BROKEN BEASTS | COMPLETED

04

04

Raphael stalked towards the door, searching for a way to stall the crowd. All he needed was enough time for Issie to drop out of the upstairs window. For her to drop without making too much of a sound when she eventually landed on the ground. It had rained the previous day before, so it wouldn't be too much of a hard landing for her. The constant hammering on the door was becoming more and more violent, and Raphael feared that the door would have reached its limit by the time he made it to the door.

The door was barely hanging on to its hinges. The closer he got to the door, the more intelligible the words sounded.  What were they chanting?

"Bring out the beast! We want the beast!"

The words never made it into a rhythm and the chant was slightly disjointed. Some people started later than others, others said the wrong sentence at the wrong time, but it was clear what they were saying.

Beast? Raphael's heart halted for a few seconds. Were they actually looking for him? How had word of his involvement spread around? Was it his fault that Issie's home had practically exploded in front of his eyes? Was it his fault that her mother was now missing?

Raphael quickly peeked through the keyhole to see the caveman-esque torches. The glowing flames caught his eye first, then he looked at the faces surrounding the cabin. Men. If women were present, Raphael couldn't tell because of the black hoods that hid most of their faces.

Raphael looked back to make sure that the hallway behind him was clear. He had no choice. He was going to have to stall. He wrenched open the door.

"Hello?" Raphael's voice was uneven, mostly because the smoke from the flames had started to reach his nostrils. "How can I help?"

A man – a very burly man – with a black ponytail similar to Issie's father's, stepped to the front of the crowd. The crowd's chant halted to a complete stop. Raphael noticed the skull-and-crossbones tattoo visible under his transparent shirt, which seemed like it was going to rip open at any moment.

"Bring out the beast. That's all we ask for." He said simply. The aura of pride radiated off him, forcing Raphael to be on the defensive.

"What beast? Nobody except me lives here?"

The man looked confused. His thick, very manicured, perfect eyebrows scrunched together as he looked away from Raphael.  He looked back into the crowd, and started to whisper something into the ear of the person beside him. Raphael craned his neck forward to focus on what he was saying.

"Didn't you say that the beast was a female? Surely, it cannot be him."

The only beast he knew was him. The only monster in the cabin was him.

A woman made her way to the front of the crowd, letting the crowd create a miniature pathway for her. She was familiar. Similar to Issie, especially in the way that she carried herself. Her face was stone-cold, the aura emitting from her was of elegance.

This was Issie's mother. Raphael could tell, not only from her facial features, but from the ring that sat loosely on her left finger. The ring was rarely seen on Issie's father's hand, but Raphael noticed that he only wore it in private.

"Don't be deceived by my daughter's charms. She may not be like her sisters, but her charms are still there." Her voice was silky. So smooth.

Issie often read of the syrens, that sang men lullabies to their deaths, to him. The knot in his stomach as this woman spoke him, gave him the same feeling. Death emitted from her, and Raphael was sure that this was her intention.