Dawn was just lighting up the sky when Thom slipped into his house and up the stairs. It hadn't taken too long to find the girl's house, though there had been setbacks.
The sun had long ago set as Thom trudged through the forest of Yew. With the farmers in the area as close knit a bunch as they were it hadn't taken him long to find one that recognized his description of Laurie. Looking around the area he muttered to himself “Turn left at the big Yew tree near the Johnson's old place.” While that may have been adequate directions for most of the farmers, it left a lot to be desired when you weren't familiar with the area. It may also have helped if his thoughts were more on finding his destination then on how to tell the poor girl that she was an orphan. It was as sure as the sun would rise in the morning that whichever member of the Hand had been to her house would not have left either of her parents alive.
A quick check on Laurie on the second floor showed her fast asleep, hair splayed across the pillows and a slight frown on her face. He put the clothes out that he had picked up at her house, and carefully tucked her doll into the bed with her.
As he entered the clearing near the wood pile everything looked normal until the moonlight illuminated the pool of blood left behind. There was no sign of a body and a quick check showed no signs of animals. Turning towards the house he entered through the still open front door and took a look around. Not finding anything of note he gathered up a few things for Laurie and locked the house up. Where exactly the bodies had went could be investigated in the morning. Most likely some other person had stumbled across the scene and sent them into Yew proper. His first task done for the night he could devote all of his attention to the more delicate matter of how to inform little Laurie.
The sun had long ago set as Thom trudged through the forest of Yew. With the farmers in the area as close knit a bunch as they were it hadn't taken him long to find one that recognized his description of Laurie. Looking around the area he muttered to himself “Turn left at the big Yew tree near the Johnson's old place.” While that may have been adequate directions for most of the farmers, it left a lot to be desired when you weren't familiar with the area. It may also have helped if his thoughts were more on finding his destination then on how to tell the poor girl that she was an orphan. It was as sure as the sun would rise in the morning that whichever member of the Hand had been to her house would not have left either of her parents alive.
A quick check on Laurie on the second floor showed her fast asleep, hair splayed across the pillows and a slight frown on her face. He put the clothes out that he had picked up at her house, and carefully tucked her doll into the bed with her.
As he entered the clearing near the wood pile everything looked normal until the moonlight illuminated the pool of blood left behind. There was no sign of a body and a quick check showed no signs of animals. Turning towards the house he entered through the still open front door and took a look around. Not finding anything of note he gathered up a few things for Laurie and locked the house up. Where exactly the bodies had went could be investigated in the morning. Most likely some other person had stumbled across the scene and sent them into Yew proper. His first task done for the night he could devote all of his attention to the more delicate matter of how to inform little Laurie.