I ran.
Thankfully my body finally listened to me. One moment I was bolted to the floor and the next I was in a full on sprint out of my kitchen. Despite the hammering of my heart in my ears, I still registered the surprised shouts of Chucky from behind me but I hadn't really translated what he had been calling out. It had become background noise. There was only one thing to concentrate on. Only one thing mattered above all else.
The front door.
I was too full of adrenaline and terror to let myself think about the ugly possibility that, just like last night, it might not even open for me. I refused to think about the chance of getting to it and not being able to open it. I declined even thinking my race towards it was futile. It had to work. It had to open. Perhaps the daylight would erase whatever malevolent magic they had over the door. Maybe monsters only came out at night because they were weak to the sun. It was a childish thought. Regardless I had to hope. I had already decided to run. It was too late to just stop, turn around, and act like everything was normal when it so clearly was not. This is my last chance!
I knew the way to the Franks by heart. The house was a measly four blocks away. Back in my more athletic years when I had finished suffering through baseball to begin anew with track, I had run a much greater distance than that. This? This had to be a piece of cake with the staggering amount of motivation I had, because the way I was feeling right now with the metaphorical flames of Hell at my back, I knew I could run all the way there. I was getting ahead of myself, making future plans before I had even reached salvation, however I certainly wasn't about to put out the fire that had been started. I was burning red-hot with the need to flee; So might as well throw on more coal to see it through. Already I was mapping out the neighborhood in my head. The way to my brother and sister was just a left, right for three blocks, and a final left up the forth. Left, right, left.
Surely they wouldn't follow me. Not in broad daylight. That was risky, stupid. Seeing as they wanted to use my house to lay low in for however long, it was apparent none of them desired to draw attention. This had to work.
Driving my legs into the foyer's floor it didn't take me long at all to reach the entrance. My hands swarmed the doorknob, giving one effortless rotation and a strong yank to heave the thing open. To my absolute shock, the fucking door opened. It opened.
YES!
I wanted to scream with joy, but I had no time. No time. No time for celebration, only doing. It suddenly seemed like everything fell into a sort of slow motion. My eyes were latched onto the edge of the door, watching it pull open wider and wider with every passing second. Sunlight from outside poured into the interior space. In my delusional fearful state of mind, it seemed like Heaven's light reaching for me. Bit by blessed bit, more of the outside world was revealed: The small space of the short porch, the white of the porch columns that decorated each side of the enclosed area, the gray of the stone beneath, even the starting of green that made up our front lawn, the sidewalk, the stree-
The door slammed shut before I could even begin to think about squeezing myself through. Hard enough to pry the knob straight from my hand.
NO!
Emotionally everything inside of me dropped straight down, and I nearly wanted to collapse with it at how hard my hopes crashed and burned right in front of me. The bravery it took for me to run, the decision I had ultimately made. All of it had been for nothing. I had failed! I didn't get out in time and I sure as fuck wasn't going to now! Hot, angry tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I was made to look at what had shut the door in my face.
An arm.
My eyes unwillingly followed it as I stood there, openly panting in my exhaustion. In front of me with his back to the door, was one of the more demonish looking intruders, the green skinned being that had introduced himself as Nathaniel. Yet my mind spat hatefully inside my head: Wishmaster.
He was smiling down at me, his black lips stretching cruelly. Upon the meeting of our eyes, his own Hellish pair slightly widened with the playful lift of his eyelids. "Leaving us so soon?" He crooned. The twin tentacles sprouting from his head wriggled and squirmed at the question.
"Open the door." I uttered quietly. A low, humming rage began to build inside. If I had to whack this demonic whatever-the-fuck-he-was out of my way, God help me I would.
A rumble caught inside his chest, causing the humored shake of his shoulders as a malicious laugh broke free from his mouth. I exhaled a shaky breath as he laughed at me. His head inclined close to mine to purr out; "Is that your wish?"
Right before I was going to snap, to completely break down into snarls and sobs of hatred to pathetically beat on his chest and rain down blows, something snapped into place around my left ankle. Something ice cold and surprisingly hard. My head jerked down to look at what had ensnared itself around me.
I blinked.
A chain?
And just like that, I was yanked clean off my feet by it. A loud gasp ripped itself from my mouth as I fell. The world tilted. In no time flat I was sprawled out on my back like a helpless turtle. The sharp jolt of pain from the impact had me yelping, but I had little time to truly feel it as the chain around my ankle continued to pull me. The metal links bit into the delicate skin, no doubt intending to leave flushed, red marks from its tight grasp.
I started up into a half sit, my hands trying to tear the chain off of my ankle to no avail. While there was an apparent hook at the very end of it, its curved shape had been anchored underneath another coil of the metal restraint, making it all the more impossible to remove. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head from how widely they were open, frantically trying to see where I was being taken. My heart pounded furiously in time with my labored breaths, which were only interrupted when I exclaimed pitiful cries of struggle and fear. I shamelessly flailed and kicked, my hair flying and catching on my terrified expressions, like an animal caught by a hunter. And that's when I finally locked eyes on where I was being pulled to.
My proverbial hunter was none other than Pinhead.
My terror was amplified tenfold. He simply stood as he always did. Perfectly unmoving with his hands behind his lower back. His black eyes were trained on me rather patiently as he watched my body be pulled towards him from all the way across the foyer. The chain that held me captive wasn't being held by him. The chain literally came from fucking nowhere. Directly next to him, right by his elbow, it seemed to exist from thin air. Although the area surrounding the beginning dark links glowed with an electric blue aura. Wha...How?! What IS this!? My poor mind struggled to comprehend it.
The closer I slid towards him, the less I struggled and writhed. Every moment brought me closer to clarity. A clarity that said it was no use to fight. The front door behind me felt one million miles away, and honestly it might as well have been. For all intents and purposes, the fucking exit might as well have been on Jupiter.
By the time I reached him I had elected to lay flat on my back, my hair trailing into a messy carpet behind my head. Every ounce of fight I had had been undoubtedly used up. Even the anger had been extinguished. All that was left was the stone-cold realization of defeat and utter acceptance.
I was pulled to a stop by his feet.
The chain finally released my ankle. Quickly it uncoiled from the bind and instantly began retracting back towards the floaty mirage of blue energy. I watched with barely hidden astonishment as it rapidly reversed into the glow until it no longer existed. The otherworldly visage of light promptly rid itself from my sight. It was as if it had never been there to begin with. Well you don't see that everyday. Slowly but surely I lifted myself into a sitting position on the floor. I ignored the faint echoes of pain that rang within my shoulder and back.
"Have you enjoyed yourself? Oh, I do hope so, seeing as your foolishness was all for naught."
I lifted my head to find him looking down upon me solemnly. I almost had to do a double take when I saw the barely quirked corners of his mouth. A smile? Amusement? I hadn't thought someone so monotone could be capable, especially someone that looked so soulless. I said nothing, for what could I say? As much as I loathed admitting it, he was right. I had failed.
Half-hearted mantras of 'i should'ves' and 'if onlys' filled the background of my head. I let them go ignored. It was clear that I was never meant to get out of this. No matter what I could have done, it wouldn't have changed a damn thing.
His mere presence was beginning to become emotionally suffocating. The anger, the sheer amount of hatred I had felt, even my fear, all of it was long gone. It was quickly becoming replaced with emptiness. The longer he loomed over me, the more and more hollow I felt. I could almost shiver by how cold his tar-colored eyes made me feel. How had I ever been so stupid as to believe, even for an instant, that I had a chance? How had I ever possessed such confidence, such naivety? How had I ever believed in such a fleeting thing as hope? Feelings of discouragement and despair washed over me in droves. My eyes sank to the floor under the barrage of emotional negativity. I imagined I looked quite pitiful.
"So soon to fall," Him moving brought my eyes to raise, watching as he knelt completely to his knees. The deadly weapons and tools attached near his hips rattled and jangled, eliciting quick spikes of panic to my system. I fervently hoped he wasn't about to use those weapons on me. Pinhead's voice smoothly went on while he lowered; "Hope is fickle and fleeting. Despair suits you more." Why did that feel true?
With him so close to me now and with the rays of the sun outlining every detail of his appearance, I finally learned the truth of those red ribbons that looped themselves over the chest of his attire. The horrid truth of it had my stomach turning. What I had mistaken for strips of fabric, were actually strips of flesh. Narrow portions of his skin were pinned over, overlapping down the three openings in the front. Not only that, I discovered exactly what those weapons were attached to. A long, black thread kept them held in place, but that wasn't all. The string was also running through the pinched bit of skin that had once been his belly button.
What...What has he done to himself?!
I had no time to proceed in examining him as Pinhead finally brought himself to my level. The lift of his mouth was no more. He was back to his strict and severe usual. I regained control of my breathing quietly, watching him observe me. Punnily enough he pinned me in place with his stare. It was a stare that saw straight through me, one with such chill it could wither an entire greenhouse with a single glance.
My body flinched when he spoke again.
"It seems I have underestimated the extent of your desperation. I was under the impression we had an arrangement. Did I think wrong?"
My eyes fell to the floor once more. Like a punished child, I quietly replied; "N-No. Not at all! I'm sorry. I-"
"Quiet."
One word. Said one word was powerful enough to stop any further speech on my end. I kept my gaze to the floor submissively. I didn't dare look him in the eye. I hadn't exactly been the biggest fan of Pinhead ever since I had first met him, but having his authoritative tone directed at me was undeniably my least favorite thing. Especially now that his voice had become quite serious.
I had to resist jumping out of my skin when the tips of two fingers placed themselves underneath my chin. Struggling to keep my breath, I let him raise my head. His middle and ring fingers remained in place even when our eyes connected. His touch was cold. No heat seemed to emanate from him. It was as if he were dead and had been for quite some time.
"Hear me,"
At this point it was impossible not to. Even my pulse didn't dare rise over the sound of him speaking; "If you truly desire to be reunited safely among your family, then you must cease any thoughts of future imprudence. Rid those futile schemes of escape from your naïve mind, lest you crave to bring about the destruction of those you hold dear."
My heart lodged itself into my throat. No! Never! I'd never want that!
"Oh, as much as it would please me, I do not have the permission of Lord Leviathan to instruct you in the ways of our Order. Our paths have not crossed through the influence of the puzzle, therefore it is not my place to reform your innocent flesh." Eerily enough Pinhead almost sounded wistful. He carried on, ignoring the furrow of confusion in my brows. I had no idea what he was talking about, but clearly I wasn't privy to a proper explanation seeing as he continued to speak;
"Furthermore, until our time here has come to a close, you are not allowed to leave."
My stomach dropped out from under me, leaving me absolutely lost to the feelings of loss. Loss of freedom. Loss of the outside world. Loss of normalcy. All of the warmth seemed to drain from the room. That was the last thing I had wanted to hear. How could I ever defy his word? Additionally when I was surrounded by more of these...Demons. There was just no beating them! Had I really thought I'd run out of the house with them right there?! I was brought out of my woeful reverie when those same two fingers, which had yet to leave the underside of my chin, perked my head up as if to realign my focus.
"I trust we have an understanding?" His eyes would not leave mine.
"I.." I inhaled roughly, making myself nod. "Yes. We have a-an understanding."
A squint came to his gaze as if to read whether or not I really meant it. After a gut-wrenching moment of his scrutiny, the squint relented. I had to refrain from releasing a thankful sigh. I was a smidge startled when his fingers left my chin. Pinhead wasted no time in returning to a stand, back to his full height to tower over me. If the movement had startled me, then I was certainly taken aback when he extended a hand to help me from the floor.
I blinked stupidly at his offered hand.
"Come along. The day has long since taken its first breath. Your body will require energy. After all, what is that frequent saying?" There was the return of the barely noticeable quirk of his lips. "'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day', is it not?" Just as quickly as it had appeared, the humored lift of his mouth faded. When I made no move to accept his offered hand, his eyes continued their study of me below him; "Oh? Were you intending to spend the rest of your day on the floor?"
One minute he's daydreaming about 'reforming my innocent flesh' and the next he's offering to help me off my ass? What was with these guys? But I wasn't about to be told a second time. I swallowed the nervousness and accepted the hand. The freezing temperature of his palm had me realizing that I was covered in goosebumps. Even the leather-covered digits of his thumb and pinky weren't warm enough to scare away the cold. Unsteadily I rose to my feet. Dusting myself off and straightening my clothes, I awkwardly cast my eyes away from his; "Thank you."
Pinhead gave a simple incline of his head towards the direction of the kitchen, as if to usher me on my way. I gave him a nervous nod of comprehension before turning away from him to do as I was suggested to do.
My face was very quickly engulfed by a flushed heat as I realized everyone was basically fucking staring at me. Oh for fuck sake. You'd think they had never seen a human being before. Thankfully not everyone had been present for the humiliating disaster that had been my attempted escape. Nathaniel still stood by the front door, the whites of his teeth visible from here. Chucky and Jason hovered by the kitchen entrance, the doll again rubbing the back of his head and Jason just standing statuesque. And Freddy...I caught the scowl on his face. He didn't look pleased as he stood in between both Nathaniel and the other two. A soft noise had me turning my head to the right to look up above me. Jesus! Even Ghostface was here, leaning so casually on the railing of the second floor there was no telling how long he had been there, just watching the show unfold. He gave a blatantly sarcastic wave.
That's when my foul fate really sank in: I was now a confirmed prisoner in my own home. This wasn't my house anymore. And it probably wouldn't be for however long they wanted to stay. Now? Now it was a-
House of Horrors.
'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, is it not?'
The remembering of Pinhead's words finally got my feet to move. While I absolutely had no desire to eat, I knew he was right. I needed a hell of a lot more energy if I was to deal with these new living arrangements. I quickly crossed the foyer, busy rubbing the goosebumps off of my arms, my head down. These were one of those moments where I was thankful for the 'endlessly infuriating shit on top of my head' known as my hair. I used it as a barrier to hide behind, purposefully keeping my gaze to the walk of my feet. With every step I caught repeated glimpses of how red the skin on my left ankle was. I'd die happy if I never had to deal with another chain in my life.
If only.