Trigger Warning: Kidnapping, Blood, Possession, Death
For the next two weeks, River and Bobby search for Melody. The demon remains nearly untraceable, and no sign of the young girl has been found. River spends her days calling hospitals across the country, praying that one of them will have a recent patient fitting Melody's description. Bobby calls every hunter he knows to tell them to spread the word
Rivers never handled a case this severe before, and never one with such severity. Her sister's life is at stake. Melody could be scared, she could be dead or dying while River sat on her ass, confused as a monkey with a math problem.
Two days later, the phone rings. Bobby picks it up before the third ring.
"Who is this? Oh. Johnson, got any news?" River looks up from the couch. Ryan Johnson is a hunter from Louisiana who came for dinner a couple of times. After a few seconds, Bobby hangs up. He grabs his coat.
"Johnson found a lead. Thinks the demon is hiding out in the Louisiana swampland. There's a particular mill he seems convinced we'll find her at. Grab your stuff, we leave as soon as possible"
River gets her things together with lightning speed, and soon enough she and Bobby are on the road. They barely say anything for the first few hours, fear, and anticipation so prevalent that it's as though a think blanket has been thrown over the air in the car. By sunrise, they pull up to a small marina near the swamps. They can't drive any further, so the rest of the trip will be made by boat. One of Johnson's buddies at the marina is letting them borrow one of the rentals for a few days.
The sun is about a quarter of the way risen when they set off. The boat is small, flat-bottomed for the shallow waters of the swamp. Meant for fishing, not speed, so the going is slow. It takes them hours to get to the old building, which is sitting like a lonely sentinel surrounded by overgrown vegetation. As they near it, Bobby cuts the boats motor, letting them drift up to the shore, where River jumps out, her demon blade already clasped in her right hand, and a flask of holy water ready in her left pocket.
Once the boat drifts to a stop, Bobby too hops out. He takes the lead as they move quickly and quietly towards the building. There is no noise at all besides the crunching and squelching of leaves, sticks, and mud under their boots, long gone are the whistles and chirps of the birds and other creatures that should be stirring at this time of day. The very woods and waters around them seem to sense something wrong with this place. Something unnatural.
The doors to the building are padlocked shut with a huge metal chain, one that hasn't been moved in many years, so Bobby and River head off in search of another way in. They find it around the back of the building, where time has worn a hole through the walls big enough for even Bobby to safely walk through. It's dark inside, the dim light filtering through the trees only barely lighting the interior.
They head further into the darkness, Rivers heart beating faster and faster, pounding in her chest so loudly that she swears the demon will hear her coming miles away. If he's here, that is. There are so many 'ifs' on this hunt. If the demon is here, If Melody is still alive, If they can get her out. Every corner they turn, River half expects to find the mutilated body of her little sister crumpled in a corner. Half expects she will be too late to save Mels.
But each corner only leads to another dark, empty room, or a dingy corridor. They find a body, and at first Rivers, heart skips a beat, but it's only the corpse of the man the demon had possessed when it took Melody. It could have gotten a new meat suit anywhere.
Finally, they get to the last place to check, the stone cellar. There's a thin trail of blood on the floor, leading down the rotting wooden steps. It looks old, but not too old. New enough to have been spilled in the last few days. As they descend the stairs, having to jump over a missing board, River finds herself strangely unable to breathe. Scared of what she will find.
A chair sits in the center of the room, with ropes attached to it, but the chair is empty. The whole room is empty as they sweep over the walls with their flashlights. River sees a flash of movement in the corner of her eyes, and before she can shout a warning to Bobby, he falls over, knocked out cold. A small figure stands behind him, wielding the remnants of the missing stair in her small hands. When she speaks, her voice is familiar, but not. Her eyes are pure black.
"Why hello there little hunter."
To Be Continued…