Elias stands in the corner of the foyer, clutching a small pouch of salt that Mara gave him before they left the farmhouse. His small hands tremble with a mix of excitement and fear because this is his first time joining his parents on a hunt, even if only to observe.
Raised in the Kansas farmhouse, Elias has grown up with the sound of creaking floorboards and constant talk about monsters, but this is the first time he is leaving the safety of the salt lines and wards.
Mara explained during the short drive that they were investigating a ghost linked to disturbances in the house: flickering lights, whispers at night, and a local teenager scratched by an unseen force two weeks ago.
"Stay quiet and watch, Elias," Mara said, her voice firm yet gentle as she focused on the task ahead.
"This is how you learn." Elias nods, moving back into the corner while his eyes take in every detail, the shifting shadows, the careful way Daniel lays down salt lines. He has seen this many times at home but now understands it in a new light.
Daniel sets up salt lines across the doorways and windows with steady precision, a routine he has followed for years. He glances at Elias and says in a low, firm voice, "Don't cross the lines, kid. Salt keeps the bad things out." Elias nods quickly and tightens his grip on the salt pouch, determined to follow the rules he has learned and to understand the importance of preparation in the hunter's work.
Mara works with focused intensity, her EMF detector humming as she moves it across the room. The device lights up near a staircase leading to the second floor, its needle jumping erratically, and Elias watches with wide eyes. He has seen the detector used at home, but never like this.
"Upstairs," Mara instructs Daniel, her voice steady and focused.
Daniel nods and grabs an iron poker from his duffel bag, his movements calm yet alert. Elias's heart beats faster as he follows his parents up the creaking stairs, staying a few steps behind as he is told. His small boots make soft sounds on the worn wood as he climbs.
The air grows colder with each step, and his breath becomes visible in the dim light of the lantern Daniel carries. Elias watches the details, the cobwebs in the corners, the faint smell of decay, as he learns what a hunt looks like beyond the stories he has heard.
At the top of the stairs, a long hallway stretches into darkness with doors on either side. Elias stays close to his parents, his body tense with anticipation. Mara's EMF detector spikes near a small bedroom at the end of the hall, its door slightly open, and the air becomes even colder. The silence is filled with expectation.
Inside, the room is in disarray: shattered furniture, a cracked mirror on the wall, and a faint scorch mark on the floor. Mara kneels, runs her fingers over the scorch mark, and retrieves a charred photograph from under a broken chair. The photo shows a woman in a 1950s dress, her face partially burned, but her eyes are clear and focused. Elias feels a chill as he begins to understand the reality of the supernatural, a reality he has been raised to face but is only now beginning to comprehend.
"We got a tip from a hunter friend to check for fire-related deaths," Mara explains. "Ghosts like this hold onto the memory of what killed them." She glances at Daniel, who nods as he scans the room for any movement.
Daniel sets the photograph on the floor and sprinkles salt around it, preparing to burn it. Mara quietly recites a protective chant, her hands steady despite the cold. Elias watches, pressed against the wall, the salt pouch clutched tightly in his hand, absorbing every step: the salt, the chant, the careful preparation. These are lessons that will shape him into a hunter.
Suddenly, the air shifts and the temperature drops as a low wail echoes through the house. The ghost appears, a flickering woman in a tattered dress with a half-burned face and hollow, angry eyes.