Mallory tightened her grip on the crystal, feeling its energy pulsate through her fingers. The eerie silence of the destroyed village made the hairs on her neck stand on end. The air felt heavy, like a storm was brewing but never quite arriving.
Greg adjusted his jacket and muttered, "Okay, so we have a village ransacked by monsters that don't leave normal tracks. What's the next step? Please tell me it's not 'walk into the dark scary woods and hope for the best.'"
Alex smirked. "Would it make you feel better if I said we had a solid plan?"
Greg gave him a flat look. "Yes."
"Too bad," Quinn cut in, drawing her blade. "We're walking into the dark scary woods."
Greg let out a long-suffering sigh. "Figures."
Mallory turned to the villagers, who still huddled together in fear. "Stay here. Keep hidden. We'll find out what happened to your people and bring them back."
