CHAPTER 12: CASUALTIES
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following continues scenes of graphic violence. You have been warned.
O'Bannon charged through the open front door of the Burrow, Jared and Artimus on his heels. A few yards ahead of him he spotted Mr. Weasley, Bill and Lupin pounding down the dirt path to the Apparation point. Wand gripped tightly, he forced his legs to speed up. The surging adrenaline slowed the world around him. The Apparation point never seemed to get any closer.
C'mon! C'mon! His brain screamed. They had to get to the Diggorys' house. What the hell could have set off those wards?
Finally he caught up with Mr. Weasley and the others at the Apparation point. The red-headed man turned to him. "I sent a patronus to the twins and Rosa. They'll meet us at the Diggorys. Let's go."
Heart pounding, O'Bannon closed his eyes. A sharp crack filled his ears. He felt his body pulled in a thousand directions. When he re-opened his eyes, the Diggorys' house appeared in front of him. Light blazed through the downstairs windows. He scanned the exterior for any sign of damage, but found none.
"Bill, Remus and I will check the front," Mr. Weasley stated. "Jimmy, Jared, Artimus, go 'round back."
O'Bannon nodded and led his friends to the rear of the Diggory house. He glanced through each window he came across, looking for any sign of the owners. They were nowhere to be seen.
Please be okay. Please be okay.
He passed three more windows. Each time he saw no sign of the Diggorys. A cold feeling of dread twisted around his insides. He bit his lip as he came to another window, praying to see either Mr. or Mrs. Diggory. He peeked through it and saw a large table, a pot-bellied stove, an ice box, a sink . . .
And a pool of blood on the floor.
O'Bannon swallowed. Terror engulfed his soul. He looked further down the house and spotted a back door leading into the kitchen. He rushed toward it, Jared and Artimus right behind him. When he tried the door knob, he discovered it was locked.
"Redacto!"
The door knob exploded. O'Bannon shoved the door open and sprinted inside, wand raised. His eyes darted to the floor. Patches of blood, some small, others large, formed an uneven trail to the hallway.
"Mr. Diggory! Mrs. Diggory!"
He waited for them to reply . . . and waited.
C'mon! C'mon!
O'Bannon was about to call out again when Jared tapped him on the shoulder. He pointed toward the hallway. O'Bannon gripped his wand tighter and furrowed his brow.
A shadow danced across the wall. A big shadow. He also heard something coming from the hallway. A grunt?
He waved Jared and Artimus to follow. O'Bannon held his breath as they rushed into the hallway.
He skidded to a halt and gaped at the sight before him.
The creature had to be well over six foot and covered in green scales. A row of dark spikes protruded from its back. Huge black eyes dominated its reptilian face. Blood dripped from its sharp teeth.
O'Bannon shuddered when he saw what the creature held in its claws. Mrs. Diggory, her neck and torso stained in blood.
"M-M-Merlin," Artimus said in a breathless whisper.
The creature looked up at them and growled. O'Bannon tried to think of a spell to shoot at it. But all his focus was on Mrs. Diggory, covered in blood. Was she dead? Oh God, please don't let her be dead.
The creature dropped Mrs. Diggory. Her body hit the floor with a dull thud. With a primal roar, the creature charged them.
"Stupefy!"
Three Stunning Spells streaked across the hallway. All three struck the creature in the torso. It stumbled, then drew a raspy breath. It stared back at the three, the skin around its eyes wrinkling.
It roared again and resumed its charge.
O'Bannon got off another Stunning Spell, but missed. So did Artimus. Jared's spell nailed the creature in the shoulder.
By that time, it was on top of them.
"Look ou-"
The creature barreled into O'Bannon. Pain exploded throughout his body. He flew back into the kitchen and slammed into the floor. The air exploded from his lungs. He stared at the ceiling, gaping, an invisible vice crushing him.
A reptilian face appeared above him. It snarled, displaying its blood-stained teeth. He tried to feel his wand in his hand. Did he still have it? All he could feel was the pain battering his bones and muscles.
The creature bent down, its mouth opening wide.
A loud snap pierced the air. O'Bannon glimpsed a black cord wrap around the creature's waist.
"Gotcha!" Jared shouted.
O'Bannon lifted his head and glanced around the creature's legs. Jared stood just outside the hallway, holding his enchanted whip with both hands. His face tightened and his arms shook as he tried to pull the creature away from O'Bannon. It growled and thrashed. Jared bared his teeth, fighting to hold on to it.
O'Bannon pushed himself up to a sitting position. He scanned the floor for his wand. It lay about five feet away, behind the creature.
If Jared can hold on to it . . .
Suddenly the creature whipped around. It grabbed the whip with both hands. Jared groaned, lines digging into his face.
"Art." His voice sounded strained. "Gimmie a ha-"
The creature snapped its arms to the left. Jared flew through the air, over the table, and crashed into a pantry. The wooden door split in half. He dropped to the floor, rolled on his back and clutched his right shoulder. A tortured cry burst from his mouth.
The creature growled and stalked toward the hallway.
Toward Artimus.
"Stupefy! Stupefy!"
The Stunning Spells staggered the creature, but didn't stop it. It advanced on Artimus, who retreated further into the hallway.
O'Bannon groaned and propped himself up on all fours. The veins in his neck stood out as he heard Jared's pain-wracked cries. He tried to ignore them. His other friend was in a lot more danger.
He scrambled over to his wand and snatched it up. The creature raised its right hand. Artimus brought up his wand.
"Expecto Patr-"
He tripped over Mrs. Diggory's body before he could complete the incantation.
The creature crouched, ready to lunge at Artimus.
"Constrictus!"
A bolt flew from O'Bannon's wand and struck the floor between the creature's feet. Thick vines burst through the floor and wrapped around The creature. It flailed, its claws tearing at the vines.
O'Bannon whipped around his wand. The vines tightened around the creature's arms, legs and torso. Somehow, it managed to slice through one of the vines wrapped around its left arm. A chunk of the green tentacle dropped to the floor.
Crap. O'Bannon feared the Constrictus Curse wouldn't hold the creature much longer. God help them once it broke free.
Tension gripped his body. There was only one thing to do.
He flicked his wand again. One of the vines snaked up from the creature's torso and wrapped around its neck.
The creature hacked. Its flailing and kicking grew more wild. It jammed its clawed left hand into the vine around its neck.
O'Bannon summoned more vines. They enveloped the creature's arms and legs. It half-growled, half-choked as it thrashed about. A second vine then encircled its neck. O'Bannon's eyes narrowed. He kept his wand aimed at the vines around the creature's neck, making them tighter, tighter . . .
It stopped moving. The creature hung limp, supported by the vines. O'Bannon held his breath, trying to listen through Jared's moans for any sound coming from the creature.
It remained silent, and still.
"What the hell is that thing?"
O'Bannon blinked. Slowly, he rose to his feet and looked around the vines holding the unmoving creature. Mr. Weasley, Bill and Lupin had appeared around Artimus.
"It's dead, that's what it is." O'Bannon flicked his wand. The vines disappeared and the creature crumpled to the floor.
"Is everyone all right?"
Rosa came into view, followed by Fred and George. Her eyes and mouth widened when she spotted Mrs. Diggory lying on the floor.
"Oh Merlin," she said in a horrified whisper. "No."
Lupin knelt down and put two fingers against Mrs. Diggory's neck. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head.
O'Bannon's jaw quivered. Rosa closed her eyes and dropped her head. George looked to her and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Wha . . . What about Mister Diggory?" O'Bannon asked, fear bubbling in his gut.
Mr. Weasley's face fell. "We found him in the living room. He . . . Merlin, he was torn apart."
O'Bannon turned away, tears welling in his eyes. The Diggorys, dead. It didn't seem real to him. It was just a few days ago when he was here, talking to Mr. Diggory about Cedric.
First their son, now them.
A painful groan arose from the kitchen. O'Bannon opened his eyes and saw Jared propped up against the shattered pantry door.
"Jared?" Rosa hurried down the hallway, followed by George. She rounded the corner and gasped when she saw her cousin.
"Jared!" She ran over to him and dropped to her knees beside him. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Caught that thing with my whip. Damn thing grabbed it and threw me into the door. Argh!" He bared his teeth. "Dammit! I think my shoulder's busted."
Rosa's eyes bulged. "Your whip? You used that thing instead of your wand?" Her body quaked for several seconds. "What kind of idiot are you! Merlin's beard, you could have been killed! Do you understand that?"
"Rosa, c'mon." George put a hand on her shoulder. "He's alive, isn't he?"
She shrugged off his hand. "What if he wasn't? You wouldn't have to be the one to tell his mother he died because he was stupid!" Rosa glared at Jared and raised a fist. She held it up for a couple seconds, then lowered it with a snort. The stare she aimed at her cousin held both fury and tears.
"Come on, now," Mr. Weasley said in an even voice. "We've work to do. Artimus. Take Jared back to the Burrow. Tell Molly we're going to need a healer for him."
"We need to take this body with us." Remus nodded to the creature. "We've got to examine it. Find out what it is."
"Actually, it looks like a Chupacabra," Artimus said as he headed over to collect Jared. "But, the thing's too big to be one. I mean, the biggest one on record was about four-five. And they're never this violent toward people."
Lupin stared silently at Artimus before nodding and turning back to the creature. "Then we really need to study this creature. If a Chupacabra can grow to this size, I doubt it was done by natural means. The Order has a safe house in Hurst Green. We can look at it over there."
Lupin levitated the creature and headed out the back door. Artimus helped Jared to his feet and followed Lupin outside, where they would all Apparate to their appropriate destinations.
"What about the Diggorys, Dad?" Bill glanced down at Mrs. Diggory.
"I'll send a patronus to the Ministry, let them know what happened. Meantime, I want to search the property, see if any more of these things are about. Fred, George, Rosa. Search the rear. Jimmy, you're with Bill and me. And everybody be extra careful."
Rosa and the twins went out the back door. O'Bannon followed Mr. Weasley and his oldest son into the living room. He walked around Mrs. Diggory, his eyes locked on her blood-soaked body. He shivered, nausea burning his stomach. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a dead person. He thought back over a year ago when Serinta Sejant was struck down by a Killing Curse. But there had been no trauma to her body. Were it not for the blank stare she had, Serinta would have looked like she was just lying down.
But with Mrs. Diggory . . .
O'Bannon swallowed hard against the bile rising in his throat. The woman's neck and left side bore huge gashes. A chunk of her shoulder was missing.
Oh God. It . . . it was eating her.
His knees buckled. He forced himself to turn away, but the image of Mrs. Diggory's mutilated body would not leave his mind's eye. God, the poor woman. Did she suffer? Did she scream in agony?
And the blood. So much blood.
He reached the living room. Something to the right caught his eye. He turned to see what it was.
He wished he hadn't.
Mr. Diggory lay crumpled against the wall, surrounded by a large pool of blood. His torso had been ripped open. The man's organs had spilled from his body onto the floor.
O'Bannon felt the color drain from his face. A sensation of hot and cold rolled through his stomach.
"Jimmy?" He barely heard Mr. Weasley. "Jimmy, are you all right?"
He turned to the man and opened his mouth to answer.
Instead, he doubled over and puked.
TO BE CONTINUED