When the two recovered from their place on the rough floor, Kan lifting Corey off of the ground, a man had appeared, moving the sopping hair out of Donnie's eyes. The resemblance between the two was uncanny. After noticing the boys' confused gazes, Donnie gestured to the man by his side.
“Guys, this is my dad.”
The man approached the boys with an extended hand, meant for Kan to shake. “River.” Kan accepted the hand shake with wide eyes.
He sputtered. “Like, the one that the crazy chick-”
“Wanted to tear apart, yes.” He started. “I used to babysit for the Mencuri's, when Donnie was just a baby.”
“Wait, back up a little – What's with this whole Mencuri thing, and absorbing powers and junk?” He almost dropped Corey with how much he was gesturing.
“The Mencuri line goes back decades. The one you just met, or the “crazy chick”, was the newest in the bloodline. Isela Mencuri. She comes from a long family of the most powerful people in history. The Mencuri steal from elementals such as yourself, ripping their elemental abilities right out from under them, using it for themselves. They used to rule over the elementals, but that was before your great grandparents came along. Bearing the power of pure energy, they held the strongest element anyone had seen. With the ability to use energy of any given kind, including the ones fueling the body. Puppeteers, they'd call them. With a power that strong, of course the Mencuri wanted in. But, with full control over the power that ran through their own bodies, and the power that ran through others, the Mencuri were never actually able to take their abilities.”
His round glasses fell to the tip of his nose and he pushed them up with his index. "–Isela always wanted to be like her father, and his father before him, but she didn't carry on the line of absorbers, and her parents had thought of her as a failure because of that. People have been underestimating her for her entire life and I believe she's come to finally prove her worth.”
He takes a deep breath in. “If she successfully manages to take your power from you, she'll be the most powerful Mencuri in all of existence.”
“If she's a dud then come she could – with the rocks-?”
He looked to the spot on the asphalt Isela has disappeared into, then between the beaten teens. “..I'm afraid I don't know.”
“How do we know you're not lying to us?” Corey wheezed out. Kan would elbow him if he hadn't literally almost died minutes ago. This was their only lead!
“He's not.” Donnie stepped forward. “I grew up with Isela, my dad spent most of his time taking care of us. The Mencuri took my mom, the last weather elemental, hostage so my dad would do their bidding. We only actually left after we found out that they didn't have my mom, and that they'd killed her months back. Isela was treated like real garbage, I know, but the shit she put me through – It doesn't make it right.” He let out a deep and fragile breath, trying to stop himself from filling with anger. Or sorrow. His father lied a hand on his shoulder, looking to him with a comforting expression.
“If the Mencuri are meant to take power from elementals,” Kan's gaze wandered to the two on the floor, the coffee-haired girl sitting with the other woman in her arms, her hand over the girl's heart to feel the slight thump of it against her palm. She looked up at the others with a short intake of breath. “what happens to the humans..?”
“All the power their bodies contain are taken from them. With no element to steal, the Mencuri take whatever life the human holds.” The coffee-haired woman looked to River with saddened eyes, her breath quickening.
“So, they don't.. survive?” Kan looked to the beanie-wearing girl as well, silently praying that the answer they knew was coming, wasn't.
“I'm afraid not, boys.”
The girl stood up abruptly, the darker-haired woman over her shoulders. She shook her head frantically, blinking away tears that threatened to fall. “–No, I'm not – I'm not gonna let her die like this, you have to– there has to be some way to save her–”
River sighed, looking to the woman with a gloomy expression, before speaking. “Is she breathing at all? I might still be able to help.” She gave him a fast nod, eyes filled with hope.
“Well, then, my study should have all the supplies to treat her, but we need to be fast.”
It wasn't long before the crew loaded out of Mr. Tondro's Jeep, piling through the man's front door one by one. The walls were covered in a soft, green floral patterned wallpaper, white carpet lining the floors. and there were vases filled with daisies at every corner. It was the last place you'd expect a kid like a Donnie to live. River lead the teenagers down a hallway with dark hardwood before opening the door to a room that Kan assumed was his office. He urged the girl to set her unconscious friend on the coffee table so he could treat her properly. The room's walls were mostly comprised of wooden bookcases, not a single shelf left empty. A desk stood against the right wall, stacks of books piled onto it, as well as a lamp, disorganized piles of papers, a stained glass jar filled with ink pens, different variations of chewed pencils, and a case for his round glasses. After spotting the crowd at the door, River rushed the kids out, likely needing peace and quiet to work. Understandable.
The coffee-haired girl hysterically paced around the living room for a minute or two before placing herself on the stainless couch the others had settled on. She dragged her hands over her face, accidentally knocking the beanie off of her head and behind the sofa. Kan decided to take first roll, speaking with what he hoped was a soft voice. “Are you okay?”
“Dandy.” Came the muffled reply.
Kan retreated into the cushions, Corey almost laughing out loud at his best friend's reaction to the lady's bite back. No one really seemed up for conversation after that. The four teenagers sat in desperate silence, awaiting the frantic footsteps of the man who'd disappeared behind the wooden door.
After a long half hour, River finally left his study, worry covering his features. The sun-kissed girl sprung from her seat next to the boys, panic overflowing in her eyes. “So? Will she be okay?”
“Well, her health doesn't seem to be decreasing at all,” He paused. “but it hasn't been increasing either.”
“What is that supposed to mean? So, she's not-”
“No, she hasn't passed yet.”
Supposedly, that's all the woman needed to sprint past him and into the study he'd just spent thirty entire minutes in. The man followed behind her, the rest of the teens trailing after. The sun-kissed
woman kneeled next to the coffee table that held the darker-haired girl, placing her hands on her cheeks. The boys stood in the doorway, watching the scene unravel.
“Dios, Livy-” A tear streamed down her face as she looked at the unmoving form in front of her. “I'm so sorry I got you into this mess. This is all my fault – I know you think I'm a monster, and cariña, you have every right to think that. I hurt you, I should've controlled it, but I couldn't, and I never got to say I'm sorry.” Her chested swelled, taking large breaths in order to keep her soft voice constant. “I'm sorry, baby, I'm so fucking sorry.” She paused, tone choking to a halt as tears broke free. “Remember when we used to walk for miles, just talking? You'd tell me about some boy in your class that you were crushing on, and I'd tell you about the shapes in the clouds that reminded me of you. There was one time, we wandered out so far that we found this huge field, filled with orchids. Lying in the grass next to you, I looked over, and the way the sun hit your face made you look like an angel without wings.” Water rolled down her cheeks in waves. “I didn't mean to fall in love with you, Livy, but you made it so goddamn easy.” Her hands fell from the woman's face with a shaky exhale. Her voice came out in broken pieces, sobs interrupting her words. “Please don't leave me alone again, Livy.” Barely audible, one last word fought it's way out of her throat. “Please.”
“–Nis?” A husky voice, the kind you get during groggy mornings.
“Livy?”
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