Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Thirty Nine

     The both of them walked hand in hand toward the front yard and Link blinked several times. He couldn't believe how dark it had become so fast, but it was just light enough that they could see a few feet in front of them. He tightened his grip slightly on Lily's hand as they stopped in the road. They looked left and right before crossing the street, and they made a path up the street while they called for Jade.

     It wasn't quite dark enough for the streetlights to kick over, and for some strange reason, nobody on the block decided to turn their porch lights on. Link grew increasingly frustrated as he stared at the ground a few feet ahead of him. Lily called for Jade again. Link's heart sank at hearing the defeat in his daughter's voice. "Dad, what if I lost her for real? What if she was run over or dognapped? It would be all my fault."  She squeezed Link's hand. 

     He stopped walking and stooped to level with her. "Lily, she's gonna be okay. We're going to find her. She couldn't have wandered too far," he said reassuringly while he rubbed her back in circles. He turned his head and exhaled sharply. It was dark now, and they still had no light. His eyes scanned the area again before falling on the sky, where he saw a sliver of the moon rising above the trees. 

     It reminded him of a candle flame with how red-orange it appeared. His heart pounded in his chest and he felt lightheaded. He didn't want to be out here with his daughter in case something went down. "Crap. It's too dark out now and I don't have a flashlight on me. Let's head back real quick and—" 

     "Dad! Shh!" 

     He clamped his mouth shut. Whimpers could be heard and a small animal rushed toward them. Jade collided with Lily's legs and she dropped to the ground, taking the dog into her arms. Link's eyes widened at the state of the poor animal, almost as if she'd been locked in a freezer. He pet her gently when he felt his heart flutter. 

     Link clutched his chest and gasped. His throat tightened like he wanted to throw up, but the pressure built up in his chest said otherwise. Like he wanted to scream. A growl ripped through his eardrums and he slowly turned his head to look behind him. In the darkness, he could tell that the beast lurked in the dancing elusive shadows.

     "What is that?" Lily asked as she narrowed her eyes. She hoisted herself up on her tippy toes and craned her neck left and right to try to see it better, but let out a huff of frustration. Link snatched her by the arm when he caught her taking a step forward and he shook his head vehemently. She reared backward and looked at her dad with wide eyes. "Dad, I think it's another dog!" 

     His legs told him to take his daughter and run, but his muscles seemed to be frozen stiff. Another growl rolled in their direction like a rumble of thunder and Lily cried out in surprise. "What is that?" She repeated her question, her tone more terrified now rather than curious. 

     Link shook his head as he started to suck in too many breaths. Suddenly, the streetlights illuminated one by one in a row down the street, and Link and Lily followed them with their eyes all the way to the end. In the spotlight at the end was something crouched on its knees. 

     It slowly rolled up to its feet, and stood at least 7 ft tall. Link made eye contact with the cold grey eyes and shuddered as if somebody had opened his shirt and poured a bucket of ice cubes down his back. Lily's hands flew up to her mouth, her eyes wide as saucers. Jade fell to the ground and scampered back toward the house. 

     Lily cried again and went to chase Jade when Link tightened his hold on her. They then watched as its hideous snout cracked open, revealing a set of menacing fangs as a snarl rolled off its tongue. It dropped to all fours and galloped toward them.

     "No, no! We need to get inside. Now!" He found the will to run and took off toward the house, dragging Lily behind him. He nearly stumbled on his own two feet as he sped toward the backyard. He regained his footing just as quickly but resembled a toddler that had learned to walk for the first time. When he saw the everyone around the table, he was relieved but terrified. 

     Link stopped in front of them, breathless. Rhett sprang to his feet and knocked the chair backward. He noticed Link was out of breath and Lily had scooped Jade up into her arms and had cried softly.

     "Get inside. Get inside now!" Link gave Rhett a look and Rhett knew instantly that trouble was afoot. Another growl sounded through the trees and houses around them. Rhett stopped to take in the horrifying sound, and he definitely knew. It didn't take him another moment to start scooping kids into his arms. He carried two at a time in, Shepard and Lando first. 

     Christy ran toward Link who took Lily into his arms. "What's going on?" Her voice crackled with concern, and Link just gave her a quick look before ushering the both of them inside. Jessie sensed the urgency in the guys and she took Locke by the arms and led him inside. Christy hurriedly shooed Lincoln in, and at that point decided she would ask the questions later. 

     Locke and Lily locked gazes, conveying a question to each other almost telepathically. All five of the kids were seated on the couch, Christy and Jessie beside one another with their arms around themselves in a self assuring embrace. Rhett and Link bolted around the house like two crazed chickens with their heads cut off making sure all of the windows and doors were locked, and that the curtains had been pulled firmly shut. Once they were done, they stood by their wives and the four of them saw the painted horror on the faces of their kids.

     As dead silence consumed them while they tried to process what had happened, a howl echoed around the house, reminding them of the immediate danger they'd found themselves in.