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Into the Darkness	By : Talael Category: G through L > Inkheart Views: 1794 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Inkheart, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Crouching low in the dense bushes, they peered out upon the village nestled within the hills. The sparse lights twinkled to them, almost invitingly. The only sign of life they had seen so far was a few black-suited men occasionally crossing the main square and the odd cat stalking along the top of a wall. The majority of the houses looked deserted and decaying, as though anyone who might have once cared for them had abandoned the village long ago.
“I’m telling you, you’re completely crazy going there. You’ve heard the stories about that place.” Said a shaky voice into the darkness. “They say that there’s ghosts there. Not to mention a witch, and maybe even that the Devil is sitting in the church”
Suddenly a laugh filled the darkness, “Since when have you been afraid of ghosts and witches? Aren’t you a little old to believe in shit like that?” Said Lisa, as she turned to her companion. “C’mon Shelly, get a grip for Christ’s sake!”
She couldn’t see Shelly’s face in the darkness but she could hear her let out a breath, like she was trying to shake off all the doubt and worry that was settling on her shoulders.
“How many times have we been through this, huh? I told you there’s a fuck load of gold down in that village and I want it! Why should those inbred freaks keep it?” Lisa spat the words out as she kept looking for the best way to sneak into the place.
Shelly’s discomfort was not eased by these words but she knew her friend too well to try and dissuade her from her plans. The truth of the matter was, they needed money and they needed it quick. Too many debts to pay off any other way thought Shelly.
“I know you want it, Lise but I swear something ain’t right about this place. Think what them guys up the road were telling us ‘bout it.” Shelly sighed and tried not to think about what would happen if they were caught. “Alright, ghost stories aside, how’d you think people like this ended up with gold in the first place, eh? They certainly didn’t get it collecting for charity!”
“Stop trying to jinx us, Jesus, what’s the matter with you! Let’s just get on with it. Follow me and keep your mouth shut alright?” Lisa snapped back.
            She started making her way down through the overgrown vegetation trying to avoid the nettles and suspecting that at the least the stories about the snakes would turn out to be true and hoped that it was one story that Shelly would have forgotten. The branches were clinging to every part of her, almost as though they were trying to stop them going any further towards the lights and the only scrap of humanity in the surrounding hills. On they went, closer and closer to the village. Creeping on through the darkness they approached a broken-down burnt out cottage and took a closer look at what looked like a guard peering out into the wilderness.
            “Why they got a bloody guard if it’s just a normal village, huh?” Shelly hissed in her ear.
            “How should I know? Do I look like I got the answers to everything?” Lisa growled, “ Do you really think if I did, we’d be sat here crawling through all this crap in the middle of nowhere?” She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair wearily. “Look, maybe you should stay here, yea? The last thing I need is you freaking out on me and us getting caught!”
Shelly’s face was unreadable but Lisa knew that her fright was only out of concern and she appreciated that. God knows we’ve been through enough together Lisa thought, but I got us into this mess and I need the money to get us out of it again.
            “Shells, if there was another way I’d do it, but I gotta pay off the debts somehow and this is the only way to get money - unless you want us to go back to walking the streets again?” She said more softly this time.
            Shelly only breathed in slowly and said nothing. Lisa knew that she didn’t want to do that again, neither of them did. She also knew that without the money from this haul they’d both be dead as soon as they set foot into any town within 50 miles of them. Their debtors had a lot of influence around here.
She was about to start moving closer into the village when Shelly spoke up. She sounded tired and drained as though this was last thing she was going to say and was fed up of repeating herself.
            “What if they catch us and call the cops? You wanna go back to jail again Lise?”
            No, that’s the last thing I want Lisa thought and I don’t even want to think about them calling the cops but all she said was “That ain’t gonna happen, trust me.”
Finally they moved on, around the very edge of the houses further into the village. They crept closer to what Lisa had assumed to be the main house as it was bigger than the rest and appeared to be one of the only ones with any life in it. That one and the Church had the only lights that they could see piercing the darkness around them. Lisa had a feeling that they were both trying to ignore the feeling of foreboding that was all around them, as they got further in.
Ever so quietly they came to the basement window of the biggest house and Lisa withdrew her knife from her pocket and started scoring the edges of the windowpane. She had learned from years of experience that people never took too much care around here in looking after the up-keep of their houses, which had benefited her in that the windows and doors were always weakened from years of neglect. The putty around the glass came off very easily after scraping it a couple of times and she carefully removed the glass.
            “Alright, we’re in” She whispered to the dark form beside her. “Stop looking like that Shell, I swear I’ve never seen you so worried”
            Shelly didn’t say anything but just nodded and gestured to Lisa to hurry up and get it over with. Lisa lowered herself into the basement of the house and turned back to get Shelly to follow her. Shelly shook her head.
            “I’ll wait behind that other house, you’re quieter without me.” She said. Her voice seemed so thin, so quiet that Lisa barely heard her. “I’ll be fine, please just hurry. I got a really bad feeling about this place.”
            Before she could respond Shelly was creeping away into the shadows across the alleyway. Lisa took a deep breath and turned into the darkness of the cellar. They had heard plenty of stories in the neighbouring towns and that was why she’d ended up in a dark, dank cellar beneath some crumbling old house in a practically abandoned village. Aside from the stories of ghosts and evil spirits, they’d also heard that the occupants of this place kept gold in a vault in this very cellar, and that’s what I’m doing creeping around here in the middle of the bloody night, Lisa thought. She put the flick knife back in the pocket of her jeans, pushed her dark hair away from her forehead and slowly and silently crept further into the darkness. The musty odour from the damp cellar was thick in her throat as she moved deeper and she tried to ignore the sensible voice in her head (which was usually Shelly) telling her to get out as quick as she could.
            The silence was oppressing and it suddenly occurred to Lisa that she could honestly say that she hadn’t heard a sound, except their own voices, since they had sat in the hills, not even a bird’s call. It was so quiet that she felt like she had gone deaf. Lisa turned her gaze from side to side trying to make out the shapes in the gloom. The only sound in the shadows was her own shaky breath. She didn’t even hear the man creeping behind her. Her scream was stifled when he suddenly clasped a hand over her mouth and placed a gleaming, ice-cold blade to her neck.
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Into the Darkness