Safehaven

Chapter 36

The following dawn, I was woken by a sudden clatter downstairs. Alarmed, I bolted straight up, startling Gwindol. He flopped onto the floor and gave a few nasty comments. I ignored him, and slipped out of bed, tip toeing to the door. Cautiously, I peered out. And, seeing nothing, I continued across the landing and down the stairs. As I neared the bottom, another crash resounded. There was a creak behind me, and Gwindoland I whirled around, only to see Kai and Antigone, who had her finger to her lips. I turned back and reached the foot of the stairs, Antigone at my side. As she and I peeked around the corner of the stairwell and into the gathering area, the breath slipped through my lips. Standing not 15 feet in front of me, a huge, burly THING was rummaging through our stuff. His skin was gray and dead, and sagged at the joints. It wore nothing save a soiled loincloth, which loosely hugged his flabby hips, and was only held together by a few worn strings. As the demon tossed a chair over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of its face. Fangs protruded from the mouth, curving up and reaching the sides of its nose. Lumps, bruises, and holes covered the actual face. It looked like the monster had spent all of its free time ramming its head into walls. Worst of all, the eyes were empty slits that resonated purpose and lacked life. They were solid white and glazed over with mist. The thing held up a sofa cushion, before hurling that too to the side. Already, much of the furnisher had been shredded and strewn to bits. The little that had managed to stay intact had stuffing seeping out of multiple holes. And, still fast alseep on one of the surviving chairs, Holly snored on. She was oblivious to the fact that some THING was tearing up the room.Sage and Quinton were gone, so I assumed they had gone back upstairs after a while. Antigone and I ducked as part of a couch sailed over our heads and collided with the wall behind us. It burst into slivers, and rained down on our heads. I brushed the bits out of my hair. What in the world was this thing? Could it be one of Morian's minions, or another form enemy? Thoughts swirled around, as the thing shredded more upholstery. Behind me, Antigone gave a little whimper. I couldn't blame her. Just standing here, looking at the beast, almost made me wet my pants. As the sound left Antigone's lips, the thing froze and stopped what he had been doing, which was ripping one of the paintings off the wall. The beast sniffed the air. And, seeming to smell nothing, it proceeded to turn its head this way and that, almost like it was trying to tune into radio station that it had lost connection to. As the invader slowly made its way toward the stairs, shivers raced down my spine. I could only think of one thing. What did things like this always happen to us? The thing was only feet away, when Antigone and I were saved. Bounding down the steps like a madman, Quinton rounded the banister and charged the beast head on, with Felix at his side. With one leap, the boy cleared much of the space between him and is foe, and, in seconds, they were face to face. In one single, fluid motion, Quinton yanked off his gloves and swiped his claws across the demons midsection. It howled in rage, and attempted a lousy swing at Quinton's head. But the boy was too fast, and ducked out of the way. Felix clamped his teeth onto one the thing's legs, and held tight. This caused the beast to become even less balanced, and gave Quinton an upper hand advantage. Taking the open opportunity, Quinton pounced with feline grace and landed on the beast's shoulders. He stabbed and clawed the beast's face, as it shrieked in pain and staggered around. With the fatal swing, Quinton slashed the beast's neck, and, instead of blood, dark ash began to pour out of the wound. As more dust reached the floor, the demon got smaller. It looked like a popsicle that had been left out too long in the sun. Before long, nothing but ash covered the floor. Quinton stood rigid on the floor, but he soon turned to face Antigone and I, who were still on the stairs. The boy smiled. And, with black powder covering his form and face, Quinton looked like the world's largest dust bunny, though he was grinning like a maniac. "Let's do it again!" He called. Felix the nemian lion mewled in agreement. I just stood, staring in shock. "What the heck was that thing?" Antigone finally spluttered. He face was sheet white, and her griffin was helpfully coughing up a hairball behind her. Snow swirled around the girl's shape, and lazily drifted to the ground. Her tail stood straight out, puffed up like a bottle brush. "I don't know what it was, but I know how it got in." I answered. I stepped off the stairs and indicated a broken window pane, from which cold morning air was drifting through. It was the same window that Quinton had sent a pen through just weeks ago. Broken glass layered the floor, and a jagged hole was clearly seen in the remaining fragments. There was a shuffle of feet, and the rest of our party rushed down the stairwell. Upon seeing the broken window, ash on the floor, and Quinton covered in it, they seemed to understand the main gist. We had been attacked, yet again. This game was getting tiresome. "What was it this time?" Jada questioned, wide eyed and awake. Sage yawned, and Dash followed suit. "I have not the slightest idea." Antigone answered. Suddenly, there was a faint click, as the door to the hallway was opened. Everyone tensed, and I could feel the anxiousness emanating from person and animal alike. Holly snoozed on. The door creaked open, and a lithe figure sidled in, shutting the door behind it. It entered into the common room, and the light from the ever burning hearth cast recognition upon it's face. "That," Nathen murmered. "Was a golem."