CHAPTER 35 (PART - B) end of chapter 35


The house looked empty when Lucille pulled into the driveway. She quickly got out of the car to check the house for anything that would give her a clue as to where Benton may have been taken to. When she went to unlock the front door she found it was ajar. Lucille instantly became suspicious, had Benton escaped and returned?

“Benton?” Lucille entered slowly turning on the lights in each room. The main living den had paw prints with dirt on the floor.
“We don’t have a dog” Lucille thought instantly as she slowly withdrew her father’s revolver.
“Benton? Are you home?” she spoke again but this time she got a response in a low growling.

Lucille’s hands began to tremble, as it was coming from the back of the house. She didn’t see anything unusual in the kitchen except more of the dirty paw prints. Lucille was going to search for any clues of finding Benton but the noise suddenly kept her from completing that task. She slowly walked towards the bathroom turning on the light. The bathroom had dirty paw prints on the floor as the towels and soap were strewn about.

Lucille checked the chambers to make sure the gun was loaded before she left the bathroom. The gun only had five bullets.
“I’d better make these shots count” Lucille thought grimly.

She walked slowly down the hall as there were only two more doors, she and Benton’s room and the kids’ room. Her heart began to beat faster. Her senses became so acute she could hear shuffling coming from one of the rooms as well as if someone had broken in and was pilfering through their belongings. She crept to her children's room and slowly turned the door knob and peeked in the room.

The room had toys thrown all over the floor and more dirt tracked in on their shaggy carpet near the bed. She knew the kids didn’t do this. The afternoon sun was beginning to wane as she continued towards the last door in the hall. Her hair began to stand on the back of her neck, and her gut feeling was screaming for her to turn around and run, but her desire to find her husband kept her going.

She quietly reached for the door knob as her heart raced and she could feel her blood surging through her. The growling began get louder as she slowly turned the door knob. Lucille thought better of opening the door but against all her rational thinking she flung it open and stood face to face with the intruders.

The light was already on in the room and a dark robed man with a plague bird mask stood in front of her as her clothes and Benton’s clothes were thrown all over the floor from the closet and the drawers were pulled open. He had a stone with green markings in his hand as he was climbing out the back window while a huge Doberman Pincer with eyes that looked pale was guarding him as he was climbing out. He turned to her and said only two words.

“Kill her” he whispered.

Lucille screamed as loud as she ever had. She instantly turned around and closed the door behind her as the huge dog began barking with a voice that didn’t even sound like a dog’s. Lucille had never been so frightened, but she realized she had to be brave if she was going to survive and find her husband. She could hear the beast jumping on the bedroom door until it was flung open. Lucille was running for the front door as she could hear paws with nails hitting the floor in rhythm coming for her. She opened the door and squeezed through just as the beast was about to nip her heels shutting the door.

Lucille’s heart felt as if it was going to burst through her chest. She was gasping for air as the beast was jumping on the door trying to force it open. The door was reinforced enough to keep the beast inside. Lucille took a moment to catch her breath as suddenly the beast quit trying to open the door. Lucille took out her car keys and determinedly bolted for the car door with her father’s revolver in one hand and the car key in the other.

Just as she was about to open the car door to get in the rabid looking Doberman came zipping around the corner of the house towards her at an incredible speed. Lucille turned around surprised at the agility and speed of this beastly looking dog. Something about it just didn’t seem normal. Lucille didn’t have time to think so she reacted by turning to face it holding the revolver out in front of her pulling the trigger just moments as it lunged in the air at her throat. The revolver had a kick to it with a slight push back towards the car and made a deafening sound as she fired hitting the dog while it was airborne.

The Doberman landed on her still growling causing her to buckle against the car under its weight. Lucille knew she couldn’t call for help, who would help her? She knew that even a damsel in distress sometimes has to save herself. Some how the dog was still alive it seemed as its body seemed to vibrate with muscle spasms while it continued to growl and drool. Lucille pushed with all of her might as the Doberman was still trying to bite her. She managed to move away without allowing the beast to latch on to her.

Lucille put the car keys in her jacket pocket and held the revolver with both hands keeping it trained on the Doberman as it seemed to vibrate quicker as it open its mouth and two long tentacles emerged from its back. The Doberman stood up on all fours as its tongue seemed to grow in length. The Doberman turned to her growling with a renewed sense of rage. The tentacles were almost eight feet long!

“Oh my what in…!” Lucille’s shocked and terrified expression emerged.

Lucille didn’t hesitate, she fired again at the beast hitting it again knocking it back a foot. It recoiled back on its legs and sprang quickly and with greater agility at her before she could fire a third round. One of the tentacles smacked her hard on her shoulder as it it spun around knocking her back a couple of feet to the ground.

“Arrgghhh!” she cried out in pain, but she still held the gun out in front of her. The Doberman’s tongue wagged as the other tentacle came flying at her. She fired hitting the tentacle just before it could reach her causing it to retreat the opposite way. The Doberman’s legs buckled and it fell to the ground. The two tentacles were wiggling with muscle spasms.

“I can’t allow this thing to harm any family or friends! I must finish it off!” Lucille thought as she courageously stood up as the Doberman was still trying to scoot towards her. She quickly jumped up with her backside still hurting and pointed the gun at the Doberman’s head. It growled and didn’t even look like a dog anymore.

“I won’t let you hurt my family!” she yelled out turning her head firing the last round finishing the monstrosity off. It finally stopped moving.

Lucille took several steps back breathing heavily dropping the gun while grabbing her chest trying to catch her breath. It was just too much to take in considering that abnormality of everything that had just happened. She had blood on her clothes, but fortunately it wasn’t hers. After a couple moments passed she instinctively took flight fearing another assailant would come to finish her off since now she was defenseless. She quickly grabbed her now empty gun and opened the car door. She got into and peeled out of the driveway trying to keep her attention focused on the road as she was trying to decide where she was going.

The dark robed man watched in disappointment and looked at his pet. The other Doberman whined in a melancholy way as it and its master watched Lucille quickly drive away. The other Doberman drug its dead companion into the fields.
"Impressive for a woman" The dark robed man muttered to himself.

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