Yenna placed her hand on her young daughter's feverish forehead and glanced anxiously down at the near empty water jug sitting on the dirt floor. She knew she would have to go for more water very soon, but she didn't want to leave Amia and it was dangerous to go out at night. "If only Deyno were here," the young mother sighed. Deyno, her husband, had left to go on a journey with a few other men from the village to find a new place to move the whole town. Not everyone was happy about this decision, but what with the disappearances, the village had collectively decided to move location. And then, on top of everything, Amia had gotten sick! It was just a fever, nothing terribly uncommon, but still, it wasn't convenient.
Picking up the now empty jug from the ground next to the low bed, Yenna kissed her daughter's forehead, whispering "I'll be right back, my love." Then, ignoring all feelings of doubt, Yenna brushed aside the dry grass curtain hanging in front of the opening of the small, mud brick house and started down the well-trodden path to the water well. The well was less than a mile round trip, but it was dangerous at this time of night. The twin moons hung high in the opposite regions of the sky, and the stars stood out against the blackness, but the moons gave enough light to see by. Yenna hurried along the path as fast as she could holding the heavy jug in both hands, and reached the hill. She would have to climb the steep hill and then down the other side to reach the well. She could go around, but the base of the hill was so wide that she would be a mile off course. Climbing the hill was faster.
At the top of the hill, she paused to get her breath, and then started down the other side. Right at the base of the hill, surrounded by a grove of bushes, she tripped and nearly broke the ceramic jug. Scrambling up, she told herself that she needed to be more careful. She wasn't far from the well now, and started walking again. Then she stopped. There was a rustle in the bushes.
Now, this may not sound like a really terrifying thing, but Yenna froze in puzzled horror. There were no animals living up in these parts. But even worse: there was no wind. Yenna looked around, wondering if one of the village boys had followed her to frighten her. If they had, it worked. But she was almost certain that no one had followed her all the way. But the rustling came again. And then something sprang out of the bushes. It never even touched Yenna, but Yenna went limp.
A body fell to the ground, and the water jug smashed into a hundred little ceramic pieces.