David arrived back at his new apartment. He was pissed, tired and upset.

"Why did Karine act like that?" he asked himself as he ate some lunch in his new apartment. It wouldn't bother him so much if he knew the reason why.

Sitting in his new apartment's bedroom, David had turned off all the lights and was sitting alone in the dark. This felt comfortable. He started to run through the events of the day in his head. Everything was completely as expected until he had touched that soul-root stone during the test.

Wondering exactly what the soul-root stone was really all about, David had recalled some information he had read in the book Mr. Gauge had given him when he first arrived to the Carmine Corporation. Grabbing his book, he started flipping through pages until he found the section he was looking for.

The book read, "There exists several types of items, such as soul-root stones, that clans frequently use in order to evaluate new members. These items are all unique and can offer the clan organization a glimpse into the talent, affinity and family history of the test subject. For example, a soul-root stone can test for any affinity by color and will glow with an intensity to match the talent level. However, some test takers may experience glimpses into their soul that gives them insight into powerful ancestors or even past lives; hence the name soul-root stone as it helps one search for the root of the soul."

"WOW," David said out loud. Thinking over the whole experience, the beyond beautiful woman in the darkness did call him her child. But she also called him her friend. It was kind of confusing but at least it gave him some idea of what was going on. She must be David's very power ancestor. It sounded like she still existed somewhere far off from here. And she said she would give him some help. He wondered what this help would involve. He knew that he felt something different about himself, but he couldn't quite figure out what had changed.

He decided that he would spend more time on it later. Right now, he was still agitated from the events that occurred earlier with Karine.

Reviewing his last conversation with Mr. Gauge, David remembered something the older man had said. He had told David to 'go home and rest'. David decided to do just that. He packed up his backpack with a change of clothes, grabbed the keys to his truck that was now parked in storage, and left the Carmine's housing building in a cab.

When the guard asked where he was going, David had responded, "I am just going for a ride to the store." David didn't want anyone harassing him. Why should he tell these people where he was going? He wasn't a prisoner.

________________________________________

David had been on the road for about 3 and a half hours of the 6 hour journey to travel 350 miles to his family home. His old truck was moving along the highway steadily. It had taken him a few extra minutes to get the truck started earlier today, but it was running just fine now. David should be able to make it back to his parents' house before dark. With the mess that had been going on for the last 6 months, David felt the need to get back to something steady and normal. His old home could be the best medicine for his current emotional state.

To help him ease his mind on the ride, he called Karine. As expected, no one answered. David needed some release of his frustration so he left a message.

"Karine, this is David. I honestly don't know what to say. In the past 6 months, I have been almost killed twice, my family forced to see me in a bad condition, introduced to another world, I have lost my job on a project I loved, I have been forced into a different life by the Carmine Corporation. But honestly none of that was as bad as having a friend turn her back on me and having someone who I have developed feelings for show me that she doesn't care at all. Thank you for showing me the reality. I will remember this lesson. Goodbye."

After the call, David turned off his phone. He wanted a quiet ride.

——————————————

After riding for a few more hours, David found himself passing the "Welcome to Benson" sign on the main highway. Benson was a small town of around 1,500 residents. Most everybody was involved in some industry related to farming or timber. David's dad was a forester who was responsible for the management of tens of thousands of acres of land. David's mom worked part-time as a human resources administrator for several small farms that were together in a co-op. David had grown up in this rural environment.

His parents actually didn't not live in the town limits of Benson. They lived on a large tract of land about 10 miles outside of town. David's dad had managed to purchase a large section of timber land from his employer when he was younger and now their family's home rested at the center of a 100 acre tract of land. David had grown up here, but had left to pursue his career in architecture.

Thinking about his architecture career, David couldn't help but chuckle to himself. That career is pretty much over. After the second time David was attacked and placed in the hospital, the Carmine Corporation had made him a job offer he couldn't really refuse. He hadn't officially joined the company yet because the employment contract had been a bit vague. He also hadn't done a bit of real architecture work in 6 months.

Before he knew it, David passed through the small town of Benson and was turning off the main highway onto a long gravel drive. The gravel drive to his home was shaded by the overgrowth of trees on both sides of the entrance. Although the Knox's owned a large piece of land, David's dad had left most of the property in its original overgrown state. The land was basically a driveway, a two acre cleared piece of land with a house and a barn, and 99 acres of wilderness. David had enjoyed playing in that wilderness so much when he was a child. The memories made David smile as he drove down the long driveway to his parent's house.

Pulling up next to his house, David beeped the horn to let his mom know someone was here. In a few seconds, David's mother came walking out of the house.

"I thought I recognized that goofy sounding horn," David's mom said with a big smile stretching across her face as she saw David walking up to the front door. She quickly walked forward and gave David a big hug. A sigh came from David as a certain level of tension went away when he was in his mom's embrace. Hearing the sign, David's mom pushed him away and looked up at his face.

"It's just good to be home, mom," David said seeing the question in her eyes.

"Dad is on his way back from work. I need to run inside real quick to put a few more things on the stove for dinner. Why didn't you call?", David's mom asked as she went back into the house. David followed his mom into the house. Breathing a deep breath through his nose, David relished in the smell of his childhood home. This visit home is just what he needed.

"I wanted to surprise you two," David responded with a smile on his face.

As David was sitting in the kitchen with his mom chatting about this and that, he heard another car pulling down the gravel driveway.

"Dad must be home," David said as he got up to go welcome his father home.

Standing at the front door smiling, David could see his dad slowly get out of his work truck with a big grin on his face.

"Damn, it is nice seeing that truck in the driveway," David's dad said as he was walking toward the house.

"Great to see you, Dad," David said as he walked toward the similar sized man and gave him a hug. "You've gotten pretty slim there David. Better get inside and put some of mama's good food in your belly."

Laughing, the family turned and walked into the house.

_______________________________________

David was laying down in his old bed staring out his window at the full moon. Tonight's dinner was awesome. He really enjoyed being with his family again. His mom and dad had been concerned about David as they talked. David had left out many details that he knew his parents shouldn't know about, but he had filled them on his apparent fallout with Karine.

Feeling good and a bit sleepless, David decided to venture out of the house and go for a night time walk in the woods. He had went out into the woods at night since he was about 15 years old and his sister died. This is one of the reasons his parents had accepted the story the Carmines had given about David's injuries. David would frequently take strolls in the dark.

As David sneaked out of the house in order to not disturb his parents, he grabbed a few things along the way. Although the moon was bright and David was used to night time hikes, he grabbed a flashlight if he needed one. He also grabbed his trusted walking stick and looped his hunting knife on his belt. Everything he might need for a quick hike around the property.

After walking out the house, David managed to walk across the open area around the house in the moonlight easily. It only took him a minute to find his favorite hiking trail. This trail made a big loop around the entire property. David usually spent around 2-3 hours in hiking this trail at night. Looking back at the house, David stepped off into the night.