NO HAPPY ENDINGS (PT 3) A FANTASY STORY FOR YOUR SOUL
I gasped but the air was caught in my throat. Fear gripped me but all I felt was my nostrils flare.
Was I bleeding? I looked at my hands which were smeared with crimson.
“Father Andrea!” I walked up to him, “Is this blood?”
He nodded grimly, his own nose now trickling with red.
“Yes, child, we’re all bleeding”, Mr. Willow Baker intercepted rocking gently in his chair with a confident smile that spread across his face. “This is Tyban’s way of weakening us.”
I lunged at him but Father Andrea held me back. The Willows deserved to die although I wouldn’t be the one to kill them. Not yet.
Night descended like a shroud and I pondered on who to trust.
Mrs. Willow’s laughter sent shivers down my spine. “No one is getting out alive.”
Her son however sprang up, a blade glinting in his hand. “No, Mother. You are the only one going.”
He dragged her furiously by the hair, his eyes wild with grief. “You……You’re the cause of all this!”
Father Andrea hesitated, unsure of who to protect. Mr. Willow on the other hand sipped his tea forgetful of the chaos.
But then a shadow loomed behind Marcus. “Tyban,” he roared, “come get your food!”
The demon emerged wearing Mr. Maverick’s face, his twisted form and unnatural flexibility betrayed by his true nature.
I watched in horror as Mrs. Willow begged for mercy but Mr. Maverick’s slow, bloodied last words revealed the truth: “Behind you…”
Marcus realized too late that Tyban had infiltrated the cabin.
“Don’t shut the door!” he yelled to me but it was too late.
Mr. Willow’s transformation began, his legs morphing into talons, “You belong to me Aurora.”
Father Andrea, my only line of defence was tossed aside like a rag doll, his entire face accompanied with trepidation. I tried to attack as well yet his uppercut sent two of my teeth flying.
As I stumbled back, Marcus rushed to my side, my vision blurring and I called to him as I would Sean.
Mrs. Willow cackled maniacally, still kneeling as Marcus then threw his knife with precision. But Tyban, now revealed in his true form caught the blade with a third unseen hand.
“Never have I really liked you Marcus,” he sneered, plunging the knife back into the soldier’s heart. “Sean’s meat tasted better.”
I was lifted onto Tyban’s shoulders, helpless and trapped as the creature’s hot breath washed over me. The darkness closed in, and I knew I was doomed.
“Marcus!” Father Andrea rushed to his side finally remembering the holy cross around his neck.
“Be gone you demon!” he held it up, his voice trembling. “The Lord rebukes you, Prince Beelzebub, go back to the abyss you came from!”
Tyban dropped me, his eyes squinting. “Prince? I am no prince and certainly I am no Beelzebub. I am Tyban, son of the skin thieves and I’ll add your terrible excuse of a face to my collection.”
The priest stood taller, his arrogance gaining strength. “The Lord our saviour rebukes you, Tyban!”
But Mr. Willow’s body began to inflate, fire erupting from his form. It was evident that the man of God was not fake.
Mrs. Willow Baker suddenly appeared behind him, her hands now dirty with mud. “Tyban is mine!” she spoke gutturally, swinging a club at Father Andrea’s head. “He belongs to me.”
I crawled away horrified but a spark of defiance ignited within me. Her hesitant refusal to back away from hitting the priest’s lifeless body left me with no other choice.
I miraculously found a match and grasped it tightly, my bloody hands shaking. “Either we all burn or I walk.”
I knew instinctively that the demon bled fuel from his shock but I was ready to spark off the flames regardless.
The temerity on me at such a point was flawless. What’s the worst that could happen Aurora?
But Tyban giggled lowly. “Why is death a thing everybody fears? Haven’t you heard that I have been killed once?”
