Retro-cognition

Chapter 25 - A Kidnapping

Chapter 25 – A kidnapping.

So many lies. Unique couldn't handle them all. They bottled up inside her, and made her confused. She was created, twice. The whole idea was foreign to her, and she didn't know how to wrap her mind around it.

Reluctantly, she placed the pictures beside her. In a way, she wanted to take them with her and keep them, but she decided to take only one for good luck. She needed it to be able to face Annelka again. She removed the picture from the frame, and then folded it carefully before placing it in her jeans pocket.

She left her father's house with mixed feelings. There wasn't much knowledge  about Sion's whereabouts here and she did need to talk to someone. Hopefully, Envy's powers had worn off from Annelka by now.

Transporting was easier now, but the gnawing feeling that she'd forgotten something kept circling in her mind. She showed up outside Annelka's house, and inhaled deeply before she gathered the courage to go in.

The inside was a mess. The rug had been torn, and Unique feared for Annelka. She sped up and ran from room to room, trying to spot the gypsy woman. The kitchen was the worst. Knives were spread out on the floor, and Unique reminded herself to be careful. She wasn't going to get sneaked up on by an old woman. She walked into every room until she finally arrived outside the living room again. She peeked inside the room, to find Annelka sprawled out on the floor.

"Annelka!" Unique yelped and rushed to her side. She leaned down and listened after a heartbeat. When she heard it, she let out a sigh of relief.

"U-Unique?" Annelka opened her eyes and looked around to find her.

"Yeah. I'm here," Unique answered and took Annelka's hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm—“

A slow clap interrupted the woman, and Unique jerked around to see Sion lean against the doorframe.

"Sion!" she exclaimed. She wanted to run to him, but Annelka held her back.

"Don't go to him," the woman whispered.

Unique frowned. Why couldn't she go to Sion? She averted her eyes between the two of them, waiting for one of them to speak up.

Finally, Sion broke the silence by giving an innocent smile. "Why don't you come here, Unique? Haven't you missed me?"

Unique hesitated—something was off about his voice. She looked him over, and saw that his clothes were different from the one in her vision. They were cleaner. Her eyes met his, and she surveyed the way his cocked eyebrow curved. God, she'd missed his face.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Unique gawked, she didn't know how to respond. Instead, she simply stared at him, watching as he slowly walked over to her.

"I'm kinda hurt, Unique. I thought you'd be more thrilled to see me." He pouted.

Sion squatted down next to her, and reached out to slide a finger across her cheek. "Haven't you missed me just a bit?"

Unique moved her head slightly—she was scared.

"Get... Away..." Annelka muttered.

Confused, Unique looked over the woman, aiming to reassure her that everything would be okay. She opened her mouth, when a hand snaked around her face, and covered her mouth and nose. She squirmed to get free, but a strong arm snaked around her waist and held her still.

"Hold tight. We're going on a little ride, love," Sion whispered in her ear.

Unique could protest, and she couldn't fight him off. Her eyes clenched shut as the sensation of transportation came over her. For some reason, she knew where they were going.