-August 27th of 1963

Clair von Freire waved goodbye to her friends from the gate. Though late, the family manor was merely a street away. It was a short walk that she had walked many times unaccompanied.

Her shoes sounded rather loudly in the quiet of the night against the cobblestones. The night breeze causes the trees down the street to rustle loudly as they cast moving shadows. Somewhat chilled, Clair pushes rapidly forward as she hears soft sounds behind her.

The hair on the back of her neck stands on edge as Clair suddenly begins to run forward. It’s almost like she can hear footsteps fading away as she runs the full length of the street. With gasping relief, she rounds the corner and sees the manor in the distance.

Clair breathes loudly as she slows down to a trot on the pathway to the manor. In the distance, she hears footsteps behind her and loud breaths as she runs forward. The footsteps don’t slow out of breath and frightened she darts towards a patch of trees on the property to hide.

Clair staggers behind the clump of trees and clamps her hand over her mouth as she struggles not to breathe. The footsteps stop and fade away. As Clair turns her head she sees a face at her side as she opens her mouth and lets out a muffled scream as the figure clamps their hands over her mouth. A rag is placed against her nose as she slumps forward and is soundlessly dragged away.

The figure on the path trots back and forth. A young man with the same tawny hair as Clair von Freire cups his hands to his mouth. “Claire, this isn’t funny. Where are you?” Peter von Freire shouted.

The only response is the sound of crickets chirping and frogs croaking. Worried Peter walks back up the pathway to the manor when he spots something amidst the groove of trees. Peter narrows his eyes and darts closer as he spots a pink ribbon hanging from a broken branch,

Peter picks up the familiar pink ribbon and peers further into the grove of trees. “Claire, are you in there?” Peter warily said as he took a step into the darkness. A soft rustle catches his attention as he ruefully sighs and mumbles, “Claire, this isn’t funny. Come out! I’m tired and I want to go to sleep.”

A thump is heard as Peter moves towards the sound and walks deeper into the grove. As he rounds a large oak tree, Peter almost trips over something. Peter turns around to find the sleeping figure of Claire leaning against the trunk of the tree. Peter snorts and shakes his head as he says, “Sleepy head, at least wait until you’re in bed.”

Peter bends down to carry her away when he spots a figure before him. Peter raises his head as something hard struck him in the head. Peter falls to the ground as he throws his hands up to protect his head as he rolls to the side.

The assailant in the darkens brings the rock down as Peter darts back to his feet. With a grunt, Peter ducks between the trees leaving the assailant behind.

A snap is heard as Peter screams in pain and falls forward. Peter glances down at his foot to find it trapped in a metal trap. Peter frantically grits his teeth as he uses his full strength to pry the metal trap open. With a whimper, he removes his foot as he hobbles to his feet as sweat pours down his face.

His heart pounds as the intruder steps out into the opening. Peter hearts trembles as the intruder casually raises the bolted crossbow and arrow. Peter opens his mouth to plead for his life when the first arrow strikes him. His body shudders under the impact as he feels his body leaking warm fluids down his chest. With a gasp, he falls to the ground and struggles to breathe as everything fades away.

The family gardener finds the corpse of Peter von Freire on the outskirts of the groove. Within minutes the guard had been summoned as Lady Freire collapsed at the sight of her son’s corpse behind carried away. Lord Freire roared about the whereabouts of his daughter as the guards promised to find her.

The news traveled through the capital at the speed of light. But some of the older folks remembered a time when there was such a nightly terror. And many would be locking their doors and barring their windows tonight.