Silence can be so Loud... Pt 5

The cabin looked as if it were 20 miles from the car. In reality, it was only 100 yards.The length of a football field. It seemed so much further to Clarise and Kindred. The cuts and scratches were deep and their bodies were weak from the last encounter. Kindred ran to Clarise and tried to shield her body from the unseen souls.
 "Just keep running, sweetheart. It isn't too far now!"
 They reached the door and realized it was locked. Standing still was the worst thing they could do. The souls cut as deep as they could. Kindred could hear their voices as they tore into his back, trying to reach through to his heart. He cried out and pulled Clarise to his chest, covering her heart so the souls could not touch it. Kindred tried to put the key in the door. A deep laceration to his hand caused him to drop the keys. In desperation, he reached for a brick and ran towards a window.
 "No-o-o-o-o-o Kindred," Clarise called out, "Do Not break a window! The souls will use it to come inside the cabin! I'll get the keys!"
 Kindred dropped the brick and ran back to Clarise. She stood with the key in her hand. She was trying to unlock the door but the blood running down her face was clouding her vision.
 "I can't see the key-hole, Kindred! Please, help me!"
 Kindred grabbed the keys from her, stopping only for a moment to touch her face. He wanted to cry, but he knew he needed clear eyes to unlock the door. Clarise fell to the ground, trying to protect her chest. Kindred turned to pick her up.
 "No, no... for God's sake, for My sake, just get us inside the cabin! They are too strong out here!"
 The door suddenly opened. Kindred reached down and scooped Clarise off the ground. He carried her limp body into the cabin, kicking the door shut with his foot. He laid her on the sofa and feel to his knees. Tearing his shirt off, he tried to wipe the blood from her face. Clarise appear to be lifeless. He quickly checked for a Pulse. A sigh came from him as he felt the speeding "thump, thump," of her racing heart. Clarise stirred under his touch.
 "Safe, Kindred?"
 "Yes sweetheart, we are safe for now. They can not come inside the cabin. Apparently, my Aunt and Uncle's spirits are still protecting me here. Let's get cleaned up and allow these wounds to start healing. Then we will find a way to beat these things, once and for all."
 They showered and put on clean clothes. Kindred found food in the pantry and the refridge. The cabin appeared to be well stocked and the freshness told him it had been done recently.
 "I don't know who has been to the cabin. I thought I was the only one that knew of it other than you and my mother. I seriously doubt that she stocked the cabin for me."
 "Right now, I don't care who did it. I am just relieved we are here. Kindred, we need to talk about one more thing.  This is something you, yourself, will need to help me with. I understand where the "souls" have come from. You mention the "dark people" and speak as if they help you. Please tell me who they are. I need to know if they are friend or foe."
 "During the worst times of the abuse, I would go to a wooded area behind our house. I would stay there sometimes until far into the night, waiting until I thought my father would be passed out. It was during those times that I would try and escape from the realities of my life. Sometimes I would drift to sleep and the "dark people" would come to me and help to heal my wounds. I could never really see them but I knew they were there. Somehow, they made my hunger go away and made my belly fill as if it were full. They would touch me and make my cuts hurt less until they healed. I call them "dark people" because they only came in the night and I could not see them."
 "Something your mind conjured to cope with the horrible things that you were fighting."
 "No! No, you are wrong, Clarise. They were not fake nor fabricated by my mind. They truly exist and have saved my life more times than I can remember."
 "Kindred, I am not belittling them. I am just saying that perhaps..."
 "When we need them, they Will be there for us, Clarise. I need you to believe or they may not help us. Sooner or later we are going to have to go outside. I won't do that until night time. I, we need the help of the "dark people" if we are going to win."
 The windows shook as the "souls" tried to enter the cabin. Kindred walked around the cabin as if he did not even hear them. Clarise found herself clutching at her chest at every sound, fearful that they would get inside somehow and take her heart. They slept off and on, feeling safe to drift off, without the fear of the souls coming in through their sleep. Clarise was startled from her rest by the sounds of a door slamming shut.
 "Kindred!?!?" She looked at the front door. It was still locked. Searching through the cabin, she panicked when she realized Kindred was not inside. She raced to a window that gave her full view of the forest. Her eyes searched frantically for Kindred. She called out to him from the window. Suddenly she heard the front door open and saw Kindred enter. She threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply. As quickly as she had done so, she shoved him back away from her.
 "Where were you!?!?!? Why did you go outside?!? You left me here alone, damn you!"
 Kindred took her in his arms. "You were safe inside, Clarise. I had to be sure the "dark people" were here with us. They will be here when we need them. I hoped they might have some answers for us as to how to defeat the "souls."
 "And???"
 "Clarise, you do know why I was institutionalized, right?"
 "They told me it was for your own safety. They believed that you were hurting yourself... that the wounds they found on you were put there by you."
 "They locked me up because I told them of the souls and dark people. I tried to explain that those that hurt me, used me for their own pleasure and satisfaction, mainly my father and his insatiable appetite to inflict pain, had created a new world for me. A world where I could be safe and without shame and pain. They tried to be kind but told me that that world was not real. I lost control and they sedated me. They made me Sleep, Clarise! In their good intentions, they opened the door for the souls to come in and try and kill me. When they came in the next morning, saw the wounds and my bleeding, they refused to believe that the "souls" had done it. The doors were locked and my nightmare became my reality. They would search my room for anything I could have used to cause the new wounds every night. They would find nothing."
 Kindred suddenly stopped speaking. Clarise saw his eyes widen and fear take over his looks. She stared at him as he looked around slowly. Then, she too heard it. Her heart beat twice as fast and she took hold of Kindred's hands. The voice was soft. It sounded so gentle and kind. Clarise held Kindred closer.
 "Do not listen, Kindred. Cover your ears! Do something to block it out!" She knew he wasn't hearing anything she was saying. He heard only the soft, reassuring voice of his Mother.
 "I will save you, baby. Mommy loves her baby. I won't let any more harm come to you. Mommy knows how badly you hurt. Let me take it all away for you. I Love you, Kindred. Please don't leave me out here, baby boy."
 Clarise held on to him tight. She cried out and wrapped herself around him. She panicked when Kindred stood, as if she were not holding him at all. She screamed as he walked towards the door.