The Red Pendant

Chapter 7

Maryanne stood in the open doorway, the door swinging precariously behind her as she gaped in shock at the sight in front of her. Looking into her house, all she could see was destruction in every possible direction. Papers fluttered across the floor with the sudden incoming breeze, and all the drawers in the kitchen were ripped out and flung all around, with splinters of wood dotting the area surrounding them. The silverware lay scattered in a shapeless heap in front of the kitchen cabinets, with shards from all the shattered plates not too far off. The chairs, once neatly pushed into their positions at the table, were now tipped over, and what appeared to be some sort of flavoring sauce was splattered across the table in the center of the disheveled room.

But all of this paled in comparison to what was in the center of the room, staring at Maryanne to her utmost horror. It was a woman, tall and lanky, with a sprout of matted dirt-brown hair, staring not quite at Maryanne, but at her pendant. Before Maryanne was able to utter a single word, the mysterious intruder raised her arm and disappeared with an eruption of smoke.

It wasn't the fact that there was an intruder in her house that frightened Maryanne in the first place. It wasn't even the demise of all the furniture and plates that caused the unsettlement. It was the fact that the woman who was staring at her, with a face dark with contempt, was the woman she had seen in the forest when she was collecting spree-lilies. She was absolutely sure of it.

Maryanne silently made her way into her home, easing the door shut behind her with a creak. She made her way to her bedroom, lips pursed with uneasiness. It was even worse off than the kitchen, and she took a sharp intake of breath. Her bed was unkempt, and her blankets were strewn all across the room. Her favorite handmade quilt from Catheryn's mom was shredded to bits, with cotton scattered everywhere. Her desk was tipped over, in what appeared to be a frantic act of anger; pencils were everywhere, a few snapped. Her trash bin was laying in the far corner of the floor, with crumpled up pieces of paper dotting the area all around. Her clothing was all piled in a heap at the center of the room, with books upturned and opened with ripped pages spreading all around.

Maryanne then heard a gasp omit from the other room, and knew then that Aaron had returned home. She then ran her way out of her room to see Aaron standing in the open doorway. He must have seen the expression that dotted her face as he then ran and engulfed his younger sister in his arms. Maryanne started to silently cry and squeezed him tight.

"What are we going to do?" she choked out in between harsh sobs.

"I don't know," Aaron whispered slowly. "I don't know."

"Are we still going to go on the hike?" Maryanne asked, looking up at her brother with tear-stained eyes.

"Of course," Aaron murmured quietly. "Then after we finish it, we can go see Marcus and tell him what happened."

"Aaron?" Maryanna hesitantly asked.

"Yeah?"

"There was a woman in there," Maryanne sniffled. "And she wasn't just any woman, she was the woman I saw in the forest, I'm sure of it."

"What?" Aaron looked at her and pulled her away slightly. "Are you absolutely sure that it was the same person?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Maryanne confirmed. "I wonder who she is."

"I don't know," Aaron said, "But I think we should go sleep over at Catheryn's house for the night. We'll go with her on the hike from there tomorrow. Alright?"

"Ok," Maryanne agreed.

"Ok," Aaron said, looking at Maryanne with a concerned brotherly expression. "Let's each grab a set of clothes, and then we'll head over to Catheryn's house."