Seven Devils and a Rose - Chapter 4
Seven Devils and a Rose
Pre-Order Seven Devils and a RoseApple BooksGoogle PlayAmazon (coming soon)Chapter 4The Magic of the Aurora LightI rushed out, my bare feet cold against the marble floor beneath me. Again, I didn’t remember that there was any marble floor at the entrance of the bathhouse previously, so this place was obviously nothome.Outside, it was dark, with a hint of moonlight in the distance that illuminated a gray hue on my surroundings. And yes, I noticed immediately that this wasn’t the back garden of St. James Manor, as everything here looked completely different.As I stepped out farther, I noticed that behind me and above the bathhouse was the aurora, and I couldn't help but stare at it in awe. So, it didn’t just appear in the bathhouse. It was outside, too, and stretched high above the sky and even farther, beyond my left and right sides like a sort of barrier between two worlds.Oh. My. God.The sight was indeed breathtakingly beautiful, and I was mesmerized for a moment. I felt like I had stepped into a whole other universe, and that I was now watching the stars up close. The Aurora, with its multi colors of the rainbow, danced and sparkled while the rays of light shone and bathed the surrounding area in a prism of hues.Even though it was exquisite and I wanted to gaze at it longer, taking it in and storing the image in the database that was my mind, I knew that I couldn’t, because time was of the essence.I snapped back to reality, my mind racing.Where was I if this wasn’t home? If this wasn’t St. James Island? If this wasn’t America? If this wasn’t Earth?I searched around me as I tried to figure out the answer, or at least toss up possibilities of where I could be.Then it hit me! Oh, God! I hadn’t been transported to another realm, had I? I mean that would be just impossible. It was just not tangible.Then again, Dad’s words echoed gently in my mind. Anything is possible if you put your imagination and creativity to it.“Oh, Dad,” I said under my breath, my voice shaking. Why did this kind of stuff happen? When we had just talked about it? Was it a sign, a marker, or something?Suddenly, I noticed that the noise of men shouting was getting louder and I knew that they were heading this way, toward me.I narrowed my eyes, searching and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.Boom!I felt the earth shake beneath me, and at the same time, lights burst and exploded brightly in the sky.Oh, Lord, this was definitely world war three, all right.I instinctively left the bathhouse and ran toward the woods on the other side, my bare feet on the cold, hard earth.I didn’t know how long I ran, but I kept at it like the devil was chasing after me. I sprinted until I felt the cuts against my skin. Holding back groans of pain that desperately wanted to escape my mouth, I kept racing until my heart ached and my sides were sore. It was only then that I slowed down, because I frantically needed to catch my breath.Behind me, I could still hear the voices of men shouting chaotically, getting ever closer.Were they chasing after me? But why? How did they even know that I was here in the first place?I had just gotten out of the bathhouse and I was sure no one had seen me.“Over there!” I heard one shout.I freaked out and instinctively started running again. Suddenly, in my panicky state, I missed a step and tripped, and I found myself tumbling down the side of a steep hill, my slender body rolling like a log until I hit the bottom with a puff.The world around me spun as I felt pain coursing throughout my body. I was out of breath as I lay there, my eyes closed. Suddenly, I wanted to cry, wondering what the hell was going on around me. And what about Mom and Dad? Were they safe back at the house?God, I didn’t know, and I willed myself to get up as the sounds of angry men were coming closer.I took slow, deep breaths to master my courage, and then I pushed myself up. Once on my feet, I felt dizzy, and I found myself leaning against a tree to steady myself. When I felt a little better, I started off again, slowly and silently sneaking my way to find a hiding place in the dimness of the moonlight.“There he is!” a male shouted, his voice echoing through the woods.I gasped in fright, and urged by fear, I started running again, even though I felt so heavy and weak and my legs and bare feet were hurting.I was racing this way and that to avoid being captured by the shadows of men I didn’t know flitting between tall trees in the dark. Suddenly, I heard and felt stomping sounds on the earth, and it was getting closer. I darted my gaze around my surroundings, searching. Then I saw it, a dark, mighty four-legged creature racing toward me.I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. I was thatpetrified.In reaction, I found myself rushing backward, my heart racing and my mind numbed with fear. Suddenly, I tripped over and fell back.Afraid that I’d be either captured or run over, I turned on my hands and knees and then pushed myself up again. With unsteady legs, I started running off toward the other side. It wasn’t long until I sighted another dark, mighty four-legged creature coming my way from a different direction.Two? Oh, fuck!Biting my lower lip and with tears brewing in my eyes, I switched direction again to my left and headed that way.I was running as I had never run before. I ran until I was once again breathless and the pain in my heart became excruciating.When I couldn’t take it anymore, I collapsed on the ground, exhausted and heaving for air. Beneath me, I felt the cold grass and dead leaves, and I wondered if I was going to die here with these two demon-like men coming after me.Shit! How was that possible?Only some ten minutes ago I was at St. James Manor and having a fine time bathing in Dad’s newly renovated bathhouse. And now?I was in some weird place with angry mobs of men chasing after me?This was beyond being fucked up!What kind of a realm was this? It wasn’t even civilized, with men chasing after you with an intention to kill the moment you stepped foot into their world. I mean their tourism business wasn’t going to survive if they kept this sort of appalling behavior up. Their economy was undoubtedly going to fail for sure.I was still trying to catch my breath when the sound of stomping on the ground came to a stop, and I knew...Oh, God, I knew that those two men were coming right for me.Shit!What were they going to do when they got me? Kill me right away? Because that was what barbaric men did in Dad’s fantasy novels, so it must be the same here.Suddenly, I wanted to cry, so frightened I was. Either way, the outcome would be horrible. I'd either be made into a mess or left lying like a corpse by the end of the night.I shut my eyes for a second, praying that I was somehow back at home, back at St. James Manor with Mom and Dad. I wanted all this to go away. I wanted all this to be merely a dream, a fantasy like in one of Dad’s books. But then the sound of men purposefully walking toward me caused me to flutter my eyes open in dread.I reacted by lurching up. Then, with the determination to survive, I tried to escape by staggering backward, my body moving this way and that to avoid being captured.There were two of them, the dark shadows of demon-like men with their tall, hulking bodies that scared me shitless.Why were they so big?I had never seen men that immense before. Not to mention there were more men, though not as massive as these two, behind them, they surrounded me, trapping me where I was.Why were they surrounding me?“Leave me alone!” I shouted, tears in my eyes. Then I took the opportunity and tried another chance at escaping.I ran, but I didn’t get far because one was right after me. I could feel his colossal presence behind me, chasing after me relentlessly, being the tiny, helpless prey that I was to him.The wolf-like brute roughly caught me, and in response, I screamed and struggled with all my might in his arms. Somehow—and I truly had no idea how—I managed to fight him off and was able to slip away from his grasp. Then I blindly ran toward what I thought was a clear exit, my escape. Only, in a mere moment, another giant of a tall, lean body in dark clothing appeared in front of me, blocking my path.* * *READ CHAPTER 5 IN THE NEXT BLOG POST HEREPre-Order Seven Devils and a RoseApple BooksGoogle PlayAmazon (coming soon)
Pre-Order Seven Devils and a RoseApple BooksGoogle PlayAmazon (coming soon)Chapter 4The Magic of the Aurora LightI rushed out, my bare feet cold against the marble floor beneath me. Again, I didn’t remember that there was any marble floor at the entrance of the bathhouse previously, so this place was obviously nothome.Outside, it was dark, with a hint of moonlight in the distance that illuminated a gray hue on my surroundings. And yes, I noticed immediately that this wasn’t the back garden of St. James Manor, as everything here looked completely different.As I stepped out farther, I noticed that behind me and above the bathhouse was the aurora, and I couldn't help but stare at it in awe. So, it didn’t just appear in the bathhouse. It was outside, too, and stretched high above the sky and even farther, beyond my left and right sides like a sort of barrier between two worlds.Oh. My. God.The sight was indeed breathtakingly beautiful, and I was mesmerized for a moment. I felt like I had stepped into a whole other universe, and that I was now watching the stars up close. The Aurora, with its multi colors of the rainbow, danced and sparkled while the rays of light shone and bathed the surrounding area in a prism of hues.Even though it was exquisite and I wanted to gaze at it longer, taking it in and storing the image in the database that was my mind, I knew that I couldn’t, because time was of the essence.I snapped back to reality, my mind racing.Where was I if this wasn’t home? If this wasn’t St. James Island? If this wasn’t America? If this wasn’t Earth?I searched around me as I tried to figure out the answer, or at least toss up possibilities of where I could be.Then it hit me! Oh, God! I hadn’t been transported to another realm, had I? I mean that would be just impossible. It was just not tangible.Then again, Dad’s words echoed gently in my mind. Anything is possible if you put your imagination and creativity to it.“Oh, Dad,” I said under my breath, my voice shaking. Why did this kind of stuff happen? When we had just talked about it? Was it a sign, a marker, or something?Suddenly, I noticed that the noise of men shouting was getting louder and I knew that they were heading this way, toward me.I narrowed my eyes, searching and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.Boom!I felt the earth shake beneath me, and at the same time, lights burst and exploded brightly in the sky.Oh, Lord, this was definitely world war three, all right.I instinctively left the bathhouse and ran toward the woods on the other side, my bare feet on the cold, hard earth.I didn’t know how long I ran, but I kept at it like the devil was chasing after me. I sprinted until I felt the cuts against my skin. Holding back groans of pain that desperately wanted to escape my mouth, I kept racing until my heart ached and my sides were sore. It was only then that I slowed down, because I frantically needed to catch my breath.Behind me, I could still hear the voices of men shouting chaotically, getting ever closer.Were they chasing after me? But why? How did they even know that I was here in the first place?I had just gotten out of the bathhouse and I was sure no one had seen me.“Over there!” I heard one shout.I freaked out and instinctively started running again. Suddenly, in my panicky state, I missed a step and tripped, and I found myself tumbling down the side of a steep hill, my slender body rolling like a log until I hit the bottom with a puff.The world around me spun as I felt pain coursing throughout my body. I was out of breath as I lay there, my eyes closed. Suddenly, I wanted to cry, wondering what the hell was going on around me. And what about Mom and Dad? Were they safe back at the house?God, I didn’t know, and I willed myself to get up as the sounds of angry men were coming closer.I took slow, deep breaths to master my courage, and then I pushed myself up. Once on my feet, I felt dizzy, and I found myself leaning against a tree to steady myself. When I felt a little better, I started off again, slowly and silently sneaking my way to find a hiding place in the dimness of the moonlight.“There he is!” a male shouted, his voice echoing through the woods.I gasped in fright, and urged by fear, I started running again, even though I felt so heavy and weak and my legs and bare feet were hurting.I was racing this way and that to avoid being captured by the shadows of men I didn’t know flitting between tall trees in the dark. Suddenly, I heard and felt stomping sounds on the earth, and it was getting closer. I darted my gaze around my surroundings, searching. Then I saw it, a dark, mighty four-legged creature racing toward me.I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. I was thatpetrified.In reaction, I found myself rushing backward, my heart racing and my mind numbed with fear. Suddenly, I tripped over and fell back.Afraid that I’d be either captured or run over, I turned on my hands and knees and then pushed myself up again. With unsteady legs, I started running off toward the other side. It wasn’t long until I sighted another dark, mighty four-legged creature coming my way from a different direction.Two? Oh, fuck!Biting my lower lip and with tears brewing in my eyes, I switched direction again to my left and headed that way.I was running as I had never run before. I ran until I was once again breathless and the pain in my heart became excruciating.When I couldn’t take it anymore, I collapsed on the ground, exhausted and heaving for air. Beneath me, I felt the cold grass and dead leaves, and I wondered if I was going to die here with these two demon-like men coming after me.Shit! How was that possible?Only some ten minutes ago I was at St. James Manor and having a fine time bathing in Dad’s newly renovated bathhouse. And now?I was in some weird place with angry mobs of men chasing after me?This was beyond being fucked up!What kind of a realm was this? It wasn’t even civilized, with men chasing after you with an intention to kill the moment you stepped foot into their world. I mean their tourism business wasn’t going to survive if they kept this sort of appalling behavior up. Their economy was undoubtedly going to fail for sure.I was still trying to catch my breath when the sound of stomping on the ground came to a stop, and I knew...Oh, God, I knew that those two men were coming right for me.Shit!What were they going to do when they got me? Kill me right away? Because that was what barbaric men did in Dad’s fantasy novels, so it must be the same here.Suddenly, I wanted to cry, so frightened I was. Either way, the outcome would be horrible. I'd either be made into a mess or left lying like a corpse by the end of the night.I shut my eyes for a second, praying that I was somehow back at home, back at St. James Manor with Mom and Dad. I wanted all this to go away. I wanted all this to be merely a dream, a fantasy like in one of Dad’s books. But then the sound of men purposefully walking toward me caused me to flutter my eyes open in dread.I reacted by lurching up. Then, with the determination to survive, I tried to escape by staggering backward, my body moving this way and that to avoid being captured.There were two of them, the dark shadows of demon-like men with their tall, hulking bodies that scared me shitless.Why were they so big?I had never seen men that immense before. Not to mention there were more men, though not as massive as these two, behind them, they surrounded me, trapping me where I was.Why were they surrounding me?“Leave me alone!” I shouted, tears in my eyes. Then I took the opportunity and tried another chance at escaping.I ran, but I didn’t get far because one was right after me. I could feel his colossal presence behind me, chasing after me relentlessly, being the tiny, helpless prey that I was to him.The wolf-like brute roughly caught me, and in response, I screamed and struggled with all my might in his arms. Somehow—and I truly had no idea how—I managed to fight him off and was able to slip away from his grasp. Then I blindly ran toward what I thought was a clear exit, my escape. Only, in a mere moment, another giant of a tall, lean body in dark clothing appeared in front of me, blocking my path.* * *READ CHAPTER 5 IN THE NEXT BLOG POST HEREPre-Order Seven Devils and a RoseApple BooksGoogle PlayAmazon (coming soon)
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