“He was right here,” Joseph spoke softly, creeping off the porch and into the flooding streets. They began to search around for him, shouting his name repeatedly.

The rain continued to pour down on them, but there wasn’t another soul in sight. Desperation began to set in, and Joseph screamed for his friend with tears streaming down his face, though entirely invisible in the rain.

“We need to get inside, Joseph,” Holly said as she approached his side and gripped his arm. “We need to think through this.” She pulled on his arm softly until he willingly followed her back inside.

“What are we supposed to think through, Holly?” Joseph asked hopelessly. He hung his head low, soaked in the red rain.

“We have to figure out how we’re going to find him and bring him back,” she said with a forced smile.

“Can someone tell me what the hell is happening?” Enrique demanded as he came walking down the stairs with concern on his face.

“Yeah. I’ve been waiting to find that out too,” Josh said with a shrug.

“A monster or demon or something took Marco from us during the rain,” Joan answered, sitting motionless on the couch with her eyes focused on the floor below her.

She could hardly stay composed. Her hands, arms, and legs all vibrated nervously as she twiddled her fingers and stared at the hardwood floor.

“What do we do?” Enrique asked. “What can we do?”

“We don’t know yet, but I can tell you one thing; that lady knows something she didn’t tell us. And we’re going to find out in the morning.” Joseph spoke with an angry tempo and stared deeply into his friend’s eyes.

“Joseph’s right. She definitely knows something, but the question is -- will she tell us?” Holly added as she looked around the room and thought to herself.

“I’ll make that bitch tell us,” Josh said as he gripped his shotgun tightly.

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Holly and Joseph looked at him and shook their heads with disagreement. “No Josh. We aren’t going to threaten her,” Holly said as she continued to think. “If she won’t tell us willingly, maybe she’ll take a trade. This book we have seemed pretty important to her. She might take it in exchange for crucial information.”

“Wait,” Joseph intervened. “Didn’t she say that she would give us something we needed for confirming that there was something in her home? Maybe she already intends on giving us information that will help us.”

The others nodded their heads as they took their time to think about Joseph’s proposal.

“How do we know she didn’t set this up?” Enrique asked as he sat down next to Joan and gestured for the others to take a seat. They followed him hesitantly and seated themselves.

“We don’t know,” Holly said as she fixed her eyes on Enrique who was scratching his head, trying to wrap his mind around the entire situation.

“So, we don’t know if we can trust her. Great. We’re going on a whim then?” Enrique asked nervously.

“Right,” Joseph added. “We know very little about her or her intentions or if she really desired to help us. All we know is that she promised to offer us something if we did this job for her. The job is done, and it is my hope that she will uphold her end of the deal.”

“Well. This gives us something to work with, but I still don’t trust it. Josh, I want you to bring a gun but one that you can fit in your pocket. I’ll record everything with a GoPro, so that if things get ugly, we’ll have video evidence to prove our case.”

“To prove our case?” Joseph asked. “Do you really think it could come to that?”

“There’s no way of knowing what she will do or what she is capable of. For all we know, she could be an apparition. For all we know, she could be the reason for The Devil’s Rain. I’m not saying that she is, but we should be careful.”

“Well if that’s the case, how can we be sure that a gun will do us any good?”

“We don’t know that either, but it gives us a fighting chance if things go south. I’ve noticed something over the years, the rain always occurs post-midnight, and while you were all away, I did further research. Some people have theorized that the reason it occurs at these hours is because whatever entity involved uses the darkness as a source of power and its shroud. Essentially, they’re only able to hunt at late hours otherwise they would not be able to travel stealthily or hunt efficiently.”

“So, during the day, if she was the creature, she wouldn’t be as much of a threat?”

“That’s exactly right. If she is the monster, she will be vulnerable.”

Everyone nodded their heads and considered the plan of action.

“So, we get up maybe around 10, grab a gun, head out, and just hope for the best from there?” Holly asked, simplifying the plan.

“That’s the barebones of it, yes. Everyone try and get some rest. I’m going to do some more research tonight and see what else I can find,” Enrique said as he got up and headed towards his room.

The group stood to their feet and followed his example, departing to their individual rooms and attempting to rest for the night.