Chiduka's grasp on Tjasa's arm brought her out of her frozen disbelief. This felt too real to be a dream... She had to get to Papa. He would make everything better. He always had always kept her safe before, surely he would not fail her now. A part of her knew that her father was only a man, a good man, but still just a man, no more equipped to deal with impossible nightmares than any other man, but she refused to acknowledge it. Papa had always meant security, he had driven the monsters under her bed away as a child, and held her while she cried after Mama passed. She allowed Chiduka to pull her through the snow towards the tavern, moving as fast as she could.

As they drew closer to where she knew the tavern should be, Tjasa looked for the light spilling out of the windows. She realized that they weren't going to make it before the darkness overcame them, and struggled to move even faster. Terror making her clumsy, she tripped and fell headfirst into a deep snow bank, breaking Chiduka's grip on her arm. Before she could even get her breath back, she heard the cacophony of screams, animal and otherwise, begin. Instinctively, she huddled deeper in to the snow, curling herself into a tight ball.

She managed to keep herself from screaming, but only just. She prayed to her ancestors that the monstrous owners of the malicious eyes she had seen in the darkness would not see her. She begged her mother especially not to abandon her, to keep her out of harm's way. After what seemed an eternity, the screams slowed, then stopped all together. She didn't move for another eternity, unsure if the evil spirits were truly gone, or if they had simply run out of things to kill.

When she did finally poke her head out of the snow, she was horrified by what she saw. She glanced to where Chiduka had last been, and after assuring herself that she was not among the dead, she stood and ran the rest of the way to the tavern, desperate for the comfort of her Papa's arms around her. She struggled to push open the door, and almost threw up when she realized that it was an body, made unrecognizable by the lack of a face, that was holding the door closed. She forced herself not to stop tears freezing on her face, and managed to open the door enough to squeeze in. "Papa?" she called, looking around, finally recognizing the winter cloak she had lovingly embroidered for him, near the fireplace. She hurriedly made her way over, pushing past the well meaning arms of Radislav, one of her father's few close friends, as he reached to stop her.

"Papa?" she said, hoping against hope that she would get a response. When none was forthcoming, she knelt and turned him over. She screamed, realizing that were his heart should be, there was only a gaping hole.