Strangely She Feels At Home In This Place

Now Hannah wasn't a stupid kid. Reckless, Maybe, but definitely not stupid.
However, her most recent decision was one hundred percent stupid.

Researching cryptids was a passing hobby, a miniature hyperfixation of the rosy

cheeked girl. Curiosity struck her like lightning when she’d overheard rumors that
there's been sightings from civilians of supernatural beings somewhere in the
surrounding forest.

What interested her the most, and caused her the most suspicion, was when the
more insistent people had begun to disappear.

Hannah couldn't even believe her eyes nor luck when she spotted another one of
the louder conspiracy theorists being chucked into the back of a van by a bunch of
strangers in suits.

If you were going to kidnap someone in a small worn down town, why stick out like
a sore thumb and wear suits?
It had been a stupid desicion to follow the van, and it had been an even stupider
decision to continue to follow said van, even after it entered the woods, which
many claimed to be haunted.

She hid behind a tree as she watched the van enter a gated area in a clearing.
Noting down the location on her phone, she mulled over the idea in her head a
little longer.

This wasn't a good idea.

She hopped the fence anyways.

To be fair, the place wasn't exactly well guarded, only spotting a few further down
the path. She opted instead to smash a window to get inside.

That was stupid.

The alarm went off, she should run.

Hannah clambered inside the building through the broken window.

She should run away.

She started running down the hall when she heard voices come close. Unsure of
what she was even looking for she skidded to a halt, diving into the closest room.

She spotted a circuit breaker at the corner of the room, grabbing the nearest hard
object and smashing it.

The lights went out, and the alarm shut off.

After a few moments of pure silence, Hannah tried opening the door, only to
realize that there was no handle.

It was an electric door, and Hannah had cut out the electricity.
She’s screwed.

Instead of panicking immediately, she looked around the room. It looked to be

some observation deck, with a railing that looked down to lower levels. At the very
far end of the room were 3 glass windows, large and dark due to the power outage.

Okay, now time to panic.

She bit at her fingernails, the other hand scratching down hard into his skin until
she drew blood

A noise came from beyond one of the glass barriers. Hannah froze, not even
realizing how much she was shaking.

"Humans don't usually come here when the light goes out." A voice murmured.

"Small. Young." Another voice with a much thicker accent replied.

"She's just a little kid Oh, and she looks so scared." Older, without any accent
discernible to Hannah. At least not yet.

Hannah was terrified, yes, but curiosity forced his body to move. This is what she
came here for, to learn about the strange and abnormal, to see the weird and
unpredictable.
She shakily walked down the stairs of the observation deck, now only a few feet
away from the glass. "Hello?" She rasps, half surprised at how terrified she
sounded.

A sigh could be heard from the middle. "Hello,kiddo. " The voice murmured gently.

"How… are…" she had too many questions, but said the first that came to mind. "Are
you trapped?"

A happy gasp was heard from the left, causing Tommy to jump. "Yes, little one, the
others of your kind locked us up." The middle spoke once again, drawing the girl's
attention.

"Why?" It was a childish question, of course there had to be a reason, but did she
really want to know what they had done?

"They couldn't understand us, so instead they tried to control the uncontrollable.
They hurt me and my family."

Hannah felt bad at hearing that, she didn't know much about cryptid families, since
not much is known about the creatures themselves, but it would be hard for
anyone to see their loved ones get hurt.

"Is…" this was the height of Hannah’s stupidity, "is there any way I can help, like
freeing you or something?"
The middle one sighed even softer than before. "Oh you're just a sweet little thing,
aren't you?"

Hannah frowned more, feeling awkward she decided to finally introduce himself.
"Uh… I'm Hannah, by the way. I realized I forgot to tell you."

"Hannah." the left voice laughed, a smile almost heard in her words alone.

"There's a key. In the bottom drawer of the main desk. Up there." A voice on the
right spoke, words being shaded thick with an accent. Irish, Hannah thought to
herself, realizing the familiarity in their voice.

The girl glanced up at the observation deck, before rising up onto shaky legs. She
didn't even remember sitting down in the first place.

She eventually made her way back up the stairs and found the drawer. But her life
decided to be difficult and it was locked. So logically, she did what most people
would do in his situation.

She threw the desk over the balcony of the observation deck, the flimsy thing
smashing when it hit the bottom. She barely acknowledged the laughs from behind
the glass as she rummaged through the debre, finally finding a large key.

Looking around she spotted a door near the left cell, she carefully walked over and
tried the key on the door. It unlocked.
It was shoved open as soon as Hannah pulled down the handle, causing the teen to
fall back, unable to stifle the cry of pain.

"Niki." The middle voice reprimanded. "Careful. Humans are already so naturally
fragile, imagine how delicate the children are?"

"Sorry." The soft reply came back, no longer muffled by the separation of glass.
Hesitantly, Hannah opened her eyes.

He came face to face with a girl slightly taller than herself. She had short hair in
the color of a deep pink. She would have seemed normal for the most part if it
weren’t for her skin, seemingly too pink and the peachy colored scales on her face.
From a distance Hannah supposes that they would look like freckles."Hello!" The
creature greeted gently, holding out her hand. Instead of taking it, Hannah handed
her the key.

The thing laughed gently, thanking her before ruffling her hair. "Stay put, alright
Hannah?" The creature murmured, glancing at her fondly

Hannah obeyed, despite the growing bundle of nerves in her chest.

The next person to be freed was the one in the middle. They were much taller than
Hannah herself, long curly hair with hints of various different colors and ears
similar to the ones of a sheep. The ram horns circling her ears seemed to shine in
the room despite the darkness that filled it. Plus, if that didn’t give it away, the
creature's outfit surely would have. She looked like a captain,not like a normal
captain but a captain of a pirate ship. Her soft brown eyes bore into hers.

Hannah unconsciously lowered herself, in an attempt to make her appear smaller.

"Hello, little one." The creature kneeled in front of her, with a soft smile.
"Hello…" Hannah whispered, wincing as a warm hand made its way into her head. To
her surprise the creature had given her a light pat on the head. Odd for sure but for
some reason it was slightly reassuring.

"It's so strange, how does a little thing like this become the scum in white coats
that roam this facility?"

Their voice was gentle, but held an underlying dangerous tone to it. Hannah was
afraid, but also relaxed at the same time, as the creature gently patted her head.

She heard the last door open, followed by the clicking of heels, causing her entire
body to stiffen. Before she could get a look at the last one, the ram pulled her into
their arms lifting her in a hug.

Hannah yelped in surprise, earning a soft chuckle from the creature holding her.
Looking over the ram’s shoulder, she saw the final cryptid.

A tall woman with dark long dark purple hair emerges. Black demon-like horns
visible in her hair, even in the darkness of the room. She had small black wings that
resembled the ones of a dragon. Hazel eyes met hers as she was given a sharp
toothed smile.
She remained in awe of the beings before her, until a loud banging was heard,
coming from the door.

Hannah’s heart dropped, the security guards were trying to get in. She struggled
slightly in the ram’s strong grip, but it didn't seem to bother them. "Hush, little one.
You're safe with us." They assured her, not letting her go much to her dismay.

"She’s scared of the scum too… poor thing, ran in her heart racing and exhausted.
I’m sure they are the ones responsible for little Hannah’s state " The soft voice
called from behind her, she couldn't turn around due to how the ram was holding
him.

"Who… What are your names-?" Hannah asked with a hint of confidence in her
anxious form.

"Oh-! How rude of me, we didn't even introduce ourselves." The creature holding
her pulled back slightly, making direct eye contact with the teen. "My name is Cara.
These two are my sisters, Becca-" they gestured at the taller who responded with a
nod, "and Niki" they glanced at the shorter with pink hair returning her look with a
smile.

"Nice to meet you… I'm Hannah."

Her words earned soft laughter from two of them, and a snort of amusement from
the demon. "I know, little one, you already told us." Cara’s voice sounded fond, kind
and gentle.
The banging grew louder, and Hannah let out an unintentional gasp. Hannah tucked
her back in a hug, effectively blocking her view and keeping her secured in Cara’s
arms.

A gentle hum came from Niki’s direction, calming and relaxing. She almost didn't
hear the door break down, an army of footsteps entering the room.

The hums grew in pitch, and her eyes felt heavy.

She didn't notice the screaming around her from the people that ran in, only mildly
acknowledging the soft words from Cara.

She didn't notice the wet squelches of heavy things falling to the floor, nor the
voices overhead. Didn't acknowledge the sharp scent of blood and tapping of feet
in the corridor.

By the time she realized that they were walking, they were already heading out of
the facility.

"The humans don't deserve to keep this little one, she’s clearly not taken care of."
She heard Cara talking, but she couldn't focus on the words.

“She’s much too light, clearly underfed.” Niki responds looking at Hannah. “I’ll get
to baking when we get back home.”

"Let's go already. This place reeks of humans." A voice muttered above her, it
must've been Becca, judging by the accent. She looked down at Hannah with a
smile,”Not you, you’re like a rose compared to other humans.”
With an affectionate ruffle of her hair as Cara placed her down, Becca and Niki
were quick to support the girl as they began to walk after Cara, as the eldest sister
led them home.

Behind them sat a now abandoned facility, blood splattered across the walls and
corpses on the floor where many laid.That was the last anyone had seen or heard
of the cryptids, the girl is presumed to be dead. Among the wreckage of the
foundation, one thing lives. A single rose, red as blood.