Chapter 2

The family settled into bed for a good night’s sleep. The five of them shared the king-sized antique bed, with Teddy and Diana on the ends and the children in between them. The sheets smelled musty, and Diana was having a difficult time sleeping. She looked over at the rest of her family and noticed Tommy staring at the ceiling, while the other three slept. Diana wondered how Teddy, Sarah, and Christopher could sleep so soundly in such a creepy place.

“Tommy,” Diana whispered, “do you want to go for a walk?”

Tommy nodded.

Diana quietly climbed out of bed and lifted Tommy off as well. She held his hand, as they went out into the hall. They were wearing their traveling clothes, since the rain never let up to allow them to get their suitcases out of the car. Teddy and Diana had already decided that they were just going to get a few hours of sleep and leave very early, so they wouldn’t have to spend too much time at this eerie castle.

Diana and Tommy walked down the hall, and noticed that all of the doors looked exactly the same. They weren’t numbered or anything, so Diana couldn’t imagine how Mr. Eripmav could keep track of which guest was in which room.

Suddenly, three children or at least, Diana thought they were children ran by them. They were very short and plump, with abnormally large eyes and stumpy little noses. Their ears were pointed, and their skin looked leathery. Then, two more of them approached Diana and Tommy, though they were a little bigger and looked older. They stopped in front of Diana.

“What are you?” the female one asked, in a squeaky voice.

“Excuse me?” Diana asked, assuming she heard incorrectly.

“Oh, wait. I know what you are,” the little woman said, sounding almost disgusted. “You’re a—”

“I think you should return to your room,” Mr. Eripmav interrupted, coming up behind the little couple.

“I just need to get my little ones,” the little woman said, as her children ran towards her. The five little people walked past Mr. Eripmav.

“You must excuse them, Mrs.—I don’t believe I got your name,” Mr. Eripmav said.

“Diana Barrows,” Diana replied.

“Mrs. Barrows,” Mr. Eripmav said. “I hope they didn’t offend you.”

“No…confused me, maybe, but they didn’t offend me,” Diana said, furrowing her brow.

Diana thought she saw Mr. Eripmav almost grin, but he stopped himself.

“Shall I escort you back to your room?” Mr. Eripmav asked. “The door probably locked behind you.”

“Oh, well, okay. Thank you,” Diana said, not really wanting to return to her room quite yet.

Mr. Eripmav headed towards her room. Diana and Tommy followed. Mr. Eripmav unlocked the door, and they entered.

“Good night, Mrs. Barrows,” Mr. Eripmav said, walking away.

Diana listened for his footsteps to die away. When all was quiet, she went back out to the hall with Tommy, holding the door open a little. She removed the scarf from around her neck, and placed it between the door and door frame, so they wouldn’t get locked out again. She took Tommy’s hand and headed for the stairs. They quietly walked down them, because Diana didn’t want to run into Mr. Eripmav again if she could help it. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they saw a bright light shining from a room to the left of where they were standing. They quickly but quietly walked over to the wall beside the doorway. They pressed their backs against the wall and listened.

Eripmav began chanting in a language that Diana didn’t recognize. She cautiously peeked into the room and saw Eripmav and several other people standing around what looked like a well, with a green light shining up out of it. The light was in a cylindrical shape and reached to the ceiling.

The people standing with Eripmav were strange-looking. The odd little couple was there, along with a young woman with wild black hair and dressed in a long, old-fashioned black dress. Her hands were reached up towards the light, and Diana could see the woman’s long, blood-red fingernails. Beside her stood a wolf, although the shape of its body looked human, only covered with dark brown fur. He wore only a pair of torn black jeans. Diana believed she was witnessing a real-life werewolf. Beside him were two women wearing long, flowing white dresses which matched the color of their skin. Their eyes were red, and their mouths gaped to reveal fangs. And finally completing the circle was a slender old man in a white lab coat. Tufts of gray hair stuck out from the side of his head, leaving the top as bald as can be. Thick glasses rested on the end of his nose, and he had dark bags under his eyes. Suddenly, Eripmav stopped chanting, and Diana saw something in the light. It was a creature, growing to the size of a lion. Its skin was taupe, and its head was massive like a cross between a bull and a bear. Its body looked like the size of an ape’s, but its arms and legs were short with mighty paws. Diana couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw the thing…the Beast…being birthed from nothing.

Diana turned away. She couldn’t watch anymore of the implausible and horrific scene. She took Tommy’s hand and started running for the stairs. She bumped into a table that held a vase on it. The vase fell to the stone floor and shattered.

“Someone’s there,” Eripmav snarled, angrily.

“Oh, God,” Diana said, picking up Tommy. She started running up the stairs.

“Stop!” Eripmav yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Diana kept on running. She needed to make it back to her room, so she could wake Teddy. Her legs felt numb as she ran up the endless staircase. She held Tommy with one arm, and grabbed the banister with her free hand. The strength in her arm helped to pull her up to the top of the stairs. She ran down the hall and to her door.

It was shut and locked!

“Teddy!” Diana shrieked, kicking and pounding at the door.

“Teddy!”

Teddy’s eyes slowly opened but quickly closed again.

“Teddy!” Diana screamed. “Teddy, PLEASE!”

Diana slammed her shoulder against the door, frantically. She looked down the hall and saw Eripmav standing there.

“Oh, dear God! TEEEDDYYYYY!” she yelled out desperately.

Teddy slowly got out of bed and yawned. He stood up, stretched, and shuffled towards the door. He yawned again, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Teddy, hurry!” Diana pleaded.

Teddy opened the door, and Diana raced inside. She slammed the door shut and set Tommy down. She ran over to the dresser and began pushing it towards the door.

“What in God’s name is going on?” Teddy asked, bewildered.

“You won’t believe it, Teddy,” Diana said, using all her might to shove the dresser. It slammed against the door. “I saw Eripmav and all these people or monsters or whatever they were conjuring up a beast! Eripmav was chanting in some ancient language, which I guess was a spell or incantation or something! When I tried to run away, I bumped into a table and broke a vase, revealing that I was there. Now they’re after me!”

“Ludicrous. Simply ludicrous,” Teddy said, shaking his head.

“You were seeing things.”

Suddenly, there was loud pounding on the door.

“Teddy, it’s them,” Diana shrieked.

Teddy saw the dresser slide an inch across the floor, and his eyes widened.

“Holy shit,” he muttered. “Come on, we’ll hide in the bathroom.”

Teddy picked up Sarah, and Diana picked up Christopher.

Tommy ran ahead into the bathroom and the rest of them followed.

Teddy closed the door and flipped a switch on the wall. A very bright white light came on.

“We’re safe for now,” Teddy said. “What the hell is wrong with them?”

“They’re not normal, Teddy,” Diana said, frightened.

Suddenly the pounding stopped.

“Why would they stop?” Diana asked, nervously.

“I don’t know,” Teddy replied, furrowing his brow.

Just then the walls started closing in on them.

“Oh my God!” Diana shrieked.

“We’ll be smooshed!” Teddy shouted. “Let’s get out of here!”

He ran to the door and tried to open it. He rattled the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge.

“It won’t open!” Teddy exclaimed.

Tommy sat down on the floor and began to cry.

Teddy started hitting his arm against the bathroom door.

Diana began looking around the bathroom, trying to get some idea for their survival. She began pressing on the moving walls, trying to feel for a switch or button or something to make them stop. She hurried over to the other wall, and as she ran she heard a different sound in her step. She looked at the floor and saw a vague outline of a trapdoor.

“Teddy, look! It’s a trapdoor!” Diana announced, stomping down on the trapdoor.

Teddy turned around and knelt down. He pushed on the door with his hands. It wouldn’t budge at all.

“Teddy, stomp on it, like I’m doing!” Diana ordered.

Teddy stood up and stomped on it with one foot.

The walls were getting closer and closer together.

“Teddy, put more weight on it!” Diana pleaded.

Teddy nudged Diana aside and began jumping up and down on the trapdoor. He landed with great force, and on the third jump the trapdoor gave way. Teddy fell into the hole.

“TEDDY!” Diana shrieked.

She knelt down and looked into the hole. It looked like a shoot, almost like a slide you’d see at a playground. She sat on the edge and made Sarah sit down in front of her.

“Mommy, don’t make me go,” Sarah begged.

“You have to!” Diana said, desperately. “We’re right behind you.”

Tears filled Sarah’s eyes but she sat down in front of her mother anyway. She slid down the shoot.

Diana placed Tommy and Christopher on her lap and went down into the shoot as well. They moved quickly through the dark tunnel.

“Teddy!” Diana called.

Suddenly, Diana landed into a pool of water. It was very dark, and Diana couldn’t see a thing when she brought her head above the water.

“Sarah!” she called.

“Mommy,” Sarah sobbed, reaching out and touching her mother’s arm. “This water tastes funny.”

“I know,” Diana agreed. “It’s salty…like tears.”

Someone grabbed Diana’s arm.

“Diana, it’s me,” Teddy said, pulling his family out of the water.

“Where are we, Teddy?” Diana asked. “What is this?”

“I don’t know,” Teddy replied thoughtfully. “Why would they have a ditch full of water in their castle?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t think I want to know. I just want to get out of here,” Diana said, shivering.

“There’s a candle over on the wall. I felt it before. Do you have a lighter?” Teddy asked.

Diana reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a lighter. She handed it to Teddy. He flicked it on and lit the candle on the wall.

“There, at least we can see each other now,” Teddy said.

Diana’s eyes widened, and she pulled the kids over to Teddy.

“Teddy…look!” she shrieked, pointing.

Teddy looked at the wall surrounding the water. Bugs, worms, and snakes were covering the entire wall and making their way towards the family.

Diana looked behind her and saw a large wooden door. She tried to open it, but it was locked. She became hysterical and pounded on the door frantically.

“Let us out! For the love of God, let us out!” she screamed.

“Diana, we have to stay calm,” Teddy told her. “We need to find a way out of here.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Yes, but fear won’t help us,” Teddy replied.

The worms were gathering around the hole to the shoot where the family had come out. Diana watched this and began to shake. She was frightened and repulsed, observing the vermin taking over the room. She knelt down beside Teddy, gathering her children in her arms to protect them. Tommy was covering his eyes. Sarah was crying. Christopher’s little face looked worried and perplexed. Every time Diana looked, it seemed that the vermin were multiplying.

“Where are they all coming from?” Diana asked, bewildered.

At that moment, a group of rats scurried out of the water towards them.

“Oh my God! They’re going to eat us alive!” Diana shrieked.