Woodside Part 2

The first floor was a large, dimly lit open space, with only one restroom. The stench of blood permeated throughout the area. Five children covered in rags cowered in a corner, huddled together to grant themselves an illusion of safety. Brown stains covered the floorboards beneath the body of another child, its skin, grey, decayed enough to reveal bone.

Mary rolled through the door.

A man dressed in clerical robes wielding a dagger stabbed into the air where her neck would have been.

She jumped towards him and pinned his arm to the door frame with one knife, causing him to drop his dagger.

“I can give you what you want, just don’t hurt me anymore please.”

Mary smirked.

The time for words was over. The children and her would be the only ones leaving the orphanage alive.

She stabbed her knife into his chest, piercing his heart. The blade dragged through his body until it struck bone, scraping against it as it was removed.

The children crammed themselves even further into the corner when she looked at them. The wall of another room peaked out from behind the stairwell.

Crimson liquid trailing down the door frame stood out as the only color in the entire room.

Footsteps caused the floorboards to creak behind her then stopped multiple paces before the door. 

The problem making that noise does not want to escape.

Mary turned around and threw a knife in its direction.

The knife found purchase between the eyes of a cloaked woman wielding a staff. “Why?” She struggled to speak. Her staff shook as she pointed it at Mary.

Mary walked over and grabbed hold of the knife. Blood trickled off of its silvery blade. She drove it further into the woman’s skull before ripping it out.

The woman’s body slumped onto the ground.

Why? WHY!? You were a problem. I want to save them, you tried to stop me and Lena is not here right now, so why not?” Despite her turbulent thoughts, Mary’s face remained unchanged. She walked over to the room in the corner. The door was locked.

“Sergeant Morian, we need your help immediately. We are under attack. The five mages you have stationed here should be more than enough to help us out.” A panicked, muffled voice could be heard from inside the room.

“I apologize, but we are under orders not to leave our positions. Do you have any information about the attack?”

Two way communication of some kind. Sergeant Morian must be in one of those hills, or in the barn.

“It started out of nowhere. Someone knocked on the door. Some time passed then the sensor magic we placed on the second floor’s fire exit window went off. We heard strange noises coming from the second floor as well as running. I came to try and get reinforcements from you while Addy and the non-mage with us prepared in case a fight broke out.”

I will need to ask Vivian or Cassius about communication magic later.

“I’m not hearing anything that would require my attention even if we were given permission to help. This has gone on too long. I never should have allowed you to contact me.”

With how drunk the others were, he has likely gotten the same communication before.

“Please, please don’t go. We really need it this time.”

“Don’t contact me again.”

“No don’t…” Thuds came from the other room as a fist repeatedly struck the wall. “That’s strange, they aren’t back yet.” The voice sounded closer to the door this time.

The door opened.

“Hey Add…y” His face dropped. He walked forward.

Mary prevented the door from closing with her foot.

“You’re both just messing with me right.” His voice cracked in fear.

“She is not.” Mary’s words shot through him as her knife pierced his throat. His staff clattered to the ground.

Mary slipped into the room. Without her knife to hold the man’s body up, it collapsed on the ground. The door locked behind her with a click.

Mary took a deep breath. I am sorry, Lena. I had to do it.

A desk with a typewriter sat on the far end of the room. A neat stack of empty papers was on one side of the typewriter while various documents stood at the other. The room had a nice, fruity smell to it. A one-way window above the desk overlooked a dirt path leading to the barn. Next to the window stood a door only visible from the inside. Beneath the desk was a small safe. Both it and the door appeared to be locked by magic. The only other furniture in the room was a bookshelf, lined with a variety of books and curios.

Mary sifted through the documents on the desk. Among them were recent upkeep expenses, inscribed communications, and recorded interactions with locals or merchants. She looked at the safe. It had no handles, hidden or otherwise, nor did it have any way of inputting a code or combination of any sort.

I will need to ask Vivian for help getting this open.

She picked up a book and skimmed through it. Weekly upkeep expenses. She picked up another book. Interactions with locals. Written communications. Food expenses. No intake, outtake, or adoption records of any kind. They must be in the safe to keep them hidden.

Mary tried to leave the room. The door was locked. She tried to kick the door down but it wouldn’t budge. Automatic magical locking… Mary kicked the door again then felt around the door frame. No signs of damage.

A series of knocks came from the wall as Mary tapped it until she found a vertical section of wall that sounded completely hollow.

She put on her respirator and heavy gloves then drove a fist through both sides of the wall, making sure to put her entire body weight behind the punch.

Children screamed and cried on the other side.

Mary pulled her fist back, chunks of drywall crumbled onto the ground as a puff of powdered drywall filled the air. She kicked the wall causing more drywall to scatter onto the floor. The force behind her kick sent most of her body through the wall. She bashed through the rest of it with a shoulder rush.

She put a welcoming smile on her face as she walked towards the orphans in hopes she would seem friendly.

The children pushed themselves as far back into the corner as they could. Each of them had bruises on their arms and legs; some had them on their sunken faces as well. They were all in various stages of dehydration and starvation.

“It is okay. I am not here to hurt you.” Mary crouched down.

“Like hell you aren’t! We saw what you did to them.” An older kid, likely a teenager, yelled as loud as he could with his weak voice. His arms were spread out in front of the others.

Mary removed a canteen from her belt and tossed it to the boy.

He caught the canteen. “Why would I drink out of this, you probably put poison in it or something.”

Mary's smile disappeared and she began to look concerned. “I do not put poison in my canteens." Mary stood up. "You need water and food. I gave you water. I will be able to feed you once I return to my traveling companions.”

“What reasons do we have to trust you? As far as we know you might be even worse than they were.”

“Four other orphans were picked up by a merchant yesterday. I took them in and they are now traveling with my companions and I.”

“You’re lying.” He started crying. “No one has ever been seen again after being taken.”

Mary's face became more solemn.  “I will return with them. We will likely remain here for the night. I would like my companions to rest in a more secure location.”

“How are you planning on getting out? Not like you can break through rock like you did with that other wall. You’re trapped in here just like we are.”

“There is another exit on the second floor I plan on using.”

"Everyone always leaves through the door." He said matter-of-factly.

"You can follow me if you would like to see it."

"Upstairs…" He looked at the orphans corpse.

"It is okay, you do not need to. I still have one more problem to deal with."

He looked at the canteen. “P-please come back. Even if you are lying, I would still like to see them again.” The boy muttered.

Mary smiled. "I will see you later."