Huffing breaths resonated in the silence.
A slender woman panted heavily and ran as far as her legs could move, unable to remember how long she'd been sprinting. Her pursuers trailed by half a mile, and if she slowed even a fraction, death was inevitable when they caught her. She no longer cared which route she took; any would suffice to maintain the dwindling lead.
Nightfall enveloped the land, a trail of footprints marking her path highlighted by the scarce moon.
Heart thundering, she forced herself to a swifter pace straining every sinew as rain pelted her body, heaven's way of weeping. She had a loving husband and three innocent children, the former cruelly taken away - only her body's dying strength and the desperation to survive remained. Mud churned beneath each step, spattering her body as she could barely see due to the encroaching darkness.
They were closing the gap.
Beatrice's lungs burned with every gasp, legs tense in agony. She then tripped and fell before rolling free from the mud's suffocating grip with a sob. It plastered the thin garments clinging to her, the beauty she once prided herself in no longer meaning anything. It was as if fate had written her ending in events that transpired before her very birth. What was once a perfect life had been reverted into a one-way ticket to hell.
Even now, it hurt to recollect what happened.
Half-hour ago:
Beatrice and her husband, Joseph, tucked their children into separate beds and cautiously exited the room before coming together for a passionate kiss, glad to have some time alone. Slowly, the married couple entered their bedroom, Joseph guiding her to the edge of their bed before lying on top.
Their unraveled lives started with a faint knock on the door loud enough to disrupt them. They stopped, figuring it was the children.
"Kids? Is that you?" Joseph called out.
No reply.
Figuring they only imagined things, Beatrice brought her husband's face down to kiss him again. She managed to lift his shirt over his torso and head, the fabric tossed away into the corner. Joseph returned the favor by loosening her robe while teasing her neck with butterfly kisses. With both halfway undressed, the married couple halted themselves as the knocking commenced once again, louder than the previous instance.
Joseph groaned in frustration. "I'll be right back." His voice was a mere whisper after lightly kissing Beatrice.
Climbing off her half-dressed body, Joseph proceeded to answer the door. By no means would he reprimand the kids who were far too young for such discipline. A simple knob turn and glance into the hall produced nothing out of the ordinary. Thinking the kids were hiding somewhere nearby, Joseph stepped into the hallway.
A quick peep through their cracked bedroom door revealed all three were sound asleep.
"Greetings, Joseph," an eerie voice called out.
Chills traversed Joseph's spine at the sound of his name uttered so callously. He froze in abject dread as a steady breath released itself within the enclosed space, not his own.
Fully clothed, Beatrice came out to check on her husband. "Is everything ok?"
Joseph gestured for her to remain silent, attempting to discern where the voice originated. Every muscle in the couple's bodies tensed, hearts no longer beating at a moderate tempo.
Out of nowhere, an invisible force connected against Beatrice's temple, hurling her into the kitchen area's far wall that knocked her unconscious. That same force slammed into Joseph's throat, fingers wrapped around his neck. Only a strangled wheeze protruded outward, the yell trapped inward as he felt his feet leave the ground.
"Quite bizarre to have an uninvited guest waltz into your humble abode, wouldn't you say?" the unidentified voice sneered. "The years have deteriorated your once diligent awareness, though having a family will soften any man of your stature."
"W- who are you?" Joseph managed to speak.
The voice boomed with amusement. "Everything you'll learn to fear. This will mark the beginning where Edenia witnesses a reversal of ideology to fit its true superiority."
Joseph croaked, struggling to find his voice. "What do you want from us?"
"You, Joseph, will be the first to observe a new power joined with an ancient artifact," the voice stated. "But first, I require information only you possess, and you will divulge it to me."
The grip over Joseph's windpipe loosened to allow a clear response, saliva dripping from his lower lip. "And if I refuse?"
"Well... " The force presented a heinous scene to Joseph. All three of his kids were held hostage by a shrouded male and female assailant, armed with swords placed against their hostages' throats. "Perhaps your offspring will suffer the consequences of your insolence."
"Wait! Don't! I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just leave them out of this!" Joseph pleaded.
"Music to my ears," the voice sardonically lauded. "Now then, what memory retention do you have regarding Argus' power?"
Such a question confused Joseph. Nearly every Edenian knew or at least heard of the great divinity. Hence, it baffled him as to why this unknown entity inquired about the land's deity.
"Argus is our most powerful God and husband to Delia, a well-versed sorceress," Joseph began. "He spared us all from an imminent apocalypse after having his two sons race to the top of his pyramid to defeat Blaze, the firespawn Delia herself created. Whoever destroyed Blaze would gain full godhood and replace Argus as Edenia's next protector."
"Ah, so the rumors are valid. Nonetheless, what you've disclosed isn't enough to my liking. It appears I'll have to use a different approach to extract the information I seek."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll soon find out."
A sinister red glow emerged, horrifying the kids and a barely awake Beatrice as their stares fixated on the oddity increasing in size. Two eyes with only one functioning pupil replaced the menacing aura, staring right into Joseph's soul.
The hand coiled around Joseph's throat to reduce his cries for mercy, anguish etched on his face. The pain that followed was unimaginable, knowledge ripped by unparalleled energy. All four limbs and his body convulsed, comparable to a trillion jagged swords attacking simultaneously. Joseph couldn't fight back, let alone speak or attempt to escape. His beloved family wept at the scene, helpless to do anything.
Abruptly, the torment ended.
"Just what I was looking for," the voice remarked.
Shudders and violent coughs were the only actions Joseph could perform in the aftereffect of this supernatural ordeal. Coherent thought gradually resumed following the interrogation.
"I... beg you. No more..." the Edenian male implored.
"That won't be necessary. Your cooperation has uncovered the missing clues for my plan."
Joseph let his shoulders sag in a reprieve that this may finally end.
"However, a complication exists in keeping you alive. My scheme will fail if Edenia's royalty can question you into revealing what happened tonight." The stranglehold on Joseph's neck tightened again. "Therefore, I cannot risk having you inform them of my intentions while in their custody."
"B- But my family!" Joseph struggled against the solid grip in futility.
"Ah, yes..." The voice examined Joseph's children. "Your son might grow to become an imposing warrior under my eventual leadership." Its gaze then fell on the petrified girls. "I assume your daughters take after their mother."
The voice wordlessly commanded his two aides with his pupil to free them. "They do not concern me, so I shall spare them. As for you..." Laughter boomed again. "Your usefulness to me has ceased."
In an instant, Joseph's neck exploded from a horizontal sword swipe. The now corpse dropped to the floor with both eyes staring aimlessly into space. Each child huddled around their blood-soaked father in failure to contain their grief over his demise.
The other concealed male approached his master. "What is your next course of action, my lord?"
"Continue to hunt enough victims in preparation for the ritual. Joseph is one of the few who harnesses the quality soul needed to bring my plan to fruition. We must avoid detection and suspicion from the King and his lapdogs. Any mishaps from this moment on are ruinous," the voice detailed before his single eye discovered an anomaly – the missing body of Joseph's now widow. "It appears we have a runaway."
Sauntering over was the svelte female. "Allow me to track her down."
"As you wish, but be discreet. Report back to the hideout when finished," the voice ordered before disappearing alongside the other assailant.
"It's pointless trying to run away," a feminine voice giggled, which startled Beatrice to foolishly stop in her tracks. "You're making me break a sweat."
Turning sharply offered Beatrice no visual, fear gripping her into a frozen state. Her head was on a swivel to catch a glimpse of who was chasing her. Nothing but darkness persisted - or so she thought. A harrowing scream reverberated through the fields and beyond amidst the downpour. Soon, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, that brief instant of light unveiling a frightful display.
Beatrice's head decapitated, the body lying a few feet away. Grotesque gashes branded the now lifeless carcass, her face unscathed.