Return to Belli Castle (A Haunting Ground Fanfic)

Chapter Seven: Dreadful Debilitas

Catherine knew that Riccardo had hidden Jenny where Debilitas, the Castle's handyman, where she would have to fight to win back her friend. To be free, again.

In the Butcher's room of the castle was where Jenny was held captive in something that could only be described as a large dog cage. Her eyes fluttered open and Jenny sighed in relief as she put a hand to wipe sleep from her grey eyes. Jenny then realized that everything that had happened to her was not a dream by the grunting of Debilitas as he walked around the bloody table of the butcher's room, carrying around a butcher's knife.

He threw a leg of some animal, that Jenny couldn't see, into the pot of boiling hot water on the stove. Jenny whimpered and couldn't stop herself from gasping as she saw his tattered clothes and his skin, his dirty skin that had fresh blood on his large hands.

Jenny got to her knees and started to rattle the lock of the cage. Instantly, Debilitas spun around with a large, child-like smile on his face. He laughed, little more than a giggle, and hurried over to the cage.

He landed on his knees and began to crawl towards her. He was almost three times the size of Jenny, though she was nineteen. "Help!" she cried, trying to go as far back in her cage as possible. "Somebody, help me!"

The door to the butcher's room was kicked open, the thunder becoming louder. Debilitas turned his head, raising his arm up to protect his eyes from the light of the thunder.

In the doorway stood Catherine, tired from running quickly to save her friend. But she stood upright, watching Debilitas move away from the cage and towards her. She held a knife in her hand. All Catherine done was look at Jenny, emotionless and looked at the dirty floor as Debilitas stepped quickly towards her. Catherine swung her arm as Debilitas rose her hands above her head. As Debilitas fell to the floor in front of her, Catherine took ahold of the chain of keys he had in his hands and threw them to Jenny so she could free herself.

Jenny hurried out of the cage and rushed past Debilitas, clutching the keys. The knife had wounded his side, but not enough to stop him from chasing them.

"This way!" said Jenny, pulling Catherine outside of the butcher's room. Jenny had hold of Catherine's wrist, the one that held the knife. "I can't believe you done that!" she yelled, truely astonished that Catherine had attacked somebody with a knife.

"I done what I had to do," replied Catherine. Catherine herself didn't want to hurt him, but she was forced to. But she had purposely only wounded the large man so he would be slowed down and yet not die.

Catherine stopped Jenny as she went to run to the large, wooden gates. "We have to get rid of him first," she suggested. "If he chases us, then Riccardo will know and he'll chase us as well." Catherine opened the door to Belli Castle and dragged Jenny inside, with her.

When it was Catherine and Jenny trying to escape the building, the rooms were different, apart from the large marble staircase. "Up here," said Catherine, hearing Debilitas chasing them with his wound.

They hurried up the marble stairs and into a balcony, where they could see many rooms and peer down into another room. "Here," suggested Catherine. She pushed the door open.

It was a nursery with dolls in wooden cages and rocking horses. Marionettes hung from the wall and the door knobs of the wardrobe. Since they both knew it would take Debilitas a while to get up the marble stairs, especially with his wound, Catherine turned to Jenny.

"Right," she whispered, her voice small and weak now. "You're going to hide in that wardrobe and wait until I lose him."

"I'm not putting you in danger," argued Jenny.

Catherine shook her head and put a hand on Jenny's shoulder, crying. "I'll come back for you, understand. I won't leave this place without you... if...."

"No!"

"... If I'm still alive." Catherine took a deep breath when she finished that sentence. "Wait a few minutes and then try find a way out of here. Don't bother to wait for me, though. I'll search every part of this gigantic Castle until I know you're out. Then, I will go. Hopefully, I'll make it in time and we can leave together."

Crying, Jenny stepped back and climbed into the wardrobe, holding her hand to her mouth to stop her wimpering. She watched Catherine put her finger to her lips, her hand shaking as she had some worry she wouldn't make it out.

Catherine went to close the doors, but Jenny stopped to hug her. "Thank you," she whispered, passing Catherine a key. "But I'll just catch up to you. I know you won't leave without me." Catherine then closed the doors and stepped out of the room, pulling her sleeve over her hand to wipe away the tears.

Debilitas was at the very top step, smiling as he watched her shut the door. "W... W.... Well what are you waiting for?" asked  Catherine, still shaking. "Come on!" she yelled. Catherine began to run, hearing Debilitas laugh as he chased after what he saw was his doll.

He chased Catherine through too many rooms, not given up- even with his wound. The blood was now all over him, clinging to his clothes and on his face he had a hand print of blood. As Catherine ran into a room, she pulled her knife into her right hand and held the keys in her left, and hid behind the open door, trying not to let her lack of breathing give her location away.

Debilitas walked into the library and stood in the middle of the room in surprise that she wasn't there. "Where is you?" he yelled, throwing his arms about in a tantrum. He grabbed a shelf of books and tore it from the wall. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed Catherine in the shadows of the door. "Dolly," he grinned, missing most of his teeth.

He ran towards Catherine and before she could fight him, Debilitas had wrapped his arms around her, taking her feet off of the floor. "Get off me!" she yelled. With all her might, Catherine pulled free her right hand and cut his throat with the blade. She fell to the floor, hurting her elbows when she fell on.

Catherine tried to pull away from Debilitas as he gripped the sleeve of her top, taring it off. She then ran out of the room, switching the keys to her left hand. Catherine quickly locked the door and when she heard Debilitas collapse, she put her back to the wall, knowing he was dead. "I'm so sorry! I had to, Debilitas!" she cried. "I had to do it for Jenny. Riccardo has to know he can't win."

Suddenly, in the corridor she noticed that there were some secret stairs. "Jenny?" she asked, slowly stepping down them.

There was a corridor, with rooms on one side and a stone wall on the other. "Jenny!" she yelled, seeing Jenny in the room.

But to Jenny it only seemed like a mirror. "Catherine?" she called. "Please, Catherine, please be alive," she whispered. There was another collage on the wall, of a clockwork girl, a machine. Though she knew she should be running, Jenny gazed at the sketches.

Catherine couldn't break the glass. She saw a shadow approach the room. "Jenny!" she yelled at the top of her voice, hitting the glass. "Look at the mirror! Look at the glass!"

"No," whispered Jenny, shaking her head as she read the collage. "This can't be... Catherine's..." She stopped speaking at the cock of Riccardo's gun. Jenny turned around to look at him.

As Catherine broken the glass, it was too late. The bullet had already passed through the air and Riccardo had fleed. Catherine was alone.