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Ever since Kristina told you about the pets who had escaped, you started to notice that more houses seemed to be abandoned. The posters of missing people and pets littered the streets like fallen leaves. It was eerie to look at: festive decorations and then posters of such distress and houses that were obviously abandoned in such a hurry.

Four days before the festival, the town seemed quieter than usual.

You decided to spend the day alone. Kristina was taking care of her grandma, while Atlas has some library duties and was also called in to help place some of the stalls in the community store since a couple of people had already backed down, packed their stuff, and left the town.

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You really have no idea why some of you are still in this town. Maybe a part of you hopes that things will turn out well. A bad chapter doesn't mean a bad book.

You tiptoed near the window of one of the abandoned houses. Behind the dusty glass, you could see that the dining table was perfectly set with plates for a family. In the middle of the table sat a whole mass of wriggling white maggots. If you could guess, it's probably a whole chicken. You gagged and moved away.

Having nothing else to do, you went from one abandoned house to another. Not to steal, of course, but to stare at what it looked like inside. There is just something eerie about houses that were left in a split second.

You were about to peek out of another window when you suddenly heard a thin whistle.

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