The Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro

by J. Hickey

Chapter 15

  The Second Escape

  Hunter prepped the lock once again with a wadded-up sheet of paper. Margot had come up at the usual time to say goodnight to the kids and take Alistair and Liv back to their respective rooms. She looked tired and sickly. The kids knew she was struggling with everything that had happened in the last few days. A lot of the mansion's staff wore the stress on their faces. Margot had deep, dark bags under her eyes and had a sickly yellowish tint to her skin. She tried to hide it from the kids, promising that their uncle would get better soon, filling their ears with as much hope as anyone could muster.

  Hunter felt a little bad taking advantage of her kindness. Distracting Margot was easy; she was just too tired to stay alert. Alistair and Liv bombarded her with questions about the beast while Hunter snuck over and stuffed the lock with the crumpled paper. Phase one of the plan was done.

  "I'm so sorry, children. There has been no news about the wretched animal being caught." Margot collapsed tiredly onto Ely's bed.

  "You look terrible, are you sick?" Elly asked.

  "So much is going on right now. Nothing is right, and everything is just getting to me," she answered truthfully.

  "I'm sure Sebastian helps make things better. He's so nice," Elly said.

  "Normally," Margot couldn't hide her frown.

  "Are you two okay?" Liv asked.

  "Since the attack… let's just say we have not really seen eye to eye." Margot nervously played with her engagement ring, spinning it around her finger.

  "I'm sorry." Elly and Liv both hugged Margot.

  "It's okay," Margot stood up from the bed and yawned. "It's getting late; let me take you children back to your parents. You and Hunter should get some sleep tonight. Hopefully something happens tonight and they get that damned creature so we can go back to some normalcy here in the mansion."

  "Okay, goodnight!" Hunter stated with a mischievous smile that Margot was oblivious too.

  Margot escorted Hunter and Elly's friends out of their room and locked their door. Hunter jumped into his bed with excitement.

  "You should feel terrible. She's hurting just like we are, except you act like nothing's wrong," Elly scolded.

  "Shut up!" Hunter frowned. "Just because you're too scared to help"

  "I'm not scared!" Elly yelled back.

  "Whatever, just go to bed." Hunter turned his back on his sister. He reached under his bed and pulled out his backpack. He checked his supplies: water bottle, two granola snacks, a large flashlight, and a Swiss army knife his father had gotten for him on his tenth birthday.

  That knife was the favorite gift he had ever gotten from his father. He remembered the day fondly.

  "I've had that Swiss army knife since I was ten. It's been in our family for generations," his dad said to him as he cut his birthday cake. "It's saved my life before… it's sort of an heirloom."

  "Saved your life?" Hunter asked as he swapped out the different utensils in the knife. He was amazed at what the knife could do; it had a spoon, fork, corkscrew, a small knife, bottle opener, compass, ruler… and the list went on. Hunter thought it had everything anyone could ever need at any given moment.

  "More than once." His dad smiled. "Look here." He flipped the knife over in his son's hands. "There's your ‘great-great-great' grandfather's initials." The letters L. G. J. were inscribed at the knife's base in dark gold lettering.

  "L.G.J.?" Hunter asked.

  "Laurence Glenn Jakobs," his dad said, smiling proudly. "I have a picture of him here." His father pulled out a bursting wallet that looked like it was about to fall apart at the seams. He unfolded it and pulled an old photo out. There in front of a large mansion stood a young and masculine Laurence Glen Jakobs. He stood smiling next to a scrawny old man with his arm over him. Hunter remembered thinking the two seemed like best friends, despite the large age difference. His memory was foggy now, and he wished he could remember the photo in his head; it was nothing but a blur

  "Who's that with the man?" Hunter remembered asking.

  "Well, that's an old family friend," his dad answered.

  The memory escaped Hunter until now as he fiddled with the knife in his hands. The knife made him feel closer to his father. He wasn't quite sure why or how, but he felt comfort holding it.

  He and his sister didn't speak for the rest of the evening. They lay in their beds with their backs to one another until the clock struck midnight. Hunter was restless waiting; he sprung out of bed and slung his backpack across his shoulders. He turned and was startled to see his sister waiting by the door with her pack ready to go.

  "What are you doing?" Hunter asked, annoyed. "Get back to bed."

  "I'm not staying here alone."

  "You're not coming with us." Hunter signaled for Trayer, who sat patiently next to Elly. "C'mon, boy, come," said Hunter impatiently.

  "He won't move until I give him permission. He's my dog, I trained him."

  "Whatever, I bet I can get him to come." Hunter challenged his little sister.

  "Bet you can't," she protested.

  Hunter opened his backpack and quickly unwrapped one his granola snacks. "C'mon, boy, treat." He waved the food in the air. "I said treat, you stupid dog, treat!" he started yelling. Trayer waged his tail a little, and his huge mouth drooled at the sight of the tasty treat. The large pup let out a small whine, as if asking Elly if it was okay to accept the treat.

  "No," Elly said plainly, and Trayer immediately settled down.

  "See, I told you. He listens to me. Now, if you want him to track that thing, then you need me to go along too," she explained.

  "You said you were too scared to go."

  "I changed my mind. If something goes bad, I want to be there to make sure my friends are safe."

  "Fine!" Hunter frowned. "Shut up and follow me."

  Hunter had memorized how to get to both Alistair's and Liv's rooms based on their directions. He recited it over and over in his head: Move down the hallway, fourth room on the left past the elevator. Hunter and Elly waited at the door impatiently. The hallways were lit up, unlike their first escape. They assumed they were left on to steer the beast away from roaming the halls. The door slowly creaked open, and Alistair stuck his head out, signaling to Hunter and Elly to keep quiet.

  "It worked!" Alistair whispered.

  "Your dad sleeping?" Elly whispered back.

  "Like a rock, c'mon, let's go get Liv."

  "Follow me." Hunter moved on down the hall.

  Back to the elevator, hang a second right, down the hall past the storage closet, third room on the right, Hunter thought to himself as he led the way.

  "I think this is it." He pointed to room 312. "Where's Liv?"

  Alistair looked around.

  "Behind you." Liv poked Hunter on the shoulder, who in turn jumped and screamed.

  "Quiet!" Elly scolded, shooting her older brother a look of disgust.

  "Sorry." Liv laughed. "I got bored waiting for you, so I took a walk down the hall."

  "Is your dad sleeping too?" Alistair asked.

  "No, he's out searching for the monster. So we have to be careful we don't get caught. A group of parents are out patrolling."

  "Great," Elly whined.

  "How's Trayer?" Liv knelt down to pet the pup. "Is he leading us?"

  "Not yet," Elly answered. "He needs the scent first."

  "Here." Hunter pulled the clump of hair out of his denim pocket and handed it to Elly. She took the hair and held it to Trayer's nose so he could get a good smell. She then put the hair on the ground and pointed to it. "Trayer, find," she said with a strict tone. Trayer's tail started wagging, his nose centimeters from the floor, sniffing very loudly in a circle trying to pick up its scent.

  "I don't think he's picking it up," Hunter said, already sounding defeated.

  "Give him a second." Elly frowned.

  Then he was off. The large green-haired puppy set off down the hall. The children rushed off, following behind. He stopped a few ha
lls down at a window looking out over the back courtyard. It was blocked off with bright yellow caution tape. Where the windowpane had been was now replaced with a thick layer of plastic to keep the heat in the building. The windowpane was scratched and deep claw marks had stripped the paint off the walls.

  "What do you think happened here?" Liv pointed to a few small shards of glass still in the carpet beneath the window.

  "I think it went outside through the window, maybe?" Alistair answered.

  "Let's check it out," Hunter suggested.

  "Wait!" Elly protested. "No one said anything about going out of the mansion. Hunter, don't you remember how large that forest is?"

  "No one said we wouldn't go out of the mansion either," Hunter shot back.

  "C'mon, Elly, we won't stay out long, we'll just check out around the mansion grounds. Maybe Trayer won't pick up its scent outside," Alistair interjected.

  "Fine!" Elly wasn't happy.

  The group made their way to the elevator and promptly set out for the main level of the mansion. The elevator door opened and the children once again found themselves setting foot into the main foyer. Elly held Trayer tight by the collar as they heard a couple arguing down below.

  "Quiet," Alistair whispered. He peeked over the edge of the balcony and down onto the main floor. There he saw Margot and Sebastian arguing by the entrance. He waved the group over to listen.

  "Frankly, I am a little confused as to why you're so upset over this Joe character," Sebastian yelled. He tried to keep his composure as he spoke, but he was failing miserably. His normally cool demeanor was gone, and his cheeks were red in anger.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Margot replied. Elly could tell by Margot's face that she had been crying.

  "You tell me," he scoffed, almost mocking Margot's ignorance of the matter.

  "He's a friend who tried to save his niece and nephew, and now he's on his deathbed!" Margot's words now turned to anger.

  "Is that it?" Sebastian slung his bag over his shoulder.

  "You're just leaving like this?"

  "You know I have a plane to catch," he said hotly.

  "In the morning. There's no need to storm out at this hour. You know that beast is out there."

  "I'm not afraid of that thing." Sebastian laughed, insulted at the claim.

  "You know it attacked Agent Roberts last night and dragged him out of the fourth-floor window. No one has seen or heard from him yet. It's dangerous. Don't go out there; at least wait for me to get Ben or Abram to escort you out."

  "Do not act like you're worried for me. Save your worries for your new friend," Sebastian turned quickly to walk away.

  "Sebastian…" Margot grabbed his shoulder. "Please stay and talk to me," she begged.

  "We'll talk when I come back from my trip," he said coldly.

  "I didn't mean it…" Margot cried.

  "So you accidently called me a coward?" He laughed, mocking her before unlocking the front door and walking off into the cold night air. Margot started sobbing loudly and slowly made her way up the eastern side of the stairs that led to the elevator.

  "Quick, down the other side!" Hunter pointed as the group made their way down the opposite side of the balcony.

  "That was close," Alistair whispered.

  The children were now on the main level foyer. It was here Hunter had first set eyes on Liv. He remembered the brunch and how he had felt standing next to her for the first time. A lot had happened in that short period. Now he stood beside her again, and despite her beauty and his unfamiliar feelings for her, he felt comfortable in her presence. He hadn't really given it much thought since the attack on his uncle.

  They stood underneath the mounted monster heads that had caught Hunter's attention when they first arrived. He now knew that they could very well be real. The thought struck a little fear into him-the unknowing feeling of not being able to tell truth from fiction. They had spent their entire lives being told monsters and creatures like those before them were not real. Now one of those very creatures could have taken their uncle's life, and they were out hunting for its lair.

  "They scared me too when I first saw them." Liv stood next to Hunter, staring at the giant saber-tooth tiger's head.

  "Oh," Hunter replied. "They don't scare me."

  "It's okay if they do. It's kind of a lot to take in. I wonder what really exists out there that we don't know about," she added. "My favorite is the saber-tooth tiger."

  "I think it's exciting," Alistair said as he nudged in between the two. "So much to discover."

  Hunter gave Alistair a dirty look for butting in. He knew Alistair didn't realize he had broken up what Hunter thought was a shared moment between him and Liv, but alas he had.

  "What?" Alistair shrugged.

  "Nothing, let's go." Hunter turned away from the two and started walking towards the front entrance.

  "We can't get out that way," Elly said, standing next to a window. "We don't have the key. It locks from both sides. Don't you remember?"

  "What kind of door locks people in and well as out?" Alistair whined.

  "Probably the kind that doesn't want kids likes us outside in the woods after dark," Elly added. "Guess we head back to our rooms now since we can't get out."

  "We can use the window," Alistair suggested.

  "Yeah, c'mon, help me open it." Hunter grunted as he tried to pry the large thick window open. "It's stuck."

  Alistair helped, and together the boys pulled the window open.

  "It's screened." Liv frowned.

  "We'll punch it out," Alistair added.

  "It's not that type of screen look." She pointed. The screen was a wire mesh, not easy to get through like a common household screen.

  "I knew this would come in handy!" Hunter pulled out his family's Swiss army knife. He flipped out a small pair of scissors and began clipping the mesh wire until the window was free from any constraints.

  "There we are." Hunter squeezed his way through the window and dropped down onto the cold, hard grass. "It's a bit of a drop, so be careful," he said as Liv made her way through the window.

  "Catch me if I fall." She jumped down.

  Alistair came next. "C'mon, Elly, you coming?" he asked.

  Elly sighed, she signaled to the window for Trayer to jump through. He did so easily, and Elly soon followed.

  "Okay we have to let Trayer readjust to the scent outside," Elly explained, once again allowing Trayer to sniff the clump of purple hair.

  "Wait!" Hunter whispered loudly.

  "What?" Elly shot back.

  Hunter pointed towards the main entrance, where Sebastian still stood. He was talking to someone on the phone. The children stood back out of eyesight as he started to walk down the long winding path towards the mansion's locked gates.

  "Wonder who he's talking to?" Hunter whispered.

  The children could tell Sebastian was still angry. At one point, he threw up his hands in protest and yelled.

  "I told you to meet me at one a.m., and you're late!" he barked. He began walking in circles, pacing uncomfortably. He closed his phone angrily and sighed. A loud noise came from the forest, remnant of something large burrowing about the foliage.

  "Hello?" Sebastian turned quickly towards the noise off in the distance.

  There was nothing but silence.

  "Anybody out there?" he yelled once again.

  Suddenly, from a large shrub ran the wicked purple beast. It moved so fast the children could hardly make out what they were seeing. It was nothing more than a large purple blur that swept across the yard, tackling Sebastian extremely hard. He screamed, but the growls of the monster were overbearing. It only took a few seconds for the creature to overcome the struggling Sebastian.

  Hunter stepped quickly towards the struggle, but Liv pulled him back.

  "Where are you going?" She held his hand tightly.

  "To help."

  "You can't! What can you do to save him?" she asked.

  "
Hunter," Elly added, "Didn't you read about how the monster eats?"

  "What?" Hunter watched on helplessly as the beast now had Sebastian's body in its mouth.

  "It's a bloodsucker. All the animals were taken alive and drained of blood," she explained.

  "We just have to follow it to its nest, and then we can rescue him," Alistair added. "It makes sense. It kept trying to escape with your uncle, but Plato wouldn't let it."

  The large fiend easily dragged Sebastian's body into the darkness of the forest.

  The children could hear Sebastian's faint voice as he forced all his remaining strength into a last cry for help as he was carried away. It was an awful sound that would haunt Hunter's ears for years to come. The sudden attack brought back the dark imagery of their uncle's struggle with the beast. The hatred in Hunter grew to new levels, and he clenched his fists tightly, his face red with anger.

  "Hunter, are you okay? Look at me." Liv took Hunter's face in her kind hands, turning it away from the scene and directly into her soft blue eyes.

  "We are going to kill that thing." Hunter's eyes burned with rage.