The black car slowly climbed the narrow road leading toward the hill.
Or rather—
the mountain.
At the very top stood an isolated wooden house with two stories, its windows glowing faintly in the darkness. Behind the house stretched a vast forest, endless and silent beneath the night sky.
At this hour, the forest looked terrifying.
The moon hung unusually bright above the trees, casting pale silver light across the mountain as though it desperately wanted someone to witness what was hidden there.
Eventually, the car came to a stop.
Its headlights shut off.
For a moment, silence consumed everything.
Then the driver's door creaked open.
The strange man stepped outside.
Immediately, he turned and nervously looked back toward the road he had come from, checking carefully to make sure nobody had followed him.
Satisfied, he walked toward the trunk and slowly opened it.
Susan lay inside.
Still unconscious.
Her wrists and ankles remained tightly bound, while the black plastic bag still covered her face.
The man reached forward to pick her up—
but suddenly froze.
A horrifying thought struck him.
What if she's awake…?
What if she's only pretending…?
His already pale face somehow became even whiter.
Breathing unevenly, he bit down hard against his lower lip until blood began trickling from it.
But he barely seemed to notice.
After a few seconds, he hurried back toward the front seat of the car and opened the door again. From inside, he grabbed a syringe filled with clear liquid.
Then he returned to Susan.
Quickly grabbing her arm, he injected the needle directly into her skin.
Only then did he finally relax.
A grotesque smile slowly spread across his face.
He lifted Susan out of the trunk with effort before placing her body onto the ground. After shutting the trunk, he began dragging her toward the house.
The wooden floorboards creaked beneath his steps as he entered through the front door.
"I'm back!" he shouted loudly.
Almost immediately, a woman's voice echoed from another room.
"Oh, you're back already? Come to the dining table—we're having dinner."
"Okay! Right away!" he answered.
But instead of heading toward the dining room, he continued dragging Susan deeper into the house.
The interior was surprisingly large.
A long main hallway stretched directly ahead from the entrance, illuminated by dim yellow lights hanging from the ceiling. At the far end stood a staircase leading toward the second floor.
Two doors stood on opposite sides of the hallway.
The one on the right connected to the kitchen and dining area, from where the smell of cooked food drifted faintly through the air.
The left door appeared to lead toward a guest room.
But there was a third entrance as well.
A smaller door hidden beneath the staircase.
The basement.
That was where the man was heading.
With visible effort, he dragged Susan down the narrow staircase below. The deeper they descended, the worse the smell became.
Rot.
Dust.
Something damp and rotten lingering heavily in the air.
Eventually, he reached the basement door and forced it open.
The room inside was filthy.
Insects crawled freely across the floor and walls. Dust covered nearly everything inside, making it difficult to identify most objects properly. Strange shapes rested in the darkness beneath stained cloth sheets and piles of old junk.
The air itself felt sick.
Without hesitation, the man dropped Susan's unconscious body onto the center of the floor.
Then he walked back outside the basement room, locked the door behind him carefully, and finally headed toward the kitchen.
When he entered the dining area—
he saw his family already eating.
The dining table was covered with dishes.
Far too much food for only four people.
At the opposite end of the table sat his father.
A man close to fifty years old, dressed entirely in black clothing. A silver cross hung from his neck, resting against his chest. His face was pale, almost unnaturally so, and his expression carried a cold stillness that felt deeply uncomfortable.
The man's mother sat to one side of the table.
She appeared slightly younger than her husband, though not by much. She was overweight, with fading white hair and a constant smile resting upon her lips.
But it wasn't a warm smile.
It carried something else.
A strange sense of superiority.
As though she silently believed herself above everyone around her.
Then there was the sister.
The most beautiful among them.
And somehow—
the most frightening.
She looked around nineteen years old, with black hair and dark eyes sharpened heavily by makeup. Dark red lipstick covered her lips, while thick black eyelashes and carefully applied cosmetics gave her face an almost artificial appearance.
Beautiful.
But unsettling.
There was a stubbornness in her expression.
Something cold hidden beneath the glamour.
The man said nothing.
Without speaking, he walked toward the table and sat down directly across from his father, beside both his mother and sister.
And for a few moments—
the only sound inside the house was the quiet clinking of silverware against plates.
The strange man quietly took his seat at the table.
Before him lay an absurd amount of food—steaming bowls of soup, roasted meat, steak, vegetables, fresh bread, polished silverware, and dishes crowded so tightly together that barely any empty space remained on the tablecloth.
For a moment, only the sound of eating filled the room.
Spoons scraped against plates.
Knives cut through meat.
The family ate with complete concentration, almost ritualistically, as though nothing outside the dining room existed.
The man slowly picked up a spoon and fork and began eating as well.
His eyes wandered from one family member to another.
His father.
His mother.
His sister.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody even looked at each other.
An uncomfortable silence spread across the room, heavy enough to suffocate him.
He wanted to say something.
Anything.
Especially to his father.
Again and again, thoughts formed in his mind before immediately collapsing under nervousness. He kept eating while desperately searching for something normal to ask.
Minutes passed.
Finally, unable to bear the silence anymore, he cleared his throat.
"So… Papa," he said awkwardly, "how was your day? Did you go hunting?"
At once, his father lifted his eyes toward him.
Behind the old man, mounted high upon the wall, rested a rifle on a wooden gun stand—the same weapon he used for hunting.
The father stared at his son for a brief moment before lowering his gaze back to his meal.
"Good," he answered calmly. "Today's hunt was better than usual."
Immediately, interest spread across the table.
The mother smiled wider.
The sister straightened slightly in her chair.
Even the strange man himself leaned forward with curiosity.
"Oh really?" he asked. "Why?"
The father dipped his spoon into the soup before answering.
"Today's prey was fast. Very fast."
His tone remained completely ordinary.
"As a matter of fact, he escaped the cabin before I arrived this morning. By the time I got there, he was already gone."
The father chuckled faintly to himself.
"Lucky for me, I arrived only a few minutes later. Had I been even two minutes late, he might've actually escaped the mountain."
The family listened attentively.
"He thought he could run through the forest," the father continued. "Poor idiot never realized this family owns the entire mountain."
A smile slowly appeared on his pale face.
"He was quick, though. Left behind plenty of tracks, but still… quick enough to make things entertaining."
He paused to sip his soup.
"After I finished, I discovered he used to be an athlete. That explains the speed."
The sister immediately smiled.
"Papa, you're the best," she said admiringly.
The strange man looked at his father almost reverently.
"I wish I could become as calm and patient as you someday, Papa."
For the first time, the father gave a small smile.
Then he turned toward his wife.
"And how was your day, darling?"
At once, the mother's grin widened unnaturally, exposing crooked yellow teeth beneath her lipstick.
"Oh my," she said proudly, "you really want to know?"
The excitement in her voice immediately caught everyone's attention.
"Fine then. Let me tell you."
She gently wiped her mouth with a napkin before continuing.
"A young traveler came here around noon today."
The entire family became visibly interested.
"He claimed he was hiking around the beaches and mountains nearby when he got lost. Since ours was the only house in the area, he came here asking for help."
Her smile deepened.
"Oh, he was such a polite young man. Handsome too. Very beautiful manners."
She almost sounded affectionate.
"He was American," she continued. "You could tell immediately from the accent. Such a refined way of speaking…"
The mother sighed dramatically, as if reminiscing about a pleasant memory.
"We spoke for quite a while. Ate together. Talked together."
Then her tone became quieter.
"And after that… he never left."
The sister tilted her head slightly.
"Where is he now?"
The mother calmly looked down at the dishes covering the table.
"Our dinner."
For a second, silence filled the room.
Then smiles slowly spread across every face at the table.
The strange man took another bite of food and nodded in satisfaction.
"So that's why everything tastes so good tonight."
The father looked at his wife with admiration.
"Darling," he said warmly, "you truly are the best wife a man could ask for."
Leaning forward, he gently kissed her forehead.
The gesture should have felt loving.
Instead, it made the entire room feel even more disgusting.
For a while, the family continued eating in silence.
The sound of cutlery scraping against plates echoed softly through the dining room while the warm yellow light above the table cast long shadows across their faces.
Then, almost simultaneously, the father and mother turned toward their daughter.
"So," the father asked calmly, "how's college?"
The girl looked genuinely surprised by the sudden attention. For a brief second, she froze before quickly reaching for her glass of water. She took a slow sip, then rested her elbows on the table and placed her chin against her hands.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Just the usual," she said lazily. "Though… remember that boy I told you about? The one I have a crush on?"
The mother smiled immediately with interest.
"Well, today we finally talked. Only a little," the girl continued, twirling a strand of black hair around her finger, "but I think he likes me too."
She laughed softly to herself.
"Lucky him, honestly. Someone like me having a crush on him…"
Her dark lipstick stretched into a smug grin.
"But anyway, on my way home I took the second road again. The one where all the drunkards and beggars sleep."
The father quietly listened while cutting his steak.
"I did it on purpose," she admitted casually. "Thought maybe I could lure some prey." She glanced toward her mother with playful admiration. "Just like you used to when you were younger."
The mother looked pleased.
The daughter continued speaking as though discussing an ordinary inconvenience.
"And it worked. Some disgusting old drunk came after me. Probably around forty."
She rolled her eyes.
"Poor man didn't even realize what was happening."
Her fingers mimicked the motion of a blade through the air.
"One little touch from my dagger against his throat and that was it."
Then annoyance suddenly appeared on her face.
"But honestly, the worst part is that he ruined my clothes." She sighed dramatically. "You know that dress we bought last month? It's covered in his blood now."
The father gently placed down his fork.
"Don't worry, my little girl," he said calmly. "You handled it very well."
The daughter immediately brightened.
"With time, you'll become more professional. More experienced."
The praise visibly pleased her.
A proud smile spread across her face as she lowered her eyes shyly for the first time that evening.
Then the attention of the table slowly shifted.
Toward the son.
The strange man immediately stiffened.
He had known this moment was coming.
His mother leaned back in her chair, smiling.
"So then," she asked sweetly, "how was your day? Who's the lucky insect you brought home tonight?"
The pressure in his chest returned instantly.
His hands tightened around the spoon.
For a moment, he struggled to speak.
"Well…" he muttered nervously, avoiding eye contact. "Nothing special happened today. Mostly normal things."
His voice grew steadier as he continued.
"I tested a new medicine on myself earlier."
Slowly, he rolled up his sleeve.
Fresh needle scars covered his arm.
"Damn… it felt amazing," he whispered with disturbing admiration. "For a while it felt like I was floating."
His eyes drifted downward, almost lost in the memory.
"But a few hours ago, I was at the café I usually go to…"
His expression suddenly darkened.
"There was this girl there. And her boyfriend."
The atmosphere around him shifted immediately.
"I hated them."
The words came out quietly.
"Then the girl spilled her coffee near me and started apologizing." His breathing became sharper. "It barely even touched me, but I know what she meant."
He looked up slowly.
"She wanted to look down on me."
His fingers trembled slightly.
"And that boyfriend of hers…" he muttered bitterly. "I hated his eyes. Acting like some kind of protector."
For a brief second, something violent flashed across his face.
"I wanted to kill both of them right there."
The room became quieter.
"But then…" he continued, "…I got a message from them."
The effect was immediate.
The excitement vanished from the family's faces.
Something colder replaced it.
Fear.
Not panic.
Not shock.
Fear mixed with obedience.
The son swallowed before continuing.
"I was watching them from inside the café when someone handed me a piece of paper."
His voice had become quieter now.
"Only two words were written on it."
He paused.
"'Pick her.'"
Nobody at the table moved.
Nobody interrupted.
The son forced out a nervous laugh.
"I understood what they wanted." He lowered his gaze toward his plate. "So… they made me do this instead."
Silence swallowed the dining room.
No one asked another question.
No one commented further.
The family simply continued eating dinner beneath the pale light hanging over the table while, somewhere beneath the house, Susan remained unconscious in the darkness below.
Chapter Ends
To be continued