"My, my. This place looks like a ghost town!" Maria exclaimed.
After a long trek through the forest, the trio finally arrived at their location— Chocholow. Besides the three that had just arrived, there was no one in sight. Wooden houses with dark roofs lined the streets. Some of the doors were open, but when Mary looked into the houses, she couldn't see or smell anyone. Whatever house she peeked into, there were items strewn out and about, as if whoever lived there wasn't planning to leave for long. There were pots still on the wood cook stove, children's toys scattered on the rickety floor, and the most incriminating fact, the doors weren't even closed.
As she continued her search for any life, Mary peered back at Maria, who had a pondering look on her face. The teen opened her mouth to speak.
"How did the Order find a place so far from anywhere else?" she asked. While the periwinkle-haired girl could see how the Order might believe a shard of Innocence was around here, she wasn't too sure how they even knew about this small town in the first place. Perhaps it had to do with the burbling sound she could hear in the distance.
'Wait, burbling?' she thought. Suddenly, her eyes widened.
There were few things in the world that could make a sound described as 'burbling.' One of these being a river.
'Besides,' she reasoned. 'the village people need a water source, yeah?'
Before Maria could reply to Mary's first question, she asked her another.
"Could the river nearby have a clue about the people's disappearance?" she questioned the General.
For a second, Maria looked surprised. However, she quickly returned to her original expression.
"It certainly could." Maria replied. Georges nodded in agreement.
"To answer your first question, Lady Mary, Chocholow does business with several bigger towns, and those towns hadn't heard from the people here in a significantly long period." he explained. "Leave it to Branch Chief Howell to have contact with one of those towns!" The Finder's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Well then," Maria spoke. "shall we go to the said river?" the tall Exorcist questioned as Ur-Canpy rested on her shoulder. Mary and Georges nodded.
-
Mary knew the river wasn't too far away from the village, as she could hear the water rather clearly as they moved north of Chocholow. Once she caught her first glimpse of the body of water, she dashed to it. However, the girl never made it to the river. Instead, she tripped, got her leg hooked onto some type of rope, and was flung up—hanging from a tree by her leg.
"Hah!?" she yelped, hands keeping her skirt from moving.
"A booby-trap!?" Both Georges and Maria looked baffled.
As the trio stood (or in Mary's case, hung) there surprised, a boy rushed out from behind the tree, laughing.
"I can't believe you fell into that rabbit trap!" he clutched his stomach as he continued to cackle.
"Who—who are you!?" Mary questioned, flabbergasted, as she pulled on the rope. Eventually, the bind gave way, and the teen fell onto the dirt floor. She scowled at the kid, who looked no older than ten.
'How'd I not notice this brat?' she thought to herself. 'Was I too focused on the river?'
As she fell deeper into her train of thought, both Maria and Georges snapped out of their shock. Georges went to Mary to help her up as Maria adjusted her glasses and spoke.
YOU ARE READING
Folk Devils | D.Gray-Man
Fanfiction"But I'm a monster!" "So what? Do monsters have to be bad?" Mary knew she was different from the other orphans at the church. The way they treated her showed it. But how would that difference shape her life? - Set during the time of Nea, Mana, & Pas...
