3 Chapter Three

At the thought of her mother and father, her heart constricted, and tears started to well up. With a soft whimper, she bent over and let out a sob.

They were gone.

They were really gone.

The corrupted monster must have got them.

Why did they stay here?

She had begged her family to come to the city, to come behind the safety of the walls. Rayna sobbed and pressed her forehead into the ground, her body shaking.

They were gone. The thought raced around Rayna's head.

She pulled herself up, still sniffling, and looked at the book. Was this all she had left of them? A strange unnatural looking book?

Reaching for it, she pulled it to her chest in a hug let out another sob.

As she wallowed in her grief, tears running down her face, her eyes drifted around the bleak tiny cellar, and she slowly began to realize that the storages of food were low. Her sobs grew quiet, and her sadness started to be replaced by confusion.

All of the preserves her mother usually would make were not there. Even the ones from years past that she had stubbornly insisted were fine were gone. Even the dried meats and hanging herbs were nowhere to be found. Her brow furrowed as she looked around besides the storage of a few empty crates. The cellar was barren. Cobwebs and dust piled up.

That was unlike her mother.

She frowned as her mind slowly caught up.

'Wait,' her mind started, 'if it was night monsters that attacked. Why did they leave behind body parts?' She began to take in details. And the Lure. Her parents wouldn't have put a Lure in the house. Who would butcher her parents and place a Lure?

Rayna pulled herself up, slipping the book into her pack as she moved towards the ladder, looking around as she climbed the stairs.

Had they been struggling? And not telling her? Had something happened to her mother? Had they made enemies with someone? But who was even capable of making a Lure?

Worry consumed her as she climbed. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open, carefully climbing out. Her ears rang as she looked nervously around.

She didn't see anything.

Standing, she winced as the heavy door to the basement slammed shut, shattering the peacefulness of the morning air.

She paused, her blood going cold, when she realized the body parts and gore were almost all but gone. Blood trailed out of the front door. Windows were shattered, the door ripped from its hinges. Deep gouges marred the walls and floors. She started looking around, her feet dragging her forwards as she moved around in a dazed mix of fear and shock.

The house was barren as well—no food in the kitchen. No personal effects anywhere to be seen, no pictures, nothing.

She checked rooms, finding each the same. More and more were empty.

Rayna paused outside her old room. Her shoulders fell in sadness. It had been a year since she saw it. Nothing remained. Not even her childhood bed. Just blood and broken furniture.

Was all this blood from her parents? The thought was upsetting, and she shook her head.

Pushing away, she headed to the room at the end of the hall. The closer she got, the more her body struggled to move, the more her body refused to ignore her.

'Just open the door.' Rayna wanted to growl. Her hand twitched around the knob. Everything in her body did not want to open the door.

"It's just a door, Rayna." She scolded herself. A room she never went in. Her parents made sure always to lock it. It most likely is still sealed.

She turned the knob and a click sliced through the silence. Her eyes widened as she pushed the heavy door open. What was in the room had her stumbling back, horror in her body.

There was an altar.

"No." She whispered.

Blood splattered the walls, the same symbols from the book cover, and more. A monstrous creature was painted in blood, long appendages coming off his back and shoulders. And teeth. So many teeth.

Her back hit the wall, and she jumped.

What was this? Had this always been here? In this house? Just down the hallway where she attempted to sleep every night for her entire childhood?

Tears welled up.

What had they been doing? What were they worshiping, and why? What was in the book?

The longer she remained in this house, the more questions piled up, overflowed and overwhelmed her. Her eyes traced the creature painted on the walls. Something cold seeped into her chest, and she gripped at her cloak tightly.

With a sob, she turned and sprinted through the cottage and pushed herself outside.

Looking back, she felt fear fill her.

The cottage no longer looked like the place she had reluctantly called home. It was more of a nightmare now than ever before.

With one final look, she turned and headed back towards the city.