Now closer to the children's home, it looked pretty, despite being burnt and well, destroyed.
Kai thought so, anyway. She loved the way the vines grew up the walls, and now it gave an eery sense of innocence.
The greenhouse had trees growing past the once enclosed space. The only trees that Kai had seen, that were alive.
They looked around, making sure nobody had followed them, and then cautiously made their way into the ruins.
Old statues and broken furniture were scattered across the lot. Kai could make out a head of a lion. Well, at least she thought it was a lion.
The two climbed over bricks and cement, trying to get into the house without causing further damage.
A gentle breeze made tree branches brush against each other, creating an abstract song.
The hundred-year-old floorboards creaked as Jake and Kai stepped into what Kai thought was the dining room. An old table and a set of chairs sat in the middle.
The set of furniture lay crumbled to the floor. Every part of the set had been snapped or shattered somewhere in the craftsmanship.
Kai took note of the stained glass door that had minimal damage to it. The beautiful blue flower designs still shone brightly, even after the trauma of an explosion.
Jake bent down and picked up a picture frame. He blew on it and dust, leaves, and ashes flew off the photograph. Underneath the debris was a black and white family portrait.
Kai scanned each of their faces, if she even could. For the most part, they appeared normal.
But some, like one on the end, seemed to be nothing but an invisible force wearing clothes.
One had a net around his head.
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Then two sat on the floor. They had on white clothes, covering every inch of their skin. On their heads, they wore masks made of the same white material. Little eyebrows and eyes were painted on with some sort of dark material.
"These are the children?" Kai asked in a whisper. For some reason, she felt the need to be quiet in the ruins. It seemed disrespectful to be loud.
"Yeah," Jake whispered back.
"What are their names?"
"Uh- that's Victor and Horice," He pointed to the two furthest on the left. "Then Emma. Oh, that's my grandfather, Abe. And that's Enoch and Olive."
Kai stared at them, at their unsmiling faces. She wondered what kind of trick the cameraman pulled to make the boy invisible. Or why some of their faces were completely covered.
