Authors: Jennifer Bull
The next few moments passed in a slow-motioned blur. I screamed in my head as the wolf swiped at Rex hard. There was a look of shock on his face, and blood splattered all over the car. The force of the wolf’s hit knocked him to the edge and he leant against the side heavily, clutching his chest. Time seemed to stand still as I watched Rex, his face frozen with fear, swaying towards the edge.
No!
Rex lost his balance and toppled backwards over the side of the cart. I just stared at the empty space where Rex had been a moment before, as if staring hard enough would bring him back. We were at the top of the coaster. Surely nobody could survive a fall that high.
Beth had screamed when Rex was hit. Now she was crying, hiding behind her hands. I felt like my body was tearing in two. The wolf, however, seemed delighted. Beth had distracted him from dwelling on Rex’s demise. Thankfully he hadn’t made me watch, but the damage had been done as far as he was concerned. It was because of me Rex was dead. No one else, just me. I would never forgive myself and the wolf knew it.
As he leant in to the car, Beth scrambled back, pressing hard against the seat, a look of absolute terror on her face. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to watch this. I’d give anything to let her get away safely. She stared at the wolf with those deep blue eyes, tears streaming down her face. Her mouth was open as if she wanted to scream but no sound was coming out.
The wolf moved, claws extended. But to my surprise he didn’t attack her, instead he picked her up. What was he doing?
With Beth slung over his shoulder, he turned and ran down the tracks with ease, holding her tightly. Beth, who had now found her voice, was screaming as loudly as she could.
Please come and help Jeff, please
, I begged to myself. I couldn’t let him hurt Beth. The wolf hit her hard over the head to shut her up. It worked. She must have been knocked out as she went limp over his shoulder, but thankfully I could still hear her breathing.
The wolf half walked, half ran across the park. He had his hands full now, so he couldn’t move at full speed. It gave me chance to look around as he went. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed one of the security cams moving, only an inch but it had definitely moved.
Jeff!
Thank goodness, he’d be here soon and this would all be over. Unfortunately the wolf noticed too. He growled and hurried towards the Haunted Tower. The gates to the graveyard slowed him for a few minutes as he twisted the metal bars and yanked them off their hinges one by one. The park must look in a terrible state now, the wolf had broken nearly everything in his path.
I could hear running footsteps as we made our way across the fake graveyard. My heart leapt; this had to be Jeff coming to take me out. A wave of relief took over me. Beth would be safe, that was all that mattered. I didn’t know what would happen to me, but at least she would be okay. Everyone would be safe from the wolf. I’d probably be locked up now for the rest of my life, but I didn’t want to be free any more. I wouldn’t be able to look at any of my friends again after what I had done. I thought about Rex and my eyes burned strongly. The wolf wasn’t going to let me cry. I had to suffer. I deserved to suffer for what I’d done.
The wolf threw Beth down and she landed with a sickening crunch on the grass, just behind a gravestone. He turned round and faced Jeff who was pointing a tranquilliser gun at him. At me.
Raising the gun, Jeff kept a wary eye on the wolf. A moment later I felt the dart hit my leg. So did the wolf. He grabbed the dart and snapped it out of his leg, glaring at Jeff. I felt only slightly woozy as the dart took effect. Strange, those darts were strong enough to knock out a horse, I should already be unconscious by now. In fact, they could probably knock out a few horses.
Jeff was looking worried. He’d realised something was wrong—it hadn’t worked. The wolf was stumbling, but he was still standing and he shouldn’t have been. Jeff took a step backwards and fumbled for another dart from his pocket. He knew he couldn’t outrun the wolf. His only chance was to hit me with another dart and hope it would work this time.
I tried everything to regain control, to get the wolf to stop, but I couldn’t. I was exhausted now. Before Jeff had even managed to get his hand out of his pocket, the wolf was on top of him, pinning him to the ground. I tried to close my eyes but he kept them open, made me look into Jeff’s scared face. The wolf could feel everything I could. He knew what it was doing to me to see my oldest friend trapped on the floor, the wolf’s claws dangerously close to his neck.
This time the wolf was angry. He’d only been playing before, frightening everyone he could. Including me. I don’t think he even meant to throw Rex off the coaster. But this was different. Jeff was trying to stop him, and he had the darts that could actually knock the wolf out. One dart should have worked; I couldn’t understand it. There was no way the wolf was going to let him get back up again.
Jeff fought hard against the wolf and he earned plenty of cuts and bruises for his efforts. He was actually holding his own. I began to wonder if there was a chance Jeff could beat me after all. He just needed to get that dart into me. I was sure a second dose would be enough. Apparently Jeff had the same idea. He was trying to distract the wolf, keep the attention on his right side, while his left hand moved closer, the dart pointed towards me.
He almost had it. If the wolf hadn’t made that sudden move I think he’d have managed it. Spinning around, the wolf had gone for his left arm and slammed it towards Jeff’s body. The force had pushed the dart deep inside his leg, and moments later Jeff was still. I felt the last hope extinguish inside me. Without Jeff there was no one left who could save Beth, and I didn’t have the strength to fight the wolf anymore. Not that trying to fight had done me any good so far.
I think Jeff might still have been alive when the wolf let go; I could have sworn I heard shallow breathing. The dart I had received had not been full strength. If the second wasn’t either then there was a chance he was still alive. I had to hope he was. I had to believe he was. I just couldn’t take any more of this.
The wolf moved away from Jeff and picked Beth back up with difficulty. The wolf and I were both still woozy from the tranquilliser and it was making it hard to stand straight. He walked into the tower and crossed the room that Beth and I had been in earlier that night. Before all this happened. If only Rex, Ty and Zach hadn’t played that damn prank then everything would have been okay. We’d all be on our way home right now, laughing about the great night we’d had. Instead Ty and Jeff were hurt, Zach looked like he couldn’t bear to look at me ever again, Beth was petrified of me. And Rex, I couldn’t even think about Rex.
Wrenching open a door I didn’t even know was there, the wolf walked down a corridor and entered a small room at the end. Maybe it had been a storage room at one point, but now it was his hiding place. I don’t even know how he knew it was there, seeing as I didn’t. A small window let in a sliver of moonlight, just enough for the wolf to see. He put Beth down on a pile of old sacks that I hoped were softer than they looked. After he’d locked the door, he leant up against the sacks next to Beth. He finally closed his eyes, but suddenly I felt wide-awake and I wanted the eyes open again. I didn’t want to be trapped here in the dark with nothing more than my thoughts to torment me.
After a while I could hear Beth waking up and she started whimpering. It was tearing me up listening to her and not being able to save her. Not being able to help her escape. The wolf knew it and I hate to think what he has planned for her.
I know what the wolf’s doing now. He’s waiting here until morning. Waiting for my Dad to arrive. For him to see the mess the wolf created. The mess I created. He wants me to see the disappointment, the sadness in his eyes. I just hope he doesn’t make me kill him too. This was his plan all along. To trap me so far inside my own body, to make me watch as he tore apart everything I’ve ever cared about, make me so insane that he wins. And he has won. I know now, I’m never going to escape this prison. The wolf is in control for good.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sarah's Story
A picture hung on the wall, staring back at me as if daring me to question it. Inside the frame was a photo of my mother and the evil man with his small eyes and bushy beard. Together, with their arms around each other. When I had asked my mother the question, it had been this answer that had stopped me asking any questions ever again. The answer still haunts me to this day. How could a man, a father, lock up his own daughter and torment her beyond anything she could tolerate. My own father. The murderer. As much as I wanted to believe my mother was still alive somewhere, I knew deep down she was gone. And he was responsible.
I tore the photo down from the wall and ripped it in two, pocketing the half that had my mother on. I had no pictures of her, just my memories. Now I had this to remember her by. The other half I ripped up, again and again, until I could rip it no further. I scattered the pieces on the floor and stamped my dirty feet on them.
I hate you.
A sound brought me back to my senses and I tensed. The whispering had stopped a while ago and I hadn’t heard anything since. Where was he? I knew he hadn’t forgotten about me.
Moving to the edge of the room, I tried to stay as quiet as possible, listening for any other sounds. I had been too distracted by this place, by the photo. I needed to focus on getting out of here. Taking a deep breath, I paused to collect my thoughts. There was no point going back to the long corridor, clearly he was not going to let me get out there. I had to try another direction.
Leaving the study, I weighed up my options. To my left looked like a dead end, so I had no choice but to go back the way I’d come and follow one of the other corridors. I just had to hope one of them would lead me outside.
The lights flickered as I walked and I moved instinctively to the wall, making sure I couldn’t get turned around if they went off. They probably would. Luckily I wasn’t that bothered by the dark. Okay, I wasn’t fond of it, but I was pretty used to living in dark conditions so a little less light didn’t scare me. It did, however, mean it would be difficult to find my way out. Which is exactly why…
The lights went out. I sighed. It was almost too predictable. The whispering would probably start back up again soon, and I waited.
I was wrong. Nothing happened, no whispering, no flickering of lights, nothing. I decided that I actually wasn’t so keen on the dark after all. It felt close, like it was touching me all over, and I shivered. Leaning closer to the wall, I made my way down the corridor. Staying still was not going to help me at all. I’d learnt that many times before.
That was when it happened. The thing that finally broke me.
I’d almost made it to the end of the corridor and was deciding how I was going to find my way out as I couldn’t see even an inch in front of my face, when the lights came back on. They were dim, but it was enough for me to see.
I wasn’t alone any more.
Mother?
She stood in front of me, her hair and clothes were dripping with water and hanging off her thin body. Her shirt was ripped and stained, and she just stared at me expressionless.
‘Mother?’ I said uncertainly. I moved, then stopped myself. She just stared.
Suddenly the lights went off again. I screamed in frustration and called out, begging him to turn them back on. He obliged.
I was face to face with her this time. Her nose was practically touching mine and her eyes were wide and bloodshot. She gripped my arms tightly and held me close as I tried to back away. Her eyes were cold, and her face didn’t move. She didn’t even blink.
‘Mother, please, let me go. You’re scaring me,’ I whispered to her, my eyes filling with tears. This wasn’t the person I remembered. She looked like her physically but this was nothing more than an empty shell. There was no emotion on her face, no recognition at all. She didn’t even know it was me.
I wrenched myself out of her grip and backed up. She didn’t move. The lights went off again.
Not again.
I was panicking now. I wanted to shut my eyes and keep them shut. That way I wouldn’t have to see anything when the lights came back on. I slid down the wall and hugged my knees. I wished everything would just go away. I wished I could go away.
But the lights came back on, and I couldn’t keep my eyes shut. She was there again. Crouching close to my side, her face was tilted towards me, her expression unchanged, and her hands gripped tightly to something.
A large knife. And she was moving it towards my throat, slowly, her eyes never straying from mine. I scrambled up off the floor, and ran. I didn’t look back. Maybe she was following me, maybe she wasn’t, but I didn’t want to know. I just ran as hard as I could.
That wasn’t my mother. She would never try and scare me like that. It was him, again. It had to be. Playing his little mind games, making me see what wasn’t real. I was back in my old corridor now. I couldn’t even remember how I’d got there.
I ran into my cell and flung myself on the floor, tears streaming down my face. Curling up tightly, my body trembled as I tried to hold everything inside. I couldn’t. Seeing her face, it had just brought everything back. It was his fault. He had taken everything from me; my mother, my life, my sanity. I wasn’t going to move again. I would stay right here.
Ouch!
Cramp. That hurt like hell. Figuring I must have fallen asleep, I stretched my legs out trying to release the pain. Cramp was just something you got used to when you slept on cold stone every night. My eyes still felt swollen from the tears so I couldn’t have been asleep for that long. Thinking about it made the tears threaten to reappear and I blinked rapidly trying to stay composed. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
Rolling over on the floor, I coughed as I breathed in a bit too much dust. I rested my head on my arm and tried to imagine I was somewhere else. Somewhere comfy and warm. It’s difficult to imagine something you’ve never felt, never experienced. The air felt stale around me, as if I would suffocate on it over time.