PROLOGUE- HELL'S PROMISE - VII

Sitting together on the couch, I can feel my body growing numb from exhaustion. I wanna sleep but I know without a plan, we'll both be well and truly fucked. As such, it's best to get something in the works before I actually get the rest I know I need. Chloe lets out a sound that could either be a pained cry or a simple saddened whimper. Both are too tragic for me to take. I lean over and put my head on her shoulder. Like instinct, she starts rubbing my head, her own crying subsiding. She seems to do her best when she has someone else to care for. I take the moment to ask what she thinks we should do.

"Go live with uncle." She whispers. The plan isn't a bad one. Out of everyone in our family, uncle would be the most likely to lend a helping hand. Maybe if we were really good about it he would even let us stay for longer than a few days. Plus...it's better to try that than risk getting separated in an orphanage. I won't lose the last bit of family I have left. The last bit...I have left...oh god...mom's dead. She's actually dead...I feel my stomach start churning, but do all I can to keep from showing my weakness. More than I'm already showing for her sake anyways. Sitting up, I turn my attention to the strange book next to me. I haven't opened it since I found it next to mom's corpse. Has something new appeared in it?

Opening it back up, I'm surprised by a new first page. The words that once asked if we were to accept its help have been replace by a proper title. GRIMOIRE OF BONDS. Under where we both bled, the words PROPERTY OF THE HENDRICK EXORCISTS are written. I repeat those words to myself quietly, before turning the page. Two big boxes, each almost taking up half the page, show our basic information and some info I don't entirely understand. Things like magic threshold, measured in level of magic charges, and next potential spell unlocks. The terminology seems familiar. Sort of like a videogame. On the next page, words begin writing themselves out. FOR THE CONVENINECE OF YOUR MORE LIMITED KNOWLEDGE BASE, ITS BEST TO THINK OF MAGIC IN A WAY THAT YOU CAN MORE CLEARLY DECIPHER. AS SUCH, I DREW ON A MEDIUM I KNEW YOU TWO HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH. I think of our 3ds systems and chuckle a little. What a considerate little book.

Those words disappear, replaced by a small box that contains info on the spell we were using before. FIRE'S FALLING ARROW. A simple summoning spell that summons from the magic realm soul arrows lit aflame by the cores of angels. Damn, that sounds just like some stuff out of Final Fantasy. That's...so cool!! I feel an excitement course through my chest. So, wait, we actually are, like, mages?! That's so sick oh my god! I'm like Harry Potter or hell, better yet, I'm like Sung Jinwoo! Kinda! Sorta! Ugh...I look over at my sister who seems to drag me back to reality with her empty stare. I close the book. What the hell am I doing getting so excited in a situation like this? Your mother is dead idiot. I sigh. Alright, we need to make a plan for getting to uncle's. That's gonna require money, knowing his address, and the bus schedule. I get up and Chloe follows as we walk back upstairs and to mom's room.

Once inside, I can smell the scent device just plugged into the wall. The mint one she bought from the store today. I do my best to turn my attention to the laptop on the desk. Without a word, I open it up and stare at the password bar. I try both our birthdays, but that isn't it. I grunt, closing my eyes. Let's see, think. The memory that dad gave me returns to mind. 1997. The dance was in 1997. The name of the school is hanging from a banner on the ceiling. I input both the name and the year and end up finding a scan of the old events calendar from then. The only thing on there that fits the bill for dancing is the prom of that year. I input the date, and, presto. It feels a little stingy that this was the answer, but I choose not to bring focus to it. I begin looking through stuff like contacts, and searching up the bus company's schedule for each stop and where they all end up. Thankfully, mom had kept everyone's info bundled in the contacts page and the bus schedule for the different state companies showed we'd be able to pass a few states that way before needing to hoof it ourselves. Unfortunately, the travel from Georgia to Maine is a massive hurdle, but, it's our only real option. Walking from Virginia to Maine was a lot better than straight Georgia to Maine.

I begin writing down all the info we'll need before sighing. Looking it over, yeah, it all looks right. Now, all that was left was to find the money to make even passing through those states possible. With Chloe, we ignored how immoral it felt and began digging around for mom's wallet and purse and any loose change. After what felt like forever, we managed to scrounge up a total of 150 bucks. If we took supplies from the house, we'd probably be able to make the distance. I mentally began calculating just how to split this all up when Chloe lays down on the bed, holding the blanket tight. I take a moment to watch her before slowly walking over to the bed and laying down next to her. She doesn't seem to notice, too lost in thought to be bothered with responding to my presence. I smile gently as I boop her nose.

"Want some hot chocolate?"