Chapter 23. Nexus...[5]
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Third Person's POV...
Riyan and Raven found themselves utterly alone, surrounded by the towering trees of the deep forest, their trunks as wide as houses, their canopies a dense, impenetrable ceiling that blocked out most of the moonlight.
The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth, decaying leaves, and the faint hint of wild mushrooms, a primordial aroma that seemed to awaken a primal fear within them.
The only sound was the distant, mournful hooting of an owl, a haunting melody that sent shivers down their spines and made them feel like they were being watched by unseen eyes.
The nine-year-old friends had wandered too far from the safety of the Place, a constant fear gnawing at their minds that they would be captured by the kidnapper who had been stalking them for weeks. The memory of his cold, calculating gaze and the sound of his menacing laughter still lingered in their minds, making their skin crawl.
As the darkness deepened, the shadows seemed to grow longer and more menacing, like skeletal fingers reaching out to snatch them.
The trees appeared to twist and writhe, their branches like grasping hands, their leaves rustling ominously in the wind. Riyan, with his messy black hair and bright red eyes that seemed to glow like embers in the dark, clutched Raven's hand tightly, his grip a mixture of fear and reassurance.
Raven, with her wild Whitish Sliver hair that had become dull and matted, and her piercing golden-coloured eyes that seemed to bore into the darkness, squeezed back, her small face set in a determined expression that belied the terror that lurked beneath.
The forest floor, a tapestry of ferns, leaves, and twigs, seemed to shift and writhe beneath their feet, as if alive and hostile. Every snap of a twig or rustle of leaves made them jump, their hearts racing with the fear of being discovered by the kidnapper.
The whispers of a sinister figure lurking in the woods, preying on them, seemed to echo through the trees, making them feel like they were being stalked by a predator.
As the night wore on, the temperature dropped, and the air grew colder and heavier, like a physical presence that pressed down upon them. Riyan and Raven huddled together, their breath misting in the chill air, their bodies trembling with fear.
They had no flashlight, no phone, and no way to call for help. The only light came from the stars above, a distant, unforgiving twinkling that seemed to mock their predicament, a cruel reminder of their isolation and vulnerability.
Riyan, trying to sound braver than he felt, whispered, "We'll be okay, Raven. We just need to stay quiet and wait for morning." But his voice trembled, and Raven's grip on his hand tightened as if she sensed the fear lurking beneath his words.
The sound of his own voice seemed to echo through the forest, making him feel like he was shouting into a void.
As they stood there, frozen with fear, the forest seemed to come alive around them. The trees creaked and groaned, their branches swaying in the wind like ghostly fingers.
The rustling of leaves sounded like whispers, and the snapping of twigs seemed like footsteps, growing louder and closer. Raven's eyes darted back and forth, her gaze fixed on the darkness beyond the trees, as if she expected the kidnapper to emerge from the shadows at any moment.
"What was that...?" she whispered, her voice barely audible, her lips barely moving.
Riyan's heart skipped a beat. "What was what...?" he whispered back, his eyes scanning the darkness, his pupils dilated with fear.
"That noise," Raven replied, her voice trembling, her eyes fixed on some point beyond him. "It sounded like someone's coming."
Riyan's grip on her hand tightened. "Shh, it's just the wind," he lied, trying to reassure her, but his own voice was laced with doubt.
But they both knew it wasn't the wind. They both knew that they were targeted, that the kidnapper could be lurking just out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The silence seemed to grow thicker, more oppressive, a physical presence that pressed down upon them, making it hard to breathe.
As the night wore on, Riyan and Raven stood there, frozen, their hearts pounding in their chests, their eyes fixed on the darkness, waiting for the dawn to come, waiting for rescue, waiting for the nightmare to end.
But the darkness seemed to have a life of its own, and it was closing in around them, suffocating them, making it hard to breathe. Riyan and Raven were trapped in a living hell, with no escape, no rescue, and no dawn in sight. The only sound was the heavy silence, and the only light was the faint, distant twinkling of the stars, a cruel reminder of their isolation and vulnerability.
As the hours dragged on, Riyan and Raven's fear turned to despair, their hope dwindling with each passing minute. They were alone, lost, and helpless, at the mercy of the forest and the kidnapper who lurked within.
The night seemed to stretch on forever, a never-ending expanse of darkness and terror, and Riyan and Raven were trapped in its depths, with no way out.
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As the faint light of dawn crept through the dingy, barred windows of the damp, underground lair, the kidnapped children, Riyan and Raven, had managed to break free from their confinement.
The kidnapper, a towering figure with a menacing aura, lay sprawled on a creaky, metal-framed bed in one of the adjacent rooms, his rugged, battle-scarred face twisted in a mixture of pain and exhaustion.
His muscular arms, adorned with crude, homemade tattoos, were wrapped in layers of dirty, blood-stained bandages, a testament to the ferocity of the struggle he had endured. The air was heavy with the stench of sweat, fear, and desperation.
Despite his injuries, the kidnapper's cunning mind still functioned with calculated precision. He had carefully tended to his wounds, using his knowledge of dark magic to stem the bleeding and accelerate the healing process.
However, in his haste and fatigue, he had overlooked a crucial detail - the mana seal that bound Riyan and Raven, preventing them from escaping. The seal, a delicate balance of mystical energies, had been neglected, leaving the children free to exploit the opportunity.
As the kidnapper slowly stirred from his fitful slumber, a sense of unease settled in the pit of his stomach. He tossed aside the tattered, grey blanket that covered him, revealing a torso marred by bruises and lacerations.
With a grunt, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, his eyes scanning the dimly lit room with a mixture of paranoia and urgency. His gaze fell upon the door that led to Riyan and Raven's confinement, and his heart skipped a beat as he noticed a gaping hole, roughly torn through the metal.
A surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he sprang into action, his movements swift and silent. He burst through the door, his eyes scouring the room for any sign of the children.
The space was empty, the only indication of their presence being the faint scent of sweat and fear that lingered in the air. The kidnapper's face twisted into a snarl as he realized that Riyan and Raven had escaped, leaving him to face the wrath of his mysterious employer.
Just as he was about to launch a frantic search of the entire lair, a shrill, electronic ringtone pierced the air, shattering the tense silence.
"Ring....!"
The kidnapper's hand instinctively reached for the phone in his pocket, his fingers closing around it like a vice. He extracted the device, his eyes flicking to the screen, where a single phrase glared back at him: "Call from Lord..."
The kidnapper's heart sank, his mind racing with the implications of that simple, yet ominous, message. He knew that he was in grave danger, that his failure to contain the children would be met with swift and merciless retribution.
The ringtone continued to echo through the lair, a haunting reminder that time was running out, and that the consequences of his failure would be dire.
"Ring................."
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Next Chapter "Nexus...[6]"
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Try If You like My Other Novel
"Villain : The White Washer"
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Good Day....
Lone Raut
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