"You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go 'according to plan.' Even if that plan is horrifying!" -- Joker
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I cringed as my knife plunged into the man's chest. I quickly let go of the handle and closed my eyes, taking a big step back, not wanting to see him fall to the floor. I waited, my back turned to him, to hear the pained sounds of the dying. 

It never came.

"You held the knife wrong."

My eyes snapped open. I could feel myself start to shake more than I had already been.

There's no way.  I stabbed him through the heart, I'm sure of it. This guy is dead.

But the fact that his feet were still firmly planted on the floor made me think otherwise.

"You did better than most, though. Normally, people can't even get into the castle, let alone stab me."

I couldn't stand it anymore. I looked up at his chest and the lower half of his face. The knife was still stuck at the place where his heart should've been, exactly where I had put it.

A large hand reached up and grabbed the hilt of the dagger, and a low groan followed by the wet sound of metal slowly being pulled out of flesh followed.  He tilted his head and stared at the silver blade, then started fiddling with my knife expertly, moving the blade between one finger and the next faster than I'd ever seen.  He stopped and held it in his monstrous hand. With the other hand, he pointed to his fist.

"Hold it like this. Gives you more thrust and let you block easier."

I felt like I was going to be sick. The mark on his chest was completely healed; the only evidence that I had stabbed him was a hole through his black shirt. My breath came out quickly.

"Y-you should be dead," I stuttered softly. "That should have--"

"Killed me? Yeah, didn't work too well for you did it? I, however, have all the ways I could gut you here and now running through my head, all at one time. It's a bit troublesome, if you ask me."

I took a step back. 

I need to get out, now.

 Like an animal, he noticed my fear.

"You want your knife back?" he laughed.

That did it. In one motion, I swiped the dagger and started running as fast as I possibly could toward the stairs. If I could find the door, I could get out. I heard what sounded like laughter.

"I'll give you to the count of ten, girl!"

I've never heard anyone sound so joyous who is hunting someone down before.

It dimly occurred to me as I ran that I had absolutely no clue where I was going. All I knew was that I had planned to find the 'out' door, but I really didn't know where that was in comparison to where I was. I still heard the beast counting.

"Ten!"

He was after me. I grabbed the first door knob that I saw and turned it, yanking the door open. As I slammed it behind me, I took in my surroundings. The only thing I saw was a bed in the corner of the room, in the darkest place it could be. I ran over and found a cubbyhole in between the bed and the wall that I could squeeze into and duck down.

The door creaked open as soon as I managed to force myself into the corner.

"Now, you're not making this fun for me. Hide somewhere better next time."

I peeked under the bed. If I had too, I could probably crawl under it to get out. I clutched the knife in my hand harder and tried to calm my breathing.

 Silence.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five. 

I swallowed, gathering my wits to look up from my corner.

"There you are, girl."

A large hand grabbed my arm. I screamed, thrashing my dagger toward the hand, trying to get him off me. One of my random hits landed, and he growled, saying for me to quit it over and over again.

I didn't listen.

Finally, he pinned my arms to my sides and forced me to look into his face. "Look at me! Into my eyes, stupid! Do you honestly believe you can kill me?"

His hand grabbed my chin, forcing my head up. I tried to avert my eyes, but it was too late. I shrank down as I stared into the dark eyes that I thought were black, but really were deep, deep, blood red. He stared back at me with annoyance. The red things suddenly darted down to my neck.

What does he--oh.

The chain of my silver necklace had come from underneath my dress.

"What is this?" His voice was no longer tame, if that's what it could have been called it in the first place. It was swarming with rage. He reached a long finger out to grab the chain.

I need to go. This isn't going to be good. 

I struggled to free myself, but only managed to succeed in making his grip tighten around my arm. I froze as my necklace was yanked out from under my dress.

"Where did you get this?"

The monster sounded calm now, alerting me to the danger I faced. He was like a dog. The more he barked, the less worried I had to be.

 But the growl, the growl is what kills you. The silence is a death sentence. 

He looked at the cross in disgust, seeming like he would fling it away as soon as he could.

I started,"It was a gift from my mot--"

"Lies!" he bellowed. 

 I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head away, my heart racing.

"Tell me the truth!" 

I shook my head. I did tell him the truth. The noises he made were feral sounding, like he had turned into the creature he was wearing.

Somehow, I managed to squeak out the words, "I did."

A deafening roar made me fall back. A rough hand seized me and the other shoved the necklace back into my fist.

"You lie!"

I didn't know what to do. "I'm not lying! I'm telling you the truth!" Two tears fell down my cheeks.

He still held onto my wrist, his grip flattening my arm to a pancake. An unsettling calm came over the creature. Immediately, the iron clamp in my wrist vanished. I stood for a second, the started to slowly back away toward the door.

"Get out. Get out. GET OUT!'

It started out quietly, but the more he spoke, the louder he got.

"LEAVE!"

He didn't have to tell me twice. I ran out of the room as fast as I could, somehow managing to find the exit. I flung it open, not caring about grabbing the bags that I brought with me, not caring about seeing if there was a horse I could take, not caring about something for warmth, just wanting out. I didn't even bother to close the door as I ran. The time it took me to get from the edge of the forest to the castle was nothing as I barely paused to look back.

Another roar came from the castle. I turned again and made my way into the forest. I don't know how much longer I went. When I couldn't take it anymore, I stopped at a big oak tree, clutching my side.

Breathing would be a good thing to do.

I stood there, one had on the tree, doubled over, trying my best to catch my breath. I hadn't run that hard and fast, well, ever. When I thought it was okay for me to continue on, I let go of the tree and started to walk in a straight line. The forest was dark, the trees were obscuring the light of the moon. An image of the wolf crossed my mind. I felt into my pocket, but the dagger wasn't there, instead a big hole occupied the spot.

Great.

I shuffled on the ground, looking for a stick. When I found one big enough, I brought it with me. Maybe I could poke something's eyes out with it or something.

*****

My eyes snapped open, and I looked around, leaning against the tree I fell asleep against. Through the dark trees and bushes, a small light was floating up and down.

"Hello?" I croaked. I had gotten sufficiently lost trying to get out. Maybe whoever it was could help me. The light stopped moving and sat, hovering in midair like a ghost.

"Hello, is anyone there? I'm lost; I need help." I mentally slapped myself. I should have made sure that whatever or whoever it was wasn't going to try to kill me. The breaking of sticks confirmed that whoever it was coming over. Three men emerged from the brush, the one in the middle carrying the lantern I had seen bobbing up and down.

" 'Ello Missay," the middle one said, his rough accent distorting his words. "Ye said yer lost? Me an' my three buddies 'ere are too, if ya cain't tell."

A feeling of dread crept up my spine. I recognized that voice, although I couldn't figure out from where. I got to my feet, ready to leave.

"No, sir. I'm not lost. I'm picking berries for my father. You must have heard someone else." I flat-out lied to the men--although my lying skills needed some work. Something didn't feel right.

"Well Missay, we could sure use some company 'round 'ere. Wanna 'elp us out?" The biggest gestured for the two on each side to start moving. They both were trying to sneak their way up toward me.

I swallowed my fear and started to back away, walking as I called back, "I'm sorry, not tonight."

The two men that the leader ordered to get near me grabbed my arm. I jumped and tried to yank free, but it was no use. Their rough, calloused hands kept their grip.

"See 'ere Missay, we cain't 'ave ya leavin'. When I say we need some company, we need some company. Right, boys?" The other two shouted in agreement.

My eyes widened. I know where I've heard their voices before.

It was the night my mother died.

"No," I whispered. It couldn't be happening. My breathing came out ragged, pure terror running through me. I knew what the men did, and could do. I needed to leave, and fast, but the two lackeys held my arm too tightly.

The leader approached me, the stench of him filling my nostrils making me gag. He slowly took my chin in his right hand and tilted my face upward. I now saw the pitch black mask that covered his face, leaving only his beady, yellow eyes to stare at. He brought his face closer to mine, grabbing my arms and forcing them to my side. The other two let go of my wrists and looked on with amusement.

"Let's 'ave a little fun now, eh girly?"

Bile rose in my throat. Somehow, I managed to wriggle my hand free from his grasp. My breaths heavy, I looked into his eyes and spat into his face.

"Let's not." With that, I balled my fingers into a fist and hit the man with all I could, pounding on his stomach. He startled, surprised by my outburst. 

It was enough.

 His hand became let go, and I ran. I heard them shouting after me as I went, and their feet were pounding on the forest floor as they gained on me. I pushed past all the brambles on the ground and the tree branches that scratch my face and just ran. I could, very literally, feel the breath of the leader against the back of my neck. His fingers brushed against my skin, his attempt to grab me almost succeeded. Then, I made the mistake of turning my head as I ran.

My foot slipped on the straw and dirt lining the forest and I fell on the ground, hitting the back of my head on the forest floor. I cried out involuntarily as black spots swarmed my vision. Vaguely, I felt rough hands pin me on my back as a weight dropped on my stomach. My eyelids fluttering, I saw the leader of the gang on me, his back wet with sweat and his shoulders heaving. He leaned down so that his head was less than an inch away from my face, his breath like rotting fish.

"Gave us a little workout, eh missay? That's all right. Gives us more fun in the end."

He backed off and took out something that shined in the moonlight.

That's a knife...

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from my throat.

And I'm just doing this now?

The man rolled his eyes and punched me straight in the gut, silencing me.

"Cain't be havin' any o' that now, hun." he whispered. "Now quiet down an' we'll be having' a good ole ti--"

A roar came from the trees. The two other people were suddenly thrown backward away from me and the leader. A creature was standing in their place, its back hunched over and its claws coated in blood. The fur on it was long and dark, covering its whole body. When it turned its head, the eyes were blood red. Snarling came from the back of its throat and it glared at me as it grabbed the guy sitting on me.

"GO."

In that one word, I knew exactly who it was. The one who drove me out of the castle. 

The Beast.

 The guy he was holding screamed and the beast threw him against the tree furthest away, then looked at me again. Except that time, the almost human look in his eye was gone, and it was replaced by pure animal. My hands and feet started moving before I realized what I was doing. It snarled and moved to the leader again.

An ear-piercing scream echoed around me for a split second, then was cut off with a wet sound. I stood up dizzily, still suffering from my first fall, and stumbled in the other direction. The crunching of branches was uneven sounding as I went away, trying to do exactly as he said.

"RUN!"

When I went to move my leg, I couldn't. Somehow, my ankle was wedged in between two small rocks. Of course, I say small, but they were big enough.

The sounds of whatever was going on behind me stopped. A sniffing noise-- like a giant dog--started up, getting closer and closer to me. My eyes widened.

Beast.

A mix of panic and adrenaline attacked me at once, and with a mighty tug, I yanked my foot loose.

Only to lose my balance.

Unable to catch myself, I saw a rock hurling toward my face, then pain erupted in the front of my head.

Then nothing.

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This chapter is dedicated to _Theveilednight_ for being an awesome profile for dark stories. Everyone should go check them out!

*****

I know, I know. Second cliffhanger in a row. I'm sorry.

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