The Saints Have Fallen: Chapter 12

Ana

“Help me! Help me!” the feeble man cried out to me achingly.

The fear in my throat formed a swelling lump causing me unable to speak.

“What is that thing?” one of the creatures snarled while twisting its head closer to me. I could smell a rancid scent protruding from its breath.

“It’s a human.” The taller of the captured men voiced as he looked at me curiously. His eyes were a subtle red to match and contrast with the red streak of hair amongst his dark black hair. He took a sudden bored breath and drew his head calmly back against the tree. I blinked, unsure what to think of his demeanor.

“Tie the human up. We need to gather more wood for a bigger fire.” One of the creatures ordered and grinned wickedly, “We’ll be having a feast tonight.” Another chuckled and licked its lips, “I never tasted human flesh before.”

My heart flipped.

Did it just say what I thought it said?

Hands and claws were all over me, restraining me in ropes as I struggled to no avail. They threw me between the two men in the empty space. My hands and cheeks grazed. Ouch. I sat up in a sudden panic. I had to get out of here. I could try and cut myself out of the ropes once I’m in a less exposed view. I tried to twist but their eyes kept following me. Minutes which felt like hours passed by. They began walking into the forest, most likely to gather wood. This was my chance. Swiftly, I pulled out my pocketknife with my still-tied hands which were aching. The man next to me began wailing and begging for me to cut him free.

“Don’t worry.” I tried to assure him. “I’ll get us out of this mess.”

The taller of the captured men, turned to me with an arched eyebrow, “What in hell’s name are you doing?”

“I’m-” I felt my throat dry up as I attempted to cut through the thick ropes, “I’m trying to get us free.”

 He gave a small brief chuckle. “Are all humans this stupid? Your weapon is pitiful.”

I felt beads of sudden anger flare within the pits of my stomach. Now wasn’t the time for this man to be insulting me when I was his only chance of escaping. I vigorously tried to cut through the ropes. “Listen, I don’t know where I am nor what these things are. I fell down a bloody well and into a lake with mermaid monsters.” I breathed all in one sentence. “And this pitiful weapon of mine seems to be our only hope right now so don’t insult it.”

He blinked with a frown, “Mermaid monsters? A human cannot enter the Otherworld. You should be dead by now if what you’re saying is the truth.”

“The Otherworld?”

The sound of rustling snapped my attention back to the creatures which returned. The panic-stricken man shrieked next to me causing the creatures to snarl. “Let us start with him.”

My eyes widened as they neared him and ripped the ropes off. He screamed. As they pulled him, I noticed broken wings at his back. He wasn’t a human. My body drifted into a state of shock. They seemed to be performing a ritual around him, offering his soul as a sacrifice to the Woodland Demon. What’s happening? All at once, they plunged their hands into his stomach and ripped the intestines out, filling it into their mouths. I wanted to scream but fear ate my voice up.

I felt my heart drop. My lips parted as my eyes drank in the nightmare before me. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. Dear God. I really wanted to be home right now. “Filling yourself with fear will only allow you to be more enjoyable for them.” The man suddenly spoke next to me, unbothered by what was happening before us.

“They- they killed him…” I breathed softly.

“Indeed they did.” He smiled and tilted his head back against the tree. “His shrieking was quite an annoyance. Now we can enjoy the silence of their last feast.”

I blinked, shocked by his heartless words.

“Now,” one of the creatures snarled whilst licking the blood off its lower lip. “Who’s next.”

The biggest of the creatures took a deep breath. “Let’s save the best for last. Take the man now.”

“Oh,” the man next to me began pushing himself up in a standing position, “Now I’m insulted.”

In a swift motion, with the littlest ease, he snapped the rope around his wrist free. I sat there, unsure what to say. He could have broken free all this time. “Now which one of you filthy rats ate the snake who stole my string of obsidian?” In the blink of a second, he threw one against the trunk of the tree, keeping one knee on the creature while his both hands threatened with knives. He smiled, almost enjoying himself whilst the other creatures stood in shock in one place. “Tell me or I’ll carve each of you open and find it myself.”

“You-” one trembled, “You walked as one of the Demon-God’s companions long upon the lost days.”

“Yes yes, we all know that, and my name is Claude. Not ‘one of his companions’, so learn it.” He said in annoyance, “Now stop wasting my time and answer what I ask.”

The Demon-God?

My mind flipped a bit in confusion.                                                                      

This man knew the Demon God which Yuri prayed to. How old was this Claude man anyway? He didn’t look any older than twenty-nine.

“If we tell you, can we still keep the woman?” one of the creatures asked, looking at me.

He would not dare.

“Do as you please, I do not care.”

This dog.

“The female snake which you seek was eaten by Orki, his tribe is just ahead near the river. He carries which him a blue ax.”

In a blurred second, he slit the creature’s throat before him and stood. “Consider this my mercy.” Claude, as he addressed himself, began walking away. No. The creatures began to near me. No. Panic gutted me. I moved my hands as fast as I could to attempt to cut myself free. My hands were trembling.

“I don’t want to die like this.” I moved the knife as fast as I could. “Damn you, Yuri,” my mind somersaulted into a pit of disaster, “Why did you have to fall into this bloody well!”

I looked up and swore I saw a flash of my life before my eyes. The creature plunged towards me. there was a sudden light. Or darkness. Darkness covered me, sheltered me. My breaths were hitched. Somehow, somehow, I was still breathing. I opened my eyes to see Claude shielding me. His arms anchored on either side of the tree, as he frowned down upon me and spoke, his face inches away from mine, “What did you say?”

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