*Warning: Contains a few scenes of violence and assault in the end.*

Chestwood town.

1999

The raindrops pattered on the top of the wooden shed. The sound was deafening. Irritating. Maddening to be precise. It should have been calming instead. But it had not stopped raining since morning. 

The clouds bellowed as the water arrows kept attacking the town. 

The trees splenetically collided on the kitchen window of the house. The flame of the stove on the kitchen counter flickered as a wave of breeze managed to slide in from the ajar window. An old, stoic woman, who was standing near the stove, extended her hands to close the window. She slid the lid of the container to see three eggs slightly bouncing in the boiling water. 

She turned it off and brought the eggs out to put them in a bowl of cold water. She rubbed her hands on her brown cardigan and headed towards the freshly baked bagels on the slab. She put them each on three different plates. 

She walked out of the kitchen to the living room to get the kitchen cloth that she forgot on the table. 

A woman with a gloomy countenance sat still on the sofa in the living. A few tears trickled down her puffy eyes. She kept wiping them away as they kept flowing. No sound left her mouth though.

A little girl with light brown hair was sitting in front of a candle, lit and kept on the table. Her eyes moistened and her nose snuffled. 

The lady in the cardigan picked up the cloth and headed back towards the kitchen. "Elly, where is Aria?" She turned back to ask the lady on the sofa about her daughter.

Eliana did not blink.

"Elly! Aria?" She repeated, swaying the kitchen cloth in front of her face.

Eliana snapped out of her blackout and focussed on her question. "Uh? I-I don't know. Maybe in the shed?" She fidgeted with her fingers while trying to find words.

"Zara, can you call your sister? The meal is ready." She leant towards the little girl and got back to the kitchen to peel off the eggs.

Zara got up to take an umbrella and ran outside. The mud slowed down her pace as her small feet dug deeper into it. The evening was getting darker now. 

She knocked on the door of the wooden shed in the backyard. "Aria! Mrs. Miller is calling you. She said the meal is ready." She shouted at the top of her lungs - to make her voice louder than the pattering rain.

"Tell her I'm coming." A voice snapped back from the inside of the shed.

Zara turned and ran towards the house. To get back to the warmth and safety it held.

Aria, in her late teens, had cramped herself up in the tiny shed. Her knees were pulled up to her chest as she buried her face in between them. A tank of gasoline stood on her right and a lawnmower on her left. A few rakes, shovels, and pruning scissors were kept on the top of a small drawer behind her back. 

The greasy smell or the congregated darkness had no effect on her senses. They were numb for the time being. 

She lifted her head up and rubbed her shaking hands on her bloodshot eyes. She ran her fingers through her hair and finally stood up. Her jelly legs almost gave up as she was about to breakdown again.

She stifled her cries and squeezed shut her eyes for a moment. Tears flowed down as she pinched her nails in her palm. She needed to do this for her mother and her sister. She needed to go.

She opened the door and got back to her house. Her clothes were drenched in water. Her bare feet left mud impressions on the wooden floor. 

She wore her sandals and looked at her mother and sister with love and pity. Their souls were scarred. And their faces depicted the same.

"Mom, I'm going." She informed, her voice laded with determination.

Eliana sat like a deaf doll. As if she had lost the ability to listen, comprehend, and reply. 

Zara looked at her elder sister in confusion. Dad is already gone. Where is she going now? 

Mrs. Miller was the only one to behave sanely. "Where are you going, Aria? You need to have the meal now." She shot back while bringing the plates in her hand.

"I have some-some work. I'll be back soon." Aria replied, her eyes not matching her gaze.

"No! You can't. Elly, are you not gonna say anything?" She was losing her temper. How could she talk about going outside in the rain at this hour?

Eliana blinked again as she registered her statement. Her wrinkled neck held the impression of soaked tears. "Aria, No. You can't go anywhere? No. No. No" She got up from the sofa and charged towards Aria.

She held her hands in a tight grip in an attempt to not let her go.

"Mom, listen to me. I will be back in a few minutes. I just need to get something. It's important. I promise I'll be back real soon." She messaged her hands and took her back to the sofa. "You stay here and lock the door tight."

"Mrs. Miller, please don't be worried. Take care of Mom and Zara till I come back." She took Mrs. Miller's hands in her grip as her eyes almost got moistened. "Thank you very much. For...everything." She wiped the sole tear away and headed towards Zara.

Mrs. Miller could only look at her in amazement and horror. After all, she was a very good neighbour. 

Her gut was yelling that something was not right. But a mourning Eliana just would not listen to her and stop her daughter from going. 

Aria cupped Zara's cheeks and kissed her forehead. "I'm just gonna come back." She passed a smile at her.

"That's what dad said before going to the hospital." Zara looked at her for answers to the questions her eyes asked.

Aria's face dropped blood. She was at a loss of words. She could not stay longer. She needed to go.

She pulled the loose strands of her hair to the back and took an umbrella to finally leave.

Eliana looked at thin air. 

Mrs. Miller looked at the meal on the table. 

And Zara looked at her sister, wondering if they would be lighting a candle for her too if she did not return.

Aria decided to look back one more time before fading on the road. She motioned Mrs. Miller to close the door. They needed to be safe.

Mrs. Miller shut the door as they lost the sight of Aria. And started counting the tickings to wait for her return.

Aria kept walking. As she was now far away from her house. The darkness was shadowing the sky now. And the rain denied speeding down at any cost.

The lower half of her clothes got covered in mud as her pace kept increasing with her anxiety. She was now almost entering the woods. She just needed to cross the narrow road. 

A red truck halted at her sight as she was about to cross it. 

"Aria, are you going in the woods? At this hour? You know it's getting darker. And entering this part of the woods is forbidden after dusk. That building is in the proximity of this area." A guy peeked out his head from the car window and said the rules in one breath.

Answering a local and justifying her actions was the last thing she was worried about now. She looked here and there to make a lie.

"I'm going to the lake. I just want to be alone for the moment. I want some peace. That's it." She huffed, her hands aching after holding the umbrella for long.

 "Ah...I understand. I'm sorry about your dad. But please, be safe. And return home as soon as you can." He started the engine and accelerated up the road. 

She breathed out a sigh of relief and resumed her travel to the woods again. 

He called from the hospital. What does he want now? I already know what he did. He needs to pay for everything. He said he knew something about my dad. What if it's his...plan?  But I need to know.

Her brain was making speculations as her legs passed the shimmering water of the lake. Then the long trees. And then stopped at the sight of the building.

It was huge. With an endless number of black windows. But ruined and abandoned. She slowly stepped ahead. Careful enough to capture any kind of movement. She reached the main entrance with three stairs. The door had rotten away. A ray of light coming from the storeroom illuminated the outside area.

The cawing of some crows diverted her attention towards the sky. She spotted some crows and eagles circling around the building in a loop. A weird smell could also be sensed by her nose now. Her head moved towards the source of the smell as her eyes registered a horrific scene.

A body of a decapacitated lamb laid on the ground. Its hands were also cut and separated from it. 

The serene quiet of the forest was broken down by her sudden screech. 

She shuddered with horror as an eagle took a steep dive to pick one hand of the lamb and then fly back to the heights to go back to his roost. 

Maybe the lake fell short on fishes. 

She felt the urge to expel the contents of her stomach through her mouth. 

But before she could do anything, a metal rod hit the right of her head hard. 

She fell down and immediately started regretting her decision to come here.

She was being dragged inside the storeroom by a man in a white shirt and brown pants. One hand dragging Aria and the other held the bloody rod.

He opened the door and rested her body in the middle of the room - below the light bulb. Aria could vaguely see the outline of a man but was unable to get a clear look at his face. She winced in pain and felt as if her head would explode at any moment. 

The man's eyes held anger. As if he would eviscerate her just now like an eagle doing with a fish.

He did not let her gain her consciousness. He slapped her across the cheek. The thud echoed in the room. And so did her loud cry. He kicked the side of her stomach hard. She made a feral scream and tried to block his attacks.

After punching her right in the jaws, he landed a hard kick on the side of her ribs. A crackling sound was heard followed by her endless whimpers and cries. Her mouth gargled up with blood.

He pulled her by her hair and hit her face on the wall. She fell on the floor and finally lost the last bit of strength to fight back.

He bent down as he devoured her soul like an animal. She could not even fight back due to the loss of strength. He finally got up from her body, zipped up his pants, and picked the rope and duct tape from the corner of the room. He tied her up and sealed her mouth with the tape. 

"I would be back with the things. I'm underdressed to kill you right now." His croaky voice broke the eerie silence that was previously occupied by her screams. 

He spat saliva out of his mouth and left the room after closing the door.

She laid there on the floor. Dead from the inside already. Stream of tears kept flowing down her cheeks. Everything was destroyed for her now.

Her head swelled up with the beatings and her eyes gave in to the urge to remain close for the rest of the earth's life. 

Why did she come here? Why did she think he would tell her the truth? Why did she leave her mother and sister alone?  

The heavy treads of black boots got louder as it synced with the rumblings of the cloud. 

The door banged open as a black-clad entity made its entrance into the room. 

Will I also be killed like that lamb? Will my family even get the chance to see my body?

He removed the strip of the duct-tape from her mouth.

"Please, I beg you. Why are you doing all this? I swear I won't tell anyone anything. Please don't kill me. Please. Please." She hated that she had to beg him - the person who did not even spare her soul. But the urge to see her family again was overpowering her self-esteem.

Aria flinched when she saw what he carried in his hands.

A sharp metal knife and a chainsaw.

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