CHAPTER 1.
The Moore house which only an hour ago was positively alive with activity now creaked and groaned as it began to settle from the cool night air. The inhabitants within completed their nightly tasks: getting into pajamas, brushing their teeth, and laying their clothes out for the next morning before snuggling into the comfort of their respective beds.
The remaining lights in the home flicked off from view of the windows one by one until completely dark. The shutters lightly tapped against the old paint chipped walls in the soothing rhythm of a heart beat. The moon cast a particularly radiant glow parting the the glen where the house was so peacefully nestled.
Surrounding the solitary home were black hooded figures adorned in silver runed masks in the shapes of grimaced skulls. Each personage withdrew long, spindly, and bare saplings, roots and all from within their sleeves and brandished them like swords. All at once they broke into a full sprint towards the home. Catlike and quietly they parted the tall grasses, until THWUMP. One of the figures slammed into something unseen. It stood up, shook its head and without a moment's hesitation caressed the invisible barrier with its branch. As it did, the sapling sprouted leaves and small pink flower buds.
The once invisible barrier veined, and cracked into a membrane that melted away in great globs, like fondue. With a rasp of air escaping, the magic membrane vanished completely. The hooded figures burst into a full sprint again until they closed in on the house. One of the figures approached the door, examined the knob with apprehension. It took a step back waved its sapling at the door, which caused it to bloom white flower buds this time. Apparently satisfied, the figure slid its sapling into its sleeve and placed both hands on the door. With a slight push, the figure began to pass through the solid door, as if it were made of gelatin. The others followed suit. One by one disappearing into the home.
A moment of silence.
Then a display of bright red and blue flashes illuminated the whole of the house from behind the drawn curtains, and cracks in the walls. Screams of children filled the glen. Followed by the most horrible of silences.
