Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
It’s a fair argument, I’ll agree, but it doesn’t mean shit. “They don’t typically wander into populated areas. So unless you have some sort of secret cabin hidden in the woods, the chances of Xavier coming across one are slim to none. Plus, I don’t think they’d go after vampires. You’re, uh, already dead and they kinda feast on the living.”
“Death has pens.” Devon shrugs and then we all fall quiet as we get closer to the campsite. The place is all lit up just like it was before everyone went missing. I read through the police report twice and then scoured the internet, looking for anything I could find.
There’s a Facebook group put together by the family members of the missing. Everything seemed fine; all the counselors and camp workers settled in, got a day of training beneath them, posted on the camp’s Instagram about how excited they all were, and then things were radio silent.
Most of the workers are college students who attended the camp themselves in their youth. They’ve been missing for three days, and if they’ve been possessed by demons, they are either dead or don’t have much time left.
Healthy, young people who have a strong faith—in anything—make it harder for demons to take over. Demons prey on the weak, though it only takes one moment of despair to agree to let one in.
The camp is eerily quiet, absent even the sound of crickets. When animals and insects don’t want to be somewhere, it’s a pretty good sign something evil is here.
“Can you hear anything?” I ask Xavier. We come to a stop right outside the first building, which consists of the kitchen, mess hall, nurse’s station, and a couple little offices.
“Nothing,” he says back. “There is no one alive in there. What do you sense?”
“I feel like we’re being watched. I can’t tell from where, or if it’s even from this realm.”
“Stay close.”
I just nod and pull my dagger from my belt. It’s been a while since I’ve sunk this into any demon, and I’m so glad I took it when Xavier and I went to the Russo’s compound. The blade is sharp and made from stainless steel, but has silver and iron inlays, making it effective against many types of monsters.
The front doors are unlocked, just as they were when the police arrived. Xavier goes first, slowly pushing it open without making a sound. The lights are off, and there’s not enough windows in here to have this place be lit up by natural light. Was no one in here when they went missing?
Maybe they were snatched out of their bed in the middle of the night?
The circle of dead birds is in the center of the lobby, behind two tables that were in the process of being set up to welcome and sign in campers. I shine my flashlight over them, quickly trying to take in every single detail.
Nothing is out of place.
“Is this how you summon a demon?” Devon asks, stepping next to the sigil.”
“It’s one way to,” I answer, joining him. Crouching down, I look at the birds. Some of them have cracked beaks and bloody faces. Turning, I shine the light on the windows on the side of the room.
“They crashed into that window,” Xavier says, able to see in the dark. “The glass is cracked.”
“Does that help narrow down what demon it is?” Devon asks.
“Not off the top of my head. Wild animals can act really weird when demonic forces are nearby. They panic and can act erratically.”
There are thirteen birds; twelve are common finches, and one was a beautiful crow. The sigil is messily drawn, and there are little drips of blood on a few of the birds. They were here first and the sigil drawn after.
Standing back up, I shine the flashlight around the rest of the mess hall. Most of the tables and chairs are still pushed up against the walls. The silence is deafening, as if this place is holding its breath, determined to win this game of hide and seek.
A heavy, wrongness starts to creep over me. A normal person would call this a bad feeling, and if they were smart, they’d listen to what that feeling was telling them and get the hell out of here. I’m far from normal, and the more I feel like I need to turn and run, the closer I know we’re getting to finding something.
“There’s blood on the floor,” Xavier says from a few yards over. He’s standing at the start of a hall that goes to the nurses’ station.
“A lot?”
“No,” he tells me and I join him, shining my light on the tile floor. I don’t see anything. “Just a few drops. It’s human. And fresh. Maybe only a day or two old.”
“So someone was here recently.”