Chapter 18: Fear
They stepped through the door. Sylas entered first, then the others followed behind him.
In front of them was a small village. Right in the middle stood a statue. It was made of stone, but it had no eyes, no nose, no mouth. Just a blank face. Its arms stretched out like it froze mid-scream. Around it were small houses.
The houses were made of old wood. The windows were perfect, not broken at all. The walls looked new, like they were just built. But the roofs were already falling apart, like someone started building and gave up halfway through.
The sky looked gray, like someone had removed all the color from this world. There were no clouds. Gray sun. Just dull gray light hanging in the air. It was empty. Heavy. Like even the sky had given up.
The trees had no leaves. Their branches curled like long, twisted fingers.
To the left of the village was a river.
The water was pitch black. It didn’t move. It just sat there, frozen in place. Sylas picked up a stick and touched the water. Only then did it ripple.
Ahead of them was a forest, but the trees had no leaves either.
Ryan looked around the silent village. "This place gives me the creeps... but I still wish we could find some kind of food. Maybe meat," he muttered as his stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I guess time to hunt some food," Sylas muttered.
Then he asked Elizabeth and the others to check the houses while he searched for food.