The grass was flattened, and in some places, torn out by the roots. On the trunk of the nearest thick tree, fresh, deep gashes were visible, four parallel furrows, as if left by massive claws. The edges of the wounds in the bark hadn't even had time to darken yet.
David abruptly raised his hand, signaling the children to stop. They froze.
He cautiously took a few more steps and stopped about ten meters from the lopsided cabin door. He nodded toward the trampled earth and the fresh gouges on the tree. Gina stood beside him, her eyes never leaving the cabin. Her hand rested on the grip of her pistol.
"What lives here?" she asked quietly.
David didn't answer for a long time. He simply stared at the dark windows boarded up with planks.
"I don't know; it's not worth the risk," he finally said. "It might be a ghoul den. Something that doesn't answer to any pacts. Something that doesn't want blood. It just... kills and takes lives."
"Remember this place."
Ethan stared at the cabin. It seemed to him that behind one of the planks on the window, something shifted,barely noticeable, but enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
Gina swallowed and asked softly:
"And today... will we see one of them?"
David didn't answer immediately. He only watched the cabin as if waiting for something.
"Perhaps," he finally said. "I'm just showing it to you."
They stood ten meters from the old cabin and waited. David remained motionless, gazing at the dark structure.
"Someone or something lures them inside. Voices, whispers, the smell of food, a cry for help... They know how to do it. Today we will just scout the exterior and set traps. Not a step inside. Understood?"
Ethan nodded silently, feeling the cold seep under his jacket. Gina stood nearby, clutching a flashlight. She raised an eyebrow and looked at her brother with a slight smirk.
"Relax," she said quietly, yet with her usual defiance. "We're just learning."
Despite her father's words, she took a couple of cautious steps closer to the cabin. The flashlight beam swept across the porch, picking out rotten boards, rusty nails, and old tracks from the darkness that looked far too fresh for an abandoned place.
"Gina," David said warningly.
"I know, Dad," she replied without looking back, but she stopped nonetheless. "I just want to see; I'm not going to touch anything."
The flashlight beam slowly traveled along the cabin wall, illuminating the deep scratches on the logs. They were uneven, as if left by something large and very powerful. Gina involuntarily swallowed but did not retreat.
Ethan stood a bit behind; he wanted to grab his sister by her clothes and pull her back. He felt as though someone was behind the boarded-up windows. And that something was sizing them up.
David walked up to his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Enough," he said. "We aren't here to wander through the house. We set the traps and leave."
Gina nodded, but before turning around, she illuminated the porch one last time. The flashlight beam lingered for a moment on the old, cracked door.
"Fine..." she exhaled softly. "I'll set one of the traps there."
The previous cheerfulness was gone from her voice. Only somewhere far away, beyond the trees, a quiet, almost imperceptible rustle sounded.
She cautiously entered the cabin.
The door creaked on rusty hinges as David pushed it with his shoulder. He had intended to set the traps only around the perimeter of the house, without going deep inside.
Inside, it was dark and damp. The stench of corpses hit their noses immediately,stale, but not yet fully dissipated. Ethan instinctively covered his mouth with his hand; Gina grimaced but remained silent.
The house was completely empty.
No furniture, no belongings, not even a trace that people had once lived here. Only bare walls darkened by moisture, a collapsed roof, and a filthy wooden floor. Moonlight barely filtered through the gaps in the boarded windows, painting pale stripes on the floor.
David walked forward slowly, watching his step carefully. He bent down and ran his fingers over the floorboards. Some were damp. On the wet patches, small, strange prints were visible, not human, but animalistic. As if a multitude of tiny, thin legs or claws had passed through here very recently.
"They were here..." he began quietly.
Gina, not waiting for him to finish the sentence, moved further down the hallway. She pushed open the door to the bathroom and froze on the threshold.
"Dad..." she called in a strained voice.
David and Ethan quickly approached.
The bathroom was completely filled with water. The sink, the old cast-iron tub, and even the toilet, everything was filled to the brim. The water stood motionless with a strange glint on its surface. From it emanated that same heavy, sickly-sweet smell of decay.
David entered the bathroom, surveyed it all, and wasn't even surprised. He only exhaled heavily, as if he had expected something like this.
"Get your daggers out," he said calmly. "We've stumbled into a nest of Grindylow."
Ethan was surprised and mechanically turned his head toward his father.
"Grindylow?" he whispered back.
David nodded, his gaze never leaving the black water in the tub.
"Yes. Small, very hungry creatures. They live in water and dampness. They lure people in, drown them, and then... eat for months. That's why it reeks so much in here."
He pulled his silver dagger from the sheath on his belt and handed Ethan a second, smaller one.
"Don't go near the water. And keep your ears open, they can crawl out at any moment."
Gina had already drawn her dagger. Her face had turned pale, and she no longer looked so fearless.
Was Ethan more afraid of the monsters themselves, or of the possibility that he might freeze when they finally emerged?