Chapter 7
Xander took out his machete, Amelia stayed behind him. The atmosphere grew cold, making them shiver with the shifting temperature and their growing fear. The gravestones were sprinkled throughout the front part of the home, and a few dead trees sprouted from the ground.
They walked up the cobblestone path, which soon split into two. One path led to the front door and the other led to the backyard. They walked off the stone and moved closer to the house. They press against the walls, crouching below an open window. The window showed a soft glow of light.
Amelia turned on the camera in her phone, facing it up to the window. The face of a furry critter filled the screen. It squeaked and sniffed the device, then scurried away, an old woman. The witch. She was sitting by an open fire, knitting a new project.
"It's her!" She whispered to Xander. They looked back at the camera, Amelia deciding to take pictures. Probably the only chance anyone will see clear images of them.
They were in the living room, the witch didn't look up from her work. Someone was sitting on the floor, his hood over their head. There were rats scurrying across the floor, a few by the open window.
A younger woman walked into the room. She had dark curly hair, tied with a black ribbon, and a spiked headband. She looked tired, like she hasn't slept in days.
"Have our guests arrived?" The witch asked. The woman looked at the window. Amelia quickly lowered her screen, the tired woman spoke. The two teens held their breath.
"Two of them are outside the window." Amelia and Xander were shocked. They really do know when someone is near. "The others are in the backyard. Isabela are going to find them any second,"
Suddenly, loud screaming rang through the area. Amelia and Xander looked at each other, before turning back to the window.
"She found them,"
Cole sat on a log, scrolling through his phone. He was surprisingly calm, considering his friends were in the most dangerous part of the forest. The girl, however, was anything but. Violet tried to keep her mind occupied, she wrote in her journal she kept in her backpack, which ended up in her snapping pencil and her scribbling the page in anger.
So now, she paced in front of the gates, then looked at her phone for the sixth time. She broke the silence. "We should go find them,"
"I thought you were too scared," Cole raised an eyebrow, looking back at the house.
"Maybe I am, but they've been in there too long!" she argued. "We need to find them."
He groaned in slight annoyance and thought about it for a moment. Cole wasn't a strong believer of the Madrigal stories. He never saw them or their oddity abilities, and this is the closest he's been to the house. He might get that chance to see them.
"We'll walk around by the fence," He firmly decided. The two looked at the dwelling, feeling more anxious than nervous. Cole took a deep breath, and opened the gate.
They stay close to the fence, walking around the perimeter of the property. They used their phone flashlights, carefully walking around the home. They soon reached the backyard, the graveyard coming to full view. Cole looked at Violet, who shrugged. Taking a leap into the darkness, he led her through the maze of tombstones.
The stones looked normal, except for a few that stood out. Some had strange statues, both people and creatures. Creatures having more than one head, large wings, or reptilian skin.
"I think I see her," Violet pointed to a shadowy figure in the hazy distance. They began to walk to them and as they got closer, Cole felt that something was off.
"Violet, we should go back to the gate," He slowed down, while the girl marched to the shadow, in slight annoyance.
"There you are!" Violet hissed. The silhouette didn't move, making the girl more irked. "We shouldn't even be here. Let's just go home. They're just too crazy,"
Violet, as shy as she was compared to her friends, can be stubborn at times. She finally stopped, however, once they got a clearer view of the individual.
The dark figure looked somewhat more elegant. She wore a dark indigo tight-fitting dress. A thin thorned stem wrapped around her, from the bottom and arms to wrapping tightly around her neck, as if it were choking her. There was a dingy three-petal flower tucked in her long, dark hair hung loose, hiding half of her face.
"Crazy, you say?" she questioned. The trespassers back away from the women, noticing the vines slithering on the ground. "We prefer the kooky,"
Violet and Cole started to run back to the front gates. They didn't get far, as the vines got ahold of their ankles. They landed harshly in the dirt, but they clawed into the ground as they tried to get away from the house. They started to scream in terror, the vines wrapping tightly their legs, soon wrapping around their torsos and arms. Violet's bag slipped off her.
The vines dragged them back to the woman, who made her way to a relatively large plant bud. The intruders struggled to break free from the vines, but the more they did, the tighter the vines became. They stopped in front of the bud, the vines lifted the two up, tying them to a dead tree.
"Let us go!" Violet pleaded. Isabela stayed silent. The vines soon wrapped around their mouths, gagging them. She grabbed a large burlap bag nearby, dragging it back to the bud.
The two looked at eachother confused, then took notice of the plant. The bud was covered in dark purple leaves, red liquid dripped down the green pads. The plant sprouted up, revealing a hidden stem. The petals unfurled, their eyes widened in horror.
This was no normal flower. The "petals" were lined with many sharp teeth and a large open mouth. It made guttural growls and shrieks, snapping its head toward the tied victims. It nipped their feet, making the two yelp, pulling their legs up.
"Ah, wait!" she ordered. Afri lowered his head. Isabela shushed her plant, and she reached into the sack. She drew out a dead rabbit from her bag. The plant, Afri , snapped at her direction, but she pulled away. He lowered his head again, eager for his meal
"Don't worry," Isabela calmly stated, placing the rabbit gently on the ground, then took out more dead animals from the bag. "He is just hungry,"
Violet pressed further back against the bark. She whimpered behind the gag, desperately trying to break away from the vines. The plant woman slowly lowered her hand. Afri stared at the meat, waiting for the command.
"Eat!" Her voice rang through the darkness. Afri lunged at the carcass. He tore it through the flesh like a savage animal, blood splattered on Violet and Cole and dripping down its mouth.
The prisoners watched in terror. A small unsettling smile crept on Isabela's face as she watched her precious plant devour the meat. Violet and Cole share the same thought, that they may be next.
They suddenly felt the vine loosen. They scrambled up, seeing Xander holding up his machete. Isabela frowned, Afri snapping at them.
"Come on!" Amelia pulled up Violet, pushing her to keep moving. Cole and Xander followed suit, all sprinting to get out of this land.
The group didn't look back as they zoomed past and jumped over the stones. The fog drew thick, making it difficult to see and make them turn on their flashlights again. They saw blur in the fog, making them stop in their tracks. The blur appeared again, whirling all around them.
The creature stopped, glowing yellow eyes staring straight at them. It was large in size, bigger than a bear. By looks, it had black fur, claw-like feet and hands making the same prints they were following.
It roared at them, baring its teeth at them. They screamed and stumbled behind Xander, while he held up his blade. He yelled, aiming to strike the beast. Suddenly, the knife in his hand disappeared. A giant shadow loomed over them. The fog lifted up, but they couldn't tell whether this being was a girl or a boy.
It leaned down, close to their faces, which gave them a clear female appearance. She was clearly taller than Xander, who already stood tall at 5 feet 7 inches. She had rather large biceps, hair tied back in a bun. She wore a striped shirt that looked as if the sleeves were torn off, with matching dark pants and boots.
She was unfazed as grabbed the blade at the sharp end. She squeezed it in seconds, crushing the machete like a can of soda. It didn't cut through her skin, surprising the group of friends. She tossed it on the squashed weapon back at Xander, who was shaking in fear.
"You should leave," Luisa grumbled. Her voice was rough, but strong as her strength. The beast stood on its back legs and started to change. It grew larger in size and the fur began to disappear. The arms formed into large wings. It formed a beak, its head having peeled off pieces of feathers. Moments later, the rat beast's body turned into a boney form of a giant bird.
It made an ear-piercing shriek, making the intruders cover their ears. It grew quiet again, until the skeleton bird raised up its wings, ready to take flight. They finally snapped out of their trance, and ran to the iron door.
They ran as fast as they could. The ferocious fowl flew close to the ground, its talons nearly getting a hold of Violet's bag. The gates swung open for them, but no one had a second thought after everything they saw.
The beast landed a few feet away as soon as they all passed the gate. They ran into the woods, back to the safety of their town.
The bird shrunk back down, taking the form of the young teenage Camilo. Luisa and Isabela walked up beside him, watching the intruders flee back to the sunlit path.
"I could have handled it," Camilo said, referring to his near hit of the machete.
"Please," Isabela scoffed, shaking her head. "He had no idea what he was doing,"
The boy chuckled. Castia's tiles began to move and shake, its clicks signaling the three that dinner was nearly ready. Camilo ran ahead, shifting into a crow and flew to the open dining room window. As the two walked back to their home, Isabela noticed Luisa was in deep thought.
"What's on your mind, Luisa?"
Her sister looked up, then back at the gates. "This was first time they came in here in months,"
Isabela recalled that. Two boys were foolish enough to come in. They left running as soon as they saw Julieta throwing a knife at Camilo, who was stealing another arepa.
"So?" Isa shrugged.
"This is the first time they attacked. They were prepared!"
Isabela chuckled and shook her head, "He was definitely not. They had no plan. They just waltzed in and expected to not get caught."
Luisa looked back at the gate. Seeing this, Isa saw the worried look in her sister's eyes. No one who passed the gates ever brought in weapons. A few small fireworks set off by rowdy kids were lit, which was a mistake when Pepa made rain pour down and lightning nearly struck them.
"We'll be fine," Isa reassured. Though she never admitted it, she does care deeply about her family. Even the youngest kin, as annoying as they were.
"What makes you so sure?"
"We have Tio Bruno's visions. They are never wrong,"
Luisa shrugged. She was about to walk through the front door, when Isabela stopped her. "Abuelo died protecting Abuela. And mama, Tia Pepa and Tio Bruno,"
They all know the tale of their abuelo. How he chose to stay behind in their old home while Abuela Alma and her newborns. Especially how the outsiders hated them so much. Hated and feared the way they looked, the powers they possessed and their home. She accepted that they would never be accepted in the outer world, so they have to keep safe in the only home they know. No one will take it from them.
"This is our home," She vowed. "If they ever attack us ever again, we'll have to protect our home and family the way Abuelo Pedro did."
Author's Note
So, last week Wednesday (03/15) was my birthday! Here's to another great year!
This one is a little over 2k words long, probably the longest chapter I ever written. I had fun writing this one! So glad I split chapter 6 and 7. I wanted to add a Luisa and Isabela moment, because we barely got that in the movie! Working on the next chapter, which I hope will be up sooner than later.