Trapped in an Iron Grip

You Wanna Fuck the Hobo, Don't You?

Ethan finally snapped you out of your thoughts by shaking your shoulder.

"Hey, let's keep moving," he told you, noticing how freaked out you were, "she said that they're coming back, we should find cover and more weapons."

You nodded and followed Ethan to the closest building while mentally kicking yourself for not comforting him. The man lost his wife and his daughter in the same night to someone he trusted with his life and a crazy old woman popped up out of nowhere and told him that his daughter is somewhere in this Hell Hole. 

You barely paid attention as Ethan lead you into the building. Candles lined the stairs up to the door and around the deck area. There were also flowers and a few little dolls laying around the candles on the right side of the deck. 

The inside wasn't that different. As soon as you and Ethan walked in, you noticed the candles immediately. They were everywhere in the room, on the floor, on tables, surrounding that same sigil you kept seeing.

"This kind of looks like some sort of ritual," you pointed out, watching Ethan walk to a table with papers on it.

Ethan nodded and grabbed a bottle of chem fluid that was sitting on a different table nearby. "Yeah, it does. You think it might be a summoning ritual?" Ethan didn't raise his gaze to meet you, he kept his eyes on the paper in front of him.

"Don't know. Why?" you asked, walking up to Ethan. "What makes you think that it's a summoning ritual?"

Ethan held the yellowed paper to you and you took it from him. "This makes me think that it's a summoning ritual," Ethan said.

You moved the paper closer to the candlelight so you could read the two lines of the paper.

O, great Lycans, The fabled monsters of old.

May they come to eat our flesh. May they come to tear us apart.

"Lycans?" you questioned, reading over the paper again. "Is that what those monsters are called?"

"I think so," Ethan answered, furrowing his brows, "Lycan kind of sounds like a shortened version of Lycanthropy. Those things did seem like Werewolves if I've ever seen any."

You put the paper down and stared at Ethan. "This isn't your first time seeing Werewolves?"

"No- no... that's not what I meant," Ethan sighed and turned to look around the rest of the house.

"Besides, who in their right mind would summon those things?" You continued, following Ethan as he inspected the other room. "I mean, the paper literally said 'tear us apart'."

"I don't know," Ethan groaned in annoyance, "I just guessed, okay?"

You paused and sighed. Ethan went to storm past you but you grabbed his shoulder and prevented him from going any further.

"I miss her too you know."

"...yeah, I know."

"You'll get Rose back too."

Ethan put his hand over yours and sighed, tears pricking his eyes. "We'll get Rose back."

You nodded and noticed the paper in Ethan's hand. He held it up to you so you could see. It was a map of the village with a few makings in it, putting a name to different areas.

You and Ethan started to wander around this new area of the village, the map called the landmarking statue the Maiden of War. You and Ethan found a few useful items, like scrap metal and herbs, but you had yet to see any more survivors. You and Ethan kept wondering until you came across a stone door with carvings of two figures who were missing their faces. Something was written over top of the two figure carvings.