A Trip to Fablehaven

Morning Person

~Demmi POV~

When I woke up, I heard soft cries. I slowly opened my eyes and saw light peeking from the window. Seth was crying. I slowly sat up as he tried to play it off. Kendra was awake too.

"I thought it was brave of you to save Goldilocks," Kendra said softly, trying to make Seth feel better. He shook his head.

"I might've killed everyone," he whimpered. His nose was congested. I remembered how he opened the window and let all those monsters in. I would've felt guilty too. "I should've just stayed in bed, then none of this would've happened," Seth continued. I felt Suzanna wake up.

"If you hadn't opened the window, I might've," admitted Kendra. She tried giving Seth a hug, only for him to shove her away. He glared at her.

"I think Dale and them know how to protect themselves," I heard Suzanna say, "They most likely weren't hurt." Seth gave a shaky sigh and blew his nose in his shirt.

"Then let's go see the damage..." he mumbled.

The house was in ruins. Everything was either broken, torn, or missing. All the windows looked like they had been blown out, like in tornado movies I had seen. The claw marks and stains all over sent chills down my spine, it was like a bear or lion had escaped the zoo and massacred anything it touched. The house was quiet.

"Grandpa! Dale!" Seth yelled, we all waited for a comforting answer. The only answer we received was silence. We all walked into the office, hoping to find something useful.

The office was equally destroyed, the desk looked to be obliterated and knick-knacks and books looked torn and destroyed. I used the wall as a balance when stepping over a fallen beam. The wall was wet. I pulled my hand away and screamed.

"What!" cried Suzanne, pulling me away from whatever danger she hadn't seen.

"Is that blood...?" questioned Seth, looking pale. Kendra shook her head.

"It's too dark to be human," she muttered. Seth looked out the window while Suzanna grabbed a ripped curtain and wiped off whatever tar-like substance was on me.

"Dale?" Kendra exclaimed, I saw Seth run to her. If he was there then that means everything was ok, or almost ok.

We all ran to see if the figure Kendra saw from the window was really Dale. It was, only he was frozen solid, like a statue.

"Do you think it's really him?" asked Suzanna softly. Kendra rapped her knuckles against Dale, it sounded like solid metal. I saw Seth press his hands to his head.

"This is all my fault," he moaned. He kneeled next to the Dale statue "If you can hear us, give us a sign!" he yelled. The statue made no movement.

"Do you think the others might be around?" Suzanna asked. Seth shrugged.

"Grandpa! Grandpa Sorenson! Lena!" shouted Kendra, waiting for any answer. I looked at the toppled birdbath, there were what looked like holes or an animal print. A big animal. An animal I certainly had never seen before.

"Hey, look at this," I said, kneeling by the tracks.

"What do you think it is?" questioned Kendra.

"Maybe a giant bird?" offered Seth.

"What makes it look like a bird?" asked Suzanna. I pointed out towards the woods.

" They make a trail going that way," I said. There was a pause.

"Do you think the creature took them?" asked Kendra. I shrugged.