The Maid and the Box 2

The box slid itself somehow on the floor again, crashing itself against the wall.

An aghast Fang's hot and heavy breath escaped through the openings in his hands. It was made clear to him that he had to do something fast.

The box moved back from the wall before stopping itself as if preparing to run into it once again.

"Damn it...! I have to get over there and stop it myself!"

As quietly as he could, Fang twisted his body so it'd be in the direction of the box.

The maid looked around the room frantically. She had heard the crashing noise, causing her to become just a tiny bit anxious. "Is anyone there?"

Fang began crawling agilely toward the box. The dust collected on his hands from touching the ground was making it harder to move, but he rubbed it off with his legs.

"Did it come from under here I wonder?"

A pretty girl with glasses and short green hair was suddenly bending over on the ground, looking under the bed with a peculiar expression. The maid was searching the left side under the bed, staring at the box.

A stunned expression appeared on Fang's face. He had managed to luck out and wasn't within the maid's field of vision. Frozen in fear, he could only watch as the green-haired maid kept watch on the box.

The box moved again, but to the surprise of Fang, it slid from out under the bed and at the green-haired maid.

"KYAAAAAAA!" The green-haired maid screamed. Her body whipped back from the surprise of the supernatural box and a horrified look appeared on her face. She fell down on her back and kicked her feet against the ground, pushing herself as far away from the box as possible.

Inching closer and closer to her slowly, the box was approaching the green-haired maid. And, now that it was within the rays of light emitted by the sun through the window, its tattered and filthy appearance became clear. On top of the box centered was a small image of a red being with horns.

In Fang's head, any suspicion at all of him being under the bed was gone. After all, the maid was too occupied dealing with the box.

It was the best in Fang's favor to take advantage of the current situation and leave while he still had the chance. The bottom of his feet faced the panicking maid and he began to travel slowly to the other side of the bed.

"Getting to the door and leaving the room should be my first priority... If I'm fast enough, I can leave without being noticed..."

The wails of the maid grew louder and more apparent by the second. Was it really that terrifying? A moving box?

To the maid in distress, yes.

"Get away from me!" The maid shouted, crawling back on the floor.

The box had sensed the maid's mana oozing out of her. That was the reason why it didn't approach Fang, and the reason it distanced itself.

The box was shaking violently, causing itself to jump short heights into the air. It began its way toward the maid, moving in between her open legs.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!"

Another scream of distress came out of the maid's mouth once again. There wasn't much thought in her head besides "Ghost! There's a Ghost!" or "Someone, save me!"

Hearing the screams of a young lady made Fang feel a little uncomfortable. As much as he wanted to help, his sudden appearance probably wouldn't have eased her feelings much. In fact, they most likely would've made them feel worse.

"Sorry, but I have other things to worry about as well-"

The green-haired maid stuck her hand out in front of her, pointing it at the box. She opened her mouth.

"Ember of Flame!"

Red and orange threads of magic appeared out of thin air, before traveling into the palm of the green-haired maid. The threads of magic came together, creating a brilliant orange light. It grew larger and larger as more threads of magic came to fuel it. It was then that the combined threads of orange magic became a blazing ball of fire, ready to be released.

"Take this, demonic piece of wood!"

The maid's arm recoiled up as she released the fireball from her palm.

Direct shot. The box was sent flying a short distance away from the maid, hitting the side of the bed before falling onto the ground. It was on fire and smoking.

Fang felt a warm sensation by his feet. He turned his head around and noticed the smoking box.

"That girl is using magic on the box...?!"

Fang for whatever reason had a strange feeling from the fire magic. The warm feeling similar to sitting behind a fire on a cold night that was against his feet reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Another ear-piercing shriek came from the maid again. She quickly got to her knees before finally standing up, and began making a dash toward the door.

Fang heard footsteps going around the bed and stopped his crawling. He watched in front of him with a dissatisfied expression as the maid ran toward the door.

"Damn it... I couldn't make it on time...!"

The maid finally reached the door. The doorknob was just in front of her. As she stuck out her arm and reached her hand to grab it, she felt the scorching touch of someone or something's hand taking hold of her right ankle.

"What the- Where did that hand come from!?"

Fang watched the maid in apprehension. The box quickly caught up to her after being shot. There was a hole in it from the impact of the magic, and a long devilish arm came out from it. It had grabbed the green-haired maid's ankle.

The box's long devilish arm firmed its grip before pulling back, causing the green-haired maid to fall face-first on the ground.

The maid fell face first on the ground. It created a loud noise that shook the floor. Fang looked away, cringing at how she must have felt.

Fang looked back up to see what was happening. His face grew in horror as he realized the magnitude of the situation. The green-haired maid was turned to Fang.

The box kept its hold on the maid's ankle. Her nose was bleeding, and her eyes were half open but unresponsive.

The box slowly retracted its long hand, dragging the weak maid's vulnerable body to itself.

"Uuueeehhhh..." the maid groaned painfully. A tear leaked out of one of her eyes.

Fang, although worried at first from what looked like the maid staring at him, watched in displeasure as she was being dragged like a child's toy. At first, he didn't feel bad for leaving her with the box, because he thought the maid was able to take care of it herself. This idea of her being able to handle it on her own was even more solidified in his head when she casted a fireball, causing damage to the mysterious box. But he couldn't have been any more wrong, especially after witnessing the humiliation that was in front of him.

"I need to save her..." Fang whispered, clenching his fist. He had a suspicion that whatever was in that box controlling the hand was going to do horrific things to the maid.

He quickly put his hands over his mouth, surprised at himself for suddenly speaking.

"What am I saying...?! I managed to get lucky and ended up not being in the maid's position... I shouldn't be pushing my luck. I need to get out of here while the option is still available!"

Something else in his mind was pushing him, telling him that he needed to save her.

"What would mother tell me to do in this situation...?"

Fang often sought the guidance of his mother, albeit she was already long gone and living amongst the stars. Fang's mother was the only person who knew him down to the core, and Fang remembered even the smallest details about her. She was a kind and forgiving person, contrasting from many other Ceruleans. In a way, to him, he felt as though she was always nearby, advising him on what to do.

The box's hand continued to slowly drag the maid's body against the floor and to it. It was having a hard time pulling the weight of a human, but was still closing a dangerous amount of distance worth worrying over.

"If mother was here with me right now..."

Fang's body began to move forward again, this time on its own. He looked at the green-haired maid and felt a rush through his body. "If mother was with me right now, she'd tell me to fight..."

The green-haired maid suddenly regained some of her consciousness. Her eyes fluttered, slowly opening. She finally noticed Fang and stared at him cluelessly. She thought nobody else was in the room. There was no time for questioning the trivial things, however. With a tiny breath, she muttered to the stranger.

"Please... Save me..."

Pressure began to crunch down on Fang. His mother's words had taken over him and he finally got out from under the bed.

SNAP-

The abrupt sound of wood breaking echoed across the room.

The filthy and tattered box looked as though it was starting to break. Its wooden sides began forcefully push outwards—bending.

The thing in the box was trying to escape.