Ch 20: The Mansion

The car was bouncing violently as it sped over the potholes and bushes.

Roy wanted to stop it, but it felt as if some force was pushing the car towards the mansion. Roy managed to bring the car to a stop, about four hundred feet away from the mansion.

He got out of the car and looked in the direction where the goat kid had been standing, but now, there was nothing there. In the darkness, it was nowhere to be seen.

Whenever a car passed by on the highway, the road would light up momentarily. Alice, terrified, kept glancing between the mansion and Roy.

Desmond sat frozen in his place, while Grace, unnoticed by the others, was hunched over in her seat. Anyone seeing her might think that she was doing this out of fear or panic, that she didn't want to see what was happening outside

But that wasn't the case. Grace was trapped by some invisible force that had her in a tight grip. She was trying desperately to free herself from this mysterious power, but it was much stronger than her.

Grace was exerting all her strength, but her entire body was paralyzed, as if she had lost the ability to move altogether.

"Where did the goat kid go?" Roy muttered, scanning the area with searching eyes.

Desmond also got out of the car and began looking in the same direction.

Alice, too, stepped out of the car, watching them. Suddenly, the car began to shake violently.

All three of them stared at the car in shock, backing away in fear.

The car was shaking as if dozens of strong men were grabbing and shaking it violently.

Inside the car, Grace was struggling furiously against the unseen force trying to free herself. Her desperate sounds and groans echoed through the eerie silence.

The three of them watched in wide-eyed astonishment, not understanding what was happening to Grace.

Alice, terrified, hid behind Roy and instinctively grabbed his arm with one hand.

Her eyes were fixed on the shaking car. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the car's roof tore apart like paper. Grace was thrown out of the car as if shot from a cannon, flying eight to ten feet away into the bushes.

Alice screamed, and Roy grabbed her. At the same time, the car jumped and landed exactly where Grace had fallen moments before. It seemed as though the car had been lifted and thrown onto Grace.

Had Grace not moved with all her strength and speed, she would have been crushed under the car.

The car was now completely crushed, as if a heavy object had rolled over it or it had been run through a bulldozer.

An intense fear gripped all of them.

"Run!" Roy screamed, grabbing Alice's hand and running towards the road.

Desmond was right behind them. As they ran, Roy dialed his security team on his phone, who were following in another car. They had been delayed because their car had a flat tire a little while earlier.

When Roy finally reached them, they were not far off, and it didn't take them long to arrive.

Their car reached them just as they were running towards the road.

"What happened?" One of the guards asked as they stepped out of the car.

"Something's wrong back there. Get us out of here!" Roy shouted.

"Grace..." Alice cried out, looking back.

They all saw Grace running towards them. She was only a short distance away.

"Get in the car! Let's get out of here!"

There wasn't enough room for everyone in the car.

Roy, Alice, and Desmond climbed into the guards' car.

Roy opened the trunk, and two of the guards climbed in while another sat in the back seat with Desmond. Roy started the car with a jolt.

Grace reached the car, threw open the door, and scrambled inside.

Roy sped away quickly.

Grace looked at her left arm, where her shirt was torn, revealing deep claw marks from some beast, and blood was oozing from the wounds.

Roy drove as fast as he could.

Alice kept turning her head to look at Grace, who was panting heavily.

She was injured in several places, her face was flushed, and her eyes were filled with anger.

Everyone was shocked and terrified, wondering what had just happened.

After this incident, something new stirred within Grace's heart and mind, something Alice was unaware of.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

By the time they reached the village, night had fallen. When Roy stopped the car inside the mansion, he looked at Alice and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Alice replied briefly.

"You're not scared or anything, are you?" Roy asked.

"No, not anymore," Alice said. Her face showed no signs of fear.

"I think that place, that mansion, is not right. It's haunted. Anyway, let's forget about it, and please don't mention this incident inside the mansion. We want to keep the atmosphere pleasant," Roy advised. Then he turned to Grace and said, "Desmond, take her to a room and give her some first aid supplies."

"Yes, sir," Desmond replied.

Desmond led Grace through another entrance into the mansion.

Roy didn't want Maria to find out about what had happened.

Desmond took Grace to a room, gave her the first aid supplies, and then left the room. Grace stared at the supplies with a furious expression and then collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Roy took Alice and walked towards the main entrance.

Alice had finally shaken off the fear that had gripped her. She had regained her composure.

This was the second time something like this had happened to her in front of that mansion.

She looked around the brightly lit mansion for the first time. As she stepped inside, her astonished eyes roamed around the grand mansion.

This was the kind of mansion she had only imagined and dreamed of, and now she was stepping inside it.

"This is my mansion," Roy said with pride.

"It's beautiful," Alice said, looking around in admiration.