"Aunt I'm sorry........... Please!", Stephanie screamed.

Her aunt had a foot on her ankle, pressing it down slowly. Stephanie had not realized until then that her ankle had not been sprained but fractured. She could literally feel her bones in her ankle grinding painfully against each other.

Mrs. Bats was laughing sinisterly with her head thrown up.

"You know, I've always hated you."

Stephanie wanted to say something like- The feelings mutual - but she was in too much pain. Also there was an insane glow in her aunt's eyes.

Oh dear. She's going to kill me. 

Her aunt put full force on her already broken ankle.

Crack.

Stephanie heard an inhuman yowl fill the entire house. Later, she realized it was hers. Part of her was amazed that she could do that. She had only heard it in movies. Like Monster University. Her ankle throbbed beyond her imagination and she was dripping in sweat.

Mrs. Bats stomped her stomach. While she giggled hysterically, Stephanie gasped in pain. She ignored that feeling for the time being and tried to look for her phone. In the midst of all that, she fell out of the couch.

There!

Under the couch.

Her hand launched towards the phone but her aunt stamped on her forearm.

"What are you reaching for, honey?"

The last word continued bouncing in her head as another wave of dizziness and pain enveloped her brain.

Honey. Honey. Honey. Honey. Honey.

*

Flashback:

"Mom are you going for long?", Stephanie cried as she asked.

Her mom smiled brightly at her.

"Honey! It's not for long. I promise you we'll keep in touch every possible moment", her mom said, reassuringly.

She had no idea it would be the last time she would be seeing and hugging her daughter. The last time speaking with her. Stephanie nodded with tears in her eyes.

"May let's go. Bye Steph! Love you", her dad said, looking at her with those kind-filled eyes. 

Where's Brian? Doesn't matter. He's not going to suffer anyway.

"Angela look after them for us", her mother said, turning towards her sister.

"Like always sister!", Angela replied.

The door closed. The car drove away with them forever. Taking the light with it, leaving Stephanie in a dark abyss.

"Angela aunt I'll be goi-"

Angela slapped her hard, causing her lips to bleed.

"What did I tell you before honey?", she cooed. 

"Mrs.....Mrs Bats!", Stephanie gasped. 

"That's good hon-ey!"

Honey. Honey. Honey. Honey. Honey.

*

Stephanie soon received a reality check by the pain. If she didn't do anything soon, she might have two broken bones. Or be mortally dead.

With all the energy she could muster, she caught hold of the leg and pulled it hard. Her aunt came crashing down and ht her head hard on the table set beside the couch. The empty cup set on the table fell on her face and broke on her sharp nose into fine pieces.

Thanks for the tea.

Stephanie grabbed hold of the phone and a large sharp piece of broken cup. She managed to stand up in the time her aunt was holding her face and head in a bloody torment. She gritted her teeth for the coming agony and started moving towards the stairway.

Every step drained a part of her energy. It was like being sucked out of her body. She could feel it. A painful groan left her mouth as her ankle throbbed blisteringly bad. Half dragging her leg, she inched closer to her escape. Just a few steps more.....

"You think you can run today. Ha!"

Stephanie whirled around to see her aunt staggering towards her. Her nose was bleeding but her head looked fine.

So much for the tea.

Stephanie knew that even now her aunt was the stronger one but she had to pretend to be the boss now. The grip on the shard of glass tightened as her leg started feeling like jelly. Its pointed ends pierced through her tender skin and the blood ran down her fingertips on the floor in little drops.

Plink.........

Plink.........

Plink.........

She smirked. Even that took away a part of her energy. She lifted her hand holding the glass.

"You see this? You may take me down but not without me piercing it through your eyes, wrists and perhaps your neck too! Come on hit me"

Her aunt paused in her steps and her eyes drifted away to her thoughts. Stephanie continued.

"You think you're crazy. Well ha! We'll figure out who's crazier."

I won you batty woman.

But her aunt just surprised her more.

"I think I'm willing to take my chances", she said, smirking.

She's definitely the crazier one.

Mrs. Bats walked towards her and Stephanie braced herself to finish the inhuman being in front of her.  She knew that her aunt would outrun her if she tried to make a run. The leg was simply too painful to bear. She didn't want to die like a coward. She had to live. She had to know where and how Brian was. It can't end this way. It can't just en-

CRASH!

A broken vase filled with plants lay on the carpet a few distance from them. Her aunt stopped in her tracks fearfully but Stephanie was just shocked. That vase had always been kept in her balcony. There was no way it could just glide out of her room, fly like a bird and then drop dead on the carpet on it's own. Unless someone dropped it there from upstairs as a distraction providing the chance for her to..

RUN!

And so she ran.

She never looked back once. Because her aunt was too caught up in the unknown mystery of the vase. Her aunt had always been too superstitious for her own good.The adrenaline provided her the anaesthesia for her pain and the energy to not stop in her tracks once until she was safely locked in her room. 

Stephanie fell face-first on the bed. A part of her knew that she might just be running into death. After all, the vase just couldn't fall on it's own. Unless obviously, Harry Potter himself saved her and the last time she checked, he wasn't real.

She looked at the phone in her hand and immediately Chris' name popped up in her head.

I'll call him later.

*

A few minutes ago, somewhere outside in the garden just below Stephanie's room stood Chris. He was pondering on whether to barge in or sneak up to her room. He looked up. There were potted plants designed at the corners of the large balcony. They looked even more beautiful from down there. 

Out of nowhere, a figure clad in black entered the balcony and quickly grabbed a vase full of leaves. The stranger looked in a rush. He quickly ran back into Stephanie's room.

This happened so fast that Chris only stared the whole time before his senses reminded him of his motive.

Stephanie.

*****

A/N :

That was the darkest chapter I have written till date. Might not be too dark I guess. Hope you could enjoy and understand what I tried to portray.

Keep reading!

Happy Easter!