The Rouge Omega Caster

Cadence’s POV I was five years old, sitting on the living room floor of my babysitter's house. A young woman named Chloe often watched me when momma needed to run errands or go to work. It was late at night, and I was coloring in my coloring book when rushed knocks cascaded through the door. My mom ran into the living room without waiting to be let in and called for Chloe. "Mommy!" I shouted, excited to see her. I hugged her legs, resting my cheek on her upper thigh. However, instead of the loving pats she usually did, she hurriedly hoisted me onto her hip and, in the next moment, rushed to gather my belongings off of the floor. Chloe must have noticed her strange behavior, too, because she inquired if anything was the matter to have my mom rushing to leave suddenly. My mom stopped for only a moment to smile at her. A smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and replied " There's a family emergency back at home, and I-I have to return immediately. I'm sorry if I startled you. Thank you for watching my son." Chloe murmured that she didn't mind and hoped all was well with our family. After putting my coat and hat on and waving goodbye to my babysitter, I put my hand in my mom's as we headed out the door and straight to the car. Once safely strapped in, my mom got in the driver's side, cranked the car, and sped off quickly. I looked outside the window and noticed that we weren't taking the route we usually took to get back to our house, but I decided it didn't matter that much as my eyes started to feel heavier and heavier. "Cadence, baby, wake up. We have to go..." Momma said gently, shaking me awake. Not realizing I had fallen asleep. "Huh.. what?" I told groggily and confused, my voice thick with sleep. "We have to leave now, my love," she told me, brushing back one of my reddish-brown locs that escaped from my cap. Nodding in agreement, I let her unstrap me from my car seat so we could go inside the house. We weren't in front of our house; instead, we were on the side of the highway right next to the edge of a forest. It was then I realized momma had a big grey duffle bag strapped to her back and a giant flashlight in her right hand, and with her other hand, she grabbed mine. With a fierce look of determination, she turned on her flashlight, and we began to run. My mother's hand tightly clasped mine as we ran through the dense forest. The darkness made it hard to see, and the biting cold made me shiver. Twigs snapped behind us as we weaved through the trees, and my little legs struggled to keep up with her. My chest heaved, and my lungs burned in the crisp fall air as I tried to call out to my mom and ask if we could take a break. Suddenly, I tripped over a protruding tree root that camouflaged itself in the darkness and fell to the ground. My mother rushed over to me, picked me up from the forest floor, and shined the flashlight on me, checking me for any wounds. "Are you okay, baby? You're not hurt, are you?" she asked worriedly. It was at this moment that I let out a wail, sobbing and rubbing profusely at my eyes. Momma wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hug and rubbing small, comforting circles on my back, shushing me as she did. "It's OK, baby, everything will be fine. We're almost there.." she cooed, still embracing me. By then, my sobs had shifted into sniffles, and I could feel myself finally calming down. "Almost, where, momma? where are we going?" I asked, pulling back to look at her face. She looked at me and gave me a gentle smile before answering. "We're going to visit momma's family for a while." "Momma's family?" I repeated in a questioning tone. Up until this point, it was only Momma and I. I have a daddy, though I've never met him before, or if I did, I don't remember. Sometimes, I would hear Momma talking to him on the phone before she went to bed, but that was all it ever extended to. I had never met any of Momma's family, and the thought made me nervous and a bit excited. "Yes, Cadence, Momma's mom and dad, your grandparents. You also have uncles, aunts, and cousins too. They're going to be very excited to meet you. How does that sound?" she asked, tucking one of my locs behind my ear. I looked down at my feet before saying, "I'm excited to meet them, but...when will we come back home, momma?" I asked and saw her smile falter. She hesitated before saying, "We can't ever go back there..." her voice cracking on the last word. With that, she straightened back up to stand, grabbed the duffle bag she had dropped earlier to pick me up, and started to reach for my hand when I pulled away from her. That was not the answer I was looking for, and I would only go with her once she gave me a reason. "Why can't we go back home?" I pouted, fresh tears beginning to pool in my eyes. I liked our home, and I didn't want to have to move again and have to make more new friends. Momma turned away for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting out a shaky one before turning back and looking down at me. Her eyes were now filled with tears. "Because it's not safe to stay there, Cadence," she said, her words and eyes imploring me to understand. "They'll harm us if we don't leave. Now." "Who?" I asked, and as if on cue to answer my question, the most bone-chilling and guttural howl I have ever heard pierced through the night sky, causing Momma and I to jump. I whipped my head around in frightened confusion, wondering what could have made that sound, as I heard her say, " It's too late; they've found us!" Without wasting any more time, she picked me up, clutching me to her chest, and ran faster with me in her arms. In the distance, I could hear twigs snapping and heavy feet stomping the earth, gradually getting closer. My legs tightened around her waist, and my arms did the same around her neck so tight that I practically had her in a death grip. Not that she seemed to notice, as fear and adrenaline coursed through her veins. "Think Natalia, come on, think!" she panted breathlessly, then abruptly stopped. I pulled away slightly to see what could have blocked our way, only to see a giant moss-covered tree illuminated by Mom's flashlight. At the base of the tree, the roots formed in a way that made a pocket in the earth to house an animal if it wanted. Or, in this case, a tiny human. Instantly, momma dropped to her knees. Speaking in a language I didn't understand, she held her palm facing out and moved it in a circular motion three times before swiftly punching her fist through the center. A blue light flashed from her fist before forming a protective dome around us and the tree's base. As I looked in awe, she turned slightly towards the tree roots, crawling closer. Still carrying me, she slid the duffle bag off her shoulder and threw it into the hole. Next, giving my hands a little tug to loosen my arms from around her neck, she unclasped the necklace she always wore and began to put it on me. It was a genuine jade stone shaped like a crescent moon with a tiny sun charm dangling on a delicate gold chain in the center. Fastening the necklace around my neck, she spoke. "My dad gave this to me when I was ten, right after my awakening ceremony. He said this stone would protect me no matter where I was, even far from home. Always, and now I'm giving it to you..." She rubbed the pendant with her thumb before letting it hang around my neck. Cupping my face in both hands and letting a few moments pass to stare at me, I did the same to her. Her big, upturned chocolate brown eyes were warm and full of adoration as a small and gentle smile played across her lush pink lips. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair and tight coils were free and framing her heart-shaped face. Her deep and rich caramel skin, the same shade as mine, seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. She was the most beautiful woman that I knew. And the way she looked at me right now, I knew she felt the same way about me. She kissed my forehead, and I felt something wet hit my cheek. "I love you, Cadence, more than you could know, forever and always..." she told me, her voice cracking with every word. Without any warning, she slid me into the hole beside the duffle bag. I sat there dumbfounded as I watched her bite her thumb, just enough to draw a prick of blood and use that same thumb to write something at the base of the tree. And it hit me with a horrible realization. This whole time, she had been saying goodbye. I started to claw my way out of the hole, tears falling from my eyes, when a tall hooded figure appeared behind Momma outside the protective dome. "There you are, Natalia..." it hissed to my momma, drawing out the "a" at the end of her name, but she never turned to acknowledge the unknown figure. She just faced me, tears now falling freely from her face. And in a split second, she muttered something in the same foreign language as earlier, clapped both hands forcefully together, and smacked both palms on the tree's bark. A blinding bright light surrounded us both. "Momma!" I screamed, but it was no use. It was too late to stop anything. With a quick zap, she was gone. And in her place stood a bewildered older man with a striking appearance. His long Locs, peppered with gray, cascaded down his shoulders, complementing his well-groomed beard. His deep brown complexion and towering stature added to his captivating presence. He had hastily left his bed, evident from his disheveled robe and pajama bottoms. He hadn't even put on shoes, and his forehead glistened with sweat. If I had taken a moment to observe the scene more closely, I would have noticed the others standing behind him, all wearing similar expressions of shock. They, too, were dressed in their nightwear, and it was impossible to ignore the uncanny resemblance they shared with both my mother and me. However, at that moment, I couldn't process any of it. I felt completely numb, unable to think or feel anything at all. That night was the last time I saw my mom.