Abandoned Castle
1881 Words
My head... it hurt so much.
It felt like thousands of needles stabbing my head, sticking strong there, not wanting to let go. Slowly, I started to regain consciousness, realizing that I was lying on the cold ground with a hint of warmth on my skin—maybe they were lighting a campfire?
Or perhaps, they wanted to burn me to make me their dinner?
No, I didn't want that. Almost half of my awareness had returned, and I might be able to escape from here by exploiting a gap. I moved my fingertips slowly, relieved that they didn't break any of my bones or leave me disabled. They must have kidnapped me for money because the only positive aspect of my family is the amount of money.
"Hey, I know you've already woken up. Can you stop pretending?"
My heart raced as I heard the voice. I pretended not to hear and kept my eyes closed, hoping it would pass soon—when suddenly, a cold iron pressed against my cheek, sending shivers throughout my body.
"Still refusing to wake up?"
Suddenly, I opened my eyes and stepped backward. I was really surprised when someone pointed the tip of a knife at my cheek. I wanted to escape, but I couldn't because my back hit a tree trunk, blocking my way.
Automatically, I stared at the figure with a cautious and suspicious look.
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me? Are you from another pack? Or did you kidnap me for money–"
"For God's sake, shut up, wolf."
"Huh?"
The figure turned towards me and looked at me with an annoyed expression. His pupils were green, shining in the darkness like jade stones bathed in moonlight. Wait a minute, weren't both of my kidnappers earlier glowing with red eyes?
Shortly after, I noticed two figures lying unconscious by the bonfire, making me realize that the person in front of me this time wasn't one of my kidnappers earlier... so, who is he?
"Why did you help me?"
"What?"
The man in all-black turned towards me, wiping his blood-stained knife, almost pitch black, making me involuntarily swallow hard. Would I end up like them? Stabbed and left to die, drained of blood?
I pointed at my nearly lifeless kidnappers. "Them, you attacked them. They were trying to kidnap me."
"I know," replied the mysterious man.
"What?" I furrowed my brow in confusion, but the man said nothing more. He stood up, dragging the two dying men with him as he walked past me.
Even though I couldn't see the man's face clearly due to his mask, I could tell he was wearing a thin smirk.
"Because initially, I wanted to hunt you down. But you're pretty lucky today, Miss Wolf."
"Goodbye."
His words felt like a real threat to me. I couldn't retort or move an inch as he walked away from me.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe tonight, luck was on my side, and I wasn't the one he targeted.
Even so, I didn't know if I was truly lucky or if my fate to die hadn't arrived yet.
*
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Panting heavily, I caught my breath, leaning against a big tree in the woods. My heart raced, and cold sweat rolled down my face. I didn't care about my dirty dress – it was stained from stepping in puddles. Fear crossed my face as I bit my thumb.
"Why's it going so wrong?" I wondered aloud, not sure who I was talking to, but my eyes showed things were not okay.
It all began with my hasty decision to run away from home. I left a note for my folks, saying I was off to the family villa down south. I didn't want to face the shame of being a failed Luna. But my plan to escape went south when I got kidnapped. My kidnapper got killed by a werewolf hunter, and there I was, left alone in the middle of this wild forest.
Damn it. I should've just gone with them. Whether I ended up dead or not, at least I'd have a place to sleep and could die somewhere cozy – not on wet grass and cold dirt in the middle of this forest.
"Grrrrrr, grrrrrr."
"Sh*t," I cursed, peeking behind the tree. Two hyenas were sniffing around, looking fierce like they were ready to hunt.
I was their target.
Not long after being left alone, I tried to walk back when I accidentally ran into those two Hyenas. They were tearing apart their prey, and then they turned to chase me until now.
I had been trying to escape from the two hyenas since two hours ago, hiding behind the tree due to exhaustion from running out of energy. Now I was clueless about how to get rid of those two Hyenas. My mom warned me that Hyenas were ruthless creatures, enjoying hunting and slowly killing their enemies, relishing in the screams and roars of their victims until they were on the brink of death before devouring them alive.
I wasn't about to go up against such cruel creatures.
"I need to seek help, but where?" I couldn't recall any werewolf pack territory in the area, as the entire Forks region had been marked as Eclipse territory.
"Grrrrr!"
I nearly jumped at the sudden growl, growing louder. I couldn't just stay silent like this, or I'd end up as the Hyenas' dinner. Focusing my remaining strength, I began transforming into my werewolf form. My werewolf form was slender and silver, with a long, trailing tail and a thick mane around my neck. The most striking feature was my eyes, ruby-colored, especially when touched by the moonlight. Luckily, tonight the moon shone without hindrance from clouds, giving me extra energy to escape.
I had no intention of fighting the Hyenas. I would surely lose considering their numbers, and I wasn't a fighter werewolf to begin with; I was trained to use my brain, not strength.
"I have to run now!"
"Grrrrrr!" The two Hyenas heard the noisy sound and the rustling leaves from the south and immediately chased after the source of the noise. I glanced back and saw the Hyenas getting closer.
"Darn it, darn it, darn it!"
Sla-sh!
"Aaaaah!"
A scream burst from my lips when a hyena's claw dug into my thigh. Pain shot through me like lightning, intense and immediate. I felt my own blood warming my skin as the sharp claws tore through it. The pain left a clear, stinging mark—a harsh reminder of the danger I was facing.
Even with the intense pain, I had no option but to run.
"Come on, Bella, hurry!" I whispered to myself, feeling the rush in my thoughts. Each step was like a battle with my own body. My heart raced as I ran through the dense bushes, the thump-thump drowning out the growls of those fierce hunters right behind me.
"GRRRR!"
"I can't let them catch me," I said through gritted teeth, the need to keep moving pushing me onward. My body didn't agree with every step, but I couldn't afford to slow down. The hyenas' menacing sounds persisted, a constant reminder that the chase wasn't done.
While dashing through the thick trees, I stumbled upon a weird place, gave me the creeps. An old, dark castle stood there. The air felt heavy, and my instincts told me something wasn't right about it.
"Should I go in there?" I wondered, eyeing the abandoned castle in the middle of the forest. Doubt gnawed at me, but with the hyenas on my tail, I did not have much of a choice.
I ran toward the castle gate and jumped into one of the opened windows.
The castle's shadow hung over me, and as I cautiously stepped inside, the creaking window panels adding to the eerie silence, my heart raced.
"This place really gives me creeps," I mumbled to myself. The air inside felt stagnant, and the deserted halls echoed with a sense of abandonment. Doubt lingered, but fear pushed me to find a safe place within the crumbling castle walls
"I hope this works," I thought, trying to steady my breathing as I waited for the hyenas to pass.
"Grrrrrr."
It was the Hyenas. They were also coming this way. I had to turn into my normal form and close my mouth using both hands to make sure I did not let out a sound that might attract them to come closer.
In the stillness of the castle, doubts continued to plague my mind as I glanced around and found the exact reason why this place was called 'abandoned castle.'
"Was this the right choice?" I questioned myself inside my mind. The unsettling ambiance inside the forsaken fortress made me uneasy, but it was a gamble I had to take.
".... grrrr."
The growls of the hyenas starting to fade made me sigh from relief. I could not help but smile from a little hope that the castle would shield me from the danger outside.
I peeked from behind the window and found no hyenas out there.
"Thank goodness they're gone," I muttered to myself, feeling the tension in my shoulders relax. I got up. I couldn't stick around here anymore because those hyenas might track me down later. I had to find a safer spot to sleep tonight before making my way south, the original place I wanted to go. That damned black-masked person took all my stuff, leaving me with nothing, not even spare clothes or food.
With careful steps, I explored the creepy castle that had shielded me from those nasty and bloodthirsty creatures. The walls were cracked, and dust twirled around in the faint light seeping through broken windows.
As I roamed through the empty halls, I eventually stumbled upon a room that felt kinda cozy, despite the castle falling apart. The bed, though worn out, looked comfortable, and the faded tapestries on the walls hinted that this room was suitable for sleeping.
"This will do," I muttered, my exhaustion overwhelming me, and now I was not in a circumstance where I could choose a chamber because it was not my house.
Collapsing onto the bed, I surrendered to the weariness that gripped me. I ignored the wound on my thigh and just wrapped it using a cloth obtained from tearing my dress. As I drifted into a deep slumber, I did not know a mysterious figure suddenly entered the room through the window, even though this room was on the third floor of the castle tower.
That man was startled upon discovering a stranger peacefully sleeping on his bed. He wore a full black outfit with some blood trails on it.
"Well, well, well. Who's this?" the voice questioned, a mixture of surprise and a wicked tone. He walked to his chamber and sat down, while running his big and veiny fingers through her hair. He examined the girl's face, who slept like a dead mouse in his private domain.
He grinned a little as he clenched his fist, still gripping her lustrous hair.
"Hmmm. It seems the Miss Wolf is coming to fetch their own death. Well, what should I do to her?"
- Writer
