Castle of Blood and Beauty

Nothing, but blood and death

(So first story on here...hopefully it's as good as what I have in mind, but fair warning this may take awhile. This will be a male reader scenario so F/N and L/N will be there obviously. Enjoy)

"Great. Just absolutely great." I said to myself while pacing back and forth. I inspected the steaming Dacia Duster. The front was smashed to a tree and tangled in branches. The wheel in the front left was cut open, deflated against the rim, and the windshield was broken with shards of glass inside and outside the car. "So getting a car wreck in the snow wasn't bad enough, now I have no service to call for help or even a car jack to fix my slashed tire. I guess it would be no use standing around here. Maybe I can find a local who can help me since the weather might get worse the longer I stay out here."

Little did I know what would await me as I passed a barbed wire fence and slipped down that hill.

Screams were echoed throughout this seemingly quiet village. One minute it seemed peaceful, but the next is now only a gruesome killing spree. I barely scraped by from strange creatures clawing at the walls and banging on the rooftops. Stumbling through the snow I was able to find a house and barricaded myself inside to flinch in shock that it was littered with bodies. There was a moment I almost puked out of disgust. There were cries from almost every corner as I saw survivors between wooden boards being slashed open and put on piles for those wolf-like monsters to consume. Hearing those cries were enough to scar me as I began to shake in fear. I thought all hope was gone for me once a single creature saw my peering eyes. It let out a chilling howl alerting a pack to tear down the walls that were surrounding me. I could hear the ancient home breaking piece by piece until there was silence. Not a sound from those creatures. There only was a bell ringing that caught their attention along with mine. They began to leave in excited sprints on a new hunt.

"They... moved on?" I thought to myself sliding down against a wall. "Oh thank god!" My hands were shaking with both cuts and sweat. It stung, but nothing too terrible considering I may have been a meal to those creatures had those bells never sang the sounds of relief for myself. I poked my head out slowly from the door of the house. Nothing...not a soul. The only remnants of anyone was the splattered blood across the snow. I spotted a heavy coat and scarf and wrapped it around me. "Chilly at first even with the cloth, but I'll be warm soon. I hope..." I whispered to myself.

I wandered across this empty place for only minutes yet it felt like hours. The creatures weren't around anymore, but I wasn't willing to take that chance of being a sitting duck wide out in the open. I passed a red gate leading to a graveyard. Fitting I suppose looking around this empty village. A door with three monuments inside were at the end of the graves. "This...was a seriously bad place to go for help." I said trying to make myself laugh. It didnt work leaving me even more nervous. The door was cracked open even though one of the stones set in place was missing. I sighed observing the crack which surprisingly was wide enough for me to squeeze through. "Well certainly beats staying here waiting to get mauled to death. I'm certainly not staying here a second longer. If its quiet even where those bells rang then that could only mean they finished..."

The door immediately shut and locked as soon as I crossed inside. "The old cliche door closes as soon as you enter." I thought rolling my eyes. Spotting a drawbridge with a stream flowing under the water which was both calming and clear I decided to stop to clean my hands and drink the chilled water. I let my icy breath escape my lips and proceed through the bridge after splashing some water on my face for good measure.

More minutes have passed as I continued forward. I found berries and crops stocked up against or on top of each other in a cavern-like room. There was a yellow tape-lined lever against the wall and a locked door on the other side. I stuffed a few pieces of fruit in my pocket and munched on some corn. It wasn't amazing, but I can't complain with my stress eating. I switched the lever down and watched the barred gate open up. I entered through and saw a little crop lineup with three scarecrows. The plants were petrified from the cold as expected. The scarecrows seemed odd. Upon further inspection I saw that they were bodies. "Oh my god." I gulped covering my mouth. "Ok. This is a huge red flag." Upon observing the castle there were lit candles throughout the windows and torches lit in the entrance. "There should be at least one sane person in here... I hope. Please God don't be crazy people." I whimpered to myself staring at the ground. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess." I opened the door and entered only to regret it after hearing a iron bar lock it behind me. Attempting to open the door was no use since it didn't budge when I slammed my shoulder into it.