The Cursed Hand: Chapter 3

Scorched Memories

By Mel E. FurnishPublished 2 years ago • Updated 2 years ago • 5 min read

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*To listen and read along, play the narration video*

Cold sweat poured down Vigore's face. He tossed and turned frantically in his sleep as a nightmare enveloped him in a dark memory. A woman's shrill scream and a girl's cries and pleas for help echoed throughout his brain.

Flames surrounded two bodies. A woman and a young girl were trapped inside a large home engulfed in fire. As the raging force scorched them and brought the house to ash, Vigore yelled as he sprang awake. He shook as he panted from his rushing adrenaline surging through his veins.

"Vigore? Vigore!" a woman's voice called. Vigore scanned his surroundings to discover he was inside his small bedroom. "Is everything alright?" His door creaked open to reveal Ella peering inside. Her expression was twisted in concern as she approached his bedside. She gave him a reassuring smile as her blue eyes shimmered with sympathy. "The nightmares are getting worse, aren't they?" she pressed.

Vigore nodded as he stared at the covers in front of him, too embarrassed to hold her gaze.

Abruptly, a man's voice called out, "What's wrong?"

Ella glanced over her shoulder with a frown to see Luke stepping inside. "I think it's time..."

Vigore glanced at her with his brows furrowed and his brown eyes narrowed. 'Time for what?"

"We adopted you shortly after you turned 15 so we could train you ourselves... the council believed you'd be a threat to the organization... because of..." Ella muttered nervously as she hesitated to answer Vigore's question directly.

"We shouldn't tell him like this," Luke declared sternly.

"Tell me what?" Vigore snapped as his glare flickered between them both.

Ella frowned as she tapped her temple. Promptly, a series of newspaper clippings, images of DNA strands, and faces of a family flashed by before them. She pressed her finger against a hologram of a burning house. She sighed as she caught Vigore cringe.

"There is a reason we have been teaching you how to use and fix our gadgets and develop skills that will help you fight and survive... we need your help... we didn't want it to come to this, but the attacks are getting more violent and frequent..." Ella cautiously explained.

"Just tell me what this is all about!" Vigore demanded.

Luke stepped closer and pointed a finger toward the house. "You once asked me how I found you... this is how... that house, was once yours. When I found you with a team from Praesperos, many believed that it was an accident... but I found evidence that the fire was in fact started on purpose... we have had different theories, but-"

"But they are just theories. We won't know the truth until we investigate... that's what we have been preparing for. The memories from that night are locked away deep in a dark part of your mind... if we can connect them to clues we have uncovered, then we can finally be closer to hunting down who was responsible." Ella cut Luke off without hesitation as she shot him a quick glance. Luke frowned as he turned away.

Ella touched her temple again to make the holograms fade. "I'm sorry we're telling you this..."

Vigore's face turned grave. "Don't be sorry. I want to help. I need answers... I have been afraid of giving these memories a chance to be reflected on for too long now... I can't run from them... so why not use them to bring justice?" Vigore's brown eyes narrowed as he looked at Ella and Luke. Luke slowly turned back around to face him.

"That's my boy," Luke smirked. Ella grinned as she shifted her blue gaze from Luke to Vigore.

"If you are up for it, we are going to search your former home again... if at any point it gets too painful, I want you to be honest... I'll take you somewhere peaceful while Luke-"

"No," Vigore shook his head as he locked his eyes with hers. "The pain will be worth it."

"We need to be careful..." Luke paused as he frowned. "Ella believes that there is a chance that the death of your family could be connected to those who are raging this war... if that's true, then we will be walking into something far more dangerous than we previously expected."

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