by Casey Herzog
They really did go after each other’s throats with no regard to how that was going to affect their feelings for one another. I could only hope William and I would not walk the same path even though we had had our fair share of fights, which always ended amicably.
“You can’t blame me when you didn’t exactly push them away. I’m not usually the jealous sort, but you really did tax my patience.”
Her usual calm demeanor was replaced by that of a woman spewing venom like it was a defense mechanism.
“Madeleine, we never learn from past mistakes and it has always been a stumbling block between us. We both have long memories and we use what we know about each other to hurt one another.”
I wanted to interject, but it seemed counterproductive to give them my 2¢ worth.
“I’m going to ask you this one time to trust me, and I know what I’m talking about when I say this thing is ready to attack. You don’t have to believe me, but the proof is going to be undeniable.”
I saw what she was talking about, aware of the very deadly serious, red, glowing eyes staring at us from within a darkened alcove.
It came forward with its jaws unhinged; we were sitting ducks.
“I suggest nobody make any sudden moves; it tracks movements. It’s the reason why I made all of us slow down, even though it means keeping your friend from getting the necessary treatment he needs. This thing has been the bane of my existence from the moment I arrived here. They may seem stupid, but they’re not. It’s what they’re counting on, to catch any unsuspecting victim unaware.”
My mother was speaking the truth, but everything in my being wanted to run despite the danger.
“You won’t hear me say this often, Madeline, but you were right. I hope you know how hard it was for me to admit that, but now I wonder what you’re going to do.”
My father wasn’t the only one looking to my mother for answers. She seemed to be gauging her prey and watching it closely for anything resembling weakness.
“They say these things are guarding the flower, but I think they are here mostly because this was where they were raised. I’ve killed a few of them, but nothing of his size. I don’t know what they’ve been eating, but thankfully, it wasn’t me.”
I was glad she hadn’t become a victim of these things, but how we were going to get out of this was anybody’s guess.
Chapter Eighteen
I really had no idea any of this was going to happen when I went after the flower. The elation of seeing my mother alive was now marred by a snarling animal with three horns and what looked like very thick and dangerous looking thorns in its fur. It was no wonder my mother had skinned the animal before consuming it.
“I don’t know if you will believe this, but it’s more afraid of us,” my mother said, as she pulled out a knife, while my father prepared himself with the crossbow he had used to save us earlier.
“Your mother and I will take care of this, Gillian; there’s no reason for you to get involved.”
My father was once again treating me like a little child, but it did feel nice to see them working together instead of at odds.
“I would like to help.” I had no idea what I could do, but standing there doing nothing seemed pointless.
“Your father is right; we wouldn’t be parents if we didn’t protect you.” I felt like they weren’t giving me enough credit, but I would have loved to close my eyes and make this all go away. Maybe I would let them handle it.
The animal had its mouth open, and its drool was now touching the snow underneath its feet, melting it on contact. I had no interest in seeing what it would do to human flesh.
My father broke free from the two of us and went around to the other side with the animal still watching. It seemed more amused and not at all concerned about the numbers being more than a match for it. I had to assume the reason for its confidence was something we couldn’t see. While they were concentrating on it, I surveyed my surroundings and tried to come up with anything resembling a trap.
“Michael, we will close in on it, and when one of us gets the chance, we’ll kill it before it kills us. You’ve never been one for hunting, but there’s always a first time for everything. You can do this; it’s all about showing confidence.”
My mother was giving my father some encouragement, and it seemed like they could get along when things looked the bleakest. It was always darkest before the dawn; that was never more apparent than facing down an animal like this.
My father might have been scared, but he wasn’t showing it in the face of an overwhelming adversary. The way he stood strong and leveled his gaze on this animal was giving me hope that things were not as dire as they seemed.
“I really don’t care which one of us gets him, but I would rather run it off than to kill it. Don’t get me wrong, I can fight for survival, but I would like to find a more diplomatic solution.”
I had never seen him lift a finger against anyone, but he did have a temper, which I had witnessed in his study when he went on one of his tangents.
“I understand your hesitation, and believe me, I was exactly like you when I first came here. Things change quickly when you realize your life is more important. I haven’t survived this long by letting anything come between me and my next meal.”
She was a very strong and capable woman with an aged wisdom that was going to come in handy.
I thought I peaked when I was younger, but I hadn’t even begun to find my purpose. My father’s fake death had pushed me into growing up and taking responsibility for my actions. It wasn’t easy, but I’d learned the best things in life never were.
I was a little perplexed. The animal was standing there on all four legs, looking back from my mother to my father. It never advanced or showed any signs of being a threat, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have something hidden.
I wasn’t the only one to hear my father’s sigh of resignation before he took the shot. Somehow, the animal sensed what was going to happen and moved to avoid being impaled. The arrow barely missed my mother; it would’ve been far worse had he had the crossbow angled higher.
“You almost got me, but I admire the courage it took you to take the shot.”
She was criticizing him, but then, in the same breath giving him something positive to hold onto. It was a brilliant strategy, and one meant to give him a pat on the back.
“I would like to see you do better.”
He really didn’t have a chance to finish his thought as my mother leaped into action, pinning the animal to the ground. She was holding it with her hands on the only two places on the animal’s body not covered with thorns.
“Sometimes it takes…a woman’s touch.”
She was trying to stab it, but the animal was not about to die without putting up a fight. They thrashed on the ground, covering themselves in snow. It became very difficult to see where one started and the other ended.
“I didn’t mean for you to attack it without thinking things through.”
This was something my father had told me several times, and I had only begun to give it the necessary thought.
“Don’t you see I’m busy here, maybe you could do something to help,” she said with the knife barely between two of her fingers. The blade had broken the skin of the animal, but not even the pain was enough to secure a victory.
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” My father was circling the both of them on the ground, looking for his opportunity and finding none.
“Don’t worry about me; take the shot. I’m a big girl and I can handle anything. If what I have been through doesn’t show you my survival instinct, then I don’t know what will.”
I was anxious for him to take the shot, especially when she was close to the line of fire. Missing the beast would be too easy.
“I just always believed it was supposed to be the man who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress. I will never forgive myself if I make the costly mistake of hurting you. Spending time in the asylum chan
ges a person, and I was no different.”
We hadn’t talked about his time in the asylum, and I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without opening old wounds.
“I didn’t know…and I’m sorry I wasn’t there, but I was otherwise engaged,” she said having the advantage, but still having a hard time restraining the animal long enough to plunge the blade deeper than a flesh wound.
“Nobody ever talks about their time in the asylum; it’s almost like we want to forget it even happened. The doctors establish a trust, but they betray it and their oath not to do any harm.”
I had only met one of the doctors in passing, and there was something mechanical about his approach. They never smiled or showed emotion. It was all about the experiment, to see how far they could push someone before they broke. They said they tried not to cross the line, but scientific curiosity sometimes got the best of them.
The victims were forgotten; only their families knew of the pain and suffering they went through on a daily basis. It was their unfortunate position to take care of those unable to do it themselves. Those families looked like they were aging every day with the stress and the burden of caring for someone so dependent on them.
“I would really…love to hear more about this…but do you suppose it could wait until after we finish what we’re doing here.”
I couldn’t imagine having that kind of patience. I know I would’ve been panicking in my mother’s position. I’m sure I would’ve been able to work through any anxiety and fear, with time. I’d been through too much to give anybody the satisfaction of making me feel small ever again.
“I’m not looking for your pity, Madeleine. I just wanted to let you know how being treated like a specimen affected me.”
My father once again choreographed his next move by breathing deeply and giving the animal time to adjust his position. The arrow grazed my mother’s cheek; the appearance of her blood sent this animal into a frenzy of activity.
I heard it growling, but then I realized it wasn’t the only one. It was either waiting for reinforcements or those lurking in the shadows were waiting to see how the leader was going to fare. That all changed with the first sight of blood; more the animals came forward to sniff the air.
They were just as menacing as the first, but then one turned on the other and they were fighting amongst themselves. It didn’t seem logical, but there was no way to know what was going on inside their heads.
The two fighting seemed determined to be the last one standing. It didn’t make any sense to me, but the other two didn’t seem the least bit put off by two of their own tearing at each other’s throats. In fact, it seemed like it was commonplace and nothing to worry about.
“I was afraid this was…going to happen. I was hoping I would be able to get rid of this one before I had to deal with the bystanders. It’s always the damn blood. I don’t know how many times I have run away to fight another day.”
I would say my mother had learned from her mistakes and had improvised other ways to stay one step ahead of these animals. She became the predator, and they became her prey. They might have thought differently, but I was seeing the animal instinct of humanity coming to the forefront.
“I wasn’t sure what to do with this one, and now we have four more to contend with. I don’t know what other tricks you have up your sleeve, Madeline, but this would be the right time to pull out a miracle,” he said, circling in one place while keeping the crossbow outstretched in front of him as his only means of defense.
Chapter Nineteen
I was getting closer and closer to taking matters into my own hands, but to do so would only overwhelm the evil inside. I instinctively knew what I could do to help. I had gotten a taste for killing, and it was always there, trying to draw me back into the darkness. One step in that direction, and there would be no going back.
I thought for sure my father was going to be shaking, but he was remarkably calm, his hands steady on the weapon in his hands. He had several arrows, but he had already used up two and had just fired another two without any success.
“I’m going to have to trust the both of you to keep them away long enough for me to kill this one. It’s taking longer than I thought, but I wasn’t expecting to quarrel with every beast looking for revenge.”
There were several traps that we had circumvented on the way up the mountain. My mother was crafty, and learned to survive at any cost, which was something to be admired and feared.
“Madeleine, you do what you have to do, and we’ll give you the time.”
I wanted to believe it, but how we were going to accomplish it? I could’ve easily destroyed them, ripping their DNA apart and watching as the evil had its way. I didn’t know if the moniker of evil was a strong enough adjective to describe what was bubbling inside of me. I wanted so badly to let it out and to feel truly powerful once again, but I had learned the hard way what the evil would do to me.
“I don’t mean to be this way, but I’m not the same woman you remember, and I don’t think I ever will be again.”
I could tell something was different about her, and then, I realized it was the cold stare of someone unable to feel. Being away from civilization and learning to survive had given her an edge.
“I’m not the same guy you remember either; my time in the asylum hardened me. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t speak her language or even the way she looked so much like you when we first met; it was also the way they had stripped me of my dignity.”
I found myself interested in learning more, but getting more information out of my father was going unleash pent-up emotions. I didn’t know it was a good idea. I had no idea what talking about it would do to him, but I could hope it would lessen the burden and give him some semblance of peace. But timing was everything.
“We can talk about this later.”
I could tell my mother wasn’t trying to put my father off, it was just that her main focus was living long enough to uncover the story behind his expression of failure.
My father moved to an advantageous position, kneeling on the ground at eye level with the beasts. They took a few steps forward, testing the battleground to see what kind of fight was within their enemy. They kept looking at the way my mother was wrestling with their leader, and it gave them more than enough to keep them from mounting any kind of attack. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before they would determine we were weak and inferior.
I looked down to see my one hand shaking, and I had to quell the need to let the evil fly free by placing the other hand over the one trembling. If this didn’t end soon, I would have no choice but to show these animals no mercy. I could render their species extinct, leaving no prodigy to step up and start the cycle of revenge all over again.
“I just need…a little more time.”
I could see what my mother was doing. She was fighting, but also making it so the animal was losing steam. She was reaching down deep and allowing the animal to see she was never going to give up. There was no quit in my mother, and I felt a sense of pride for knowing I came from her DNA.
It hurt so badly to stand there doing nothing. There was no way anybody could know what was going on inside of me. I was suffering an intense pain, and the evil was hoping the moment would come when I would have no choice but to unleash unholy hell.
I watched as my father fired one arrow after the other, and each time, these animals used the thickness of their hides with those very dangerous thorns to protect themselves. I heard one whimper, but it was merely a reaction to having an arrow tear a piece of its fur from under its eye. They were not playing around, and whatever they were waiting for had come to its inevitable end.
I saw my father and mother fighting for my protection, which touched my heart. I was wondering how I had gotten so lucky to have them in my life. I was still getting used to the fact my mother was alive. Each time I looked at her, it seemed impossible like she some kind of mirage. My mother killed the one she was fighting with, the blood of the anim
al staining her hands. She turned to the others and they took a step back with hesitation.
I could feel it creeping up on me, touching me, and enticing me to let it come out for just a little while. If I could trust it, I would have gladly let it take care of this, but I knew giving it any breathing room was going to make me fall victim to it once again. I could see myself letting go. It would’ve been all so simple.
“I don’t want you to even think about it, Gillian. This is neither the time nor the place. W,e’re seriously going to have to discuss some ground rules. I know it can be intoxicating and the overwhelming need to strike back is hard to contain.”
I looked at my mother and I could tell she was speaking from experience. Nobody could possibly know what I was going through unless they had gone through it themselves.
“I’m trying, but you have no idea how hard it is. I thought living with it was hard, but fighting for our lives makes it more difficult,” I said realizing I didn’t know the mystery of what had taken me over or where it had originated. It was something old; I could feel its hatred, but for some reason, I was able to control the impulse.
“You have it worse than anybody I’ve ever seen, but you are my daughter and you have the Lockhart family blood running through your veins. Hold onto that, and the rest will sort itself out.”
It was nice to have her around to listen to my problems instead of keeping them in where they would only grow and fester into a boiling cesspool of resentment.
“I never meant to let it in, but somehow I fell from grace and I have never been able to live it down. People in the community are waiting for me to make a mistake. I feel sometimes I should let them see the face of true evil. What I would do this time would make what I did last time pale in comparison,” I said, as I forced it back down and away from those I cared about most in the world.
“I know a way to help you, but it’s not without its risks. We can talk about it after we get out of this. You need to constantly remind yourself how strong you really are. Your father and I know you can handle anything. I only wish that we could have shown you how much we trust you.”
