The Madness Within ✓

XIX.

„You should leave, sir."

The man took a step inside the house, a wide, creepy smile painted across his face. Panic spread all over my body. I took a few steps back, to which the man walked even closer to me. I mainly focused on the axe, knowing that I'll be in trouble once he starts using it to stop me.

„No, miss, I think you should be the one leaving. You're causing problems in the village," the man responded and let out a loud chuckle. Then, when he noticed that I was focusing on his weapon more and not him, he looked at his axe, then at me. That terrifying smile told me that he enjoyed seeing me be afraid. And he wanted more.
He began swinging the axe around, making sure he gets it close enough to scare me, but also not too close so he doesn't hurt me - yet. I began backing away faster, looking behind me from time to time to make sure I don't hit the wall. We reached the end of the hallway. I looked around me, desperately trying to find a way to escape the man. I eventually chose to go up the stairs. Though it's definitely not a good idea, I had no other choice.

I ran up the stairs and into the library, then began looking around the room, searching for a weapon. I could hear his footsteps slowly going up the stairs, each step followed by a loud thud of the axe.
„I just wanted to talk, don't be afraid!" the man yelled out, laughing to himself. What a creep!

I looked everywhere I could for a weapon: I searched through the bookshelves, but there were only endless amounts of books stacked everywhere. I checked the cabinets, but all I found there were more papers and pens along with huge amounts of ink. There was nothing on the table that I could use.
Well, I could use the statue, since it apparently doesn't break, but I'd have to get rid of that axe somehow before even using that statue. I grabbed one of the statues from the table, just in case, and continued looking around.
He was now on the other side of the hall, smiling and watching me search for something to defend myself with.
„Why do we have to do this the hard way? I just want you to leave this place, that's all! You're ruining everything. You and that stupid friend of yours. I hope you know that he's next."
The man began laughing maniacally, his belly bumping up and down with each laugh that he let out.

He clutched the axe tighter in his hand, then used his other hand to also support the axe.
„So, breaking tables it is then, huh?" he asked, taking a few steps closer into the library. I looked around myself, trying to think of a way to escape. The man was blocking the door, so for now, there was no way for me to go that way. To my left was a window, but I'm pretty sure that it was locked. I could try jumping from it and running away, but the distance between the window and the ground was pretty big. I don't know how I'd land, but it was definitely better than dying here.
I decided to go with that plan: trying to open the window and jumping out of it.

The man took a step closer to one of the tables, then hit it using his axe. The axe got stuck in the table as the table stayed strong and didn't break in half. The man cursed under his breath and began taking out the axe. I used this situation to take a few steps closer to the window, making sure that they're not too fast but also not too slow. I didn't want the man to notice what I was trying to do. When I reached the window, I unlocked it and tried opening it. It was stuck.
The man noticed the noise that I was making. He used all his strength to pull out the axe, and when he did, he began sprinting towards me. Fortunately, I was somewhat faster than him, so I was able to escape him. Before he managed to catch up with me, I pulled at the window, hoping that it would at least open as I ran away from it. And it did. The man looked at the open window, then at me.

„Oh, I wouldn't recommend jumping off that window. Let's keep you away from it, okay?"

„Fuck you," I mumbled back to him, then looked around to inspect what I could do next. The man was now blocking the window, swinging his axe around to make sure that I don't get close to it again. The door was close to the window, meaning that if I would try to get closer to it, he'd definitely make sure I don't get out of here. I was stuck.

„Oh, now you're talking again? Why didn't you answer me when I asked you to leave? Do you really want to fight it out? You know I'm stronger," the man said, then smirked at me and pointed his axe at me.
„You're the one not letting me go. What if I wanted to leave just now?" I asked, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down and let myself think. The man began laughing again, and I used that opportunity to throw the statue at him.
The statue hit his chest, then fell down to the ground. He stopped laughing and looked down at the statue. Then, he looked back at me. This wasn't funny to him. In fact, it might've angered him even more.

„Oh, you bitch," the man mumbled and glared at me, then began running towards me, swinging his axe again. I felt my heart beat faster. If I don't manage to avoid his attack, he might actually hit me. He's going all in.
The man ran through the tables and swung his axe right towards me. I quickly grabbed the bookshelves near me and pulled myself closer to them, trying to avoid his attack. The axe hit the table that was next to me, but not hard enough to get it stuck inside it like before. I didn't have enough time to make a run for it. The man pulled out the axe from the table and turned to look at me again. The disgusting smirk was back on his face.

„Don't even think about trying to get to the window, or the door. You're not going to get there, no matter how much you fight against me."
The man took a few steps towards me and walked back to the window, making sure I didn't get any closer to it. Cold wind blew inside the room through the window and the moon shone inside, allowing me to see my surroundings better. I took a step back and my back hit one of the bookshelves. Oh no.

I turned around, only to realize that there was no way for me to escape. I was cornered. The man began laughing again, though this time he made sure not to let his eyes off me, just so I wouldn't try to do something again like a while ago.
„Time to say your last words," the man said and grinned, swinging his axe in the air, ready to strike whenever he wanted.
It can't end like this. There has to be a way to get out of this situation. Maybe I can outrun him somehow. Or I might be able to avoid the axe one more time. But how? Is this really it? Will I never learn the truth about what happened to grandma?

Suddenly, I noticed something move by the window. It looked like spider legs, except they were five times larger than a normal spider's legs. The tips of the two limbs were pointy, just like the fingers of the creature. The limbs were black and covered in blood. Was this the creature? But why did it look different? Was I just imagining this?
The two thin limbs made their way towards the man and wrapped themselves around his waist. He felt it and looked down at his belly.
„What.. what the fuck is this?!" the man yelled, panic rising in his voice. He dropped the axe to the ground, then began trying to take the two limbs off of him. But it didn't work. They gripped him tightly and began pulling him towards the window. No matter what he did, it was stronger than him.

„Help! Help me!!" the man started screaming, trying to grab anything that could stop him from getting pulled to the window. But nothing he did worked. I was paralyzed from fear, my hands began trembling, I didn't know what to do. Should I help him? Even if I wanted to, I was unable to move. Not even a single word came out of my mouth.
Once the man got pulled to the window, the strange limbs picked him off the ground and pulled him out through the window. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as he fell through the window. I heard a loud thud outside on the grass, followed by more screaming and other strange sounds that I couldn't even try to describe. Blood splattered all over the place, some of it even hitting the window, sending a chill down my body.

After a moment, the screaming stopped. There was complete silence outside now. I took a few steps towards the window, deciding whether I should look outside or not. Eventually, I decided to look. I took one more step to the window and looked out of it. It looked like a massacre.
Down by the window was the man - he was ripped to pieces, left almost unrecognizable. There was blood and his body scattered all over the place. It made me sick to my stomach. But at that moment, there was something else that made me feel even more afraid than I already was before.

By the remains of the man stood a tall creature, shorter than the previous creature that followed me and Chris, but still tall enough to be considered tall. It had a human-like body, yet its legs and arms were not human. They looked like a spider's legs, except there were only 4 of them. The creature had no face. Instead, there was a large hole inside its face, going as far as to the back of the head.

Though the creature had no face, I knew one thing for sure: its head was turned directly towards my direction.