A Deal With God

Chapter 4: The Multiple Uses of an Axe

"It's now or never," Quinn nodded to Will. He followed her out the front door to the end of the porch. They stood in front of the wall where the creature had gone through. He went to take the axe from her left hand but she held her grip on it.

"Let me do this. Your other arm is never going to heal if you keep pushing yourself," he pleaded. Gold eyes fixed on him, she reluctantly held the axe out to him. It's not that she didn't trust the boy, it's just that she had very quickly gotten used to doing things by herself in this place. She leaned against the railing a little off the side as Will started swinging the axe into the wall. Each time the blade landed into the wall, a sharp clack sound rang out around them.

Inside, the music came to a stop. As bits of the wood started chipping away, Quinn noticed the strange gooey quality she remembered the portal from the Lab having. The same as the temporary openings in the trees.

"It's working," she encouraged Will. Realising that The Clash weren't playing inside anymore, he started calling for his mother.

"Will?! Will!?" The woman inside cried. Quinn saw the blurry figure run out of the house onto the porch but stopped short unable to see them from her dimension.

"Mom!" Will shouted, continuing to swing the axe into the wall.

"Will?! I'm here! I'm here!" Joyce cried, starting to rip the wallpaper off.

"Hello?! Mom!" Will called. He stopped swinging the axe when he could see his mother through the wall. Quinn came up behind him and put her left hand on it, channeling electricity into it hoping that would melt it open or something, anything besides just being a window to the other side. She heard a growl in the distance.

"We don't have much time," Quinn whispered to him, eyes scanning the open area in front of the house.

"Tell me where you are! How do I get to you?!" Joyce asked frantically.

"It's like home, but it's so dark-it's so dark and empty. And it's cold. Mom...Mom!" Will cried.

"Will, this time we have to go," Quinn said in a stern tone.

"Listen to me, I swear I'm going to get to you, okay? But right now I need you to hide. Go with your friend and hide," Joyce ordered, catching the figure behind her son.

"Mom! Please!" Will cried, defeated at the sight of the opening starting to close up again and the sound of growls coming from behind.

"Listen! I will find you but you have to run now. Run! RUN!" Joyce ordered as the wall finished closing up again. Quinn pulled Will away from the wall.

"Hold onto the axe and follow me," she ordered, shooting a bolt out of her left hand to throw back the creature that had emerged from the trees. They made their way down the porch and around to the side of the house. They stopped at the back corner to check the area before taking off running into the trees.

"Where are we going?" Will asked Quinn, trying to keep up with her quick pace.

"Castle Byers, but we're taking the scenic route," she told him, eyes scanning the area around them continuously. She assumed that more than one creature was drawn to the sound of the axe, and even though one was hot on their trail, others would do a round of the house. In the event that several of them caught up with them, she didn't want to lead them straight to their back-up hideaway.

Will kept up with her while trying his hardest to tread quietly. When there wasn't a creature to deal with, he diligently carried the axe for her. After encountering four of the creatures, they did a slow perimeter of Castle Byers to check that there were no more in the immediate vicinity, and finally settled into the little hut.