"Folk, open the door, we are good people!"
The sound of knocking on doors came from the street, which felt out of place in such a quiet environment.
"Shit! They won’t open the door! I can clearly hear someone moving inside!"
Ciro knocked for a while, but seeing that no one was coming, he was very frustrated.
He then ran to a few neighboring houses and continued to knock on the doors with the same method, his voice growing louder each time.
"Folk! Folk! Open the door quickly! We are not bad people!"
"Knock knock knock!!"
"Open the door quickly! I heard you inside!!"
"Knock knock knock!!!"
"Fuck! If you don’t open the door, I’ll blow this place up, believe it or not!"
Finally, after his words, there was the sound of footsteps from inside the house, and the door slowly opened with a "creak."
"Damn it, taking so long to open the door, making me play the villain..."
Ciro shook his head and complained, but stopped halfway through as the door was opened by a ragged little girl.
"Uh, this... little sister, don’t be scared, we’re not bad people, we just want to ask for directions... By the way, where are your parents?"
Ciro said somewhat awkwardly, even offering a big smile that showed his shiny white teeth.
The little girl behind the door, startled by this display, shrank back, looking like she wanted to close the front door.
Ciro quickly braced it with his hand.
"Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, we really aren’t bad people..."
Behind him, Anna pushed him aside and said impatiently:
"Move aside, you smile like a ghost, look how scared you’re making her!"
She stepped forward, revealing a kind smile, and said:
"Little sister, you don’t have to be afraid, sister isn’t a bad person. Sister wants to ask you a question, and there’s a reward for the right answer."
As she spoke, she fished out a piece of chocolate from her pocket.
"Sister wants to know, where are your parents? Can you let them come out to see sister?"
It really is a world where appearances matter.
This time, the little girl didn’t avoid them and slowly poked her little head out from behind the door.
Seeing this, Ciro behind her wore a look of annoyance and muttered:
"You could almost be her aunt, and still you call yourself sister..."
However, he said it a bit too loudly this time, and Anna heard him. She turned around and gave Ciro a "you’re dead" look.
Beside them, the little girl eyed the chocolate being offered, swallowing hard as she hesitated whether to take it.
Seeing this, Anna tore open the packaging and stuffed it into the girl’s palm, saying:
"Don’t be scared, little sister. We just want to ask about your folks, we’ll be on our way as soon as we’re done."
The little girl trembled as she put the chocolate in her mouth, then tears started streaming down her face, and she sobbed while eating.
"Daddy, daddy and mommy... they’re all dead..."
Everyone was taken aback by these words, having not expected such a response.
Ten minutes later, inside the house.
The little girl was sitting at the table, holding a half-eaten compressed biscuit, wolfing it down with water as if starved.
"Eva, eat slowly, be careful not to choke."
Anna gently patted her back, her eyes filled with pity.
In just this short time, they had learned about the small village’s plight through the little girl.
The girl’s name was lovely, Eva, given to her by her father.
She was only ten years old this year and had grown up in the small village, never having left.
Initially, life was a bit poor, but being together as a family was happiness itself.
The same went for the other villagers; although isolated from the outside world, they were self-sufficient. Even though life was hard, it was still joyful.
But recently, a nightmare descended upon this small village.
A monster from unknown origins had attacked the villagers, killing many.
At first, just a few people went missing sporadically. Though everyone found it strange, they thought they had been carried off by wild animals while out hunting and did not take it seriously.
But later on, the villagers’ livestock began to disappear as well, and even in broad daylight, people were being dragged away, leaving a trail of blood.
That’s when panic set in.
They thought a fierce, large carnivorous animal had come and was preying on the villagers.
Several of the village hunters discussed and decided to set traps around the village, planning to eliminate this threat once and for all.
People circled a bunch of livestock in the middle of the road and then lay in wait on either side, beginning a long vigil.
Time passed second by second, and when night fell, the culprit appeared.
But what unfolded was entirely unexpected by the villagers.
It wasn’t some large carnivorous beast that came, but a creature over two meters tall, with long limbs!
That night, nearly all the hunters involved in the ambush died there, spared was only a lucky one who had gone to the toilet midway through.
He was preparing to return when he witnessed the scene of the monster slaughtering his companions, and he told everyone the truth of what happened.