The Haunting: Destiny (FF)

Chapter 60

Third Person POV:

Armen wonders up the path, his previous enthusiasm to return quickly diminished as the trees became spruces and the sun starts to set. The smell of grass makes his nose twitch but he carries on.

"If only this stupid aura sensing actually worked..." he mutters.

He's been trying to use idle magic for a while hoping that it'd show him the way back, but every time he concentrates hard enough his body gives him a punch to remind him he's got no mana.

"We've been heading North-East so if I-" he looks up at the sky only for the towering trees to cover most of the blue poking through.

With a tired sigh he trudges on, one foot after the other. To him, time passes like a snail but in reality it's been an hour since he'd set off from Grayson, most of that time has been spent stumbling around on the way back.

"Stupid forest..." he mumbles, kicking a bush he carries on.

There's a lot of noise that encompass the forest; trees that rustle in the wind, birds that chirp anxiously and the ground that squelches beneath his ragged shoes.

But then there's a new noise.

The birds scatter as leaves and twigs snap with rushed footsteps hit the ground. Surprised by the noise Armen huddles up besides a tree whilst the noise gets closer.

Once again he tries to see who's there with magic but a sudden cough that's followed by blood puts a stop to it. Wiping away the stains the noise comes to a stop.

Freya, now stood in fear stares wide eyed at Armen who in her eyes is lurking behind the trees but to Armen he was more focused on what's in her arms. Limp and almost lifeless, Markus has stopped breathing.

"Hey-" Armen starts, hoping what he sees isn't real.

"Nah- nope- I don't have time to deal with this demon shit-" she yells, bolting away.

"I'm not-" but before he could say another word she is gone, sprinting off with no hesitation.

"Hey!" Armen calls out, trying to make his way out of the bushes to follow them.

~~~~

"Shit shit shit-" Mia frantically yells as she looks into the depths of the forest that they've been walking from, "Why now?!"

She's not gone far from Grayson, for when she found him he was trying to hide his tears, he's on the verge of unconsciousness.

Mia paces around the entrance of the dense forest, unsure and worried, "On one hand- maybe he's fine and can deal with whatever's in there. On the other hand he's just had a mental break down and could be whisked away by empirical guards at a moments notice..."

The pacing comes to a halt as Mia's stifled scream results in a deep breath, "Calm- no time to panic." She looks at the forest's shrubbery, parts of it has been pushed apart.

Just as she's about to head in, a rustle of the wind and hurried footsteps surprise her.

"Armen?" She half-yells.

"Mia?!" A female voice responds.

"Freya!?" Mia yells back, rushing up to her as the young elf comes into view, "Why are you- WHAT THE-"

"Hi! Kids lost a lot of blood now he's stopped breathing- can't stop meet you at Xavier's abode- also there's a demon in that forest bye!"

Not even giving her a chance to breath Freya is already off in the distance as more rustling comes once again from the forest.

"Mia?" Armen catches his breath against a tree.

"Armen! I wanna have a long chat with you but we've got to get to the village now." Mia claims, grabbing his good arm the two of them rush over to Grayson .

Picking him up, one arm under the other they head off at the fastest pace they've even gone at. The stillness in the air is horrendous but none of them speak as hurried footsteps cause panic in the Dad who has no what is happening and how much is at stake.

Originally, Mia was coming back to reassure the two that they were nearly there, and to be fair the village's entrance was only a couple feet away. At the partially hidden entrance a guard stands befuddle as he looks behind him. Hearing them approach, he assumes a more professional look only for it to disappear as the trio speedily walk by him, Mia giving the guard a look of 'I'll explain later'. He give a sympathetic sigh and returns to duty.

For Mia, her focus is on finding the right house and hoping that no one tries to make friendly conversation, but for the other two there's an overwhelming calm that seems to consume their souls. With a hurried tug the trio turn down a narrow path with stones and short grass, at the end of the path there's a cottage of medium size with a sturdy door and a hanging sign with a red plus sign etched into it.
Getting closer they could hear two people having a rather loud conversation.

"How did this happen?" A low voice asks.

"Shot, fell, fell again- then this!" A girls voice, frantic.

Opening the door Mia enters first to get a grasp of the scene. Markus lies on the floor with blood still trickling out of him, Freya's hanging around and on the verge of hyperventilating. Then there's the doctor, Xavier has their hands held out around the wound with a green magic circling around the boy. This elves sharp violet eyes turn to Mia then to Grayson, never unlinking the magic.

"Markus?!" Grayson barely speaks, pushing away from Mia.

"Put him next door." Xavier's voice is low but calm and kind.

"But-"

"Sever the link and this child could die. I need to focus."

Grayson kept quiet as Mia brings him to a room that neighbors the entrance. Freya follows suit, moving around Armen.

Then there's the three of them, Armen doesn't want to put more pressure on Grayson but at the same time he doesn't want to move or make a sudden noise.

Slowly, he makes his way to the still open door but just as he's about to leave he stops, looking outside he finally takes in the world he's never seen, the trees above completely cover the ground, little to no light comes through as lanterns and fireflies.  Houses are high and low with bridges connecting communities that have gems dangling from ropes whilst small, fragile leaves fall to the ground. His eyes shine as that overwhelming feeling comes back to him.

It's so magical...

Yet all he feels is a hollow fear.