$60.26

Chapter 10

Isla sat in the dim room, getting a bit concerned over Dr. Szala. She seemed to be having a horrible nightmare. Her head turned a number of times, and her eyebrows creased constantly. And occasionally she'd mumble a name. Isla jumped when the sleeping form thrashed, then stilled. Not long after, the movements carried on. "No... no... wake up..." Dr. Szala mumbled. Isla knew she ought to wake the poor woman up, but felt she would only traumatize her. She couldn't bring herself to move. "Wake up..." Though her voice was a monotone low that came with sleep, Isla could hear the fear that was hidden behind it. "Don't hurt... No... Micheal... Micheal...! No!" Dr. Szala screamed as she jolted into a sitting position. Isla leaped to her feet and ran over to the doctor. The woman's eyes were wide and blind from the dream.

"Hey!" Isla shrieked, shaking the doctor's shoulders. Dr. Szala blinked awake, looking around wildly. "It was just a dream, are you okay?" Isla demanded, startled. The doctor blinked at her, confused for a moment.

"H...How did you get in here...?" she stammered, trying to steady her mind.

"Dr. Tucker let me in 'cause you were fidgeting, so he wanted someone to make sure you didn't freak out, which you kind of already did..." Isla trailed off at the glare the doctor was giving her.

"Get. Out." she hissed. Isla blinked, startled.

"Who's Micheal...?" she asked suddenly. The doctor froze and turned her gaze slowly to Isla.

"How..." she gasped. Isla nearly screamed when the doctor grabbed her arm and pulled her close, her eyes digging harshly into Isla's. "How do you know that name." she demanded angrily, her grip tightening to Isla's arm.

"Y...you kept mumbling it in your sleep...!" Isla gasped painfully. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry, you were just so freaked out, I was-"

"Be quiet." the woman groaned, releasing the girls arm to rub her temples. After a long moment, she began to steady her breathing, though her hands shook considerably. "Micheal... He was... He was my son... he had cancer... he was only seven... and they told him... that he was finally getting better... He was recovering... I told him... he could have anything he wanted... he could have asked for the moon and I would have found some way to give it to him... But of all things... the only thing he wanted... was a toy truck... I promised him I'd get him it... So I left... I left him... If I had stayed with him, he would have had a better chance of being here..." her voice grew worse as she spoke, breaking on the last word. She paused, trying unsuccessfully to calm herself. Her eyes were glazed over, and she stared at her hands in disgust. "When I came back... I heard him calling me... yelling 'Mommy! Mommy!' over and over... He sounded so scared... So I ran... down the hall... I ran as fast as I could... But I hadn't been quick enough... I got there... and the window was open... and a man stood there... he was covered in mud... and his face and even his hair color was totally covered... I couldn't see what he looked like...

"When I got there... He had put the gun to his forehead... Micheal stared at me... begging for me to help him... pleading with me to save him... I tried to stop the man... Tried talking him out of it... begging... I tried... I knew he was going to shoot... So I moved... I ran... I tried to get there in time... Push the gun away... push Micheal away... Take the hit... Anything... I would have done anything... But I was too late... I was too late... If I had only moved faster... earlier... That little boys life was cut short because I wasn't fast enough..." she trailed off as she placed her head in her hands. Isla didn't speak. She didn't know what to do, or say. Finally, she carefully reached out to place her hand on the doctor's shoulder.

They both jumped when the door slammed open. "Telling that old sob story, are you?" Victor challenged as he walked in, closing the door and locking it. "Isla, Dearie, I'd like a little chat with you. But I'm afraid we can't talk here. Not with all these doctors around. You're uncomfortable here, aren't you? Why don't we go somewhere more suitable, hmm?" he continued with a smile. Dr. Szala jumped to her feet and stepped in front of Isla.

"How did you get in here," she spat, her voice now clear and enraged. "security should have made sure you didn't come anywhere near here. You're not going anywhere with anyone. I'll make sure you're locked up behind bars for trespassing and endangering the lives of patients."

"How cute, Doctor." he laughed, stepping slowly forward. "So many times you've try to play the hero. But you're not. You were never meant to be the hero. I'm taking the girl. And I'd much appreciate it if you were a good girl and didn't put up a fight. You see, I'm very sore from where all your little 'security' guards tried to keep me back. I'll have to admit, they were a bit much for my strength. So I sadly had to use a bit of the power I got from the last foré. That power is beginning to run out. Five years, it's been, yes? Since I found him. It's a shame I had to kill him in front of you to get it. It's quite the coincidence that it's you who shows up to protect the new foré, don't you think? After you failed to protect the boy, do you really think you'll succeed in protecting this one? Hmm, Krystan?"

"What..." Isla gasped, "You... you knew...?" The doctor didn't look at her, but her stiff posture gave away her unease.

"Of course she knew!" Ryan's father said a bit too cheerfully. "Why else would she tell you of her dead kid when she hardly knows your name? She knows what you are. And she knew her son had the power too. But even the power of the foré will drain over time. Good thing it gets given to all of you monsters. All you have to do is find another new one and vualá! You're as powerful as a God!"

"You're the one... You're the one who...!" Dr. Szala choked, her hands starting to quiver.

"That's right, Dearie. I needed his power. He was going to die anyway, he was sitting in that hospital room on the first floor. Waiting to die. He housed an incredibly strong power inside of him. A power I needed. And now there is another. One who can refill the power that has drained over the years." he said with a sinister grin crossing his face.

"He was recovering!" the doctor snapped, her body shaking with anger. "I knew about that power, I knew it from the moment he was born! But he was still a child! I don't care what power anyone has! You. Won't. Come. Near. Her." she hissed, stepping forward to meet him.

"Ah, but you left him alone. Poor kid was yelling for a whole minute before you got there. And even then you stood there like a kicked puppy." he hissed at her.

"You'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you!" she demanded, shoving a needle into his arm. She smiled triumphantly when he looked mildly surprised. She stared, wide-eyed, when he simply looked down at the needle, and pulled it from his arm.

"A bold move. But not enough." he chuckled, stabbing the needle into the doctors neck. Blood trickled from the wound quickly, the doctor drew a single, choking breath as she began to slip to the floor. The man watched her fall with an evil smile, then turned his attention back to Isla. "Now, little girl. Your mother's been worried about you. Why don't you come with me and I'll take you to her." he cooed as he closed the gap between them. Isla ducked under his arm and ran, cutting off with a muffled cry as he grabbed her arm and clamped his hand around her mouth. "Now, now. No need to struggle. You'll only hurt yourself." he said soothingly in her ear. She thrashed, trying to pull away, only to give a stifled yell of pain when he gripped her arm hard; she felt a stabbing pain as he sprained her wrist.

"Dr. Sza-" Isla was cut off as she broke free momentarily to only be quieted again. She gave a cry of pain as he struck her harshly on the back of the head. Trying to stop him from knocking her out, Isla tried to twist in his arms to block him from getting reach. But he struck her again before she could fully turn, and her struggling ceased as everything darkened, and then faded to black.

Isla woke up as the car pulled into her driveway. Confused, she looked around. And nearly screamed when Ryan's father yanked the door open and dragged her out. She struggled, kicking at him, trying to pull from his grasp. "No!" she screamed, remembering all too clearly what happened. She started to panic as he shoved the front door open and carried the thrashing girl inside. "You killed her! You killed her!" she accused as he threw her to the floor in anger and slammed the door.

"Isla, do quit your screaming, before you attract attention." Syren sighed, catching Isla's attention for the first time from her perch on the arm of the couch.

"Mum..." she gasped, her eyes widening. "W...where's Leon..." she demanded, glancing around. "What did you do to him. Where is my brother!" she picked herself off the floor to glare fiercely at the woman who she'd thought to love her all her life.

"If you don't shut up, you'll wake him." Syren said coldly. Isla tensed. Has she truly kept Leon in the dark about this...?

"Why did you kill her...?" Isla whispered, willing her eyes not to let the water spill.

"Who? That pathetic doctor? Oh please, it's not like she was all that special. But she needed to be sacrificed. She has been in my way. Five years ago she stood in the way, and here she still stands. It's a shame it had to be done. I'm sorry, Isla. I know you liked her. But it had to be done. It just so happened you were in the same room." her mother said as she got to her feet, sounding purposefully soothing. Her voice hardened significantly when she spoke again. "But don't worry. You'll see her again rather soon." she crossed the room, petting Isla's hair as she gave a fake smile.

"Why... Why are you doing this, what do you get out of it, what's the point! Clearly I mean nothing to you, I never did, but why!" Isla snapped, cursing inwardly as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"He gets the initial power of the foré." Syren said, gesturing towards Victor. "But I get all the glory that comes from it. You see, he is my servant. That power works in a different way. The one who kills the host of the foré absorbs a substantial amount of power. But the one who he sees as higher up than him, in this case me, as he works for me, gains the power tenfold. You see, he is like the middle man. If I were the one to kill the boy, I would have gotten pathetic power. But I had him do it. So that we both got something out of it. It's just I got the better deal." her mother giggled. "You see, I let you live this long. Because the older the victim, the longer the power has had time to... for lack of a better word, build. The little boy was destined to die. He had cancer. They were incorrect in saying he was recovering. I saved his mother the pain of losing him later on. She would have had a stronger bond had he grown up more. So I had to have him killed. For all you would have known, I would have let you live until I were ninety and then killed you. Because the power would have lengthened my life. But your blasted father had to come in and rat me out." she hissed angrily.

"You knew...?" Isla felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. Sadness quickly got replaced by anger. "You knew he was alive?" she nearly screamed. "All these years you let me believe he was dead!"

"Isla, do shut up, your idiotic father was trying to get you to understand that he was alive for five years. But you were blind to it. I suppose that is partially my fault. But no matter. You won't be seeing him again. Or anyone, I might add."

"The drawings..." Isla gasped, feeling incredibly stupid.

"I think it's time for you to go to your room, Isla. There's a lot of... preparation in order. And don't even try to escape, the door will be locked, and the window... well, we'll just settle with the fact that there is no window anymore." Syren smiled, nodding to Victor. He picked Isla, who gave a cry of protest, off the floor and walked down the hall. He threw her into her room, instantly she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at him, only to slam into the door as he pulled it closed and locked it. She scrabbled for the doorknob, startled when she realized that there was no doorknob on the inside. Fighting back panic, she spun, looking to where the window normally was. To find only a plain wall. She pounded with both fists on the wall where the window used to be, testing if it were just fake. But she only struck wall.

Isla paced for a while, occasionally yelling out at her mother, or Victor, or her father, hoping that by some miracle he'd appear. "Sissy...?" she heard a muffled voice through the door. Isla ran to the door, kneeling to the crack between the door and the floor.

"Leon?" Isla demanded, feeling anxious.

"Why are you loud...?" he sounded drowsy, as if he'd just woken up.

"Leon, listen to me, you have to get away!" Isla ordered, praying that he'd get out.

"Why...?" he asked. Isla tried to listen hard, listening for any footsteps, or voices. She screamed in frustration when she heard her mothers light footsteps begin walking down the hall.

"Leon, get away from that door right now!" Syren ordered, her shoes clacking loudly as she tapped her toe.

"No! Leon, listen to me! Get out, run away, please, just get away from her! She's like the bad guy in all your stories! Leon, if you don't run she'll hurt you! Please, Leon, you have to get out!" Isla nearly begged, cutting off with a scream as the door was ripped open and her mother glowered down at her. She protested as her mother dragged her to her feet.

"Love, I would love it if you didn't make your brother upset. You know he doesn't like his sister scaring him. Now it's time you went to bed. Big day tomorrow." he mother sneered as she slammed her daughter to the ground. Isla gave a cry of pain when her head struck the cold, un-carpeted floor. Her mother turned and walked away as Victor strode in and kicked her hard, knocking her out almost instantly.