The Figure in the Door

Most stories start with a once upon a time or a long time ago, but not this one.

This one starts in a room, a single lamp glows from a corner but the room remains still dim.  A fireplace in the centre of the wall opposite from the door that once housed a beautiful roaring fire is now just a home for soot and dust.  A rocking chair faces the dusty cold fireplace slowly rocking back and forth while the floorboard underneath lets of long creeks as it rocks.

The door handle turns and as the door opens it makes a sound that could make the un-dead’s heart miss a beat.  In the door frame a small figure, a silhouette made by the light from the dim lamp, then a voice, with the cords of an angel, so smooth and warm, it could melt the coldest of hearts beckons to the rocking chair,

“Mother”

The chair stops

“Mother”

There was no answer but the figure knew the chair was listening.

“Mother, I’m here for you, just turn around, please mother”

No response.  Just silence.

The voice was about to give up but then movement came from behind the chair.  A soft but week whisper answers gently,

“Hush now child, please go to sleep, I’m so tired and I can no longer weep”.

The figure shaken pleaded again.

“I can’t do this anymore, please mother”.

But a deathly silence came from behind the chair.  The figure sighed and closed the door.  The chair once again started to rock slowly and whispering words that nobody could hear.

The woman holds a blanket wrapped like a doll with a light grip, she will never let it go, and her heart longed for her dream which she clinged onto.  A dream of a life what could have been?  Her life now in tatters just her memories and dreams her comforts.  Hours passed as she dreams of her better life, and then the door opens again.

“Mother please, please let me go”.

“You know I can’t child”.

“Please, mother I bet you let me go”.

The figure now crying from the door frame, tears trickle down his cheeks like rain.

The woman from the chair slowly stood up, cradling her blanket and she turned around.  Her face was old and broken, her eyes dark and harsh, yet somehow her youth still remained.  She was frail and week and thin, her clothes hanged of her tiny frame.

“I can’t my son, please don’t make me”

The figure in the door looked at the blanket

“Let me go mother”

The frail woman fell to her knees; she placed the blanket on the floor.  It was so stiff and so heavy and yet so small.

“I’m sorry my child”

Her hands stretched out to welcome the figure, a reunion of love and the figure ran towards her arms.  Her cuddle engulfed the figure and tears fell from their eyes.

“You forgot about me, didn’t you Mother”.

“Never, my son”.

“You did mother, you did”.

The figure reached into their pocket, a dagger, new and shiny and deadly plunged into the woman’s back.  Again and again the dagger entered her back yet the woman didn’t scream or whimper she just whispered “my son”.

“I’m your daughter” the figure snarled back, as she turned away her mother dropped to the floor and slid over to the blanket on the floor.  With her last ounce of energy she unfolded the blanket and kissed the rotting flesh of her dead son lips.

“Finally together” she took her final breath.

“You should have let me go” her daughter whispered and closed the door.

It's been a bit quite here.

I'm so sorry, I've been really quite, and away with the fairies but I promise you the next thing shall be good. Hopefully.  Sometimes I can be my own worse critic but I'm sure something will come.

Until then I have started a Book review page so please come check it out.  Together we shall read and make friends.  I will be something fancy hopefully. 

So keep your eyes open for my next thing.  I had a idea but I'm not sure on it yet we shall see how it works out. 

Any way sorry it short but I didn't want you wondering where the stories went.

Ciaobella

Runaway (sorry its so long)

“Justin get down from there, what will the neighbours think, we have just moved here” Justin’s mum cried, “for once why can’t you just do as your told”.  As Justin climbed down he ripped his shirt.  “God damn it Justin, we haven’t got the money to keep replacing these shirts, and these bruises, what are people going to think”

Justin sighed, his mum is always fussing, “I know mum we’re poor, don’t have to keep going on about it”.

“We are not poor, things are a bit tight at the moment that’s all, anyway, we are now late for your new school and I don’t have time to fix your top, just going to have to cover it over with your jumper.  Come on hurry up or you’re going to miss the bell”

“Great” Justin thought “I hate school, why the hell would I rush for that”.

As he walks through the gates it starts, just as it did before, the taunts, the name calling, every day no matter where he goes it’s the same routine.  Justin blood starts to boil, till he’s hatred turned to rage and POW, poor kid didn’t stand a chance.  Justin fist hit him hard even before he managed to finish the sentence.  Adrenaline is pumping through him, he can hear the kids all yelling, a circle has formed around them, but then teachers appear, they grab Justin and he winces, their hands and grabbed one of his tenders bruises.  The teacher pulls him into the office and as Justin wiggles free he tears he’s shirt more, ”Damn it” he thinks “mums going to kill me for sure”.   The teacher sees the tear and notices the bruise underneath.  He calls his parents. “I’m sorry but we can’t accept this form of behaviour, I understand you are still settling in but it’s unacceptable.   

By the time Justin mum arrives he knows he’s in deep trouble.  He was at school for like 10 minutes before he got pulled in, “this has got to be a new record” he thinks. 

“Two weeks Justin, two weeks, that is your father going to say he is going to go spare.  You know he doesn’t need this extra stress, did they notice the shirt, of cause they did.  That’s their job, great.  Justin how you can do this, are you listening to me” He mother yelling continued to yell at him but Justin wasn’t listening.  “Jesus mum, I know I did wrong, just shut up already” Justin thought but second guessed that maybe he shouldn’t actually say that to her.

When they arrived home, the house was clean it’s obvious that mum has been on one the night before, anything to keep he lord ship happy, Justin thought.  Thankfully he still at work, I won’t ever hear the end of this from him.  Then the door went.

Justin ran to his room; please don’t say dad came home early.  He wouldn’t, would he?

Mum opened the door she seemed skittish, who was it.  He didn’t recognise the voice at the door, and then he heard the words social services. “Oh no, I’m never going to be forgiven for this one” he thought.  The woman look around the house, his mum was being the charming self she was and explained what happed in the morning.  Justin saw this opportunity to sneak outside to the garden.  As he sneaked past he heard the words Hyper, exhausting, great that’s obviously about me.  As he ran outside he climbed up the tree in the garden.  He could see his mum and the woman in the kitchen, he could see them looking out the window at him.

“At least one good thing has come from this”, Justin said to himself, “No school, I won’t have to listen to people making nasty comments and horrid threats”.  The he saw the light from the drive, oh no dads home. He jump down and ran inside, it was a race to his room.  He managed to close his door just as dad walked in, made it.  Dad waked into the kitchen where mum was sitting, Justin opened his door and sat on the stairs listening….

Mum tells dad everything that happened that day, he could feel his dad getting angrier and madder as she told him what happened, she told him about the fight at school, the teachers pulling him to the office, the ripped shirt, the meeting, the travel home and finally the woman who came round.  Dad hit the roof.  He’s yelling, he smashing plates then he punches a wall making his own wife cry, he yelling blaming her screaming at her shouting out that she can’t control her own kid.

Justin ran back to his room, he can hear his dad’s footsteps on each step.  Justin though about hiding but then dad will know he listened so he say on his bed like nothing happened.  The door smashes open and his dad standing in the door way, he starts to yell.  Do you have to bring this trouble to our door boy?  He screams.  Look at your room it’s a mess.  He unplugs he’s telly, takes his phone and laptop and says that he will attending lessons while your suspended. He slams the door behind him and goes back downstairs to his wife.  Down stairs dad seems to calm down a bit, Justin can hear him apologises and promised to fix the kitchen and work hard for new kitchen stuff, He tells her about his bad day at work.  How he’s struggling holding down two jobs, she offers to go back to work but he declines, what kind of father would I be if I can’t provide for my family, he leans in a kisses her.  Sorry again love, I love you.  They hug, and she whispers I love you to. And then she goes in for the tiggle which makes him laugh.  Justin can hear his parents mucking about, he’s glad his dad can always been cheered up by his mum, But he’s getting angry that nobody has come upstairs to see if he’s alright.  Dad yelled pretty hard.

As the night goes on mum and dad go up to sleep on the stairs mum asks if she should check on Justin but his father said no, let him think about what he done.  We cuddle him too much.  Justin lied on his bed he heard them say that.  He’s anger if growing inside him.  Learn my lesson, I have nothing to learn, I was defending them.  He is so angry right now at his mum and dad that he hatches a plan to get back at them.  He starts to pack a bag and waits in his room till he can hear the gentle snoring from his parents from the room next door.  He sneaks downstairs and unlocks the door, once he’s outside he realised how easy that was, why hasn’t he done this before then walks down the street in the dead of night.

Justin knows of a tree house in the fields nearby, apparently some teenagers build it a few summers ago but it’s still standing and nobody uses it now.  He thinks it would be a good place to hide out for a day or two, tis will make he’s parents feel sorry for yelling at him and walk towards the tree house.  As he approaches the tree house it looks like somebody there, he though he saw a light but as he got closer he realised that it must have just been his eyes and there was no light on.  He climbs up and sees that there are some blankets there.  Great they will make a great base for a bed and makes himself comfy for the night.  Just as he’s dozing off he hears footsteps outside.  He kneels up to the window and sees a girl walking towards the tree house, he shuffles into a corner and the girl climbs up, as she walks in the first thing she notices is his shaggy hair.

“Hi,” she says, “I thought I saw somebody coming to the tree house so I out the light and run down and hid.  I saw you walk passed and realised you’re not scary your my age so I deemed it alright to come back out.  I’m Hannah, have you ran away? I did my mum just don’t get me.  You know she made me eat fish…..Fish, I can’t eat fish, burgh.  What’s your name”?

Justin sits up and ties to tidy his appearance, “Yeah, my parents don’t get me either, I hate them.  They are always horrid and shouting at me.  I can go somewhere else if you want, I mean you were here first, I don’t mind”.

Don’t be silly Hannah said, it’s nice to have somebody to talk to, are you hungry thirst I have food and drink.  Thanks yeah ill have a drink and she threw him a soda.

In the morning Justin woke up, feeling groggy a rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the tree house was pretty quiet and nothing was happening outside, peaceful.  He look around for Hannah but she was nowhere to been seen, she must of gone off to get supplies, I swear she said something like that last night, and he laid back down. Mornings are the hardest he thought.

The morning at his parents was very different, he father has already left for work and told the mum not to let him sleep in, she started the washing up and thought she would get the kitchen tidy before waking him up, She thought that they can have a calm talk about what happened the day before, its unlike him to start a fight some something must of pushed his buttons.  After washing up she walked up stairs and knocked on his door “Justin”….No answer, “Justin”, she slowly opened it, “Sweetie”,  she looked in, she saw his bed wasn’t messy it was still made.  Justin didn’t sleep in his room.  She noticed some of his clothes were missing… In a panic she phoned Justin phone but heard it ringing in the living from where he’s dad took it away last night.  She hangs up and called her husband.

Justin finally got up and dressed.  He looked around for food and found some jam and bread.  “Great breakfast for a king” he said laughing to himself.  “She wouldn’t mind if I had some.  I’ll replace it”.

Finally the dad picks up the phone before he had the change to say hello his wife screamed “HES NOT HERE”. 

“He probably went out early this morning and made he’s bed because he knows we was mad last night.  Wait till I get home, I teach him to sneak out”.

 Sensing his rising temper she changed her tone and said,” yea your right, he just sneaked out.  Have a better day today sweetie, love you”.

Justin finally got up, there’s been no sign of this girl all day, Maybe I should tidy up a little bit, but he had seconds thought, the place seemed alright really when he looked around.  Where was she?  He doesn’t even remember he going to sleep.  It’s been hours he thought, she should have been back by now it’s getting dark outside.  Oh well maybe she’s just gone home.  Well I’m not giving up so easily.

Back at home and dad just got home, as he walked in he’s wife was pacing in the living room, “is he still not home”.

“No not yet.  Where is he, I’m so worried.  I wished we never yelled at him, I just want him home.  OH sweetie, what shall we do”? 

“It’s time we phoned the police, have we called all the places he could have gone?”

“Yes of cause I have, nobody has seen him all day.  I called everywhere even the hospital nothing”.  She started crying.  He grabs the phone and dials.  “Hello police please, my son is missing”….

At the tree house the door opens and the girl is back.  “Where have you been then” Justin asks trying to act cool, he don’t want her to think he actually cared.  He asks if he should go home just to see what’s happening but she snaps and says he’s parents don’t care or they would have been out looking for him.  She says she saw them in town earlier and it’s probably best that he stay with her.  He agrees because he can see how upset she was becoming, but he did wonder how she knew who her parents were.  He looks out the window and can see blue flashing lights in the distance, he wonders if they was for him.  She walks over and pulls the curtain over the window.

Back at the house his parents tell the police everything that happened, they both break down in tears blaming themselves, they just want him back.  The police take a look around the house but there boy has left no clue to where he would of gone.  The mum give the officer a list of all the places that she thinks he would have gone and a list of all the people and places she has already called.  They thank the police for their time and say to contact either of them at any time if they need any other information.  The police say that most runaways tend to turn up in a few days anyway so don’t panic so much and most of the times they are local.  And the police leave.

The boy pulls back the curtain and can see the blue light s leaving.  Hannah snaps and pushes the boy to the floor.  “Do you want to go back” she screaming, “Do you want to leave me.  I thought we were having fun”.  She is furious and its ten times scarier than when his dad is yelling.  She shows her teeth as she snares words at him,” leave then, but you can never come back.  You won’t survive without me”.  He sees that her teeth are all sharp and jaggered, he can’t recall them being like that before.  Justin scared and thinks it best not to mess with Hannah, “No, of cause not. I want be here with you Hannah”. He kneels up slowly, making sure he doesn’t look into her eyes.  She seems paler then before, her skin looks translucent.  Something is different about her.  Hannah smiles and tells him that he should rest, the blue light are long gone.  Justin slips over to some blankets; he thinks its best that he should do as she says.

In the morning Hannah is still awake, she pale and has red eyes, it looks like she salivating, he asks if she’s alright and she brushes him off saying its hay fever.  He offers to do breakfast but she says she has already eaten.  He notes that not once has she made eye contact. Hannah yawns and Justin suggest she take a nap.  At first she declines then she makes him promise not to leave her.  He promises her and she lies down.  After a hour or so Justin checks the door and it’s locked.  He’s trapped.

Outside the tree house, Justin can hear voices; he can hear leaves rustling and he’s name being called.  He looks out the window a search party.  “Over here” he cries from the window and quick as a flash he’s knocked to the floor.  You promised you wouldn’t leave me.  Come with me Justin begs.  Hannah grabs he’s throat it shops him from being able to yell and pins him to the floor.  He tries to wiggle free but she is too strong.  Why is she so strong, she bites down onto he’s shoulder, the pain is unbearable.  She pulls on this throat and her finger nails cut into his neck.  She can feel the blood running down his neck.  She clenches her fingers and pulls on his neck ripping off chucks of his neck.  He’s voice has gone, he can’t talk or scream,  he can’t breathe he can feel his life slipping away all he can think off is his mum crying and his dad consoling her.  Hannah leans to he’s ear and whispers “did you not wonder where she went, did you not notice she was acting different”.  Justin eyes widened and it dawns on him.  He blinks and Hannah has gone, some creature is hunched over him with long talons instead of nails, a hunched back, horns, sharp teeth and deep red eyes.  The beast lunges down again to take a bite of Justin’s flesh and the last sear or pain was enough to make Justin drift away.

Outside somebody from the search party spots the tree house.  “Over here, up that tree.  It’s a tree house he could be up there”.  He father is with them and runs as fast as he can.  He’s running like a beast on a rampage.  “Justin” he’s screaming “Justin”.  He climbs the ladder and breaks through the door.  The father lets of a scream of terror.  He can see the demon with his some in his arms.  He can see the demon eating his son.  The demon turns around growls at Justin’s father, Justin dad goes go make a grab to Justin but the demon was too quick he picks up Justin and jumps out the window.  The father makes a final grab for the best but misses and falls from the window.  He land to the floor with a thud and a crack.  The search party run forwards Justin father lying on the floor looking up to the window, they all look up to the window to the see the demon with Justin body.  Justin father was about to take his last breath when he hears the words “Not again”.

Peeper

There he was again peeping through their window just hoping, waiting to catch a peek.  It won’t be long till he moves along till the next one.  It started out just one house. Just up the road. Every few nights he goes out to see if he could peep something.  Sometime it was the wife that caught his attention and sometimes it was their daughter.  But mainly he liked to see their family time.

He would watch them just watching telly, and even he knew that was boring but he would carry on peeping.

He wasn't fussy on the house, and he would move for better views. I've seen him in trees and hiding in bushes.  They don’t know he does it.  I’m willing to keep his secret, for now.

He's only 16, still a boy in some people standard.  It was odd for a peeper to be so young.  He wasn't a pervert and he wasn’t doing it for sexual pleasure, well not mostly anyway, he just wanted to see a real family, a true family life.  I guess he was making up for the lack of family life he has at home. 

Meal times were his favourite, seeing everybody together, talking about their days and eating.  Sometime it made him hungry but he was used to that feeling and got over it.  He even liked hearing arguments and then hearing them say sorry and I love you afterwards.  Those acts of love and kindness made him feel warm inside.  I once tried to offer him to say at mine, I offered to feed him and clean him up, help him learn but he didn’t trust me.  Why should he, everybody who has ever been near him has ruined him and made him this boy.

But every night without fail he managed to sneak outside and look, peep into their windows into their life, into their souls.  Just looking, wishing, hoping that one day, he’ll be invited in.

Hero's Tale

There she was our hero, our saviour, our warrior.  How she survived nobody knows.  But she’s there, Alive.  Just.

She walking into town covered in cuts and gashes still bleeding, her sword still dripping blood, from the terrors’ that she just slayed.  She can't believe her eyes, she was unaware of this surprise but it’s the least we can do, she has saved us, unknowingly but still saved us.  The town cheers upon her arrival.  People celebrating, wanting to shake hands of the woman who just free us from the evil.  She looks confused, and exhausted.  Her chest is heaving, she still trying to catch her breath; her body is still shaking from the adrenaline.  How she survived only god knows, but the fact she did is a blessing on us all.

The further she gets into town the more people rally round her, all smiling all cheering.  A little girl walks up to her and shyly states "when I'm older I want to be like you, a hero" and runs back to her daddy.

If only she know, the warrior thought, "if only she knew my pain, my anger and my anguish.  If only that little girl knew what I've been through.  No I wouldn't burden her with it.  Let her dream.  That girl deserves to grow up in peace.  At least now I know she is safe."

The story of our warrior didn't start like this.  This wasn't her life, life wasn't meant to be like this.  She was a wife, a new wife just married to a handsome man.  They wanted to start a family, settle down, and have a garden.  All the things she dreamt off.  The wedding day was spectacular, the entire village celebrated with them, food and drink flowed and no expense was spared.  It was a celebration for the masses.  But those dreams got snatched away.  Her husband disappeared.  She asked around if people seen him, went to the local law enforcement but people started acting like he didn't exist. The more she asked the more people shunned her and showed her away, she turned into a hermit.  Avoiding the village as much as she could and only going out the get supplies.  Then one day she received word, a note was pushed under her door.  She opened the door but couldn't see the sender so she picked it up to read it.

"Help....

I'm at the mountains"

There was no name just those words, but she knew the handwriting.  It was her husbands.  She quickly huddled together what she could grabbing food and clothes and anything of use and left her house.

Three day into her mission walking along a footpath, a group of outlanders see her and start taunting her.  They making quick remarks and trying to grab her, at first it was just a nuisance and she tried to carry on with her walk then it turned dark, they were still on her, they wouldn't leave her alone.  There taunts turned to threats the grabs turned to little slaps and punches.  This wasn't a game she feared for her safety.  She spun around to yell at them but was overtaken.  She was on the floor pushed down into the mud.  They have tied her up and was dragging her towards there camp.  She was at the camp for days with no food or water, morning beatings until she submits to them, they wanted to break her spirit and it was working.  The leader walked in.  You will serve us for food he said at which she bowed her head.  That was it she was now their slave.  They would beat her and throw stuff at her. 

For the first few days she does their bidding.  Not speaking unless spoken too and keeping out of sight.  She cooked she cleaned till she was sore and hurts.  She only went to sleep when told and made sure she was up before them so breakfast was ready.  She did exactly what she was told.  They worked her to the bone and then worked her some more.  She was tired but there was a fire in her.  A fire that told her to wait, to have Patience, she knew that by waiting for the right moment nature and the world would provide her with an answer.

And it did two weeks later, while working cleaning their clothes in a river she found a berry bush, one filled with poisonous berry.   She carefully took some and hid them in her pocket.  They were still holding her in there undercover camp.  She got up one morning very early, earlier than she ever woke before; she starts to make their breakfast.  She starts by crushing the berry and mixing them with water to for a drink then continues to make their breakfast ready for them to awake. 

They wake so hungry they devour the food, not noticing what they are eating and drinking, they demand her to clean up and after they March onto the next village pulling her along, a dangerous trail. Hours pass and she wonders if the berry will ever work till finally one man collapses, and then another till the strongest man drops to his knees, he looks at her right in the eye and spits blood at her feet  "you did this" he hisses with his final breath.  He head slowly falls to the floor.

Finally free she leaps into action, stealing their weapons to help defend herself if she need too.  She will not let something like this happen again.  She was no stranger to weapons she had used them in the past so she knew she could protect herself if she needed too.

She notices the supply same still short she has only basic rations, so she continues along the pass till she gets to the next town.

On the way she comes to a farm, she enquires about a job so she can buy some food but the only job available is to kill the thing that's been eating the livestock, she takes the role and does a stake out, but she's feeling weak and tired.  Through the night nothing happens and dawn is approaching so she eats her remaining supply, she needs this to work.  The next night the farmer offers her a meal before she has to stake out again.

Feeling refreshed and up for it she finds a better hiding place and waits  a few hours pass nothing, just ands she was about to give up a gigantic wolf appears at least 7 foot high, ragged look, ears chewed and fur missing, it has many scars over him, he looks like he's been in the wars.  She doesn't realise that she staring at least not him she’s standing in sheer awe of this beast has temporary shocked her.  He spots her at least not and goes to at least don't tack, she wasn't ready but manages to dodge his at attack.  She pulls her sword and waits for the wolf to pounce again, his teeth glaring and snapping at her, he leaps into the air as she swings her sword. She misses but the wolf’s claws scrap across her shoulder. Blood is pouring down her arm and chest.  She tightens her grips and ready herself again, the wolf mouth is open drool is running from his teeth, he can smell her blood and he's excited, he jumps forward going for a bite but she blocks with her sword and cuts his mouth.  The wolf howls in pain and backs off, she runs forwards and strikes again this time and the sword pushes into his chest, the wolf falls to the floor and is wounded bad, with one final blow it's over,   The wolf is dead.

In the morrow the farmer a process, he can see the beast on the floor and smiles, he's livestock is safe and rewards her plenty.  She protests over the amount and greatly just takes what she needs.  She is able to buy supplies to keep her on her journey, he offers to fix her up as she don't take all the money, that she accepts and just before she leaves they hug as she vows to return.

After leaving the farm she e sides that a short cut is needed and knows of town just beyond a cave and before the mountains.  She doesn’t know if it's true but thinks there's no harm in looking.  After an hour of walking the cave was not hard to find, there was signs leading the way so it must be a common short cut.  The signs did not show of the dangers that the cave holds. 

She walks in the further she goes in the darker it becomes. As she walks her hands are held outright the stop her from crashing into rocks.  Her shoes are cracking on what can only be small rocks.  It feels like the ground is moving as she walks.  The further in the worse the ground in it feels like her feet are sinking in rocks; it's so dark now she can't see anything.  The rocks are more clustered he hands can feel the jagged edges of the rocks in from of them.  They are becoming wet, the smell seems to become ionised, metallic, there's a sound, she can barely make it out she edges closer the sound slowly becoming louder, and it sounds like crying. She follows the wet rocks there's a light glowing in the background.  That's where she needs to go; she needs to get to the light.  Her surrounding is becoming lighter and she stops to let her eyes adjust.  The smell is stronger as she leaned on a rock her hand slips, she looks at it, that’s not water, and she looks to the floor, bones hundreds of bones and skulls and, over the floor.    Some bones still attached to other limbs some hands still, holding onto their weapons.  Some look so old they are crumbling away, she looks at her hands again covered in red blood.  The iron smell is blood.

She panicking now cause of the crying.  And rushes towards the light, there hunched in a corner a little girl, clothes ripped, sobbing into her torn dress.  She runs up to her and kneels by her side.  The girl stops crying turns to face her and leaps onto her snarling showing her teeth.  This girl is not human.  Those are not human teeth they are sharpened teeth, the girl skin is pale are and scaly.  Her eyes are huge with a red black tint, perfect for seeing in the dark, her name, s are like daggers and her hind legs are that of a werewolf.  Her feet are longer than normal and her back is hunched.  She reacts just in time and pushes her to the ground using a knife to kill her before a battle could start.  As she turns she surrounded by them. At least 10 of them, she pulls her sword tights and slays 4 of them but is trapped by the rest.  As the move closer she kicks the fire and runs. She can hear the cries and can her them running but she can see the exit.  She will survive.

Running towards the exit she spots a narrow turning. Narrow enough for just her she runs into it but it has no end, she’s trapped and they are in front of her only exit.  She draws her sword again and stabs the first on in the heart. It's pushed away by another being, she stabs this one too, from this point she's able to pick them off one by one without getting a scratch.  Then they stop coming she waits for a while before she emerges from her hole.  As she does she uses her sword to look around first, nothing there she must of got them all, she counts the bodies, theses five, plus her four from earlier that makes nine,  maybe she miss counted.  She comes out slowly, it's quite its fine, she begins to walk towards the exit and she feels a sharp pain against her back, like five knives slashing her, she spins with sword in hand and slices and being behind her.  Ten she thinks, bloody ten.

As she emerges from the cave it's late the stars and moon are shinning in the sky, four men are waiting for her, she reads her sword but she knows she too exhausted to fight, but they bag her to lower it, they tell her they are her welcome party.  Confused she says you must have somebody else but they disagree and Insist that she follows they to their village not far from the cave.  She goes only because that's where she was going anyway.  As they approach they run off in front of her, tired and with blood still dripping from her sword, and cuts and gashes, she walks into town.  She can hear us cheering and smell the food; we are celebrating her, for what she did to the cave beings.  We tell her that they eat the people from the village, and that we were in the middle of an attack when they went running back.  That must have been when she killed the girl.

We let her tidy herself up and rest in their hotel, All,  free of charge, we tried to give her money but she decides it all, and tells us everything that happened in the cave, all of which was meet with woos and gasps.  She tells us about her missing husband and we tell her about some of our missing men who also went up the mountain.  We desire that she should go alone and some of the town folk volunteer to go with her in a few days.  She must be fighting fit for that mountain it's not a easy climb so we insist she rests well and eats well the next few days while we sort out some new clothes for her.

A few days past she's well rested but fears she has been too long, she worries about the state she might find her husband in, and we as a team assure her that he will be fine, our families are up there too, we tell her that we are sure they are protecting each other, but this does not ease her worry.  Together we set off, the mountain is not far from our village at all so we get there with time to spare. The mountain had a trail that lead up a tiny way so we shall take that; from there we shall have to climb.  The trail Leads up to an herb with grows in abundance on the mountain.  It's very powerful and helps with healing so we use grab some on the way.  Just in case.   I try to reassure her.

The trail ends and we gave what herbs we can. As we start to climb the footing was better than we anticipated which made our lives so much easier, hope was growing amongst us and I even saw our hero cracking a smile.  But then things made a terrible turn. 

About half way up the mountain we found what we were looking for, our families and her husband, frozen in terror. The last look on their face looked like they was seeing apart from her husband, his face looked in pain, his leg strapped up, this is what he meant by help, his leg was defiantly broken.  Their bodies preserved in ice forever, their last emotion in an endless expression. Many their eyes always showing fear.  Some of our team turned a ghostly white, they could not take in what they were seeing, I was one of those.  But our hero, she just sat next to her husband and wept.  Wept uncontrollably non-stop for what seemed like forever.  We let her be.  When she stopped she agreed we should go back we will return for the departed a other day, not today she couldn't do today.  She asked if it would be alright to start a fresh in our town.  We smiled and said that's what we thought you were doing, which made her smile a little.

Feeling disappointed and sad we embarked on our journey back.  Our hero kept looking back and when we said we shall return tomorrow, she said she had the feeling of being followed.  We took a few steps and then I felt it too.  We both turned round and saw something I shall never forget, blue smooth skin, round flat feet with big toes, silver eyes, big round teeth and white tuft of fur on its chest.  It looked like it smiled.  The rest of our team stops and turned round.  The hero and I slowly tried to step back to whisper to run but they ran forward hoping to take it down. I looked at the hero in terror and could tell she was scared.  They hit it with their swords d they didn't even cut his skin.  This being was tough.  It opened its mouth and blew a steel of ice onto the town folk, freezing them solid.  I loved at the hero and screamed at her to run but as she turned I watched her skin freeze.  This being was fast.  I stood frozen to the spot unable to move.  I was so scared.  Eventually the being moved and I was able to get away.  While I finally made it back onto the path I cried.  I ran and I cried till I made it back to town.

I explained everything and a few more me went up the mountain to bring back our dead, much to my protest.  Our town has been waiting weeks for them to return.