Adder

Prologue

Sunday, June 9th.

The wind blew gently over the lush branches of the blue spruce trees, making them sway in a slow dance as another day commenced in the quiet town of Ollaf, Wyoming. Amidst these thoughtfully placed trees sat the church. Built of the finest polished limestone found locally, the town put its heart into maintaining their prized landmark. The stained glass windows were embellished with gold along the sash, making the intricate details placed into the craftsmanship of the glass stand out. It was common practice in this little town for residents to attend the church's ceremony at 11am at least three times a week. After church, they would return to working on their farms or managing the counters at the markets, and the children would head back to school. The work day for most ended around 5pm, and the ones that could return home, did so.

The Davenport's home was an elegant one; they owned one of the largest farms in the county, after all. It sat upon a manmade hill and had occupied that hill since the first Davenports arrived in Ollaf. Stunning pillars of marbled limestone, similar to the kind that made up the church, lined the front of the residency. The family helped give the municipality a purpose to the state of Wyoming by making its profit one to be regarded. Because of this, the town revered the Davenport family and listened to every word that left their lips like it was a godsend.

That evening, Mr. Davenport was stretched out comfortably on his lavish couch, waiting for his wife to finish up dinner. The pair had one child together: Michael. Michael was freshly graduated, eighteen and excited to take on the life planned for him by his father. He was to work under his father's wing and as Mr. Davenport's right hand man, and eventually, he was destined to take over the farm once his father passed.

Mrs. Davenport, on the other hand, ran a bakery. Driving down Main Street you'd find barely any space to park. From the hours of 8-10:30, residents lined up for a slice of her delectable apple pie or one of her mouth-watering blueberry muffins. She had always dreamed of having a daughter to teach her craft to, but sadly, Michael was, as she would put it, "a miracle from God Himself." Before their son was conceived, Mr. Davenport was deemed practically infertile, but instead of dwelling on this, the couple decided to start fostering children. The house always had an extra pair of feet, or two, running around until Michael was conceived. Once their bouncing baby boy was born, they'd stopped fostering new children and kept the one girl that they had.

The girl had a peculiar name, Adder. Strange for her deceased parents to name their child after a deadly viper, but they kept her nonetheless. Her midnight black hair was a stark contrast to her ivory skin, and her eyes were a soft, sage green. These stunning characteristics alone bewitched the Davenports into welcoming her into their home. They'd realized shortly after her 6th birthday, there was something different about her. When the family went to church, Adder would always cry. Yes, some babies cry during service, but Adder was inconsolable until they left the building. This concerned the Davenports for obvious reasons, especially because it continued as she grew up. Tears were replaced with full blown tantrums and anger. Eventually, something strange happened. As the Davenports were trying to get Adder out of the house and into the car to head to service, they were pushed back before they could even touch her. Not by Adder, well, not physically. Mr. Davenport described this force as being picked up and thrown hard by a fully grown man, while Mrs. Davenport described her encounter as someone kicking the back of her knees to force her onto the hard, marble floor. The whole time this occurred, little Adder hadn't moved an inch, other than opening her mouth to scream "No!" This town was relatively small; the community was close knit. Everyone had heard about the incident and the family even received special prayers at church. Within a week of the episode, the family told their fellow residents they'd sent the girl away, back to social services and off to a new foster home, and things returned to normal.

That was until tonight.

Fire. It's something that can be warm and cozy; a family surrounding the fireplace on a snowy night to keep from being cold, for example. But fire is also something that can destroy, ruin everything you have.

That night, the Davenport home was lit ablaze. The start of the fire was unknown, but Ollafians assumed it started with the attic. The first inkling that fire had begun came from Mr Davenport. The man had run outside of the home, completely engulfed in flames, wailing in agony before he dropped dead on the front lawn. More screams erupted from the house; Mrs. Davenport and Michael were still trapped inside. Two figures were seen by neighbors fleeing from the inferno: one shorter, more feminine outline with long hair and the other a taller, more broad silhouette carrying what looked like a small duffle bag flung over their shoulders. This was assumed to be Adder, and everyone wanted her dead.