Abandoned Fear: Awakening

Noah walked out of the house, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed red.

"So... you can see it? It's real?" Fiete asked as he stepped out of the building, carrying a thick book.

Noah nodded slowly, shivering as he did so. "I- I can't believe it."

Fiete smiled warmly at him and crouched down to meet Noah at eye level. "Well, you have the gift. You're like us now." He placed his hand on Noah's head, ruffling his hair gently. "You're special."

Noah laughed softly, becoming more relaxed as Fiete spoke to him. His hands were still shaking though. "How are you so calm about this?" he asked, looking up at Fiete with wide eyes as he stood back up and started walking towards the exit of the dilapidated house. The two boys had been exploring for days, but never found anything interesting until today.

The mansion they had been exploring was much bigger than they expected when they first arrived, but in a way that made them all feel uneasy. They didn't know why they felt that way -- maybe it was just because they knew this was illegal -- but whatever it was, something felt wrong here.

Fiete shrugged. "I've always known about my ability. Can't hear things other people don't," he said nonchalantly as the two boys exited the estate and started walking down the street again. It was almost sunset now, which meant that their parents would be waiting for them just outside of town if they were lucky. Their walk would take another hour or so if they weren't lucky; then they'd have to sleep in the bushes tonight before heading home tomorrow morning instead. That thought left them both feeling anxious again though; staying outside after dark wasn't a good idea in these parts of Europe, especially without any protection from their abilities like they had right now.

Noah looked around in front of them warily as he remembered what he had seen inside the house: the thick layer of dust covering every surface inside; the completely destroyed furniture scattered throughout every room; and most importantly, what looked like a doll sitting on top of an altar in one of the rooms upstairs... It hadn't moved or reacted to them being there at all, but since Noah could see ghosts -- or at least some kind of spirit -- he couldn't help but wonder if this doll wasn't actually a ghost itself...

He shook his head quickly to try and get rid of those thoughts again before looking over at Fiete with a small smile on his face again. "Hey... We should find our friends soon." His voice was trembling slightly again as he spoke those words though; he truly missed his friends back home and wanted to see them again very badly.

Fiete smiled back at him even more warmly than before and wrapped one arm around Noah's shoulders before squeezing him gently next to his side to show him how much he cared about Noah too. "Of course we will!" He squeezed Noah tighter against himself once more before letting go off him again and turning around to face him once more with a serious expression on his face yet again now. "We should head into town first though..." He reached into his bag and took out an old map that had been folded multiple times until it was now reduced to a tiny little square thing with lots of creases in it -- which made it look even older than it really was -- before handing it over to Noah who took it reluctantly from him anyway knowing that doing so would make Fiete happy again too if only for a little while longer...