thumb. His gaze suddenly shifted behind me. It was only then that I realized we had turned away from the door when I jumped into his arms.
"Ana, look who I found," Chris smiled at the man standing behind us.
I turned back to the other two present. Alex's expression remained unreadable; he silently observed everything around him, as if he weren't really there. The other man's eyes glistened, and a tear rolled down his cheek.
"I'm home too, Ana."
I was completely shocked by this statement. At first, I didn't understand, couldn't grasp its meaning, but as he pulled me into his embrace, my tears flowed freely once more.
In the next moment, I clung to this man as if both our lives depended on it. I had seen him in my dreams, seen him in the picture when he was younger, but he wasn't alone in that picture; I was there with him.
This man was my brother. My sibling. My family.
"Leon..." I whispered his name.
"It's me. I'm here, really here," he said, stroking my hair. "There's so much I need to talk to you about, Ana..."
Tears streamed down my face incessantly, but they weren't bitter; they carried happiness and relief. The void I had felt in my heart all along was gone.
"Sorry to interrupt this touching moment," Alex said after clearing his throat, "but I'm still tied up, and I feel quite uncomfortable in this situation."
"I'll take care of that," Chris announced, then cut the rope binding Alex's wrists while saying something to him that I couldn't understand. Alex just nodded.
"We need to go. The others are probably worried sick by now. We've been gone longer than we should have been," Alex said.
"Others?" Leon asked.
"Our friends are waiting at the boy's house," I replied.
"Then let's go. We don't need to stay here any longer," Leon agreed.
Quickly, we packed our things, and Leon and Chris organized their belongings. Meanwhile, I said my goodbyes to Mom and Dad in the room where I had last seen them. Afterward, we left the house.
Outside the gate, two beautiful black horses awaited us. Chris and my brother looked at me with delight as I petted both horses. Surprisingly, Alex stayed close to Chris, which I found a bit interesting since I thought he would keep his distance from them, especially after what had happened.
Alex climbed behind Chris, and I mounted behind Leon. We trailed behind a bit. Alex and Chris led the way to Alex's home.
"By the way... what's his name?" Leon asked.
"Who's name?" I replied, surprised.
He nodded toward Alex.
"His name is Alex. Alexander Norman."
"Ah, I see. Familiar name."
"How did he attack you?" I asked curiously.
"We saw the door was open, so as a precaution, we took out our weapons. Chris mentioned it might be you, but I think Alex misunderstood the whole situation because he immediately charged at us with his sword. He didn't want to kill us; he aimed for our legs. We've been in similar situations before, so we managed to stop him pretty quickly, but not before he kicked the neighbor's iron fence. I immediately thought he was trying to alert someone inside the house. The concern I saw on his face, how he was trying to protect you... he was so frantic to break free from Chris's grip, he nearly cut off his own finger. Is there something between you two?" he asked cautiously.
Leon's question hit me like a slap in the face.
Leon chuckled a bit at my silence. "I figured."
"No, nothing like that. I'm trying to figure out if there's anything between us at all. He doesn't care about anyone except his sister. He made that pretty clear to me. The only reason he's concerned about me is that he thinks I'm responsible for his sister's safety, or at least that's what he claims."
"So, you know?"
"That I'm the Light?"
"Not so loudly!" he warned, a bit louder than I expected.
"It doesn't matter now. Dorian knows who I am."
Leon suddenly stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"Dorian knows who I am. He knows that I'm Ana Lewis, and he knows that Ana Lewis is the Light. But Ana also knows Dorian. It's quite funny, and you'll see why soon."
"Well, that's... both good and bad, but I wouldn't call it funny. We need to get to the Camp as soon as possible."
"I agree. Leon, what happened to you? Where have you been all this time?"
"We went on a school trip into the forest. I got curious and somehow ended up getting lost deep in the woods. As evening approached, I started to panic. But luckily, I met a kind woman who had three children with her. I stayed with them for a while, and then we tried to find our way out of the forest... but it was as if the forest didn't want us to leave. No matter which way we went, we could never find our way out through the trees, and I still don't know why. The police never found us, and Mom and Dad didn't come for me either. That forest is a mystery to all of us. I have a feeling you might have come from there too."
"Yeah, but... " As I thought about it more, it did take us quite a while to find our way out, even though I found the house within hours on the day of the Darkness beginning. "You might be right. I think I might have been there too."
"I'm so sorry, Ana! I thought about you every day, always wondering what you were like, what you might enjoy, what you were doing at the moment. What kind of friends you had, how people treated you, what Mom and Dad were like... My first instinct was to go to the house, but you weren't there. I didn't know if you remembered me, or if Mom and Dad ever talked about me, or perhaps they kept me a secret to spare you the pain of my absence."
Leon's words touched me deeply. As he shared his story and how he thought of me during those difficult times, I felt like I had rediscovered a lost connection.
"I would have been angry if they kept it a secret. I'd rather know about you, even if it hurts, than not know you at all. Mom and Dad often talked about you, but we thought we'd never see you again. I always believed you were alive and that we'd meet again someday. I'm so glad you're here with me now," I said gratefully as I grabbed his shoulder.
We continued in silence for a few minutes. Alex and Chris seemed to be engaged in a cheerful conversation.
Strange.
"What's the name of the woman you were with?" I asked Leon.
"Elise. She's very kind, as are her children. I'll tell you more about them, and I can introduce you to each other. They're looking forward to meeting you. Dad is also–"
"Dad?" I interrupted.
"Yes, Dad is waiting for you," he replied calmly, as if it were natural.
But it couldn't be. Dad couldn't be waiting for me. It's impossible.
"Dad turned into a Dark One. I saw it with my own eyes, how he transformed, and–"
"Dad is fine. He's not a Dark."
"It can't be–"
"As I said, we have a lot to talk about, but it would be better if everyone heard it at once. In short, so you understand: your blood can save people. It can bring them back. The Light purifies the toxic power of Darkness within them. Expels it. There was a bit of your blood in Dad's office, I read his notes. I knew what I had to do with it."
Chris and Alex stopped in front of us, then dismounted from their horses. I also dismounted and stood beside the two boys. Dark figures lay on the road, and black blood mixed with red blood near one of the bodies. In the crimson puddle, there was a crossbow.
Daniel's bow. He uses this.
The blood was visible further down the road, leaving red spots behind.
"No..."
"Ana!" Alex took the bloody bow in his hand, then stopped in front of me and put one hand on my shoulder. "Ana! Listen to me!"
I couldn't focus on him. My eyes were fixed on the red blood, and my mind was already thinking of the worst.
I got Chris back, so now they'll take Daniel from me?
Alex tightly held my hand, and finally, I managed to turn my attention to him.
"You can heal, Ana. Don't forget the miracle you worked with me. Don't panic, don't let fear take over!"
Incredible, but his words had an effect on me; his voice, coupled with his touch, reassured me.
I looked deep into his eyes, and I squeezed his hand too.
"Take me to him!"