Kaltain

13. Another World....

'Gore warning'

"Where the heck are we?" Emmett asked, his voice echoing off the dimly lit room's stone walls. The sound of water dripping from the moss-covered stones reverberated through the cave-like passages extending from either side of the room. The flickering flames of two lamps placed on opposite walls cast eerie shadows that danced with each gust of the howling breeze sweeping through one of the passages, barely illuminating the space.

Ava stumbled, her legs unsteady as she tried to regain her balance. Her mind was spinning, struggling to process the sudden teleportation into this foreboding chamber. She reached out instinctively, grasping for support. As her fingers closed around something cold and solid, a chilling realization struck her. She blinked, and a scream tore from her throat as she recoiled in horror, her hands jerking away from the grotesque object. She staggered back, eyes wide with fear.

"Oh geez," Florian muttered, his gaze fixed on the gruesome sight before them. Embedded in the wall, entangled in blackish-gold roots, was a severed head with blackened, bloody features. Its wide, vacant eyes and gaping mouth seemed to stare directly at them, a macabre sentinel of the room.

Ava blinked, feeling the oppressive weight of countless eyes upon her. A weary breath escaped her lips, visible in the frigid air. She pulled her jacket tighter, the cold seeping into her bones and threatening to freeze her nerves. Her eyes darted to another severed head, its black pupils glaring unblinkingly at her. Her heart skipped a beat as she took in the room; heads were everywhere, each one fixed on her with a lifeless, chilling stare.

She snapped her gaze back to the original head, only to see it now staring directly at Emmett with narrowed eyes. An audible gasp escaped her lips.

"Th-they are... they are eve-everywhere...." Her stuttering words echoed in the cave. Everyone's attention snapped towards the head she pointed at. But it was no longer just one. Every pair of eyes was now shifting, snapping from one person to another, tracking their movements.

"Where are we?" Ava whispered, her eyes locked onto the grotesque spectacle. Her trembling hands were buried deep in her jacket pockets. A harsh wind blew past, carrying her words through the chilling silence.

"In a demon lair," Florian replied, his voice tinged with frustration. "I guess your grandmother knows this place. Shouldn't you know that? Or do you not know anything about her?"

Beside her, the gray wolf hissed, his eyes surveying the room as it backed into Florian, he was high on guard for any surprise attack.

"That wasn't my grandmother, it was a creature. How can it be my grandmother?!" Ava whisper-shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and disbelief. She tried to convince herself, that was not my grandmother. But then why did it look like her before turning into that hideous creature? She shivered as the still-fresh image of it popped into her mind. No. It can't be.

"But you called her grandmother, did you not?" Rose growled, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Yeah, because she looked like her. My grandmother isn't a witch or something!" Ava exclaimed, her voice cracking under the strain.

"But why would a witch be in your house? She even declared your house as her territory. That's why it smelled so weird," Emmett said, his voice calm but questioning.

Ava parted her lips to respond, but her words got stuck in her throat as her eyes detected motion behind Emmett. The wall behind him was barely illuminated by the light of the lamps, leaving most of it shrouded in shadows. She squinted her green eyes, and they widened in horror as she realized what it was. She swallowed hard, a shiver racing down her spine.