Tooth & Nail

• 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 •

Weightless and falling, I watched as the icy waters swallowed the screaming creature. Then it all went dark as I went next.

Everything became quiet in that moment before the cold set in. The world slowed as the freezing waters began seizing every muscle in my body, making it almost impossible to swim. Opening my eyes, I peered around while the bubbles slowly dispersed. I could just see the faint orange glow of the fire coming from the breach in the ice.

Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my legs, constricting them tightly. I screamed and let out a small amount of precious air. Looking down I could see the creature staring back up at me. Its wide eyes and lipless grin taunting me one last time as we descended into the depths. I screamed and lashed about trying to break free of its grip. I began pounding down on the creature with my fists, re-opening the wounds on my butchered hand. But it wouldn't budge. It just continued to stare up at me with those sunken eyes, squeezing tighter and tighter as we sank further into the darkness.

I was drowning.

A stark contrast to the fiery tomb I was sentenced to moments before, now trapped underwater and being dragged to my death by an ungodly creature that was hellbent on taking me to the grave with it.

As the last of the bubbles left my lungs, staring upwards I watched the small light above begin to flicker into nothingness.

This was it. There was no way out for me now.

I could feel the burning in my chest as my lungs ached for air and the dull thump of my veins from a heart that was slowly dying. I knew I didn't have long. In a few moments I will pass out, my lungs open to the lakes bitter embrace, filling them with cold death.

Then came a thud from beneath, our decent was suddenly brought to a halt as we hit the bottom. I was alerted by a sharp pressure underneath me as our bodies gently nestled into the silt and muck at the bottom of the lake. Reaching down I felt something solid. I began pulling at it, then after two or three hard tugs the object came loose into my hand. A thick branch, smooth and rigid coming to a sinister point at its end. My eyes widened. I felt hope. But I had to act fast before I passed out, and I didn't have long.

I arched up slowly through the heavy water. I could just make out the dark shape of the creature anchored around my feet, still staring up at me with those fucking eyes.

As I stared back through the murky depths, I knew this would be the last time our eyes would meet. And I felt nothing.

I pulled back the branch then drove it forward, plunging it deep into the creature's eye socket. Then came a gruelling screech, even underwater it tore at my ear drums. It instantly released my legs. I quickly ripped the branch from the creature's face leaving a plume of blood laced water that oozed from the freshly gouged hole in its head. As it writhed and twitched, I pulled my legs up to my chest. Mustering every ounce of strength that I had left I stomped the creature into the mud, pushing off with enough force to send myself up towards the surface.

I felt the creature's bony spires clip at my boots as I ascended, kicking them back and leaving the monster to perish at the bottom of the lake. I knew it wouldn't be able to swim without hands or feet, but I still clutched the branch that I had found just in case. Frantically, I began flailing my arms and legs, clawing at the water in a desperate attempt to swim to the surface. The glittering light above now growing stronger, I could see I was almost there.

My limbs were completely numb. How I was moving them I did not know. The piercing cold of the water rushing past my eyes was agonizing as I slowly drifted towards the breach. Feeling light-headed my vision began to darken. I was seconds away from the surface but also seconds away from passing out. I began to panic. Arms and legs wildly pulling at the water. My whole body screaming for air.

Just as my vision dulled to black, I took one last stroke using both of my arms, propelling myself upward. A second later my face burst through the surface. I heaved at the crisp air with a violent gasp, followed by uncontrollable coughing and retching as I cleared my lungs. Grabbing onto the jagged ice edge I heaved myself up shakily and, using my branch as an ice pick, I pulled myself from the water.

Collapsing onto my back I lay there in the cold air panting heavily. I watched the clouds of my breath disappear into the night. A small sight I never thought I would be so happy to see. Laying there for a moment I closed my eyes, embracing the stillness whilst recovering from the traumatic events that just took place beneath the ice.

I was barely aware of the branch slowly rolling off of my chest and falling onto the ice beside me. Immediately, I was startled by the hollow sound it made as it hit the icy floor. Turning my head, I forced my eyes open to take a look. As my eyes began to focus I saw that the branch that had saved my life was not a branch at all; but a large bone. Too exhausted to be fazed by this concerning discovery, I reached out and picked it up for a closer look. It didn't look old and it didn't look entirely like any animal bone I'd seen. Then again, I'm no expert in anatomy.

My ears pricked as I heard a faint sound in the distance, coming from beyond the burning house. Delusional, I thought perhaps I was imagining it. But as it grew closer the familiar sound became clear to me.

Sirens.

Pressing my head back and looking up at the house, I could see several lights flashing through the thick smoke that billowed out from the blazing roof.

A welcomed chaos.

A euphoric sense of relief washed over me, pushing down all the fear and pain that had accumulated from everything that had happened this night.

I was going to be okay.

I weakly pressed myself up from the ice, cradling my maimed hand close to my chest and clutching the bone that I'd found tightly in the other. Then I slowly began hobbling my way across the frozen lake back up towards the old house.

The sharp wind felt like needles against my wet skin, and its silence held a sense of calm whilst the snowfall gradually began to fade. As I made my ascent up the steep hill, the only sound was my irregular footsteps crunching the dusty snow beneath my feet. It was almost therapeutic, now complimented by the warmth of the fire against my face.

The flames were monumental in their immaculate destruction of the old house. Walking past the blaze, and keeping my distance, I watched on as the second story began to crumble in on itself. It suddenly dawned on me that I was up there only moments ago.

Emerging around the side of the house, I was met by several police officers and firefighters running about as they unleashed their water tanks and began to douse the giant flames. I limped into the light and one of the police officers spotted me.

"Hey! Come away from there its danger- ", the man paused when realising who I was. When I looked up I was relieved to see Officer Masons familiar face starring back at me. He quickly ran over to me, he put his arm around my shoulder and slowly guided me away from the crumbling building.

I turned my head back as we walked away, taking one last look at what was left of the old house. Now illuminated by the fire I could see what had been graffitied on the wall earlier that night. Written In large red strokes, sprayed across the front of the house lay a single word:

'Devil'

I stopped there for a moment.

Officer Mason was saying something to me, but it faded away into an inaudible hum as I looked on perplexed and afraid.

I was now beginning to understand.

Could this be the result of something far more sinister? The old book. The ritualistic photographs. Was Mr Whitman a part of some satanic cult?

Looking down and staring at the bone in my hand I felt my stomach begin to turn as I pieced it all together.

The flames now lapped at the tacky red paint, blistering the letters as they turned to ash and burned away with the rest of the cursed house.

A metaphor ending to encapsulate all the horrific things that had happened here.

The old house with a burning secret.

All its ghosts now brought to the surface.

That were once locked away by the devil within its walls.