Listening to Nova, they remained silent. It had begun to sink in that they were surrounded by a massive, looming danger.
As each truth about Albert Villa surfaced, fear coiled around them like a spider's web.
The car was now traversing a desolate hill slope. On both sides, the forest stretched upward as if touching the sky. Seeing the surroundings, Nova felt a strange shiver run through her body.
"We're almost there," she said.
A little further ahead, the car came to a sudden, jarring halt.
[SUDDEN BREAK!!!]
"What happened?" Nancy asked Davis.
He said nothing and stared straight ahead. The mist began to clear slowly...
An old gate.
Nancy stared at it intently. Yes, it was that gate the one she had seen in her dreams. A weathered, rusted iron gate.
Suddenly, Nancy felt a sharp, tiny sting in the wound on her neck.
"Ahh," Nancy gasped, clutching her neck.
"What is it... Nancy?" Davis looked at her with concern.
"It's nothing, just a small sting," she replied, trying to brush it off as she stepped out of the car.
However, Nova didn't get out immediately. She seemed hesitant, as if she had no desire to step foot there. But after sitting still for a moment, she finally gathered the courage and stepped out with them
They walked together toward the gate. Creeping vines had coiled around the iron bars so thickly they looked like nesting snakes.
"Is this the gate you saw?" Davis asked.
"Yes," Nancy replied, staring at it intently.
The air was heavy with mist and a biting chill.
"Why is it so cold here?" Davis remarked, looking around uneasily.
Nancy stepped closer to the massive structure. It loomed over her, imposing and dark. She began searching for something near the base of the gate, frantically brushing through the dead leaves.
"What are you looking for?" Davis watched her, confused.
"It's... here... somewhere..." she muttered, scouring the undergrowth.
"The board," Nova said.
Nancy and Davis snapped their heads around to look at her. Nova was standing behind them, holding a weathered wooden board in her hands.
"The board... is this it?" She tossed it toward Nancy.
"Exactly!" Nancy picked it up. "This is what I saw in my vision. This nameplate."
"Albert Villa," Davis read the name aloud. "So? It's just a nameplate, right?" He held it up, looking at her.
"There's more to it than just a name, Davis," Nancy said firmly.
"Like what?" Davis inspected it again but saw nothing else on the front.
Nova snatched the board from his hands, flipped it over, and wiped away the thick grime and mud on the back.
"Now do you see it?" she asked.
"Dr. Albert Francis..."
The rest of the text was missing, worn away by time.
"A doctor!!" Davis looked at them, stunned. "Yes."
He was completely baffled. "Which doctor is this? Who is he?"
"That is exactly what we came here to find out," Nova replied.
Nancy tried to push the gate open, but it wouldn't budge. She threw her entire weight against it, but it remained stubbornly shut.
"Ugh! It's not opening. How are we supposed to get inside?" she grunted, still pushing.
"Hold on, let me help," Davis joined her, but even with their combined strength, the gate didn't move an inch.
"Is there no other way?" they wondered aloud, still struggling.
"If one way is blocked, find another. That's the smart thing to do."
They looked up to see Nova already standing on the other side of the gate.
"How did she...?" Davis stared in disbelief. Nancy realized then that Nova had scaled the perimeter wall to get across.
On the other side, there was a smaller pedestrian door, but it was heavily bolted from the inside.
"Don't overthink it. Just wait," Nova said.
She tried to smash the lock on the small door, but it was thick and sturdy. Without hesitation, Nova gripped the heavy lock with both hands, shut her eyes tight, and squeezed with immense pressure. With one violent wrench
CRACK!
The lock shattered and fell to the ground.
"Hmph... ugh..."
Nova swung the gate open from the inside.
"Get in," she said, turning and walking deeper into the estate.
Nancy and Davis followed her, their shock still lingering as they stepped into the shadows of Albert Villa.