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I guided Opi down the winding dirt track that led out of the village and towards the distant farmers' fields. The light from my lantern hardly did anything against the thick wall of blackness that haunted the nighttime air. The moon was hidden behind a large bank of angry-looking clouds. A few sprinkles of rain landed on my face and neck. I glanced up towards the fast-darkening sky and gulped down my rising fear. It was too late to turn back now. I had to keep going.

It was a good thing I'd grown up around this area, for I knew the roads well. Opi had never been outside of the town fields before and was therefore acting very confused and unsure of her surroundings. I took it upon myself to guide her through the criss-cross of dirt roads, old tracks caused by the worn-out wheels of heavy wagons, and cobblestone pathways.

Eventually, after a three mile run, I pulled Opi away from the general path and towards a large field thick with dead grass and weeds. This field bordered the edge of our now run-down ranch. We used to let our horses graze here, but no one had been here in so long, it was now in disarray from lack of use.

We had to cut across this paddock to clear the boundary fence-line. As Opi neared the end of the field, I tugged on the reins and called out, "Whoa, girl, whoa."

Opi whinnied softly as she slowed down and came to a halt.

I pulled my jacket tighter around myself, suddenly feeling the biting edge of the cold that nipped at us. I lifted my lantern high above Opi's head and carefully scanned the fence-line. It was overrun with brambles and thick bushes.

However, upon closer inspection, I noticed something else I'd never seen before. Amidst the fling of underbrush was a small yellow sign. It looked fairly new as the light from my lantern reflected brightly off of it's shiny surface.

I frowned, leaning forward to read the black lettering imprinted on it.

K E E P O U T. D A N G E R.

I sat back, my eyebrows raised in confusion and surprise. I never remembered my Dad putting that sign up. He and Mum were always very welcoming to strangers and hospitable and understanding to those who weren't as well off as us. They'd never put up a sign telling people to stay away.

"That's strange, hey girl?" I whispered, addressing Opi. I tried to convince myself that it was completely normal for anyone to have a one-sided conversation with their horse, but in reality, I knew I was only doing it because I was scared and wanted to reassure myself.

Maybe coming back to the ranch after all these years had been the wrong decision.

"Stuff and nonsense!" I exclaimed suddenly, voicing the often-used phrase of my mother. "We're going in and that's that!"

Opi's ears perked up as she listened to me. She tossed her head nervously, her wide eyes darting from side to side.

I stroked her neck, trying to comfort her, but I couldn't shake off the bad feeling that continued to haunt me. I knew Opi felt it as well.

We continued on, finally finding a break in the fence that we could go through unscathed. We slowly, cautiously made our way across the vast back yard, past the broken-down chicken coops and stables, and towards the back veranda of our house.

I stopped Opi next to the veranda steps leading up to the back door. In one quick motion, I jumped off of her back and flicked her lead rope over one of the stair rails.

Opi snorted, burying the end of her velvety nose in the back of my neck. I reached up and stroked her forehead as I whispered, "It's okay, beautiful, I won't be gone long. I'll be right back!"

Opi grunted in disapproval as I pulled away from her. Holding my lantern up, I felt in my back pocket for the notes on which the code was written as I made my way up the veranda stairs.

"Wherein the sealed chest hides ... the merchant's scroll will tell you why," I murmured softly to myself.

I had no idea what the mysterious lines meant. I was hoping, though, that I would find something among Mum's old cast-away relics that might help in answering some of my many questions.

I walked softly across the creaky, sagging floorboards that made up the veranda before reaching the back door. I pushed it open slowly, my senses on high alert.

I slipped inside, flashing my lantern around the room. This used to be our family's laundry and storage room, all in one. It was where our old laundry supplies used to sit, for months on end, alongside Dad's gardening tools and the cow's milk buckets. A small smile played on my lips as the memories continued to flood back.

However, that smile disappeared very quickly when I noticed the state things were in. The maroon coloured tiles covering the floor where cracked and broken into pieces, churning up the dirt ground beneath it. The shelves been been torn down and it's contents were strewn across the floor. The door leading into the adjacent room had been completely ripped off it's hinges. Large cracks showed up on the surface along with some grisly marks that looked like someone or rather, something, had dragged it's sharpened claws down the entire length of the wood.

I shuddered, but this time it wasn't because of the cold.

I steadied myself as I hurried through the laundry room, praying for confidence that never came. As I stepped over the torn door and into the next dark and dingy room, my nose caught a whiff of a very strong, familiar scent. I turned my face away, trying not to gag at the repulsing odour that seeped up my nostrils.

"Geez, I can definitely tell no one's been here in a while," I coughed out, covering my mouth and nose with my jacket sleeve. "This place is disgusting."

The more I explored the old, abandoned ranch, the more I realised how true that statement was.

The place was in shambles. Shards of glass and pottery vases, along with numerous other pieces of junk, littered the ground in every direction. It was like going on an obstacle course just to get to the kitchen and even then, it was a nightmare trying to find anything that even slightly resembled something useful.

Eventually, I gave up trying to find any clues in the kitchen and moved on. I decided, even though it pained me so much that my chest began to ache, that I'd revisit Mum's old room. Surely if she'd left any clues behind about what might've happened to her, they'd be in there.

As I climbed the stairs, my mind travelled back in time to when I was just a small, scared seven-year old little girl, starting school for the first time. Mum had dressed me up in my very best and had even tied one of her favourite hair ribbons around my ponytail. I remember shyly walking out of my room towards the top of the stairs where Dad had been waiting for me. He took one look at me before grabbing me and swinging me up high above his head. "Look at you!" he had exclaimed. "Don't you look beautiful?"

I shook my head to clear the cobwebs as the memory began to fade. I was surprised to feel the single tear as it traced it's way down my cheek. I thought I was stronger than this. I thought I'd gotten over the fact that Mum and Dad were gone. But I hadn't. I really, really missed them. Right then and there, I just wished my whole life was one excruciatingly long nightmare that I could just wake up from and feel relieved to know it wasn't real ...

But that was the point ... I couldn't live a real life, because I wasn't real, no matter how much I wished I was.

A distant boom of thunder rolled across the sky, jerking me from my pitiful reverie. I chanced a quick glance around me as I suddenly remembered the storm that'd been rolling in from the west. I'd better do this and I'd better do it quick.

With a sad little sigh, I clambered the rest of the way up the stair-well and paused uncertainly in the passage. I shone my lantern one way and then another. I didn't want to return to my old bedroom, that'd almost be worse than venturing back into Mum's. So, I turned away from my room, and all the memories that went with it, and set my face towards the other solid oak door that sat at the opposite end of the hallway.

I padded silently over to it. For one long moment, I stared at it, then slowly, hesitantly, I reached down and touched the door handle.

I pushed down on it and flung it wide open. My eyes scanned the room as I shoved the lantern forwards.

What I saw made me gasp.

A/N: I hope u readers enjoyed this & if so please do comment & vote, I'd love it so much!It makes my day! Thank you so much for reading.

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