After hearing about the Wilsons, Mira took off with the man.
"Wilson's? The heck?" Frederic, confused, exits the house, following the crowd
"Hey, wait!" Autumn shouted before running after him
Leo and Thomas exchange glances.
Both their eyes unsteady
Breaths hitching
The two cautiously exited the house. The commotion was getting louder.
They walked toward it
Upon arriving, there were a lot of villagers crowding around a house
Sobs were heard coming from inside
"I knew I heard something last night," a man muttered to another
"Was it a bear?" another asked
"They didn't deserve this," a woman said
"Where were the guards last night?"
The boys pushed and weaved through the crowd
Just as they made their way to the front, they froze
Leo's hand began to shake
Dried blood was splashed just at the entrance. A hand rested in the middle of it all
The door was shattered into pieces
Leo turned
A few feet away from the house lay a woman, her lower body missing.
She had a deep gash across her chest area. Her right arm was missing.
Suddenly
Mira was being assisted out of the house by Autumn and a guard.
Tears filled her eyes as she sobbed
"MOM!!" Frederic shouted, rushing over to his mom
Immediately after, she threw up
Frederic and two other villagers were aiding her
Autumn made her way toward the boys
"What happened?" Thomas asked
"I-I don't know but... something murdered that family," She said, her breath shaking
She hugged herself while looking at Mira
"The guards don't know what happened," she said. "It was horrible. There were body parts everywhere."
Thomas shifted slightly after hearing that
Just then, two guards exited the house and ordered the crowd to leave
With little resistance, everyone finally left
[BACK AT THE CABIN]
Sniffles echoed throughout the room
"Claudine was like a sister to me," Mira said, wiping her eyes with a cloth
Autumn rubbed her back gently, but Mira started crying again
Everyone lingered around her chair silently
"First my husband, my son, then my... friends," she said before crying louder
Frederic clenched his fist briefly
He turned from the group walking to his room
Leo followed
"You good?" he asked.
"Yeah! I'm great," he said sarcastically
Leo calmly held his gaze
Frederic sighed
"I hate seeing her like this," he answered
"What she said earlier... was that true?" Leo asked
"Yeah..." Frederic said, sitting on the edge of his bed.
Heads low, hands clasped.
"That's strange," Thomas said as he entered the room
Frederic nodded
For minutes, no one spoke
Until—
"My father and brother also had beast-like attacks related to their deaths," Frederic said
Thomas and Leo exchanged glances while Frederic hesitated
"Go on," Thomas said
"M-My father was the first to die, three years ago when I was thirteen."
"I don't know what happened but, he was hunting with two other men and they never came back. After 2 days of searching we found one of the men's body," he said, tears welling at his eyes
"Arkell... He was found near the Grimveil forest, torn apart. The searchers said it could have been an animal. But... theres no fucking animal around here that could do that," his voice began to swell
"And no one dares go near the Grimveil forest, MUCH LESS ENTER!!! he shouted
"I'm surprise they let you guys in here," he added, voice soft.
"Why would my dad enter or go near that forest after how he rammed the knowledge of 'not going there' into me and Frank's head?"
Frederic held his head in his hands. Tje tears fell onto his lap
"Then my brother... Frank. I don't know what happened."
"What do you mean?" Leo asked
"I don't remember. I remember Frank wanted to know what killed his dad, so he memorized the guards' patterns and shifts so he could exit the village at night."
"I tried talking him out of the idea every night he returned. He wouldn't listen."
"On the 7th night he said he found something. The bones of my dad and the other man. Mr. Wilson."
"The point where he mentioned my dad's bones was when I somehow talked myself into going with my brother,"
"My brother led me past the fields into the woods, then to the entrance of Grimveil."
"At first I thought he was gonna enter because that's where I would stop, but then he took a right turn."
"What I saw was a cave-like tomb with weird symbols on the wall. And right there I saw what could be my dad's bones and Mr Wilson's,"
Frederic tightened his fist, eyes clenched shut
"From how the bones were structured, it seems one was carrying the other and entered the cave before whatever came for them."
"Then, I don't know what happened next. The guards said they found me having a seizure right at the gates,"
Silence
Neither of the two could find the words to say
Thomas had his mouth partly open. The words never came
"Shit." He forced the word
"Did you tell them what happened?" Leo asked
"I did, and I even tried showing them where the tomb was, but it was gone."
"Just like Frank." He finished
"I didn't know you were going through this all along," a soft voice said "I'm so sorry."
Everyone turned
It was Autumn, leaning against the entrance
Frederic's face flushed. He turned away from them.
"Well... whatever," he said
"Where's mom?" he asked
"In her room, she managed to calm down," Autumn answered. "She really took it to heart."
...
Time passed throughout the gloomy house
The night has risen
The house was dark, mostly
A small candle rested on the floor, illuminating the room with a pale yellow glow
Leo lay on the mat near the corner, and Thomas closer to Frederics bed.
The boys looked almost like shadows
All three were on their backs, gazing up at the ceiling
No one spoke, just silence
There wasn't even a breeze outside
"Yo, Fred? you still up?" Thomas asked softly
"Don't call me that," Frederic answered
"Fine, Fine, but I was thinking," Thomas said. "I don't think this is a coincidence. Someone could be next."
"No shit," Frederic answered, still looking at the ceiling
"We gotta do something... there has to be clues," Thomas added
"What are you? Sherlock?" Leo asked gloomily
He turned on his mat, staring at Thomas's silhouette.
Eyes hanging low
"What?"
Suddenly
Frederic sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes
"What's a Sherlock?" Frederic asked
Leo didn't answer.
He shifted on the mat, turning his back to them
He could feel Frederic's gaze on him
"It's nothing to worry about," he heard Thomas say
The boys settled into their beds.
Leo stared at the wall, sheet wrapped up to his neck
"Where the fuck are we?" he whispered to himself
Then—
The candle died
Complete silence overtook the room. Soft snores echoedfrom Thomas's side
But
Something else began to glow inside the room
Frederic's necklace.
...
The next day, Thomas was awakened by sunlight shining in on his face.
He sat up, yawned and stretched before making his way to the living room.
He walked toward the exit, but as he was at the leave, a spear was blocked his path, inches from his neck.
"Halt! You are not allowed to leave until the council arrives," a guard shouted
"I just wanna wash my face," he said, yawning
"Not my problem, kid," the guard answered
A few laughs echoed from the kitchen
He followed the laughter. It was Autumn and Frederic
"Huh? Oh, good morning" Autumn said, smiling at him
"Finally decided to get out the bed, eh?" Frederic said.
Thomas shrugged, yawning
Autumn poured tea into her cup and handed it to Thomas
"Thanks..."
"Now shoo" Frederic said, motioning for Thomas to leave
Thomas narrowed his eyes at Frederic before leaving
He went back into the living room
Leo was bouncing a ball on the wall while whistling
"Yo"
"Sup"
The two exchanged greetings
"Wonder what they were laughing about?" Thomas said, sipping his tea
"Who?" Leo asked
"Autumn and Frederic."
Leo stopped bouncing the ball and looked at him as he talked
"Don't really care," Leo answered
He began bouncing the ball again
Suddenly, his brows furrowed
He crushed the ball
Thomas flinched, spilling his tea
"What the hell are we even doing in this village?" Leo asked
"We'll get answers from the council, remember?" Thomas answered
"Fuck the council. This place is fucking haunted," Leo said
"Let's just wait until they come," Thomas said. "It's the only way we get answers."
...
[THE NEXT DAY]
A loud knocking was heard on the door and Mira ran into there room
"The council has arrived!" The guard shouted
Thomas jumped up instanly while Leo got up slowly. When they reached the living room, Autumn was already putting on her slippers
After they got ready to meet the council, they headed into the village square
The crowd was circled around a chariot
Dozens of knights surrounded the chariot
A knight opened the door. An old man in long robes slowly exited the chariot
He had blonde hair, green eyes, and was very tall and upright. He also had a small scepter with a red gem in it
"We present to you, Sir Timothy Gladwin!" a knight shouted
"This is the council?" Thomas asked
"It's one of them. Now be quiet" Mira answered
The crowd had already singled out the trio
No one stood beside them
Gladwin walked toward them. Mira bowed briefly.
"So, these are the kids I heard about?" He stared at all 3 of them like he knew their every sin
"Doesn't look so innocent to me," he said
"And you said they came from the Grimveil Forest?"
"Yes, your humble sir," Mira answered
The man studied the teens, eyes locking with each one
The scepter in his hand glowed
"Fools..." he muttered
"These are the monsters that are killing your people!" he shouted
"Arrest them!" Gladwin roared
"What!?" Autumn shouted
The knights unsheathed their swords while rushing over to the
group
They tried to cuff Leo, but he moved his hand and catches the knight's face
He twisted and threw the knight, sending him crashing through the roof of a house
Everyone went silent
"You see? Monster!" Gladwin shouted, aiming the scepter at them
All the knights, guards, and even villagers charged toward the trio
End