Chapter 10
The soldier slowly lowered his hand away from his holster, his eyes glazing over as he locked gazes with the small girl in the dirt-caked yellow dress. The desert wind died down instantly, leaving an oppressive, heavy silence hanging over the street.
“He’s... he’s back at the river,” the soldier muttered, his voice sounding hollow and disconnected, as if he were speaking in his sleep. “He’s buried by the willow tree where the wagons burned.”
The younger sister stepped up beside her sibling, resting her hand gently on the other girl’s shoulder while holding out the piece of stale gray bread toward the horseman.
“You left him there, didn't you?” the younger girl asked, her voice sweet and entirely devoid of malice, which made it all the more terrifying. “You took the strongbox and left the wounded to the smoke.”
Caleb rushed down the remaining steps, pushing past the girls to grab the soldier by the collar of his red cavalry jacket.
“Don't listen to them!” Caleb yelled, shaking the man violently. “They aren't children! They’re the jailers of this town! Get on your horse and ride!”
The soldier blinked hard, snapping out of his trance, and shoved Caleb away with surprising strength.
“Get your hands off me, lunatic!” the soldier snarled, drawing his revolver and pointing it straight at Caleb’s chest. “You’re out of your mind. What kind of ghost town is this?”
Before Caleb could respond, the ground beneath the horse’s hooves gave way with a sickening crack. The earth collapsed into a deep, circular sinkhole, swallowing the horse and rider in a cloud of dust and splintered wood. The soldier screamed as he fell, his horse thrashing wildly in the sudden, dark abyss that opened up in the middle of the street.
Caleb lunged forward, grabbing at the edge of the pit, but his fingers grasped only empty air.
The two little girls stood calmly at the edge of the sinkhole, peering down into the darkness without a trace of emotion on their faces. The older sister casually tossed her piece of stale bread down into the hole, watching it fall into the blackness below.
“Another one for the cellar,” the older girl said, turning her head to look directly at Caleb.
Caleb staggered backward, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he clutched his burning chest.
“There has to be a way to break this,” Caleb demanded, his voice trembling with rage. “There has to be a key, a door, a way out of this cycle!”
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The younger sister tilted her head, her dark hair falling across her face as she stepped closer to him.
“There’s only one key, mister,” she whispered softly, pointing a small finger directly at the glowing, blood-soaked star branded onto Caleb’s chest. “And you’re wearing it.”
