Heart of a Monster

Sheep were bleating in the pasture under a warm spring sun with several shady clouds rolling through the sky. A gentle breeze blew through the eaves of the trees. Pleasant whistling could be heard as the wind maneuvered through some cracks in the old barn. Aridean was sitting on the wooden floor of the loft of Simon’s barn, she had just finished folding the quilt she kept there for nights she slept in the barn.

Feeling pleased with her folding, Aridean stood and walked toward the edge of the loft. Rather than use the old but sturdy ladder, Aridean leapt from the loft and flew further into the dimly lit barn. As gravity pulled her down toward the ground, she reached out to grab her pull-up beam. Having used her arms to catch herself on the beam, Aridean’s legs and hooves continued on their forward path through the air before being pulled back by the rest of her body. Aridean also heard a bit of a creaking from the beam she was holding onto; she could not help but have a little fun despite her acrobatics potentially jeopardizing the beam’s, and subsequently the barn’s, structural integrity.

Once her hooves stopped swaying from the rapidly changing momentum underneath her, Aridean proceeded to use her considerable strength to pull her body upward toward the beam. As she managed to lift her fuzzy chin over the beam, Aridean would mentally count her exercises. Ten pull-ups quickly turned into twenty and then thirty and so on and on. The powerful minotaur only began to feel the burn in her muscles once she reached one hundred reps. Upon reaching one-forty, Aridean felt that she had no more steam with which to give an effort.

Dropping from the beam, Aridean nimbly landed on her hooves, not that there was much room for having lost her balance as her hooves were maybe eight inches off of the ground from her suspended position. Her arms fell slack at her sides as she took some deep and refreshing breaths of air. Looking to cool down, Aridean turned toward the door to the barn with intent to go and splash her arms and face off with cold water from the well outside.

Mott the cat was sleeping while balancing on a nearby barn stall wall. Aridean took a moment to approach her companion and reached out with one of her hands after having given her arms a short break. As her large, furred hand neared the cat, Aridean saw Mott’s ears twitch somewhat. With a giggle, Aridean ran her fingers behind the twitching ears as Mott let out a long yawn. Now awake and seeing that Aridean was finished in the barn for now, Mott stretched atop the stall wall and hopped down from her perch. The three-legged cat rubbed up against Aridean’s legs and purred for just a moment before yowling. Aridean smiled and took the cat’s call to say that she was also ready to go.

As Aridean turned around toward the barn door again, she watched as it was pulled open from the outside. Bright sunlight flooded the barn and Aridean’s eyes needed a few seconds to adjust. After rubbing her near-blinded eyes, she was able to focus in on who had opened the door to the barn. In the doorway stood Simon, much to Aridean’s apparent delight.

Smiling, Aridean began to approach Simon. Aridean could make out Simon’s usual tired expression on his face despite the angle of the sunlight darkening his features. As the minotaur neared him, Simon’s lips began to form a tired, but sincere, smile. The old man opened his arms for a hug as Aridean continued to draw ever closer.

Just as she closed the distance between her and her father to about two meters, Aridean heard a loud booming sound from outside. In an instant, lightning flashed in the sky and a foreboding darkness had replaced the warm sunlight. Aridean’s face immediately shifted from contentment over seeing her father to one of confusion. The minotaur stopped moving toward the man standing in the doorway to the barn as she took notice of something behind him.

Another flash of lightning followed another loud booming noise. It was in that instant that Aridean was able to clearly make out the figure behind her father. Her face was immediately filled with horror and her blood ran cold. Every hair on her back and tail were standing on end because of the frightening sight.

Simon, having taken notice of the minotaur’s sudden distress, turned around to confront what was behind him. The old sheep herder’s eyes widen in confusion as a knight stood behind him with a bloodied blade raised. Without hesitation, the knight brought the blade down on Simon.

Simon fell with a pained and confused look on his face as blood quickly began seeping from the new wound on his back. Aridean, unable to contain herself, hastily ran toward her father’s side. Although she thought she was screaming, the minotaur could not hear anything that resembled her voice. Aridean knelt down by her father as his blood pooled around his body on the ground, tears streaming from her eyes.

Aridean shook Simon vigorously in an effort to get any sort of response from the man. Unfortunately, Simon did not make any attempt to acknowledge Aridean as he lay in her arms. With wide eyes and a heart sunken so deep in her chest that she was no longer sure it was beating, Aridean looked up at the knight. The knight had again raised his bloodied sword in preparation to strike. With pure terror griping her heart and mind, Aridean hugged Simon tight and braced herself for the knight’s attack. Rather than feeling the sharp pain of a blade slicing into her, Aridean heard another loud booming noise from somewhere.

Aridean’s eyes shot open wide with fear after the third booming noise. Dream or not, the experience had left the minotaur terrified. Although these knight-filled nightmares had become commonplace, this was the first time Aridean had seen the knight assault someone in her dream that was not her.

Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream… Simon’s okay, I know he is. He’s at home, safe and alive, Aridean thought to herself as she closed her eyes and deeply inhaled in an effort to calm her nerves. These dreams are getting a bit ridiculous… doesn’t lightning come before the thunder?

“Unf, whrn an—hnn?” Aridean began to utter before finding that she could not speak clearly.

Her eyes shot open wide again as she began to process that something was in her mouth. Aridean could feel cloth on her tongue; she had been gagged while she was asleep. Further, when she went to remove the cloth from her mouth, Aridean found that she could not bring her hands to her face. Craning her neck so that she could see what the deal was, Aridean was mortified to see what was keeping her in place.

Both of her hands had been restrained by her sides. Her wrists had been shackled by thick rope that kept her hands anchored by her sides. The opposite ends of the ropes were snuggly tied to metal rungs on the stone platform Aridean’s body was now laying on. Even more terrifying, Aridean could see that her legs had also been strapped to the platform she was laying on in a similar fashion to her hands.

W-what the hell?! What’s going on?! What happened while I was asleep?! Aridean mentally panicked. W-wait… why did I fall asleep again? Last thing I remember is talking to Pastor Raltor… What happened in between then and now?

As she tried to collect her thoughts and make sense of her current predicament, Aridean’s eyes quickly darted around the room she now found herself in. Ominous and grim were the only words Aridean could think of to describe what looked like some kind of cell. Torches in each of the four corners of the room provided adequate lighting for an otherwise barren room. Walls containing the room were made mostly of dirt unevenly dug out with a few, thin wooden beams supporting the ceiling. Flooring was again unevenly dug up dirt, however, a narrow stone pathway led from the platform Aridean was restrained on to a dark staircase. Aridean could make out small streams of water flowing down the stairs at the far end of the room; the streams pooled just off the stone to form small, muddy puddles near the stairs.

Is this… a cellar? W-what’s going on? Where’s Pastor Raltor? Aridean mentally inquired as there was no one to answer her questions. Not that she could ask the questions coherently with the cloth gag limiting her ability to speak.

As the captive minotaur finished her thought, she heard another loud boom. A storm must have been raging outside, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. Aridean quickly began to consider a means of escaping her confinement. Unfortunately, her breakout planning was short-lived as there was no means of moving any of her limbs or calling for help.

Can’t move my arms or legs and I can’t call out to anyone. I could try using some magic on the rope, but I’d probably burn myself if I did that. How long was I out? Maybe Rana and Vidor will come looking for me? But how would they know where to find me… I don’t even know where to find me, Aridean thought as she considered her options. It’s hopeless… isn’t it? A-am I going to die in this room?

Aridean’s body began trembling with fear as she seemed to accept the fact that there was nothing she could do to free herself. It was at this point she heard a wood-like creaking sound coming from the stairs at the far side of the room. Dim light reached a short distance into the room Aridean was trapped in and she was able to make out two shadows. More wood creaking could be heard as the shadows drew nearer.

“I just don’t understand why you thought that was a good idea, Pastor. You know I don’t want to even look at those things,” came a familiar, girlish voice.

“Oh, but that’s why I feel you will truly appreciate what I have to show you now; I know I certainly will,” came Raltor’s voice as he reached the bottom of the staircase. His nice robes had been soaked from being in the rain outside. Aridean thought the look on his face was a bit unsettling.

“I’m surprised you’re finally letting me down here. Did something special ha--,” came the girlish voice again. Stepping into Aridean’s vision was Magdalene who had been drenched by the rain just like Raltor. The girl had stopped speaking the instant her eyes met those of the captive minotaur. Both watched as the other’s eyes widen with surprise.

W-what is going on? Pastor Raltor is… showing me to Magdalene? H-how did he even get me down here? Aridean’s mind was running amok with questions concerning her current situation.

“Mstr, whn n nin n,” Aridean could be heard sounding. She hoped that Raltor would understand her muffled question and answer what he was doing.

“P-Pastor… what’s going on here? Why is she here… a-and tied up?” Magdalene asked with wide eyes and a body that refused to move from her spot at the base of the stairs. Aridean looked to Pastor Raltor with the hope that he would answer the questions that could actually be understood. Raltor grinned as he moved toward Aridean.

“Think of this as a test, Magdalene. Oh, how I’ve waited for this day,” Raltor announced, much to both Aridean and Magdalene’s confusion.

“A test? Pastor… what are we doing?” Magdalene inquired with a concerned expression and uneasiness in her voice. Raltor, standing in front of the platform Aridean was strapped to, turned to Magdalene and stretched both of his arms outwards.

“Rejoice, child, you are finally being given a grand opportunity. Come, Magdalene, approach our… our lamb,” Raltor announced with enthusiasm and delight, which left Aridean even more unsettled.

Our lamb? What the hell is he talking about? Wait… did Pastor Raltor tie me up like this?! T-this isn’t funny! What is he doing with me? I-I thought we were just supposed to have a talk, Aridean thought to herself as she was still unable to speak. Even given her inability to coherently communicate, that did not stop Aridean from emitting muffled cries of confusion and fear from behind the pastor.

“Our… lamb? Pastor, what are you talking about? I-I don’t want to go anywhere near her,” Magdalene replied with confusion. Despite Raltor’s instructions to approach Aridean on her pedestal, Magdalene seemed to be frozen in place at the base of the staircase. Her hesitancy was met with an audible grunt from Raltor. Aridean could not see it, but given Magdalene’s worried expression, Raltor must not have looked pleased with her refusal to do as he said.

“I said: approach our lamb. Do you know how long I waited for something like this?! I am tired of waiting and my patience now is wearing thin, girl,” Raltor growled in an aggressive tone unbecoming of a pastor. Before any action could be taken, Raltor moved toward Magdalene, grabbing her by her arm. Aridean watched, afraid of what was to come next, as Raltor forcefully pulled Magdalene toward the platform.

“A-ah! Pastor! You’re hurting my arm!” Magdalene cried as she attempted to break free of Raltor’s grip. Despite his age, Raltor held firmly to Magdalene as he dragged her back to Aridean. Once the duo had returned to the restrained minotaur’s side, Raltor released Magdalene, who started rubbing her now bright red arm. Raltor cleared his throat before speaking again.

“Oh, Magdalene, forgive me, but let us make haste with our work here. You see our precious lamb before you, yes? Tell me, what do you propose we do with her?” Raltor asked the young girl. Magdalene looked to Aridean and then back to Raltor, her confusion clearly painted on her face.

“W-what we should do with her? I-I don’t know…” Magdalene responded. She took another look at Aridean and then at the bindings on her wrists and legs.

Okay, calm down… Raltor said this is some kind of test for Magdalene… Is her test to release me? I guess that would show some sort of compassion for the people she hates so much. C-clearly, she wasn’t in on this and is hesitating. Surely, she’ll propose they just let me go… r-right? Aridean thought to herself in a panic. Although she told herself to calm down, her current situation only instilled more fear and worry in her.

“Think, girl. Before you lies one of those filthy animals that you detest so much. Come now, what does your heart yearn for in this moment? Follow your heart and relish in your decision,” Raltor ominously reiterated. His referral to Aridean as a filthy animal left her confused given Raltor’s previous kind and inviting attitude.

“W-well… I-I… I guess we l-let her go?” Magdalene stated with an unsure tone. It was not so much that it sounded as though the young girl did not want to let her go, but as if she were looking for the answer that Raltor wanted. Undoubtedly the kind pastor would agree with the sentiment… right?

“Ugh! Why do you sound so unsure of yourself?! You have the prime opportunity presented before you. Yet, you are willing to squander it despite my efforts to bring this fool here,” Raltor angrily declared, stunning both Magdalene and Aridean.

“P-prime opportunity… for what?” Magdalene asked, her voice sounding more and more troubled as the scene unfolded. Raltor, disapproving of Magdalene’s obliviousness to his intentions, let loose another enraged grunt.

“Must I spell it out?! There must be a part of you that understands what I am getting at. Let loose the pain in your heart and let this lamb know your wrath,” Raltor chided with increasing hostility. From within the sleeve of his robes, Raltor pulled out the metal cross that Aridean had observed on the church altar earlier. Raltor was quick to thrust the especially sharpened symbol into Magdalene’s hand. What was odd, was that Raltor put the upper shaft portion into Magdalene’s palm. Aridean studied the instrument now held by Magdalene and could almost swear that it looked like—

Is that a dagger?! W-what the hell is he doing with that?! What does he expect Magdalene to do with it?! Aridean thought as her eyes grew even wider with fear. Magdalene’s eyes also grew as she held the sharp, cross-like dagger in her hand. The young girl’s mouth fell slightly agape as the pastor spoke to her.

“M-my wrath? Y-you mean--,” Magdalene began to inquire before being interrupted. Raltor began to chuckle somewhat before speaking.

“Yes. Now is the opportunity to make them suffer as you have. These creatures you so vehemently abhor… make it known just what fury burns within your heart, girl,” Raltor spoke, followed by another evil sounding laugh. Aridean looked to Magdalene with despair as she was slowly coming to one conclusion as to what it was Raltor was encouraging Magdalene to do. Magdalene’s head hung lower and some of her golden locks had fallen over her eyes; her body was shaking with hesitation.

“I-I hate them… b-but—,” Magdalene replied before another interruption from Raltor.

“Think on it, girl. What good are these creatures? They’ve only brought pain and suffering to our noble nation, have they not? After what they have done to you? To your precious sister? Do you not recall the pain that she endured by their hands? Will you not seek retribution for their crimes against you? Come then, show them the error of their ways… make them suffer. Make it slow, won’t you? Instill in them the despair you felt as your wrath and malice overwhelm them,” Raltor began to preach. Aridean found each sentence the old man spoke to be even more frightening than the last. She was so afraid of what was to come and was beginning to hope that a fear-induced heart attack would take her so that she may be free.

Magdalene, her eyes still obscured by her hair, had stopped trembling. Her grip on the dagger had tightened and Aridean could see her gritting her teeth. The girl slowly began to turn to face Aridean.

“Sis…” Magdalene uttered under her breath. Now looking at Aridean, Magdalene lifted her head again and her eyes were visible again. Rage was the only thing that Aridean could see in the small eyes that were looking into her own. Raltor, standing behind Magdalene, was rubbing his hands together in glee and quietly laughing to himself.

I-I’m really gonna die here?! L-like this?! I-I’m so scared! Rana! Vidor! Please come save me, Aridean cried in her mind knowing there was no way of getting the plea out to her friends. Although the room itself was already cold from the draft blowing in from the staircase, Aridean felt her blood freeze in her body with fear and desperation. She was trying to beg and plead for her life but could only make muffled noises due to the cloth in her mouth.

Slowly, Magdalene brought the dagger over her head. She adjusted the weapon so that the blade was pointed toward Aridean. A beautiful shine across the blade in the torchlight reflected Aridean’s tearful eyes. Sitting above Magdalene’s head, her hand holding the blade was subtly shaking. Magdalene took a deep breath before letting out an aggressive cry of hate as the blade came down. Aridean had begun screaming in terror as the girl acted.

“MGHHHHHH!” Aridean could be heard screaming through her gag. Her pained cry echoed off of the cold walls of the cellar. She was unable to look down at where the blade now sat in her leg, still gripped by Magdalene. She could feel the blade deep within her flesh. Having broken through skin, torn muscle, and ripped sinew and tissue, the blade only stopped at bone. Blood had already begun to seep out from between the dagger and her flesh and was flowing down the side of her leg and onto the platform she lay upon.

It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so bad! Please! Somebody help me! I don’t want to die like this, Aridean panicked as pain and horror washed over her body and mind. Tears of pain and fear now waterfalled down her brown-furred face. With every remaining ounce of willpower, she opened her eyes to see that Magdalene was looking at her again. However, the rage Magdalene had previously been overcome with had seemingly vanished.

Tears rolled down the smooth face of the young girl and her eyes were just as wide as Aridean’s were. She slowly turned from Aridean’s gaze to look at her hands, still gripping the dagger in Aridean’s left leg. Magdalene gasped in horror at the sight as she pulled her hands from the dagger’s hilt, leaving the weapon buried in Aridean’s leg. The girl looked at her hands, which had small droplets of blood splattered on them, and her body began trembling uncontrollably.

“W-w-what am I doing?!” Magdalene seemed to ask herself in utter disbelief over what she had just done. Her breathing was quickly becoming erratic as the tears continued to flow from her eyes.

“Go on, girl. Make them know pain and suffering. Make her friends know grief and loss. Show them the fury of your wrath,” Raltor continued to encourage from behind Magdalene. Magdalene began hyperventilating as her entire body was now shaking violently. Aridean was still crying out in pain through the gag cloth in her mouth. Every movement of her leg caused sharp pain to strike her.

“H-her blood… her b-blood is on m-my hands,” Magdalene spoke, again seemingly to herself as she did not acknowledge Raltor. Raltor grunted in annoyance and a sinister scowl was now drawn on his face.

“What does her blood mean to you? Their kind has spilled the blood of your very kin and yet you falter here? Snap out of it, girl, and show them your unyielding scorn,” Raltor said approaching Magdalene. The young girl continued to fixate on the blood that painted her hands and gasp for air. Seeing that Magdalene was unable to respond to his instructions, Raltor raised a hand and viciously slapped the distraught girl.

Magdalene stumbled over, shocked by the sudden blow. She rubbed her now red cheek with one hand. The tears on her face mixed with the blood that had smeared onto her cheek from her hand and a small, light red river flowed down to her chin. Upon realizing what had just happened to her, Magdalene looked up to Raltor in disbelief.

“P-pastor… I-I can’t do it. I’ll never forgive them, but I can’t bring myself to kill one… d-do unto others, right?” Magdalene whimpered. It was only now that Aridean noticed a light from the stairs shining down into the cellar. She was certain she could hear voices from outside the room.

“Sergeant, I think I may have found him,” came a man’s voice from the top of the cellar. Raltor looked to the staircase with obvious annoyance upon registering the presence of others approaching. Aridean’s heart skipped a beat, hoping that just maybe the new arrivals might be there to save her from whatever it was Raltor was having Magdalene do to her.

The rhythmic clanking of metal armor and stomping of boots on wooden stairs could be heard echoing throughout the cellar as shadows appeared in the light that came from the staircase. Whoever it was, they sounded as though they were armed and prepared for some sort of trouble, much to Aridean’s relief. Unfortunately, her relief turned to instant dread as the new guests came into view at the opposite end of the room; they were the Empire’s soldiers that she had seen back at the Tranquility Inn earlier. Although it was less likely they would kill her so long as they did not know she was a rebel soldier, she still did not wish to be thrown into a jail cell by the soldiers.

“Pastor Raltor, I presume?” the supposed commanding officer of the trio of soldiers called out before fully taking in the sight before him. “W-what the hell…?”

Each of the three soldiers looked absolutely confused by the sight before them. A small girl with bloodstained hands was cowering beneath an average looking, old pastor. Behind them was a minotaur, gagged and restrained to a stone platform, with a small cross-looking dagger jutting out of her upper left thigh. While the commanding officer looked over the scene with obvious shock, the two subordinates looked to one another with uncertainty.

“Oh, hello there. Thank God above that you’ve arrived. You see, we have managed to apprehend this minotaur rebel,” Raltor stated in a confident tone. Magdalene turned to look at Aridean in surprise after hearing Raltor, but her overall fear and anxiousness remained present. Aridean’s heart sank immediately upon hearing him reveal her connection to the rebels. Now they would certainly take her prisoner and have her executed.

“W-what? You two managed to capture a minotaur? An old man and a small girl?” the sergeant asked incredulously. “W-well, rebel or not, I think you know what we are here for, Raltor. Pastor Raltor Wilhelm of Byrden, we are here to place you under arrest under suspicion for cavorting with demons and associating with rebel soldiers.”

Had she not been in such tremendous pain, Aridean might have questioned the charges the soldiers had placed on Raltor. Unfortunately, all she could think about was the blade that was resting within her leg. Her blood ran cold, however, upon hearing the maniacal laughter that Raltor was now making.

“Ahahaha! Well, you can’t fault a guy for trying,” Raltor said with a gentle smile on his face. His bizarre response was met with uneasy and confused looks by the soldiers and Magdalene. Although she was still in pain, Aridean had also managed to calm herself enough to be dumbfounded by the odd statement Raltor made.

“So, you do not deny the charges against you? Very well, that makes things simpler. Cadets, restrain the pastor and that girl; she may be an accomplice to the old man. I’ll handle the rebel personally,” the sergeant ordered. The three soldiers began to approach Aridean and her captors. Raltor had ceased laughing and his livid-looking scowl returned to his face as the soldiers drew closer.

“I’ve waited so long for this day and she wasn’t even ready yet… A shame really, but I refuse to let this opportunity pass me by. I’ll just have to make do with what I have now,” Raltor angrily announced as one of the cadets reached for his arms.

Taking deep breaths as she lay on the stone platform behind Raltor, Aridean watched as the sergeant neared her. Looking beyond him, one of the cadets was pulling Magdalene to her feet and tying her arms behind her back. She moved her eyes to see the last one that was tasked with restraining Raltor. Strangely enough, she observed the final soldier having completely frozen up as he was reaching for Raltor. Aridean looked at the soldier’s face and could only think of one word to describe his expression: terror.

Cracking noises began to resound throughout the room, along with an uncomfortable squelching sound. The air itself became eerily cold as the cracking and squelching noises grew louder and louder. Aridean saw through the tears in her eyes as the soldier apprehending Raltor stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. She also observed Raltor’s body violently lurching back and forth, the unsteady movements were synced with the spine-chilling sounds that had suddenly started. Aridean’s eyes grew ever wider as what unfolded next seemed straight out of a child’s nightmare.

“Ah-ahhhh!” Screamed the soldier on the ground as Raltor lunged toward him once. The sudden cry of fear caught the attention of the other two soldiers and Magdalene, all of whom turned to witness what was happening. Aridean watched as Raltor’s body morphed in a horrific manner that could not be comfortably explained. With his head raised, Aridean could see that Raltor’s mouth had been ripped open. While that might have explained the squelching noise, Raltor’s mouth was still tearing flesh as his neck began splitting apart. Blood seeped from the opening, coating Raltor’s robes in a new crimson color. It looked as though the pastor was being cut in two as his skull slumped backwards and jaw hung loosely in front of him. Aridean could see dead eyes looking at her from the once kind old man turned monster.

“What in God’s name?!” The sergeant exclaimed as he stopped to examine the pastor’s metamorphosis. Squelching continued as the splitting of flesh continued down Raltor’s neck and across his shoulders. Each of his two arms seemed to burst into two limp, noodle-like limbs as the body continued to fall apart. Raltor’s robe began ripping as his upper chest and back seemed to inflate. As the tattered cloth was torn from his body, it became apparent that the inexplicable breaking of his flesh had continued down to his chest. At long last, the squelching noise had ceased giving hope that the horrific transformation was at an end.

Raltor’s body now stood on two legs in blood-soaked pants, surrounded by a puddle of even more blood. Streams of crimson were steadily flowing down his average stomach and lower back. But the man looked as though an axe had been used to cleave his upper half into two floppy pieces, stopping just below where his armpits once were. He looked like a two-petal flower in full bloom. Before anyone in the room could make a move, jagged bits of bone erupted from the “petals,” splashing small amounts of blood throughout the room. The man, if he could even be called that at this point, took one step forward and folded over the flap of flesh with his skull onto his lower jaw flesh-flap. Now the creature looked more akin to a terrifying deep-sea fish, the bones looking like monstrous teeth.

“S-sergea--,” came the soldier that was cowering in front of the beast before being abruptly cut off. Raltor lunged at the soldier again, wrapping his jelly-like, split arms around the man as his new maw engulfed the man’s head in its entirety.

Muffled screaming could be heard from within Raltor’s new mouth and the soldier’s body was visibly struggling. Aridean could only watch as Raltor dragged more of the man into his body. She was utterly mortified to hear a loud crunching noise. The sound of the crunch was followed by the soldier’s body going limp and blood oozed down his neck and over his body.

“Cadet!” The soldier standing in front of Aridean called out in disbelief.

“All this waiting for a half-assed display and then this interruption… I waited so long… it was meant to be the perfect ritual… but I can still salvage what is left,” a voice that was not Raltor’s boomed as the monster released its now headless prey. The remaining soldiers, obviously fear-stricken after having witnessed Raltor’s bizarre change, drew swords and pointed them at the beast. Raltor’s new form was quick to react as the sergeant lunged in with a downward slash. After a simple dodge of the steel blade, Raltor’s arms wrapped their way around the man’s neck like tentacles. Now ensnared, the soldier was slowly lifted off the ground by the tentacles. Having been caught off guard, the soldier lost his grip on his blade and desperately began trying to pry the tentacles off of his now tightening throat. A deep guttural laugh could be heard, followed quickly by a loud crack. Immediately, the tentacles were removed from the man who fell to the ground with a thud.

Being the sole survivor of his squad, the final soldier made a mad dash for the staircase. Unfortunately, the monster was too quick and wrapped one of its tentacles around the soldier’s right ankle just as he reached the stairs. The soldier fell as his footing was pulled out from under him, his jaw hitting one of the stairs during his fall. In a graphic display, the creature dragged the man as he began futilely clawing his way to freedom back into the cellar. Terrified screaming was instantly silenced, replaced by choked gasps for air, as another tentacle wrapped itself around the soldier’s throat. Aridean closed her eyes as she was too afraid to see anymore.

“P-pastor?!” Magdalene called in an incredulous tone after having witness the slaughter.

“You foolish child, why could you not simply kill that wretch?! You’ve been an accomplice in the deaths of many, yet you cannot just fulfill the deed yourself?! The wrath of your heart still burns brightly and I will take it,” the abomination raged.

“I-I’ve… w-what?” Magdalene asked with eyes widening again.

“Oh, you never noticed it did you? Every one of your thefts brought me new morsels to tide myself over. Did you not wonder why you could never find them in the following hours or day? Don’t delude yourself, they did not flee town to avoid you,” the beast formerly known as Raltor announced.

“W-what? I… I’m… responsible for…” Magdalene began to realize in horror what the beast was revealing to her. Before she could finish her thought, two tentacles wrapped their way around Magdalene’s body. Her arms were bound to her sides and a third tentacle was used to silence the terrified screams coming from her mouth. Aridean watched in horror as Magdalene was lifted from her place on the ground and carried toward the stairs leading outside. Much to her disgust, at the base of the stairs the beast stopped and folded its head back to look at Aridean again with its dead eyes.

“Once the ritual is complete, I’ll be back for you… your kind always have been my favorite treat,” former Raltor announced as the hellish fiend ascended the stairs.

Aridean was now left alone on the stone platform in a cellar surrounded by three corpses. She felt cold all over, save the warm and stinging sensation her felt in her left thigh. Pain in her leg from the knife that still rested within her flesh was intense, but the unbelievable show she had just been witness to plagued her thoughts.

What the hell was that?! I’ve got to get out of here now! Think, think, think! Ugh! My leg hurts so bad! No, I can’t think about that now… not now. I got to get out of here; if Rana and Vidor come looking for me, they may find that thing. I’ve got to get out of here for their sakes as well, Aridean thought to herself as she took several deep breaths through her nose to try keeping her mind off the pain. Having calmed down only slightly, the restrained minotaur began quickly surveying the room again for anything that might be of use. Unfortunately, she did not manage to turn up anything different from the first time she investigated her surroundings after waking up on this stone platform.

There’s got to be something I can do to get out of here. If I could just get the bindings on one of my hands off, I’d be free… Wait… I do have something, Aridean thought to herself as she lifted her head. She fixed her eyes on the dagger that sat within her leg. Using her closer hand, Aridean found she was just able to reach the hilt.

Okay… this is gonna hurt… c’mon, just like popping a joint back in its socket… Except with the risk of bleeding out. No, don’t think like that. I’ve got no other options right now, Aridean mentally encouraged herself. Slowly and reluctantly, Aridean wrapped her hand around the dagger’s hilt. She took a deep breath again and gave the blade a solid upward yank. Although the blade did move, it was still buried deep in Aridean’s leg, and the action of trying to remove it sent intense pain through her leg. A fair portion of blood had begun to leak out of the wound.

Ahh! That hurts so bad! I-I don’t know if I can do this… N-no, if I don’t, then I might die to that thing. Or worse, Rana and Vidor… got to try again, Aridean thought as she took another deep breath. This time, without pausing, Aridean jerked on the hilt of the dagger. Again, considerable pain and a sense of dread washed over her as blood was now pouring from the wound. But at the same time, Aridean felt hope as she was now holding a blood covered blade that was not still inside her thigh.

Aridean was quick and meticulous in adjusting her grip on the dagger so that the blade met with the rope around her wrist. She slowly began sawing her way through the rope that kept her left hand bound to her side. It felt like an hour had passed before the rope broke away and her hand was free.

Despite the pain, Aridean felt unbridled glee as she made quick work of the remaining restraints around her other arm and legs. Finally, she pulled the gag out of her mouth and took a deep breath.

“Now there’s another order of business I have to take care of before I get out of here…” Aridean spoke as she looked at her knife wound. It was quite the deep cut with a river of blood flowing out and down her leg.

“This… is gonna hurt way more,” Aridean said to herself as she looked the dagger over. Slowly, she ran one of her fingers along the blade, wiping it clear of her own blood. The metal quickly began to radiate intense heat. Although she had only managed to get it out of her mouth, Aridean slipped the cloth gag back in so as to have something to bite down on.

Just go for it, get it over with. Just do this and go find Rana, she’ll be able to make it all better, Aridean kept thinking as she tried psyching herself up. After hesitating for a solid three minutes, she quickly put the burning hot blade against her open wound. Once more, excruciatingly agonizing pain enveloped her as her wound was burned closed. She screamed through the gag in her mouth as the burn singed her flesh and fur.

AHHH! That hurts so much more than the knife being in my leg, Aridean mentally complained as she threw the searing hot dagger away. Her leg was painfully burned, but the bleeding had stopped after her impromptu cauterization. As she slowly managed to calm back down, Aridean removed the gag in her mouth yet again and thought to herself how she would never do anything like that again.

While her leg was still in tremendous pain, Aridean managed to muster the strength to stand from the stone platform she had been laying on. Unfortunately, her leg was not in the best condition for such activity and the minotaur found herself slumping to the ground. With a deep breath, Aridean slowly stood back up and forced most of her weight onto her good leg, allowing the injured one to slowly limp behind her. Aridean slowly and carefully made her way to the staircase and looked up to see a darkened sky. It was clear that night had fallen, but she could not see any stars as rain clouds had blocked her view of the cosmos. Regardless, she decided that was irrelevant and that she needed to get moving if she were to successfully escape.

With difficulty, Aridean managed to stumble her way out of the cellar and found that she was looking out at the dark and depressing graveyard that was behind the church. Rain was now coming down heavily and Aridean’s fur was quickly soaked. Leaning against the wall, Aridean started hobbling around the building toward the road. Just as she made her way to the front of the church, she noticed the door slightly open and candlelight making its way outside.

I’m not so sure about going to church sermons anymore, Aridean thought to herself as she walked past the door and to the road. However, she stopped in her muddy tracks as she heard the undeniable cry of unimaginable terror. Magdalene’s screams could be heard from behind her, from somewhere inside the church.

I can just go right now… she stabbed me and hates minotaurs. There’s no reason for me to risk my life for her, Aridean thought to herself as she looked at the door to the church. Standing in the rain for just a moment more, Aridean then turned her head back to the road. She lifted her good leg to start her uncomfortable and rain-soaked trek back to the inn. Magdalene could be heard screaming once again, which was met with a frustrated grunt from Aridean as she paused again.

I’ve already abandoned those I love… why would it be so difficult to leave behind someone I don’t know? What am I supposed to do against that thing anyway? How could I help when I’m barely limping away now? Aridean mentally asked herself. She bit her lower lip as she considered her own question. Her body began trembling as the rain continued to fall. One last look toward the church and Aridean had made up her mind; she lifted her good leg and began to limp forward.