Rayne wakes up and rolls onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She watches the specks of dust dancing in the dim dusk light above her as she lets her mind wander.
'Why did Drake come here last night?' she questions to herself. Her blonde curls sprawl across her pillow around her head like a halo. She wonders if she should trust him when he says he didn't hurt Clementine. 'Does that mean he didn't kill Mr. Hytop either?' Part of her hopes he didn't because admittedly, she was charmed by him. The other part of her worries what else could be lurking around her village if he's not the one that killed the old butcher.
Lazily, she pulls herself out of bed and gets dressed. She decides she should check out the village after what happened the last time Drake came down from the mountain. She grabs an apple and heads out and along the dirt road. Rayne chomps on the green fruit while she investigates, looking around corners and into nooks to see if anything appears unordinary. She begins to believe the town's safe when she sees a thin body lying in the distance.
'No' she thinks to herself. Her heart sinks into her stomach and she hustles over to the corpse. "Help!" she screams. She drops down next to the crumpled body and spots the two bite wounds on his neck. Sadness creeps across her face and into her chest. 'There's no way it's a coincidence that this happens when Drake comes around.' She frowns at the thought that he can't be trusted like she'd hoped. 'He probably lied about not hurting Clem. Is he going to kill me too? Is that why he keeps coming back?' she frets, standing up. People begin to crowd the body and Rayne steps away, watching as the chaos unravels around her once more. She sees Elijah standing off to the side, trying to peer over the group. She rushes over to him and squats down to match the young boy's height. "Hey Elijah," she says sweetly, "why don't we go find your mommy huh?" She doesn't want him to see the brutal nature of the body that she knows to be his older brother.
"Is Frank dead?" he asks blankly, looking past her to where the crowd stands. Rayne's eyebrows furrow in confusion.
'How does he know it's Frank? Was he there?' she thinks. Her chest feels heavy at the thought that this young boy witnessed his brother die. 'How could Drake do that?' her mind questions angrily. "Um," Rayne begins, unsure of how to answer. Before she does, a woman behind her shrieks, grabbing their attention. Rayne turns around to see Elijah's mother running toward them with tears streaming down her face. Rayne stands up and out of her way as she falls to her knees and embraces the small child. He doesn't move and leaves his arms dangling at his sides.
"Is Frank dead Mommy?" he questions. She pulls away from him and nods before wrapping him in her arms again. His face falls a little and he hugs her back while she sobs uncontrollably. Rayne turns from the grieving family and walks away to give them some space. She can't believe this is happening again.
The village becomes desolate over the next few weeks, even more so than before. Rayne feels lonelier than ever in her grandmother's cold cabin. She sits in a chair watching two raindrops race down the glass of her window, having worn out all of her household chores and duties. She decides to take the small walk to the flower shop to grab some supplies so she has something to do to pass the time. She throws on her coat and bonnet and grabs her grandmother's old wicker basket before trekking out into the light rain. The village is extremely quiet due to everyone staying inside. It will be dark soon so Rayne splashes down the street quickly. Once there, she fills her basket with assorted flowers and decorations and heads back to her cabin.
Rayne sheds her outerwear and lights some candles. She plops the basket on the counter and pulls her curls back out of her face with her ribbon, feeling eager to get to work. She always gets excited when she's about to design. Rayne pulls out some hibiscus and jasmine and brings them to her small nose, breathing in the flowery scents. She sifts through the basket for her desired items when a loud thud at the front of the cabin leaves her frozen in place. She peers toward where the noise came from, her breath quickening.
'Is Drake back?' she wonders. She feels a twinge of excitement before the terror sets in of what he might do this time. "Hello?" she calls out, taking a few steps forward. "Is someone there?" She walks slowly and cautiously toward the front of her house. A sudden and harsh knock at the door makes her jump. 'Who could be here this late?' she questions. She opens the door slightly but it gets shoved in, hitting her in the face and pushing her to the ground. She pinches her eyes shut and holds her nose in pain as blood starts to slowly trickle from it. Rayne glances up at the tall, dark figure standing in front of her in the doorway. The nighttime shadows him, making it difficult for her to see. "Who are you?" she asks nervously, positive it's Drake and he's come to kill her. He steps forward, allowing the candlelight to illuminate his face. "Fletcher?! What are you doing here?" she shouts at him angrily. Without saying a word, he kicks the door shut behind him and locks it. He squats down to where Rayne is huddled in the corner and reaches out to stroke her bloodied face. Rayne jerks away from him. "What the hell Fletcher? Get out!" she screams at him. His eyes look hallow and he sighs, annoyed.
"Tsk tsk tsk Rayne, such a pretty face shouldn't speak such harsh words." He shakes his head and looks down as if disappointed at her. Rayne narrows her eyes at him, anger burning red on her cheeks.
'What the fuck is happening?' she thinks to herself. She opens her mouth to speak again but Fletcher slaps her swiftly across the face. Rayne gasps and holds her cheek which stings from his hand. She looks back at him wide-eyed and speechless. Fletcher grabs her by the top of her hair and lifts her from the ground.
"Aaah!" Rayne screams out. She tries to pry her hair from his fingers. She flashes back to the haunting memories of her father. Fletcher throws her into the living room and she lands hard on her stomach on the rough, wooden floor. He blows out the candles, leaving the cabin only dimly lit from the cloud-soaked moon. Rayne turns on her back to face him, not wanting to let him out of her sight.
"You know Rayne…" he says, taking off his coat and boots, "I tried to be nice." He walks slowly toward her. Rayne crawls back, trying to get away and stand. Fletcher continues, "I tried to give you your time, to find what I needed elsewhere. But truth is, you're mine. And I don't appreciate my things being taken from me." His normally cocky tone sounds cold. Rayne stares up at him silently as he begins to peel off his shirt, revealing a broad, hairy chest.
"What…what're you doi…" she stutters.
"Shut the fuck up!" he shouts, interrupting her. Rayne jumps at the anger in his voice. He reaches down quickly and grabs her ankle, pulling her toward him.
"Ahhh no!" She yells, twisting to get free. She flips to her stomach and tries to pull from his grasp. Fletcher drops down on top of her. She can feel he's hard when he presses against her which sends fear coursing through her body. "No! No Fletcher please!" she begs, squirming to get out from under him. Fletcher uses his body weight to hold her down as he tugs to pull her dress up. He wraps his other arm around her, grabbing her breast tightly in his hand. Rayne writhes and pulls against him. "No please! Please don't do this!" She cries. Fletcher's hand makes it under her dress and trails up her wiggling thigh, sending horrified shivers up her spine. She can hear him breathing heavily in her ear. "No, you don't have to do this Fletcher, please! Please we can talk about this!" she reasons. He covers her mouth with one hand as the other moves between her legs, touching her through her underwear. Rayne cries and tugs to move his hands away, to no avail. Fletcher unbuttons his pants and pulls his member out. He reaches back to yank her underwear down when the window above them shatters, sending shards of glass falling into the cabin. Fletcher is pulled off her and thrown across the living room. He slams against the wall and falls to the ground, landing on his exposed organ. He holds his crotch and screams out in pain. Rayne turns to see Drake standing over her, his face flared with fury as he stares at Fletcher crying on the floor.