Chapter 7: Acquired

I walked through the woods at a brusque pace. I was trying to keep a low profile, but I was also very concerned about finding Mira. If I couldn’t find her I would probably lose my will to even live. She meant the world to me. As I continued looking for her and quietly calling out for her I stopped caring about being quiet. I could handle anything that came at me so there was no point keeping a low profile. I started running through the forest quickly checking the area as I went. I was over where she should be.

I was within a half mile of her location at least, but that was still a lot of ground to check. As fast as I could move it would still take ten minutes or so before I found a fix on her position. I yelled out into the forest calling for her. My ears were sharp so I listened for a reply after the initial echo. I heard nothing. Had she already left? I did tell her that if I didn’t get to her by midnight to leave. Was it midnight? I couldn’t tell what time it was. I didn’t feel like it had passed midnight so she should be here somewhere.

I scoured the forest around where she should be. I went through twice, checking thoroughly the second time, but no matter how much I searched I couldn’t find her. I checked everywhere for her. I checked under rocks, up in the trees; I even checked the stream thoroughly to see if she had somehow ended up in the creek. I felt hopeless and fell to my knees. Had she really already left? Perhaps she went back into town or someone found her and brought her back. It was a plausible idea.

“Do you want to check the city?” I heard my subconscious ask quietly.

“Can you help me?” I asked him desperately.

“No, you have to help yourself. I am only here to give you advice and direct you. Outside of that you have to make all the choices yourself. Do you want to go into the city?” He once again asked me.

“Yes, can you give me directions?” I asked sullenly.

“Turn around and head diagonally left in a straight line. You’ll be at the entrance in about five minutes walking.”

“Thanks.” I said. I started running in the direction he told me. I shortly saw the entrance to the castle and started heading to it. The entrance was a complete wreck. The newly replaced gate was ripped to pieces and the remainder of it was just slag laying on the ground. The front walls had several large cracks in them and further in I could see fire raising up from somewhere in the middle of the city.

“Do you need a disguise? Or do you want to just walk in like normal?”

“A disguise would help.” I replied.

“Alright make it yourself then.” He told me.

“How do I do that?” I asked.

“Imagine shadows enveloping you and then wrap it around your body into a shape. That will provide you a cloak at the very least. As far as hiding your face I don’t think you’ll need to worry. Right now everyone is too busy dealing with your mess.” My subconscious told me.

I did as instructed and shadows wrapped around me to form a dark set of clothes and a cloak. I headed into the city and headed directly for my house to see if Mira might be there. As I walked through the market it was hard to keep walking. There was so much smoke built up from all the stands and buildings burning it was hard to breathe. The smell was hard to take. I could smell burning flesh and it wasn’t a pleasant smell. This concerned me even more because Mira might be in danger. As hard as it was to keep moving I decided it would be better to not make much racket. As I approached the street which my house rested on I was relieved to see it entirely untouched by both the fire and the destruction. I hustled over to the house and pushed the door open and quickly closed it behind me.

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“Mira!” I yelled out. “Mira!” I called out again. Where would she be? I told her to wait in the forest. She’s smart enough to go somewhere safe, but I didn’t have a back up plan as to where to meet so she could be anywhere. “Mira!” I called out one last time. I decided to check upstairs in our room first. As I headed up the stairs I heard a sound from somewhere downstairs. I headed back down stairs and listened for the sound again. I heard another sound come from the bathroom. I slowly walked towards the bathroom. As I got just outside of the bathroom I stopped and listened for the noise again. A couple seconds later I heard it again and entered the bathroom.

The bathroom was dark so I couldn’t see much, but as my eyes adjusted I peered around the room. There was nothing in there from what I could tell. I heard another noise in the bathtub. I looked over the side of the tub and there was nothing, but darkness. I looked closer to try and see if I could make anything out, but I couldn’t. Something must be messing with my head I thought to myself as I pulled back from the tub. As I headed out of the bathroom door I heard a raspy voice come from behind me “Ruthven.” It said.

I turned around to find the rest of the bathroom was not pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. “Ruthven, why would you choose to leave me?” I heard a girl’s voice say.

“Mira? Mira is that you?” I asked fearful.

“Ruthven, your supposed to be mine.” The voice said again from the shadows.

“Who are you?” I asked as I backed up. At this point in time I was fearful of whatever was in the bathroom and wanted to try and get away. The door behind me slammed shut as if aware of my plan.

“Ruthven you belong to me. It’s your time to be with me. Will you come with me peacefully or will I have to come for you?” The voice said.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked as I slid backward down the wall in fear. Once I hit the ground I was unable to move. I was paralyzed in place. A figure started moving in the shadows. I heard a scraping noise across the floor and then I saw a torch light up on the wall and I was now in a hallway. Torches started lighting the area and I saw a grey carpet roll out to me. When the last torch was lit I could see at the end of the hallway someone sitting in a chair. I slowly walked towards the person in the chair. As I got closer I could make out the figures details.

It was a girl that sat in the chair. She had blonde hair that I could recognize from anywhere. The girl sitting in the chair was Mira. I started running towards her, but as I did the hallway got longer and longer. Behind the chair I saw a red door. It slowly started creaking open. I ran faster towards Mira, but no matter how far I ran I never got closer. Once the door was fully open I saw the carpet pull the chair back into the darkness. The carpet started moving and yanked towards the door. I fell backwards and landed on my ass as I watched the rest of the carpet get pulled back behind the red door. The door then abruptly slammed shut and I found myself in the darkness once again.

“You’d do anything for Mira wouldn’t you Ruthven?” The voice asked me.

“Yes.” I said too quickly.

“You know where she is Ruthven. You know what you have to do. Of course if we meet again on these terms it won’t be fun. Ruthven I am giving you three months to come get her. After that I’ll kill her and I’ll come after you next. Don’t let me down.” The voice said calmly.

The room returned to normal and the bathroom door opened by itself. I was shaken. Had the curse really taken her? It was hard to tell for sure, but sitting around wasn’t going to help. I had to get out of town and ensure my escape. I opened the front door to my house and jumped up to the top of the house. I ran across the top of the roof and jumped towards the outer wall.

“Do you need your gear?”

“I really need to give you a name. I can’t keep calling you subconscious.” I tell him.

“What do you want to name me then?” He asked me.

“No clue. I think you should pick it out yourself.”

“My name is Ruth then.” He told me.

“Ruth, I need my gear. Just get me movement gear right now.”

“Coming right up” In front of me I see a portal open up and my bracers appear. I grab them and the portal disappears. I quickly slide them on and grapple up to the outer wall. I jump off the wall and land on the ground. Once I hit the ground I run towards the forest. If Mira really was taken I’m going to have trouble locating her. I just need a place to hold out for now. Once Carlisle makes repairs I’ll be the target of their own personal affection.

“Ruth, where do you think would make a good hideout?”

“You have the same answers as me. Personally deep in the forest won’t work. They will search it thoroughly. I’d either find some place that is near a town or a city that's abandoned or a cave that is uninhabitable.”

“Yeah that makes sense. I guess we should find that shortly.”

“Would you like a map of the area?” Ruth asks me quizzically.

“Of course I would.” As soon as I answered another black portal opened up to supply me with a map. Before I opened the map I made sure to enter the forest. I walked five minutes or so into the forest and then sat down and opened the map.

“Would you like you exact location?”

“You can help me with basically any geographic information I need, but you can’t help me figure out my personal problems. What exactly are your limits.”

“I will not answer that at this time. Yes, or no?”

“Yes.” A black marker appears on the edge of the forest near Carlisle.

“About five miles from here is a Cave you can live in, but if you are willing to travel forty miles there is an abandoned castle you camp in.”

“How long will it take to get there?”

“At a normal pace it’ll take around three days, if you keep moving and don’t take many stops you could get there by the end of the day. That is assuming you don’t run into any trouble.”

“Well shit.”