Eldritch

Chapter 32

Lisa leans into Daniel and they clutch each other tightly, holding their breaths, as the creature prowls around the bedroom leading to this secret room. They hear its claws scraping against the floorboards. Its heavy breathing. It skulks around the bedroom, trying to locate its prey.

Then, Daniel hears the faint echo of a banging noise. The creature bounding away from them. They both breathe sighs of relief. The relief is replaced by gut wrenching terror when a shrill scream pierces the air.

They catch each other's eye. 'Sophie,' Lisa gasps.

Daniel throws the door open which knocks loudly against the wall. He clambers through the doorway as Lisa urges him to stay as he is. He ignores her and jumps to his feet, darting out into the hallway, where Sophie is crawling along the landing on her back. Her crying as it stalks closer to her. Martin getting ready to jump in the way. 'No,' Daniel orders.

He launches himself toward it and throws himself to land in a piggy back position on its slimy, horrible skin. Daniel grimaces at the feel of it, but holds on, nonetheless. 'Gross.'

It jolts from side to side, attempting to shake him off, but he persists, clutching it as tightly as possible. 'Everyone,' he shouts. 'Get out, now. Run.'

It takes a moment for them all to reappear from their hiding spots, while Martin rushes to Sophie's aid and lifts her to her feet. He stares at Daniel, who bellows at him. 'Take her and go, now. I can't hold on much longer.'

The twins dash down the stairs together as Daniel loses grip with one hand. He jumps back up its back and assumes his position again. Sean eyes him as though he wants to help. 'Go,' Daniel shouts.

He and Ella follow suit and rush toward the door. They join Sophie and Martin in unblocking the doorway of furniture. As Charlene appears in a doorway, she freezes. It's then that the creature growls so hard, it almost shakes the house. This time, Daniel falls to the floor, and the creature is on top of him before he knows it, Charlene watching on in horror. As it presses its hand to his windpipe, he splutters. 'Charlene, go, now,' he chokes.

He pleads to her with his eyes. She swallows, nods, and with tears in her eyes, sprints downstairs to the others, just as they pull the door open.

They dash outside, and Ella screams as she almost trips over and looks to the ground. Sprawled at the porch are a mass of maimed bodies, all clothed in shredded police uniforms. One of them sporting the star shaped badge of a Sheriff. Their guns scattered around the cement.

Back upstairs, Daniel squirms beneath the creature as his face reddens. Tears stream from his eyes as it wraps its claws around his wrists and starts to pinch at his flesh. Baring its fangs at him, it brings its head an inch short of his face. He closes his eyes as it begins to drool on his shirt, a thick mucus dripping onto him.

The crimson coursing through his face transcends to a shade of purple. He wheezes beneath its tight grasp, and his struggling muscles begin to give way, relaxing slightly. He almost relaxes into a slump when he hears Lisa's voice echoing through his head. 'Oh no you don't,' she shrieks.

At that moment, he hears a clatter as a candlestick falls just short of his knee. And another comes flying, knocking its head as though it's the mole in a game of whack a mole. It roars again and releases its grasp on Daniel, who splutters heavily as it dashes toward Lisa, its fangs bared and claws ready to take a swipe at her. She backs away as Daniel slowly rises upwards, still wheezing into the palm of his hand. 'No,' he aims at the creature. 'Stop.'

His cries prove futile as it takes hold of Lisa by the throat, her feet precariously close to the edge of the very top step of the staircase. She looks to Daniel, her eyes filling with terror and he rushes toward her. As he gets to his feet, the creature roars again and splatters Lisa's blood on the banister as it sticks its claws through her chest. She makes a gagging sound and Daniel follows her line of vision as she lowers her head to look at her wound. Then, the creature loosens its grasp on her throat and rips its claws away, which are now covered in her blood. As it releases her, she tumbles down the stairs, and Daniel bounds after her, as she lands to the floor below with a thud.

Daniel doesn't even stop to give thought to the creature or its location. At this moment, he doesn't care. Lisa is his priority. He stumbles as he rushes to her, regaining his balance a couple of times along the way. She lies on the floor, groaning, as her blood spills out from beneath her. He hears a smashing noise upstairs, presumably the Gamemaster departing the house through one of the windows, and focuses back in on her. He kneels before her and props her up, so her head is resting on his elbow. He comes to straighten his legs out and hold her in his arms. 'Daniel,' she cries. 'It hurts.'

She leans her head backwards and rests her neck against one of his shoulders. He weeps alongside her. 'I know,' he says. He presses a hand to her chest to reduce the bleeding.

As she looks up to his sombre face, she reaches out to him and grazes his cheek with her thumb. 'This is a perfect way to go,' she smiles.

He shakes his head. 'No, no, no, Lisa. No. Stop talking like that. You're going to be okay.'

He closes his eyes and a tear drop falls onto the floor beside him, knowing that's not true. Blood continues to seep from her weakening body.

'It's okay,' she groans. 'I'm happy. I'm in your arms.'

She continues to groan with the pain, while trying to smile up to him. He knows she's not going to survive. He knows that. But he wishes he could do something that'd alleviate her pain. So, he finds himself doing something he didn't really think through.

He presses his lips to hers and kisses her. He keeps her in that sweet embrace for a moment, and she pants as he pulls away. 'Wha—what--'

He quietens her down by stroking her hair. 'I wanted to make you feel better, I guess, even if only for a second. And I'm still in love with you, Lisa.'

She looks up to him, trying to smile. She's physically too weak. But she doesn't need to, because he can see the smile spreading to the corners of her eyes. 'It was perfect,' she says.

Then, her eyelids fall closed, just as a tear rolls down her cheek. Daniel weeps as he clutches her corpse in his arms and rocks her back and forward.