Escape

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  “He doesn’t scare me,” Amelia said boldly. It was a lie, as her pounding heart could testify to. She felt this odd impulse to stand up to him, to prove that she wasn’t frightened, even though she was.

  Connor growled at her angrily, revealing his glistening fangs, and then let his eyes change back to normal. Amelia gulped down the pool of saliva that gathered in her mouth and turned her attention to Esmeralda, though she could still feel his probing eyes upon her.

  “Well, why don’t you come back to town with us? We can talk more there and maybe get you something to eat?” Esmeralda offered cheerfully.

  Whatever their intentions may have been, a warm house and a plate of decent food sounded like heaven to her. This may have been a trap to lure her back to town where she could be devoured by the rest of the monsters, but this was a nightmare after all and maybe such a traumatic experience would make her wake up.

  Amelia nodded in agreement and they all set out for town, the two ladies in lead with the irritable Connor following.

  Once back at their cottage, Esmeralda heated up some leftover chicken fingers, along with pouring a glass of soda for Amelia as she waited at the dinner table. Amelia thought it extremely odd that even in this monster town, they seemed to have all the comfort and conveniences of what she had back home. She thought it even more odd that a vampire and a demon would have chicken fingers to eat. Or perhaps they were actually human fingers disguised as traditional chicken fingers. But, this was her nightmare so she must have created them herself.

  Connor was leaned against the doorframe that separated the bedroom and kitchen, his arms still folded over his chest and eyes focused attentively upon the two girls. She had never been under such intense scrutiny before and it was unsettling.

  “So, where exactly are you from?” Esmeralda asked, setting the plate and glass down in front of Amelia before sitting across from her. She propped one of her elbows on the table to hold that curious head of hers as she waited expectantly for her guest to tell her everything.

  “I thought you said you were psychic?” Amelia quipped before she bit into one of the chicken strips daintily, hoping not to find a fingernail amongst the meat.

  “I am and I already know the answer. Only, it doesn’t make much sense. Also, I know that Connor is dying to know the answer as well, but he’s too shy to ask.”

  Connor grunted from his place in the threshold and turned his eyes away before Amelia had a chance to meet his stare.

  “Ok… I’m from a town called Saxondale. It’s in the state of Florida, which is in the United States of America, which is then in North America on the planet Earth… But, I guess you guys know nothing about those places, right?” Amelia took a sip of her drink cautiously, half expecting it to be laced with blood or some strange chemical. Surprisingly, it tasted just like the soda back home, so she took a bigger slurp to quench her thirst.

  “Nope, I’ve never heard of those places. Have you, Connor?” Esmeralda asked Connor, as if she had planned the question before the conversation had started.

  “No.” The way his lips formed around the word made his entire face wrinkle with disdain. Amelia wondered how he could be so angry.

  “So, where am I, exactly?” Amelia asked, eating her chicken fingers with more confidence now that she discovered they tasted just like the chicken back home.

  “To be exact, you’re in the town of Flagler, in the country of Augustine on the planet Somniatis. We don’t know how you got here, Amelia. Could you tell us?” Esmeralda seemed to find this whole thing rather comical. By now she had assumed that Esmeralda and Connor were an item, so it made no sense how this bubbly vampire could tolerate a grump demon like Connor.

  Amelia took a deep breath and then told them everything about being at home, then in her basement, falling through the hole and ending up in the burrow. Between the part about falling through and awakening in the tunnel, Amelia didn’t know what happened.

  “This sounds like a case for Sir Jedalf. He’s our resident wizard, so he should be able to explain what’s happened to you,” Esmeralda said, looking up and down the girl’s blouse. “You wear such strange, bright clothes. Is that a custom where you come from?” she asked.

  Amelia glanced down at her apparel and shrugged. “I guess it’s my custom, but not everyone wears the things I wear. At least, no one my age does. They wear what you wear.” Amelia finished off her third chicken finger, and then took another swig of her soda.

  “Pray, what is your age?” Esmeralda asked.

  “I just turned eighteen. How old are you?”

  “Five thousand, three hundred and twenty-two.”

  Amelia nearly snorted her soda from her nose. “Excuse me?” she exclaimed.

  Esmeralda repeated herself. “Why, is that old where you come from?” Her head tilted inquisitively.

  “That’s older than a lot of stuff! How can you be that old and look so young?” Amelia asked in astonishment, examining her features for any sign of wrinkle or aging.

  Esmeralda only shrugged. “Well, here, you’d be just a baby. Everyone around here is kind of frozen in time… Or, rather, we live forever. I don’t see too much of a point in keeping track of my age, but it’s nice to know sometimes.”

  Amelia only shook her head in amazement and ate the last of her chicken. “So, how is it that the food isn’t any different here?”

  Esmeralda asked for clarification.

  “This drink and these chicken fingers taste exactly like they would where I come from. Why is that?”

  “I’m not sure. I guess the two worlds are different in many ways, but still alike as well.”

  “The two worlds are nothing alike,” Connor piped in with a sour tone. The two girls looked at him as he glowered off to the opposite wall, his stare was even more bitter than before.

  Amelia gazed at his posture, his focused frown and set jaw. He was fuming, but at the same time, he was hiding something. Amelia didn’t know what it was, but she wanted to find out. He didn’t seem like a monster. He looked interesting, as if he was some kind of unsolved puzzle that was begging her to piece it all together. He was like an enigma, as strange and wondrous as this world she was dropped into. Amelia felt drawn to him in more than just a few inexplicable ways.

  After a moment of waiting, Esmeralda sprang back to life and looked to Amelia with a thrilled expression drawn across her face. “I just had the most brilliant idea! If, by some chance, Sir Jedalf can’t figure out a way to send you back, would you like to stay with us, Amelia? We have a spare bedroom and you can share my bathroom. It would be nice to have another girl around the house.”

  Amelia didn’t know whether to feel flattered or uneasy about such an offer. They seemed nice enough, but she would have preferred home to this.

  “No!” Connor barked from his post, causing Amelia to jump from her reflections. “She doesn’t belong here! She has to go back and if she can’t then she’s not our responsibility! She will NOT stay here, Esmeralda. Is that understood?” Connor stood up straight, holding arms at his sides with his hands clenched tightly into fists. His eyes blazed a fiery red once more, but the whites of his eyes became as black as his hair and his face darkened with fury. Amelia began to quake at the sight and she could hardly breath.

  Esmeralda stood up from her chair and her eyebrows shadowed over her slowly reddening eyes. Her lips pursed together in defiance and Amelia could feel electricity in the air as a silent battle waged in the room. The vampire and demon had their eyes locked upon one another. It was frightening, like when two parents had their first big fight in front of their child, but Amelia knew this could not have been the first time these two butted heads.

  Tense seconds ticked by and Amelia watched another change occur between the stalemated roommates. She found it primarily in Esmeralda. Her thick hair began to steadily become more buoyant, almost thickening against her slightly hunched back. And then small items around the kitchen began to rattle. Utensils, plates, and glasses shive
red. She almost expected the items to float and begin shooting towards Connor like bullets from a gun.

  Connor’s brows furrowed with indignation and a deep rumble could be heard from his throat that sounded much like the growl of a lion or wolf. Above them, the lights began to flicker and Amelia wondered if it was the doing of the vampire or the demon. The room was thick with such negative, dark energy that Amelia had a hard time clinging to her sanity as her eyes darted between the two of them, wondering who would cave first.

  Almost as suddenly as the supernatural argument began, it ended when Esmeralda let out a very controlled breath of air and her eyes faded back to their usual violet hue. The utensil stopped clattering and the lights shined solidly once more. She squared her shoulders, showing she would take her defeat proudly and sat back down at the dining table with Amelia.

  Connor’s eyes slowly changed back to normal as well, but he left them no last word before storming off into the bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

  Finally, Esmeralda turned away with irritation, back to Amelia. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m sure Sir Jedalf will able to find some way to get you home. Are you tired at all?” she asked as she gave the most convincing apologetic smile.

  Amelia was a little frazzled by the episode she had just witnessed. Were these outbursts nothing to them? She had to remind herself to breathe before answering with a subtle nod.

  “I recommend you take a nap then. I have to take one, too. That wore me out,” she said laughingly. “The spare bedroom is right down that hallway,” she pointed towards a short corridor, “And you can lay down for a while. No one will bother you. We leave in about an hour, though. I’ll come in to wake you up. And don’t worry about Connor, dear. He’s just grumpy in the mornings.”

  “Is it always morning for him?” Amelia asked sarcastically, willing to break the tension in the house and glancing back at the bedroom door timidly.

  Esmeralda laughed lyrically, but then shook her head. “No, no. He’s normally very well tempered. He got up just before we came to find you and I was giving him a hard time about getting out of bed. Like I said, don’t worry about him. He should relax later in the day.”

  The vampire rose from the table with poise, signaling that it was time to go rest for them both.

  “Oh, that’s another thing,” Amelia began as she stood up from the table with much less grace. “Is it always night time here or will the sun ever come out?”

  Esmeralda took up her empty plate and glass to place in the sink. “I don’t know what ‘sun’ you’re talking about. It’s always dark around here. But, enough of that for now. Go get some sleep.”

  Amelia nodded and treaded softly down the hall upon her unstable legs, past both of the bathrooms and into the guest bedroom to lie down for a while. The room was pleasantly decorated in a country cabin theme, reminding Amelia of the times her family used to travel up to the mountains on vacation. They hadn’t done that in years, but it was still a fond memory for her.

  Such a memory made her even more homesick. As she laid her head upon the pillow, she breathed in the musty smell of the quilt and it was an even more potent trigger. She felt her nose tingle with impending tears, but forced them back. She needed to rest. Perhaps if she went to sleep, she would wake up back home and all of this would be over.

  When Amelia had awoken from her nap, she was dismayed to find that she was not back home. She was still in the guest bedroom of Esmeralda and Connor’s home. She lay still for a while, listening for any stirring around the house. She did this often when she first woke up in the morning at home. She never heard anything because her parents had normally already left for the day.

  But in this house, she heard movement. From what she knew of the layout, it was coming from the kitchen. She thought that perhaps it was Esmeralda. Amelia presumed that Connor would still be steaming with anger in his room.

  She rose from the bed and peeked out the door to see if she could catch a glimpse of who it was. It sounded like someone was browsing the contents of the fridge, which was out of sight from where she stood.

  Amelia took the risk and tip toed down the hall into the kitchen. It wasn’t Esmeralda. Standing in front of the fridge was Connor, wearing only his jeans from earlier and eyes scanning through the shelves. One of his hands gripped the fridge door while the other had a thumb hooked through one of his belt loops. It was a pose worthy of Play Girl magazine.

  Before Amelia could catch herself staring, he did. His eyes were fierce, but not with anger. Her breath caught in her throat and her lips parted slightly, willing the air to flow freely, but she could feel herself choking on his gaze. She stood fixed in the cased opening between the hall and the kitchen, unable to move, unable to think. Her whole world was caught up in his striking blue eyes. She’d never seen eyes so clear and pure in color.

  “Breathe,” he commanded and her lungs obeyed. She blinked and cast her gaze down to the checkered tile floor of the kitchen. How could someone affect her this much? Was it fear? Was it his demonic powers holding sway over her? Either way, it was more frightening than anything else she had encountered yet.

  When she looked back up, she saw Connor was just feet away from her, his eyes still penetrating. Amelia half turned to retreat back to the guest bedroom when he offered out one of the water bottles that he held in his hands.

  She stared at the water bottle, not knowing what to think or do. She needed him to think for her. How stupid she felt.

  “Take it.” And she did with a trembling hand. She wished with all her might that she didn’t feel such fear and apprehension coarse through her like it did now. She wanted to show Connor she wasn’t afraid, but how could she convince him when she couldn’t convince herself.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  Esmeralda’s voice broke through Amelia’s stupor as she entered the kitchen, sliding her arms back through her jacket.

  Noticing that Connor was shirtless and she seemed to be getting clothes back on, she guessed what they must have done to make up for the argument that ensued earlier. Amelia’s cheeks grew pink at the very idea, but she quickly pushed it aside.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” she replied.

  Esmeralda gave her another gorgeous smile and nodded in gladness. “Very good. Now, we go to Sir Jedalf’s. Are you ready, Connor?” she asked as she tossed him a black shirt. He caught it and slid it on to conceal his powerful frame, even though his muscles bulged against the fabric enough that she could still see the contours of his body. Amelia quickly followed Esmeralda towards the door, passing by Connor on the way. She heard him trail behind after he grabbed his own jacket.

  The three ventured out into the streets of Flagler. Amelia had inadvertently positioned herself in the middle of Connor and Esmeralda, walking side by side.

  She could tell there was still some unresolved tension between the two of them, but Amelia couldn’t figure out what it was. They fought like a married couple, but there were no rings on either of their hands. Before she passed out from exhaustion earlier, she could hear them arguing in the main bedroom. She couldn’t tell what they were saying, but it was clear that they were mad at each other. There had to be a deeper meaning to their hostilities besides the idea of letting Amelia stay with them in the event that she couldn’t find a way home. And even if it wasn’t an issue, she wasn’t sure if she was ok with the idea. If fights like that happened often, she didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire.

  As they walked through the town, Amelia caught sight of several creatures she had never seen before. She thought to ask her guides what the creatures were, but she didn’t want to appear rude.

  Anyone that dared to try and approach Amelia became a target for Connor’s aggression. He growled at them and bared his teeth bellicosely like a wild beast. Immediately, whatever creature had its eye on Amelia turned away to the other side of the street.

  The way he seemed so protective over her was such a contrast from how he behaved before. It was a
lmost as if he cared now. She still clutched the half empty bottle of water in her hands, which stood as another testament to his change of heart.

  They arrived to Sir Jedalf’s mansion on the far outskirts of town. The home was hidden in a patch of woods in the middle of a weed-ridden yard. The grass towered well above Amelia’s knees, forcing her to take tall steps to create a path to the front porch.

  The mansion was a staggering four stories tall and massive. She imagined it must have contained dozens upon dozens of rooms inside. The exterior edifice was made up of rotting wood and crumbling stone blocks. Moss hung from the corners of the porch awning while vultures perched upon the sharp peeks of the roof. Shingles were missing in patches all over and she could even see exposed rafters and framing boards. Half of the shutters were hanging by a single hinge, swinging in the gentle wind that rolled through the property. Windowpanes were clouded with dust, but she could see a few candles flickering from inside.

  As all three stepped up to the porch, the floorboards creaked under their weight from decades, or perhaps even a century, of termite abuse.

  Amelia hugged herself as chills ran up and down her spine at the sight of such a place. This house had a spooky character of its own, just as all of the townspeople.

  When they approached the massive carved door, it swung open invitingly. And, without hesitation, Esmeralda and Connor walked in as if nothing was disturbing about it. She peeked inside and saw that the interior was nothing like the outside of the house would suggest.

  The foyer was carpeted in a rich crimson spread and the walls were covered in colorful Victorian wallpaper. Wall sconces brightened the entrance hall, illuminating the dozens of portraits of unknown patriarchs.

  Amelia followed after them into the foyer and the front door slammed shut behind her with such force that Amelia let out a shriek and ran to catch up with them.

  The foyer opened up into sort of a meeting hall that was nearly five times as wide as the hall they had just come from. Paintings were still a dominant decoration, but were now joined by priceless sculptures and vases that were displayed on pedestals between the portraits. Ahead of them was the centerpiece of the room: a grand staircase with polished railings and carpeted treads leading to a landing where the stairs split off two ways towards unseen corridors on the second floor. At the top of the landing was a portrait of gargantuan size in comparison with the others. It was of a man, his chest puffed out proudly and hair the color of pure cotton, wearing a dapper suit and tie. The confident smile on his face spoke volumes and Amelia could only assume this was a likeness of Sir Jedalf.