“Hello, my saviors!” the granny exclaimed in delight as I opened the door. She had a small tray of vanilla cookies in her possession.

“Hey there. Did you need something?”

“No… I came here to give my saviors a small gift: cookies! Please, try some.”

“Thank you!” I said, grabbing a cookie which was warm. This had to have been stored somewhere. I don’t recall smelling cookies when I entered the house, and I’m quite proud of my keen sense of smell. Meh, doesn’t matter.

I opened my mouth wide and devoured the cookie in one mouthful. It was sugary alright, and it had a distinct taste to it. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

“It’s delicious.”

“It brings me great joy to hear that from you,” the grandma said with a grin. She tilted her head to the side and addressed Myra, who was still laying on the bed.

“What about you, young missy?”

Myra observed the elderly woman for a few moments before rising reluctantly from her position. She grabbed a cookie and had a nibble. After swallowing, she placed the cookie back on the tray.

“Thank you. I don’t eat sweets, but I’ll make an exception for this one time.”

“I’m flattered! Well, I’ll be on my way now. It’s almost time for bed. My back has been killing me lately…”

The old lady bowed and was out of sight. I shut the door and flopped onto my bed. “Back to what you were saying before. Were you implying that Cath isn’t the only member of the family able to use mana?”

“…”

“Uh…hello?”

Instead of a verbal reply, the sound of an object falling hard onto the ground made me turn my head to see what the hell happened. Myra was on the floor in a weird position near the door, eyes closed.

“Woah now!”

I hurriedly got up and ran over to the unconscious woman. I shook her body gently to wake her up, yet she didn’t respond. When I put my head on her chest, I could still hear the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, and feel her chest rising with each breath. Did she pass out? Maybe there was an ingredient in the cookie that she was allergic to! Wait… the cookie! There was a small, unrecognizable taste to it. Was that the culprit?

I burst out of the room while holding Myra in my arms. “Hey, I need some help over he-“

The walls swirled together in a dizzying kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. The strength in my arms faded away as I dropped Myra to the carpeted floor. I bent down to one knee, trying my hardest to not lose consciousness as dizziness assaulted my senses, and my breath was ragged along with it. I unsteadily rose my head to the sound of heavy footsteps. From beyond the world of distortion was a person climbing up the stairs.

“-sion kicked…”

“Cath-drag…”

Its voice kept cutting off, and it was hard to understand what they were saying. Their voices were distant and muffled like they were speaking through a pillow. I struggled to remain conscious. Two more figures arrived and were talking amongst themselves. Before I could figure out who they were, my vision blurred and I felt my body going limp as I drifted into unconsciousness.

****

“Cath, get the boy while I get the elf.”

“…Grandpa. Aare you sure about this? They said they were patrollers. Won’t we get caught?” I said, bending down to hold the boy’s arm. Grandpa hoisted the female elf over his shoulders and answered calmly.

“They were lying to us, boy,” grandpa growled. “They ain’t no patrollers. I can confirm that much when I was asking them questions.”

He waited for me in front of the steps as I lifted the boy up.

“How did you figure that out?”

“The holy empire isn’t fond of the other races. They do not like elves, dwarves, and the warriors of Bellagros, yet they don’t actively show their disdain. And what do you know! This elf and warrior of Bellagros claimed they were recruited. It’s a shame they didn’t know of this.”

Grandpa descended the steps, the elf in tow. I followed along after him. When we reached the first floor, grandma was waiting for us near the dining area.

“Liz, go tell Cleo that our saviors had an emergency and left in a hurry. She must be out in the fields right about now, taking care of the animals. Cleo must not know of this.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Yes, honey.”

I kept my mouth shut as they ridiculed the two guests.

“Can’t believe that boy fell for my facade that easily,” Grandma giggled. “He was too weak against my womanly charm.”

Grandpa chuckled at Grandma’s words. “Good thing he convinced the elf to stay behind. She seemed to be the smarter one between them, knowing that something was off about us.”

“Yes… She hesitated in eating one of my poisoned cookies, only eating a nibble. The boy will be knocked out for a while since he gobbled it whole. The elf, on the other hand…”

“Haha! No need to worry about her, Liz. These two will be out of our hairs by sundown.”

The front door of the house was wide open, and the sparse dark clouds glowed in the setting sun. Grandma went ahead to where Cleo was tending to the animals while Grandpa and I headed to the back of the house. There stood a medium-sized shed that stores many of our farming tools and equipment. Grandpa unbolted the doors and pried them open. He then dropped the elf onto the ground.

“Set him down here while I get the caskets,” he ordered. I did what was asked and propped the limp body next to the girl while Grandpa dragged two caskets.

“Alright Cath, you know the drill,” he grunted as he placed the caskets in front of us. Knowing what he meant, I picked the boy up with a grimace and stuffed him inside the casket. It fit him perfectly. He looked like a mummy ready to be buried deep underground. Instead of being preserved, what awaits him though… I shiver at the thought.

“I warned you, didn’t I…”

“What was that, Cath?” Grandpa asked as he shut the lid of the coffin and locked it.

“I said I’m finished, grandpa.” I too closed the lid and made sure it was locked.

“Cath…”

Grandpa paused his work and ambled over to me, the faint squeak of his boots filling my ears. He placed a stern hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t forget why we’re doing this,” he said with a frown.

“I know…”

Grandpa always says that whenever I have second thoughts about our situation. It’s like he’s psychic.

“Mkay then. I’ll get the carriage and pack the offerings. Your Grandma and I will be on our way to the drop-off. Stay with your sister while we’re gone.”

I nodded my head at his instructions and watched him bring the carriage over. He parked the carriage right in front of the shed and we lifted the caskets inside. After we were finished, I could see Grandma shambling toward us. They were ready to depart. They both hopped up on the driver's seat and waved goodbye to me as the horses slowly trotted away from the shed and to the city. After confirming they were gone, I headed inside the house, shutting the door from behind. Cleo was in the kitchen and had just finished cleaning the table. Her lips were curved downward. Noticing I was standing at the doorway, she trotted over with a wet rag.

“Ah, Cath! Have you heard? Grandma told me that there was an emergency and that those two left in a hurry. Is that true?”

“Yep. Grandma notified me too.”

“A pity… I wanted to talk to them some more. It’s rare enough I talk to people my age… you know?”

Her words were light and happy, but I could sense the palpable sadness in the air. It made it even more difficult to lie in front of her face.

“I see that Grandma and Grandpa are gone again. Did they go to the city to sell their pelts and crops at this time of day again?”

Cleo took off her apron and neatly folded it inside a drawer.

“You know they gotta make money somehow,” I joked. I pulled the chair away and sat on it, tapping on the table.

“Oh really now?” she muttered. Cleo plopped herself on the chair next to me and propped her head on her arm. “Cath… You guys are hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

How did she- No… play it cool. We can’t have her find out.

“What do you mean by that?” I said plainly. I had a calm and collected face, but really, I was sweating profusely.

My sister kept eyeing me suspiciously. “There are moments when Grandpa and Grandma would go out with the carriage. Days later, they would come back with a person, sometimes two. I had put little thought into it at first cause I figured they just pick up random people in need... but then I noticed something. My suspicions were confirmed just now.”

I was silent at her deduction. She took that opportunity to continue.

“These strangers would stay only for the night and be gone by early morning. It’s weird, I’m sure I would see one of them leaving with my own eyes, but it never happens. I’m usually the first one to wake up before everyone else.”

My sister tilted her head and looked at me with a furrowed brow. “In all those specific nights, Grandma and Grandpa would be gone. And every time I ask where they went, they would say that they were selling wares. The same excuse is used today.”

“…”

Cleo then got up and stood right behind me. “What’s going on, dear brother?”

I sighed and raised my arms in surrender. “Fine… I’ll tell you. Just don’t be mad, okay? There’s a reason for all of this.”

Cleo wrinkled her nose at my words and said, “I won’t overreact. Maybe.”

****

Where in the fucking hell am I?! And why do I feel so drained, like my life force got sucked out? All I can remember is that I ate a cookie from the granny. Now, I’m inside this fucking crate, barely able to move my body. It won’t open up, so it’s gotta be either glued or locked shut. Only one solution comes to mind…

I clenched my fist and bashed the crate open with a single punch. The whole lid was blown away, so I was able to rise my body from the box.

Looking around, I was in an operating room, except it’s a complete shithole. A bright yellow light filled the room with medical instruments and tables. In the middle was a wide metal sheet big enough to fit a person. I was in a square room fashioned out of white and gray bricks. A lot of them had the paint peeled off, and the room reeked of rust, chemicals, and rotting meat. The casket was placed in the corner of the blue and white checkered floor.

“This is not the old couple’s home… How the hell did I get here? Every time I think back, headaches only form…”

While pondering my predicament, footsteps echoed outside the room and were heading my way.

“Yep, definitely coming over here. The footsteps are getting louder.”

When I surveyed the room, I spotted a tall white curtain near a table.

“Jackpot.”

I sprang into action and hid behind the curtain. There was a bed inside the area, so I hid beneath it. Right as I was out of sight, the door opened. A man was revealed, wearing a mask over his mouth. He also had gloves and a black apron. He observed that the coffin I was in had been damaged and found it to be empty. Before he could run out, I leaped out of my hiding spot and shoved my hand in front of his mouth, closing the door with my leg.

“It’s just you and me, buddy. No one is going to help you. Answer my questions calmly, and I’ll let you live. I could snap your neck in an instant. Wanna find out?”

He shook his head no, his body trembling with fear. I took that as him playing along. I slowly removed my hand away from his mouth and pushed him onto the bed, closing the curtains.