Leonora took off in the direction of the pond, which was Annabelle's favorite spot. Hopefully, her niece and the rest of the family would be there. That shimmer of hope was dashed immediately when she reached the pond. Not a single trace showed that anybody had been there recently. Her niece wasn't sunbathing in the dandelion patch either.
Leonora remembered the pathway in the back that was used as a getaway of sorts for the family; the trees that cloaked the trail was great for when they needed some time to wander around in their thoughts.She headed for the path, her heart racing fast enough she swore it would beat out of her chest. She froze as she turned the bend that met the trail.
In the trees, her husband hung from a rope, his head bowed as though reciting a prayer. There appeared to be no signs of struggle and the attire he had worn that day remained in one piece. The set up reeked of suicide, but she knew her husband better than that.
Hot wetness slid down her cheeks, but she knew she could not lose sight of what was her important: finding her daughters and niece. Quickly, she said her goodbyes to her husband, rushing down the trail. The hair on her skin raised as she pondered the wrongness going on here.
Cassie. She would still be out at the barn, tending to the livestock, likely wondering where her father had gone.
Leonora sprinted in that direction, slowing her pace when her shoulder grazed the paneling. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the barn door was ajar.
“Cassie! Oh, thank goodness I found you. Look, something is wrong, we gotta--” her words hung in the air as she stepped into the barn. She lifted a hand to her mouth, fighting against the urge to upchuck into the dirt.
Guts hung loosely out of her abdomen, twirling around the thin, blood-painted surfaces. Flies buzzed around her corpse and maggots were already feasting upon her insides. A generously sized pool of dried black liquid colored the dirt around the spikes that impaled Cassie's body.
The scent was enough to make even the most strong-stomached person vomit.
Face soaked with tears, Leonora knelt and retched until she no longer could. A searing pain in her shoulder caught her attention, swooping her up onto the loft of the barn.
Darkness filled her vision as she swatted fiercely at the unseen hands ripping at her clothes. Coppery liquid stained her face as a swipe opened the skin of her cheek in a wide cut. She kicked wildly at the figure. The unseen assailant grabbed her arms, rough enough to pop a blood vessel, bending her arms behind her until a cringing snap sounded.
With both arms broken, he had rendered Leonora defenseless, and she screamed to the top of her lungs as he rammed inside her.
She felt as though she was being tossed into a brick wall with each painful thrust; he was like a knife carving her from the inside out as he railed away at her. Leonora's vision faded slightly as the slams carried on.
The assailant touched his fingers to her eyes, tracing them from the corner and over their lids. The same pain that had pierced her shoulder and tore open her cheek clawed at her eyes now as his thumbs penetrated deep.
With a quick flick of each finger, he ripped her eyes out of their sockets, red sloshing out of them to cover her face with blood as he hooked an arm over her neck, using his free arm to plunge it into her chest, tearing her heart clean out of the rib cage. Her struggling body went limp and he blasted inside of her, groaning like an animal as he did so.
He tossed the remnants of her eyes over the railing of the loft before stepping back to admire his handiwork. Then he flew from the loft to the ground underneath, taking a second to study Cassie's maggot-invaded corpse; her and her mother were dead, under the same roof. The thought made him grin with pride as he walked out.
The door flung shut.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
