Well hello there my committed readers! I am back with yet another tale. A tale of horror and of fright.

No, really. You've been warned.

This is set in the same era as my other stories (aka The Dark Before the Light). There will be a return story coming out soon, don't worry! It's going to be LOOOOONG.

But I'm not writing this alone. RedDragon009 is co-writing this with me. Not Beta-ing, but co-writing. GET IT RIGHT. So...here she is...the author who abandoned her stories but has RETURNED FROM THE DEAD...

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm excuse me. I never died.

Yeah but you haven't been on FanFic for everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! AND EVER AND EVER AND-

And you'll just keep ever-ing for ever and ever until I stop you and tell you to explain this story.

And EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER A-

Just. Explain. The. Story.

Ok. Ok. Brace yourselves.

It's gory. It's mean. It brings in new and old characters. And they cannot escape death. NEVER BWA HA HA HA.

You will think we're twisted and you are correct. We do this stuff for fun.

And so...without much further ado...I give you the blood-curdling screams of...

THE HOUSE OF CARDS...

*explodes*

*explodes also*

There was an explosion of blood and flames before the creature stepped into sight.

They stumbled backwards, fear erupting in their eyes, their mouths falling open, swords clattering to the ground, spinning away from the gathering dark. The creature leered at them, hissing, spitting its lethal venom onto their trembling skin - and that wasn't the worst of it. The doom was not the monster. The doom was behind the monster. And unfortunately, that was their mission. But what made them fear the most was the fact the monster was not a monster at all.

They stared through the gloom, the trees casting shadows across their frightened faces. The creature roared, the very sound shaking the ground like thunder, nature seeming to shrink into itself in terror. Clouds raced across the storm-ridden skies, darkness seeming to split the earth in two.

And it came. A looming shadow, wrapped in a thick envelope of blindness, a being less than the meanest ghost, but so much more than the gift of life. Fear charged it, fed it, nurtured it. And the stench of fear transporting from these petty little men was gratifying. It stepped forwards, tasting blood on the bitter wind that licked through its talons like ice. It saw them grit their teeth, preparing to charge, pretending to brave, but the creature could smell their panic, almost taste their troubled blood already.

Ahh...it detected something...something deliciously terrified...and it slithered like a viper on the damp, leafy ground, towards a man in armour, whose hands were anything but steady, clutching a sword...he was looking too high. Why was it that evil was thought high, towering ferocious beasts? Sometimes - even when you don't know it - it is closer to the earth you stand on than you think...and it looked up at the trembling boy, waited a millisecond, and slithered up his nose and grasped his weak soul, its jaws clenching around the fast-beating heart and crushing it. The man died pathetically, in a shower of ichor and guts.

The other knights span around, seeing the body collapse into the dust, crimson spattering the dead leaves shrivelled on the ground. The creature roared again and they twisted back, caught off guard as it reared up, crashing down with the force of a gale as the storm broke around them. They fell back into formation, training kicking in as they raised their shields in a pathetic attempt to ward the monster off. It raised a claw, sweeping aside spears, crossbows in a wild rage. The knight on the end of the triangle screamed, his eyes widening in pure panic as his stomach burst open, the creature slashing past him as he fell to his knees, watching his own heart tumble in a flash of blood away from his body. He lived just long enough to see it crushed to nothing by the lashing tail.

At this, Leon knew that all security in this situation was useless as the clot spilt on the forest floor. The blood-curdling screams of another man choked the air, and he heard the splatter of vomit from a soul who had been foolish enough to watch. He knew that the knight's code was a load of crap. And that all bravery had been as abandoned as the hearts of the three good men. He felt his legs run, his mind at a loss of what had just happened. He heard other horrified footsteps running, slipping...escaping the terror that could not possibly be reality...

To hell with honour. Today it was the organ, that blood-pumping organ, that was vital.

BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA *COUGH COUGH COUGH* That was a fail. But you see what we mean? We are EVIL.

Very EVIL

Very VERY EVIL! BWA HA HAA! Please leave a review about how sick we are. Ehehehehehe...

Until next time...*smirks and swishes cloak and disappears into the shadows*

*explodes again... doesn't find that exciting enough, so disappears into the fire of doom*

FROM

Blue Turtle of AWESOMENESS

and RedDragon009