Luciano

Chapter 21

Ethan and I walked against the icy cold wind. We walked towards the woods as Ethan had mentioned the absence of anyone out on the streets.

I could feel Ethan's arm against mine as he walked tightly near me, his whole body tense, eyes snapping back and forth in complete alert.

As we began to pass the last remaining houses before the graveled path led to tall trees, Ethan's pace dramatically slowed, before stopping.

A few steps ahead, I also stopped and slightly turned to look at him. Ethan stood still and staring at one of the small bricked houses.

"Whats wrong?" I dimly asked, watching his pained face.

"The door," he said just above a whisper, "-it was closed before."

I followed his line of vision and paused at the houses wooden door that swayed slowly in the wind, wide open.

The chances that someone willingly stepped foot outside in such deadly circumstances were low. It made me wonder where these people were. If dead, where were majority of the bodies?

Ethan's face held a blank look I wasn't used to seeing. However I could see the fright in his eyes.

Just as I began to turn back to face the upcoming trees, I spotted a dark trail of liquid that had been soaked into the gravel a few steps away.

The trail began with a hand size splatter, the trail fading off into dribbles that lasted only about a step or two.

Hearing Ethan's slow steps dig into the gravel, I glanced up at him as he neared and stepped to stand on his left.

Ethan suddenly paused as I cut him off to shift to his other side and glanced down at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked at my side step. I emptily peered into his eyes and gave him a dull nod before inching forward to walk.

At my hint Ethan and I continued walking, the trail of a dark liquid that I suspected to be blood out of sight for Ethan to see.

Within seconds we were among the tall trees that drowned out any sunlight, a dimness present as we walked cautiously.

"What do we do now?" Ethan whispered and his voice wavered. I was surprised he had even left the house with me.

"I don't know," I answered in an equally hushed tone, not having anything to say as reassurance.

I didn't know where to go or how to feel about it. However as we proceeded to walk it only took seconds to spot a small source of light glowing from in between trees. I followed the glow's light and stared up at the sky from whatever gap there was from the trees. Clouds of smoke filled the air and I suspected some sort of fire.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Ethan whispered into my ear and I gave him a slight nod.

After a pause I continued walking. As I continued to gaze up at the thick clouds of smoke, I suddenly stumbled over a rock that was positioned at the head of my foot.

I felt Ethan roughly grab my arm before I could even get close to the ground, and pull me upright.

I turned to look at him and his coloured eyes caught mine, staring for a few deep seconds. His expression was unreadable but the fright had disappeared.

What happened next shocked me. Ethan suddenly gave me a smile, my mind flashing with familiarity at the scene of his usual self.

I stared at his face. It was as if a switch had been flicked on and for some unknown reason, seeing him appear happy made me feel somewhat relieved.