While Leonie waited for the police chief to answer her, she decided to simply call her younger brother Finn. Luckily, he answered his cell phone. "Oh, hey sis. How's my absolute favorite sister? Is everything going well with you?" the 17-year-old boy asked her. He was always happy when she called or visited him.

"Hey, Finn... to be honest, nothing's going well at the moment... can I maybe talk to you for a bit...?" she replied to his question.

"Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course you can talk to me! Tell me what's going on. I'm here for you. I'll listen and try to help where I can", said the boy.

Leonie took a deep breath and slowly let the air out of her lungs. "Thank you very much. So ... a few things happened. I mean, Bryan was home a little late yesterday and forgot to tell me. That's still normal, but seeing a figure outside in the snow flurries that disappears after a moment, seeing a bloody hand on my window, realizing Bryan isn't answering me, and finding a creepy note on my mirror is definitely NOT normal."

Finn sounded like he was panicking on the phone. "PLEASE WHAT?!" Did you call the police? Is everything okay with you? Are you REALLY safe? Sis, if anything should happen to you-"

"Calm down! I've already written a message to the police chief that I need to speak to him urgently". She sighed and continued. "It's nice that you're worried about me, but you don't have to overdo it. Everything will be fine... I just want you to find out if anyone else has experienced anything like this. Find out if anything like this has happened to anyone else. I'm counting on you, little brother".

The boy was silent for a while before he spoke into the phone again. "Okay. You can count on me. If you still need me to come by, tell me. If you need anything, tell me, too".

"I will do that. Thanks for your support Finn, it means a lot to me. I love you, little brother".

"I love you too, big sister. Please take good care of yourself, okay? See you later," said Finn and they both hung up.

Leonie put her cell phone in her pocket and looked at the garbage can in her bathroom again. She stared at the garbage can for a long time until she finally took the note out again and unfolded it. "I'd better keep this as proof..." she whispered to herself and went back into her living room, where she sat down on the couch again, still waiting for an answer from the police chief.

Of course, Spike sensed once again that Leonie was still in a bad way. He whimpered and jumped onto her lap again to comfort her and give her hope. The little puppy was just a sweet little help to her. Her mood lifted a little and she stroked the golden retriever with a smile. "Aw, aren't you sweet? Yes, you are...", she cooed. The puppy barked briefly and panted.

After some time, she finally received a message on her cell phone. A reply from the chief of police. "To be honest, I need to speak to you urgently too. I'll come by as soon as I can and then we can discuss a few things. Because it's about Bryan."

When Leonie read the message, she panicked slightly. She wanted to write back to him to ask if anything had happened or where he was, but she held back a little and just wrote: "All right. I'll wait for you, sir".

"Oh, and... Leonie? We're friends after all. You don't have to call me 'sir'. Just call me by my name. I know how polite you always are, but that's okay."

The girl had to laugh a little as she rolled her eyes slightly and just texted back a quick "Okay, Darius". She put her cell phone back in her pocket and waited for the police chief, Darius, to arrive at her house. In the meantime, she played with Spike, fed him and stroked him.

When there was a knock at the front door, the girl was startled for a moment until she thought about it and realized that it could only be Darius. She ran to the door, unlocked it and opened it. The police chief made a serious face, but remained polite as she opened the door and invited him in. She closed the door behind him and they both sat down on the couch in the living room. "It's pretty dark in here, isn't it? You've got all the shutters closed," he said.

"Yes, I'm sorry... I'll explain in a minute... but can I know what's going on with Bryan first? I've already called him, but he hasn't answered his cell phone and hasn't called me back. I'm worried," Leonie said. Darius nodded and cleared his throat as he crossed his arms and looked at her with a serious but worried expression on his face. "He went to the office first to do some important paperwork. Then there was an urgent emergency and he had to go there immediately with a few other colleagues. Later, just before I wrote to you, we found everyone but him dead. He disappeared without a trace. The bodies of his colleagues were covered with graffiti symbols. We don't know if Bryan is still alive, but we're doing everything we can to find him..."

The girl sat frozen on the couch next to the police chief. Now she was even more worried. Sure, the police might already be doing everything they could to find him, but what if it was already too late? What if he was no longer alive and had simply been killed somewhere else? At that moment, she could no longer think clearly. Darius sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry about this. I promise I'll do everything in my power to find him," he assured her.

"Thank you, Darius..."

The police chief nodded and smiled a little to give her some hope again. They both sat on the couch for a long time until Leonie began to speak again. "There's something else. I need to tell you another thing", she began. Darius sat up straight and looked at her patiently. The girl then told him about the events of the previous evening and showed him the note hanging on her mirror.

The police chief turned pale when he heard about the strange events and looked at the note with the ugly scrawled smiley. "And you said you'd locked all the doors and windows, didn't you?" he asked again to make sure. Leonie nodded at him and Darius sighed as he put the note on the table and took out his notepad to make a few notes.

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After writing on his notepad for a while, he put it down again and turned back to the girl. "I have a feeling that you're not really safe in this house. Should I take you to the police station? Or ask a friend of mine to take you in for a while?" he asked her.

"Would you really do that?"

"But of course! Firstly, we're still friends, secondly, I'm still the chief of police who has to ensure safety, and thirdly, I don't want anything to happen to you. I think you understand that".

Leonie smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you. To be honest, I don't feel very safe in my own house after what happened ... I'd be grateful if I could be somewhere else - oh. But Spike absolutely has to come with me. I've grown too fond of him already".

Darius raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly, a little confused. "Who's Spike?"

The girl giggled and pointed to the little puppy that had just crawled out of the kitchen, yawning. "This little puppy here. I found him in the snow the day before yesterday and took him into the house. I still don't know how he got here, but he's a really sweet and lovely animal", she said.

"Ah, I see. Don't worry, I know a friend of mine who loves dogs more than anything. You're in good hands with her", said the police chief as he placed the golden retriever on his lap.

Leonie didn't hesitate for long and accepted the offer to stay with someone else for security reasons. That same day, she got into Darius' car with Spike and drove with him into town to a beautifully decorated, large house. They both got out of the car, the girl holding her little dog in her arms the whole time. They went to the front door and the police chief rang the bell.

A few seconds later, the door opened and a woman with long, flaming red hair came out. "Oh, Darius! What a surprise. I thought you had too much to do at work", she said with a friendly laugh.

"Well, there's been a bit of an emergency", he said, turning to Leonie and Spike before looking back at the woman. "This girl here and a dog need to stay away from your house for a while because it's not entirely safe. Could you let them stay with you for a while, if it's no trouble?"

"Oh, I love dogs... but most of all I love visitors! So don't worry, that's no problem for me", the woman giggled as she looked at the two of them. "My name is Rain Firescout. And what are you two called?"

The girl cleared her throat and said, "I'm Leonie Fox and this is Spike. I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Firescout-"

Rain laughed as she invited them in. "Just call me Rain. That's alright", she said, looking at Darius again. "Don't worry, they're in good hands with me. I promise I'll look after them", she told him. The police chief nodded, said goodbye and left the neighborhood.

The woman closed the front door and turned to the girl and her puppy. "Would you and your pet like something to eat and watch a little TV while I prepare the guest room for you?" she asked with a warm smile.

Leonie nodded and Miss Firescout continued: "You're in luck. I was cooking something before you turned up. And I always have pet food on hand because I always have a few friends and their pets visiting. The living room is just over there", she explained, leading the girl and the golden retriever into a slightly larger room with a large TV, animal pictures on the walls and a cozy couch with fluffy cushions and folded blankets.

"Thank you... I mean, that really wasn't necessary, Miss- uhm... Rain..."

Rain Firescout smiled and gave her a friendly look. "Yes, it was. I like visitors. Besides, I can't put anyone in danger, can I? Don't get me wrong, I'm already suspicious of other people. But I can clearly sense that you're a nice, clever and kind-hearted girl. You really remind me a lot of my daughter. She was just like you". The red-haired woman sighed and looked at a family photo with a sad expression on her face. "I miss her. After her father died in a car accident, she simply disappeared one day".

Leonie looked a little worried and followed Rain's gaze. "I'm very sorry for your loss. I mean, I didn't know your daughter, but I still mourn her". She looked at the picture for a while before continuing, "Your daughter looks just like her. Beautiful and with a happy smile".

The girl's words made her laugh. "Thank you. As I said, you remind me a lot of my daughter. I think you and I will get on well. You can stay as long as you like".

"If you really don't mind..."

"Of course not. I'm actually really looking forward to it. And don't worry, as long as you're with me, nothing will happen to you. I'll take care of you and look after you. Oh, and Spike too, of course".

Leonie smiled at her and nodded her head before sitting down on the couch with Spike to watch some TV. In the meantime, Miss Firescout went into the kitchen and prepared a plate of food for the girl. She also got some dog food out of the cabinet and put it in a bowl for the puppy.

The woman put the plate of steak, homemade sauce, potatoes and vegetables on the table for the girl and placed the bowl of dog food on the floor. Leonie thanked her warmly and looked at her food with a hungry expression. "Go ahead and eat", Rain said, watching the girl with satisfaction as she began to eat. "If you like, we can go out into my garden for a while, if it's not too cold outside. But you're also welcome to rest if you're too tired".

"Well... thanks, but I'd better stay inside and try to sleep. I've been up all night because of what I saw in my house", the girl replied. Miss Firescout could well understand that she needed some rest. "Alright, then. You go and rest now and I'll look after you every now and then. If anything happens, come to me. I have to stay awake tonight anyway and take care of some very important documents. But I still have time if you need anything".

Leonie thanked her and finished her plate. When Spike had also finished his bowl and was rolling around contentedly on the floor, Miss Firescout took the plate and the bowl, went into the kitchen giggling and put them both in the dishwasher. She then cleared away a few things in the kitchen and cleaned a few light stains.

The television was switched off after the girl used the remote control. She took her puppy in her arms and went to Rain, who led them both into the guest room. "Make yourselves comfortable", she said and disappeared after quietly closing the door. The golden retriever was the first to jump onto the bed and immediately curled up to fall asleep. Leonie followed him and crawled into bed too, but the events of the previous evening still kept her awake.

Leonie tossed and turned in bed all night and couldn't sleep properly. When she looked at the clock, it was only the middle of the night. Nevertheless, she tried to get at least a little rest and turned back in bed towards the window. But it was only after five minutes that she realized that two bright red eyes were staring at her through the glass... The figure didn't move, but it stared so deeply into her soul that the girl jumped up in panic, drew the curtains and ran out of the room and to Rain. Spike flinched at the sound of her scream and looked around in confusion.

Rain heard the screams and saw Leonie running to her. "What's wrong?!" she asked worriedly and immediately got an explanation from the panicked girl. She went into the room and ripped open the curtains, but the eyes were no longer there. No shadows either, no fingerprints, absolutely nothing...

The woman decided to call Darius and tell him what Leonie had seen, while the puppy tried to calm them both down, whimpering.