-1When she finally woke up, Sophie found herself back at the castle, lying on the soft couch with Calcifer spitting a little in his sleep. One weary glance toward the clock revealed it to be about three thirty in the morning.

Sitting up, she found her head to feel as though it weighed twenty pounds, heavy and dead. With baleful, frustrated eyes she scanned the living room and dining room for any other sign of life. Her door was cracked open slightly and she could see that her clothes had been tossed onto the floor.

Getting up heatedly Sophie stormed to her room and pushed her door wide open, mouth curled in an angry frown. It melted when she spotted her bed made and empty. A corner of her heart almost hoped he would have been in the covers. But no, no Howl.

Slumping back to the living room, Sophie glared down at herself, realizing that she still wore the dress he had gotten her. An inane, angry part of her wanted to shred it to pieces. But most anger towards Howl had dissipated in light of the situation she found them in. The realization of what was happening to her beloved wizard settled in her head like a dark fog. Another monster, another thing that wanted out. And now he will never come near her again. Maybe he would never come home again, she thought with a nauseous pain.

As if something had screamed at her Sophie jumped and looked towards the door. The knob was turned to black. Black…what was that portal now? Was it still a way to his childhood memories or was it something else?

She took a steeling breath and made her decision. Quietly but determinedly she marched over to the stairs and walked down, wrenching open the door. Pitch, inky blackness roiled in front of her like the thick surface of some angry pit. A bit of her courage faltered and she timidly reached out, her hand sinking into the burning icy dark.

"I'm coming, Howl," Sophie whispered before striding into the frightful abyss. At first she heard nothing until a low growling and whining echoed in the distance. The strange combination of hot coldness itched at her exposed skin, making her flinch as she walked slowly forward. There was no solid ground and the air was thick like sludge but she knew she was moving.

After a few minutes of stumbling in the impenetrable dark, following the odd moaning growl, Sophie spotted a light. It was red, angry and demanding and it frightened her a little but she continued on, determined to find Howl.

Coming upon the scene, she gasped, her soft boots landing on hard, unfeeling ground. She was outside in some barren field, the dirt cracked and stiff, crumbling a little with each step. The sky was glowing like blood, dark clouds hanging overhead, leering and grumbling. Shivering at the sight, Sophie curled her arms together and walked, wary eyes looking for the wizard. Dead, twisted trees with macabre limbs seemed to reach and grab at her as she passed, making her squeak in fright.

Upon cresting a hill, Sophie looked down and froze in horror, her mouth dropping in terror at what she saw. Down on the ground, only ten feet away, crouched Howl, dressed only in ragged pants. His dark, wild hair fell in his face but she could see blood, red and fresh, smeared around his mouth, the canine teeth bared at a form on the ground. His dark clawed hands grasped the pale, shapely shoulders of a woman, raising her up from the ground.

Staring at the huge, bloody hole in the middle of the corpses chest, Sophie clasped a hand to her mouth, choking a horrified scream. Behind Howl a shape, mostly transparent like a shadow, loomed, grinning with long, soaked teeth at the body. It was huge, twice as big as the man, seeming haggard and dangerous. It seemed to be whispering and laughing into Howl's ear, making him growl and claw at the hole, searching.

The glassy, dead green eyes of the woman looked to be gazing at Sophie, piercing her with its doll-like luster. She stared at the locks of beautiful blonde hair and the long, perfect body in abject confusion and disgust. His claws stained her as he danced them along her cold and lifeless form, leaving lines of blood.

Realizing she had not breathed in some time, Sophie gave a staggered gasp, trying to be quiet but too stunned to succeed. Howl's dark head snapped up to look at her, his normally peaceful blue eyes fired in a fierce gold. His lips pulled back in a snarl, the white of his canine like fangs gleaming brightly against the paint of red on his lips.

Howl stood up his posture slightly hunched and hands raised, claws bared. The shadow seemed to permeate his being, turning him dark and hungry. Closing her eyes Sophie wished this to end, wished she never came into the door. Something cold, wet and hard brushed her cheek and she screamed in fright. It escaped her lips and somewhere in her heart, something snapped.

She continued to scream as her body fell back into the inky hot ice, drifting back towards the portal. Curling up she whimpered as her breath ran out, allowing the magic to carry her back. Howl, Howl, how could you? It finally made some sort of sense. The rumors about him stealing girls' hearts and eating them. He had! It was that thing inside him that made him do it.

Gently but forcibly whatever magic the place had, set her down on cold wooden floors, allowing her to sink to her side. Sophie heard the portal close quietly, clicking shut sadly. She wanted to cry, to scream, to yell, as she laid there on her side, curled into herself, hands plastered to her ears. But she couldn't move, could barely breathe.

He killed them, he had killed all those girls…that was the only thought she could formulate at that moment. She was next, wasn't she? She was like all those other girls; loving the wizard and then being murdered and mutilated.

Finally, Sophie sat up, trembling pathetically. Without much thought she dragged herself to her knees, dazed brown eyes looking up at the large wooden door. With a shaky hand she turned the knob to the red dial.