AUTHOR'S POV
From gentle tapping with soft whispers, to slamming the door with conjuring demands of voluntary yielding, the werewolves toyed with the ones in the cave beyond the wooden door seemingly swathed with a warding magic. Diana and Kate stood together inside Daniel's tiny cave like little mice hiding from the beasts of prey coming in. Fear enveloped them, with their eyes set on the door shaking from their hard knocks. Whispers multiplied carrying unnatural sweetness asking to speak with Diana. Daniel grunted at the hunger and eagerness of the werewolves. They don't usually behave this way. "Whatever you did to those weres, it ain't good ", Daniel figured, hooking all the iron latches and locks on the door.
"I don't think those locks would hold it", Kate freaked out, hands raking her scalp.
"How do we get out of here?", recognition overtook Diana's face that the cave won't be good place to be crowded with werewolves as she look around for hatches, and secret trapdoors. Noticing the calm in her father's gestures, she followed Daniel with her eyes, as he flip the heavy mattress and pull up the under-bed hatch, opening to a narrow hole with a rust-cladded iron ladder going down.
"Get in there, now", Daniel ordered. Without second thoughts, Kate dived in first, while Diana froze. Daniel had to snatch her towards the dark hole. "Follow the tunnel, I'll be right behind you", he fretted, as a thunderous crash echoed through the cave. The door splintered, not broken but almost close to it. "In the third hole on your right, slide all the way down. Find the second hole on the left then climb all the way up. Don't. Look. Back", Daniel explained, heaving. "Keep those marbles with you all the time".
Diana hopped in hesitantly. Before climbing down the ladder, she looked at Daniel with what appeared to be troubled eyes. She held his hand holding the door. "You'll be right behind us, right?", Diana hoped. No, she made certain.
Daniel smiled as if it was a silent goodbye. He tapped his daughter's head gently, carrying a thousand words he couldn't bear to speak. "Just like I said. Now go!", he urged, as Diana goes into the dark before Daniel closes the door and secures the mattress back.
It was a lie. They both knew it.
Darkness came upon Diana as soon as the hatch closed. She climbed down the cold iron ladder, following the green light down below. At the end of the rung, she jumped down a meter, landing on her feet. Beneath the earth, the air smelled of wet stone, and rotten eggs. She turned to Kate glowing in perfect health. Clear skin, hydrated hair, and shimmering eyes. "The other marble depleted", Kate handed the last marble to Diana, with its glow painting the walls emerald. "We should've shared it at least, I'm sorry...", she sighed.
"Hey, I gave it you, didn't I? Besides, it suits you better", Diana's sullen eyes tried to beam an honest thought, but the strain of leaving her father to face the werewolves on his own was too overwhelming to hide.
Kate tilted her head up, waiting for another figure to descend the ladder. "Where's your dad?", she asked.
"He said he's coming", Diana said dryly, as she have started to look around. "He said we should go first".
Kate curled her hands on Diana's arm as they both explore the cavern. They relied on the bright radiance of the last glowing marble to light their way. As they go far and beyond, they can feel the cave shake and rumble. Dusts and pebbles dislodge from the cave walls. Diana couldn't help but get worried for her father's safety despite meeting only today for the first time after so many years. Whatever pushed her forward, it's for her best friend squeezing her arm every time the cave shakes. "There!", Kate pointed.
"No", Diana disagreed. "It should be on the third passage on the right", Diana clearly remembered. Thereafter, they squeezed their slender bodies into the gap, not minding the rats and dirt. Grazing the finger flutings on the cave walls as their anxiety increases, they whimpered in nervousness both by being chased by werewolves and by being confined in a very tight space. The cave grumbled louder. They must be closer, Diana presumed. But, the thought of her father left up there worried her more.
Stone scraped their shoulders on the second hole on the left. Their breaths echoed as the passage grew tighter. And then, lower they almost slid on wet rock. "There!" Diana crawled out, seeing the narrow crack leading upward. There was no ladder, just an opening demanding every muscle to climb. Kate insisted to climb first, being a better climber that she is. Diana gave her a boost, as she grab on a rigid fluting to hold onto. Kate pulled herself up, climbed a little before her boots desperately searched for footing. Effortlessly, she ascended the cave chimney following the orange sunlight flooding the passage, one push at a time. "Diana! I'm almost there!", she sighed with relief. "Come up now!".
Diana, placed the marble between her lips, lifting herself up. Her hands, elbows, knees and legs... every part of her body worked all together to gain one inch at a time. "I should've... taken that gym subscription seriously", she mumbled.
After a few rise and fall, Diana reached the mouth of the cave hole. She gets pulled by Kate out, with the warmth of the orange sky and the cool winds touching her face. In a warm embrace with Kate, Diana spit out the marble in her hand. They both chuckled softly on their physical breakout. In her best friend's arms, Diana glanced at the dark opening with her fingers crossed. Hoping Daniel would be able to find his way out.
Minutes passed, still nothing.
The two have been waiting. For what Kate thought nobody would be coming anymore, she held Diana's shoulder with a decision to finally leave the forest. "Diana..." Kate called softly, when suddenly, a figure emerged from the hole. Daniel suddenly appeared with his head bleeding, and arms full of cuts. His eyes was as large as if saying 'what are they still doing in there'.
"Dad!!", Diana lunged forward, grabbing hold of Daniel. Immediately, Kate ran towards him too, as they both grunted pulling him out.
"G-go away!", he stammered with anger. "You go! I'll block the way from them!" Daniel panted heavily, as he push Diana with his remaining strength.
"No!", Diana was as stubborn as her father. Her fingers wrapped around his forearm, desperate to pull him free. In her head, she was hoping. That somehow, she could keep him. "I won't leave you", she insisted, gritting her teeth. On her knees, Kate pulls on the other side, sniffling, holding her tears back.
Jerking down, Daniel grabbed Diana's arm not to save himself but to tell her something important. "Save the Lockwood boy, will you?", it was a command to finish what he couldn't. And that if she does, she saves her life too. For so many years Daniel have served people to clear his mind off his guilt and chase redemption, there were no certain ways to lift off what he condemned himself for. In those eyes along with those words, Diana saw the weight Daniel had carried over the years. His father was not a hermit in a cave, but a tired man haunted by his mistakes. Another violent jerk pulled Daniel, as the girls gasp. "Until we meet again", long fingers grabbed Daniel's shoulder. Quickly Diana slipped the last marble into Daniel's torn shirt before the hands on him dragged him down.
"Dad!", she stared at the void as her father sink in the dark with hands all over him.
Kate held Diana's wrist, "Come on Diana, we should go". She knew it wasn't the best thing to say at the moment, with Diana completely hazy staring at the cave hole with her mouth open. Hence, the longer they stay, Daniel's sacrifice will be put to waste. She held her cheeks, catching her eyes. "Let's go D".
Roars growled underground.
A few more roars resounded like an alarm finally waking Diana up from her horrified daze. It was then the two began to stride away. Another howl made them run faster. Branches whipped against their faces. They ran until their feet couldn't touch the ground. Sharp breaths stung their lungs, but still, they ran. And neither looked back as the forest blur around them like a smear of motion.
Suddenly, Kate stopped.
Diana nearly crashed into her. "What?", Diana catches her breath, scrunching her face.
"There!", Kate pointed ahead, eyes glistening in delight when she caught a glimpse of Diana's truck. Relief surged through them.
As they near the vehicle, they saw a figure standing on the hood of the truck. Shirtless. Waiting with a machete lazily resting over one shoulder. As the two emerge from the foliage, Randall grinned. "A word has come to me about a vision, that my son's Luna brings death upon him", he swung his long, bloodied machete. Jumping down, Kate and Diana stepped backward instinctively.
"D, the marble?", Kate whispered.
"I gave it to Dad", Diana muttered, with a frown. She then reached for the revolver from her jacket, not taking the gun out yet. Kate squeezes Diana's hand as the latter puts Kate behind her. "Your son and I have nothing to do with each other", she said with conviction.
"But then, he is still imprinted on you. That ain't nothing", Randall grazed the tip of the machete on the ground as he walk towards the trembling women. "I have my ways to cut the imprint, but you two have to take turns first", his gaze crawls over Kate. "I'll have my appetizer first", then he looked at Diana. "...then the main course", he licks his lips, lifting his chin up. Diana scowled as her stomach churn. Not waiting any longer, Randall crouched before he lunged, vanishing from where he was just standing. It was quick, and certain. Instantly, Diana pulled out her revolver. Shot a couple of times in different directions where she caught a glimpse of Randall while she pushes Kate away.
Every shot missed.
In a blur, her hand with the gun was seized by Randall. The revolver slipped from her grasp, as the pain explodes on her arm. Diana screamed, but Randall twisted it even harder as if it was a beautiful sound in his ears while he grins. Diana gets violently tossed on the side, her head hitting the ground. Randall paved his way to Kate, who's been hiding behind a tree. "Com'ere little bunny. I'll just have taste", he took slow measured steps as he go forth.
Panic-stricken, Kate dashed forward squealing. She gets hunted by Randall with his machete flashing in the air. Kate used the trees to block Randall's blade. In a hard swing of what Randall thought a perfect aim, his machete gets stuck on the trunk of a tree. His appetite grew, and an exhilarating rush burned in his eyes as he slap the wit out of Kate. "I want to have a taste now", he inserted his thumb inside the buckle of his denims.
Diana, getting a clearer head, stands up and searches for the gun beneath the withered leaves. She finds Randall on top of her friend laying motionless among the leaves. Sniffing her neck, licking her sweat. Her blood boiled for Kate. Diana shot Randall over his shoulder, grazing his skin. She fired another bullet aiming for his head, but Randall have already disappeared.
Her trembling hands lowered. Diana kept the gun close as she search for Randall. Suddenly, she felt his weight, and heard his breathing close to her. "I don't mind skipping appetizer", Randall swung a fist from behind, but Diana was quick to duck. Randall ungunned Diana by flicking her wrist. Instead of running away, Diana closed the distance kicking Randall's vital organ between his legs. Randall crashed on his knees as a grunt escape him, and instead of getting furious... he laughed. Entertained, because most of his preys run. "Let's see what Roman's Luna got", his intense gazes were locked on hers, as he straighten up.
Diana faced Randall with her fists. Completely unmatched, she stood before the taller, and without a doubt, a man who's much stronger and faster than her. Probably seasoned with fights through his body scars, her basic combat readiness has no match with Randall. Diana knew she was a sitting duck in that duel. Regardless of what is obvious, she refuse not to put up a fight.
Randall's eyes were gleaming with entertainment seeing Diana stand against him even with her body trembling either in fear or exhaustion. For a quick moment, he vanished. Diana's heart jumped. Again, he was behind her pushing her off. When she turned, he was gone again. He heard him whisper her name. She spun, yet was too slow to catch a glimpse of him. Suddenly, a massive hand swept toward her head. Diana ducked, and without thinking, she drove her knee upward hard enough that its impact landed heavy on his chest. Randall dropped to one knee. It was the perfect chance to shove Diana's fist up Randall's nose into his skull breaking that fragile ugly thing in the middle of his face. Blood immediately splattered as a pained grunt growled in Randall's throat. Diana followed it with an elbow to his neck, then another strike across his face. She was about to hit him again, but Randall have caught her wrist. He was breathing painfully through his nose, that the smile on his lips have gone. "Dirty. I liked it dirty", his eyes darkened, no longer entertained. He then strike his head on Diana's, shutting off her lights against a tree. "They say my son haven't tasted you yet, I'll do the honors then", Randall said with a wicked grin, wiping the blood off his broken nose.
Randall knelt beside her, violently grabbing Diana's chin. He quenched his thirst as he inhale her salty cheeks. He trailed her neck with his tongue, and thought that he have finally tasted a piece of heaven. Weakly, as Diana wake to her senses, she bit Randall's ear, almost tearing it off. Pain erupted on his face. Sputtering curses as he fold on the ground. "God damn it!! Argh!! I'm gonna kill you!!".
Then, Diana crawled on all fours. Randall caught her foot. She kicked her legs as she escape from Randall's hands. As she make her way out, she picked up a branch and hit him on the face. She hit him again. And again. When she hit a spot on the side of his head, Randall fell face first on the ground.
Diana threw off the branch, heaving. The forest fell silent, yet her breaths didn't matched its calmness. Just as how she thought she have already got her sweet victory, Randall slowly returned to his feet. This time, his gazes looked more dangerous. Diana glanced at the gun near Randall, hoping she would make it on time to get it. In one blink, both of them shifted. Diana reached for the gun while Randall lunged forward with his arm stretched. No more vanishing, no more teasing.
SLAP!
Randall hit Diana's face with one hard slap, hard enough to slide her off the piles of leaves. The sting on her cheek made her her face twitch, and before she could even take one deep breath, Randall have already choked her neck with one hand. Her feet took off the ground with her hands wrapped in his wrist. "Heh! You could be a good deserving Luna if not for that fucking vision.", Randall squeezed her neck with one hand above ground. Struggling, Diana kicked with the remaining air she breathed, while she clawed Randall's arm until she have lost her strength to fight anymore. Dark spots danced in the corner of her eyes, with Randall's smug in her tunneling vision.
Meanwhile, Kate, who lurched towards the stuck machete, quietly pulled the blade with all her might. She trembled watching Diana get beat up helplessly. After a few tries, the blade dislodged. She held it up with both of her hands and waited no time to swing the machete at Randall, carving his back.
Randall shrieked in pain as he arch his back, freeing Diana from his grasp. He turned to Kate and trudged towards her who's holding his own machete against him. "How dare you use my blade on me?! Can't wait for your turn bitch?", he growled staggering after Kate.
Kate swung the machete at Randall, but it was too heavy for her swing it properly. Randall grabbed her wrist, directing the tip of the blood towards her. "Done playing? My turn", Randall grinned. And in one terrifyingly fast movement, he thrust his machete on Kate's abdomen.
A wet sound followed.
Kate froze.
The blade went through her stomach. For a heartbeat, nobody moved. Kate looked down at the steel buried inside her. At the blood spreading across her shirt. And then she collapsed as the machete slid free.
"Kate!! Noooo!!", Diana's screams reverberate in the air as she run heavily towards Randall. Gone feral, she leaped on Randall's back, scratching his face, punching his head. Randall leaned the weight forward, shaking her off. Violently twisting his body, until Diana looses her grip, and dove onto the ground.
"Aww. Don't cry, you'll be with her soon", Randall hushed, tossing his machete. He stares at Diana's back staying still on the dirt. He flashed a devilish smile on her booty, as he howl playfully thinking of the several ways he'd pound that thing. "Shall we start?", Randall bent down reaching for Diana.
Feeling Randall close, Diana slowly turn to her back and raised the gun between Randall's eyes. "My turn", she pulled the trigger several times until no more bullets blasted out from her revolver. Randall's body fell onto the forest floor, and did not moved again.
The revolver trembled in Diana's hands as she stared at him. She waiting, expecting him to rise. But Randall remained still. Then she remembered Kate. Diana breathe shakily as she walk away from Randall's lifeless body. She hurriedly attended to Kate, bleeding the life out of her. "Hey hey.. I'm so sorry, you're going to be okay. Huh? I'm right here", Diana cried, taking off her jacket, pressing it on her wound.
"Is.. he dead? Are you hurt", Kate asked weakly as she reach for Diana's face.
Diana softly chuckled at her selfless best friend. Thinking about her when she's the one hanging onto her dear life. "We're safe now. Let's go home", Diana said as she carried Kate over her shoulder to the truck.