Malrik finally reached his mother by the time they reached the house. The door was open, and Rachel was crouching by the left side of it, listening to the intruders inside. The only question in her mind was 'Where is my husband?'
"You two are weak. If I hadn't been here, you would have lost your lives fighting this man." A voice from the shadows rang out. No one could see the man. The room looked like it was sucking in all the shadows to one side. It was like darkness itself was wrapped around the figure, protecting him and concealing his identity.
Two men were bowing down, facing the camouflaged wall. The ground beneath them began to cover itself in a black substance, coating the black and white kitchen tiles.
"We sincerely apologise, my Lord," said the two men as if stating a rehearsed line. They looked up only to meet two glowing golden eyes peeping out of the darkness. Suddenly, their eyes widened in horror as they looked around, a golden energy filling the room, seemingly suffocating them.
"I asked for one thing, one simple task. Bring the boy to me! Where is he?" The two bowing men started breathing heavily, staring at the black floor as if in a trance. Sweat dripped down their faces and disappeared into the shadows below. Their heads were facing downwards as if being forced by someone, and their eyes bulged as if trying to escape their bodies.
"W-we promise." The two let out a deep breath as if a weight had been lifted from their necks. They quickly bowed their heads again. "We promise. No, we vow. We will find the boy and bring him to you immediately."
The black substance on the floor seemed to retreat into the shadowy, cloaked wall, revealing the kitchen tiles. "Good. Now, take care of this disgusting filth." Suddenly, a body appeared from the darkness, dropping like a pile of sacks. Blood was oozing out from his torso as his eyes showed no light. His face bore horror in it, and blood leaked from his eyes.
From outside the house, a muffled scream echoed inside. Rachel was holding Malrik back and desperately covering his mouth while they stared in dread at Mitch, dead on the cold, tiled floor. The shadowy darkness seemed to shift towards the door, catching sight of two humans quickly disappearing to the side. Malrik tried to escape his mother's grasp, tears streaming down both their eyes. Rachel clutched her son desperately, fearing for their lives.
Her eyes glowed orange, and she could see the terrifying golden aura dancing in the air. 'It's a Champion. We are dead! Oh my god, we are dead!' Rachel breathed so heavily, she was sure the intruders in her house could hear it. It was the only sound she could now hear in the atmosphere. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. Terror coursed through her veins like poison, paralysing every thought.
Rachel was so occupied with her running thoughts that she didn't even notice her child wiggle his way out of her grasp, which proved to be her biggest mistake.
"Dad!" The boy cried out from the door. The light shining behind him was like some kind of blessing. The little boy completely ignored the two bowing intruders and stared at his dead father. He took a step forward before Rachel seemingly snapped out of her trance and grabbed the boy, quickly dashing away into the forest.
"That child is what I want. Do whatever you want with the woman, she shouldn't be too hard for even you two weaklings to handle," came a voice, before the dark, shadowy smoke started disappearing.
The two kneeling men smiled.
"Yes, Lord Darkness, thank you for this great opportunity," they said in chorus before disappearing like ninjas.
Rachel ran through the forest as fast as she could. Her legs were moving in overdrive as she tried to push the graphical image of her dead husband. 'They seemed to be after Malrik. I must protect him.'
She continued running, ignoring the kicking and screaming from her son.
"What are you doing, Mom? Dad's back there—are you just going to leave him!?" Rachel winced. Malrik still hasn't come to terms that Mitch was dead. She started thinking about how she was going to explain it to him.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the two men catching up to her. Her head quickly shot up as she noticed one flying down. Quickly stopping, she jumped back as the man came crashing down. He didn't stay down for long, though, as he quickly got up and unleashed a barrage of slashes with his dagger, laughing like a maniac as he did.
"What's wrong, lady? Come on, dance for me like a good girl."
Rachel winced in pain as she tried her best to weave through them. The second man leapt from behind, aiming to take her head off. Acting fast, she turned her body to the side and quickly jumped to the left. Sighing in relief, she shot forward, leaping from tree to tree in an attempt to run.
However, what she didn't expect was a dagger to come flying at her right leg mid-jump. She shouted in pain as she lost her balance. Her head smashed into the branch in front of her, almost knocking her out as she fell helplessly to the floor. Malrik, who had been silent on her back in fear, quickly shouted for his mother to get up.
"Mom," he said in worry as Rachel tried to get her draining strength back. "Don't worry, I'll get us out, Mom."
Malrik tried to carry his mother on his back as the two men walked slowly and menacingly towards them. Looking frantically at them and back at his mom, he desperately tried to pull her away.
"Malrik… run..." Rachel whispered through heavy breaths. Her whole body was in pain, and she couldn't move.
"What are you talking about? I can't leave you," Malrik said through tears. "I am not going to leave you."
"You're not going to leave me. I'll be right behind you, I promise—just go, please."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Through gritted teeth, Malrik decided to run. "You better not break your prom—augh!" The little boy was suddenly sent flying by a kick before he could even get more than five feet away.
"Come on now. Our mission is you, little boy. You didn't seriously think we would just let you go."
The second man walked up to the struggling woman as she desperately tried to crawl to her son, who was now knocked out. A cruel smile formed on the man's face as he stared at her battered form.
"Wow, so this is what that man back there was working with, huh? You know, your husband really embarrassed us earlier. Now that he is dead, we're going to need someone to compensate for that damage."
"Go to hell," Rachel spat.
― 10 Minutes Later―
Malrik slowly opened his eyes. It took him a second to realise what had happened. His eyes caught sight of the two men standing up and fixing their clothes.
"What's going on?" he asked himself. Then his eyes caught sight of his mother on the ground. Malrik's eyes widened in horror and shock as his brain proceeded to turn off.
"Ah, kid, you're awake—good." One of the men pulled out a gun and pointed it towards the crumpled Rachel. She was on the ground with ripped clothes and blood seeping out of her leg. Her hand reached out to Malrik as their eyes connected. "My name is Vale, and my brother here is Rave. Allow us to personally give you your first lesson on how to kill someone properly."
Simultaneously, tears ran down the cheeks of mother and son. One memory slipped its way into Rachel's mind as she prepared for her death.
"I promise you this now, I will protect you from the cruelties this world can offer with my life."
"I am so sorry, darling. Look away, please—"
Bang! A bullet went straight through the woman's neck.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With each shot, the dark smiles of the two men grew larger and larger, and Malrik witnessed all of it.
Malrik could only stare in horror at the battered state of the woman. His mother was long dead, and blood was seeping out from every part of her body. The boy's brain shut down, going through every memory he had with his family. Tears started falling uncontrollably as the boy let out a booming wail, drowning the forest in misery.
'Belief! What exactly does it mean to believe in something? Is it the practice of placing one's faith in the unknown? Is it the act of betting on a miracle to solve your problems? Is it something we can cling to when everything dear to us is ripped away?
What happens when a person loses their whole world, their whole life, their whole reason for living? Do they become ghosts, trapped in memories of the past? Or do they use that rage to carve their own meaning into this broken world?'