Snap!
A dry branch caught the hem of a white muslin gown and the fabric shrieked as it tore away from the intricate stitching. The young woman stumbled forward because her momentum betrayed her when her bare foot caught a jagged root that was hidden beneath the decaying leaves.
"Ah!"
She pitched forward and struck the ground hard where her temple collided with a grey stone that was slick with moss and morning dew. The impact made a sickening thud which seemed to echo through the dense forest.
"Elise! Get up! You have to get up!"
The other woman stopped and spun around while her chest heaved with exertion. Her own dress was a ruin of mud and briars that exposed pale skin to the biting wind. She rushed back to her fallen sister and grabbed an arm that felt fragile beneath her grip.
"They are coming and we cannot stop here," she hissed with a panic that made her eyes wide and glassy.
Elise groaned and touched her head so that her fingers came away wet with crimson. "I… I can't. My ankle…"
"You must or we are dead."
The sister hauled Elise to her feet with a strength born of terror and they linked hands to scramble over the uneven terrain. The forest floor here was cruel since it was comprised of sharp shale and flint that sliced into their soles with every desperate step. Thus they left a trail of bloody footprints on the grey stones which served as a map for anyone cruel enough to follow.
BARK!
The sound was guttural and wet and vibrated through the trees like the growl of thunder trapped in a cavern.
"He's here! Oh god! Run!"
They pushed through a thicket of ferns that whipped against their faces while tears streamed down cheeks that were smeared with dirt and blood. The shouting of men drifted closer as heavy boots crushed the undergrowth with no attempt at stealth.
"Find them! The master wants them intact!"
The women burst into a small clearing where the canopy broke to reveal a bruised purple sky but their relief was short-lived.
Rustle… SNAP!
Something massive launched itself from the shadow of a giant oak. It was a blur of muscle and hair that smelled of rot and wet dog.
"KYAAAAH!"
Elise screamed as the beast slammed into her and drove her back into the dirt. It wasn't a wolf nor was it a man. It was a grotesque amalgamation which consisted of a human body that rippled with unnatural muscle but was topped with the oversized and mangled head of a mastiff.
CRUNCH!
The creature's jaws clamped down on Elise's forearm and its teeth sank through soft flesh to grate against bone.
"Get off! Get off her!" the sister shrieked and looked around for a weapon or a rock or anything to help.
"Hold her steady, boy."
A second figure strolled into the clearing with a casual gait that terrified the sister more than the beast's aggression. He was a tall man clad in leather armour and one side of his face was a ruin of melted scar tissue that pulled his lip up in a permanent sneer. He held a long and braided whip in his hand which trailed in the dirt like a black snake.
The Dog-Man growled low in its throat while drool mixed with Elise's blood and dripped from its jowls onto her white dress. It pinned her to the earth with a heavy knee and obeyed the command with terrifying discipline.
"Please! Let us go!" the sister begged and backed away until her spine hit the rough bark of a pine tree.
The disfigured man laughed with a sound like gravel grinding together.
"Go? You belong to the estate now, little bird. You signed the contract, remember?" He flicked his wrist and the whip cracked the air with the sound of a pistol shot.
"Run, Sarah! Just run!" Elise yelled through her agony and kicked uselessly at the Dog-Man's torso. "Get help! Tell the world what they do here!"
Sarah hesitated while her eyes darted between her bleeding sister and the dark forest path behind her.
"Run you stupid cow!" Elise screamed again and tears mingled with the blood on her face.
"Tsk, so much noise." The disfigured man sighed and gestured to his pet. "Keep that one pinned but don't eat her yet. I'll fetch the stray."
Sarah saw the man's cold eye lock onto her so she turned and fled. She ran blindly and branches tore at her hair and clothes until she was nearly naked which stripped away her modesty along with the forest's cruelty. Her lungs burned as if she were inhaling fire but the fear of that whip was a colder fire that drove her on.
She burst through the tree line and skidded to a halt.
"No…"
The world ended here. The forest stopped abruptly at the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped away into a misty abyss. Far below there were jagged rocks that waited like the teeth of a leviathan.
She spun around but the disfigured man was already there and emerged from the trees with a predatory grin. He slapped the whip against his thigh in a rhythmic and casual manner.
"Nowhere left to run, little bird." He took a slow step forward.
Sarah looked at the man and then at the dizzying drop behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
'Better death than to be a broodmare for that monster.'
She took a breath that tasted of pine and despair and she jumped.
Gravity claimed her for a heartbeat while the wind rushed past her ears as she fell toward the grey mist.
WHOOSH! CRACK!
A serpent of leather lashed out from the cliff edge and moved faster than a striking cobra. The tip of the whip curled around her waist with bruising force and snapped taut.
"Gah!"
The air was squeezed from her lungs as her fall was violently arrested. She dangled for a second over the void before she was hauled upward and scraped against the cliff face before being thrown onto the hard earth.
Thud!
She gasped for air and curled into a foetal ball because pain radiated from her ribs. A heavy boot pressed down onto her chest and pinned her to the ground.
She looked up while coughing blood into the twisted face of her captor.
"Did you really think it would be that easy? To die? To escape?"
The man chuckled and loomed over her like a dark tower. He leaned down with the smell of stale tobacco and old blood on his breath.
"There is no escape from Blackthorn Estate. Lord Vanderznak has great plans for you and for your sister. His harem requires… fresh stock."
Sarah sobbed and her spirit broke as she looked past him. In the distance were the high stone walls of a fortress that rose from the mist like a tombstone.
"Even if you survived the fall," the man continued and gestured to the imposing structure with his whip, "that place is built to keep things in and not out. Another hell was waiting down there for you anyway."
He grabbed her by her hair and hauled her to her feet then tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
"Come along now so you can be a good girl and behave."
He turned and began the walk back into the woods while he whistled a jaunty tune that clashed with the horror of the morning.
"Lord Vanderznak's plans shall not be inhibited by the likes of you."
From the clearing ahead the Dog-Man barked in response which was a sound of triumph that echoed through the trees as the sun finally broke over the horizon and illuminated a prison from which death was the only release.