I couldn't think straight. My head was a mess, my ribs felt like they'd been stomped on, and worst of all, Ethan might be working for the bad guys. I mean, the guy literally talked about handing over a girl which was obviously me. No wonder he was so freaked out about the letter. He probably wanted to steal it
And then there was the cloaked figure. He said he knew the person who sent me this letter would come eventually does that means he knows the person who sent me the letter and he used the pronoun 'She' confirming my suspicions that mom dropped me the letter. I wanted to know the truth but if I ask him, he'll definitely figure out I was the one who did the whole dramatic window escape.
I sighed. This was complicated but of course, curiosity won the battle, and before I knew it, I was already making my way towards Ethan's house. That's when I heard it a muffled scream.
Who the hell screams in the middle of the night?
I followed the sound, my stomach twisting with unease. I wasn't prepared for what I saw next.
Lying on the ground was Ethan's severed head. His tongue had been cut out, his mouth frozen in an unfinished scream, and his wide, lifeless eyes stared into nothing. I screamed tears escaping my eyes, the sight was so horrifying, I felt my stomach lurch.
Oh, heavens. I was going to hurl.
I barely registered Sabrina's presence before she threw herself at me, sobbing. "I-I wanted to get some new lilies from the garden and… and I found him like this."
Seeing Rina like that only made me cry more
"Where's Vicky?" I croaked.
"He went to call the Chief," she sniffled.
Nodding, I forced myself to move. There was something wrong about this. Ethan's murder wasn't random. The way his head was positioned, the brutality of it… it was a message.
Following the trail of blood, I found myself at the village square and there, strung up like a puppet, was Ethan's headless body. Someone had gone out of their way to stage this.
I took a step closer, my legs shaking. My stomach twisted again, and this time, I couldn't stop myself from vomiting right then and there. I dropped to the ground watching the brutality of it all how could someone be so brutal
"Luna, I came as soon as I can" Vicky whizzed out of breath, I didn't know when I hugged him sobbing into his jacket
"Why...why would anyone do this"
"It's okay, everything is going to be fine" he consoled me, but that was a lie, nothing is going to be fine. I remembered what was written in that letter
"You are not safe" maybe I was not the person that needed protection, maybe it was the people around me that needed protection. I didn't know for how long I let Vicky hold me but soon he stood up, patting my head
"I would go and check up on Rina" I nodded not really listening to what he was saying, my attention was on Ethan's clenched first. I walked to his headless corpse and with trembling fingers, I pried it open and found a note inside.
"Find me."
I stared at the words, my brain taking longer than necessary to process the words. Immediately the words sank in, I laughed. A broken, hysterical sound that quickly turned into sobs.
"You should have killed me instead!" I screamed into the night. "You should have killed me!" Once my voice turned hoarse I gently picked myself from the ground, my skin prickled, the feeling of being watched came back.
I clenched the letter in my fist and whispered "I would find you" I didn't look back I left and went directly into my home, going straight into my room, if my presence here was putting everyone I love in danger then I would leave
I packed whatever I could and planned to leave the next day. Maybe I'd go to Aunt's place and lay low. That seemed safe enough
Sabrina walked in and saw me packing "Where are you going" I looked at her, almost breaking into sobs
"I can't...I can't stay, it's no longer safe" I said, she stared at me with tears stained eyes
"You are leaving because it's no longer safe for you, i am disappointed" the disappointment in her face broke me, I wasn't leaving because it was no longer safe for me but I was leaving because it was no longer safe for them, I saw the letter and it was directed at me, I can't tell her that, I don't want her to be worried than she is
"At least if you are going to leave, say your good byes to those who cares about you and Ethan he deserves that at least, to pay your respects" she turned and left, I sat down staring at the walls of my tiny apartment, tears escaping each eyes, I am lost, I don't know what to do, this village is my everything and just like that everything has shattered, my home, my life, even my friends.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, gripping a small knife just in case, I didn't know what else could come creeping from the shadows.