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The Hollow Child’s face looked like that of a cherub beneath the light of the moon. His thick white hair curled about his shoulders like liquid gold and his heart-shaped lips formed a perfect smile as he addressed the troops.
‘Our master’s desire is that you take the prison,’ he said, and despite his angelic appearance, his voice was deep and old. It boomed off the surrounding cliff-faces and made the earth tremor.
‘You are to show no mercy,’ he continued. ‘Every living thing within the prison walls is to be destroyed. ’
‘Even the Norsori?’ one of the Demonic Guardians asked.
Stepping towards the Guardian, the boy looked up into its blood red eyes and said, ‘what is your rank?’
‘Field Marshal,’ the Guardian stated.
‘The highest rank in Throat’s army? Then you should know better than to question orders,’ the Hollow Child roared, stretching out his arm an unnatural length and snapping the Guardian’s neck like a brittle stick. The Field Marshal dropped to the ground, where he twitched for a moment before lying still like a toy solider whose batteries had gone flat.
The boy withdrew his arm and it coiled back towards him like a spring. He walked along the line of Guardians. Stopping before one of them, the Hollow Child looked up at it and said, ‘can you lead this army into battle without question?’
Staring straight over the head of the boy, the Demonic Guardian said, ‘this won’t be a battle; this will be a slaughter!’
The Hollow Child chuckled and it sounded like thunder. ‘Very good. ’ He then stared hard at the Guardian and said, ‘don’t fail me Field Marshal!’
The promoted Guardian braced to attention and slammed his swordstick into the ground.
Stepping aside, the Hollow Child nodded and said, ‘when you’re ready. ’
Seeing her uncle Fandel, Anna spun on her heels and raced back into the Railroad Station. Slamming the door closed and seeing a bolt, Anna forced it across the doorway.
Grinning, Fandel rapped on the glass windowpane with his knuckles and peered in at her. ‘I thought you’d be pleased to see your dear old uncle again,’ he teased from outside.
‘Go away!’ Anna screamed, looking around for another way of escape.
‘Oh don’t be like that,’ he smirked, rattling the door handle.
Anna looked at the doorway that led down into the dark and raced through it. Taking two steps at a time, she sped into the underground sleeping chamber. Glancing back over her shoulder, Anna heard the sound of snarling coming from above. With her heart somersaulting in her chest, she darted back and forth in the darkness, realising she had trapped herself underground. Anna dropped to the floor as the sound of smashing glass and splintering wood thundered from above.
Bounding towards the Railroad Station door, Max slammed his large skull into it. The door buckled in its frame and the glass shattered.
‘Go on my sweetie. Catch mummy that naughty girl!’ the Delf screeched over the sound of her own farting.
Max took another run at the door and this time, he ripped it free of its hinges. The door exploded across the small dining area in a shower of splinters. Prowling into the Railroad Station, Max sniffed the air.
Crawling around in the pitch-black, Anna heard the door cave-in above her.
Where can I hide? She screamed inside.
Running her fingers along the edge of the bunks, Anna for a moment considered hiding beneath one of them, but the sound of something huge and mean coming down the stairs forced her to change her mind.
Manoeuvring herself in the dark to the furthest corner of the room, Anna slid down the wall. From above, she could feel a breeze from the air vent she had noticed earlier. Scrambling to her feet, she gripped the wire mesh that covered it. She pulled on it with all of her strength, trying to tear it free from the wall.
The sound of claws rattled against the hard floor of the sleeping chamber like spurs on a pair of cowboy boots. The sound of heavy breathing was just feet from her. Whatever it was in the room with her, it made a woofing sound then barked. Jumping with fright, Anna tugged on the wire mesh until her fingers started to bleed. Footfalls fell on the stairs and a glow of orange light accompanied them. Peering over her shoulder, Anna could see her uncle and the most repulsive looking woman she had ever seen, step down into the sleeping chamber.
Waving the candle before him, Fandel said, ‘come out, come out wherever you are?’ Then he saw his niece cowering in the far corner of the room. Before he had the chance to say anything else, the Delf was screaming beside him.
‘Max, there she is! Get the girl!’
Staring in horror over her shoulder, Anna saw the giant dog come sauntering towards her. Max snarled, revealing a red mouthful of razor teeth. Drool swung from its lips like stringy lengths of glue.
Turning her back on the creature, she couldn’t bear to look at the thing that was going to kill her. Anna pulled on the wire mesh with the last bit of strength that she had.
‘You can’t get away,’ Fandel whispered from the bottom of the stair.
With one last yank on the mesh, it came away in her hands. Throwing it at the dog, she scrambled up into the air vent. Max lept forward and lunged at her feet as she wriggled into the tunnel. He clamped his huge jaws around one of Anna’s boots and began to drag her from the hole. Anna tried to dig her fingernails into the tunnel walls, but they were made of tin and her nails screeched as she was dragged backwards.
Twisting onto her back, she could see the hideous looking dog biting and tearing at her foot. Thrusting her right leg out, Anna smashed the heel of her boot into Max’s snout. He growled and his eyes rolled in their dark sockets.
‘Get off me, you filthy animal!’ Anna screamed, kicking and thrashing with her foot. Over and over again, the heel of her boot smashed into the dog’s long snout as it ripped and pulled at her. Drool flew from its jaws in a foamy spray and splattered the walls of the tunnel like wet plaster.
‘LET! GO! OF! ME!’ she hollered, punctuating each word with a kick to Max’s head. The last of the kicks drove the heel of her boot straight into one of Max’s eyes. Releasing his grip on Anna, Max howled in agony. His bloodshot eye squirmed in its socket like a squashed tomato.
Seizing her chance, Anna rolled over onto all fours and scrambled up the tunnel and into the awaiting darkness.
Rushing forward, the Delf flung her arms around the neck of her pet. ‘What has she done to my baby?’ she wailed, spraying a wave of maggots from her throat. ‘She’s hurt my baby!’
Max broke free of her, and consumed with rage, he dived for the air vent. Thrusting his long snout into the hole, he tried to scramble forward. Squeezing his huge head into the air vent, Max fought to lever himself off the ground. Snapping his powerful jaws open and closed, he tried to capture the girl that crawled away in front of him. But he was just too big to squeeze inside.
‘Get that thing out of my way,’ Fandel snapped, pushing past the Delf to get to the vent. ‘I’ll go after her. You see if you can’t find where this tunnel comes out!’
Pulling on Max’s leash, she coaxed him from the hole and away from his prey.
‘Come with mummy,’ she cried. ‘We’ll catch her as she comes out!’
Max pulled his huge skull from the air vent and went bounding towards the stairs. The Delf waddled after him, dragging her bag of potions behind her.
Holding the candle in his fist, Fandel crawled into the hole and made his way after his niece.
Anna followed the curves in the tunnel as she raced on her hands and knees. The beast had stopped barking and howling, but she could hear someone else in the tunnel behind her. She guessed it wasn’t the dog as it had looked too damn big to fit inside the vent, and the woman had looked too fat and out of shape.
No. It’s Fandel that’s behind me, she thought to herself and raced onwards.
Fandel’s head thudded a
s he crawled through the air vent like a rodent scurrying along a city sewer.
I don’t need this! I don’t need this at all! He screamed inside as he chased after the girl. And I thought the boy was a pain in the arse!
As Fandel made his way through the tunnel, he tried not to think of what his reflection might say if he didn’t catch the girl. Then again, he was getting fed up with having to undertake all of the dirty work. Why couldn’t Throat get out into the field once in a while?
It’s my turn to sit in that throne and put my feet up!
If they were reflections, didn’t that mean they were also equals and Fandel wanted his fair share of taking it easy. Whether he would find the courage to suggest this to Throat was another matter. Gritting his teeth, he continued through the tunnel after his niece.
Ahead, the darkness seemed to fade into a milky-blue, and Anna crawled towards it. As she drew nearer to the light the breeze got stronger. Daring to glance back over her shoulder, she could see the orange glow of candlelight in the distance, and she knew that her uncle was gaining on her. Turning forwards again, Anna pushed on.
To her relief the light that illuminated the walls of the tunnel ahead was the glow of the moon shining above. She looked up to see a set of ladders leading up to ground level. Gripping hold of them, she placed one hand over the other and pulled herself up.
Just feet behind Anna, Fandel reached the end of the tunnel. Chucking the candle away, he started up the ladder after her.
‘Why can’t you just give-up?’ he yelled up at her.
‘You first!’ she shouted over her shoulder, taking hold of the grate that sealed the exit from the tunnel.
With all of her remaining strength, she forced the grate open with her shoulders and climbed from the hole. She turned just in time to see her uncle’s arm reaching up out of the ground as he snatched at her. Crawling forward on her stomach, Anna reached out, grabbed the grate and slammed it shut on his arm.
Her uncle’s agonising screams echoed off the walls of the tunnel beneath the ground, which was followed by the sound of him smashing into each and every rung on the ladder as he fell back to the bottom of the air vent.
Smiling, Anna dragged herself to her feet and looked about.