Chapter Four
1021 Words
Emma
After the Elders assigned me to the peace team investigating the Crestwood attack, I wasted no time gathering a team to head there. Calling it a settlement felt strange because it had once been a thriving town, full of life. Now, it was barely a shadow of what it used to be.
"It didn’t age well," Muna muttered as we walked through the quiet streets.
The buildings were relics of the '90s, their exteriors faded and cracked. Grass peeked through the broken pavement, but even the greenery looked wilted, like the place had been languishing for years.
"I thought they approved renovations at some point," Muna said, wrinkling her nose as a rat darted from a shack. "This place needed a facelift like yesterday."
The silence unsettled me. The streets should have had survivors, people salvaging what was left of their lives.
"Where did everyone go?" I murmured, nudging aside a pile of discarded debris with the toe of my boot.
The lack of life made the town feel abandoned, but I doubted everyone had simply disappeared.
Many had fled out of fear, but there were also those who hadn’t been able to escape in time.
A faint shuffling sound broke the eerie quiet.
Everyone tensed instantly.
My dagger slid into my palm as the front door of a nearby house creaked open.
A small girl peered out, clutching a worn-out teddy bear.
Her eyes, large and full of fear, darted between us.
I took a cautious step forward, lifting my hands in a non-threatening gesture.
As I drew closer, her scent became clear. She was a vampire.
I crouched to her level. "Are you alone, sweetheart? Where are your parents?"
She didn’t answer.
The longer she stared at me, the tighter my stomach clenched.
"My mummy..." Her lower lip trembled as she pointed toward the house.
I already knew what I would find.
Still, I forced my feet to move.
The air inside was stale, heavy with a lingering wrongness.
The house was in poor condition with worn-out furniture, damp carpeting, and water-stained ceilings. But none of that was what made my chest tense.
It was the stillness.
The kind that only came when life had been abruptly stolen.
In the kitchen, two figures lay crumpled together, unmoving.
I didn’t step closer. I didn’t need to.
The sheer absence of life was glaring. The little girl's parents were gone.
Swallowing hard, I turned on my heel and walked back outside, forcing the door shut behind me.
The little girl watched me closely, as if searching my face for the truth she already knew.
My pulse pounded with unspent rage, but there was no one left to fight. No enemy standing here.
Just loss.
The urge to break something rose sharp and fast, but I held it in.
Muna nudged my arm, murmuring, "Emma, you’re scaring her."
I exhaled slowly, unclenching my fists.
The girl had been through enough. She didn’t need to see more violence.
Bending toward her, I softened my expression and made a goofy face. Then another.
She blinked. Then, finally, a small giggle escaped her lips.
It wasn’t much, but it was something. A sound of childishness.
Her auburn hair, once vibrant, looked dull and tangled. Gently, I tucked a strand behind her ear.
"You’re safe now," I murmured. "I promise."
Her little fingers gripped her teddy bear tighter.
"Mummy said to hide," she whispered. "She said they’d come back for me."
I swallowed past the lump in my throat.
She had done exactly as her mother told her.
But they hadn’t come back.
Because they couldn’t. And she would never see them again.
"Hey," I said softly, "we’ll find out who did this. And they won’t get away with it."
The words felt too heavy coming out of my mouth. It was a risky promise.
But one I needed to make.
***
We left the house behind and headed toward the car. I helped the girl into the backseat while Muna pulled me aside.
"This place was falling apart even before the attack," I muttered. "We failed them."
Muna sighed. "There’s nothing we can do about that now. But we can make sure the wolves pay."
I glanced back toward the broken homes, the ghost town left in the aftermath.
"It wasn’t random," I murmured. "The attack... it felt too targeted."
Muna frowned. "You think they were trying to send a message?"
"Maybe. But to who?" And why this poor, desolate town?
We didn’t have enough answers yet.
"I don’t even know her name," I muttered, glancing at the little girl.
"We don’t need to ask yet," Muna said. "She’ll tell us when she’s ready. Let’s focus on getting her checked out first."
The drive back was rough, the terrain unforgiving, but I barely noticed.
At some point, the girl dozed off, her small frame pressing against me.
Carefully, I adjusted her position, my hand resting lightly on her tangled hair.
Muna watched but didn’t comment.
We were both lost in thought when the driver’s voice cut through the silence.
"That’s odd."
I looked up at the puzzled tone.
A vehicle, similar to ours, was approaching on the same narrow road.
For a second, I dismissed it.
Then I felt it... an electric shift in the air.
A sudden, heavy awareness.
Something about this wasn’t right.
The weight of the girl’s head on my lap made me glance down. She was too defenseless, too fragile.
A protective instinct surged inside me. If there was danger headed towards us...
Muna was already typing on her tablet. "Who else is supposed to be in this area?"
"No one," I said, my voice tight.
The road was too empty and the timing was too perfect.
As our SUVs passed each other, I caught a glimpse of the occupants inside the other vehicle.
There were three figures and one of them was staring directly at me.
My pulse quickened and I jerked my gaze forward sharply.
I didn’t look back.
But I knew.
We weren’t alone on this road.
And whoever they were—
They weren’t here by accident.
- Writer
