"We should wait for Orion to get back."
Sasha, Kevin, Carrie and Samantha were sitting at the dining room table, the broken window behind them, discussing what to do.
"We can't wait that long," Sasha replied.
"Yeah," Kevin agreed, nodding. "He has Kelly, man! If she's still alive, we have to find her."
Carrie's shoulders were slumped. His arms were folded and lying across the table. Samantha was dabbling the cut on his head with a wet washcloth.
"Okay," he said. "So what's your plan?"
Kevin looked at Sasha. She shrugged. "We go underground, like he said."
"Sounds like a trap to me," Samantha said.
"It does," Sasha said. "But what choice do we have?"
"None," Samantha said. Done cleaning Carrie's wound, she threw the washcloth away and sighed. "Well, let's get our swords."
"You really think swords are going to stop him?" Carrie asked.
"No," Samantha said. "But there're monsters in the caves."
Carrie dropped his head onto the table.
"That's it then," said Kevin. He stood up, and disappeared to get some supplies. He came back a moment later with pre-prepared backpacks, and weapons. He distributed the supplies among the group. "All set?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Here we go."
"Wait," Carrie said. "Where do we go?"
"I was thinking we should check out the cave Sasha and I were in, the other day," Kevin suggested. "That was where it started after all."
"Hopefully we can find it," Sasha said, shouldering her bag.
Kevin winked at her. "We'll be fine."
They all headed out the door, and went to the stables to get the horses. Once everyone was seated on their horse, they rode out into the open air. In the distance, little fires burned on the field. The horses had no trouble traversing over the smoldering ground as their hooves protected them from burns. This was the same path Sasha and Kevin had taken just two days ago. Before this nightmare began.
They rode for two hours. Sasha and Kevin followed the landmarks they'd left for themselves so that they could make their way back to the cave if need be. Sasha was glad they'd done that.
A few minutes later, they found the cave. It was like the maw of a great beast in the hillside, dark and cavernous. The torches Sasha and Kevin had placed inside were still burning, giving light. They dismounted, and tied their horses up. Then they stood for a moment at the mouth of the cave, staring in, wondering if they should really do it.
Finally, Sasha took the first step, and the rest followed. Kevin started walking alongside her. She looked at him and whispered, "Maybe it's not such a good idea for you to be close to me."
Kevin looked at her and nodded, hurt flashing in his eyes. Reaching out, she took his hand, and squeezed it for a moment before letting go.
"Here we are, Tom," she said aloud. "Where are you?"
They stopped walking, and listened for a moment. From further down the tunnel, there came the sound of whistling, cheerful whistling. It was haunting, sending a shiver down Sasha's spine.
"Oh, nuh-uh, man," Carrie said, and began to back away. Samantha grabbed his shirt, and held his gaze until he seemed to regain his courage. Then they continued.
She retraced her steps, navigating her way through a network of confusing, twisty tunnels. Somehow, she remembered the layout exactly, and fifteen minutes later, there they were - in the tunnel she and Kevin had been in just two days ago.
"It's just ahead, now," she whispered.
She found the hole that she had broken. She steeled herself, ready to jump in. Kevin gave her a reassuring squeeze on the arm. At that moment there was a loud, grating, terrifying screeching sound like a witch. Sasha, slammed her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to block out the terrifying noise. She saw Carrie run away back the way they'd came, and Kevin screamed after him to come back. All at once, the screeching stopped. Sasha uncovered her ears. She looked at Kevin and Samantha; "He's gonna get himself killed!"
Kevin nodded and picked up his sword, which he had dropped on the ground.
At that moment a figure metalized from thin air, right before their very eyes. Sasha's eyes widened as the figure came into focus. He was tall and stocky; muscles rippled under his clothes. His face was covered in hair, and his eyes were pale. His hair was long and unkempt, like it always was, and behind those dark brown strands, those pale eyes stared at them. Or, more specifically - at Sasha.
"Tom," she whispered.
A smile crept up Tom's hagrid face. He stepped towards her, and she stepped away.
"Sasha," he said. His voice was different; it was strangely dark.
Sasha backed away until she hit a wall. "Tom," she whispered. "Where's Kelly. Where's - "
"Shhh," Tom said. He put a finger on her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, Sasha saw Kevin inching toward them.
Tom stroked the side of Sasha's face. His skin was crusted, dry. "I've missed you," he said.
Sasha stared into his eyes, those eyes she fell in love with; the eyes of her husband. But they weren't his eyes. There was something different about them.
At that moment, the end of a sword came out of Tom's stomach, and he shuddered. Sasha let out a wail as horrible, explosive pain erupted in her abdomen. She looked down in horror, and saw the tip of the sword, imbedded in her flesh.
"Sasha!" Kevin screamed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
He tried to yank the sword out of Tom. Even though it had gone right through him, Tom seemed unhurt. Sasha weakly looked into his eyes, and saw they were spiking with rage. Tom stepped away from her, the sword still imbedded in his stomach, and turned around and faced Kevin. Amazingly, Kevin stood his ground, fists raised.
"Kevin." Tom spat the word out. "Sasha is my wife, not yours!"
He extended his hand, and with a flash, rays of electricity shot out of his open palm and connected with Kevin's body. Kevin let out a guttural scream, and fell to the ground, writhing as electricity coursed through his body.
"No!" Sasha screamed. She took a step forward, and doubled over, pain and nausea swelling over her. She clutched her injured stomach, and attempted to stand up, but the pain was too much, and she collapsed. She looked around for her sword; it was lying on the ground a few feet away. She began to crawl towards it, wincing at the pain in her stomach. She looked over, and saw Samantha rush at Tom, sword raised and ready to strike. Tom's head jerked forwards her, and he extended his other hand, sending bolts of electricity out towards her. Her screams joined Kevin's, echoing throughout the cave.
"Stop!" Sasha screamed, tears flooding down her face. "Stop Tom! Stop!" She stretched her arm out, and managed to get her fingers around the handle of her sword. She tried to stand up again; this time, she managed to get her feet underneath her, and push herself up. The cave swirled, swayed. Her vision blurred. She took a stumbling step forward, and collapsed. Someone caught her. She opened her eyes weakly and looked up into Tom's bright blue eyes. That was the last thing she saw, before she lost consciousness.