2 To The Manor

They ran through the manor's garden while something chased them in the darkness.

"Did you see that thing?" Karla screamed. She was shaken, barely able to breathe. "What is that? What the fuck happened, Aaron?"

Sofia shook her head. "I only saw a shadow."

Aaron shot a look behind. "It's still coming! We have to find shelter. We're sitting ducks out here."

They were running along a tiled road that led to a tall fountain. Water flowed in a continuous jet, crimson red under the blood moon's light. Wide trees lined the road they were taking. They shook with the wind, and caused everyone's heads to turn every time they snapped.

A house stood tall behind the fountain. 'The witch's manor,' Aaron thought as he ran at full speed.

The trees beside the fountain shook. Aaron slowed his pace and held the girls from the shoulders. They turned to him, annoyed. He looked forward, his eyes wide with terror. The girls slowly followed his gaze. Sofia let out a gasp and took a step back.

Karla stared at the creature. "Oh God! We're gonna die!" she squealed.

Aaron squeezed his grip on her shoulder. "I'm not losing any more people!"

Before them, bathed in the moon's red hues, stood a beast twice the size of an elephant. Its silver fur had shades of red all over. It had the body of a wolf, and the head of a goat; a terrible looking goat with a long muzzle, and jaws lined with sharp looking canines. It had two fuzzy tails, which bobbed left and right in anticipation.

Aaron squeezed his bracelet. Death was staring them in the eyes, he knew it. 'I'm not losing anymore people!'

"I'll get its attention, you two head for the house," he said.

"No way! We're not leaving you out here!" Sofia said.

Aaron turned to her, his eyes welling up. "I'm not losing any more of my family! Go! I'm not the school's track champion for nothing. I can outrun it between the trees."

He turned to Karla. She buried her head in her hands and silently sobbed. "Karla!" He shook her. "Karla, do you hear me?"

"We're dead! It's gonna eat us, just like it did poor Petey…" She collapsed on her knees and sobbed louder.

The beast growled at them and scratched the ground with its gigantic claws.

Aaron turned to Sofia. "Help her to her feet and get out of here."

Sofia looked at him. He couldn't allow himself to stare too long in her eyes. He saw fear in them. He couldn't let it control him, not again.

"Now!" he screamed.

Sofia shook herself up to motion. She supported Karla by her elbow and helped her up.

"On my signal, you run into the trees and head for the house," he screamed.

Sofia nodded. Karla still sobbed.

He squeezed the bracelet harder. 'Please, let this work out,' he thought as he stared at the beast. It bared its sharp fangs at him. It shook its body then leapt forward.

"Go!" Aaron screamed.

As Sofia and Karla disappeared into the trees, Aaron met the beast halfway. He slid down the tiled ground as the beast swung a sharp claw at his face. It missed him by a hair's width as the motion carried him forward. The tiles weren't slippery enough, however, he found himself lying on his back right below the beast's belly.

His heart raced. 'Fuck me!'

The beast sniffed the air then looked between its legs. Its eyes quickly found Aaron. He was looking at the girls, who had just reached the house. The beast thrashed with its back legs, trying to pummel him to the ground.

He rolled away from the beast, whose claws missed his neck and stomach on two close calls. The third close call nicked him in the leg, leaving a long gash drizzling with blood. He quickly scrambled up to his feet as soon as he got away from the beast's range. Then he headed for the trees.

The beast howled then went after him, shaking the ground with every step. As Aaron expected, it was easier for him to zigzag through the trees while the beast struggled with their wide trunks. His legs couldn't carry him long, however, as the adrenaline rush began to fade. It sent jolts of electricity through his body with every step.

'I have to find cover and bandage this,' he thought as he looked over his shoulder for the beast. He found a wide tree deeper into the garden and leaned against it. He ripped off his shirt and began rolling it around the wound.

The beast howled again. Aaron's heart sank. It sounded very close. 'At this rate, I won't be able to outrun it.' He rubbed at his bracelet again, drawing strength from it.

"You're my only family," a voice he tried so hard to push away came to him.

His eyes snapped open. 'That voice… It can't be!' Aaron thought as he looked around.

Then he heard her laugh. "Come play with me," she said.

His heart began racing. He couldn't believe it. It was her voice, loud and clear. He shook his head. 'I must be hallucinating. This is not real! This is not real!'

"Come on Arry, you never say no to hide and seek," she said again.

He jumped to his feet, adrenaline fueling him. "Where are you?" he screamed. "Show yourself! This is not funny!"

A strong hand gripped his shoulder. Aaron turned around, ready to scream, when Sofia put her hand on his mouth. "Shh! It will find us."

Aaron's eyes widened. "Sofia, what are you doing here?"

"You're not the only one who thinks of this group as family. Now, get your shit together and let's get out of here!"

Aaron nodded. "Let's go!"

"Follow me, I know the way," Sofia said.

She ran forward and Aaron followed after her. They ran by the shadow of the trees, hitting branches and cracking twigs. The beast roared behind them, and the ground shook.

"Just a little further," Sofia screamed over her shoulder.

"Keep running even if your legs refuse to," Aaron called back.

Sofia pointed forward. "There, you see the clearing? There's a road ahead. It's closer."

They quickly reached the clearing and followed the road. Trees stood behind them, the big fountain still glowed blood red to their left. Aaron noticed a barn far to his right. A faint light glowed in one of the windows on the upper floor. A silhouette stood by, watching them.

He didn't have time to register what was happening, for branches and twigs behind them began snapping at an alarming speed.

Aaron looked back and his stomach sank. "Are we close yet?" he screamed at Sofia.

"Keep running!" Sofia said.

The beast leapt out of the shadows of the trees, a jumble of leaves and twigs flying behind it. It landed nimbly on four legs then immediately bounded and continued its pursuit.

"There!" Sofia pointed at a set of stairs to their left. They led to the house's basement.

She took a sharp turn and jumped down the stairs as the beast got closer to Aaron. His injured leg complained with every step. Yet he ran, harder and faster than he ever had.

He reached the stairs and saw the door. Sofia held it open for him, screaming for him to jump down. Aaron looked toward the beast. He saw a shadow fly toward him. Then his feet left the ground. He smashed against a solid surface, then gravity pulled him down.

He fell, and the pain in his leg reached an unprecedented level. He screamed at the top of his lungs while a hand struggled to clasp around his torn clothes. He looked back to see Sofia, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her lips moved but he couldn't hear her.

He frowned and focused harder. "Get in!" her voice finally exploded into his ears.

She was pulling him with all her might. He looked up to see the wall he crashed against, then followed the stairs before him to finally see the beast, growling and baring its fangs at him. It tried to strike with its claws but they were too big to get into the staircase. They hit the metallic railings and shook them so violently they threatened to break any second.

"Aaron, what are you doing?" Sofia asked as she pulled him even harder.

He snapped out of it and willed his limbs to move. On his hands and knees, Aaron crawled inside the house as the beast destroyed the railing. Sofia slammed the door shut then slumped down the floor.

"We did it!" Aaron said, ecstatic.

He turned to Sofia, who was staring at the ceiling, horrified.

A drop hit his brow, and he immediately wiped it with his back hand. "Wait a minute, why would it rain…" he trailed off. The expression of horror in Sofia's face said it all. He looked at his hand, now smeared in blood, barely visible in the basement's semi darkness.

He knew what he was about to see before he looked. Yet, he wished with every second his head turned toward the ceiling, that his suspicion was wrong.

When he saw her, something broke inside him.

"No, no, no, no! Karla, oh sweet Karla, what happened to you?" Sofia said in low whispers. She sat against the door in a fetal position, whispering to herself.

Aaron couldn't accept what his eyes were showing him. "Who did this?" he looked around, rage boiling inside him. "Who the fuck did this? Show yourself!"

Blood still dripped from the ceiling, where Karla's body was torn apart, cut in pieces. Each body part was nailed to the ceiling individually, forming, as a whole, an inverted pentagram