Chapter Text
David was running. He dashed though the forest, barely able to make out the obstacles in front of him in the dim, moonless light. Something was chasing him, he could hear it right behind him. Not the thumping of the monster, but softer padding, like a large cat. He chanced a glance over his shoulder, but couldn’t make out anything. What had happened to the monster? Had it changed shape? No time to think about it, he just had to run. He stumbled on something, and nearly toppled over. He barely managed to keep his footing. His heart pounded deep within his chest, and he didn’t think he had ever felt so afraid. Where was Frida? Or Trevor? Or anybody? Frida was still tied up, wasn’t she? He should try to get back to her… but wait, how had he gotten out? He slowed, coming a stop. Something was off. The padding behind quickly approached, but he paid it no mind. The last thing he remembered was… sitting tied against a tree. He had sat there for awhile and… he strained trying to remember. He must have fallen asleep! This was a dream.
No, not a dream… a nightmare!
The padding was almost on top of him, he turned, and saw two green eyes glowing in the night, approaching him at break neck speed. He didn’t react. The creature leapt towards him, sailing an impossibly long distance towards him. He watched approached, unimpressed. It crashed into him, but he didn’t feel anything. It went right through him, and puffed into smoke on the other side of him.
“Not your best work.” He said to the shadows around him. “You only had me for what, twenty seconds?”
“Let’s call it thirty.” Eva said, stepping out the shadows next to him. She wore her customary black hoodie and black jeans, with her twin blond tails of hair protruding, one on each side. She had a sly sneer on her face, which was also customary for her.
“And to be fair, I didn’t really have a lot of time to prepare this one.” She said, with a nonchalant shrug.“It took me forever to find you out here.” She said, her head sagging to the side. The bored look was quickly replaced with a devious smile. “But I’ve haunted you enough to find you just about anywhere.”
“Lucky me.” David grumbled. She disappeared in a puff of green smoke. The scenery around them morphed, and suddenly they were standing in front of his actual body, still tied to the tree - fast asleep. The bellkeeper still sat next to him, unconscious as well. Eva reappeared suddenly, lying on her stomach, like one might on the end of a bed. Except in her case, she was floating a few feet off the ground, in front of his unconscious body. She wore a bored expression, with her head in her hands.
“What are you even doing out here anyway? Shouldn’t you be at home practicing for that stupid play or something?”
“What’s it to you?” David asked, stepping up next to her and folding his arms. She sighed, rolling her eyes and sitting up.
“Just asking. Jeez.”
David eyed her. In his many dealings with Eva, he had learned that she never ‘just asked’. It was never just anything with her. She looked at him, waiting for a response. He finally sighed, unfolding his arms.
“We’re trying to find Hilda, but we got caught up with some sort of monster.”
Eva sniffed dismissively. “You have got to stop letting her rope you into stuff like this.”
David shrugged. “She’s my friend. She’d do the same for me.”
Eva just rolled her eyes, looking back to his body. “Won’t matter much if she gets you killed.” She said quietly.
“Oh like you care about that.” David said with a roll of his eyes.
“Who else would I get to haunt?” Eva said, her devious grin returning. It didn’t stay long though.
“Seriously though, you might want to avoid the brat for a little while. You aren’t the only one looking for her.”
“What? You mean Trevor? Or... someone else?” David asked, taken aback slightly. Eva sighed, putting her hands behind her hand and falling back. Instead of falling to the ground however, she just started hovering a few feet off the air on her back.
"Let's just say she's gotten herself into some real trouble this time. Trouble with some real nasty people."
"Nasty like you?" David said with a sniff. Eva smiled at that, a genuine smile which was rare.
"Not exactly. Believe it or not, there's worse things in this world then me."
David glanced at his unconscious body, still tied to the tree behind him, and thought of the monster, still lurking around somewhere. "I believe you."
"Do you know anything about these monsters that have been popping up recently?" He asked turning back to her.
She perked up, sitting up quickly.
"Is that what tied you up? One of those Frahn's that slipped through?" She started laughing.
"You really are pathetic!" She said, pretending to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye.
David didn't react to the jibe, though he couldn't stop his cheeks from turning slightly red.
"What is that?" He asked instead, trying to fish more information out of her. "A... frahn?"
Eva stopped laughing, and stood stretching in a cat like fashion.
"Well they aren't from around here, that's for sure. They usually stick to their own world, but some slipped through a few days ago. I couldn't tell you why."
She disappeared in a puff of green smoke, reappearing right next to him. She leaned in, looking around conspiratorially.
"Rumor has it that Hilda had something to do with it. Got the witches all in a fit over it too."
David was still reeling. Their own world? Did that make them some sort of alien?
He asked the question aloud, his voice quavering more than he would have liked. Eva laughed at him again, but only said
“Don’t worry about it.”
Her eyes started glowing the hideous shade of green, and everything began to fade. She disappeared in another puff of green smoke, and David fell back into unconsciousness.
He started, waking in a cold sweat. He blinked bleary eyes, his sluggish mind taking a moment to remember where he was and what was happening. The dream was already fading from his mind, but the last bit about other people looking for Hilda was burned into his mind. What did it mean? He wasn’t sure. Though, it didn’t really matter right now. He looked around, seeing little in the dark. The moon was obscured by a patch of clouds overhead, keeping the area in the dark. He still couldn’t move, and he was starting to feel sore from being stuck for so long.
How do I keep ending up in messes like this?
The thought did little to improve David’s already sour mood. Being tied to a tree by an unknown forest horror would do that to a person. Yet again he cursed Hilda for getting him into this mess. Not that he would change his choice to follow her out here if he could. As he had told Eva, Hilda would do the same for him. The man tied next to him didn’t stir, though David could still faintly make out breathing. Frida was still tied a few feet away from him, and was still unconscious. David was beginning to worry. It had been… well, he wasn’t actually sure how long it had been since she had been knocked out.
“Frida?” He called.
She didn’t stir. He growled in frustration. What did he do? He couldn’t think of anyway to get himself free. He could barely squirm in his bonds, and even if he somehow got out, where would he go? If anyone could get them out, it would be Frida. Or maybe Trevor would comeback with Hilda, and Hilda would somehow fix everything just like she always did. David was again left feeling useless in his friends collective shadow. And what a long shadow it was. Between Frida’s magic, and Hilda’s uncanny ability to handle any situation, David often felt inadequate. And why shouldn’t he? He was just an average guy - below average even, in most physical senses. This was just another adventure that he spent tied up, while he waited for the others to fix things. Something about that didn’t sit quite right with him. The feeling grew harder and harder to ignore as the minutes passed, and darkness fell more completely.
But what could he do? He tried shifting back and forth, hoping to tease a bit of slack out of the strange bindings. It was louder then he would have liked. He worried he might attract the monsters attention, but he didn’t hear any sound in the dark around. It had stomped away shortly after tying them up, and hadn’t returned as far as he knew. Emboldened by the supposed solitude, he squirmed harder. When that yielded no results, he tried going up and down. No luck, though as he came back down, he felt the chord snag on something. He pulled down harder, and he felt it rip free. He went up again, and came back down with a similar result. An idea starting forming. If he could snag the ‘rope’ enough times, it might slowly wear through the chord. So he sat up, and came down. And did it again. Soon, he had repeated the process nearly a dozen times.
The rope didn’t seem to get any looser, but at least it was something to do. Up and down. Up and down. It became a steady rhythm as the minutes dragged on, almost comforting in a way. It was one of the most tedious things he had ever done. Too keep himself sane, he tried to imagine what he would be doing if he was at home - other then the obvious answer of ‘being fast asleep in his own warm bed’. He would probably be practicing lines for the end of semester play. Opening night was only a couple days away after all. A soft groan interrupted his rhythmic movement, and he looked up sharply. It had come from Frida’s direction.
“Frida?” He called, sitting back against the tree, taking breather. It was surprisingly rigorous work.
A low moan was the only response. He could only barely make out her in the dark, but she seemed to be stirring.
“David?” She finally said, head swinging back and forth.
“Here.” He called. "Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. What happened?”
“You went unconscious after that thing did… whatever it did to you. The Bellkeeper and Trevor tried to fight it off, but they didn’t last long.”
David looked over, trying to make out the shape of the man tied next to him in the dark.
“The Bellkeeper is here too - tied up next to me. He’s in bad shape. Trevor’s got away, and he’s out there somewhere, but I haven’t seen or heard anything from him.”
“Where’s the monster?” Was Frida’s only response.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it in a little while.”
“Hmm.” Frida replied. David knew her well enough to know that she was deep in thought, so he kept quiet. He let the silence stretch for as long as he could bear, before finally blurting out.
“So… How are you going to get out?” He finally asked.
“Me?” She asked, incredulous. “I’m tied up! Don’t you have a plan?”
“I’m tied up too! Can’t you use some magic or something?
“All the magic I had left got sucked out of me!” Frida said, growing frustrated. “You seriously haven’t thought of a way to escape?”
David felt his cheeks flush. “I thought you’d be able to do something…” He said quietly.
The only response was a soft groan from Frida.
“Well what about your bag?” He tried.
“What about my bag?” Frida asked, sounded confused.
“Don’t you have something in there that could help us out?”
“Maybe, but I don’t see how that would help us. Unless you have it?”
“…It’s not with you? Where is it then?”
“How should I know? I’ve been unconscious for the past few hours!”
Now it was Davids turn to groan. He should have realized that.
“I might be able to do something.” He finally said with a sigh. He sat up, and came back down. And did it again. And again.
Up, down. Up, down. Up, and down.
“What on earth are you doing over there?” Frida asked after a little while, interrupting his rhythm.
He gave Frida a quick explanation of what he was doing, and she remained silent after that, letting him work. He took short breaks every few minutes. It was slowly eating away at the once tentacle, or at least he hoped so. He couldn’t really tell if he was making any progress, but it was better then sitting still. Up, and back down. He settled back, breathing hard. He let his head fall back with a long sigh.
“Any luck?” Frida asked softly.
“Not yet.” David said, still out of breath. The night was quickly growing cold, but the constant movement kept him warm. A terrible scream broke the night air. It was nearby, but still a ways off. He froze in place, waiting with held breath to see if it would get closer. It didn’t, as far as he could tell, but he still got back to work with renewed vigor. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down.
He grit his teeth, grunting as he strained as hard as he could against the bonds - to no avail. He collapsed back down, breathing hard. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but feel useless. He hadn’t been able to fight the monster, he hadn’t been able to keep Frida away from it earlier, and now he couldn’t escape. He groaned, sitting up again. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. He went again for several more minutes. He eventually fell back again, growling in frustration.
“Anything?” Frida asked softly.
“What do you think?” He snapped back, feeling annoyed. She didn’t respond.
“Sorry.” He said after a second. She didn’t deserve that, it wasn’t her fault they were tied up. If he had been able to get them away, none of this would have happened. Up, down. He fell back into the rhythm, but wasn’t able to go for very long. He fell back again, his face hot from the exertion. Why was he even bothering with this? The monster - the Frahn, as Eva had called it - would certainly just tie him back up as soon as he got free, or maybe just kill him. It grew lighter around him suddenly, the clouds above shifting, and soft moonlight falling down on them. He could now easily make out Frida across from him, though it was too dim to make out her features. He groaned softly, and got back to work.
Up, down. Up, down. Up, down.
The distant roaring of the monster came again.
“What do you think it’s doing out there?” Frida asked quietly.
“Not sure.” David said, between repetitions.
“Do you think it has something to do with Hilda?”
David paused for a moment, catching his breath.
“Yeah.” He finally said. It seemed likely.
Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. He worked steadily for what felt like hours, though it had likely only been a handful of minutes. His legs were starting to feel numb when distantly, he heard the thumping footsteps approaching. He paused for a moment, straining his ears, and yes, they were getting closer. He started again, more frantic this time.
“David…?” Frida said, growing concerned. David didn’t waste the breath responding. The thumping was getting closer.
Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up - something gave, and the chords loosened. David sat up further, and pushed against the tree. The ropes loosened further. He got his arms out, working frantically. The thumping was closer still. He frantically worked at pulling his legs out. He got one out, then the other. He had done it. He had done it! He stood, frozen for a second, almost unable to believe it.
“David! Get out of here!” Frida hissed. He jumped, and looked around wildly. The thumping was nearly on top of them. He looked around wildly for a place to hide, settling on a large patch of bushes a few yards away. He ran over to them, and dove down to the ground, crawling in underneath the dense tangle of branches. He had just pulled himself in all the way when the monster appeared out of the trees at the other end of the clearing. David drew into the bush further, trying to make himself as small as possible. The monster didn’t even glance at the Bellkeeper, or the now empty spot beside him. Instead, it marched right up to Frida, and sat down, like a dog waiting patiently to be noticed. They starred at each other for a long moment, before Frida finally broke the silence.
“What do you want?”
The creature made no reply.
“Why are you keeping us here?” Frida tried.
The creature moved slightly, dropping something David couldn't see in front of Frida.
“What is - oh. My wand?” She said, sounding confused. She slowly looked back up at the monster.
“You want more magic.” She said slowly. David’s breath caught. This thing was smart. Far smarter then they had thought. Frida seemed to be thinking along similar lines, and she looked over the creature, reevaluating.
“Well I can’t help you.” She finally said. “I’m out of magic.”
The monster clearly didn’t like that answer, stomping at the ground in front of her impatiently.
“What do you want me to do?” She shouted up at it. “I can’t make magic out of nothing this far from the city, so unless your hiding some lizard spit somewhere you’re out of luck!”
David was fairly sure lizard spit wasn’t an actual ingredient in any spells, but he couldn’t be certain. The monster leaned it’s bulbous body down close to Frida, almost like it was squinting down at her with nonexistent eyes. It stood, and stomped back the way it had come. David waited until it vanished from view, then waited until the stomping sound faded away. Then - just for good measure - waited a whole minute after, before finally climbing out from the bush. He quickly ran back to Frida, who was still watching the direction the monster had gone.
“What was that all about?” He asked, checking her bonds.
“I’m not sure. But we should probably get out of here before that thing comes back.”
David just nodded in agreement, but unfortunately that was easier said then done. Frida was tied even tighter then he had been, with twice as many chords binding her to the tree. He scooper her wand off the ground where the monster had dropped it, and handed it to Frida.
“Maybe this will help?” He asked hopefully.
“No.” She said flatly. He sighed.
“Don’t suppose you have a knife on you?” He asked, after struggling with the bonds in vain.
She shook her head.
“Maybe the Bellkeeper has something on him?” She suggested. David turned, looking at the still figure.
“Maybe.” He said, walking over to the man. Once he got closer, he made out the sound of the man breathing shallowly, which was a relief. He shook the man gently, hoping to wake him. His hand came back coated in a foul black tar like substance. David made a face, wiping it off as best he could. The man was completely coated in the stuff, and David wondered what possibly could have happened.
He shook the man again, and this time the man stirred slightly, mumbling something David couldn’t make out, but otherwise remained unconscious. David checked the man over as best he could, trying to keep his hand clean of the oily mess. He gave up after a moment, there was just no way to avoid it. The man was absolutely covered in the stuff. He moved to the man’s pockets, and nearly cut his hand open on a blade in one of his pockets. He pulled it out gingerly. Why the man had an open blade causally in his pocket, David couldn’t guess. It didn’t really matter though. He cleaned his hand off as best he could, and he returned to Frida triumphant. He started cutting the thick chords. The knife had a serrated section of the blade, but the chords were thick and hard.
“What’s taking so long?” Frida asked after a moment.
“Sorry, this stuff is thick.” David said with a grunt, still working.
“Well hurry - eep!” Frida cut off with a fearful sound.
“What? What is it?” David asked, still working. Suddenly a shadow fell over him and Frida, blocking the moonlight. He looked over his shoulder and saw an inky blackness above him. It took him a moment to realize that the monster was looming over him. How had it approached so silently? It hardly seemed to matter now. He reacted without thinking, diving away, and scrambling to his feet running as fast as he could. He didn’t even make it three paces before something grabbed him by the waist, yanking him off the ground. The monster held him aloft with a single tentacle. He cried out, cutting at the tentacle with the knife. The creature made no sound, and simply slammed him against the tree that Frida was bound too. He smashed against the tree. Pain flared across his back. He felt like his brain was bouncing around in his skull. His vision was filled with stars.
“David!” Frida cried from below. He was too dazed to reply. His vision swam as tears filled his eyes. The knife was nowhere to be found - he must have dropped it at some point. He wouldn’t have been able to use it at any rate. He wanted to curl up, but the best he could too was hang limply. The monster dropped something else in front of Frida.
“Daybloom.” She spat, glaring up at the creature with contempt.
David blinked the tears out of his eyes, and saw a small pile of orange - yellow flowers sitting in front of Frida. They looked like they had been torn out of the ground with little consideration of the flowers health, with some no more then stems, and some still carrying soil in the root systems. Frida considered them with worry.
“I…I won’t do it.” Frida said, sticking her chin out at the thing.
Won’t do what? What’s going on?
The creature didn’t move for a moment, considering her with distaste. It reached out and picked the flowers back up, then reached towards Frida. She shied away, but couldn’t get away from it. At it’s touch, the tentacle holding Frida to the tree sprung to life again, reattaching to the main body. It kept hold of Frida, and the creature hoisted her a few feet into the air.
“Let go of me!” She shouted, struggling in the air. It moved her into position a few feet away from him, then brought up one of its large legs. It seemed to fuzz for a moment, and the end suddenly became a needle like spike, a long as David’s arm. It thrust it towards David, and he cried out, pinching his eyes shut.
“Wait!” Frida cried. David peeked an eye open, and saw the point a few inches away from his throat.
“Ok! Ok, I’ll do it.” Frida said, her voice panicked. “Just leave him alone.”
David couldn’t do anything but stare at the spike.The monster seemed to shift its attention back to Frida, and slowly pulled the spike back. He slowly let out a held breath, his entire body shaking slightly. It kept the spike pointed at David, but gave a foot or so of space. It pushed the flowers towards Frida, shaking them insistently.
“I need my hands free.” Frida said tersely. The creature made no move.
“What do you expect me to do? I need my hands!” Frida repeated, annoyed. Finally, the binding holding Frida relaxed a little, and she was able to wiggle her arms free. She had somehow managed to keep a hold of her wand, though David wasn’t sure what good it would do her.
Another spiked arm came up at the same time, pointing at Frida this time. She eyed it warily, but took the flowers from the outstretched Tentacle, and inspected them with a critical eye. She looked through it, and started mouthing words silently, calculating something. The monster shook her harshly, and she glared back spitefully.
“Alright alright. Just give me a second. ”
“What’s going on?” David said, his mouth surprisingly dry.
“It brought me a bunch of Daybloom.” She said tersely, intently focused on what she was doing.
“And what’s that?”
“It’s an ingredient in a handful of spells.”
David still didn’t understand. She looked up, catching his eye.
“It brought me ingredients so it can suck the magic out of me.”
David’s eyes went wide as he finally understood fully. The monster shook Frida again, harder this time. She glared at it, but her eyes settled back on David.
"Normally, Daybloom isn't good for much." She said, almost seeming to be speaking to herself, and she again looked over the flower.
"On it's own, you can really only make a simple light spell."
The Frahn shook her again, growing impatient. Frida griped her wand in one hand, and placed one of the flowers gingerly in her mouth, holding it with her teeth.
"But -" She said, speaking around the flower. "- if you add just the right amount of iron, it makes a spectacular fire spell."
The words seemed to hang in the air, everything growing still around them. David was about to ask what in the world she was talking about when she suddenly thrust her free hand towards the spike pointed at her. She cried out in pain as the spike punctured her palm. The monster seemed just as stunned as David, and didn’t react fast enough stop Frida from pulling her hand free with a sickening squelch. She brought her now bloody hand back and plucked the flower from her mouth.
“Einum befallas nacht!” She shouted out the incantation with a wicked smile, and the orange aura sprang up around her. A blinding light exploded from Fridas hand, and a line of liquid fire shot out, severing the tentacle holding David. A wave of heat hit him as the fire passed mere feet away from him, and he cried out shielding his face from the intense heat. He cried out again as suddenly found himself unsupported in the air, and he fell to the ground. He tumbled down to the ground, ending in a dazed heap. He quickly got back to his feet, trying to blink away the new spots in his vision. Frida was still held by the monster, orange aura stronger then ever. Her hand was still ablaze with a white hot flame, though it didn’t seem to pain her at all. She sent another shot at the tentacle holding her, and a third at the monster itself.
The Frahn cried out - a horrible screech that broke the night air - and stumbled away as the liquid fire splashed onto it’s bulbous body. A hideous sound like frying bacon filled the air, and it let of a acrid black smoke. One of the liquid flames had hit one of the nearby trees, and wood was already catching. Frida fell to the ground awkwardly, the aura slowly fading around her. She fell to her knees, breathing hard and clutched her injured hand to her chest. The flowers fell from her fingers as David ran up and pulled to her feet. Thinking quickly, he scooped up the remaining flowers before dragging Frida away from the thrashing monster. It let out another scream as it smashed into a nearby tree, nearly uprooting it. The severed tentacles writhed on the ground, the ends still smoldering, letting of a putrid burning smell. The monster shook itself, leveling on them. It let out a ferocious scream, angrier then the screams before. It’s body seemed to fuzz, the tentacles retreating into itself. At the same time, spines formed all around the bulbous body, creating a perfect shell of razor sharp spikes. David felt the blood drain out of his face. It was out to kill now, no more messing around.
“Give me a flower!” Frida cried, stumbling to a stop. David hurriedly handed her one of them. The flower puffed into golden spheres, and blood seemed to be pulled out of her palm. She cried out in pain, falling to one knee, but the orange aura returned.
“Einum befalla-vuun!” She shouted, and a ball of fire ignited in her injured hand. It burned a deep red, and didn’t seem entirely stable. It ungulated, seeming to stretch and pulse before snapping back into a sphere. She tossed it like a baseball directly at the monster, but the ball lost its shape before reaching its target. It puffed out, leaving only a few glowing cinders. The monster retreated back anyway, rearing up and letting out another screech. David pulled Frida to her feet again, but once up she waved him away.
“Flower! Now!” She belted, the orange aura still surrounding her. He hastily handed her another, leaving only two flowers. It turned golden as soon it touched her hand, and became orbs before it had even left his hand. She cried out, clutching her injured hand as blood again seemed to be siphoned out of the wound, turning golden in the air. David inadvertently took a step back, horrified.
“Einum befalla-vuun!” Another ball of fire appeared in front of Frida - much larger this time, and glowing a sickly yellow - and she sent it spinning towards the monster. It fell short, landing a few yards away from them, but it didn’t puff out like the last one. It exploded, shooting out sparkling cinders in every direction - much like a firework would. The glowing cinders landed all around, and worryingly didn’t go out, instead glowing a deep angry red in the tall grass.
“Another.” Frida said, holding her hand out. David obliged.
He watched the monster warily as it crept forward in a low, aggressive stance. Again Frida cried out, as blood was sucked out of her palm, falling to one knee. David moved to help her up, but she stopped him with a hand.
“Einum befallas nacht!” The blinding light from before reappeared, and a bolt of liquid fire sprang from her outstretched hand. The creature lurched to the side at the last moment, dodging the liquid fire but a hairs breadth. The stream of molten fire hit a tree instead, setting the bark a blaze. Smoke started wafting from the tree, joining the now smoldering grass.
"More!" She cried, her voice vengeful. David was staring at the blazing trees, a feeling of dread quickly building.
“Frida, maybe we shou - !”
"David!" She shouted, turning to him sharply.
In the moment he almost didn’t recognize her. Her face was covered in soot and sweat, her hand a bloody mess. He wand gripped in white knuckles, and a look he didn’t think he had ever seen on her face. It was uncomfortably close to an expression Eva might make. He made no move to give her the flower, so she reached out and snatched the last flower from his hand, shoving him back in a fluid motion. At the same time the monster suddenly rushed forward in a crouch, letting out a deafening scream.
“Einum befa - Urk!“ Frida begin, but stopped as the monster reared up fast as lightning. The seem on it’s underside opened, and the aura around Frida started stretching towards the gaping mouth. Frida’s eyes opened wide, her expression now horrified. It broke away from Frida, and she fell back with a cry. The aura formed a ball in the air, hovering in front of the monster. David rushed forward, grabbing Frida and pulling her away. She stirred, mumbling something but he couldn’t make it out. The ball entered the mouth, and the creature flashed, seeming to swell up. It let out a triumphant scream, stomping around in it’s strange dance.
Something strange caught his eye as he dragged Frida. A strange shimmer in the air, that reflected the fire light. It moved quickly through the air, heading right towards the Bellkeeper. David blinked, thinking he was seeing things. But no, as soon as it touched the Bellkeepers chest, he sat up with a jerking motion, letting out a deep chested shout and straining against his bonds. He looked around with wild eyes. His gaze quickly fell on the monster, and his jaw set. Nothing happened that David could see, but the monster drew up short. It focused on the Bellkeeper, and let out another scream, though this one wasn’t triumphant. A sudden strong gust of wind blew through the clearing, stoking the growing flames further. Distantly, David heard thunder rumbling. David reached the Bellkeeper with Frida and stopped, breathing hard. The monster started approaching them. It did it causally, not bothering to hurry.
“Get out of here kid.” The man said from behind, his voice solemn. David shook his head.
“I can’t leave Frida here.” He saw a gleam in the grass nearby as he turned back to steadily approaching Frahn. He quickly stepped over to it, pulling the knife from before out with one hand. He stood back up, hands shaking. He stepped between the monster and the Tree where Frida and the Bellkeeper sat. He had no plan. He held the knife out before him, unsure what good it would do him. He had to try though.
I guess you were right Eva…
David jumped in surprise as a new shout came across the clearing.
“Leave them alone!” It only took him a moment to recognize the voice as Hilda’s. The monster whirled around. David looked over too. Hilda stepped out of the trees into the clearing, a fierce expression on her face. David felt relief flood through him. It didn’t last long. What was Hilda going to do? She would just get killed with the rest of them.
“Come on and get me!” Hilda shouted again, and took off towards the opposite end of the clearing. The monster howled giving chase. They both disappeared into the trees after only a few seconds.
“Hilda wait!” He shouted, starting to run forward. A sudden flashlight beam from the side stopped him. Trevor stumbled out of the trees a moment later, shaking off some leaves that stuck to his hat.
“Trevor?” David asked, confused. “What’s going on?”
“You tell me!” He said, looking around in shock. “Why is everything on fire?”
“What’s Hilda doing?” David asked, ignoring the question.
Trevor came to a stop next to him, letting out a sigh. “She decided to distract the thing long enough for us to get away.” He rolled his eyes, and started moving past him.
“We have to help her!” David said, starting forward. Trevor caught his arm, yanking him to a halt. He glared back, but Trevor’s gaze remained cool.
“Trust me, you’d only slow her down.” He let go of David’s arm, and turned.
“Come on lets go!” He said, moving towards the tree where Frida and the Bellkeeper sat. David starred towards the last place he had seen the monster, wanting to give chase. He did grudgingly admit that Trevor was probably right. Hilda could take care of herself after all. He started jogging after Trevor as the first drops of rain started to fall.