Chapter 2: Blood in the Moonlight

The full moon was above us, and lightning was helping us. It lit the path as we walked. Samuel and I walk deeper and closer. We were so frantic and hurried, so we moved faster. Every shallow breath felt loud in the still night air. The anticipation was damn near suffocating. I could taste the tension with every step, that gut feeling that something wasn't right dialled up to eleven.

 "Zack?" Samuel whispered, eyes wide like he was afraid of drawing unwanted attention. "You really think Jacob ended up at that creepy abandoned mill?" I shot him a grim nod, crimson eyes scanning the maze of darkness hemming us in. "You saw how spooked that witness was. "Something's seriously wrong out there... we don't have a second to waste."

 Finally, the old mill appeared; the tremendous big building slowly appeared before us; even in the darkness, we could see it. My stomach sank, and this weird feeling ran down my spine. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Damn, this place is rotting in its beams. It looks like it could crash down around us at any moment. Even the windows are shattered. A dead place. It was old but could have been kept alive. Now, it is a ghost of Eldermere's wild, untamed past.

 There was something else, though, a strange feeling twisting in my chest, like I'd walked these grounds long ago—like déjà vu, but heavier, so much heavier. "Be sharp," I whispered to Samuel, my voice low. My ears tuned in to the silence around us, which felt alive, like it was watching, waiting.

 "We have no idea what we are walking into. It's already dangerous in this old building. He didn't say anything else, a quick nod, his jaw clenched. He stuck close as we crept toward the entrance. The door groans so loud when we push it open that it sounds like we are opening old coffins that have been undisturbed for too long. My pulse was racing hard and fast. Whatever this was, it wasn't just an old, forgotten mill anymore. It was something else entirely. And it was waiting for us.

 Pushing them open, the void beyond seemed to greedily devour any trace of light. "Hello?" I called into the pitch-black emptiness, letting my deep voice carry. Only the pounding of my own anxious heart answered back. We stepped across the threshold and hit full-blast with the thick, musty stench of decay. Pale moonlight filtered through the shattered windows, casting stark, faint light across scattered remnants of old machinery. Rusted-out machines from another era entirely. The whole place just had this...vibe, you know? Like someone or something was watching us.

 "Over here, bro," Samuel hissed, face pale as he pointed out a set of fresh footprints. It couldn't have been more than an hour or two old, headed further in. "After them," I replied grimly, not wasting a second before taking the lead down that narrow, shady trail. I could practically feel the dread pressing in all around, the silence so loud it was damn near deafening.

 That's when it hit us, that deep, guttural growl making the hairs on my neck stand up at full attention. Samuel's panicked look said it all. Whatever made that sound was far from friendly. "Stay cool," I whisper, my adrenaline spiking. "We're gonna find out what that the hell that was and whatever's goin' on in here."

 He swallowed hard but gave a jerky nod, chasing after me as we pressed into the gloom. That growl faded into another tense silence, but it did little to shake the shitty uncertainty that we weren't alone there. Then, movement out the corner of my eye, a dark shape retreating around a far corner, moving faster and deeper inside, like it was purposefully screwing with us. "Stop right there!" I roared, every muscle coiled as I moved after it without hesitation.

 "Zack, wait!" Samuel's voice echoed after me, strangled with desperation and struggling to keep pace. But I wasn't about to let our lead get away, not with Jacob's life potentially on the line. Running through that maze of rusted machinery and debris, that predatory need to pursue is running hot in my veins. Deeper and deeper I go. I chased the shadowy figure, always just out of reach. Until it finally stumbled to a halting stop, whipping back to face me with naked terror in its eyes. Just a damn kid, no threat at all, except for whatever had him so spooked.

 "P-Please, man, I don't want trouble!" the teen cried. He backed away from me, hands raised like I was gonna shoot him. "I wasn't gonna hurt you," I said lowly, tamping down my anger, but he at least stood still and did not run. "Just need you to tell me what you know about Jacob. And why are you here" The poor kid looked about to fall apart. His head looked back over his shoulder like he wanna see if he escaped whatever had him so scared. "I saw him get taken, okay?! I just wanted to keep outta sight, honest! But there's some real dark shit happenin' out there in the woods..."

Sam finally caught up, eyes blown wide and face flushed. "Wait, slow down, what happened to Jacob?" "Spill it," I growled, pinning the kid with a scorching glare when he hesitated. "Who took him?" "I-I dunno, I swear!" he backpedaled desperately. "Too dark to see anythin' clearly! All's I heard was 'em talkin' 'bout some blood ritual they needed him for!"

 "Blood ritual?" Sam echoed, voice hollow with dread. My jaw clenched so tight it was liable to crack. Of course, it couldn't be simple. Of course, there had to be some sick cult crap thrown into the mix. "You're tellin' me they took Jacob to use him as some kinda sacrifice?" "Th-That's what I heard. I ain't lyin', I swear!" the kid pleaded, looking more frantic by the second. "Said they needed to summon somethin' ancient and nasty! I booked it as soon as I put two and two together!" Sam's eyes were huge, bugging out of his head as the reality sank in.

 "Zack, you don't think-?" "Save it," I cut him off sharply. "If even one word that kid's sayin' is true..." I rounded on him, gripping him tight to keep him from running out. "Where would they do something like that?" The poor kid shook his head, eyes blown wide like a spooked animal. "I-I got no idea, honest! I got the hell outta there before they could-"

 CRASSHHH!

 The deafening sound of shrieking, tortured metal ripped through the silence, shaking the whole damn mill like a beast was ringing from the depths. Pure instinct had me hauling the terrified kid close before he could bolt. "You're stickin' with us. Now move!" I snarled in a tone that left zero room for argument. We moved, beating a hasty path back towards the exit as quickly as possible, back the same way we came in. Now, it just seems longer to get the hell out.

 That ominous growl rumbled through the shadows like an ever-present reminder that something unholy was watching our every move. "Zack, there!" Sam shouted suddenly, relief flooding his voice as the doors leading back outside finally appeared. I didn't stop to let out my own breath, just shouldered the doors open with a bang before hauling our asses back into the cool night air and open woodlands. A few deep, needy breaths finally dispelled what was suffocating me… but the reprieve didn't last. Sam and I trudged back under the moonlight, hearts pounding like jackhammers. I knew the real threat lay not in one overgrown ruin... but twisted in the night, festering at the heart of our hometown. Waiting for the right moment to grab hold and squeeze the life out of everything we cared about.

 'What do we do now? Sam asked, sounding totally thrown as he looked back at the abandoned mill with growing unease. "Head back to town for starters," I replied grimly, shaking off my disquiet as best I could. "Rally up the rest of the deputies, any other able bodies we can muster. If there really is some cult trying to pull off a sacrifice on our watch..." I exhaled low, gravelly exhale, the determination settling in my bones. No way in hell I'd let that sick evil get its hooks into this place again, not while I was still standing.

 Not after everything Eldermere had been through. "We're gonna need all hands on deck to shut this down...whatever the cost," I finished lowly, fiery gaze catching that of the frightened kid who'd stumbled into our mess. "You got family in town? Anyone you can get to and be safe while we sort this?" The poor kid nodded jerkily, eyes still wide from his brush with whatever horrors awaited in the night. "Y-Yeah, my sister's place over on Chestnut..." "Get there, then," I instructed, telling him I didn't want any argument.

 "And don't breathe a word of this to anyone until me and Sam got backup movin'. Eldermere's got enough folks 'round here doin' cult garbage, no need to start a panic till we got a hand on the situation." With that, I gave Sam a grim nod and motioned for him to follow. We set off back into the shadowy woods in tense silence, every twig snapping and every leaf that rustles makes the hair on my neck stand.

 "Hey, Zack..." Sam murmured, brow knit with dread the deeper we went. "You really think these sickos grabbed Jacob for some blood magic ritual?" I let out a low rumble, barely contained fury simmering in my chest. "Hope to hell not. But if there's even a chance some twisted cult's out there tryin' to mess with dark forces by sacrificin' an innocent kid..." My gloved fist clenched so tight it was trembling. The leather was even creaking in protest. The mere notion of it had that old, all-too-familiar darkness threatening to return to me. That thirst for vengeance and fury I'd struggled to keep leashed for so damn long.

 "We find the sick bastards behind this," I growled lowly, crimson gaze smoldering. "And we make 'em pay dearly for thinkin' they can summon that evil up in my town again..." As the warm, welcoming lights of Eldermere finally flickered through the tree line, I shoved all lingering of what may come down back down. Because even as the sense of home beckoned...I could feel the shadows coiled and waiting for the perfect time to strike.

 There was something deeply wrong, spreading it like poison here, moving ever closer to the heart of everything I'd sworn to protect from the first day I arrived here. But not this time. This time, the forces of darkness had made the grave mistake of going too far and letting their evil touch one of our own. And I'd be damned if I let that go. Whatever evil things lurked in the woods that night, they had no idea the unholy hell they'd just brought down upon themselves.

 Because when it came to defending my people?

 I was far from finished with this fight.

 In fact, ... I was just getting started.