“Wait here,” Rurik hissed as the sound came again.
Olivia’s heart pounded.
This was it.
Slowly, she felt the fog beginning to lift from her brain. She couldn’t smell the scent anymore. She crept a few feet away from Gog, but he made no move to stop her. Olivia didn’t think he was especially intelligent.
She could hear Rurik stomping through the dungeons and Olivia reached the open door and carefully peered around.
She could see nothing except Rurik lumbering down towards Leo, Jeff and Frederick’s cages.
“What is going on?” Rurik roared.
Olivia swiveled around to look at Gog, but he was still standing in the same spot, his cock slowly softening.
Olivia wanted to step out and start running but she knew she needed to wait. Rurik threw open a cage door and Olivia could hear shouting and thuds. She hoped that Michael would be slow in getting down to the dungeons. Other animals were making noise too and Olivia nervously hopped from foot to foot. Suddenly, she saw Jeff come swooping down the hall, his wings beating quickly. Olivia hurried into the dungeon path and she screamed in surprise as she felt Jeff grab her and continue flying.
The air was cold and Olivia was suddenly flying with Jeff, being held tight in his arms as he flew past the rest of the dungeons. She could hear shouts and roars and things breaking behind them but Jeff continued to fly, never stopping. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut; the ground rushing by below was making her sick.
Jeff rounded around a corner and he quickly lowered to the ground and released Olivia. She rolled out of his hands and fell onto the dirt floor.
“You don’t have much time,” he said quickly, “Hurry that way,” he said pointing to her left. “Hang close to the wall. Hopefully we will join you soon.”
Olivia nodded and stumbled to her feet, tripping and falling in her haste. Jeff had brought her to where the river began to flow, and she moved along the banks, trying her best to hang in the shadows against the rocky cliffs where she wouldn’t be spotted. She could hear shouts and yells but she couldn’t see what direction they were in.
Forcing herself to focus and not freak out, she edged along the wall, hoping for Leo to arrive.
Minutes later, Olivia heard more shouts and she recognized one voice as Leo’s. She knew better than to answer incase he wasn’t alone. Olivia stayed still and tried to see if she could make out Leo.
“Where are you girl?” Leo cried out and Olivia saw Frederick on his heels. She knew Leo was shouting for Rurik’s benefit. They appeared to be alone. Still she waited, and Leo and Frederick came to her.
“Leo!” Olivia cried quietly and Leo grasped her hand.
“Jeff is with Rurik,” he said quickly. “He thinks we’re searching for you. We must hurry.” He stopped and turned to Frederick. “This is it, friend,” he said quietly. “I can never thank you enough. Even now, you have continued to serve me and I owe my life to you.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” Frederick said darkly, “I hope to join you both soon,” he said and he hurried back off in the direction in which he came. Olivia and Leo hurried along the muddy banks and within a minute, Olivia could hear Frederick shouting, but she couldn’t make out the words.
“How long?” Olivia panted, as they continued to stumble along the banks. However, Leo seemed to stumble less than her. She figured it was one of the perks of being a monster and having feet with traction.
“We still have a while,” he said, not even panting. “Mastiv said there was a canoe stored along one of the cliffs. We have to look for a grey rock.”
Olivia continued to move, hoping that they would find the rock soon. She knew that Jeff and Frederick would now be keeping Rurik at bay, but not for long. Soon, Rurik would know that the three monsters were working together and he might realize that Olivia was in on the plan too.
“There!” Leo said quietly and Olivia looked up to see a large grey rock jutting out. “Come on!”
They hurried towards it, and Leo began to drag it towards the water.
“Jump in,” he said and Olivia hurried to clamber into the boat. She thought that she heard noises coming from above them and she hoped that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t sure how many quarters aside from Rurik’s led to the cliffs.
Leo huffed and pushed the boat into the water, agilely hopping in.
The river was moving swiftly and they didn’t need an oar, which was good since none was to be found. Leo stared back in the direction of the dungeon.
“They should be here by now,” he muttered.
“What will we do?” Olivia asked nervously.
“You know already,” Leo said, “We are going no matter what. Frederick and Jeff understand.”
Olivia knew that was part of the plan, but now she felt wrong in leaving the other two monsters that helped them.
She opened her mouth to argue but Leo hushed her and pointed to his ears.
Olivia strained to hear and suddenly she heard whatever it was that Leo had heard. A soft screeching sound that was growing louder, and a deep roaring.
“It’s them,” Leo said and he tried to stand up and crane his head. Seconds later, Jeff flew into their line of vision, Frederick dangled from his arms. As they got closer, Olivia could see that Frederick was bleeding badly.
Leo balanced on the boat and helped Frederick in and Jeff swooped in a circle before landing on the canoe. The canoe teetered precariously, but didn’t tip.
“What happened?” Leo asked.
“Rurik realized we had fooled him. He made a swipe at Frederick as we were taking off. I hadn’t climbed high enough in the air yet.”
Frederick moaned quietly and Olivia stood helplessly. They had no supplies with them. She ripped a patch of her dress off and pressed it against Frederick’s wound.
“He’s furious,” Jeff whispered and Olivia knew he meant Rurik.
While Olivia was with Gog, Jeff and Frederick had found a way to burrow through their adjacent dungeons. They had begun fighting and that had pulled Rurik away from Gog and Olivia.
Leo, who was a trusted prisoner, had begged to Rurik to open his cage, so he could help break up the fight. Rurik didn’t think twice, and he let Leo out. As Leo was “helping” break up the fight, Jeff escaped, flying off and snatching Olivia. But not before, he had swiped at Rurik’s eyes. Rurik had screamed out in pain, and had sent Frederick and Leo after Jeff because he couldn’t see.
Frederick and Leo had run right to Olivia, and then Frederick had doubled back to find Jeff. As Leo and Olivia had made their way further along the river, Frederick had come back with Jeff, but had said that the river had swept up Leo and Olivia during the scuffle. Rurik had gone into a rage once he thought he had lost Olivia, and he went to alert Michael. At that moment, Frederick had released Jeff, and Jeff had sprung into action, flying high into the air and grabbing Frederick.
Rurik had realized that he had been fooled and he lunged quickly, striking Frederick and causing him to bleed. As Jeff quickly flew away, Rurik began to sound the alarms.
Leo only nodded as he listened, never speaking. “We should be almost there,” he murmured.
“Argh!”
Olivia screamed at the sound and looked up just in time to see a monster leap off the cliffs and dive into the river. The monster swam faster and faster towards the boat and with horror, Olivia realized the monster was some type of sea creature.
Olivia looked up at the cliff and she saw Nae standing half naked at the edge, a look of pure bewilderment across her face. Their eyes met, and in that second, Olivia knew that Nae comprehended her plan. Nae somehow knew that Olivia had not been kidnapped but was escaping. Nae blew Olivia a kiss and then closed her eyes.
Olivia watched in confusion, but then she saw Nae’s mouth begin to move.
“Nae! She’s helping!” Olivia exclaimed.
Leo and Jeff looked up in confusion. Sure enough, the river began to move faster, but the monster seemed caught up in a rip tide.<
br />
Leo shook his head in amazement.
“Thank you, Nae,” Olivia whispered.
The boat lurched forwards, moving quickly down the now-raging waters. Olivia felt the air begin to change and she looked over at Leo with alarm.
“I feel it, too. We’re getting closer,” he confirmed. The air began to feel heavy and almost sticky against her skin.
Olivia kept turning back to look for the monster but he seemed to have gone under or disappeared.
“We’re not in the clear yet,” Leo said grimly.
The boat continued forward and Olivia looked up at the cliffs while Jeff kept watch of the rear. Frederick moaned occasionally, his eyelids fluttering open and close.
“Leo!” Olivia shrieked. Lunging off the cliffs was Rurik, his face twisted in anger and fury.
Leo cursed and tried to use his hands to propel the small canoe faster. The river was still rushing quickly, but not as quickly as it had been when Nae had been helping.
“She is mine!” Rurik roared, landing on the banks with supernatural ease. Olivia screamed as Rurik came running into the water, making a beeline for their canoe.
“Leo! Hurry!” Olivia screamed, though she knew there was nothing he could do. Rurik moved steadily through the water, his anger radiating off his gruesome body. His beady eyes were narrowed and his yellow teeth were bared. His hands were raised and open, and Olivia knew he wouldn’t let go once he caught hold of her.
The boat continued to push forward, but Rurik was able to move quickly through the water. Olivia backed up as far as she could go and she was perched on the far end of the canoe.
“You are my female!” Rurik screamed. “She belongs to me! You cannot deceive me!” he bellowed.
“Leo!” Olivia cried again. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and she could barely hear anything over the roaring of her own blood in her ears. Her legs scraped against the side of the boat and she felt the wood cut into her legs.
“Fools!” Rurik roared as he came close enough to almost lunge at the boat. “She is mine!”
“Leo! Faster!” Olivia screamed as Rurik swiped at her, his fingers only mere inches from her face. Jeff made a low growling noise and hovered between Frederick and Olivia.
“Out of my way!” Rurik screamed, swiping again at Olivia and this time grabbing part of her hair.
Olivia screamed again, just barely wrenching her hair from Rurik’s death grip.
“Mine!” he yelled, and he reached for her again, this time taking hold of Olivia’s hair. Olivia shrieked in pain as Rurik tightened his grip and pulled. Olivia clawed at Rurik’s hands as she was dragged across the small width of the boat.
“No!” Leo shouted, lunging at Rurik. With one easy swipe, Rurik knocked Leo down.
“Leo! Help! Please!” Olivia cried, kicking her legs at Rurik as he nearly pulled her over.
Jeff aimed a kick at Rurik who temporarily loosened his grip and Olivia pulled away slightly. Rurik tightened his grip again and roared loudly, the sound echoing off the cave walls. Rurik yanked Olivia again and this time Leo sprang up, letting out his own terrible scream as he kicked Rurik squarely in the chest.
Stunned, Rurik staggered back and it was just enough for him to release his grip on Olivia. Olivia scrambled backwards, hitting the other end of the canoe, as she let out a sob. Rurik stumbled back to his feet and lunged for her again. At that precise moment, the boat left the water.
Olivia screamed and she felt Leo’s hands on her, holding her down. The boat was airborne and it took Olivia a moment to realize that the boat had gone over the edge of a cliff. Olivia looked up and caught a glimpse of Rurik yelling angrily as he clambered to catch himself before going over.
The canoe moved swiftly towards the river below and Olivia didn’t even have a moment to notice the surroundings because the boat smacked the water and flipped over. Olivia was thrown into the churning waters, and she paddle furiously in the dark water, holding her breath as she struggled to find which direction was up.
Olivia’s lungs began to burn and she panicked that she wouldn’t be able to find the surface. Suddenly she burst through the water, and she gasped and choked, spluttering as she inhaled large gulps of air.
“Olivia!” Leo cried a few yards away.
Olivia kicked towards him, trying to swim against the current. She could tell they were outside, but the color of the sky was off. She could just make out a bank behind Leo and she fought to make her way towards it.
Leo swam towards her, and gripped her, pulling him with her as they made their way to the bank. He dragged Olivia up onto the mud.
“Stay here!” he panted and he dashed off.
Olivia sat up, shivering in the cold, terrified as she tried to keep Leo in her sight. She didn’t see Jeff or Frederick and she kept looking back towards the large rock and caves, which she assumed was where the fortress was located.
She watched Leo run towards the edge again, and then she saw him helping drag Jeff out of the water and she sagged with relief as Jeff pulled Frederick behind him. Olivia imagined they made quite a group. A human female dressed in a sopping wet gown and three monsters.
Leo rushed towards Olivia, and Jeff staggered behind him with the weight of Frederick.
“Let’s go!” Leo urged, yanking Olivia by the hand.
“Leo! I don’t understand! Where are we?”
“We’re outside! I knew those windows in the Rec Room were fake. Wherever we are is nothing but a desolate wasteland.”
As Olivia jogged after Leo, she tried to look around.
Leo was right.
Everywhere Olivia looked, she saw death and barren waste. The ground was brown, the sky was bleak and there was no life anywhere: shriveled trees, ugly weeds and hills of dirt. She tried to rectify the beautiful landscape from the Rec Room with the reality. She craned her neck to turn around and she saw the enormous, ugly structure where she had been kept.
The building was a fortress in sense, stretching on for what seemed an eternity. There were no windows, only tall, dark, walls made of a dark material. Olivia shuddered as she thought about the horrors that lay within those walls.
“Hurry!” Leo shouted, as they continued to run along the bank. “They will be following us!”
Sure enough, as soon as Leo said the words, a swarm of beasts ran out of a small door that Olivia had missed.
Olivia screamed, and she ran faster. Jeff grunted as he shifted and tried to move faster with Frederick. One of the monsters was a fast runner, and he was swiftly moving closer. He roared and swiped at Jeff, who shouted and turned around to punch the monster in the face. The monster cried out in pain, clutching at his wounded face before stumbling into the rushing water.
“Keep running!” Leo cried, dragging Olivia with him.
Olivia’s legs burned and she realized that she had lost her heels in the water. She ran on her bare feet, her feet sinking into the slippery mud beneath her. She shoved at her wet and matted hair that fell in her face and she panted as she hurried behind Leo. Her chest felt as if it would explode.
“Leo!” she gasped, “I can’t run much further.”
“You have to. Were almost there.”
Leo’s legs seemed to carry him quickly and Olivia felt a sudden pang of envy of Leo’s beastly form, clearly his body, which resembled an animal, was made for such activity. Olivia felt herself slow down and just as she thought her heart would explode out of her chest, she felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere.
Time seemed to slow down and Olivia seemed to run through an invisible barrier; the air seemed to vibrate as she passed through it.
Leo sagged with relief and Olivia watched with confusion as Jeff stumbled through with Frederick. The monsters continued towards them and Olivia cried out, trying to continue running. Leo grabbed her hand to stop her and Olivia watched with amazement as the monsters ran into the invisible barrier and bounced backwards.
“They can’t pass,” Leo whispered. “And they can’t
see us.”
“Huh?”
“We’ve just passed through the boundaries of Gorside’s land. Magical barriers divide the grounds. I don’t exactly understand the workings of it, but we should be safe. We should still hurry though. I’m not sure of Gorside's power or knowledge and I don’t know how long we can rely on this protection.”
Olivia glanced back at the monsters that were now yelling in protest as they slammed into the invisible wall.
“Why could we pass?”
“I’m not exactly sure. Mastiv said it had something to do with the fact that we are not from this world.”
The monsters crying out and shouting only mere feet away made her anxious. “Alright. What’s next?”
“This way,” Leo said, motioning them forwards. “The portal is near a grove of black bushes.”
Olivia saw a cluster of ugly black bushes up ahead. She took off towards the bushes, running quickly as she sensed how close they were to escaping.
Leo was behind her and once they arrived at the bushes, Leo dropped to the ground, spreading his paws out on the ground.
“What are you looking for?”
“There should be a flat white stone laying around here.”
Olivia dropped to her knees too, her hands frantically running along the surface of the earth.
“I found it!” she cried, pulling out her hand, which contained a smooth, shiny white stone.
Leo took it gingerly from her hand and inspected it.
“This is it,” he murmured his snout spreading into what could only be construed as a grin.
Olivia smiled her first real, genuine smile since she had arrived in this nightmare.
“You’re beautiful when you smile,” Leo said softly and Olivia felt herself blush for some reason. The moment was awkward and she found herself wondering for the one-millionth time of how a monster such as Leo could exist in the world she knew as home.
“You’re sure you want to go to Earth?” she couldn’t help asking, knowing that Leo must be from a different world.
Leo chuckled. “Positive.”
Olivia sighed. Jeff and Frederick approached, and Olivia thought Frederick looked worse. It was hard to tell with the normal sickly pallor of his skin.
The Dungeon of Depraved Beasts (An Erotic Horror Novel) Page 12
