Run

Prologue

The lion's outside of the door

    The wolf's in their bed

        The lion runs through the door

                          And the real fun begins

                As they both rush upon them

                And rips open their flesh

             The lion eats his fill and then.                                                         
                The wolf cleans up the mess.

The lullaby drifts through the dark nursery as a small figure rocks her bundle, the woman sways as she sings to her newborn daughter the song her mother sang to her. The baby gurgles and then settles down as the sweet song curls around the infant sinking her deeper and deeper into soundless sleep. The mother kisses her baby and walks towards the large bay window overlooking the enormous estate. The woman scans the horizon of trees searching for something, squinting she gasps and presses the sleeping child closer to her chest, from the shadows of the field emerges a lone wolf. It's yellow eyes searching the dark mansion but not seeming to see the woman or the child. Covering her mouth the woman sinks deeper into the darkness and bumping into the crib she lets out a startled yelp which stirs the baby. The baby starts crying and from where the woman stood she saw the wolf's deep red eyes pierce hers. The wolf bolted for the mansion and the woman started shouting for her husband. A man met her in the spacious hallway where the woman screamed and pointed towards the double French doors, the wood cracked on impact as the beast rammed into it. The man yelled for his men to hold the doors, three young men rushed the doors as the door splintered and shattered revealing a shaggy black wolf its muzzle dripping in fresh blood. Without hesitation, the wolf butchered the young men as the man led his wife and crying baby towards the end of the hall. Slipping into the room at the end of the hall the man quickly slams the door behind them.

"Go!" He screams as the door pushes against his body, he barely has enough strength to stop it. The woman cries and quickly runs to the other end of the room she pulls back the carpet and reveals a small door in the floorboards, she pulls up the handle and sinks down into the hole careful not to drop her baby or miss a step. She glances at her husband for the last time as he rushes over to her he kisses her and their baby and urges her to go she closes the door behind her as he covers the door with the rug She hears the door from above slam open and her husband scramble away. She covers her mouth to stifle a scream, her husband's gurgling screams rip through her as she hears him slump to the ground. Silent tears follow her as she makes her way down the ladder and into a small crawl space she coos to the baby and rocks her the best she can. The woman's diamond earrings jingle as she manages to crawl through the first passageway, her silk nightgown rips as her knees encountered the rocky earth. She stops, up ahead she sees shadows moving around. She waits silently praying the goddess that her baby doesn't make a sound. Soon the shadows drift away and she inches towards the exit, she quietly pushes herself up from the hole and scans her surroundings before running as fast as she can for the woods. Shouts ring out behind her but she's already put distance from herself and the men chasing her. She makes into the dark forest and starts jumping over the roots and ducking under branches. She knows these woods like the back of her hand, she used to run them with her husband, tears threaten to break free but she musters up the courage not to cry. The baby is eerily quiet as it's tussled around. The woman sees a clearing up ahead and it gives her more adrenalin she leaps over the last log and bursts through the brush and across an empty field towards an old log cabin. She burst down the door and rocks it behind her. She starts screaming, soon an old woman comes rushing out holding a shotgun. She takes one look at the woman and her eyes go wide and tears threaten to form. Wolf howls sound in the distance as they close in. The woman hands the old lady the baby and kisses both before stating her husband's dead and she won't make it, she kisses both again before sprinting out of the house and running the opposite way. The old woman quickly looks at the baby who seems to be sleeping and she rushes towards her kitchen she starts rubbing the baby all over in lemon juice and pulls the small refrigerator out before pulling up the loose floor boards she places the sleeping baby inside the floor and covers her up. She then wipes everything up, and grabs her shotgun and waits.

Soon her door busts down and two lumbering men slink in with dirty smirks.

"Now you stay right there you hear? These are silver bullets and I don't miss." The old woman shouted her apron billowing in the night breeze.

"Now Maggie is that anyway to treat the Lion's sons?"  A tall hulking figure emerged, he seemed to fill the entire cabin with his presence, the woman faltered but quickly recovered.

"I don't care kinda animal's sons they is, this here is my house now get!" She waved her rifle.

"I'm sure you've heard some commotion from your neighbors? Well, Lady Darlium has taken something that was promised to me? I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that? No matter, boy's search the house and when you're done. Burn it." The two men rushed past the woman as she bellowed.

"Please you can search my house but don't burn it, it's all that I have!" She cried.

"Maybe now you won't speak so unkindly to your new leader." The men searched the house turning couches over and rummaging through her cabinets when they came up empty they lit a match.

"Well seems you might not know after all no matter we'll find Lady Darlium soon enough-." He was cut off by screams coming from the eastern woods, the woman's screams we cut short by animal sounds and then the night's silence engulfed them.

"Appears she has been found, well I do hope your night does get better, boys!" The men laughed and doused the curtains and carpets in gasoline and oil before lighting the matches and letting them fly. Fire burst out and engulfed the living room and bedroom. Maggie scream as the men laughed and ran from the house. She glanced out the door way as smoke filled her lungs at the men taking off for the woods. She rushed towards the refrigerator and coughed and cried as she heaved the stove off the floor boards. She grabbed the baby and ran from her burning house. She coughed and watched her cabin burn, she started towards the neighboring houses while she heard the wolves eating and celebrating. She covered the baby and hugged her close. She didn't know what to do but she did know where to go.