They both wandered around the rest of the house in search of finding something that they might have recognised. Katya even opened doors to rooms she hadn't entered before because Ida was there to keep her company. She felt brave when she was alongside her sister. The house had three bedrooms and Ida pointed out who's room was who's when they had once lived there. Apparently Ida had her own room because she was the eldest whilst Katya and Elsa shared. Katya had absolutely no memories of living there let alone who slept where.

The whole place was covered in dust and dirt. A strong smell of damp drifted up from downstairs and clung to the walls. Katya even found moss growing in the bathroom which she thought was disgusting. She decided to go back into the room with the old cot to look for the pink toy box but it was gone. She wondered if Elsa had taken it. They searched every room and couldn't find anything to remind  them of living there. Katya had no idea how they all lived here just ten years ago. It looked as if it had been abandoned for hundreds of years. They didn't go down to the cellar as Ida didn't want to go anywhere near it so Katya was glad not to have to go down that hell hole again.

As soon as they stepped outside they noticed it was night. The sun had disappeared and the stars shone brightly in the sky. The air was bitter and it looked as if it might snow. They both had torches on their phones which helped them see where they were going.

"Wow. You're right Kat. Time really does fly when you're inside." Ida linked arms with her sister as they took a slow walk home.

"Told you so. Are you disappointed you didn't see Elsa?" Katya asked.

"Part of me is but the other part isn't. I'd like to see her because I miss her but-" Ida stopped talking mid sentence and stood still. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"But?" Katya asked.

Ida didn't answer. Instead she pointed ahead of them and shone the torch in that direction. Katya couldn't see anything at first but when she squinted she saw a small figure. It was Elsa. She wore her veil and white dress and drifted through the trees  into the darkness.

"That's her." Ida said quietly.

"Elsa!" Katya called after the girl.

Both of them wanted to chase after her. They knew she was a ghost but she was their sister so they followed. The more they walked the more trees there were surrounding them. They were no longer walking towards the house but deeper into the woods. Neither of them stopped to turn around. It was as if they were in a trance. They began running after Elsa. A sweet smell of candy wafted through the air behind her.

They suddenly found themselves in a small clearing. A figure stood in the centre but it was no longer Elsa. In fact it was neither human nor ghost. The creature was much taller and rose up into the trees above. It was a black disfigured creature with glowing red eyes. Katya stared up at it in fear. Ida was standing next to her but she wasn't looking at it. She was still looking for Elsa and called her name. It was as if the monstrous being in front of them wasn't even there.

Katya screamed as a long tendril reached out towards her. Three sharp claws stuck out of what appeared to be its arm with the intention of grabbing her. Ida asked what was wrong and the rest became a blur for Katya. She ran and ran away from the entity and towards home. She didn't know which way was which but with the help of her torch on her phone she could just about see the moon shining on the sea which indicated that she was running the right way. But something was coming after her. Whether it was Ida or the demonic creature she wasn't sure but she continued to run.

Katya wound her way through pine trees and spiky bushes as she spotted her house up ahead. All of a sudden she found herself face down on the dirty ground. Ida helped get her up but she was in agony. A jolt of pain seared through her body. She clutched onto her belly and cried out.

"Help me!" Katya shouted.

"We're almost back Kat. I'm going to get you in the car and take you to the hospital." Ida raised her voice over Katya's pleas.

Ida helped her over to the car as Katya hobbled beside her. Her belly felt like it was on fire. It was as if she had period cramps but a million times worse. Her vision began to haze over and she blacked out.

                             ***

Katya slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was in a brightly light white room with machines beeping around her. As she looked down at her body she noticed she was hooked up to them. In this position her belly looked much larger. Ida sat in a corner reading a magazine and happened to look up at Katya at that very moment.

"Kat you're awake!" She got up and pulled a chair to the bed where Katya lay.

Katya guessed that she was in a hospital. "What happened to me?"

Ida pushed a lock of hair out of Katya's eyes. "You tripped over a tree branch when you were running. I have no idea what you were running from exactly but it looked like you wanted to escape from something. I chased after you and found you lying on the ground crying. I drove you here about an hour ago. The doctors have checked you over but they haven't told me the results yet."

Katya remembered them in the woods. "Didn't you see the huge black creature?"

Ida looked confused. "No what black creature? Elsa was there but nothing else."

Just as Katya was about to reply a male doctor walked into the room with a clipboard. He looked to be in his mid forties and was handsome.

"Hello Katya. I'm Doctor Navarro. We haven't had a chance to meet yet as you were unconscious when you were admitted here. One of the nurses did an ultra sound on your baby as you fell on your stomach and we have some interesting news."

Katya and Ida listened intently.

"Your baby is fine which is good but we have found a strange anomaly. You are four months pregnant but your baby is growing at three times the speed of a normal baby. We have never seen anything quite like it before so we are running a few more tests to find out what it is."

Katya couldn't believe what the doctor was telling her. Her baby was growing faster than any other baby?
"Do you know when it will be born?"

The doctor looked down at his clip board before answering. "Anytime in the next month or so."

Katya looked at Ida in shock and then down at her bulging belly. What was growing inside of her?

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