The Taxidermy Man

Part Three

Two curious eyes looked from behind the trunk of a large tree. It was a boy from the village. He had messy black hair and grey eyes. His eyes were wide with fear. He had come after Spunk after she had gone after the taxidermy animals. He was probably the only other person that had the sense to try and do something. He didn’t have the same courage as Spunk so it had taken him some time, creeping forward slowly. He had just arrived when Spunk, Aberrant and the group of traitor taxidermites had began their assault on the witch. He had seen how Spunk had been captured and he now felt like running back to the village. He couldn’t do anything on his own. But he also thought about how Spunk had come out to help the rest of them. He couldn’t just leave her here in the hand of the witch. He had to try something. But now here, he’s have to get to somewhere safe, just in case anything happened. He began his way back down the way he had come and hid in the shrubs that he had see earlier on and began forming a plan of action.

Meanwhile, inside the castle dungeons, Spunk and Aberrant talked in hushed voices. “We’re trapped!” said Spunk quite loudly for a whisper.

“I didn’t mean to make this happen. I had no idea the other animals weren’t on our side.”

“Now what are we going to do? The witch has us and burning her dress has no affect.”

“Actually, it did. She had to work a bit harder to use her magic when her dress was burning.”

“Then why didn’t she lose some of her power?”

“I think more of her dress has to be burned for that. And we need a bigger fire to do so.”

“And how exactly are we going to do any of that trapped in here? Besides, she could disappear whenever she wanted.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to start planning again.”

“Don’t you think she’ll hear us or find out. I mean, we are in her house.”

“I don’t think our situation can get much worse from here. Besides, do you really want to stay in here where she can do whatever she likes to you? Atleast we have some sort of a fighting chance if we get out?

“I guess you’re right… So, what’s the plan this time?” She said. And with that, the two began planning, unaware that someone close by was doing the same thing.

And as all of this was happening, the witch was looking into one of the books that she’d collected over the years. This particular one was filled with prophecies. She had read the whole thing quite a lot of times but it hadn’t concerned her. However, something about the girl was familiar and she wasn’t going to take any chances…

The two figures in the dungeons were silent. They were thinking hard about what they could do to get out but everything seemed to have a downside. Spunk was a bright girl but even she couldn’t think of anything this time. She was beginning to give up hope and starting to accept the fact that she may never get out. That wasn’t what bothered her most though. The thing that she was most scared about was about what the witch might do to her and even worse, what she might do to the rest of the village. What if she didn’t stop there? What if she went on to take over the whole of England. What if there were more of her kind and they began to rule the world? She’s rather be dead than live in a world like that, she thought.

The boy outside had come to a conclusion. He was going to break in to the castle no matter what the consequences were. Atleast he would have tried. The first thing to see was if there were any guards set outside. He went back to the edge of the clearing and peered out. He couldn’t see any guards. He then slowly edged his way forward. There were some low windows that he peered through but he couldn’t see anything because it was one way glass. He tried to look for any movement or shadows but he couldn’t see any either. The walls must have been sound proof because there wasn’t even a single sound to be heard.  He’d have to take his chances and maybe get caught the first thing when he went inside. He walked up to the big oak door that towered above him. It has down a shadow enveloping him in darkness. He already started to feel that he was doomed and all traces of hope left him. But, he reached out to the big iron door handle and gave it a slight pull. The door didn’t move. He tried it again, harder this time but it still didn’t move. How could he have been so stupid? Ofcourse the witch wouldn’t leave it open. She would lock it. He sighed deeply and leaned back on the door so that he could think about what to do next. The door swung back and he nearly fell back. He quickly turned around and saw the empty entrance of the castle. The door had been considerably light, eventhough it looked so heavy. He took a deep breath before stepping inside carefully. He froze when he came inside and took in his surroundings. So far, he hadn’t been approached by anyone. He began to think about where he might find the girl. Would they be with the witch or would she keep them somewhere else. He heard some noises coming from further ahead. He walked forward and looked inside the room. What he saw made his heart stop. It was filled with the taxidermy animals, all being barbaric. He tried to scan for Spunk but couldn’t see her. He was just about to turn around and go looking somewhere else when he heard the word dungeon. Dungeon! There was a dungeon here. Where else would the captives be hidden? He now knew where he had to look. He had a basement back at home. The basement had a staircase that led up to the kitchen. Maybe it was the same here. He kept on walking forward and sure enough, the room furthest of all was the kitchen. He peeked inside, saw that the coast was clear and walked in. He looked around but couldn’t see a door at all. He thought that maybe the door was invisible so he trailed his hand along the walls. He even lifted up a few things to see if they would trigger a door to open. But that didn’t work either. Maybe this wasn’t where the dungeon entrance was after all. He heard something outside the door. He began to walk fast so that he could find a place to hide but he tripped over the corner of the rug and fell. There was a thump and his heart skipped a breath. Whoever was on the other side of the door must have heard and would come inside now. He waited to be caught but nobody came. It had all been his imagination. He got up and dusted himself down. He was just going to turn and leave when he saw a wooden floor underneath the rug. The rest of the floor in the kitchen was made of stone. He lifted the corners of the rug and pulled it away. It was a door. He pulled open the door and went peered inside. It was quite dark. He started looking in the cupboards and draws, trying to find some candles and he did. He took the whole pack and lit one with a match stick. He then descended in to the dungeon.