Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Six
Denise Greene.
I felt my eyes heavier than they should be. I tried opening my eyes, but it almost seemed impossible. When I managed to, my gaze searched, my heart pounding faster as I frantically continued scanning my environment. It was then that I realized I was somewhere different. I had never set my eyes on this place before. My eyes briefly scanned the environment as I tried to understand where I was, and that was when I realized it was a garden, covered in lush flowers and beautiful green shrubs. I managed to stand on my feet as I walked through the garden. I called out, hoping to hear the sound of a person, but nothing. It made me feel both weak and trapped, but I still continued walking further.
"Dad... don't leave; stay home for today's dinner. I promise that you will not regret it." The cute voice of a young boy resounded, which made my heartbeat increase. I walked towards the boy who made that sound only to see myself, but it was the youngest version of myself.
His father crouched down to his level and gently caressed his cheeks while making him look into his eyes. "I want you to understand me, son, by believing that I'll always be here for you, okay? I won't allow anything to happen to you." When he said those words, he stood up as he turned and left. I watched with horror; I felt an unknown ache in my heart as I watched him leave. I don't know why it hurts seeing him leave, but it made tears slowly build in my eyes. The young boy ran back to his mother, who was staring with so much pain in her eyes, but not a word was uttered. The father went to meet a hundred men who had all kinds of weapons in their hands, their faces all cranky, and they looked so serious for warfare.
My heart ached when I saw the boy tightly wrap his hand around his mother, who was sobbing continuously. I was trying to hold back the pain, but I couldn't hold it anymore as I rushed towards the young boy and managed to wrap my hand around him while engulfing him in a warm hug, but my hands slid through him like I was a ghost.
"Mum, do you think Dad would come back?"
"I know Dad will, so don't worry, okay?" She said with a sad voice, which made me feel her pain unimaginably. I felt the need to be there for her and the young boy, even though I was the one.
"Let's come inside; I'll prepare a delicious soup for you, but the only thing you need right now is some rest, okay? I don't want you to think too much about what's happening but rather enjoy the full day like Dad is still here."
The young boy plastered a wide smile across his face before hugging his mom as she muttered.
The mother prepared a delicacy with the young boy in the kitchen; after they were done, they sat down to eat as she called out, "Salvador, dinner is ready; come and join us."
"No, I'm not, after you couldn't convince Dad to stay, despite pleading with you to do so."
I saw the woman let out a deep breath; her eyes glistened with unshed tears before walking upstairs to where Salvador was resting. She gently knocked on the door, but there was no response on the other side. She knocked again, and the door violently opened. The woman stared in shock, her mouth hung open when she noticed that Salvador was still lying on the bed and his hand was outstretched. Horror filled her eyes as she immediately rushed towards her son, wrapping her hands around him, and she gently asked, "Tell me, Salvador, how were you able to do that?"
"I...I...I don't know m...mum …just happened," he stuttered while shivering. Before Salvador could fully comprehend what was happening, his mother immediately grabbed his hand as he started dragging him out of the room.
"Mom…" he cried, but she didn't listen to him and tightened her grip around his wrist, and that was when Salvador did something quite unexpected: he managed to pull wood with his available hand and hit his mother on the head. He did that without touching the wood. The mother felt a sharp pain as it coursed through her entire being as she fell to the ground.
Salvador gasps in shock. Not expecting that, he let out a painful scream, which made my younger self rush upstairs to see what was happening, only to find my mother's lifeless body on the ground.
I stood there watching, feeling the weight of the pain, as if it just happened yesterday. The memories were still fresh, which made cold shudders run down my spine when we both started shaking our mother violently on the bed while urging her to wake up, but she didn't respond regardless of how much we tried.
After what seemed like an eternity, we heard the sounds of footsteps surrounding the building. We both checked the windows to understand what was happening, and then we saw over twenty well-built men who had surrounded the building.
"What's happening? Why are they surrounding us?" Salvador asked, but my younger self couldn't give him an answer, because I was as confused as he was.
"Salvador..." The gentle voice of my mother resounded. I immediately rushed back to her to see what was happening, and that was when I realized that she had woken up.
Before I could completely comprehend what was happening, my mother wrapped Salvador's hand and said, "I never knew you were this powerful. Both of you are stronger than you think, and that's the reason why I want both of you to run to Madison, the great wizard, to give you the mixture that would be able to conceal your strength so that you can avoid the wars that your father is facing today..." She coughed as his hand tightened around Salvador. "Promise me that you will properly take care of your mother, no matter the obstacles that you guys might face in the future."
"You will be fine; just go with us," Salvador pleaded with Mom as more tears slipped from his eyes. It brought so much pain as I watched every scene unfolding right in front of my eyes.
Mom managed to stand on her feet, but it was clear she was weak. "You are right; let's escape together," she urged as she started walking towards a room we never knew existed. Then she slid the door; the room was hollow and covered in darkness. We followed through, and then there was a small door opening. She slid it open and told us to get in; we did as she told us to. When we were inside, she immediately closed the door, and she stayed back, and then she repeated those words to Salvador: "Remember the promise I told you: protect your brother at all costs."
We heard her leaving; her steps were gentle and concise until she screamed, "You fucking bastards, you wanted me, right? Here I am."
There were sounds of kicks and punches, then one of the men echoed, "Where are your little punks? Bring them out, or else I'll do it myself."
"Then do it; you can." My mother retorted determinedly. And that was the last time I heard the voice of my mother when I heard her agonizing scream. I lunged forward towards the exit, ready to break it free so I could save her, but Salvador held me back, even though he was sobbing as well.
"We have to go," Salvador muttered.
"No, we can't go and leave Mom behind; we have to go back and save her."
Salvador used all his strength to drag me out of the room, and there we noticed another exit door after walking for some time. We slit it open, and we found ourselves outside. We looked back and noticed that our house was a distant way away, and then we started running through the thick bush. Our hearts raced until we found a small building in the middle of the forest. We nestled there for the meantime while hoping that we wouldn't be caught in the process, only to hear a voice behind us. The voice sounded deep and masculine.
We both turned, looking terrified; the room was dark, so we couldn't see the face clearly. After a few seconds, the man lit up a torch; we briefly scanned his face, and we saw it was none other than Madison, the great wizard. His eyes were focused on us; he didn't say anything else other than to hand each of us a small bottle that contained some liquid mixture.
"Your mom has already told me what to do, so drink it right now and leave this place immediately," he said coldly while handing the bottles to us.
We stared at him hesitantly, not knowing if we should trust him or not. "If you don't trust me, it is left for you little boys, but remember the world is not safe for people with your rare genetics, the same way the world has never been safe for your father, and now he has lost his life while trying to protect his family."
"Dad...Dad is dead?" Salvador cried, his voice trembling as he went down on his knees.
"No time to ask me silly questions; your parents did what they did best to protect you. Now it is left for you to do the same."
Out of anger, my younger self collected the mixture and drank it in a single gulp; Salvador was hesitant, and he also did the same.
"Denise..." Someone suddenly called my name so loudly, I shot my eyes open. I frantically searched the room, and no one was in sight, only to see the father of Alexander standing by the door, a wicked smile on his face. He walked up to me as he sat on the bed beside me, his eyes red and his fangs long, as he said gently and dangerously, "Mmmm... such a delicious meal. I have waited for you to wake up."