VD-49

Chapter 4: The Drawing

Rhonwen's door was the first one Jude came across. It was painted a vivid turqiose and her name was spelt in a bold white letters. Brownyn's room was across the hallway and was a bright red. Her name was decorated in black and silver.

Jude rested his hand on the door knob. He hesitated before turning it, wondering if it was an unacceptable invasion of privacy. He shoved the thought aside. If the girl was stranded somewhere in the snowy Fiorewoods with a possible storm on its way, the last thing she would be worrying about is an invasion of privacy.

Right?

So Jude opened the decorated door and stepped into the room. The scent surprised him. A slightly sweet smell hung in the air, giving the impression that a teenage girl had just spritzed herself with body spray before going out. The room was neat. The bed was made, her dressing table was organized and her curtains were open. He felt like he was waiting for Rhonwen to come in and relax after a normal schoolday.

No one came in, obviously.

Once again, he felt some guilt as he searched her bookcase for something that might shed some light on the situation. A diary, maybe. There was no sign of such a thing anywhere and YA fantasy and dystopian books were neatly arranged by colour, for some reason Jude didn't know. But he had to admit, it looked nice.

He walked further around the room. A string of photos were taped to her dressing table's mirror. Rhonwen, her twin and Stella. There wasn't a sign of her having any other friends.

A creak under his foot made him pause.

What if-?

He bent down, feeling foolish and a bit cheesy, then ran his hand along the edges of the plank that had squeaked under his foot. There was a moment of doubt but before he could give up and stand upright, his fingers found a small hole. He lifted the plank and was rewarded with a small compartment. There were some more photos, a little blue book and a piece of white paper that had been folded twice. The paper was dirty and the edge as well, like someone had repeatedly run their fingers over it. Must have been a love letter or something.

He didn't touch the photos and reached for the diary. Jude sighed inwardly. He was actually going to read a teenager's diary? He reached for the small book and quickly flipped to the very last entry. It was dated the day she went missing and her hand writing was wobbly.

Dear Diary

I found a drawing today. It would have been interesting, if not for the horribly macabre theme. There was blood everywhere. And I'm sure that it was me that lay on the ground. Dead.

They're coming.

I have to tell Dad but I don't know how. I'm scared of how he'll react after what happened last time. The winter's harvest had been little and their patience is finished.

I'm scared.

What am I going to do?

Every little noise is scaring me these days. The shadows have claws and the sounds have fangs. They're watching me. The snowmen have started to appear.

Help me.

I hope I'll be able to write tomorrow. If I'm still here.

Xxx

Rhonnie

Jude had some trouble breathing. He reached for the piece of paper and slowly folded it open. It was a picture drawn with crayons, with the skill of a toddler. If it were any other day, he would have tossed it aside. But the most prominent colour was frightening. Red was all over the paper. The origin? What seemed to be a human being that lay on the ground. In some places, the drawer had pressed so hard that the paper had almost been torn.

He shivered. Cold shivered down his back like someone had drenched him in ice water.

What the hell was going on?