2 | Ghoul on the Loose

The demonic creature, or should I say vampire, peeked in at the carriage, staring with wide red balls for eyes. King shrieked, but his terror turned to an upset stomach when he threatened to throw up at the foul stench that spilled out to them. The monster reached its bony, dirty clawed hand into a wide-open crack for him, when—

"M-m-monster!"

Their eyes grew, gazes darting towards the coachman. He was bleeding, shaking, and had a hideous look on his face while looking in their direction. He let out a terrified whimper when the object told to exist in fairy tales flashed its teeth like a trophy of rusted needles at him. In an instant, the man screamed, stumbling on his wobbly feet as he ran into the forest, crying for help.

The monster let out a high-pitched shrill, and bat-like wings cloaked in cruel blue veins jutted out from its back. Then, it launched into the woods like a bullet, leaving a thick gust of dust on the ground.

Not a moment too soon, the three jolted when a high-pitched roar and a spine-chilling scream resonated inside the forest. Pandora gritted her teeth. She scrambled to the side, uttering, "There's nothing we can do. Save your own guts instead!" She kicked the crack beside King to widen it enough for them to pass by, and one by one, they slipped out. "Move!" she said, and they raced into the forest next.

They kept running, propelling their feet to move faster. However, despite their spent efforts, an inhumane screech followed closely behind them.

"Just run!" yelled Pandora.

The monster chased them from above the trees, red eyes pinpointing a prey from one of the three down below it.

"Go for narrow tracks!" King tipped. "Its wings won't be able to—"

The monster swooped down, landed on its hind legs, and started racing towards them.

"Bloody shi— it's running! It's fuckin' running!"

"Run! Run!"

The monster lunged at King. King dodged. However, he lost his footing, fell off a gap, and crashed down onto a large rotting log.

King grunted, his consciousness floating to the abyss inside his head. However, the high-pitched screech from that thing chasing after them was enough to whack him out of his la-la land. He immediately sat upright and swiped his head around. Finding no better spots to bet his life on, he scrambled into the log's hollow.

The inside was musky. Soil covered the crawlspace; roots dangled like vines. King used his forearms to push further but stopped when something suddenly dropped from above, warping the log from where it landed. He let out a strangled gasp and laid still, keeping silent. Adrenaline pooled all over his body as his heart pulsed like a festive's beat inside his chest.

The log rattled faintly, creaking ever so slightly. Something was rustling above King. He strained his ears, listening to everything that was there to be heard. He knew what it was stalking near him, for the raucous breathing and stink did not hide it. He remained unmoving, still holding on to the slightest hope.

King then felt nailed on his spot, even more, when he felt something slither into his slacks. He slightly lifted his head, and his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. A centipede was on his boot, slithering up his right leg. King doesn't detest any creepy-crawlies, but he doesn't have any affinity to them either, especially on something which stings worse than a bloody needle. He had enough from Douglas's pets.

A strangled sob left King's lips when the critter disappeared under his tailcoat. He would have kept his ground, even at the possibility of being bitten by the centi-legged creep. But the razor-sharp claws that drove down the wood above him, barely grazing his right cheek, stole his attention away. King screamed.

The vampire carved through the wood, screeching after its prey. It peeked its treacherous eyes. King tried to scramble away, but the crawlspace offered little. A moment later, a scream tore out of his throat. Claws dug into his calf's flesh, nails etching deep into his muscles. He clenched his teeth, letting out only a fraction of his voice that wanted to escape at the top of his lungs. But when the undead stirred its hooked digits, the lad failed in holding back his screams.

The monster hurled him out. Its red eyes gleamed and yellowish drool, thick and sluggish, dripped from the edge of its eerily wide mouth. Just when it took an inch towards King again, wham, it let out an inhuman scream.

Pandora drove a sharp fragment of wood through the vampire's head, through the temple, and out the cheek. Screeching, the creature threw its arm in her direction. Pandora was quick on her feet; she dodged it with ease. She wasn't new to combat. The vampire charged at her again, only before it could touch a strand of her hair, an imposing silhouette hurled it away with a forceful punch on its face.

Pandora went to King's side. She seized his leg to look at the damage, and the latter screeched in pain. "Sorry," Pandora uttered, frowning. She pulled back her hands and aided King in getting up.

"I could have defended myself." King spat. He bit his lip and swallowed the knot in his throat, holding back the pain spiking in his leg. He didn't mean to discredit or set some negative rumination on Pandora's goodwill. It was just instinctive. He hated getting help.

"What a temperate way to say thank you." Pandora's grip still didn't reel away from him. She darted her eyes at their surrounding, focusing more of her attention on the two creatures before them.

"Is that..." King's eyes went wide open. He gestured a finger up mechanically, pointing at the monstrous figure in the distance. Standing a few meters away from them was a brawny seven-foot-tall leopard with a dilating brown-spotted hide. He recognized that form. It might have had a smaller frame from when he had last seen it, but it was definitely, "Doug?"

A high-pitched roar reeled back their attention. The vampire wobbled on its alabaster-gray legs in the distance, heaving and raking its fingers at its head. Blood, the color of burnt orange, seeped from the hole Pandora dug in its head. It flailed around, brandishing its elongated claws in the air. When its crimson red eyes landed back on the three, it stopped. It exposed its teeth, face creasing into a menacing sneer, then emitted another mind-piercing shrill.

Douglas bared his claws and fangs. However, entirely a minute-earlier déjà vu, a robust punch drove right on the vampire's jaw this time. Another roar permitted through the air—more rooted and savage. The trio, dumbfounded, stood with eyes-wide-open at what was before them.

It was a bloodstained-brown werewolf, standing around mid of six to seven feet tall. If it weren't for those bared razor-sharp teeth, claws, and overall menacing profile, King would have enjoyed touching the deceivingly soft-looking maroon fur.