Sister Dearest (complete)

Chapter 6

     A few miles into the walk I started to feel tired but Dragos didn't seem to be even breaking a sweat. Sure he looked much stronger than me with his muscular arms and serious expression, but walking? Come on! 'I ran cross country in high school I can do better than this!' I thought, catching up to Dragos.
"Starting to get tired? Don't worry we'll be there soon." The castle was at least 12 more miles away. I groaned.
"No we won't!" I argued. He turned to me.
"Dude not to the castle. To the carriage."
"What-" Before I could finish my sentence, a large buggy with two black horses was visible through the trees. "Carriage......"
"Every day, a local takes a carriage out here to transport people to the castle but he'll only go so far. I'm just surprised we aren't late!" He dragged me over to the buggy and knocked on the side. A gruff and scratchy voice asked something in Romanian and Dragos replied. He handed an old man a few coins and gestured for me to follow him into the buggy. I did as he suggested and as soon as my left foot was off the ground, the two black horses started to clop onward into the woods.
     I felt relieved to not have to walk 12 more miles. Dragos and I sat awkwardly next to each other. "Lemme see that picture of your sister again..."
"Ok..." I took the picture out of my pocket and handed it over to him. He took it and stared at it for a minute, then whistled.
"She's a looker isn't she?" A dark blush covered his face. I rolled my eyes.
"Ok ok chill down, lover boy. That's my sister you're talking about...."
"Sorry just.....wow..."
       A few more hours passed. We went over a bump. The wooden cross bounced on my chest a little, causing me to wake up a bit. I was half asleep. Dragos seemed to be fixated on something outside. I followed his gaze. My eyes widened at the sight of a black cloud, completely made of bats, charging towards us. My stomach churned and a violent shiver went down my spine. As you may know, I hate bats.
     The horses went wild and the carriage was violently dragged away from the charging mass of bats. Dragos jumped out of the buggy. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I yelled at him. He didn't answer. He held up his cross, his arm steady and still. The bats flew around it, as if they were afraid of it. They looked like the parting of the red sea except black and creepy. 
     Dragos looked unfazed as he took out the bottle of holy water in his pack, still holding out the cross. He flung a few drops into the air at the bats and they immediately fled. I watched in amazement as he sprinted after the buggy. The bats were gone but it was getting dark. I held out my hand and he took it. I pulled him back into the buggy and he panted. "Well that's dealt with...." He said matter of factly.