This story takes place in the real world (for now) with the city in Italy and people like Basta and Capricorn. Dustfinger and Resa are there too, and their lives are similiar to those in the book, yet different as there is no Mo, no Meggie. It will be a darker fic, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway. Here you are, chapter one:

(Disclaimer: I own no one except for Eva. Every other character belongs to Cornelia Funke)

She knew something was wrong the moment she neared the house. The windows were dark, the chimney poured out no smoke. The door was ajar and creaking quietly.

The night was stormy, the wind swept through the wheat and oat fields, making the crop sink and rise like waves. There was a full moon, a harvest moon actually, red. She didn't want to go inside. Never had she felt such fear before. Such thick, syrupy fear that clogged her throat, stuck her lungs together. She was not afraid of going inside though. She was afraid of what she would find.

Slowly her feet started towards the door. The hole ready to swallow her. There was a crunch underneath her feet. She looked down and her heart stopped. It was her mother's glass swan, one of her most prized possessions. The swan was black. And now it lay broken on the grit. She scooped up the pieces and put them in her pocket. Now there was full-blown panic in her system. Something was very, very wrong indeed.

Too soon she arrived at the door. The wind howled, the crop rustled. She entered the house.

It was dark, and the air was cold. She didn't want to turn on the lights so she dug in her pockets and between the glass shards she found a lighter she used for crafts. She lit it and it provided her with a small illuminated area.

Inside, her home looked like a wreck. The living room looked as if a hurricane had swept through it. The curtains were ripped, the windows broken. The icy autumn wind blew in, chilling her even further. She could barely believe it; she didn't want to believe it. Everything in her felt numb and distant. Desperately she tried to deny it all, but it was hopeless. Something had happened and there was nothing she could do.

The kitchen was a mess too, china lay broken on the floor, the cupboard-doors hung loose on their hinges. Water was running from the tap into the sink which was already overflowing but she didn't have the heart to stop it. She moved on.

She came to her parent's bedroom and the nausea in her stomach increased. All that she wanted to do was run away, run away as fast as she could, but she was driven by this strange pull, she couldn't stop. And so she saw them.

They were lying on the floor like ragdolls, still and lifeless. Even in the moonshine and the feeble light from her lighter, Eva could see that their skin was awfully pale and the eyes that were open, were also unseeing. Red bloomed over their hearts, dark red. There was a horrible tang of metallic-sweetness in the air. Her mother and father. They were dead.

It was as if the world came crashing down on her. She could hear the apocalypse and thought it would rip her apart. There was no pain worse than this. No pain fiercer than this. This was really the worst. She turned on her heel and ran. A pained howl came out of her mouth as she did. She stumbled out of the house and rushed right into the wheat fields.

That was when she heard the steps behind her. Boots against grit. She twisted round, hiding her lighter. Her broken heart was pounding loudly, could they hear it? Were they the murderers?

"There!" a voice shouted.

Eva knew immediately that they had sighted her. Perhaps they wanted to murder her, too. And in all the misery, she realized she didn't want to die. Just not yet.

But they were fast. As she sped through the wheat field, she turned around and saw them vaguely in the dark. Several men, black clothing. Only one had a white shirt that shone brightly. They were close and she wasn't a leaper; soon one of the grabbed her and threw her to the ground. She kicked and screamed and tried to punch them but one of them suddenly brought out a gun and held it to her head. She stopped.

"Surely you don't want to end up like your poor mama and papa, huh? Sweetheart." Said the one holding the gun. She spat into his face, on his abnormal nose. But she couldn't hiss anything back, there was too much lead in her lungs and heart and she couldn't breathe.. there was no air.

"Alright, boys. Lets go. I'll take this one, we might need her." He tore Eva up from the ground, held her close.

"No!" she screamed, but in vain – it wasn't as if she could negotiate with her parents' murderers.

"Oh, and Flatnose?" the man who held her said.

"Burn the house."

Comments, praise or criticism are welcome. Do tell me if I have done some grammatical error or factial mistake.

Goodbye and good luck,

CheeseSwiss