After about ten minutes I arrived home. I was puzzled, since the front door was open and it was dark inside. I went in and said loudly:

-Cathie! Annie! I’m home!

Silence.

My heart started beating loudly. I started shaking and worrying. They couldn’t be anywhere else. It's Saturday, Annie was on a break and told me she would stay until I return home. If they were to go outside, they would call me.

-CATHIE! ANNIE! – I shouted, but nobody answered.

So many things passed through my mind. They could have gone to the store. But then why is the front door open? They could be joking with me, but that wasn’t their style. It would be too cruel. I need to prepare for the worst…

I rushed towards Cathie’s room with all my strength. The door was half-open and I saw a silhouette standing near the window. I ran towards it, but it was too late. The silhouette jumped through the window, after which I heard a loud scream from our backyard.

My body trembled… It was Cathie’s voice! She was horror-stricken. I need to do something.

At that moment, I got a deja-vu. This has happened before…

Yes, two years ago, when the incident involving my sister happened. Back then everyone thought I was crazy when I told them. The police said that my sister tried to kill herself. They are all idiots! Like my sister would do such a thing. I know my sister the best and I know how much she loved me and little Cathie. Even after our parents left us and Charlie didn’t come back, she didn’t give up. She continued to do everything she could to provide us with a better life. That’s why I won’t ask anyone for help now. I will save them with my own strength, even if that costs my life.

I breathe in deeply to try and calm myself, then turned around and spurt fast towards the backyard.

-CATHIE! – I screamed again – No… No… NO, NO, NO!

No, this can’t be happening… Why? Why me and my family?

Cathie deserves this the least – what could a little, innocent girl do to deserve to be kidnapped? Why didn’t they take me instead of her?

I saw the silhouette jumping over the fence towards the neighboring house and I ran against it. I didn’t really care about the neighbors and the trouble I could get in at that moment. I was thinking only about Cathie and Annie.

The strange figure started running faster. It probably noticed me. Who or what that is… If I get my hands on this… thing… it won’t get away unharmed. It will pay for all the misery we’ve been put up with because of it!

The figure went past the house and continued running on the main street. After it saw that I won’t leave it alone, it tried to lose me between some high apartment buildings. I followed it in the narrow spaces between the buildings, but I couldn’t see it anywhere.

-God damn it! – I punched the wall to my right with my fist – Where are you?... WHERE ARE YOU, BASTARD! I WON’T LEAVE YOU, DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU WON’T TAKE THE LAST BIT OF MY HAPPINESS!

After I said all those things, I blacked out for a moment and started losing balance. Was that because of all the fury that I felt at the time? I don’t know what happened, but in the next moment I found myself in a totally different place. I could’ve sworn that a second ago I was in a narrow passage between two buildings and not here. It was dark and there was no sign of civilization. There were billions of lights, colored in thousands of colors on the night sky. It wasn’t the urban sky I’m used to seeing. I was standing in the middle of a small meadow, surrounded by trees. There was a small lake near me.

I looked around, but didn’t find anything strange. I went near the lake and glanced at the water. I saw my reflection, but something was different. As if it wasn’t me, but a completely different person. This “Killian”, which I was seeing, was smiling, his eyes were glowing and his hair was upright while waving slowly left and right. I suddenly felt the urge to reach out my hand towards him. He copied that movement, just like a mirror image should. My hand almost touched the water’s surface, when I heard a man’s voice.

-I wouldn’t advise you to touch the water.

The voice came from the front – from the middle of the lake. I got startled and raised my head. I saw a man. He was standing on the water surface as if there was cement under his feet. I didn’t get a better look at him, because my hand was already dipped in the water. Maybe I subconsciously put it in when I was startled a moment ago.

I tried pulling it back but something suddenly grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the water. I looked below and saw my mirrored image holding my hand in a grip, trying to haul me down. It was giving me a really creepy stare with his glowing eyes, as if it were ready to swallow me alive. I gave myself some support with my other hand on the ground and tried to free myself from this “Killian’s” killer grip.

-Argh… Let me go! – I shouted, but he just laughed menacingly.

-Ha… Hahaha! Relax yourself Killian. Dive in and you will forget about all suffering!

As if I would want that… Cathie and Annie are in trouble and while I’m wasting my time here, that vile silhouette is getting farther away. I was already quite angry, but this thought irritated me even more. I screamed loudly and tried pulling myself out with all my strength. But that wasn’t enough… My mirror image had strongly restrained me and didn’t budge an inch while I was already losing my power. I suddenly heard a wobbling voice from the middle of the lake. The man who stood there had lifted some kind of black sword in the air, and was uttering something which sounded like an incantation of some sort.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

-Qui affect protego, iubas, serpentibus, et…..

Was that Latin? I wasn’t quite sure, but the grip of this eerie “Killian” loosened up a bit. In the next moment, the man stopped talking and planted the tip of his sword in the water.

A couple of waves formed from the place of impact and started heading toward us. When they arrived over my evil twin, the waves distorted his image. His smile disappeared and he started screaming in pain.

-AAAAAARGH! REIN! DON’T SHOVE YOUR NOSE IN OTHER PEOPLES’ BUSINESS!

After that he turned to me.

-I will leave you for now, Killian… But don’t think it’s over yet. You will come back some day. Be careful not to die until then.

These were his last words, after which my hand got freed.

I lunged a couple of feet back and remained there for a couple of seconds to catch my breath. After I was done, I got up and started looking for that man. He was still standing in the middle of the lake.

-I suppose you are Rein – I said – Where are we? Who are you?

-Now, now. You are too impatient, Master Streiff. Settle down and come here – he answered with a carefree tone.

-I’m sorry, but I won’t waste another second here. My family’s in trouble and…

-… you want me to get you out immediately? I shall do that, Master Streiff. But first, let us have a drink. It hasn’t been even a second in the real world yet. We could stay here for all eternity and it won’t make even the slightest difference. But honestly, that isn’t a good idea.

What just happened? Did he read my thoughts? Whatever… If the situation is as he says, it won’t hurt to stay here for a couple more minutes. I have a lot of questions anyways.

I stepped on the water’s surface and realized that I wasn’t sinking. The feeling was a bit strange. As if you were stepping over a thick layer of silk. I started moving toward Rein carefully. I wasn’t used to walking on water yet, and with every step I made I had the feeling I would fall in the lake.

I arrived near him. I could examine him better now. He was at least 6’4’’ and probably in his mid-forties. He had long, black hair which was waving to the side. Strange, since there wasn’t any wind around. He had a very serious look. His eyes were pitch-black and he had a scar, starting from his forehead and ending at his chin. He was wearing big black plate armor with thin red stripes over it. That gave him a slight futuristic appearance. He had a black cloak on his back, which was slightly torn on the edge. The cloak was also waving.

While I was watching him curiously, a table with two chairs had appeared out of nowhere in front of us. He gestured me to sit. When we made ourselves comfortable, he offered me a drink.

-What would you like, Master Steiff? We have bourbon, scotch, vodka… Or maybe you would like a cup of black tea, or maybe some hot coffee?

-I would like some orange juice – I really didn’t feel like drinking at that moment.

-Just that? How unfortunate… Oh, well! If that is what you would like!

He poured me some orange juice and poured himself a cup of fine Irish whiskey.

-Let’s just cut to the chase – I said impatiently.

-Of course, Master Steiff.

I thought about all the things I want him to tell me – Who exactly is he? Where are we? How did I get here? Why am I here? Why is he here? Why can’t we stay longer? What was that thing from earlier? Can Rein read my thoughts?...

-Settle down… Settle down, Master Streiff! I am deeply sorry, but I cannot give an answer to all of those questions. I will answer the most important ones. Firstly, we cannot stay here for much longer because of that being… We call them Verto, because if they drag you into the lake, they feed on your soul and take your place. It is extremely rare to come across one of those in this age. The longer we stay here, the more powerful he becomes…

-Who are “We”? – I asked, but he magnificently avoided my question and continued.

-We are deep in your subconscious. Here lie your deepest thoughts as well as some hidden capabilities… You do not realize who you are Master Streiff… Or more precisely, who you could be…

-Wh… - I started saying, but Rein interrupted me.

-I am truly sorry, but you must answer that question yourself.

Suddenly we heard a loud roar beneath our feet. Even if he wasn’t the most emotional person, I noticed Rein started panicking.

-We do not have much time left. I will be going now. You can save them, Master Streiff, but only you know how. It would be best if you also depart soon… I will give you two advices before I go: First off, do not let Verto come out of the lake. You can tame him with your willpower. He will tell you that, which you seek to know. Second, focus on the thought to save your family. The aura is affected by your intention.

He got up, unsheathed his sword and extended it forth. He was most likely preparing to depart, but he remembered something crucial at the last moment.

-Oh, I almost forgot! To get out of here, you need to imagine the last moment which happened before you entered. That was all from me, we will meet again…

-Wa… - but before I finish, he was already gone.

That jackass! He didn’t even let me finish. Let’s not talk about the fact that he left me with even more questions… And here he presented himself as a polite, noble person with his pompous speech! But I don’t have time for that now. I need to get out of here as soon as possible. The least I would want is to be replaced with my evil twin…

I closed my eyes and imagined the last moment before I entered my subconscious – when I angrily punched the wall with my fist. After a couple of seconds, I opened my eyes and realized that I’m between the two apartment buildings again. Now comes the hard part… What does “only I know how” mean? And what ability did Rein talk about? I’ve never done anything extraordinary. There are hundreds of thousands of people that are stronger and more intelligent than me. How should I know what to do?

But then again, I don’t have any other options… The shadow is already far ahead and the road in front of me splits in three. I have no chance of catching up, even if I choose the correct branch. Oh well… Here goes nothing!

I closed eyes and imagined Cathie and Annie. I saw the shadow taking them farther and farther away. I don’t want to lose them! My tears started pouring from the thought of little Cathie, laying motionless on the hospital bed. I won’t let this become reality! I clenched my fists so hard that one of my hands started bleeding. I focused on this image and the emotions I was feeling at that moment. Suddenly I got goosebumps. I felt a slight heat around me. My hair rose up. I opened my eyes and noticed a faint blue smoke rising up around me. Was that the aura Rein was talking about?

The feeling was awesome! As if I had drunk ten cups of coffee. My eyes were fidgeting everywhere, my thoughts weren’t stopping and my feet were wiggling uncontrollably as if they wanted to dash forward. I abruptly stopped and concentrated on one point. I could feel an aura ahead, on the right. That was probably the dark figure. It could be no one else. I squatted down in position, got ready and jumped ahead. I was so fast that the cement beneath my legs was breaking on impact. I reached the turn, but I was going too fast. I jumped in the air, turned my body to the side and smashed against the wall of the building in front of me. Then I bounced from the wall while a big chunk of the building got torn away by the force, sending me flying forward. I saw the dark shadow on the other end of the passage – about 300 feet ahead. It was writing something on the wall, which caused the wall to emit a bright light. The shadow dove within the light and the shining started disappearing gradually.

-NOOOOO! – I screamed as I plunged myself into the light right before it disappeared entirely.