Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 57
57
Luke saw the beast's shadow filling up the golden square of firelight long before he heard the footsteps. It just kept getting bigger and bigger, a shaggy abomination covered in razor spikes and two horns sticking out of the top of its head. It grew and grew until there was barely any light left, just a shining border in the snow.
He flattened himself against the wall as hard as he could, sucking in his gut, squeezing his knees beneath his chin, curling his tail around his ankles, and Tim did the same. They were probably praying the exact same thing, too, that Banno wouldn't see them hiding underneath the sill.
He could hear the monster coming, one foot of flesh, one of wood, making his gait unnervingly uneven.
Thud-clunk... Thud-clunk... Thud-clunk...
"Don't do anything stupid, James. I can stick this in her neck much faster than you can run, so don't even think about it."
Luke held his breath, terrified that Banno might see the mist coming out of his mouth.
The window slammed shut just above his head and a small avalanche of snow slid past his face and piled on top of his shoes.
He saw the shadow turn around and knew the moment had come.
He gripped the axe in both hands and stood up, feeling like everything around him was moving much slower than normal, as if he were actually underwater, fighting to reach the surface before his air ran out. As he turned, he could see dead blades of grass sticking out of the snow, bending in the wind. He could see the snowflakes floating by, moving so slowly he could almost count them.
He saw Banno's back, so close he could've reached out and touched it were it not for the thin pane of glass between them. He was looking down at something, and the back of his neck was completely exposed.
This is it... This is the end... Whatever happens, this is the end...
Luke lifted the axe high above his head. Every shred of hatred he harboured against the monster who had dared to hurt his little sister he poured into the edge of the blade, and every ounce of love he had for his family he put into the strength of his arms.
He swung it down, aiming for the animal's neck. The blade touched the glass and a spiderweb of cracks spread out from the point of impact in an instant.
That was when the flow of time went back to normal, and that was when everything went to hell.
Banno stepped forward and hunkered down the moment the window broke, and instead of hitting his neck, the axe blade buried itself right between his shoulder blades in a glittering shower of glass and blood. The sound of the shards hitting the floor was the most unnatural thing Luke had ever heard, made even more surreal by Valery's high-pitched screaming.
Banno straightened up, a river of sparkling glass fragments flowing down his back just like the snow had slid down the window sill a million years ago.
Luke was still holding on to the handle, and the blade was still embedded in Banno's back, so he could feel him rise up inch by inch, but he couldn't let go. He was too scared to let go. The sharp teeth of glass still stuck in the window frame reflected his face a dozen times over - a dozen faces staring back at him, all of them terrified.
Banno slowly turned around and the axe just sort of... slipped free of Luke's paralyzed grasp, still sticking out of the brute's back like some bizarre third arm.
"You broke the window..." he said, fixing Luke with his one-eyed stare, the blood from the cut in his chest still flowing down his body. "You're letting all the heat out!"
Luke shook his head, trying to think of a way to plead his innocence even as Banno cocked his arm, ready to deliver a backhanded swing with that poker that would surely slice his head clean off.
"YOU STINKING BRAT!!"
"Nooo!" Valery swung her legs up and kicked out with both feet just as Banno started his swing, knocking the poker out of his blood-slick hand. It skid along the floor, leaving bloody crescents wherever the handle touched down.
Luke had enough time to think he had been saved, and then Banno's giant hand slammed against his throat. His fingers were so long, they didn't merely grab hold of his neck, they wrapped all the way around like a noose, cutting off his air. He could feel the monster's claws start to dig into the soft meat at the back, and next thing he knew he was being lifted right off his feet, all while Banno shouted in his face, slobber flying from the daggers that were his teeth, his red eye blazing in the night.
"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE COLD OUT!!? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO STAY REAL WHEN YOU KEEP MESSING EVERYTHING UP!!? DON'T YOU LOVE YOUR SISTER!!? WHY WON'T YOU LET HER BE HAPPY!!?"
Luke tried to scream, but his breath was trapped, stoppered, unable to get out. He kicked his feet, but it was impossible to run. He scratched at Banno's arm, but his fingers simply slid through his bloody, tacky fur.
The river... Are we back at the river...?
Valery was crying... screaming... but everything was going away, going cold.
Maybe it was just like Banno said. Maybe the cold really can get inside you, make you not real anymore. He could barely see anything... just that eye... that black and red eye... staring at him. He could barely feel anything, just the pressure around his neck, building and building.
And the cold.
The cold was everywhere...
Hey guys, we've reached another milestone today. This subchapter officially pushes my novel's wordcount up to 500 000. That's half a million words, or about 4Mb. Coincidentally, the word that holds this honour is "much". Lol.
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