Chapter 11: Dancing Shadows
Jack stood there over the bloody mess which was once Harris. The smell of it filled his nostrils. It was exciting and fun. Time to go continue the hunt and execute those who deserved it. He smiled as he crept around the building. Those that had accused Zack will die. Securing his safety would be simple. Death to all of them...
Mary placed her hand on Grey's side. He was sleeping fine, but she still wasn't. She curled up as close as she could to him, trying to get warm. Grey laid there on his side with his back to her. Even with him, she still felt lonely. They loved each other, but he did not respond to her touch. He just laid there still. Her hand slowly moved up and down as he breathed. Mary hummed the little tune that Carter had sang to her in hopes of falling asleep...
Manna too was having trouble sleeping. Every time she fell asleep, dark dreams would enter her mind and she would wake up in a cold sweet. Nightmares of someone coming to kill her. Duke would probably laugh at her foolishness. She tried to laugh it off too, but her own laughter scared her. This wasn't like her, she needed to get away...
Carter was getting sick of sitting around doing nothing. He was about ready to take over guard duty from Harris whether he wanted him to or not. But before that, there was something very important he had to do. Carter got up out of his chair and hurried off. He had to go to the restroom...
Mary stared at the ceiling. Her parents were sleeping so deeply upstairs. She sighed. It seemed like she was the only one having trouble sleeping. She half sat up and looked around at all the townsfolk wrapped up in their blankets. Everyone looked so peaceful.
She let out a gasp. Mary could have sworn she just saw a shadow move across the wall. Could it be the murderer got into the inn? Her eyes flitted around the room and saw who it was. A dark figure was creeping around, tiptoeing quietly, stepping over one body after another. The person stubbed their foot and stifled a yelp. Mary quickly hid herself under her blankets and buried her face next to Grey, trying hard not to shake. She prayed that the man stayed far away from her. Mary cried silently into Grey's back. She didn't want to die...
Carter exited the restroom with a sigh of contentment. That was much better. Tonight wasn't going so badly. It looked like they had nothing to fear from Jack anymore. Carter bit his tongue and cursed himself. He wasn't supposed to think about that. What if he let something like that slip while talking? He couldn't let that happen. All Carter had to do was keep his head about him, and Jack would see the err of his ways.
It had begun to rain. Well, now Carter surely didn't want to take the guard up. Time to play a little game of hooky. He'd just stay upstairs. The rain began to quicken in short order. It had become a regular thunderstorm. Carter never like heavy rains like this, they always seemed ominous.
Thunder boomed, and lightning ripped apart the sky. Carter held back a scream. During the last flash of lightning, he could have sworn he saw a shadow move across the window. "That's nonsense. I'm sure it was just an owl or something seeking shelter from the rain under the roof." Somehow though, saying it didn't seem to reassure him at all. Really, like the murderer would really scale the side of the building.
But what if he did? What if the murderer was going to sneak into the inn through a second story window? It may be the coward's way out, but there was only one option. He had to find somewhere to hide, but the question was where to hide. He peeked in each of the inn's rooms to make sure everyone was sound asleep. Then he scurried back into the restroom and locked the door.