Her Cursed Monster (Mad Protector Series #1)

~Chapter 4~

Margo could hardly believe her eyes. She had never been a religious person, but the sight before her could only be described as demonic - a mostly decaying arm was currently strangling the life out of Quintus, the latter trying uselessly to escape. How the situation has reversed...I believe there is some poetic justice in the world, after all.

Snapping out of her stupor, the frightened girl crawled underneath Quintus's struggling body, her hands getting lightly scratched by the pebbles in the dirt. Advancing a few feet, Margo willed herself to get up and escape the horrifying vision. Unfortunately, her legs would not listen. Her entire body was shaking uncontrollably and her eyes refused to look away from  what was happening. 

As if arising from the very fiery pits of hell, the arm was soon joined by its pair, both limbs now clutching the mad Quintus in their grip. As more and more earth was caving away from the now desecrated tomb, an unspeakable creature seemed to make its way towards the surface. Once its head was out in night air, its neck turned towards Margo. 

The creature's face was mostly covered with grey patches of rotten skin, some places just caving in to dark holes. Something that must have once been hair now hung long on top of its head, so tangled and dirtied with mud, that it was an unrecognisable mess. Above a very poor imitation of a nose, stood two identical sockets. Even though its orbs were missing, Margo could strongly feel the creature's intense gaze upon her tear-stained face. 

The young girl struggled not to scream in horror when the monster opened its almost lipless mouth:

"Mmmmiinnnee," it hissed and tried to inch closer to her form, as if completely forgetting about the man still in its grasp. 

Fortunately for her, Quintus renewed its effort to escape and started to scream desperately for help, sensing his approaching doom. As if bothered by an annoying fly, the creature unwillingly turned its demonic gaze towards its victim. 

Catching Margo's gaze, Quintus's crazed eyes demanded her cooperation, ordering her to help him. "What are you standing there for, you peasant?! Give me a hand, Margo!"

As if hearing her name thrown in the dirt, the monster peeled its lips threateningly and growled dangerously low while tightening its fingers on Quintus's neck. Impossibly sharp fangs glinted in the now cruel light of the full moon above, their pearly white colour in contrast with the demon's rotten appearance. Without warning, the creature savagely drove its teeth into Quintus' skin. Screeching painfully, the man flung his limbs repeatedly on the creature's back, each blow growing weaker than the previous. 

Margo was petrified in her spot. While her body was frozen still, her mind was racing with hundreds of thoughts. Her morals were strongly at conflict. Should I help the man that tried to defile me just a couple of moments ago? I am sure he would have left me for dead had this not happened. Or should I join forces with him and fight against this living blasphemy? It was one of the rare moments when she failed to come up with a solution. 

Loud slurping noises could be heard. By this point, Quintus had ceased moving and now resembled a rag doll hanging helplessly by the monster's fangs.  Margo wished she would have fainted at the beginning of this whole ordeal so she would not have to witness such horrors occurring. She briefly wondered if she was going to be the next victim. She willed herself to move, to survive this. For innocent Thomas. For kind Nana. For protective Benjamin. Even for her cold unfeeling father. However, her body had a mind of its own. It refused to move, no matter how hard she tried. I think I am going into shock...

Raising her eyes to the massacre in front of her, Margo was appalled to see the creature's bottomless gaze upon her form, its mouth still attached to Quintus' throat, sucking every last drop.  By this point, she was quite certain that her attacker has joined the land of the dead- she just hoped she would not follow his example, as well.

Detaching its mouth, the creature let the corpse fall carelessly on the ground and rose to its feet.  Standing, it looked even more massive and threatening than it did before. Its form exuded danger and if the blood currently covering its wide chest was any indication, Margo had no chance to defeat the monster. 

"Leave me alone!" she cried, a new wave of tears burning the corner of her eyes.

Seeing he was undeterred from his pursuit, Margo started crawling backwards until she hit the rough bark of a tree. Silently cursing, the young girl realised that was the end of the road for her, both literally and figuratively speaking. She did not want to stare death in the face - her dark eyes closed and she held her right hand opened protectively in front of her, a mere barrier against the demon.

His footsteps sounded louder and louder, till they came to a stop right near her crouched form. She heard a shuffling sound. She closed her eyelids tighter. It was bound to happen anytime now. She wondered if her death was going to be quick and painless or savagely prolonged like Quintus' had been. Either way, her life's thread was about to be cut short. Oh, mother, I shall see you again, at least.

All of a sudden, her outstretched palm touched something. Margo opened her eyes, instantly wishing she had not. The creature was lovingly rubbing his cheek on her fingers, emitting strange continuous sounds when doing so. It almost sounded like purring.

His bottomless eyes were attentively watching her every reaction, as if memorising every inch of her face. One of his hand rose to her cheek. Barely had Margo noticed his wickedly sharp black claws when she suddenly jerked out of reach. 

"NO!!! What do you think you are doing?", she sobbed, scarcely containing the hysteria bubbling inside of her.

He clearly did not like her moving away from him. He started growling, trying to grab her again to bring her closer. Margo avoided his touch again. For some strange reason, the creature had not  murdered her, yet. Also, she noticed that his movements were slower than before, otherwise her evading him would have been futile. 

Just as she was wondering why, the slight red tint of the sky started to make itself clear to Margo. Could it be that the sun weakens him?, she though while she hid away from yet another insistent touch of his. The creature's patience was clearly wearing thin, his growls permeating the early morning air. She was running out of chances to escape. She needed to act. Quickly.

Testing her theory, Margo abruptly rose to her feet. The creature followed suit as well, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that his movements were shaky and slow. Their gazes locked, human and demonic. He realised she discovered his weakness. Acting fast, Margo leapt into a run, barely missing his arms embracing thin air now. 

Until she arrived back safely to the HeartWell mansion, she never looked back, but she did hear the creature's sorrowful furious howl,  promising retribution.