CHAPTER 30: 30-CRUSHING ON THE BESTFRIEND

Clementine

Just like we had planned, we were luring him again, but this time we were making sure we were in a completely different area and there were no white crusaders or anybody else around us. It was just the three of us. Both Yorick and Troy were hiding behind big trees while I was casually walking around, trying to hum a melody. And then, just like we had suspected, the minute I was alone, he appeared again, and this time it wasn’t playing any flute. He was just staring at me. He had his horns on fire, his eyes full of pain.

The minute he began to rush towards me, Troy and Yorick came out. He stopped when he saw the fireballs in their hands. He then turned around and started to speed away. That is when we began to chase after him. The rain had helped the ground beneath us become wet and muddy. Hence, his big hooves were leaving marks behind for us to follow. So even when he was faster than us, we were able to locate him, or at least until the point that he was on the wet soil.

While chasing after him, I was still trying to calm myself down. The way he had appeared out of nowhere and stared at me in that moment, I felt like my body had gone completely numb. And I was so glad Troy and Yorick came out in time, or else I would have just stood there, letting him come and hit me. But now we were rushing and speeding after him.

For a while, we lost sight of it, but we followed his hooves. They were bigger than a goat’s hooves. Of course, it was a much bigger faun and he seemed very strong too. He had biceps, his body was muscular, he was tall, broad.

And then, just like we had suspected, we arrived at the place we saw him going into.

"That must be his home," I whispered, hiding behind a big rock with Yorick and Troy.

The rain was still pouring down pretty bad, but we were determined to keep an eye on him. It was a small old-style run-down cabin in the woods, but more like a home. It had a swing in the front yard, although it looked all rusty now, but I could imagine a child playing here in the past. That reminded me of something the faun had said. He said he had a child with his lover or his wife, the one he thought I was.

And then, after a while, we saw him leave again, this time with the flute. It was such a sad life. It seemed like he would just wander around, kill whoever came in his way. We stayed, watching him disappear on the other side of the woods.

And then we came out from behind the big rock.

"Let’s go," I said, rushing down to the house.

The rest of the area was clear around the house. It was as if the trees had been cut down for the house to have a proper backyard and front yard. But there were no other gates, so we managed to reach the porch. The house smelled weirdly fresh. At least the front porch did. It was all wooden. The door creaked open and then we stared at the inside, watching a lonely candle light up in the corner of the room.

I took the opportunity to go ahead first, entering the house that belonged to the monster we were here to slay. The two came after me and they locked the door. Just in case he tries to return, we would have enough time to leave through the window or back door, if there was any.

It was not as small of a house as we had suspected it to be. At the entrance, there was a small area where the staircase ran upward towards the second floor. The first floor had a living room, a tiny kitchen, and a bedroom. And then there were tons and tons of pictures hanging on the walls.

"I don’t think he’s using the second floor," Troy said as he pointed at the old furniture blocking the top area.

"Yeah, I think so too," Yorick agreed.

"But I guess all we need is right here," I said as I stepped into the living room that was just a few steps away from the stairs and behind a big wall.

It looked cosy, but it wasn’t. It was just sad. There were old toys resting around the living room. A Barbie doll, very old, with half its hair gone, was placed in one of the chairs. And then there was a pillow that had eyes on it, almost like he tried to draw himself and his wife, and it was sitting on the dining table.

"That is so sad," I uttered. Tears started to fill my eyes.

"Look," Troy said as he pointed at the photographs. There were a bunch on every single wall. And then on the ground, on the tables.

"Oh, fucking hell," Yorick exclaimed as he picked up one and showed it to us.

It was the faun. But he wasn’t a faun. He looked human. And right beside him stood a gorgeous redhead with curly hair. It was a black and white picture but he had colored her hair later on. She did not look like me, features-wise. It was just the hair color that made me feel so iffy. And then they had the cutest little child, a little girl, standing beside them, standing between them, holding onto both their hands with her tiny little fingers.

"This is so sad." Now even Troy agreed with me.

"Look at this, guys." Yorick then brought our attention to another thing that might tell us more about their story. It was a diary, an old one.

"What is it?" I said, reading it.

"It’s Diana’s diary," Yorick uttered, handing it over to me. The minute I held it and read the very first word, my heart shook.

"I know I’m married, but I cannot help having this feeling towards my best friend."

I read the first line and then looked up to share a very brief and sad glance with both Troy and Yorick.

"So she cheated on her husband with her best friend?" Yorick asked, and I began to shrug.

"Let’s keep reading," Troy said.

I looked around, just to remind them that we were still in the house.

"If we start reading, it’ll take us a while. How about we get this stuff and leave?" I suggested, and the two began to nod their heads.

"Fine, let’s grab whatever is important." While Troy said that, I watched Yorick grab the doll from the little baby’s chair.

"I don’t think we should grab this," I said as I pointed at the doll.

"I guess this will help us lure him in next time, so that we don’t have to put you through danger all over again," Yorick said, but he almost whispered the last line while stealing glances at me.