The Dark City.
A Kingdom of Monsters.
A Kingdom of Sin.
'Don't let them take your light, my child.'
Isabelle had clung to her father's words, like kindling. Trying to keep the thin flame of hope burning in her bleak life.
Sold to the slavers' m...
In the distance, someone let out a horrified shriek. The monster snarled, drawn away towards the sound. The heavy thumps of its dreadful footsteps fading away.
Isabelle glanced around her room, wide-eyed and frantic as to what her next move should be. She swallowed, licking her dry lips as she tried to regain her breathing enough to think clearly.
With every breath she sucked in, she could feel her heart racing. Isabelle moved quietly around the room, searching.
"Rosie? Rosie!" she hissed, eyes darting around for the little mouse.
Rosie emerged from underneath the straw mattress, squeaking.
"There you are," Isabelle sighed in relief, scooping her up and tucking the little thing into her apron pocket.
A fearsome roar echoed down the hallways, and she could hear rapid footsteps of girls outside running to their rooms, slamming doors shut.
She jumped, frantically scanning her tiny dwelling. She needed somewhere else to hide.
Silently opening the wardrobe, she tried to contort her limbs to fit in the narrow rectangle, but she was too big. She grunted as her foot got lodged at an awkward angle.
She wouldn't fit.
Isabelle climbed out, missed her footing and stumbled onto the ground, landing on her hands and knees. She froze, horrified at the noise she just made.
A low growl rumbled through the corridors, the clacking of large claws against the stone ground getting closer.
Click.
Isabelle's eyes widened in fear, her fingers trembled. Goosebumps broke across her skin.
Click.
Her eyes shifted to the only other place she could possibly go: under the bed.
Isabelle pulled Rosie from her pocket and into her hand.
Dropping to her belly, she wiggled across the cold floor, wincing when her back scraped the underside of the low wooden frame. She propelled herself forward with her elbows and her legs until she was completely under the bed, feet to the wall and head facing the closed door.
Click.
Her heart raced at a dizzying pace, and she had to remind herself to breathe.
Click.
Shivering, mouth dry, Isabelle's eyes were glued to the door as the sounds of snarls and footsteps ebbed ever closer. She tried to make herself smaller, imagining that she could somehow slip beneath the floor and hide.
Click.
She held a breath as the click of claws on the stone floor seemed to pass by her room, followed by silence. Isabelle let out a soft breath of relief, her muscles relaxing slightly.
The door creaked open.
Click.
Click.
Isabelle clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. Her eyes peeled wide with terror as slowly, a clawed hand curled around the door, sharp black nails scraping over the wood as it pushed it open.
Isabelle went stiff, closing her eyes tightly, hoping it was just a bad dream and that she would wake up, warm and safe in her bed. However, when she opened her eyes again, the monster had moved closer, sniffing around the small room. It was so close she could only make out the bottoms of its furry feet with frightening claws jutting out.
She could hear the beast sniffing around beside the bed, so close to where she lay.
In painfully slow motion, the beast lowered onto all fours, inhaling a deep breath, its muzzle dropping to the floor. Cold sweat dripped down her face, every muscle in her body rigid with fear as she focused on remaining still. Rosie squirmed in her firm grasp, but she didn't soften her hold.
The monster's head dipped down, a bright red eye narrowing on her.
Isabelle sucked in a horrified gasp.
There was no humanity left in that maddened gaze, only a raw primal hunger.
He growled at her, saliva dripping from its mouth. Frozen, Isabelle dared not move as she found herself locked into a staring contest with the monster.
Roise squeaked in terror.
The beast snarled, moving suddenly towards her, snapping its jaws only inches from her face.
Isabelle screamed, scrunching back as far as possible toward the wall under the bed. Massive jaws snapped hungrily as the beast tried to angle its head, wiggling it between the small crevice and inching closer to its prey. Its claws dug into the ground as it tried to propel itself forward.
The beast let out a frustrated snarl, trying to push the bed back with his head only to meet a wall. The bed rattled and shook with the force, but thankfully, could not budge.
A shattering sound rang down the hall and the beast immediately turned towards it.
Raising his muzzle to the air, he inhaled deeply, letting out another bone-chilling roar. He stalked on all fours, the click of claws against the hardened ground, as he moved stealthily out of the room.
Click.
Click.
She waited with bated breath, eyes fixated on the door as the clawed footsteps clicked down the hall, moving further away.
Click.
The sound disappeared. Still, she waited.
Isabelle jumped in fright as a shrill scream rose from the silent darkness, immediately followed by the sound of a poor girl begging for her life, and then once again... silence. Isabelle took the chance and shimmied out from under the bed, scraping her elbows and knees on the rough ground, and moved towards the wardrobe.
She used all her remaining strength to drag the massive oak wardrobe in front of the door, her hands shaking profusely. Once the door was blocked, she crawled back under the bed and clutched Rosie to her chest, hoping the hefty obstacle would be enough to deter the monster from getting back in.
The small mouse squirmed in her grasp, the moment providing little comfort to her wild, racing heart. She took in a shaky breath, eyes wide, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
Isabelle's stare stayed fixated on the door until the moon finally dipped low below her window. Unable to hold her eyes open any longer, she drifted off into a shallow sleep.
PROCEED TO CHAPTER 9
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
