Everything is still. I don't feel anything as a numbing sensation takes over me. Where am I? Why am I here? I call out in my head, thinking that someone was going to respond. No one does. There is darkness around me, the fragments of my memory of that one night where I couldn't save her. I was powerless, helpless. What's the point?
"There is no point." A familiar broken voice answers me, I could not muster the strength to turn towards its direction. "You could not save her, and now you will fail again." He was right, I couldn't. Should I just stay here? An echo subtly makes itself known within the darkness. I don't know who it is.
"Mi---" It gets broken off, cut short by the drowning silence of the space I was in. "Michael." Michael, that was my name. Like a bird snatching its prey, I feel a swift motion as I am grabbed by the chest and pulled upwards, propelling my body at a fast pace. "Michael!"
I wake up sputtering water all over the floor as I feel the wetness of my clothes burden me. Gretel was crouching in front of me, Hansel standing behind her. "Just what have you seen in there?"
"W-what?" I ask, still disoriented from the experience. I was with Eve, she was there in my arms, dying. I couldn't save her. My head turns towards the elusive bridge behind me, the pit of the cliff now replaced by a murky river, its current calm and steady. I must have fallen over. It hits me that it was most likely another one of their magical bullshit. "I did not enjoy that trip."
Hansel extends an arm towards me which I take, pulling me upwards on my feet as I struggle not to fall over. "Trust me, no one did." His face was sully, which makes me wonder what kind of memories were forced upon them. "We're here."
I look at the massive manor in front of us, its roof clouded by the heavy fog that seemed even thicker than before. From what was visible, most of its structure looked ancient, battered from whatever time it has been through. There were no lights behind its windows, though I wouldn't exactly consider it empty. "You know where they might be keeping him?"
"No, knowing what the coven is capable of. Do not let your eyes fool you Graves, it'll be much harder to navigate once we're in." Gretel speaks as she begins to wave her hands in front of her, as if looking for something. "From here on out, I cannot promise your safety."
"Was my safety ever promised here though?" I ask, truth poured behind the jokingly said question. "I know what we're all here for."
Gretel looks at me solemnly before nodding, her eyes filled with worry despite my previous assumptions of her not fearing anything. What was she worried about? "Once we enter, you will be left to your own devices. I wish you all the luck Michael Graves." A trapdoor suddenly appears in front of her, its wooden structure broken in more than a few places. "You're going to need it." She and Hansel jump in, leaving me alone outside.
"It seems we have little mice scurrying around." A voice behind me causes me to snap towards its direction, revolver aiming dead center at a pale woman standing in front of me. She smiles, the silence eerie as she does not even look threatened by the sight of my firearm. "There is no need to bite back, little mouse. I have no interest in killing you off, at least not yet." She suddenly dissipates into thick black smoke, her voice disembodied as the smoke disappears within the fog. "I will be watching you closely."
Silence returns as I am now once again left alone with the trapdoor at my feet. I pull the metal handle as I hear the loud creaking of rust dragging onto metal. Darkness loomed below the entranced as I take deep breaths. I won't allow myself to be too late again. I leap into the pit, the drop way taller than what I expected. A second… another… I start to panic when I realize that a few more seconds have passed with me still suspended in the air. I feel the fall, but at the same time I start to doubt whether I was indeed really falling.
In an instant, I am on the ground once again, finding myself in a room filled with a number of boxes, the only source of light being a small circular window on the other end of the room. Below it was a small stairway, the only path visible in this cramped up room. I realize that I am in an attic, which means that the only way I have was downwards.
I pull my revolver out as I do not sense any form of movement. The shadows were making me uneasy, the hair on my body rising with every step I take. "This does not feel like much of a warm welcome." Anthony was somewhere in here, and only then do I realize that I had no idea how I was going to find him.
A box behind me falls over, and I immediately turn around, ready to pull the trigger. In front of me was a tall object covered in a long, dusty white cloth. The cloth slowly falls, sliding over to reveal an antique mirror towering over me. I see my reflection within it, the silver barrel of my revolver glinting in the soft moonlight.
There is movement behind me in the mirror as I turn around to see nothing but dust. There is something here. I sweep the room and find nothing of interest. I give it a moment and I turn to look at the mirror. My body almost jumps when I see my reflection replaced by a little girl in the mirror. She was small in stature, her skin white as a sheet as she looks at me with pitch black eyes. There were patches of black veins protruding from her pale skin. Her mouth opens, mouthing something I couldn't hear. I look closely, trying to read her lips as she keeps repeating the same words. My heart drops when I realize what she was saying. YOU KILLED ME.