Haunted and Holy

It All Goes Wrong

All of the sudden, Amber felt her body go stiff. Her arm hairs stood on end, her eyes widening.

Something's wrong. Very wrong, she thought, instinctively reaching for her satchel, her other hand poised to grab the dagger in her boot.

She glanced over at Zac, who seemed to have noticed the sudden change in atmosphere.

The air seemed unnaturally still, as if everything in the house was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. There was no sound coming from downstairs– no voices, no footsteps, no sound of dishes clanging together. Nothing.

Zac stood wearily and crept towards her. Both stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the door intently.

She didn't know why, but it felt as if they both knew what to do, reading each other's body language effortlessly, as if they'd known each other all their lives.

After a while, nothing happened. Zac eased up, his shoulders relaxing, but Amber didn't move a muscle. She stared levelly at the door, adrenaline pumping through her system.

Suddenly, a thunderous bang came from downstairs, shaking the house. The lights flickered, but somehow she knew it wasn't because of the storm raging outside.

"What's going on?" Zac whispered beside her, his hushed voice making her tense.

She grabbed his wrist and looked him dead in the eye. Though they were faint, Amber could hear faint foot falls coming up the stairs: slow and calculated, almost like a predator stalking its prey.

They needed to hurry.

"Zac," she said, keeping her voice as low as possible. "You need to come with me. Somethings coming- and I don't think it's good news. So we can either stay here and wait to see, or we could get away- somewhere safe."

His eyes filled with conflict as he glanced back and forth between the door and Amber again and again. He bit his lower lip, obviously in distressed.

"But what about my fam-"

"Zac. I know and I'm sorry, but we have to go. I know you don't know me well– well at all really, but you have to trust me. Please."

She could now hear the low, hungry growling coming from the other side of the door, and made a split second decision.

"Zac!" She hissed, reaching up and grabbing her necklace. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me," she whispered as she hurriedly mumbled the enchantments.

"Wait! Stop!" He yelped in protest as the door bust down. Amber only had a second to glance at what lurked in the doorway, only being able to make out glowing green eyes and midnight black fur before everything disappeared.

She could have sworn she heard an echo, almost like an outraged howl, but she couldn't be sure. Then she felt a searing pain on her side before everything went dark.