Dear Diary,

and the world turns to chaos...

I woke up covered in sweat. It was ungodly hot in this room. Caden had somehow teleported me back to his house and placed me in a deep sleep. I looked around and noticed it was the same room I was in before. The one right atop the stairs.

I could hear shouting, stomping, and glass breaking. If the heat hadn't have woken me up all the angry words floating around would have.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and pushed the blankets off of me. I was still fully clothed just missing my shoes. I had no idea where they went off to. I was pretty sure Butler Boy had something to do with it though.

I decided to walk over to the window to take a peep out. Maybe I could figure out what all the shouting was about. A quick glance down and my eyes were instantly drawn to Caden. His pale skin seemed to glow under the moonlight. He and another man, one I couldn't see well enough to identify, were circling around each other. Smoke was billowing around the two, somewhat obscuring my view.

Smoke?

With a closer look, I noticed people running around, shouting at one another. A man in a black jacket reached down and scooped up a little girl. I could just make out her blonde ringlets as they ran away from the estate. The few people that lived and worked here had what little belongings they could carry in their arms. They were making haste to getaway. I didn't blame them. The place was crawling with Feral. Not everyone was getting away with their life.

Looking away from the grim view, my attention was drawn back to Caden and the mystery man. Things had escalated. The mystery man took a swing at Caden. He dodged it easily and snarled at the stranger. More words were said. Obviously, the stranger wasn't happy with what Caden had to say to him because in the next moment he was charging at Caden. The light flickered on the two ominously- and that's when I noticed that the forest surrounding the estate had gone up in a blaze. The fire had to start from somewhere and I'd bet my money it was this mansion.

A loud knock pulled me from the window. A short moment afterward, Butler Boy was barging in.

"Miss, we need to leave, now," He managed to get out. He was obviously nervous. Sweat dripped off his forehead and he had a slight tremor to his body.

"Where's my bag and shoes?" I asked.

"I don't think you realize how dire the situation is," he responded.

"You are wasting both of our time by not telling me!" I yelled. I was frustrated with this conversation. Caden needed help. The feral had finished devouring their victims and was now creeping in on Caden and the mystery man.

Without another word, Butler Boy pointed at the closet and took off without another glance back.

I ran to the closet and hastily unzipped my bag and pulled my holster out. I looped it around my waist and made sure it was securely fastened. I also pulled out an extra two stakes. I was positive I'd need them. I didn't bother with my shoes. I was afraid time was running out-on the mansion and on Caden.

Smoke was pouring into my room making it difficult to breathe. I pulled my tank top up over my nose hoping it would help with breathing. My throat was already raw and I was doing my best to not cough. Thank whatever god is out there that my room was pretty much right by the front door. Flames were licking at the walls to the right and left of me making it impossible for any kind of detour.

The floor was hot, literally on fire, and covered in broken debris. I didn't want to think about what my poor feet were going to look like when this was over. I took a deep breath-which was a bad idea I thought, as I started to cough, gag, and sputter-and made my way downstairs.

I was almost to the door and down the stairs when what was remaining of the stairs gave out.

"Fuck!" I cried out.

Luckily I wasn't near the top, but I still had to still crawl and pull my way out of the charred rubble. Adrenaline was coursing through my blood making that fall pain free. Oh, how I was going to feel it tomorrow. I glimpsed my feet and they were covered in blood and burns. Great. Then that brought my attention to my thigh. Apparently, I wasn't free from injuries with the fall. A big chunk of, I guess I'd just say wooden stair, was sticking out of my leg. I tucked my extra stakes in my back pocket. It would take both hands to pull it out. I laughed out loud. I guess I could always just keep the stair chunk and use it for an extra stake. I used the dark humor to distract myself from the pain as I ripped the piece of stairs out of my flesh.

I limped my way to the door and gingerly placed my hand on the handle. It wasn't as hot as you'd expect it to be. I pushed the door open and instantly had a feral on me. It pushed me to the ground and was chomping trying to get to my neck. I barely managed to push it back away from my neck and precious veins with my left hand as I wriggled my right hand to my holster and pulled out a stake.

I wouldn't have enough power at this angle to push the stake through the monster's chest so I opted to stab it in the eye instead. That made the creature pull back with a howl giving me just enough slack to break free and grab another stake.

I jumped up and then gave the feral a kick to the head. It didn't manage to do much but piss it off and make it come at me again. But this time I was prepared. As the feral ran at me I swung my stake up aiming for the chest. Its momentum helped me land the stake through its heart. With a puff of ash, it was no more.

There were ferals everywhere. I had to take three more out on my way to get to Caden. I could have taken out more but I was more concerned with the King of the south. Anyways, I didn't think the ferals were too much of a threat anymore. Anyone that was out here ended up becoming tonight's dinner or had managed to escape.

It definitely looked like a battleground. The earth was charred black and red. I'm sure you can imagine what the red was. Body parts littered the ground and ferals were feeding on them. The fires still raged through the forest and the mansion was becoming obsolete.