Devil's Board

Part 4

Sarra shrank back into the couch, ripping her fingers away from the pointer. Her? It wanted to eat her? Sarra didn’t know whether to scream or laugh. She could feel the hysteria building inside, the insane giggle spilling out. It wanted to eat her? It was just a toy. Toys couldn’t eat people. The hot rancid breath on her face had her opening her eyes and scrambling off the couch.

Then she saw it, crouched low by the couch. It wasn’t the thing from before. This looked like a child, a broken battered child. Bruised eyes stared at her mournfully from a face the color of chalk. Small, skinny limbs protruded from tattered clothes. The little boy’s feet were filthy, caked with dirt and mud. It was the child’s eyes, though, that held her. Their piercing blue gaze ached for something. They were full of need and darkness and sorrow. This child was in pain and had been in pain for a very long time.

Hungry….

The voice that came from him was not that of a child. It was old, ancient, and made Sarra shiver from the coldness in it. She could see the feral need pulsing out of his eyes. He wanted to eat her. Not happening kid. She inched backwards. She needed to get to the kids. Barricade herself in and keep them safe.

Laughter echoed around her, teasing her senses. She shook her head, trying to clear it. This thing knew how to cloud her thoughts. The children distracted her. When she looked again, it had moved from the edge of the couch to just a few feet in front of her. So not good.

Sarra moved farther away, sidestepping the end table so she had a clear shot of the stairs. She needed to get to the kids. The boy in front of her smiled, his laughter making her ears hurt. The children’s laughter stopped at the sound and even Sarra paused. That sound held a promise of pain. The children reacted to it. They started to cry, their wails even louder than the laughter of before. They knew this sound, feared it.

Not giving it another moment’s thought, Sarra ran. She headed for the stairs at a breakneck speed, but before her foot hit the first step, she felt fingers wrap around her ankle and pull. She fell forward her, her forehead bouncing off the stairs, causing her vision to blur just a bit. She blinked, trying to clear her head. When she felt herself being pulled backwards panic set in. She grabbed onto anything she could trying to stop herself, but the thing had an iron grip. She lashed out with her free foot, connecting with it. It wasn’t solid though. Her foot went through like she’d just stepped into rotten, squishy vegetables. Gross. She grabbed onto the coffee table and held on for dear life. It was heavy oak and didn’t budge easily.

The children’s voice rose around her and Sarra fought to stay aware of the things around her. She needed to get loose. She started to kick, twist, and do anything she could think of to try and get free. More gross kicks hit the child in the chest. He snarled in return but after one caught him in the head he let go. Sarra wasted no time. She was up and running.

She was flung backwards, her body slamming into the wall. The pictures fell around her as she slumped down, the breath knocked out of her. She had to sit and watch the little boy creep back towards her, his eyes malicious and hungry. She kept trying to force air back into her lungs. She heard the kitchen cabinet doors start to open and slam shut about the same time her breath came back. She pulled herself up and took off running again, slower this time though. She was hurt.

Fingers grabbed her hair and Sarra felt herself lifted up into air and flung. This time she didn’t land anywhere, but was thrown from wall to wall, her body enduring the beating it was taking. She hurt everywhere, but when she heard Dakoda start to scream in amongst the voices of the children, she grew desperate. She reached back and tried to pry the fingers from her hair, but when she landed against another wall, she felt the bones in her hand snap. She screamed in pain and rage herself. She had to get to Dakoda.