Author's Notes:

I'm really sorry that it took me so long – first there were papers to write, then I got ill, then there was the paper to finish and then university started. I apologize for the long wait.

I hope that I can make it up to you with my suspense chapter lol

As a bonus, this chapter includes a historian's wisdom which we have been told by a complete stranger on the elevator at Bahnhof SBB in Basel. Thank you random guy, we will value your knowledge (not that it was anything new, with us being historians-in-the-making as well). XD Oh, and it's a bit longer than most chapters, which probably is more interesting than what I said just before.

Disclaimer: D.Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 26 Out of the Deep Darkness

It was about ten o' clock when the exorcists and finders finally left the deep forest and arrived at the outskirts of the village. Even though the winter sun was up, the village in itself was quite dark because it was built in a valley with the thick forest on one side and a steep hill on the other side. Not too far away a river must be making its way through the landscape because there was a lot of mist around.

"I don't know what you guys are thinking, but the village does not look very inviting to me…", Rabi mumbled, "it's like with Crowley's castle! I wouldn't be surprised if we did indeed meet ghosts and ghouls and monsters and werewolves and vampires and"

"Thank you Rabi, we got your point", Linali interrupted him and the young man couldn't suppress a shudder.

"There were no ghosts in my castle", Crowley argued with a frown, but then he uttered a defeated, sad sigh, "only an Akuma… Oh, Eliade… If only you had been a ghost or a vampire, then I would not have needed to destroy you…", he lamented.

"Stop being idiots! Let's move into the village, we have a mission!", Bookman hissed in annoyance and asked the finders to lead the way.

"I feel bad about this… And my intuition never fails me", Rabi said, holding on to Linali's shoulders, "aren't you scared? You do believe in ghosts and the like, don't you?". Linali looked at him and smiled.

"To tell the truth I am rather worried about the women… This is not the time to be afraid", she said and then she laughed, "and why would you need to be afraid? You're not a pregnant woman, are you?". Rabi blinked at her, but then he laughed.

"Now I am relieved", he said and Ellen couldn't help but snort. Rabi pointed at her.

"Hah! Right now you've compared me to Yu in your mind, didn't you?!", he accused her with a grin. Ellen's pale face heated up and she shook her head.

"No, I did not!"

"Aah, you can't fool me, young lady! I'm sure you thought: Yu wouldn't be afraid, he would be brave for me!", Rabi teased.

"Oh, stop it Rabi! You know that I would never think such silly things! Of course Kanda would not be afraid! Kanda is never afraid!", Ellen argued and crossed her arms over her chest, "However, I am not afraid either. And you do not need him around, do you? You can hide behind the brave Linali". With these words she stomped off to join Bookman and the finders. Rabi blinked at her in surprise.

"Why is she so touchy?", Rabi wondered.

"Because you teased her", Linali said with a reproachful look, "You should not tease her about Kanda, you should know that her relationship with him is not ideal yet".

"And maybe the girl is afraid a little bit", Crowley added with a thoughtful expression, "I would be surprised if this mission did not send every woman on edge". Linali sighed.

"Yes… You are right… Whatever is going on in this village, it's the nightmare of every woman…", she replied and looked at Ellen, who had now started to talk to Bookman. "Ellen is always trying to be brave…", Linali thought, "I must also become braver, so that I can take a part of her burden off her shoulders!", she decided and excused herself to join Ellen with a encouraging smile on her lips.

"I don't get women…", Rabi muttered and Crowley nodded.

"Eliade wasn't this complicated…", he said, but then he sniffed and Rabi rolled his eyes.

Their arrival didn't go unnoticed and when they entered the village an assembly of people waited for them.

"I doubt that we're very welcome here…", Rabi mused with a frown, "even though we want to help".

"It is not surprising though", Ellen whispered her reply, "abominable things have been happening in this town. It is not uncommon to suspect strangers as being the cause".

"Yes… You're right… This is not the first time that I would be witness to such a scene…", Rabi said and Ellen was surprised at how forced his voice sounded.

"He must have seen a lot of unpleasant things…", Ellen mused, but then she turned her attention towards the people. Some of them, probably the major and a few strong men to back him up, approached their small group. The major started talking loudly, gesticulating with both arms, but Ellen didn't understand what he was saying. The leader of the finders walked up to him and started talking as well.

"What might they be talking about?", Linali wondered.

"The guy from the village says that they do not need more trouble and that we should leave as fast as we could", Rabi said.

"Oh? You speak the language?", Ellen wondered in surprise.

"Panda made me learn a lot of languages. That's the fate of the Bookmen. For most of the sources you need to read up on there are no translations available… The only choice you have is to learn the language to be able to continue…", the red-head explained. He grinned at Ellen when he became aware of the admiring looks she gave him. "Now, now. Don't fall for my learning! Yu is also able to speak a bunch of different languages!" Ellen blushed and glared at him.

"Now, stop that at once! This behaviour is insufferable!", she shrieked but Rabi knew that she only got so agitated because he was teasing her about Kanda – again!

"Aww, I like you too, Ellen!", he said.

"How about continuing to translate for us instead of winding up the poor girl?", Crowley suggested.

"Yes, I would like that as well", the youngest exorcist agreed and smiled at Crowley. Rabi grinned.

"Well. As far as I heard the finder said that we were exorcist and that we were experts in exterminating devils…"

"Well, but shouldn't they be happy now?", Linali wondered and they looked over at the villagers, who were still staring at them grimly, while looking at each other nervously.

"I'd say most of the women seem to want us to stay", Crowley said.

"This village is cursed", a man spoke up in funny sounding English, "it is lost to the devil! You can't do anything here! It is dangerous! You should leave if you don't want to be damned as well!".

"I fear that we cannot leave", Bookman replied, "it is our duty to ascertain if there are Akuma or Innocence involved in these incidents".

"It is the work of the devil!", the man just repeated, "there is nothing you can do!"

"Let us try to help", Linali pleaded, "we cannot let you continue suffering!". The people standing at the front eyed each other and consulted shortly.

"Fine. We will guide you to the well where the devil resides in", the man spoke up again. After these words have been spoken the villagers retreated to their houses as fast as they could, shutting the doors and windows.

"Those people must be terrified", Ellen commented silently. The major who was grudgingly accompanying them, said something to Linali.

"Pardon?", she asked because she didn't understand his words.

"He asked why there are women with us", Bookman translated, "he says that it seems pretty negligent to endanger you like this".

"But we won't be targeted!", Linali argued, "It's not any more dangerous for us than it is for you".

"One can never know…", Bookman repeated what the major had muttered to himself. Ellen frowned at that and looked at Linali wearily.

"Do you think it might just target women in general?", she asked and Linali shook her head.

"I don't know… But I have a feeling", she replied and lowered her voice so only Ellen could hear, "that these people are keeping something from us…"

"Yes… I had the same thought crossing my mind", Ellen answered and looked ahead, where she could see an abandoned town square with the well in its centre.

"This is the accursed well…", the man who could speak English said, pointing at it. The villagers stopped about 10 meters away from it, "we will not approach it. We fear its wrath".

"Come on. Let's investigate", Bookman urged the other exorcist after just acknowledging the villagers with a nod. The exorcist hesitated, but then they approached the well. It was made with rough stones and it looked quite old. A wooden bucket lay on the floor next to the well, its rope was attached to a wooden construct over the well's opening. While Crowley and Linali bent over the edge to look down into the darkness, Ellen concentrated. The gear like device appeared in front of her cursed eye and she looked around.

"Do you see anything?", Rabi wondered, but Ellen shook her head.

"No… There are no Akuma in the vicinity", she said, then she also bent her upper body over the well's edge. It was hard to say how deep down it went, after a few meters she could only see darkness. She closed her right eye and continued looking.

"There is nothing…", she said, only observing the well with her cursed eye, "I can see that the well is very deep and then there is the water's surface, but it seems to be shallow. I can't make out an Akuma or another object…", she said and retreated, also making the monocle disappear. Rabi sighed.

"Though luck… It would have been easier this way… Now we have no clue at all", he complained.

"It would be best to retreat for the moment and gather more information on the incident", Bookman suggested and turned to the men. "Is there a place where we can stay?"

"We have a small inn…", one of them replied.

"Good. Then we will lodge there. We would be most obliged if you could guide us", the old man said and the three men turned around, leading them away from the town square.

"They really don't look thrilled", Linali remarked and Ellen nodded.

"This is all very suspicious… Maybe Rabi was right", she said and the red-head raised his eyebrows.
"With what?", he wanted to know and Ellen turned to him.

"Maybe they really use this story of the child theft to cover up for something…", she suggested.

"But the younger women have been truly afraid, while most of the men weren't…", Crowley said, "Why would they fabricate such a story?"

"They are superstitious… If they sacrifice women or children to someone or something then there is enough reason for the women to be afraid", Rabi replied.

"But Rabi…", Ellen protested, "if they are indeed sacrificing humans to some divine entity, then there must be a reason for them to do so, something that made them resort to such drastic actions".

"Not if it's some kind of cult…", Rabi mused. The white haired girl frowned.

"In this day and age? In a Christian village?", she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Rabi looked at her and then he sighed.

"Ellen… There are lot of ugly things that you are better off not knowing…", he said, but that only angered Ellen to a certain extend.

"Do not treat me like a child. I am well able to deal with such things. However, I refuse to believe that the reason for this child disappearance is human sacrifice!"

"So you want to believe that Innocence cuts unborn children out of women's wombs? Is that any better?", Rabi challenged and Ellen just stubbornly shook her head.

"Innocence is not sacred, I know that, I know that very well. And neither are humans. They can do ugly things, I know that as well. Maybe some women want to get rid of their unborn children, even that I can relate to. However, this is something that we need to solve as exorcists", she argued and Rabi was a bit taken aback.

"But Ellen… How do you know?", Linali wondered, trying to appease her friend. Ellen huffed.

"Intuition".

--

The inn was a shabby, run-down place. The wooden tiles on the floor were creaking under their boots, the tapestry was peeling off the wall to show poorly constructed stone walls, and on top of that it was dark and chilly. Ellen had truly seen better lodgings, but she didn't dare to complain, it would only have given Rabi more reason to tease her. The exorcists were sitting in the eating room around a round table on hard, simple chairs. The food was not that tasty, but it was edible.

"How should we go on from here?", Rabi wondered, "Ellen couldn't make out an Akuma and we don't know much about the whole incident"

"If one lacks background knowledge, then trying to find out more would be the most sensible thing to do", Ellen suggested.

"And how?", Rabi wanted to know, which earned himself a frown from Ellen.

"Why, by asking the locals of course", she replied, "we have witnessed that a lot of people do not want to talk about it. However, I would strongly suggest talking to the victims".

"You want to talk to the survivors?", Linali wondered and Ellen nodded.

"Well, I'd say we should look for the missing children", Rabi spoke up.

"And what would that benefit?", Ellen asked, "ask those who are still alive"

"How pessimistic!", Rabi called with a grimace, but Ellen chose to ignore him in order to discuss their further course of action.

"We should split into teams. We are a group of five people, we can divide the tasks", Bookman spoke up. "Linali and Ellen ask the victims, Rabi and Crowley will go look for the missing children while I try to gather more information from the other villagers… When we search like this we are bound to find something… You should take one of the finders with you so that he can translate", Bookman said addressing himself at Linali and Ellen.

"That is a good idea, if you want me to, then I'd be glad to assist!", the young man of the finder group spoke up enthusiastically. Ellen turned towards him and showed him a polite smile.

"We would be very much obliged", she answered.

"Well! Then let's waste no time!", Rabi exclaimed, nearly jumping up from his chair, "Crowley, you'll be coming with me!!". The poor man was dragged to his feet and had to follow Rabi out of the inn without even being able to complain much.

"Rabi must feel secure with the baron accompanying him, because he is quite a coward if he does not pull himself together", Ellen remarked and even though her tone was very polite, she was indeed being cheeky.

"He did tease her a bit too much…", Linali thought with a sigh, "at least Ellen has some backbone, that's nice to see…". With the young man as their translator, each group set out in a different direction.

"What is your name, by the way?", Ellen wondered as their small group was heading for the house of a victim. The finder turned around and smiled brightly.

"My name is Alexander", he said, "it is an honour to be working with you".

"Thank you, we are obliged to you", the white haired girl replied with a polite smile.

"Where exactly are we heading?", Linali asked, after they had finished exchanging polite words.

"Oh yes. You wanted to ask around, right? I was charged with finding all the victims last time, but I didn't have a chance to ask them about anything… I remember where their houses were though".

"That's good to hear, it might have been very tedious to ask around", the Chinese girl said and Alexander seemed pretty proud of himself. Ellen wondered briefly if this was somehow connected to the way that some exorcists (even though she could only think of Kanda) treated the finders. If to serve exorcists with their life was the only goal of the finders, then Ellen considered that to be pretty sad. She wouldn't be able accept that if it were this way.

"That's the first house. The women inside was one of the last victims up to date…", Alexander announced once they stood in front of a wooden house. It looked pretty worn down, like the rest of the village. Alexander walked up to the door and knocked.

"I am not even sure what to ask her…", Ellen worried and Linali just nodded, her uneasiness was visible in her eyes. But they didn't have much time to worry, as the door was opened and a woman looked at them with suspicion shining in her eyes. However, the moment she recognized the two exorcists and the finder, she stepped away from the door and let them inside.

"We are sorry for the intrusion", Ellen started, Alexander translating as she was talking, "but we are trying to get more information about this incident. If you would allow us to ask you some questions then you might help us solve the case".

"It doesn't concern her. It's about her daughter", Alexander said, "but she would be very happy to assist the work of the church". Ellen looked at the woman's lined face and she really did seem very relieved. The woman then led them to the kitchen, but continued talking.

"She says that we must excuse her sinful daughter… She will surely repent, they already visited the local priest about it", Alexander said. Ellen and Linali looked at each other in confusion. A young woman of about Linali's age was sitting in the kitchen, preparing vegetables for their next meal. She looked up in surprise when she was called by her mother.

"Oh, she is so young…", Linali said in astonishment and pity. Ellen remained silent and studied the girl while the mother and daughter talked to each other.

"She doesn't look very distressed, neither does she look ill… I wonder what has happened…", she thought.

"This is Svetlana… She consented to answer your questions", Alexander said and Svetlana smiled at them, offering them to take seats. The mother walked back out of the room, muttering things to herself. The exorcists and the finder sat down and Ellen hesitated for a while.

"Svetlana… We understand that this might be a very delicate subject, but we would like to ask you some questions, about how you lost your child…", she finally spoke up and Alexander translated for her. Svetlana attentively listened to Alexander and nodded, then she turned back to Ellen and Linali with an apologetic smile on her face.

"She says that she almost regrets to say that it didn't affect her that much", the finder said and looked at Svetlana with interest. "She did not want to have a child and she didn't even realize that she had become pregnant. She is a bit ashamed to say it, but she is not married to the man who got her pregnant". Both Linali and Ellen were a bit surprised.

"Ah, you don't need to worry about that, we are not here to condemn you about that", Linali assured her, "we only want to solve this mystery".

"Svetlana says that she is glad to hear that, her mother was pretty enraged when she found out", Alexander said and Svetlana smiled at them.

"What exactly did happen? How did you know that your child was stolen even though you were not even aware of your pregnancy?", Ellen wondered and Svetlana started explaining, Alexander carefully translating for the other two girls.

"She was on her way to her boyfriend. To reach him she had to cross the town square where the well is. She knew about the monster in the well and her mother had forbidden her to go out at night, however, she was not aware that she too could be endangered. When she was passing the well it happened".

"What exactly? What did you see?", Ellen urged her to continue. Svetlana seemed to think about it, her brows furrowed and she was gesticulating with her hands.

"She says that it is really hard to explain. She did not see anything but a black, fuzzy shadow. She did hear something though, it was the sound of water she thought and something like wind"

"Like wind?", Linali asked and Svetlana lifted her hand, piercing the air with it.

"Like something flew through the air, like a stone being thrown or something like that", Alexander said, trying to translate the best he could.

"Maybe something came out of the water and was then thrown at her?", Linali suggested.

"But the well is quite deep… If it was a person to throw something at her, then he or she would have needed to climb up at first"

"Not if it was an Akuma or Innocence", Linali corrected her friend and Ellen sighed.

"Did you feel anything?", she wondered and Svetlana nodded uncertainly.

"She says that she turned around when she heard the noises. And then she felt a short pain, like a stab of a knife, in her stomach". To be able to explain better, the girl pushed back the chair and stood up. She then pointed at her lower abdomen and then she lifted her clothes. There was a little mark on her skin, thin but longish.

"It does look like a scar", Linali said in surprise and Svetlana sat back down. Ellen was still thinking about the whole matter.

"And what happened next?", she wanted to know after some time.

"The pain disappeared very quickly, it was really just a split second… But then she felt something drip down her legs. It was blood".

"How horrible…", Linali breathed.

"Svetlana says that she was confused at first, but then she remembered what the other women had said. She then became aware that she had indeed carried a child", Alexander continued to explain, "when she realized she was shocked, but she got over it very quickly. In fact, she was happy because a pregnancy without marriage would have only caused her a lot of problems. Svetlana also asks us to keep this a secret, apart from her mother no one knows".

"We won't tell anyone", Linali said with a gentle smile and Svetlana returned it without Alexander needing to translate.

"To sum up, Svetlana was passing the well by night, then she heard the sounds of water and something piercing the air, she saw a black shadow and felt a short stabbing pain. Then she lost her child", Ellen said, deeply in thought.

"Does this monster always come out at night?", Linali wondered but Svetlana shook her head.

"There is no particular time of the day for the attacks, she says", Alexander told them, "Attacks at night are rather unlikely, because woman do not go out alone, at least not at night"

"And does it matter whether you're alone or accompanied?", Ellen wanted to know but Svetlana shook her head when Alexander translated for her.

"So you're only save if you stay away from the well", Linali said, but Svetlana mumbled something to herself. "What did she say?"

"She said that she wonders about that", Alexander answered with a frown, "the women in the town are all whispering about it; what if the monster crawls out of the well? This village has been abandoned by God". After that there reigned silence in the little kitchen and Svetlana resumed cutting the vegetables.

"No, you have not been abandoned. We are here to solve this mystery. We are deeply sorry that we have not been here earlier to prevent all of this", Ellen said gently and Svetlana looked up, "you do not need to be afraid anymore". The young woman wore an insecure expression, but she then smiled.

"Let us continue our investigation", Ellen suggested and they rose from the table, "thank you very much Svetlana and good luck with your relationship". They left the house, assuring the worried mother, that Svetlana had nothing to fear, and Alexander led them to the next house.

"What is wrong, Ellen? You look so tense", Linali whispered to her friend and the girl sighed.

"I know what I have said, but thinking about her relationship is getting me very uneasy…", she confessed and Linali looked at her in confusion, "she is not married, yet she got pregnant… I know that I am not allowed to condemn her for it, but I cannot help myself". Linali looked at her with a mild expression.

"I understand. But I was more shocked to hear that she did not care about the loss of her child… A mother loves her child, no matter what. That's how things should be in this world. Don't you think?", the Chinese girl asked.

"… Yes", Ellen replied. The arrived at the house of the next victim. It didn't look as worn down as the others and Ellen wondered what kind of people lived inside. The finder knocked and a worn looking man opened them. He was very thin and his eyes had no lustre when he was studying his guests.

"We are here to solve the mystery about the child thief. Could we talk to your wife?", Linali asked. The man continued looking at them, then he opened the door for them, but instead of guiding them to his wife, he just disappeared upstairs.

"He was like that last time as well… He suffered a lot because of the loss of the child…", Alexander explained, "come". He guided them into a back room, where they found a woman sitting in front of a fire place, looking into the flames.

"Good Evening Elisabeth", Alexander spoke up in English. The woman raised her eyes and looked at the finder and the two girls in mild surprise. "The exorcists have come to solve this case… Would you be able to answer them some questions?".

"Yes…", she replied in a whisper and pointed at chairs that stood nearby, "take a seat".

"Elisabeth lived in Britain once where she wanted to learn how to properly educate children. She is the local school teacher in this village"

"I was…", the woman said with a deep sigh, "I had to resign, because I could not bear to look at the children".

"Miss Elisabeth… Can you answer us some questions?", Ellen wondered after they had pulled the chairs to the fire place.

"Yes, yes of course. I had no one to talk to about this horrible, horrible experience", the woman, who appeared to be about her late twenties, said.

"Then do you want to just tell us about what has happened to you?", Ellen asked her and Elisabeth nodded.

"I was one of the earlier victims…", she started, "I had heard that two women had already lost their children, but I did not believe that these terrible things could be connected to the well. I believed that this was just superstition, but I was worried for my child, because it was to be born soon". Here she stopped and folded her hands on her lap. "One of the children in my class suddenly got ill and I wanted to go fetch some water from the well. Recently, people get their water from the nearby river, but it was too far away for me to walk in my condition… When I wanted to lower the bucket into the well I heard some strange noise… I guess it sounded like dripping water. I looked down into the black well, but I saw nothing. I was feeling pretty insecure then, even though I did not believe the rumours. I took a few steps back and listened to the sounds, but they disappeared after a while".

"The sounds seem to be a crucial part of the attacks", Linali said and Ellen nodded, asking the woman to continue. Elisabeth seemed to have been glad for the short distraction and she continued with a shuddering breath. "I then wanted to resume getting the water, but then I saw something coming from the well. Nothing more than a shadow, I was unable to make out what it was, but one time it gave off a light when the sun touched it, like metal. And then there was a short sound like an arrow piercing the air… I just felt a short stab in my stomach. I instantly dropped to my knees, fearing that the baby might be born because I got such a fright, but when I recovered from my fear I looked down at my body and…", Elisabeth shook her head, sobbing slightly, "there was nothing there! The child had disappeared out of my body!".

"What? How?", Linali asked in surprise, hands put in front of her mouth in shock.

"I don't know. I just don't know! But something stole it right out of my stomach. The only thing that was left of it were just a few drops of blood in front of the well…". Elisabeth was crying freely by now. "It was so horrible! This child was to be my first one, my husband and I were so happy and were looking forward to its birth in a few weeks! But now all of it is destroyed!"

"Elisabeth…", Linali whispered, "but don't you have your husband to help you?". Elisabeth wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"No. No… He cannot bear to look at me, his wounds run as deep as mine, even though there is only a small mark on my body. My husband must think that I killed our child, the child I loved so much! But I am no child murder, I am a mother! Even though there is no child for me to love…"

"How terrible…", Linali whispered, also with tears in her eyes.

"I know that this will not ease your sufferings, Miss Elisabeth", Ellen spoke up for the first time in a while, "but we will find out why this had to happen and we will see to it that it never happens again and that anyone who is responsible for this madness will be condemned". Elisabeth looked at her and smiled weakly.

"Thank you", she whispered.

"How did this whole ordeal start?", Ellen wanted to know, giving Elisabeth enough time to recover.

"The first to lose her child was Natasha, she already had six children. Most believed that it was a miscarriage, but she said that it was a devil that came out of the well. You must know… Not too long before that there was another woman who lost her child at the well… It was Isabel, a notorious woman in our village. She was pregnant, but not married, I bet she didn't even know who the father of her child was. She went to the well at night to get herself some water. But when we found her the next day, she was dead". The woman shook her head, "it was a terrible sight. She was lying in front of the well, her body cut open. There was blood everywhere and a trail led into the well, but the baby was gone from her body, you could see the hole where it should have been, it was gruesome"

"How horrible!", Linali exclaimed and Ellen was trying to repress a shiver as well.

"Was she the only one to die?", Ellen wondered and Elisabeth nodded. "Then it all started with her".

"Yes. The people in the village believe that as well. They say that it is Isabel's ghost who, full of spite, takes revenge on those women who are pregnant… Rumour has it that she killed herself and her child… You must know, if you have a child without being married, you don't have much hopes left in this world. There is no way that she could have supported herself and a child. Death was her only option. But that is just a rumour, even though I wouldn't put it past her to kill her own child… She was a terrible woman…". Ellen remained silent, while Linali tried to comfort Elisabeth. After a while the white haired girl got up.

"Ellen? Where are you going?", her friend wanted to know.

"I have to investigate the well, I must know what has happened there!", she said, then she rushed out of the house, without giving Linali enough time to try to argue with her.

--

It was only about four o'clock in the afternoon, but it was considerably dark in the valley once Ellen was heading for the well. It was chilly and there was fog creeping through the forest into the village. The whole sky was covered by dark grey storm clouds, completely blocking the sunlight.

"What an eerie atmosphere", Ellen thought as she was running to the down square. She was not sure why she was in such a hurry to solve this mystery. Was it because of the suffering? And if yes, who's suffering exactly? Of course, it was her duty to save the village and to recover the Innocence if there was any. But why had she not felt or seen anything when she looked into the well? There was no black shadow or monster, no Akuma and no Innocence. She needed certainty!

The centre of the town was empty as expected. Ellen ran to the well, gripping its rough stone with her gloved hands. She bent over and stared down into the black hole. Ellen waited, but nothing happened. The fierce grip she had on the stone loosened.

"Nothing?", she wondered to herself and took a step backwards with a sigh. When she did she became aware of the nearly transparent steam rising from the well. "What?", she wondered in amazement and looked back down into the well. "The water inside the well must be warmer than the air up here for such a steam to produce", she mused and sniffed the air, "and it stinks slightly. Why have we not realized this before?". Suddenly a single sound pierced the stillness of the village; a single plitsch as a water drop hit the surface deep down in the well. Ellen froze, but listened intently. All of a sudden a dog started barking and she could no longer hear if there was anything. But she did not need to as a sudden jolt of electricity went through her left arm.

"What?!", she shouted and when she frantically raised her head to look at the well she saw it; a black shadow emerging out of the depth. The monster within the well.

To be continued

Notes:

Not much to say: Feedback? :3