The Harvest by Sara Clancy

Author:Sara Clancy [Clancy, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ScareStreet.com
Published: 2019-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The fluorescent lights buzzed like hornets as they flickered. Basheba pushed herself back against the door, feeling the wood rattle as Cadwyn fought to open it. She assumed it was Cadwyn. The other two have no reason to bother. Buck’s claws scratched at the stairs as he staggered back and forth, desperate to attack, but awaiting her command. Rattling metal hinted at movement below. Something large and unseen.

“Basheba!” Cadwyn screamed.

Her hands began to shake, her heart picking up pace until she could barely breathe around it.

“Basheba!”

The scrape of flesh on tile drew closer. Shadows moved and merged as something lumbered ever closer to the bottom of the stairs.

“What’s going on?” Cadwyn bellowed before striking the door in anger. “Talk to me!”

Darkness engulfed the foot of the stairs. A wall of shadows that only slightly dissipated in the staggered light. The thick body of the minotaur blocked the entire width of the stairs. It dwarfed her. Thick bands of muscles covered its chest, swelling with every snorted breath.

Most of the damage was to its skull. Spikes of bone protruded through matted tufts of fur, severing the flesh and leaving it to hang in strips. One horn still protruded proudly from its temple while the other was twisted back to resemble a goat. An eye dangled alongside its mangled snout, twisting in its steaming breath.

Basheba pressed harder against the door but there was nowhere to retreat to. The minotaur took a step closer.

“Get them out,” Basheba stammered.

Cadwyn instantly replied, “What?”

Buck’s snarls turned wild and savage, a ferocious sound that she felt down to her bone marrow. Basheba balled her fists until her arms trembled and her knuckles threatened to pop. She tried to draw in a deep breath and found herself choking on the chemical stench.

“Get them out!” she bellowed.

Cadwyn paused, slammed against the door again, and shouted back, “Stay away from the chemicals, Basheba!”

The sentence would have made her laugh if the scent of formaldehyde wasn’t lodged like a dagger in her throat.

Will it kill me?

On the other side of the immovable wood, she could catch traces of movement; mumbled words she couldn’t understand and pattering feet.

They’re gone. I’m alone.

She had asked for it, and yet, the reality gutted her. The first bitter sob forced her to double over, one hand pressing tight against her stomach as if to keep everything from spilling out. Buck raged as the bull staggered forward, taking its first step onto the staircase.

Amongst the chaos, the sound of the music box rang out, filling her ears and leaving her cold. Decades of hate rose up to meet the sound, filling her with a visceral rage that left her trembling.

“Buck.” Her whisper silenced the dog. It waited for her command. Glaring at the deformed face of the bull, she spoke one word. “Kill.”

Nails slashed over timber as the colossal dog burst into motion. Halfway down, he launched himself at the monstrosity, wide jaws seeking flesh. The bull-man swung out a thick arm. But it underestimated both Buck’s agility and his ferociousness.

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