Coraline Sequel - Horrors at Night

Sacrifice

Alice was very afraid.

Something had flashed in the eyes of her Other Mother. Something wicked. Something rather... frightening.

The instant Coraline arrived, Alice had known something was wrong. The older girl's hair was matted thickly with dirt and twigs, her faced covered in dust and something Alice could not properly identify.

The Other Mother shrieked violently and shrilly, her voice the sound of a thousand bells, as Coraline threw something at her and dragged Alice with her. The Other Mother smacked into the wooden shelf behind her. An old clock fell noiselessly to the ground.

******

Alice was a slow runner.

Coraline knew that she did not have much time. The Other Mother was right on her heels.

She raced through the forest, past the cart of rotting, stinking apples, past the decaying leaves and the soft moss of the ground.

It seemed as if the journey to the well was taking longer than it ever had before. Coraline's heard beat rapidly in her chest. The portal would close soon, and when it did, Coraline and Alice would be stuck in the Other World forever.

And the Other Mother would sew buttons into their eyes, and keep them both as she did the ghosts before Coraline's first visit.

A cackle sounded from behind her, and she knew she was too late.

Whispers sounded from the trees, as if they were talking. They spoke of horror and capture and enslavement. Coraline heard Alice whimper, and pulled her closer.

Coraline could hear the footsteps of the Other Mother behind her, and instantly, her muscles froze in dread. The cackle grew louder and more threatening than ever.

Until it was right behind her.

A brutal force knocked Coraline to the hard, compact ground. Alice's soft hand was wrenched from her grasp.

"Fool," the Other Mother spoke, but when Coraline looked up, her form had changed completely.

The Other Mother now stood tall and demeaning, her red lips curved up into a cruel smile, her back arced in a twisted shape and in her long, curved fingernails, clutched Alice firmly in her grasp.

"Now I have you both," her mouth opened to reveal a set of pointed, white teeth.

"Please," Coraline started. She did not want to cry, but she could feel the tears insistently pricking the backs of her eyes. The well was not too far away, maybe Coraline could run for it...

And leave Alice alone, forever, in the clutches of the Other Mother.

Coraline could never forgive herself for doing such a thing. That was the very reason she came back to save Alice. She glanced into those blue, fearful eyes. Coraline could not outsmart the Other Mother this time. Perhaps she would settle for a trade instead.

"Take me instead. Let her go, I know it's me you've always wanted. Just... let Alice go," the tears now threatened to spill down Coraline's cheeks, but she held her head high, trying to ignore the trembling of her bottom lip.

"Ah Coraline, to do that would only result in two precious meals, or daughters, having escaped me at least once. Now, why would I want that?" The Other Mother reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a small, fabric box. She shook it once, teasingly. The rattle of buttons send shivers down Coraline's spine.