As the group continued on into the forest, the sun had set and nightfall came. Félix kept checking his map frequently, trying to see if they were getting anywhere closer to the fair, but it seemed that the deeper they went into woods, the harder it became for him to navigate the way to his destination.
"We should've been there hours ago," he muttered. "Must've missed a turn. Should've taken a–" he stopped as he noticed something ahead. He took a lantern and lifted it up, shining light on a crossroad up ahead. "Felipe, Chief, mira!" There were two paths, with the right one being a dark, overgrown path while the left was a more inviting route. "¡Venga, Felipe! The right one is the shortcut."
The horse obeyed, albeit hesitantly. Chief, on the other hand, knew better. He began barking as they went down the path on the right, pointing his nose in the left direction.
"Chief, ¡cállate!" Félix hissed. "It's a shortcut. We'll be there soon."
The dog's blue eyes narrowed. He tried grabbing the man's pants with his teeth, attempting to steer him on the right path as they continued into the dark.
"Stop that!" Félix nearly shouted, pulling away from the dog. He looked ahead, noticing that they were nowhere near the fair and were surrounded by fog. "Maldita sea, Felipe," he cursed the horse's name. "This can't be right... where have you even taken us?"
Chief resisted the urge to roll his blue orbs at how clueless his owner could be, instead barking and pointing his head back.
"Maybe you're right," Félix murmured, looking back. "We should turn around, and–"
He was cut off by a silhouette racing by one tree to the next. "What on earth?"
Chief began to growl at something in the distance, near a log and bushes. "Something the matter, boy?" Félix asked, noticing the dog's sudden change in behavior. The oceanic sport hound kept snarling, baring his teeth. Then, there was a loud howl, followed by two more. Félix looked ahead and squinted his eyes, seeing multiple yellow orbs glowing through the dark fog and mist.
"Felipe, go!" he cried out, urging the horse to run. "¡Ándale, ándale!"
As soon as the horse did, a pack of wolves ran out from the shadows, growling and barking. Félix steered the wagon left and right, while Chief barked fiercely at the wolves on their tail.
The creatures kept up their pace, massing to overrun them. Félix tried to keep steering the wagon, only for Felipe to get startled as a wolf tried to leap onto the cart, bucking both his owner and Chief off in the process before running away in fright.
This left Félix and Chief stumbling down a hill, towards two iron gates. Félix grabbed the gates and tried shaking them open. "Is someone there?" He dared looking over his shoulder, seeing the wolves advance while Chief still kept barking at them. "Help!"
The gate suddenly opened, leaving him to stumble in. Once Chief was on the other side with him, he slammed it shut, in the faces of the wolves. The wolves tried sticking their heads through the gates, only to flinch as Chief nearly bit one of their muzzles. The leader of the pack let out a growl, before the pack accepted that they wouldn't be feasting tonight, and so they disappeared into the forest.
Félix watched as they left, before turning to look behind him. There, a large mansion came into view, followed by a flash of lightning. It was looked so miserable and grey, like it had lost its light a long time ago. Rain poured all around, adding to the gloomy atmosphere.
It looked abandoned, yet there could be someone there. Perhaps, the owner would be kind enough to let him stay for the night.
He walked up the front steps, lifting up his hand to knock on the door. With a light tap, the two doors open with a creak. "How strange," he murmured as he stepped inside the castle, followed by his dog, who was sniffing around cautiously. He placed his hat on a coat rack, not noticing that it was actually three boxes stacked, each reading "Fish", "Shoe" and "Jelly." Arms came out of two of the boxes, grabbing at the hat while the third waved at the old man's form.
Taking a good look around, he could see so many statues and sculptures of cryptids. Next to a table stood two "sculptures", one of a yeti and another of a mitla. As he passed them, the yeti turned, watching him from near the entrance.
"He looks lost," a male voice piped up. "Must've been stumbling through the woods..."
"Shut up," a young girl's voice snapped. "It's not our issue. If we don't say anything, maybe he and his dog will leave."
Hearing the whispers, Félix looked around to try locating the voice. "Is someone there?" he called out.
"Don't even think about it, Susan," the young girl hissed. "Not one word outta you, not a single word."
"I apologize if I'm intruding, but I've lost my way through the woods," the old man went onto explain. "And I need a place to stay for the night."
"Poor fellow," Susan sympathized. He looked to the other cryptid. "Come on, Coraline, have a heart."
"Shhhhh!" Coraline tried to shush him, clamping her paw over his mouth.
However, their attempts at going unnoticed failed as Chief sniffed around, stopping as he ended up at their feet. Coraline yelped and tried shooing the dog away, allowing Susan to say, "You are always welcome here, sir!"
"I heard that!" Félix exclaimed, grabbing a candle and whipping it around. "But who said that? Step out where I can see you!"
Susan stepped out. "Over here!"
"Where?" Félix looked around, still lost. Chief barked and tried to get him to turn around, only for his master to continue looking everywhere except behind him.
Susan tapped the man's shoulder, making him turn around to face him. "Hi," the yeti greeted him, grinning and waving his hand.
"AH!" Startled, Félix jumped back, falling to the ground. "In- incredible..."
"Now you've done it, Susan," Coraline groaned as she came over, shaking her head. "Great, just great..." She began trying to push the man towards the door. "Good day to you, sir, and goodbye!"
Félix shook his head quickly, trying to process what he was seeing. "Wait, wait, wait! You're a mitla, and- and you're talking!"
"Surprising, ain't it?" Coraline asked sarcastically, continuing to push him toward the door. "Quite the puzzle, now bye-bye."
"Coraline, why are you being so rude to our guest?" Susan asked, stepping between them. "Have a heart."
"I have a heart," Coraline barked. "But we need to get him out before he finds out!"
"How can this be?" Félix asked, wondering just how this cryptid could talk. Curious, he grabbed the mitla's tail and began playing around with it.
"Hey, let me go right now!" Coraline cried as she felt him twist her tail. "Stop it!"
Félix ignored her, continuing to fiddle around with her. He lifted up one of her paws, tickling it underneath, making her giggle. He was about to remove her dragonfly hairclip, when she swatted at his hand with her paw.
"Hands off!" she snapped, getting back on the floor and glaring at him.
"P-perdóname," Félix stammered. "It's just that I've never come across any cryptids before, especially not one that ta–" He was unable to finish his sentence, as he sneezed in her face.
Coraline winced, wiping the snot off her face. "Bless you."
Susan noticed how Félix sniffled, indicating the cold he had caught from being out in the cold woods. "Poor man, soaked to the bone," he sympathized, beginning to lead him towards the den. "If you sit by the fire, you'll be warm in no time."
"Gracias," Félix thanked the yeti, following him to the den. It was already lit and warm with a fire flickering in the hearth. There was an armchair, a fur rug and even a blanket awaiting him.
"No, no, no!" Coraline protested, running after them in an attempt to stop them from entering the den. "Do you know what he'll do if he finds him here?! He'll be screaming bloody murder!" She tumbled down the stairs, too late. By the time she looked up, she saw the old man taking a seat in the large chair in front of the roaring fire. "Oh no, not in his chair!"
Then came a cooncat with blue eyes, casually padding by her into the den, causing Chief to bark at it in suspiscion.
"This can't be happening," Coraline muttered, covering her eyes. "I've gotta be dreaming. Yeah, that's it." She began smacking herself. "Wake up, Coraline! Wake up now!"
"Why, hello there," Félix greeted the cooncat, patting its back. It rubbed against his hand, purring.
A young boxtroll whose box read 'Eggs' came in, eyes gleaming with amazement. "Can it be? Is it a man?" he asked excitedly. He eagerly bowed his head at the man. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir! It's been so long since we've had a visitor."
"Oh! Well, the pleasure's mine," Félix returned with a smile. "What a pleasant household this is..."
"Alright, that's it!" Coraline yelled as she got up on her feet. "No more! I'm in charge here and what I say go–"
She was interrupted by a tray of soup and bowls barreling past her, pushed by a kitsune who was followed by her son. "Here, drink this whale soup," Sariatu offered, pouring the murky liquid into a bowl. "It smells, yes, but it will warm you up."
Félix nodded eagerly. "Sí, por favor."
"No, you're not supposed to give him soup!" Coraline protested, throwing her arms up in dismay. "He'll be here all night!"
Sariatu passed the bowl to her son, Kubo, who had an eyepatch and appeared to be around the same age as Coraline and Eggs. Kubo passed the cup over to Félix, who gladly took it.
"Hello there, niñito," he said to the small kitsune. "What's your name?"
"Kubo."
"Hmm, it does have a nice ring to it."
"Care for a blanket, sir?" Eggs asked, throwing the blanket over his shoulder. He then turned to Susan. "You don't suppose he's got a daughter, do you?"
Susan shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe, maybe not..."
"Susan, listen to me!" Coraline exclaimed, grabbing the yeti's attention. "We've got to get him out of here! Do you have any idea what he's doing to do when he finds this old man here, in–"
"Calm down, Coraline," Susan soothed her, patting her shoulders. "He will never know."
Suddenly, the doors slammed open and a strong gust of wind blew into the room, extinguishing the flames in the fireplace.
"On second thought, nevermind," Susan said with a nervous laugh. "It was only a matter of time."
Kubo hid behind Sariatu, while Eggs retracted himself into his box. The cooncat yowled and ran off, leaving Chief to stick by his master's side. Coraline pulled the rug over her body, trying to hide herself underneath it. Susan just stood there anxiously, biting his nails.
Félix looked behind him, twitching violently as he saw a monstrous figure standing in the doorway. It was so dark, that the only thing he could make out from the creature were his glowing blue eyes.
The beast entered the den, standing on his two hind legs as he looked around the darkness, mainly in the direction of the others. "It appears that a stranger stands among us," he said in a low voice, almost like a growl.
"Please, let me explain," Susan began, his voice tentative. "He was lost in the woods, and he was falling ill so–"
"You let a stranger in," the beast interrupted him, his gaze hardening and his voice growing more harsh.
Coraline poked her head out from underneath the rug. "Sir, let me just say... I tried to stop them!" she broke in, trying to claim her innocence. "It was their idea to let the man in, meanwhile I was trying to stop them, telling them it was a bad idea but did they listen? No! They went and–" The beast growled and shot a glare at her, shutting her up quickly.
The beast stalked toward the chair. Félix frantically looked around the room, to one side of the chair and then to the other. A turn of the head brought him face-to-face with the monster, treating him to a close view of a pair of human eyes on an otherwise animalistic face.
"Dios mio," the old man gasped, eyes wide with fear. He scrambled out of the chair, trying to get away from the monster.
"Who are you?" the beast asked, following easily due to his height. "Why have you trespassed on my property?"
"I – I was lost in the woods, and, and I needed shelter," Félix stammered, frightened, backing away from the beast.
"You are not welcome here," the beast growled, looming over him.
"I- I'm sorry..."
The beast caught onto the way the old man stared at him. The look of terror on his face, a sign that the intruder had seen him in his hideous state... it brought in a mixture of both shame and fury.
"Hideous, isn't it?" he asked harshly, hot fury boiling within him at the widening of the man's eyes.
"Oh no, I wasn't..."
"Come to stare at the beast, haven't you?" the beast snarled, blocking the entrance just as the man turned to leave.
"Please, I come with no ill will!" Félix pleaded. "I was merely looking for a place to stay!"
"Is that so?" the beast asked, eyes narrowing. "Then I shall gladly give you a place to stay." He grabbed the man and dragged him out of the room despite his pleas, leaving the others standing in the darkness.
Chief let out a low growl and was ready to chase after the monster, when Susan grabbed him, stopping him.
"No, don't," Susan said, making the dog look at him in confusion. "Attacking him will only make things worse. You need to go home, now."
Chief glanced at where the beast had dragged his owner off, then back at Susan. Realizing that the sasquatch had a point, he nodded his head and ran out of the castle, into the forest and towards the village, where he knew he could find help.