The Risen - chapter eleven

Kaydence

(we are cutting out the undercover stuff at a high school. SO, this might be confusing but I think I’m just going to have them continue to live in isolation, only going out to get food/clothes. So, they were never given the idea of going undercover, it was never mentioned and doesn’t exist.)

It had been four weeks since Bash’s disappearance, and we were all still frantically searching for any and all clues that Bash or his captor left behind. We had combed over the woods multiple times, but couldn’t find anything. Gaderel was also radio silent in the time we needed him the most, which was frustrating.

I got barely any sleep most nights, worrying. I felt responsible, it was my fault for not being more worried. I felt a mess of emotions. Anger, at myself and him. I was mad that he was such a horrible person but I still missed him eagerly. I felt his absence in my soul, it ached. Sadness, loneliness.

Sebastian wasn’t always horrible. Sometimes the layer underneath his toughness came out, and for a split second, I see him as he really is. Like once, He fell asleep on the couch at our old house, his legs constricting me from moving. He looked like an innocent boy. He was only twenty, and when he was in the peaceful bliss of his dream world, he looked his age.

“Kaydence, you need to eat something,” Indie startled me out of my train of thought. I looked up at her from my computer where I was researching deaths in the area.

“Just wait, I think I’m onto something here. This girl, she was missing since she was a baby and when they found her she was deformed, like, mutant-like. And dead.” I gulped, that was the part that scared me the most.

“Where?” Indie questioned.

“A couple hours from here in a ditch. I figured I would look for an abandoned building or unnamed businesses that might be messing with genetics.” I sighed, typing “vacancies in Woodbury, New York”.

“Kayden, I know you want to find him, but you need to take care of yourself. It’s been weeks since we’ve made it to the grocery store, and you need to eat. I think you should give your brain a break and come with me to get food.” She touched my arm, and I frowned, getting up from my chair.

“Fine,” I mumbled, “Let’s go.”

The ride was quiet, and I found myself drifting off. I had to admit that I was very tired, but it seemed like every time I close my eyes I dreamt of the worst. Bash being hurt, being dead. I stopped my train of thought, not being able to bear the thought of losing a family member.

We pulled into the store parking lot, walking in and starting the boring task of stocking up for a few weeks. I guess it wasn’t such a bad thing, it was the type of mind-numbing activity that I craved. Anything to get my mind off of the pain.

We were almost done, only a few things left on our list. I was reaching for Archie’s favorite chips when Indie whispered in my ear eagerly, “I think we’re being followed.”

I froze, my breath catching. There were too many people. There was no way we could be attacked by a demon here. We would expose ourselves and endanger humans. I took a deep breath and continued like I was normal.

I looked to my left and noticed a woman staring at us, a vacant look in her eyes. Dammit. I continued around the corner with my groceries, making my way to the checkout. Hopefully, we could take this fight outside.

“Hello, How’re you!” The cashier nearly shouted us in a cheery voice.

“Uh, fine,” I mumbled, not able to cover the shakiness of my voice. I felt weak, and I wasn’t sure if we could fight this demon by ourselves. Our only chance was to escape somehow. I tapped my foot anxiously as the cashier continued to check us out.

After about seven to ten minutes, she was finally done, “237.46,” She said, looking up. I slid in my credit card, entering the account information quickly.

“Let’s go,” I said, moving towards the door. I looked around as we got outside, the woman nowhere to be seen. All seemed well as we loaded our stash into the car, the sun beating down overtop of us. I sighed, grateful we had escaped a scene.

“Go ahead and start the car, I’ll put the cart back,” I told Indie as I started towards the side of the building. I went around the corner, where it was dark because of a shadow from the building, and it took me a minute for my eyes to adjust enough to find the cart stack.

I pushed it into place and turned around to go back to the car. I heard a creak behind me, and whipped around to see who was there, but it was empty. I continued to search, squinting my eyes, and something moved to the left of me.

I jumped as a cat prodded over to me, meowing. I took a deep breath, “Jesus, you scared me.” I turned back around heading towards the car, and before I could react, hands were tightening around my neck. Something growled in my ear and I viciously tried to escape it’s grasp.

I elbowed whoever was behind me hard in the ribs, and they loosened their grip enough for me to turn and face them. It was the same woman as before, except now her eyes were black. As soon as I had regained myself she began to swing at me, managing to cut my cheek with her sharp nails. I dipped and moved out of the way of her blows, throwing a few of my own.

God, where is Indie. I need her. I looked around for something like a weapon, noticing some scrap wood in the corner. I sent a hook, hitting her square in the chin and making her stumble. I took the opportunity to run to the wood, breaking one of the fragile pieces on my knee so the end was jagged. The woman charged me again, and I quickly ran the wood through her stomach, and black, sticky blood poured from her mouth.

“Ew,” I mumbled, flicking my hand to get it off. I wiped my hands on my jeans, grabbing my lighter and throwing it on the body. I looked up and froze, a boy, around my age, standing and looking in awe at me. “Shit,” I hissed under my breath.

I started towards the boy when Indie came running around the corner, “Kaydence, are you-” She seemed to notice the boy there at that moment, closing her mouth.

“I’m fine,” I nodded at her. I then switched my attention back to the boy who was now smiling at me. “How long were you standing there?” I asked, arriving face to face with him. He had dirty blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail, chocolate brown eyes, and his face was slightly scruffy.

"I saw everything, but don't worry, I have no reason to tell anyone," He grinned, a sparkle in his eye. I cast him a look of disbelief, raising my eyebrow.

"And why is that?" I pressed.

In that moment, everything around us seemed to shake, the lights sparking. I glanced around in awe, “You’re doing that?” I exclaimed.

He smiled and nodded, “Pretty cool, am I right?” He crossed his arms, looking at me with a playful spark in his eyes. I looked to Indie, who was just as shocked as I was, we had never met anyone like us.

“Wait here,” I said, motioning Indie over to a corner. The boy stood there, still smiling as Indie walked to where I was.

“We have to take him back to the house! We could use his powers, especially-” She cut herself off, looking at me with concern as I frowned.

“But we don’t know who he is, where he came from, we don’t even know his name!” I sighed. I knew we needed him, more now than ever. And once we got Sebastian back, we will get him back, it’d be helpful to have an extra person on the team with an active power.

“Fine,” I replied, and Indie smiled. We walked back over to him, and I crossed my arms as well.

“So, what’s your name?” I asked.

“Francis,” He replied. I noticed his voice was quite a bit deep, deeper than anyone I have ever met.

“Well, Francis, you’re coming with us,” I stated, walking past him towards the car. He didn’t hesitate to follow, and Indie started behind him.

The ride was quiet as we processed. I figured we could address everything once we got to the house. I was still covered in black goo, and I really needed to shower, not to mention the grumble of my empty stomach filling the silence of the car.

We pulled into the driveway, and we all three unloaded the groceries. Everyone seemed to be in their rooms, doing this or that. The only person that came out was Xander, who immediately looked at Indie confused. She must’ve explained in her thoughts because he nodded and looked at Francis curiously.

“Why can’t I read you?” He asked, squinting his eyes. Francis looked to Xander as if he was just noticing his presence.

“Um, read me?” He replied in confusion.

“Oh, Xander is a mind reader,” I explained, walking over to the sofa and sitting.

“Well, I’m not sure. I’ve never been around a mind reader,” Francis replied.

A silence followed, Xander looking over Francis with disbelief and concern. The room filled with an awkward tension and I cleared my throat uncomfortably, “Francis, would you like to go on a walk with me? I want to know more about you before I introduce you to the rest of the family.”

Francis smiled at me and nodded, and so we went through the back door, walking towards the forest. My heartbeat was unsteady, it was hard to be in these woods when so many bad things had happened there.

“So, Francis, where are you from? How did you get your powers? How did you find us?” I took a deep breath, “I guess we can start with those.” I looked down at my feet, uncomfortable around a stranger. What was I thinking?

“All good questions. Honestly, I don’t remember where I’m from. I woke up in a hospital where doctors told me I had been in a serious accident and that no one had claimed me as their own. I was a John Doe. My memory wiped, I didn’t know my name for days, until it came to me, Francis!” He laughed as if his name were funny in some way. I didn’t understand the joke, I guess.

“What happened after that?” I shoved my hands in my pockets as slight breeze had picked up as the sun slowly set in the West.

“Well, they let me go, said it wasn’t their problem. And that’s when I figured out I had powers. I was very emotional the first few days out of the hospital, and I noticed the lights went wild every time I was upset, so I tried to learn how to control it. That was two weeks ago,” He shrugged.

“So how did you find us?” I asked, looking at him as he looked at the branches above us.

“Well-” He started, interrupted by my yelp as I tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground. One second I was falling, the next I was looking up at Francis, his arms around me. He smiled at me, and I swear his eyes were so dark they were black.

Once my brain caught up with what just happened, I tried to stand up and out of his arms, and he chuckled, helping me up. “I’m sorry, I-” I started.

“It’s fine, uh, wait, what’s your name? I don’t think you’ve told me,” He asked, continuing to walk.

“It’s Kaydence, but everyone calls me Kayden,” I replied.

“Kaydence, beautiful,” He smiled at me, and my cheeks burned. I never thought my name fit me, and that was further proof.

“Anyways, I don’t know how I found you. Destiny I guess,” He flashed another smile at me, and it was hard not to return one.

“Yeah, destiny,” I said thoughtfully.

-

chapter word count: 2,027

total word count: 20,167