Page 48 of A Blackened Bond

He closes the door as I make a run toward it, my hands balling into tight fists as I bang on the metal door and plead for them to open up. But I just hear their laughter as their footsteps fade into the distance.

My eyes return to the room, taking in as much of this new hellish space as possible in the dim light.

The walls are painted a dark grey, turning into a muddy-dirt shade in its corners. Stain marks drip down the walls from the ceiling at almost every point, with strange dark dirt splattered across most of the walls and parts of the floor, but nothing else.

There was no furniture, no seats, no dirty bowls or mouldy food. Nothing.

Only the door I entered through and one other door I could slightly make out on the other side of the room.

There was nothing to say that anyone had stayed here or had been here before me.

An eerie feeling makes its way over me as I continue to look around, a chill running down my spine as goosebumps pepper my skin, as if I were being watched.

I hear a strange noise and spin around quickly, trying to see if someone is here or has entered. But there is nothing in the large, dimly lit space.

The strange noise echoes out again, this time louder.

I peer over at the other door, the sound slowly ringing from there as a low growl begins to echo out around the room.

My body begins to shake, fear taking me fully in its grasp as the large door across the room slowly opens. Large hairy limbs slowly appear from the dark doorway. A beast at least seven feet tall with dark, muddy-brown fur covering every inch of its body prowls from its shadows.

Large broken fangs curve from its lower jaw, coated in a strange black saliva that drips slowly from the creature’s hairy chin. Its arms extend down past its knees and sit limply at each side. Cuts and scars trail down each arm and are covered in splatters that look eerily like bits of dried blood.

My eyes glance back toward the wall with their strange splattered dirt that now looks vaguely similar to the dried blood marring the beast’s fur.

A cold shiver runs through me at the thought before I glance back toward the beast, unconsciously taking a step backward. The movement causes the beast to shift its attention. His eyes are completely white as they jump back and forth to the spaces around me.

A shaky breath leaves my lips, and the beast narrows its eyes in my direction. It suddenly widens its mouth, baring its large fangs before growling and then rushing toward me.

I jump back, hitting into the large metal door as the beast heads straight for me. It reaches me in seconds, lifting its large elongated arms before smashing them into the metal door just as I fall to the ground, dodging the attack.

The loud bang echoes around the room as I quickly shuffle to the side and away from the creature.

The beast continues to thrash against the door in a crazed-like fit, before letting out a loud guttural roar. It turns, skimming its cloudy eyes around the room as I still my movements. If I didn’t move, it didn’t seem to know where I was.

I try to calm my racing heart, taking slow and soft inhales so as not to give my location away to the beast. It growls in frustration before leaping forward toward the empty space in front of us, its limbs lashing out into the surrounding area as it roars again.

It continues to move through the room aimlessly, swinging its large limbs and smashing into the walls before moving on again, trying to find me.

After a couple of minutes of it moving around the room, it stands metres from me, it’s limbs flailing toward my direction and almost reaching me.

It takes another step forward, and I fall backward, my hand catching on something sharp below me.

I pull the object toward me, quickly realising it’s the blade the guard threw earlier. I clutch it in my shaking hands as the beast shifts closer, its cloudy eyes narrowed to the space by my feet.

It suddenly lashes out, its sharp claws catching my leg. The pain rips through me, a large gash forming from the hit as blood streams down my leg. A whimper breaks through my lips, and the beast instantly whips its head toward me.

It pounces forward, my body seizing up as fear thrums through me.

I close my eyes in fear, gripping the blade tightly and thrusting it outward just as the beast lands on top of me, praying it hits it and is enough to distract the beast so I can get away.

I feel the blade seep into its flesh, a pained roar leaving its lips before warm liquid drops onto my skin. A low gurgling sound flows into my ears but is soon followed by silence, the beast falling still and quiet before the heavy weight of its body blankets me. Its putrid breath seeps from its dripping mouth as it becomes heavier on top of me.

I push with all my might until the beast is thrown off and gaze down at the blade now sitting directly in the centre of its chest.

It was dead.

And I had survived.

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