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Chapter 16 - The Crying in the Night

Arin felt a chill run down his spine.

Alone, in the dark, he sat in silence and simply listened to the pained sounds for a few seconds. Something about the sobs felt disturbingly similar to what he'd heard in his nightmare; it was as though the sounds arose from the absolute heartbreak of a person who had lost something they held very dear. 

Something about the sobs also felt… wrong.

As quietly as he could, Arin slid off the bed. His injured back felt hot and stiff, but fortunately, it wasn't bad enough to hinder his movements. Fumbling around in the dim moonlight, he managed to slip on Rin's sandals. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, he then reached out to softly poke the lizard's small, cold body. Still asleep.

For some reason, Arin decided to pick it up and slip it back into his sleeve. It settled back into its earlier position without awakening.

Arin lightly padded up to the door of his room, and, after pausing before it for a moment, slowly pushed it open. 

Outside, the corridor was pitch black. The crying had become louder now, and made the dark of the night seem all the more heavy and oppressive, like some unknown monster waiting to pounce.

Arin slowly crept down the corridor, holding a hand up to feel and follow along the wall to his right. It felt rough and cold under his fingers. It was also surprisingly dusty for something that had seemed so well-kept in the lamplight when he'd first passed by. A thick layer of dust was collected on his fingertips.

Arin passed by a small alcove that had shelves holding small clay jugs and jars. He walked past a large, closed door to his right. Finally, he approached a door that was slightly ajar.

The crying was coming from behind the door.

Arin stalled for a moment. He didn't want to pry. He was just a guest, after all. A visitor, and a mere stranger at that. Perhaps he shouldn't have left his bed to follow a noise to a room where his presence may be entirely unwelcome.

But he knew these people. He had eaten a meal at their table, and been on the receiving end of their kindness.

Besides, whoever it was sounded so terribly sad. Something was definitely wrong.

Peering in from the small gap, Arin slowly pushed the door to make it wider.

Within was a low-ceilinged room with two narrow beds pushed against the far wall, each with a small table by the side. Both beds were covered with roughly woven blankets that may have been different colors at some point, but had since faded to gray. A small, worn, wooden horse sat forgotten in a corner.

It looked to be the twins' room. For some reason, it looked much worse for wear than the spare room he had been provided. Even the air was mustier, smelling of old wood and dust.

But Arin wasn't worried by that. His gaze was fixed on a spot by the window. The dim moonlight streaming in illuminated the scene of Layla's mother kneeling on the floor, sobbing as she clutched the small forms of the twins in both arms.

Lira, the girl, seemed to be standing in a daze, looking past her weeping mother at the bare wall. Her brother - Ansel - looked afraid. His small hand was pulling at his sister's sleeve, and his face was buried in his mother's sleeves. His was the only face Arin couldn't see.

The older woman was crying, but all that came out of her eyes was blood. Dark red liquid dribbled down the sides of her face from her ears, from her nose, and even from her mouth, adding a horrible rasping quality to her sobs. The small girl was in a similar state, standing still as blood leaked from her orifices and slowly dribbled down onto the floor. A dark stain spreading on the woman's sleeves showed that her twin had suffered a similar fate.

'What…' Arin whispered. He stood, transfixed for a moment, as he took in the terrible scene. 'Oh no. What the hell. What the hell…'

Then, he threw open the door and rushed over to get to their side. 

What had gone wrong? Why was this happening to the kind-faced woman, who had smiled at him, and made him a warm meal? Why the children!? Oh god. They couldn't have been more than ten years of age. Damn it. Damn it! Quick! He had to do something! He had to help -

'Rin!'

Arin was jolted to a stop mid-stride. His uninjured arm had been tugged, hard, and in his shock, he was pulled out of the room and back into the corridor. He stood there, arm still held in the strong grip of a familiar figure.

Layla.

'Layla! Oh my god. We have to help them! Your mother, the kids! They're hurt, we need to get help! Quick!' Arin couldn't even look at her. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the horrible sight in the twins' room. 

His mind was racing. Surely the village had a doctor. He could run out and find them. No, first they had to stop the bleeding, staunch the wounds. They needed -

'Rin, listen...'

'I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. But we need to be quick. It's really bad. We need to move fast! There must be -'

'Stop! Listen to me. It's too, ugh! - too late for them.'

Arin stopped, mid-sentence. Layla's voice sounded… choked. Sounded…

Slowly, he turned his head to look at her. In the unlit corridor, he couldn't see her face clearly. But her voice…

Then, in the dark, he heard a soft drip. And then another. Drip.

Faint sounds of droplets splashing onto the floor.

With trembling fingers, he blindly reached up to touch Layla's face.

Wet. Slick with a thick, heavy liquid. Blood.

'What happened -'

'We don't have time. You need to leave.' Layla was tugging him towards the hall, where he'd been eating and laughing at the table just a few hours ago. 'Hurry, Rin.'

'But what. Why!? How can I help? What can I do?'

'Nothing,' Layla gasped as even more blood spilled down her chin. 'But you… must leave. Leave Lullwater before dawn.'

'What? No! We need to find -'

'Enough! We are already dead, Rin! We, ugh, are dead.'

Layla was dragging him to the front door.

'I… didn't know… all day,' she rasped. Speaking seemed difficult for her now. 'As my time… arrived… I remembered. We are all… remembering.'

She threw open the door, which creaked in protest.

'Some are… afraid. Some, sad. But, Rin… some, ugh… are angry. And they have seen you today. So you must hide. And leave… before sunrise.'

A roar of anger sounded from somewhere in the house. There was a loud crash, and then a man's booming voice rang out, 'Outsider! Murderer! Monster! WHERE IS THE OUTSIDER!?'

Layla pushed Arin out of the house.

'I will… hold him back. Leave.'

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