"Hey, Papa, Papa! There's a building over there. A rundown shack like the Baker house."
"Who do you think made the Baker house like that…?"
"Jack's fault for not maintaining it while infected, I'd say."
Following a light through a creepy path littered with crow carcasses and blood-drained birds hanging from ropes, Eveline floats back from scouting and says this. I thought she could only exist in my perception, but she's aware of spaces beyond my sight. What kind of phantom is this? A ghost makes more sense.
"Looks abandoned. Let's barge in!"
"Eveline, seriously…"
Feels like chasing an energetic daughter. I'd never call her that—she'd get cocky. Inside the dilapidated shack, easing the cold, I head to the basement. A commotion from above makes me rush through a broken wall to the outside. Fresh blood stains the floor. No way.
"P-P-Papa! Something's up there! Something was up there!"
"Calm down. What's 'something'?"
"It was dark, but… human-like, and super scary!"
"Says the girl who terrified me in that creepy kids' room three years ago."
"That was an illusion! I wasn't physically there!"
Mentioning the Baker annex incident reveals she's surprisingly a scaredy-cat. Creating those monsters and acting like this? Such a kid. I snort, and Eveline pouts angrily.
"Stop laughing! You're scared too, Ethan!"
"After fighting a crazier family than any horror flick, this is nothing."
"Honestly, that family got terrifying after going mad… especially Lucas. He peeled his nails off, laughing, yelling at me for nothing. That was scary."
"Y-yeah."
Lucas broke free of her influence, so she found him terrifying—makes sense, I guess. Exiting the forest, dawn breaks. A massive castle and a foggy village appear.
"Where the hell are we?"
"Hogwarts?"
"What, we jumped into a novel?"
"Feels medieval. Maybe we time-traveled?"
"Stop joking. It's too plausible."
"Fine, should I check out the castle?"
"No, stay with me. Warn me if something weird shows up."
"Leave it to your big sis!"
"You're just scared to go alone, aren't you?"
"N-no way!"
Eveline sticks closer since arriving. In the village, horse corpses and fresh, unspoiled eggs are scattered. Old houses show signs of life—lights, lived-in vibes. Odd. Overturned cars and attack marks, but no people. Leaving a house, the horse corpse we saw is gone, dragged off. Eveline and I freeze.
"Eveline, check inside that locked house."
"No way!"
"Someone might be there."
"Absolutely! Not! Going!"
"Fine, let's find an open house."
I want to use my wall-phasing scout, but she's too spooked. In a lit house, I find a knife. It'll do for a fight, maybe? Eveline sticks her head in a crate—her dress flips up, not that I'm looking.
"Pervert, Ethan."
"Stop reading my mind. I'm not into that."
"Says the guy dragging around a cute kid like me? Anyway, that crate's breakable. There's a vial inside."
"Cute kid? News to me. Nice find, though."
"Hey!"
I smash the crate with the knife, grabbing a "healing potion" vial and pocketing it. Better than nothing if attacked—though I'd rather avoid that.
"Only you heal from splashing that stuff, you know."
"Whose fault is that?"
A noise from deeper inside. I nod at Eveline, pull back a curtain, and a bullet grazes my head toward her.
"Stop! Don't shoot!"
"I got shot! I'm gonna die! No—wait, I'm intangible. Yay!"
Ignoring Eveline's solo comedy act, I face the shooter: a haggard old man with a shotgun, visibly shaken.
"Who are you? Who sent you? I heard voices—someone else here?"
"Our chat got overheard? Hilarious."
"Just me. I'm… I was in an accident…"
A scream—not human, like a wolf's howl calling its pack. Eveline freezes midair. The old man, panicked, clutches his shotgun and checks the window.
"What's that…?"
"Shh! Damn it, it's *不受
"They heard the shot!" Eveline snaps.
"Who are they?"
"You got a gun?" the man asks. I shake my head. He hands me a handgun. "Here." I check the mag, Chris's training kicking in. Chris, why'd you kill Mia…?
"Papa! No time for moping! Something scary's up there!" Eveline yells.
"What's coming?"
The old man fires out the window. Nothing's there. What's Eveline's "scary thing"? Suddenly, an arm-like thing crashes through the roof, yanking the man upward. Eveline and I stare in shock.
"What was that…?"
"What the hell!?"
No time to think—an arm from below grabs me, pulling me under. A pile of corpses—men, women, children—surrounds me. So many victims…
"Ethan! You okay!?" Eveline cries.
"Yeah… what!?"
A hidden creature bites my left hand. Searing pain. I stab its head with the knife, but it's too tough, and it rips off my ring and pinky fingers.
"Argh!"
"Ethan, you're bitten!? You okay?"
"Does this look okay!?"
It grabs my collar, smashing me through a wall outside. Eveline floats beside me, worried.
"What? It got your hand again? Between Mama and Lucas, is your left hand cursed? Need a Japanese exorcism?"
"Probably 'cause a demon's always floating nearby… No time for this!"
I aim the handgun at a werewolf-like monster charging me. Damn it, let's do this!
Scaredy-cat, tough-talking, funny Eveline. Lucas is the scariest. This isn't horror—it's wholesome horror-comedy.
Hope you're excited for the next part! Feedback, ratings, or typo reports are welcome—comments fuel my writing speed!