Chapter 94: Kidnapped(2) (1/2)
Arriving in front of the elderly couple's General Store, Lily pushed on the door and cheerfully shouted.
”GOOD DAY MR. AND MRS. NORTON, I'M LILY, I CAME TO CHECK UP ON YOU!”
As she walked to the counter, she couldn't hear any response nor any movement. Thinking that they may be in the back, she shouted once again.
”HEYA, MR. AND MRS. NORTON, IT IS ME, LILY! ARE YOU IN THE BACK? DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?”
Once again, waiting for a few seconds and not hearing any sort of response or reaction, she decided to check up on them. After all, they were both in their advanced ages, and she was worried that they might have hurt themselves packing some big boxes.
Shouting once again, she also made her way behind the counter.
”I will go to the back, okay?
As she got to the corridor separating the front and the back area, she noticed signs of struggle which alarmed her, so she readied her bow..
Small, dried red stains could be seen coming from one of the rooms and trailing all the way to the back. The door was damaged, and although it wasn't completely destroyed, it was also not in a usable state anymore.
Following the trail back to its source, Lily frowned when she entered the room where she just enjoyed a nice chat with Mrs. Norton only a day ago. The room was in ruins, the wooden table and chairs they sat on were now on the ground, in splinters.
The room looked like a wreckage, but as there was nothing that she could use to get some understanding of what could have happened, Lily turned around, and while keeping her trusty bow in-hand, sternly looked at the half-destroyed door, and left the room. Slowly, carefully following the trail of blood while focusing on the smallest of sound she was soon in front of the second room with another battered door that was probably kicked-in, judging from the splintered remains of what used to be the place for the door knob.
She was not a rookie anymore, and although the blood seemed to be at least several hours old there could still be people hiding. With her previous entrance, the enemy was already aware of her presence, and could be hiding in any corner or shadow waiting for the right moment to ambush her.
Steadily following the path, she peeked into the second room, which was probably used as a sort of kitchen-slash-dining room in the past, using the bottom limb of her bow. It was in a similar state as their living room: destroyed tables and chairs left in splinters, wrecked cupboard, and massive trails of blood, the signs of a scrap.
Between the rubble, Lily noticed a shining object. Carefully entering the room, she made her way to the debris and crouched down.
”This is probably her ring…” she muttered to herself as she picked up the dusty object. Placing it into her pouch to return it to her later, she got up, and while maintaining her vigil, she left the room.
The only room left unchecked was the storage room in the back. That was the biggest room in the building and also, the farthest from the entrance, Lily was expecting surprises.
'Bastards… Hurting such a nice couple because of your greed…' she grumbled inwardly but kept her focus on the outside. As she closed on the only door that was kept intact, Lily slowly stretched the bowstring.
She carefully sneaked in front of the door, and placed her head on the frame, listening for clues. After a few seconds of painful silence, keeping up her focus, she still heard and felt no presence on the other side.
'Here goes nothing… Gosh, I wish brother was here now, he would know if there's anybody hiding…'
She slowly pushed down the handle, and then quickly grabbing the bow and keeping it ready, she used her right feet to push it open.
As the door creaked open, it slowly revealed a dark, unlit room. The light that sneaked in from the hallway illuminated a slender section ahead, the ruined remains of some boxes and vegetables was revealed. The trail of blood continued all the way until it stopped in a small dried-up puddle in front of the wall opposite to the door.
As the light reached the walls, a gruesome sight revealed itself to Lily. A severed hand, the source of the blood she was following, was pinned to the wall. The wrinkly hands were hogging on the crumbled piece of paper. Grimacing at the horrific sight, Lily carefully entered the room, still being alert of a potential ambush. She couldn't be sure that there weren't any more surprises left for her lurking in the shadows.
Finally confirming that there were no more surprises left, Lily walked to the hand, and after a brief struggle, she fried the note that was left there.
As she expected, it was a message left for her, although the brief notification caused her to grimace once again.