Valkyrie hugged herself tight, shivering as the cold winds hit her hard. Her gloved hands gripped the woolen fabric of her jacket, trying to grasp onto whatever warmth she had left, and she exhaled shakily, "It's freezing."

"Is it? I can't tell," Skullduggery chirped.

Valkyrie glared at him, "Shut up."

"I cannot," he titled his head, "I cannot bear to hear the sound of anyone else's voice."

"What about mine?"

"I can't hear you. Say that again?" Skulduggery said. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, and looked at the worn-down mansion in front of them. Dead vines wrapped around the exterior, and moss was enveloping the walls. A thin layer of snow covered every surface, and it would stay this way for a while, considering how high up they were. With what she could see from the outside, the architecture resembled a church.

Skulduggery began to lead Valkyrie around the estate, taking note of the torn walls. "Are you OK?" Skulduggery asked as they walked.

"I'm fine," Valkyrie said, "Why?"

"You're fidgeting," he pointed out. And she was; she had been toying with her coat button, and nervously tapping at the gun at her side.

Valkyrie shrugged, "I'm just a bit restless. That doesn't mean anything."

"You don't have to go in," Skulduggery warned, "If you do, what you see, and what you will have to do, will stay with you for a while."

"This is my job too. I should get used to this kind of thing," Valkyrie reasoned. Skulduggery nodded and said nothing, though it seemed to Valkyrie like there was something he wanted to say. She was about to add something else when Skulduggery stopped.

"What?" Valkyrie whispered.

Skulduggery pointed to one of the broken down walls, a small corner wall covered by tangled vines, and he said, "That's how we're going to get in."

"Why there? We've already passed plenty of openings."

"Because this one will lead us straight to the basement," Skulduggery explained, "Didn't you read the files?"

Valkyrie crossed her arms, "I scanned through them." She tried to sound calm and took a deep breath, anticipation bubbling inside of her. She knew that she wasn't prepared for the coming horrors, and her hands began to tremble; she pulled her jacket in tighter in an attempt to control them. But as they grew closer to the mansion, a horrid smell began to overwhelm her.

"It smells terrible," Valkyrie coughed as Skulduggery was pulling the vines away.

"Ladies first," he waved his hand, gesturing into the room. Valkyrie walked through, but the smell was so rank and the air so heavy, she felt nauseous. She pulled her jacket over her nose, and finally, Valkyrie looked around the room. People, dead and sick and barely alive, cluttered the room, and Valkyrie could feel throw-up rising in her throat. She wanted to get the hell out of there, away from the suffering and sickness. She took a step back, dizzy. Skulduggery was watching her.

Valkyrie didn't respond for a moment, still processing the scene around her. She felt a hand grip her ankle, and she instinctively kicked it, but as she looked down, there was a boy there, staring up at her. His eyes were glazed over and he was so skinny, you could see all of his ribs, and his stomach had caved in deeper than his hip bones. He was wrapped in a thin blanket, not nearly warm enough to sustain throughout the entire winter; it was coated in blood. Valkyrie leaned down and pulled away some of the sheet, revealing the rest of his upper body; it looked infected. Valkyrie's stomach flipped when she saw his arm.

Or lack thereof.

His arm was missing, and all that was left was the upper arm, covered in clumps of dried blood and messily cut skin. Valkyrie gasped.

While this was going on, Skulduggery had been across the room, and he was analyzing everything: studying the interior and talking to the living. Or at least, he spoke to the living who were lucky enough to be able to speak anymore. He walked up behind Valkyrie.

"Good news: The suspect was here. Bad news: he left months ago," he said.

Valkyrie did not look away from the boy, "...So this was pointless."

"Not entirely," Skulduggery assured her, "We should interview who we can- try to find a lead.

"Will anyone be okay?" Valkyrie asked weakly.

Skulduggery hesitated, "Yes. Some of them will be fine."

Valkyrie forced herself to look away from the boy; she knew he was going to die. She whispered, "Did you call for doctors?"

Skulduggery nodded, "They're on their way. Do you need to leave?"

"No, we should get to work," Valkyrie muttered, ignoring him. He stood there for a moment, watching her, and then decided he wouldn't get anywhere with her. Instead, he told her, "I'll be in the next room."

Valkyrie looked away. She stepped up to a middle aged man. He was covered in cuts and bruises, but he was conscious. He was most likely a newer victim and their suspect escaped before he could do any serious damage, Valkyrie discerned, ignoring the odd coloring of his skin and the large bumpy rashes that had formed, dismissing them as side-effects of the room's terrible conditions. She kneeled down to his level. He gazed up at her. "Are you going to kill me?" he breathed.

Valkyrie shook her head, and in as calm a voice as possible, she said, "I'm just going to ask you a few questions, if that's alright."

"Oh," his words were slurred, "Okay."

"What's your name?"

"Simon," he coughed.

"Okay. Simon, can you tell me how you got here?"

He looked up in thought, "I was homeless, but a sweet lady took me in, fed me and gave me a bed. I woke up here." Guiltily, Valkyrie thought this man naive.

"Can you describe the lady to me?" she continued, ignoring this intrusive thought. He coughed, a dry violent cough, and choked out, "B-blonde. She was blonde and short and small. She didn't look at all intimidating. I would never have guessed."

"Did she give you her name-" Valkyrie was interrupted when he coughed again, except this time, blood came pouring from the mouth. Valkyrie widened her eyes and yanked away, "What the hell?!"

The man, Simon, gasped as the blood began to choke him, and as Valkyrie reached over to help, he grabbed her and bit her, digging his teeth deep into her wrist, drawing blood. His eyes were crazed, nothing at all like they had been a moment ago. She kicked his face and rolled on top of him, but still he wouldn't let go. Valkyrie heard a gunshot go off in the next room as she twisted her legs around his waist and pulled him in a chokehold, but it didn't phase him in the least. He bit until he tore her skin and she cried out in pain. Her vision blurred and adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her heart was beating so fucking fast, it was blasting in her ears. One million thoughts swarmed her mind, and she couldn't commit to a single one. Simon reached for her gun, and even though her mind screamed No, don't kill him! Stop!, she grabbed the gun first, and she shot a bullet through his head.

Skulduggery ran in with his gun out, "Valkyrie?!" But all she could hear was her heartbeat.