Sean hugged the towel around himself tighter, asking them all nervously. "Who exactly are we supposed to be afraid of?" Illinois looked off in his direction, before telling him a bit guarded. "Don't worry about it. Just stay away from the windows and try not to make too much noise." Bandit flashed Illinois a dark look, saying in a softer voice. "And how are we supposed to keep the horses quiet?" Illinois didn't answer him. Instead, he looked to Wilford and told him seriously. "You two start blocking the doors and windows. Even closing the curtains would be helpful. He can't see well. We'll have to use that to our advantage." Wilford lifted the chains, asking curiously. "When you go out. Hang this up somewhere. The noise might help keep him off us if he's still here." Illinois took the chains, grumbling out as he headed for the door. "I'll try, but I don't want to put them up and draw him if he doesn't know that we're here." Wilford grabbed Illinois's arm, informing him coolly. "Predators I can handle. But those Cultists worry me. Keep your eyes open." Illinois patted Wilford's shoulder, then crept outside. Sean inched closer to Wilford, asking hopefully. "What can I do?"

Wilford beckoned him to follow, whispering to him. "Help me secure the rooms." Moving from room to room, Sean closed curtains and locked windows. While Wilford and Bandit moved tall furniture in front of the windows to hide movement that the curtains were too thin to block. When the last room was done, Illinois led the horses into the house with cloth wrapped around their hooves to keep them from tapping over the wooden floor. Bandit rushed over to coax Diesel into laying down, then sat with him and stroked his neck to keep him calm. Illinois closed and locked the front door, asking in a whisper. "You boarded everything?" Wilford nodded, gesturing around as he said. "As best we could. Outside?" Illinois moved to kneel by the blankets, whispering to them. "I placed a few things around the windows. If something moves by them, we'll hear it." Illinois swallowed, then told Wilford uneasily. "I believe he's still in the area. I found a fresh animal carcass when I went to get some cloth for their hooves." Wilford nodded, stating out in a knowledgeable tone. "I had a feeling. Predators rarely leave an area if the place keeps providing food. The question is... did he leave the fresh carcass because of us or something else?"

Illinois shrugged, honestly answering. "I don't know. I tried to track him, but there was nothing in the dirt." Wilford's eyes looked up at the ceiling, before whispering out. "Interesting... Did you check the roof?" Illinois's face went a bit pale. Sean tensed, looking up at the ceiling as he listened for any sound. Wilford flashed them a grin, shrugging out. "No one ever looks up. And he can climb. He's not stupid." The floorboard creaked from the corner of the room, and everyone jumped upright. Their attention went to the corner, where Shwoompl put his weight on a creaky floorboard as he picked a spot to stand that was closer to Diesel. Relaxing, Illinois cleared his throat and told them all. "Stay here. I'm going to check everything. Just in case we missed something." Wilford grabbed the box of matches off the mantle and quietly set up the fireplace. Bandit shook his head, growling out to him. "Will, don't." Wilford held up a finger, then when he finished, he told Bandit swiftly. "It's going to be pitch black in here soon. If something gets in, we'll need to fight. And I'm not going to do it in the dark. So, call this a backup plan."

Bandit shifted uncomfortably, but Sean agreed with Wilford. None of them could see in the dark. It was good to have a plan to make light if they needed it. When Illinois returned, he kneeled and asked Wilford anxiously. "Will...? Did you check the basement?" Wilford blinked, asking in shock. "We have a basement?" Bandit sat up, but Illinois raised a hand to signal for him to relax, telling him. "It's in the closet. I put one of the boxes of tools on the door. I closed the closest door and put a chair against it. No point in checking it now." Illinois told the others that he'd take the first watch and sat by the fireplace as the others settled down on the blankets. Sean laid down but couldn't fall asleep. So, he propped himself up on his elbows and whispered to Illinois. "Back on the train... Why did Anti want me to USE the ring on him? He didn't seem to care that I had it. He didn't even ask for it." Illinois stretched his legs out, softly replying. "From what I've researched about the ring over the years... It only works for an Oyster. So, Anti, Dark, Phantom, the Devil... None of them can use it. They just want it because whoever has it can work the Looking Glass. It's a way out. It's a way to bring Oysters in. It's... The heart of Wonderland. We have Kings but the legend says only the TRUE king of kings holds the Stone of Wonderland."

Illinois tilted his head back against the fireplace, adding grimly. "The King of Hearts killed the true king when he came to power... The rest of the nightmares... they only follow him because he's... he controls everything and everyone's lives with that ring." Sean rubbed the ring around his bare finger. His gloves were drying. Biting his lip, Sean asked nervously. "If the others can't use the ring... Why can the King of Hearts?" Illinois let out a sigh, telling him coolly. "Because he is an Oyster. Or parts of him are." Sean didn't understand, but Illinois cleared it up in the darkness around them. "The King of Hearts came from the world of the Oysters. We're told that he's possessed by an entity that transcends the fabric of space and time. Will, calls it the upside down... but I like to think of it as a mirrorverse. Something dark... Something that feeds on the desires of others. Leaving the person a broken vessel with only the worst parts of themselves left over. Something that no earthly thing can kill. Everything it touches withers." Sean licked his dry lips, asking softly. "It had to come from somewhere. But why come to Wonderland?"

Illinois's hand extended out to seek out Sean's before he answered calmly. "The Looking Glass brought it here. When the Chess Kings made the Ring of Wonderland and the Vorpal swords... They made the Looking Glasses. They pulled it here unintentionally. Letting it's corruption seep into the two worlds." Sean touched his hand in the dark, asking a little confused. "How though?" Illinois touched his hand in the dark better, putting one finger on his knuckles and the other on his wrist. Then he slowly explained. "Two Looking Glasses. One in the Oyster world. One in Wonderland. The space between the mirrors is the mirrorverse or the upside down... Whatever you want to call it. It reflects our worlds but is very different from our own. To link our worlds, this... Entity attached itself to the Looking Glasses. Marvin told us that in the Oyster world, one Looking Glass was set up in a manor. A home that... Few of us got to see before the King of Hearts imprisoned us here. Forever. His... playthings. Here, he is a god among men. Why would he ever leave. While the other Looking Glass sits in a private chamber in the Heart's Casino."

Illinois's hands rubbed his hand, informing softly. "In our first rebellion... We underestimated the Entity. We didn't understand how strong it had gotten. How powerful its influence was over others." Sean put a hand on one of Illinois's, trying not to sound afraid when he asked. "How can the Ring make things right?" Illinois sighed, telling him openly. "We don't know. But everything in our history says to unite the Vorpal Sword with the Ring... and we needed you back to do it. Now we have you and the Ring. We just need the sword." Sean chuckled very lightly, then blurted out. "And you know where the Sword is?" Illinois patted his hand comfortingly, replying confidently. "I do. Unless... someone has moved it. We'll know when we get there." Sean rolled his eyes and was thankful that the darkness hid his reaction. He didn't like how that sounded. Shifting a bit, Sean pipped up to ask him curiously. "Illinois... I had this... memory hit me on the train. And Devilplier confirmed it... So, why did I ever give him a fake Vorpal sword to help in the rebellion?"

Illinois's voice sounded a bit surprised but replied under his breath. "Now that you mention it... We all were a little surprised that Devilplier helped us. He was the reason the King of Hearts was distracted. They fought and we snuck in to get the ring and sent you off for your safety. After that... I was 'protected' by Time to await your return." Sean winced, telling him a bit grimly. "I feel bad about that... he got captured because of me." Illinois snorted, stating out flatly. "Don't be. Devilplier is just as hard to kill. Why he would even trade for something so..." Illinois drifted off, causing Sean to tense up and listen. Illinois then lightly chuckled out. "Son of bitch... The bastard knew..." Sean relaxed, realizing he hadn't heard anything attacking. Illinois shifted a little in his spot, excitedly uttering out mostly to himself. "He was going to try killing him with the Vorpal sword... A sword made of arandur metal. A bonding metal that comes from igneous rock found on meteors. An otherworldly metal... That liar! He knew and he... Ugh." Sean smirked, asking a bit snarky. "Did you never think to use the sword on the King of Hearts?"

Illinois huffed dryly, answering seriously. "No. The sword is... it's a relic. They shouldn't have been made in the first place. Too lethal. They cut through everything and if that wasn't bad enough. The blade is laced in poison. Just touching the flat of the blade could kill you in seconds, or turn you to stone... Depending on the version you read. Point is, that it's not worth the risk to use and get hurt using it." Illinois exhaled heavily, mumbling out to himself. "I wonder... Was the Devil just that good at using a sword. Or did he know he was immune to it?" Sean shrugged, replying casually. "Maybe he just wanted the King of Hearts dead that badly. If he controls everyone's lives... for a free man like Devilplier. That's a threat." Illinois grunted but said nothing. Allowing Sean to scoot closer to whisper to him. "There is one other thing. On the train, J.J. kind of... slipped me something. A stopwatch and a monocle. Do you know why he'd do that? I thought maybe Anti had done it... but when Anti seemed so confused that I had them, I ruled him out." Illinois turned to face him in the dark, whispering back. "Really? Where are they now?" Sean pointed, then winced when he realized Illinois couldn't see and whispered back. "In my dress pocket."

Illinois's hand sought out his cheek, telling him sweetly. "In the morning, I'll take a look at them. Maybe he was trying to give us a message." Sean chuckled, mumbling out sarcastically. "Hopefully it isn't a message for something we had to do on the train..." Illinois chuckled, then kissed his forehead and told him to get some rest. Laying down, Sean tried again to sleep but was helped along by Illinois running his fingers through his hair. As the hours past, Illinois switched places with Bandit. Choosing to lay down beside Sean. The two of them keeping each other warm. Just before dawn, but here it was always nighttime, Bandit shook Illinois awake and accidentally woke Sean too. Illinois groaned, starting to grumble out sleepily. "It's not my turn. Wake Wil-" Bandit covered his mouth, shushing him before whispering cautiously. "Someone is outside." Illinois lifted his head, asking in a hushed tone. "Which side?" Bandit tugged on Illinois's shoulder, coaxing him up and off toward the hallway. Sean could barely see them in the lighter version of darkness that passed for 'dawn' here and rolled onto his stomach. He was debating about going to the bathroom to get dressed, when he heard a soft fluttering sound.

Slowly turning his head to look at the fireplace, Sean's heartrate started to pound out of control. His muscles tensed so hard that he was frozen to the spot. Nearby, Wilford slowly propped himself up on his side, his hand slowly removing his pistol. Both of them stared at the fireplace, watching bits of ash fall from inside it without a sound. Sean wondered if a vampire was fluttering down the chimney. He wanted to yell out for Illinois and Bandit, but his throat was afraid to make a sound. Wilford cocked back the hammer on his pistol with a soft 'click', just as a soft growl echoed in the fireplace. From the corner, Shwoompl and Diesel jerked their heads up and let out distressed snorts. Wincing, Wilford quickly aimed his gun at the door. Sean felt like his heart was going to stop, when Wilford fired at the lock on the door. The loud 'BANG' ringing out in the small home. The door's old iron lock broke, causing the door to swing open. The horses saw the outdoors and bolted! Their distressed whinnies and thundering hooves against the wood vibrating through the house. Wilford then acted fast, rolling off his blanket and flinging it wildly at the door to close it after the horses left. Then he rolled directly onto Sean and covered his mouth, just as someone landed into the pit of the fireplace.

Ash puffed up and the stacks of wood rolled out to clatter across the floor. The smell of death and blood filled the air and the figure crouched down to all fours. Sean wanted to scream, but Wilford kept him quiet as the figure crept out from the fireplace like a stalking animal. The figure was slender with faded white eyes that were sunken in. His blue jean pants were frayed and torn. His stripped long sleeve shirt hung off one shoulder since the neckline was torn. The person's skin was deathly pale and fresh blood was dripping off his chin. His faded purple bangs hung over his eyes as he scanned the room absently. He seemed to be listening more than looking for something. Soft growls left him as he crept across the floor in a crouch. That man's neck and wrists were bruised a sickly shade of purple from the chains that hand been on him. His fingers stained in drying blood and his nails jagged looking like he clawed his way through wood and dirt surfaces. Possibly even flesh. Wilford put the barrel of his gun to his lips as a sign for Sean to stay very quiet. Sean had seen many zombies in movies, but none like this one. This one slid its hand over the surface of the floor as it silently and slowly moved. It was a blind predator.

Whenever it moved, it stopped growling to listen. Returning to soft growls when it was stationary. It didn't move like a human. The body was stiff in places, but it only seemed to add to its animalistic movements. Wilford lifted his foot slowly as the Zombie slid its hand over in his direction. The Zombie was so close to them that Sean wasn't sure how they were going to move around. From the hallway, Bandit and Illinois crept out. Sean shook his head to warn them of the Zombie being so close to Wilford and himself, but Bandit stepped on a creaky floorboard. The loud creak was so loud in the silence that it was terrifying. Glancing toward the Zombie, Sean saw it turn its head it the direction of the hallway with a hungry grin, showing off bloodstained teeth. Then without warning, it sprang up onto its feet and ran for the hallway with a loud snarl. The only issue... it was going to run over Wilford and himself to get to the hallway. To Be Continued...