Games In The Night - Chapter 6

by DarkAlias (Jack D) in the dark side of the moon, rockin out with Pink Floyd

Hi everyone. Sorry this chapter took so long (I was going through some WB). Please comment on this! I'd really really appreciate it! And please leave some CC! Thanks guys!

Chapter 6

    The second I’d left my aunt and uncle’s bedroom, leaving Viola to fight for her life with her evil sister Fern who’d recently killed my dad, I felt absolutely terrible. “I should have stayed to help!” I thought miserably. “I should never have left her there! Fern had a gun for crying out loud! What was I thinking...?”

    So as I dashed through the narrow corridors of my Uncle Edward’s manor, guilt was eating away at my insides and my worry for Viola grew and grew. What if Fern killed her, or tortured her, or took her prisoner? Every shadow and every sound seemed like Fern coming to finish me off too, and I yelped in pure terror as I came crashing into a tall dark figure who had just stepped out in front of me.

    “Edward!” I cried, my voice filled with fear and panic and worry. “What are you doing here? You’ve got to come quick! Viola, she’s fighting Fern! She’s got a gun! You’ve got to come! Hurry! There isn’t much time! We have to hurry! Come on!”

    He grabbed my shoulders and tried in vain to calm me down. “What’s the matter, Charlie? What’s happened? Just calm down and tell me!” I told him what had happened in his bedroom at a rapid pace and once I was finished he just stood there for a few seconds, staring into space.

    “Viola...” Edward mumbled quietly and then he burst into motion, darting down the stairs, yelling at the top of his voice,” Quick! Come quick! Viola’s in danger! Everyone follow me!” Mom and a few police officers ran into the hallway through several doors and in seconds they were all following me and Edward, heading at race neck speed towards the bedroom on the third floor.

    As each of us burst into the bedroom, we all gasped in ghastly mixture of shock and horror. There on the floor, lying beside the bed was Viola, bloodied and battered. Ugly bruises lined her arms and face, and a thick wound was on her temple, leaking blood. Her eyes were dazed and sleepy, and little cuts and gashes along her body told us that she was in severe pain.

    A doctor rushed forward, a panicked expression on his face, and began putting his first aid lessons to use. He tore a few strips of cloth off of the bed sheets and began tying them around Viola’s injuries’, attempting desperately to stop the heavy flow of blood. Viola was quite obviously very close to death and all we could do awes stand there and hope for the very best.

    Meanwhile, mom mother called an ambulance and Edward rushed forward, tears of grief plummeting heavily down his cheeks. “Viola, my dear, how could this happen?” She stared hazily at him, as if she remembered slightly who he was, but wasn’t quite sure. “No, don’t go!” yelled Edward as her eyelids began to droop and her face became and even paler shade of white. “Don’t leave me here all alone! I need you here with me! Don’t do this! NO!”

    It was just too much to watch, too horrible and too heartbreaking. What was worse was that I could have stopped Viola from ending up in this state. I should have stayed; I should have protected her from Fern. Watching her like that was torture, and all I wanted to do was go back in time and save her from this horrible fate. I wanted to cry, and cry and cry, but tears just wouldn’t come and instead I felt like a bottle, filled so much that it was ready to explode.

    Just as the police officer stepped back from Viola, telling us that he’d done all that he could do, sirens began to blare outside, signalling that the ambulance had arrived. Mom showed the paramedics to the bedroom where they placed the bandaged Viola on a stretcher and took her away into the night, leaving Edward at the front door, staring into the darkness, crying. He stayed out there for hours, weeping and sobbing, and calling into the night.

    After a while I went out to him with a cup of coffee for him. I patted him on the back and he reluctantly took a slurp of the steaming drink. “You know,” he told me through choked sobs,” if anyone can make things right, I think it’s you, Charlie. You may only be a child, but it’s like you understand what’s going on better than any of us adults. I know that your mom wouldn’t approve of this, but I think you should go and stop Fern. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think anyone would have the guts to do what you’ve done. So go out there and stop that evil piece of crap. For Viola, okay?”

    I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes. Just hearing that made me feel so proud, so motivated. I turned and marched back into the manor. I glanced at my watch. It was 10:38. It was getting late. Fern had always seemed more dangerous at night so I made a mental note to keep an extra close eye out.

    Over the next short while, I had a look around the manor, searching for clues and trying to avoid my mom. If she found me snooping around I’d be plonked down on the sofa in the lounge for the rest of the night while Fern plotted her evil schemes to murder us all.

    As I made my way through the hallways and corridors, working my way up, I decided to check out Edward and Viola’s room; after all, that was where Fern had last been spotted. It seemed unlikely that I’d find anything, since it had all happened so fast that Fern probably hadn’t even been there long enough to drop anything or leave anything behind. But all the same, it was as good a place as any to have a look.

     Just walking into that bedroom sent a shiver down my spine. Despite the police officers best efforts, there were still dark, ugly blood stains soaked into the carpet beside the bed and one of the bed’s legs looked as though it would collapse any second. I inched closer to the scene of the crime, careful not to touch the deep pools of the thick scarlet liquid. I wondered how bad off Fern was after the fight, if she was as bruised and as bloodied as Viola, but then realized that to have had the energy to escape, she must still be pretty well off.

    I brushed by hand over the bed where Viola had been sleeping. She’d been so brave to have attacked Fern like that, to have had the courage to take down her own sister for the sake of my life. The brutal look on Fern’s face was still very vivid in my mind, that wild look full of rage and violence and fury. In that tight black suit she’d looked like she’d have murdered me any second. Also, there was that little piece of paper sticking out of her pocket. It’d looked so familiar, and it’d been nagging at my mind ever since I’d noticed it.

    Suddenly I spotted it. There, crushed into the carpet was a little pile of dirty grey dust. It had no doubt come from Fern, considering that Edward and Viola had a maid. It must have fallen off of her clothes when Viola had knocked her to the floor. And there was only one spot in the manor that had dust as black as thick as that: the great big network of tunnels that lay beneath the manor.

    Last time I’d been there had been when Fern had captured me and locked me in a cell deep in the centre of the maze. It was pitch dark down, and the only light was that of some flaming torches that lined the mossy walls here and there. Last time, Fern had been hiding her great band of followers down there, waiting for the right time to strike. Maybe they were down there right now, planning her latest scheme...

    Without a moment’s thought I was on the move, racing down the hallway, down the stairs, headed towards the exact spot that held the hidden entrance to the tunnels. I glanced left and right, tense and afraid, making sure my mom was nowhere to be seen, and then pulled the lamp on the wall in front of me. The small section of wall began to slide backwards into the darkness with a light rumble. Through the entrance was just a dark inky blackness, and the only sound was that of my breathing. With one last look around I headed into the darkness, knowing that only bad things could come of this...