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We followed Simon as he navigated his way through the woods, none of us even feeling the cold even though we weren’t wearing jackets in the frigid temperature. Adrenaline was enough to keep me warm as blood furiously pumped through my veins. Unfortunately, because of the cold weather the ground was firmly solid, so there were no footprints to follow. The woods behind the apartment building were dense and it was difficult to see in the dark. Simon made his way through with ease, but it wasn’t as easy for the rest of us, especially Sarah. More than once I had to catch her before she fell, but she continued on with determination, nothing stopping her from finding Grant.
“Wait,” Simon whispered, abruptly stopping. “Listen.”
We all strained our ears, and then suddenly I heard it. I could hear the crunching of twigs from a distance, as if someone was walking quietly, trying not to be heard.
“This way,” Simon said softly. “The worst thing we can do now is let him know we’re trailing him.”
Seconds seemed liked hours as we tracked the noise. We were getting closer and closer when Grant, or who I hoped was Grant, suddenly seemed to realize he was being followed. The footsteps became quicker as he crashed through the woods, not trying to be quiet anymore. Soon, it became obvious that he was running.
“Dammit!” Simon quickened his pace, and we all broke out into a run, but Simon swiftly outpaced us.
“Go!” I yelled out breathlessly, the cold night air painful in my lungs. I was desperate to catch Grant and I didn’t want Simon to wait up for us “Get him!”
Simon’s figure became distant, but we could still follow him. The sounds of our heavy breathing filled the woods as we struggled to keep up. Sweat was pouring down my face and back even though the cold was turning my hands to icicles.
We all heard it at the same time. Ryan, Sarah and I swiveled our heads to the right when we heard a noise that sounded like someone gasping in pain.
“Grant! It’s Grant!” Sarah cried out, abruptly changing direction and running to where the sound was coming from.
“Sarah, wait!” I yelled, but it fell on deaf ears as she ran frantically to where she thought she had heard Grant. “Follow her!” I panted to Ryan. I didn’t know if we had actually heard Grant, but the last thing I needed was for Sarah to go off on her own.
I was relieved when Ryan followed my plea and ran after Sarah. “Simon!” I yelled. My heart sank when I realized I couldn’t see him anymore. I didn’t know whether I should try to find him or follow Ryan and Sarah. The noise we had heard sounded distinctly like a person, and the most important thing was to find Grant. So I started off in the direction that Sarah and Ryan had gone. Unfortunately, they were long gone from my sight and I soon realized I was completely alone with no idea where anyone was.
I slowed down since I had no idea if I was going in the right direction. “Ryan?” I whispered loudly, my breath coming out in white puffs in the cold air. “Sarah?” I didn’t want to yell in case it would tip off Grant that we were tracking him, so I kept walking, hoping that I was getting close to them. I prayed that Sarah and Ryan had found Grant and were waiting for me. I was distinctly aware of how dark and desolate the woods were now that I was alone. My footsteps crunching dry leaves and twigs, paired with my heavy breathing, were the only sounds in the night air. I came to a small clearing and paused, unsure of what to do next.
“Caitlin.” The sound was barely a whisper, and I whirled around since it seemed to come from behind me.
“Simon?” I called out, cursing my tremulous voice. “Is that you?”
Terror struck me when I saw a figure step out of the shadows. It was shorter and stockier than Simon and I knew it wasn’t him. As the figure walked closer, Grant’s face came into clear view, but it wasn’t just his face I saw. There was a shadow shimmering next to him, connected but still its own entity. Grant’s fac
e was slack, his eyes glassy as if he didn’t really see me. But the shadow’s face, a mirror of his own, smiled at me malevolently. I didn’t miss the glint of the gun in Grant’s hand.
“Grant,” I said urgently. “Put the gun down. You don’t want to do this.”
As I spoke, I concentrated on funneling my energy, but instead of the familiar thrumming of my forces gathering together, there was a terrifying emptiness inside me. Grant moved closer, his face still expressionless, but his vardoger’s face was leering in delight. I frantically reached up to make sure I still had the iridium charm around my neck, confusion clouding my mind when I felt it’s cold surface against my hand. I didn’t understand why my powers were failing me.
“Grant!” I yelled, trying to shake him out of his daze. I tried funneling my energy again, and panic exploded in me when there was no answering gathering of power. I stumbled back as Grant’s shadow moved closer, detaching itself from Grant. Its face was a mask of horrific glee, the teeth bared in a feral grin.
“Simon!” I screamed as I scrambled further away from the vardoger’s approach. I desperately tried to draw on my energy again, but there was nothing but fear coursing through my body. I glanced at Grant who was still rooted to his spot, staring at the vardoger as if it was a mildly curious sight. His lack of reaction made the situation even more terrifying. I was truly alone and my powers were failing me.
The vardoger lifted up a hand towards me and I moved back quickly until I slammed into a tree trunk. I wanted to turn around and run, to escape, but I knew leaving would be sealing Grant’s fate. As terrified as I was, I could never abandon him.
“Grant!” I pleaded, not knowing what else to do except try to wake him from his trance. Grant was unresponsive to my calls, simply staring at us.
Pain exploded in me when the vardoger’s hand made contact with my chest. I looked down and watched in horror as its hand disappeared inside of me, sinking deep into me. Pain was radiating through every inch of my body and I pushed against it, trying to force the vardoger out, but it simply sank its arm in deeper. My body shook as if I was having a seizure and the vardoger looked at me with an expression of surprise. The surprise was replaced by malicious glee as I felt its energy invading my body, trying to push me out. Despite my attempts to fight against the pain, I felt myself growing weaker, making it harder to fight against the invasion. I could barely turn my head when I heard someone yell my name.
Ryan skidded to a stop as he came upon the clearing and saw the scene before him. His expression darkened and he made a move to come towards me, but Grant stopped him.
“Don’t.” His arm was lifted and the gun was pointed straight at Ryan. Ryan looked at Grant for a moment, and I was amazed when he dismissed him. He rushed closer to me and his face became a study of concentration as his eyes bored into the vardoger. He was gripping the piece of iridium around his neck and I knew he was trying to destroy the vardoger.
“Don’t!” Grant said again, but this time it was a scream. His voice sounded inhuman and I never would have believed it came from him if I hadn’t seen him open his mouth. His hand holding the gun was shaking and fear for Ryan started crowding out my pain. The vardoger was using its connection to Grant to influence his actions, and I wasn’t sure if Grant was strong enough to fight against it. But Ryan ignored him as if he hadn’t spoken, concentrating on the vardoger.
The pain was still shooting through every fiber of my being, my nerve-endings raw and exposed. I vaguely wondered how Grant’s vardoger was strong enough to resist the powers of a seer wearing iridium, and I wanted to yell out to Ryan that it was useless to try, to save himself, but I was too weak to speak.
Suddenly, the pain disappeared as if it had never existed and the vardoger exploded into a million pieces, evaporating as if it was being absorbed into the air. I felt dazed and incredibly weak as I collapsed into a heap on the ground. It felt as if I was watching from a distance as Grant shook his head as if he were waking from a dream, his expression turning horrified as he saw the gun in his hand. Ryan knelt down beside me, and I could hear him speaking but it was hard to make out what he was saying. I could feel his hands on me and it felt reassuring to feel a human touch, so different from the cold chill of the vardoger.
“I’m okay,” I was finally able to croak out, slowly feeling myself come out of my daze. I heard a crashing in the woods and saw Simon rushing towards me, his face an expression of abject fear. He fell to his knees in front of me as he reached out to grab my shoulders.
